Daily News from New York, New York • 354

DAILY NEWS, FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 1956 (Gertrude 0 Sue hdi For Bivorce.u Second Tme By NANCY RANDOLPH Palm Beach, Jan. 26. Mrs. Gertrude Gretsch Astor. for the second time, will fue for divorce from John Jacob (Jack) Astor; The new action will be filed in Nevada, early in February, according to a close friend of Astor's, seen yesterday in Hialeah.

ut-rtie Astor has already By JOHN O'DONNELL Washington, Jan. 26. In this national campaign year, when cash on the line is of life and death importance to both parites those TV and radio bills will run high in. the millions the important problem of political patronage comes up. By political patronage we simply mean the idea of beefing up the local political organizations by putting the faithful party workers on jobs paid from the public treasury.

Much to this reporter surprise, we learned a few days ago that members of the White House staff charged with facing these problems were carrying in their pockets a memorandum on political patronage written by the mastermind of F.D.R.'s early New Deal, former Postmaster" General James A. Farley. Big Jim Farley put down his views on political patronage four months after taking over the job of rewarding the Democratic i faithful who came pouring into this capital after F.D.R.'s 1933 1 St fW 1 inaugural. The Democrats were politi cally starved after the 12-year famine of GOP rule under Harding, Coolidge and Hoover. But the Republicans, when Eisenhower took the oath of obtained one decree from Jack, in Mexico, in 1953, a decision questioned when Astor married again shortly afterwards.

The agreed-upon financial settlement in the new action is described as "fair, but nothing sensational." Jack Astor, it appears is at last moved by a strong desire to et his long-troubled domestic house in order. Planning to Wed The immediate reason: William Astor, 20, son of Jack's first marriage to Kllen Tuck French (now Mrs. Raymond Guest), is planning to wed. And Jack is reported to have become keenly aware of his responsibilities not only (1) as a father but (2) as an Astor. After Gertie's Mexican decree, Astor married Dolly Fulham of Miami, an idyl that scarcely lasted the European honeymoon.

Later a Miami judge gave Dolly only $73 a -week from the Astor fortune and denounced her for charges made against her recent bridegroom. Effect Debatable How an American divorce decree now to be obtained by Gertie will affect Dolly's status and income, is a matter most people would rather not discuss with Dolly, that is. Around and about: This mad resort's monocle wearers: Co nt Doreli, once wed to Mrs. Dolly O'Brien, noted Palm Beach colonist, furnishes a rare sight when he appears at pools clad only in Lathing shorts and a monocle but it remained for Mrs. Antoinette Throckmorton (who once jolted the Met opera opening by strolling around, between the acts, putting on a big Mack cigar) to upset the extra-dry-martint drinkers last night in the Colony when she screwed a monocle in her right eye the better to case the place.

Main concern of a local pluto- office in January, 1953, had gone Dolly Fulham and Jack a brief idyl. through an even more rigorous ii starvation diet, for ZQ years, the nourishing food of federal James A. Farley Hm wrote the rule jobs had been withheld during the regimes of Roosevelt and Truman. For the first twoyears, loud Deiiows rose alter tne uur that under Roosevelt, thousands of strictly Democratic party workers had been blanketed into civil service. They could be fired only for cause, and that is a tough problem.

Now some sense has been made of the situation. The orders are that Ike patronage distributors are to follow th Farley line: Hand out Republican patronage just the way rarley handed out Democratic natronage. And they are thoroughly familiar with the opinion Farley put on paper back in 1933 in the politically furious first 100 days. He started on Dy saying: crat when he gets Into his cups, is his "burial suit." He telephones New York, gives his latest ideas on its fabric, cut and detail. At first taken seriously, he's now merely listened to but the tailors don't cut any cloth.

One of the colony's Tichest women, opening her 'handbag the other night after leaving a tea party, disclosed several slices of raisin cake among her belongings. "Why not?" she defended the haul. "I didn't eat it at tea, so I can have it for breakfast." Perle Mesta to Talk Billie Burke, famous stage star, gave up her March 5 booking at the Playhouse here to accommodate Bea Lillie, who'll open that night in her own revue. Mme. Perle Mesta, former U.

S. minister to Luxembourg, will talk here the same night at the Everglades Club, under the auspices of the Round Table. Subject: "Global Look at Communism." "I am like a cashier of a bank when poor people come in ana ask for money. I have jobs to give but, like the cashier, am truitp of something that doesn't belong to me. The patronage belongs to the Democratic Party.

I am following two fundamental rules: (1) Is the applicant quaiuiea: yt) is ne loym parijr Gertrude Gretsch Attor Gist ot Bulgy Letter Ike and Eden Meet Monday From THE NEWS Bureau Wasbington, Jan. 26. President Eisenhower and British A White House Secret I By TED LEWIS THE NEWS Biirnu Washington, Jan. 26. The White House kept a tight lid today on the mystery letter from Soviet Premier Bulganin to President Eisenhower amid indications that the message was designed to start a new Communist peace Fnme Minister Eden will (open three days of informal discus sions of mutual problems at a White House luncheon Monday.

The White House described the visit as "a meeting between the offensive. and sympathetic to the program of ranxiin u. Kooseveu Farley's Credo: Give Jobs fe ffce Faithful "I think it is only fair that those men who worked to put Mr. Roosevelt into the Presidency should be given jobs in the federal service and be given an opportunity to help him carry out his program. I think it is not only fair but reasonable and intelligent as a policy." Now, just strike out Roosevelt and insert strike out Democratic and insert Republican and you get the present -exact operation plan of the election engineers in the White House, in Len Hall's National Committee and in the Congressional campaign committees.

And they all quote the Farley memo, with due credit. The GOP patronage worksheet is in fact a resume of an article by Farley that appeared 23 years ago in the American Magazine and contains such frank statements as: "I am an old baseball player and I like to call things straight. Any Republican on the exempt (noncivil service) list has a chance for reappointment but he has two strikes on him. "If he is a wizard in his own field, if he knows more abouthis job than anybody else, he will hold his position. But if there is a Democrat just as well qualified, he will get the job.

And among; the Democrats qualified, who will get the first chance at the job? The F. R. B. C. men.

That means the men who were "For Roosevelt Before Chicago." The Democrats who jumped on the bandwagon later are next in line. If they are the best qualified, they will get the job." This line of reasoning, as applied today, means that in case, of a tie, a qualified Republican will get the job held by the equally qualified Democrat and among Republicans, those who were for Ike at the Chicago '52 convention stand ahead of the Taft following, which battled him to the end. Ike's Patronage Purveyors Carry Farley's Rules We don't know, which member of Ike's staff dug up the ancient Farley memo, put you'll find it in-the inside pockets, of others) the two White House assistants assigned to keeping members of Congress happy on patronage and other questions, Maj. Gen. Wilton B.

Persons and Jack Martin. In it, Farley wrote: "I don't think any master of patronage has ever stated the proposition so frankly before. And now that I "have stated my attitude, I would like to give my reasons for it. "Often, in reading editorials, I have seen a sentence like' this: 'Will Farley make his appointments by merit or by "I should like to suggest to these editorial writers that merit and politics occasionally mean the same thing. But why, the ordinary citizen may ask, do we replace Republicans with Democrats If the Republicans have done their job adequately why call in ne men? 4 "If you have ever played baseball, you know that loyalty and teamwork are the most important factors in any team.

Individual brilliance is worthless unless that individual is working for the success of the team. We want no man in public office who isn't pulling and working and fighting for the success of Mr. Roosevelt'a program. A man may be a fine but unless he's willing to work hard all day and sit up all night to help along the President's plans, we don't want -him." President and his friend." Press Secretary James C. Hagerty said there was no fixed agenda.

After the wind up meeting Wednesday a joint statement is expected. Eden- will stay on here Thursday and Friday. He will address with the heads of state of most of our allies. Bulganin and Communist Party leader Nikita Khrushchev are believed eager to make a propaganda visit to the U. S.

alter their scheduled visit to London this spring. However, a White House source insisted today that Bulganin, in his letter, did not broach the subject directly. the Senate and House separately on Thursday, and speak over radio and TV on nationwide networks Thursday night at 11:15 to 11:30. Press Secretary James Hagerty refused to comment on reports that the full text of the letter was tent in code to British Prime Minister Anthony Eden, route here on the liner Queen Elizabeth. The President held bis weekly meeting with the National Security Council today and also conferred with Secretary of State Dulles on plans for the Eden talks next week.

It was assumed the Bulganin letter was discussed. New Ground Covered Diplomatic sources said the Bulganin letter delivered to Ike personally by Russian Ambassador Zarubin yesterday covered considerably more ground than hii previous correspondence with the President. The Russians, according -to soma diplomats, have been restive over the Dulles-Eisenhower program for conferring jn. Washington during the next six months Queen Flying Today London, Jan. 26 (Reuters).

Queen Elizabeth leaves London by plane tomorrow on the first visit of a British ruler to the colony of Nigeria in the heart of Africa. ith her husband, the Duke of three regions has been arranged so that as many as -possible of the Queen's 31 million subjects there will see her. The flight to Lagos, Edinburgh, she will spend 19 days in Britain's largest colony, which has been promised regional self government this year. She will see lepers, witch doctors and naked pagans but also signs of Nigeria rapid march to modern nationhood. The royal tour of Nigeria's via lripoli, will start at 4 P.

in a Canadian-built British Over seas Airways Corp. Argonaut, the Atalanta. An entourage of five people will accompany them..