Roosevelt
Names Last of Cabinet
Senator Walsh, Daniel C. Roper and Miss Perkins Complete List of
Appointments
SILENT ON BANK AFFAIRS
Business Developments Will Not Be Dealt With in
Inaugural Address, It Is Believed
By James A. Hagerty
Special to The New York Times
Hyde Park, Feb. 28
- The completion of his Cabinet was announced today by President-elect Roosevelt
when he named Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana as Attorney General, Daniel C.
Roper of Washington as Secretary of Commerce and Frances Perkins, head of the
State Labor Department, as Secretary of Labor.
These
announcements, made without comment, filled the list of appointments without
change from the unofficial list published last week.
The other members
of the Cabinet, whose selection Mr. Roosevelt had previously announced, are
Senator Cordell Hull of Tennessee, Secretary of State; William H. Woodin of New
York, Secretary of the Treasury; former Governor George H. Dern of Utah,
Secretary of War; Senator Claude A. Swanson of Virginia, Secretary of the Navy;
James A. Farley of New York, Postmaster General; Henry A. Wallace of Iowa,
Secretary of Agriculture; and Harold Ickes of Chicago, Secretary of the
Interior.
As has been
pointed out, three members of the incoming Cabinet, Secretaries Woodin, Wallace,
and Ickes, are Republicans. Miss Perkins will be the first woman to sit in the
Cabinet. The other six members who will advise the new President in one of the
most difficult situations an incoming President has encountered since Abraham
Lincoln are Democrats. Of these the selection of Mr. Dern and Mr. Farley, like
that of Mr. Woodin and Miss Perkins, is regarded as largely personal.
Walsh's
Acceptance Gratifying
Senator Walsh was
one of Mr. Roosevelt's first Cabinet selections, and his acceptance of the
invitation, which was in doubt for a time, gave the President-elect great
satisfaction.
The Montana
Senator was an effective supporter of Mr. Roosevelt for the Presidential
nomination and was permanent chairman of the national convention at Chicago.
Mr. Roper's
selection is attributed to the influence of Senator-elect William G. McAdoo of
California, whom he supported against former Governor Alfred E. Smith for
nomination for President in 1924. The selection of Miss Perkins was opposed by
leaders of organized labor, who backed Daniel J. Tobin for the place.
Mr. Roosevelt, who
is facing a busy three days before his inauguration, will leave Hyde Park for
New York city tomorrow afternoon about 2:15, and will leave for Washington
Thursday afternoon about 4 o'clock.
He worked until
1:30 this morning on his inaugural speech, but does not expect to have it ready
for release for newspaper publication until a few hours before its delivery on
Saturday at the capital.
Watches Banking
Situation
Mr. Roosevelt is
giving close attention to the banking situation and is in receipt of complete
information on its developments. No statement from him on this matter is
expected in advance of his inauguration and it is doubtful that he will refer to
it, except perhaps in general terms, in his inaugural address.
It has been Mr.
Roosevelt's belief since his election that he should refrain from public
statements on business conditions in the country at least until after his
inauguration, and then seek to obtain results by action rather than by words.
There is reason to
believe that he will follow this policy as President, and will present his
reconstruction program in full only when Congress will have assembled in special
session and will be ready to take action on his recommendations.
Mr. Roosevelt
denied a published report that Mayor James A. Curley of Boston, one of his early
supporters, had been selected for Ambassador to Italy.
None of the
diplomatic appointments have been determined, he said, when asked about the
reported Curley selection. "I have not had a chance to talk to Senator Hull
about them."
Confers With
Moley and Howe
On his last night
at his home at Hyde Park, before becoming President, Mr. Roosevelt conferred
with two advisers, Professor Raymond Moley of Columbia University and Louis
McHenry Howe, his long-time aide, who is slated to head the White House
secretariat.
Mr. Howe appeared
at the Roosevelt home at Krum Elbow wearing a new gray suit and a new gray tie.
"A symphony in
gray," was Mr. Roosevelt's gleeful comment as he presented Mr. Howe to the
newspaper correspondents and added that Marvin H. McIntyre, another prospective
White House secretary, who appeared yesterday in a new blue suit, was not the
only one of his staff who would begin his duties well dressed.
Basil O'Connor,
Mr. Roosevelt's former law partner, will come up from New York tomorrow and
drive back with the President-elect. On his arrival in New York Mr. Roosevelt
expects to see former Governor Dern and Mr. Woodin, and possibly others of the
Cabinet will accompany the President-elect to Washington.
Cabinet Sworn in
at White House
Justice Cardozo Administers Oath to All Members at Unique Ceremony
Completes Regime in Day
President, Family and Few Friends Witness Swearing in of Heads of New Executive
Branch
Special to The New
York Times
Washington, March
4 - The White House was the scene tonight of a ceremony without precedent in the
history of the nation. It was the swearing in of the nine men and one woman who
comprise the Cabinet of President Roosevelt.
Associate Justice
Benjamin Nathan Cardozo of the Supreme Court, an old New York friend of
President Roosevelt, administered the oaths of office at the request of the
President.
As the President
described it, the ceremony was "a little family party" with Justice Cardozo the
honor guest in charge. It put full and official command of the executive branch
of the government before the day was over.
Never before has a
Cabinet been sworn in at the same time and in the same place and by the same
official administering the oaths. Never before was the White House the scene of
the swearing in of the Cabinet.
The ceremony was
held in the library on the second floor of the White House and was witnessed by
President and Mrs. Roosevelt, the families of the Cabinet officers and a few
friends of the President.
The swearing in
had been set for 6 P. M., but it was 6:30 o'clock before Secretary Hull, ranking
member of the Cabinet, stepped forward to subscribe to the oath of office.
The President was
seated at a big flat-topped desk in the rear or the room facing Pennsylvania
Avenue. At his left stood the gray-haired jurist, who was the Chief Judge of the
New York Court of Appeals during three of the four years Mr. Roosevelt was
Governor of New York.
The tall, slender
Tennessean who succeeded Mr. Stimson as head of the Cabinet stood with raised
hand as Justice Cardozo read the oath to support the Constitution of the United
States. As the judge finished he replied, "I do."
William H. Woodin,
Secretary of the Treasury, came next and then in order and according to rank
Secretary of War George H. Dern, Attorney General Homer S. Cummings, Postmaster
General James A. Farley, Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson, Secretary of
the Interior Harold C. Ickes, Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace,
Secretary of Commerce Daniel C. Roper and Miss Frances Perkins, who, as
Secretary of Labor, is the nation's first woman Cabinet officer.
There was no
speech making - only the "I do" of the new officials as each subscribed to the
oath.
The President,
seated at his desk, smiled and said it was a good show. To each member of the
Cabinet he extended a hearty handshake and a brief espresso of good wishes as he
handed each the commission, which he had signed.
When it was over
the President, speaking to his Cabinet, all of them grouped around him,
expressed his appreciation of the prompt ratification of their nominations by
the Senate.
"This is a
strictly family party," the President said, "and I am glad all members of the
Cabinet are present. I am glad all of you were confirmed without opposition.
Incidentally, this is the inauguration of another new custom."
Despite the long
siege of his inauguration, which kept him out of doors from just after noon
until after 6 o'clock, President Roosevelt appeared not the least fatigued. He
looked happy as a school boy in the recess hour.
On the first floor
of the White House at the time, where the guests invited to tea were milling
about, the crowd was so great that it was almost as difficult to penetrate as
were the crowds which lined Pennsylvania Avenue to view the parade.
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