Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-01-21
By HUGH S. JOHNSON

By HUGH S. JOHNSON
MO MATTER how much you
~ may disagree with him, or
how sincerely you feel that the
course he has followed and is
following is dangerous to the
very principles he is trying to
uphold, you have = to concede
that our third-term President is
great credit to our country in
a troubled world.
Nobody could help being
proud of General Pershing
among the Allied commanders
of the World War. No foreign
general approached him IN
-seldieFiy- appearance and bear
ing. None was his superior in
determination or professional at
tainment. None contributed more
10 Allleu VICTORY.
1t made you glad that you,
too, were an American TO see
him in any contrast with soldiers
of other nations. For every good
quality of his is a character
istieaiiy American quality re-
fined and brought to peak of
excellence. He looked American,
talked American and acted
American.
WE CAN enjoy exactly the
w same kind of thrill for
exactly the same reasons about
Mr.. Roosevelt in contrast with
The leaders ofether nations. In
his contacts with them he is the
peer of any and the superior Of
most,
He acceptably personifies the
majesty. dignity, decency and
democracy of the United States.
He does il with as little effort
as he wears ms loose and CONF
Portable clothes.
And this Is so for the same
reasons it was so of General
PerShing-"every good quality
of his is Enthusiastically
American quality refined and
brought to a pea. of excellence,
He looks American. tai ks
American and acts American" -
in the best and truest sense.
All this was especially APP
parent and must have been en-
phasized to the whole world
throughout the day of his third
Inauguration.
This column isn't going to 60
softly or 'sticky-moufy-kiss" in
its debate of what it thinks are
Mr.. Roosevelt's dangerous err
rors in these critical times. but
there is surely no aspect of that
in acknowledging thrill of
pride in the thought that / am
a citizen of the same country
of which he is president and
that. in the face of a world so
dangerous. this country has a
leader of such commendable
stature.
IT DETRACTS nothing from
Il Mr.. Roosevelt TO say that II
is easier for hin than il was for
General Pershing to maintain
that international superiority of
heroic bearing. IT, Presidents
competition is not so keen.
There was plenty of glamour
and knightly seeming in such
soldiers as Haig. Allenby, Foch.
Petain and little less in old
Wotan Hindenburg, the sour
super-junker Ludendorff and the
ferocious Mackensen.
But nobody could imagine a
place at the round table of
King Arthur and his knights for
such pimples as Adolf Hitler or
Believing Benito.
Even the myopic little sun
emperor Of Japan couldn't crash
the gates of'any Valhalla on his
shape alone. He would have to
have more certified passports
than it takes to get to Moscow.
THIS doesn't mean that APP
i pearance alone has much TO
do with the case. Napoleon
couldn't have won any physical
culture contests. but he became
magic and heroic figure TO his
enemies as well as TO his adoring
soldiers by some superlative
quality Of humanity that placed
him among the worlds greatest.
No matter what fate may have
in store for Mr.. Roosevelt-and
for us-I think that, for good
or i'll. he will also take his place
in that company. As president
of the United States ! don't
agree with him. but as a citizen
of the United States / am proud