Evening star., 1939-07-23
By Marquis ". ChiIds

pressing problem. Often his evenings
are filed with conferences with close
advisers.
Blood Pressure Normal
From his immaculate, equipped
office in the basement of the White
House, DR.. McIntire never relaxes the
watch he keeps on the Presidents health
and habits. Twice year his patient is
given q complete physical checkup. His
blood pressure has been found well with
in normal and all other criteria indicate
that the President enjoys excellent
health. DR.. McIntires watchfulness in
cludes such details as the bacteria count
in the indoor pool at the White House.
He says. not without understandable
pride, that it has as fine a record as
any pool in the country
Just now the President is looking a
little pale and weary. But it is merely
because he has not been able to get out
in the sun and relax. A few days of
fishing would make a new man of him,
his physician says.
In 1882 the state of Roosevelt's health
was factor in the campaign There
were whispered reports that his illness
of II years before had left him so
seriously impaired that he would scarce
ly be able to carry on in the White
House. But in the course of his extern
sive campaign tour the voters saw an
obviously vigorous man, and the ma
licious whispering campaign was proba-
bly, for the most part discounted.
With his election an extensive inves-
tigation of his health began. In 1880,
nine years after he had been attacked
by infantile paralysis, the then Gov
ernor of New York applied for $780,
600 life insurance policy. The insur-
ance was divided among % companies
and whole series of physicians put
Roosevelt through the most searching
examination.
Investigators Surprised.
They went over him in October of
$780, just after he had finished a week
of strenuous campaigning for re-elec-
ton to the New York governorship. an
Office that is second only to the presi-
dency in the demands it makes upon the
individual. The examiners were aston
ished by Roosevelts almost phenomenal
well-being.
They found that his heart and blood
pressure were absolutely normal" His
chest expansion was like that of a pugi-
list. His waist was 81 inches, an un-
usually low figure for a man Of 48. His
biceps were as large and hard as black
smiths. One of the medical examiners
present at the 1880 examination declared
afterward that, in his opinion, Roose-
velt's general expectancy of life was prob
ably higher than that Of normal man of
his age.
Certainly no one who has observed
him in the White House can say that
his jnfirmity has been a handicap. In
fact it might even be argued that it
has been an advantage since it has
saved him from certain kinds of strain
and boredom that other Presidents
have had to endure. For example,
when he travels on his private train
only few select visitors are allowed
back in the Presidents own car. Other
presidential travellers, whether on cam
paign or merely on tour, have had to
pass up and down the train hand
shaking right and left. The fact that
Roosevelt can walk only short distances,
and then on the arm of an aide, has
often excused him.
Not that he has sought to escape from
any of the arduous demands of the presi-
dency. The truth is that judged by al
most any standard his two terms have
been as full of every kind of activity as
any President in recent history. And
he approaches the end of his eighth
year showing less strain than any re-
cent predecessor.
The recent record has not been good.
Wilson suffered . crippling illness at
the end Of his second term. Harding