Letter, form Mrs. W.L. Culbertson to Franklin D. Roosevelt

Grace thank % Comdr. W.L.Culbertson General Court Martial go Disciplinary Bks., Terminal Island San Pedro, California. The Honorable Franklin D.Roosevelt, President of the United States, The White House, Washington, D.C. Dear Mr. President - I have an awful feeling that in addressing you as "The Honorable" I am horrifying Emily Post, but if your title should be some- thing else please forgive me. I hope next year to title you again the same way so you see I have no feeling other than the best for you and the best for our great country at the same time. I have always been a great Roosevelt fan ever since you nominated A1 Smith for President. Before that , like a great many other people in general and Philadelphians in particular, I never pai Ld d much at- tention to politics but I heard that speech and I saw you and I thought then "Why don't you speak for yourself, John ?" and decided if you ever ran for President I'd vote for you. Well we have three times, and while we have just come to California when Admiral Friedell asked for my husbandýwho is a classmate of mychnnhandta the Admiral) to serve on General Court Martial I suppose we can vote the fourth time for you.If the Army can vote I suppose naval officers out of their state on duty can certainly vote ! I am sending you the enclosed hoping it will amuse you and gratify you to read it as it amused me and gratified me to write it. I did it in a couple of hours one evening last winter when we were living in New York and my husband, Cully, had duty under Admiral Brinser. I wrote it indending it as a publicity bookelet for ELCO but after Mr.P.L.Sutphen saw the ms. and asked me to see if I could get a publisher for it as a 2 child's book the whole thing sorta got ahead of me. For the past ten years I have been kept very busy with our youngest son who became deaf following a strep infection of the sinus. That is one of the things that endears you to us and must to everyone else who had to deal with and rise above a tragic physical handicap.Knowing what you had overcome gave me the courage to fight this horrible thing that had happened to our four year old baby. It took all we had in us both to accept this and go ahead. Be that as it may, I used to be a very good newspaper and advertising copywriter and this past year when Admiral Brinser got every one so enthused about the PTs I wrote the story of PETER. When I talked to the artist about making a rough copy for a dummy I had various ideas of how I wanted the illustrations to appear. Because young John Bulkley was so gratefully to Admiral Brinser for the great co-operation Admiral Brinser gave in getting needed supplies to the PTs serving in the S.W.Pacific, that he autigraphed his picture for Admiral Brinser as follows - "To Admiral Brinser, Daddy of the PTS" Admiral Brinser was very proud of Bulkley's picture but I cannot tellyou how often he said, 1 heard the adminal say The real daddy of the PTs is the President. He had the foresight to see the value of the PTs and took the responsibility for them when the navy board was against them." were So when the book was conceived it was my idea to put acrossrthateyou / the one who had taken the PTs to victory. .And so the artistadid the end papers with that in mind. We hope you like them and the advertising booklet the publisher got out for the advance sale to retail stores. I am so glad they finally got out. Even so the type is not centered properly in relation to the illustration but I hope in the next 25,000 copies even that will be all right. All I hope is that enough avaiable paper can be gotten to print the book and that it may be valuable as navy propoganda. I hope you enjoy the 3 book and any visiting little grandson as well! My children were just the right age to enjoy your daughter's story of the bunny that came to live in The White House and I, in turn, hope her little boy will enjoy the story of PETER and most certainly he will like what Walt Disney does in the way of an animated cartoon. With every best wish, I am Sincerely yours, Maytaculu Culletion Mary Haeseler Culbertson, (Mrs.W.L.) x mmm N why it's For Polly Culbertson caught something of the dashing PT itself PETER in the spirited rhythm and tempo of her lines. And Annette Byrne, with amazing color and simplicity "PT" brought to PETER all the audacity and speed which has characterized the PTs whose record for gallantry of course!! and action is unequalled. The most delightful and inform- David McKay & Co., the publish- ative little story that has come out ers of PETER "PT" are betting on it of the war. A picture book evolu- and no wonder WALT DISNEY tion of the Patrol Torpedo Boats, it sensed its animation from the first is a mischievous combination of fact proofs, marked this book as a best and fancy that will captivate the seller and bought the story for the whole family. next Disney production. PICTURE BOOKS by Margaret Friskey and Lucia Patton THE first of these large, colorful books met with such success that a new title, just as popular, has been added every year. Miss Friskey's humorous stories are exactly right for a child learning to read. Just a few lines of type appear on each page with a picture by Lucia Patton that almost speaks for itself. (4 to 8 years.) each $1 00 Corporal Crow. By Margaret Friskey. Illustrated by Lucia Patton. Inky, the Cowardly Crow, saves the farmers' corn from the Japanese beetles-much to the surprise of Old Colonel Crow, who promotes him to Corporal. (4 to 8 years.) Seven Diving Ducks. Six fluffy little ducks learn to swim and dive for fish, but the seventh little duck is afraid to put his head in the water. "Recommended without reservations!"-Indianapolis News. Grandfather Frog, the Busy Loafer. All the homes of the river- folk are flooded when Mr. Beaver builds a dam. But the day is saved by Grandfather Frog, "who moves as little as possible, but when he does, goes like greased lightning."-May Lamberton Becker. Three Smart Squirrels and Squee. What can be done with a little squirrel who forgets even where his nuts are buried? Chatterbox and Chubby-Chunk and Timothy are three smart squirrels who think of a plan to help Squee remember. DAVID McKAY & COMPANY