The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-12-30

hmehght on the capitals latest
occasion.
a White House tree lighting al
ways draws a crowd, but, for size.
the latest one was unprecedented.
and its a safe statement that a
high percentage OF the folk were
present less to see the tree than
for a closeup Of the British prime
minister and an earful of his
oratory
The president. Of course. com
manded his fair share Of attention.
but he isn't a novelty. and Winston
not only is the first London prime
minister who ever hung up his
stocking in our executive mansion.
he's the first Of EN- who ever
crossed its threshold. inward
bound. IN wartime
I've already had occasion to
mention the obviousness of F. D.,
r. and Winnie's desire to capt.
talIze their conference through
plenty of enthusiasm-creat ad.
vertising They've increasingly en-
phasized il. however. nlustratively,
at their initial press reception, in
F. D RS office. such a mob of
newspapermen was on hand that
those IN the background couldn't
get much of a squint at the visit
ing Brton, seated, alongside the
president. IN the midst of the cir
Gle. 50 F. d. r. asked him to stand
up and exhibit himself Complying
instantly. besides getting up, VIM
ME jumped onto his chairs seat,
erect. and posed for couple of
minutes.
He adopted one White House
rule as soon as he got here.
No Direct Quotes.
AS all Washington correspond.
ents know the presidents answers,
to the questions they put to him,
mustn't be printed within quota
ton marks, except with his spe-
cifc authorization. Notice was
served on the boys that Winnie
mustn't be directly quoted, either.
without his permission. which
the president himself occasionally
gives. to make something he's said
sound all the weightier. He keeps
stenographic record of all such
stuff, though, to guard against err
rors or neutrality-suspicious..
Winnie. it's true, isn't uncom-
municative He doubtless preserves
a judicious amount Of military Sc
crecy, but. of the record" he's
pretty laxative to interviewers.
And. when he does dodge an inter-
rogaton, he does it deity and
jocularly. not grouchily
His American slang's good. too.
He doesn't indulge in expressions
like My world or refer to the
Nazis as "blighters.' He describes
'em in U. S. A. language that
wouldn't do in a refined publica-
ton. even if he authorized it. For
half he says "haff." not "hahf"
In short. he could pass muster as a
Yankee. which he is. so per cent.
by parentage. Probably he inherit
ed his new world accentage. The
honest fact is that he pronounces
things more in our hoi polloi ia
shion than F. .. r. does. with his
Groton and Harvard upbringing.
My own impression is that he
came here at least as much for
public effect as to confer with the
president. He could have done
his conferring through diplomatic
channels and over the long dis.
lance phone. but that wouldn't
have been so spectacular.
Large Encourage
His encourage arrived with him
70 the number Of about so. some Of
EN- pretty high up. like Lord Beav-
erbrook. but they've scarcely been
noticeable in comparison with the
super dynamic Winston. They
hunted accommodations in hotels
around town. Washington hotels
have been turning would-be guests
away wholesale since the emergen-
cy started. but they managed to
md quarters for these visiting
Butons If they hadn't. the chances
are that an act Of congress would
have been passed. conscripting EN-.
Winnie. domiciled in the White
House, naturally had no such
worry
In personal conversation with
his guest. it's understood that the
president actually addresses him