New Commentator

Back in the 1930s when Eleanor Roosevelt first went on the air, her high-pitched, uncertain voice "and the piffling quality of some of her remarks made a field day for mimics. Last week, with the able assistance of her daughter Anna, Mrs. Roosevelt returned to the air with a new program, and a new radio personality. Her first broadcast won raves in the trade--and flustered Washington. Speaking by transcription from Paris, where she is a member of the U.N.'s Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, Commentator Roosevelt let fly with some salvos that were notable for both clarity of diction and political candor. Samples:

P: "I would like to see the permanent ousting of the Southern Dixiecrats from the Democratic Party."

P: "It is inconceivable to me how these Southerners, who walked out on the Democratic Convention . . . and did their best to beat the Democratic President, can now walk back into the party, explain that boys will be boys, and then take up several committee chairmanships won by the uphill fight of loyal and progressive Democrats." In Washington, Democratic Leader J. Howard McGrath gingerly refused to pick up Mrs. Roosevelt's hot potato. Most of the Dixiecrats were discreetly silent. In Manhattan, the trade sheet, Variety, printed a flattering review of the show: " [Mrs. Roosevelt] ranks with the standout commentators on the air ... She displays more courage and is more positive than most of the others put together. The surprising question is why ABC chose to spotlight this commentary [Mon., Wed., Fri., 10:45 a.m.] in a strictly hausfrau-slanted morning segment, rather than at night."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.