Yesterday we looked at one side of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s character as he was preparing to take office. You can see that here.
Now we will look at another seamy side of Franklin D. Roosevelt. A side of Roosevelt which we find disgusting. We find this information on pages 274 and 275 of John T. Flynn’s book “The Roosevelt Myth”. Mr. Flynn in foot-note (36) tells us that; “I am indebted for the correct statement of these facts to Mr. Philip H. Ward, a leading stamp authority and author of a column in Mekeel’s Weekly Stamp News, who investigated this whole subject.”
We find that; “For instance, Roosevelt had been all his life an ardent stamp collector. He had never indulged himself in the more expensive fields of this hobby. An intimate says that he seldom paid more than $10 for a Stamp. However, he knew all about the hobby and its business side.”
Once Roosevelt “…found himself the actual head of the Post Office and of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. - …he got Jim Farley, his Postmaster-General… - …to get for him the imperforate [sic] first sheets (that is, sheets minus the usual perforations) of a number of new stamps issues.”
Over a period; “…the president had enriched his personal collection of stamps upon a very large scale.. But this is not all. When a new stamp is made the first proof from the original dye has an especially great market value, merely because it is so scarce. After the stamp is issued the design is revised from time to time – a change in the lettering, the insertion of a little flag, a decorative curlycue here or there.”
The scarcity of these items made them valuable and “They became very choice articles on the stamp market, worth a great deal of money. Hence when Theodore Roosevelt was President he issued an order forbidding the delivery of these dye proofs to any person.”
However, we find out that “When Franklin Roosevelt became President, knowing of the value of these items and being the boss of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, he issued an order to have delivered to him a large number of dye proofs going all the way back to 1896. Under this new rule they could be delivered only to him. These he put into his personal stamp collection, When he died these dye proofs alone, the result of this mass raid by the President, sold for $59,000 which went into his estate. The whole stamp collection, including the dye proofs and the imperforate sheets, plus his otherwise modest collection, sold for $275,000.”
This was in the early 1940s.
Was this so-called great president a thief or what? That is for you to decide! But, we are quite sure someone should have gone to jail, but that would never happen in the Roosevelt administration as long as they helped him.
You can also find a confirmation of Postmaster General James A. Farley buying the stamps at the Postal Museum web site. See it here.
Mr. Flynn tells us that "Farley got the sheets, paid face value for them, gave one sheet of each issue to the President, one to Mrs. Roosevelt, one to Louis Howe, and a few others".
This could be where the Clintons, Bill and Hillary got the idea that they could take what they wanted when they left the White House.
"After they were criticized for taking $190,000 worth of china, flatware, rugs, televisions, sofas and other gifts with them when they left, the Clintons announced last week that they would pay for $86,000 worth of gifts, or nearly half the amount."
This was reported by ABC News on Feb 8 after the Clintons left the White House. ABC did not give a year on their web site. But you can see it here.
Most reasonable people would consider this theft. But people like Editorial Page Editor, Charles E. Richardson whom we sometimes refer to as Low-Grade, because of some low-grade scams he has pulled in the past would probably see it different.
An example is the way Richardson and by extension The Telegraph have a habit of dismissing things where Democrats are concerned. In Charlie Rangel’s case when he was caught cheating on his taxes, lying and “multiple ethics violations”, etc. Richardson and by extension The Telegraph passed it off as “taking privileges you shouldn’t”. Here is how the Washington Post saw Rangel’s problems.
Have a nice day.
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