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The Poughkeepsie Evening Star & Enterprise
The Poughkeepsie Publishing Corporation
The Poughkeepsie Eagle-News (Morning)
Platt & Platt, Inc.

Covering the rich Mid-Hudson Valley with a combined circulation of more than 20,000 net paid copies daily

53-55 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, New York

Telephone 5000

March 27, 1940

Miss Marguerite LeHand
Private Secretary,
White House,
Washington, D. C.

Dear Miss LeHand:

Thank you for your interest in the article I am writing for the New York Times, and I hope that I am not taking up too much of your time with it.

I received today from Henry Toombs some of the material I was seeking regarding the President's architecture. He enclosed a photostatic copy of the President's rough sketch of his Dutchess Hill cottage. He assumed it would be all right if I used it, as it has already been published. But he made the specific request that I get permission from either you or the President before using it. I should like to get your opinion on this.

I am enclosing the excerpts from My. Toombs' letter which I plan to use, feeling that they may be of interest to you or the President. I offered to keep the material anonymous, if we wished, but he makes no mention of this, so I intend to attribute it to him.

Following are the comments I plan to use:

"I would say that the President had a definite architectural sense. He quickly grasps the implications of plans and elevations and, while his sketches from the point of view of a trained architect are rather crude, they nevertheless show a sense of proportion.

"Most of the sketches which I have and which he has done in connection with Warm Springs or various houses are rough, freehand outlines. It is pertinent to note that in explaining a plan the President more often than not, and like a trained architect, takes a pencil to sketch what he is explaining. This is, I would say, habitual with him.

"So far as I know he has never used any regular drafting equipment, generally putting things to a scale by using an ordinary foot rule, but the drawings which he would so make are definitely more adept than those which would be made by the average layman."

Now if there is anything objectionable to the President in these three paragraphs I would be glad to delete it. I don't assume that there is.

I should be glad to hear from you as soon as possible on this and I apologize again for using up your time on something so unimportant.

Sincerely,
Harlan Althea