Evening star., 1933-03-05


airplane for travel Air transpOrta-
ticn is no novelty to any of the MEM
bers of the new first family, all OF whom have
flown, some many times
No President of the United States ever has
flown while holding that Office. Before Frank
lin Roosevelt only one man ever to hold the
Office of President had flown. Theodore Roose-
velt that other man. made his only flight
after leaving the White House,
Whether President Roosevelt will use the
ajrplane for his official travel while in Office
is matter uncertain. None of those around
the new President profess to know ofhclally
whether he will be the first President to
.ravel by air That they say, is matter which
Mr. Roosevelt will decide for~himself.
There is an unwritten tradition, amounting
virtually to q law, that the President shall not
expose himself to unnecessary physical danger.
When President Lincoln exposed himself on
the breastworks of Fort Stevens during the
course Of the battle there i'll July, 1864. he de-
fled this tradition until he was ordered to
safety by Maj. Gen. H. G. Wright, command
ing the veteran 9Th Corps, which drove the
Confederate forces of Jubal Early from in
front of the Capital. Gen. Wright ordered the
President from the breastwork only after Mr.
Lincoln had ignored warnings of danger and
after officer had been killed by his side.
Naturally, President Lincoln was not forced
his obedience was voluntary and was tardy
recognition of tradition. Lincoln earlier had
bowed to the tradition when he permitted him.
self virtually to be smuggled into the Capital
to avoid the danger Of exposing himself to
Southern sympathizers who were known to be
plotting to bar his entrance.
Nearly every President has been forced at
one time another to make some concession
to safety in the interest of the people he serves
Jir1 of fiv,,4 Yol f1
travel on certain Mississippi River steamer.
Members of the secret service staff assigned to
protect him examined the steamer and de-
cided that a portion Of the observation deck
not strong enough to bear the weight Of
the crowds which usually surround a Presi-
dent. They prevailed upon him to use
other steamer and their arguments were amply
justified when the deck did collapse short
time afterward under the weight of sight-seers
as the steamer followed that of the President.
Had the original plan been followed the Presi-
lent probably would have been standing on that
portion of the deck and might have been one
of those injured in the accident -e
Whether President Roosevelt will use the
airplane while in Office will depend upon his
own decision as to whether flying is an unnec-
essary risk within the meaning Of the tradi-
ton Personally, he has decided in the past
that the arplane is a safe h-medium OF
travel for Franklin D. Roosevelt, since he has
flown without hesitation in the past Whether
the airplane is considered to have reached a
degree of safety which warrants its use by the
President. however, is matter which has not
been decided.
If left to his own devices, President Roose-
welt probably will continue to fly. It is re-
garded as quite likely, however, that those
officials of the Government who are charged
with safeguarding the President may prevail
upon him to accept older and longer-tried
means of travel while in Office. They can do
no more, however, than to use persuasive
methods and the final decision must be made
BY Mr.. Roosevelt himself
DRESIDENT ROOSEVELT-S last fight prior
to taking office was one which intrigued
the whole Nation. 1t was made Immediately
after his nomination by the Democratic Ma
tional Convention at Chicago to enable him to
accept the nomination in person Through
rains and thick weather, over a part Of his
course, the presidential nominee flew from Al
bany to Chicago with members Of his family
in tri-motored transport plane of one of the
large airlines 1t was one Of the most dramatic
flights ever made by a public figure and
gripped the popular imagination as had no pre-