Evening star., 1941-01-20

Mrs. j. Carl Pryor of Burlington
Iowa, who directed campaign actlvi-
ties of Democratic women in l3
| MidWestern States, got surprise
when she arrived for Inauguration.
! A man proffered his hand AS she
alighted from a taxi at her hotel.
II was the 1910 Republican preSi-
Dental nominee Il came here for
the inauguration said Mrs. Pryor,
and the first man l meet in town is
Wendell Willkie!'
Incoming crowds Swarmed through
Union Station this morning wear
ing Roosevelt buttons adorned with
bright blue ribbons. The station
| masters office insisted the traffic
was exceptionally heavy, but the
terminals red caps didn't agree.
They said the Christmas jam was
| heavier.
Most disappointed of all were the
souvenir statesmen. Frank Rosenfeld,
who comes down from Baltimore
| for every inauguration. said business
was terrible" F.. d. R balloons.
I bearing the Presidents likeness.
were sell-out. but blue Roosevelt
feathers, shipped here from Cali
fornia, weren't going so well.
If the police officers seem eSpeci-
ally nice today. this may be the rea-
son: Policemen have been instructed
TO be extra courteous 10 Inaugural
ton Day visitors. When they see
pedestrians jaywalking, they preface
their aQmOnitlOn with Il don't know
whether you're a stranger III town.
but In Washington
A tradition of century and
half was abandoned today because
OF the tradition -Shattering third
term inauguration Capitol officials
decided that the Capitol flags. which
have been al half-Statf because of
the death OF Representative MaSSin-
gale, Democrat, OF Oklahoma. would
be raised during the inaugural cere-
monies and parade. then returned
to half staff until Mr. MaSSingale's
burial tomorrow Ordinarily the
flags are at half staff from the time
a member OF Congress dies until his
burial.
Even the White House experienced
a shortage of accommodations for
visitors. Extra beds were set I'D
and an Attic spare room utilized to
take care OF the many Roosevelt
children, grandchildren and guests.
The Inaugural Committees housing
booth at Union Station said no hotel
rooms were available today. except
few freed by cancellations. but
that there still were plenty of rooms
IN private homes.
one OF the strongest guard forces
ever provided for an Inauguration
ceremony was on duty at the Cap
ltol. More than 500 armed Marines
from QuantlCo and the Marine Bar
racks here. standing about 10 feet
apart, enclrcled the Capitol grounds.
while 280 policemen, including some
from Baltimore and Philadelphia,
and so flremen patroled the grounds.
The first person to arrive in the
spectators stands in front of the
inaugural platform was Mrs. J.
Edward Burns of Kansas City. She
was in her seat at $50. armed with
blankets to keep her warm and
newspapers to pass the time.
Spectators without tickets began
arriving in the mornings earliest
and coldest hours. Two women bun
died up under about IA layers of
clothing said they'd been there since
shortly after midnight. BY go
several thousand persons were
massed behind the official inaugural
seats.
This Is the 10th Inauguration
James Reilly. veteran Capitol en-
ploye has witnessed A member of
the Capitol police force in his early
days here, Mr. Reilly saw Theodore
Roosevelt inaugurated in 1905 and
has been present at each sue
ceeding inaugural. In recent years
he has been a Senate doorkeeper.
Accompanied by faculty men,