The Pittsburgh Press (October 7, 1940)
ROOSEVELT’S ABSENCE LISTED
Washington, Oct. 7 –
The Republican National Committee published without comment today a “record of President Roosevelt’s absences from Washington” since he accepted renomination for a third term.
It showed that between his acceptance speech on July 19 and yesterday, Mr. Roosevelt had spent 42 days away from the White House and 37 days at his desk. It said that the President Roosevelt had spent:
- 26 days at his Hyde Park, N.Y., home.
- 11 days cruising aboard the Presidential yacht.
- 4 days inspecting national defense projects.
- 2 days on a speaking tour in North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee.
The committee included an excerpt from Mr. Roosevelt’s acceptance speech which said:
Events move so fast in other parts of the world that it has become my duty to remain either in the White House itself or at some nearby point where I can reach Washington and even Europe and Asia by direct telephone, or, if need be, I can be back at my desk in the space of a few hours.
I shall not have the time or the inclination to engage in purely political debate.