Evening star., 1941-01-20
Inauguration "reminiscences
Text of T. W. Noyes' Broadcast RecolIing
Ceremonies He Has Seen in Lost so Years

Theodore w. Noyes, editor in
chief of The Star, today made the
tolloUing radio address oUer the
Nationwide network OF the Nd-
tional BroddcaStino Co., in re-
SponSe to an imitation of N. B. C.
to broadcast his "reminiscences of
so years as ne1CSpaperman in
the National Capital:
My pleasant, but practically i'm
possible, task is to condense the
ocean of a half century of memories
concerning presidential Inaugural
tions into the 10-minute nutshell
of inaugural broadcasting. Time
limitation permits only a few ref
erenceS to striking characteristics
of specific inaugurations and elec-
tions during the last so years of
my life, in which period I have
served in some capacity on every
general Inaugural Committee.
Today's Inauguration, based on
the recent election, demands sew
eral superlatives. 1t marks the first
election of third term President,
smashing the tradition and prece-
dent of all American history. The
total popular vote cast in the 1910
election (about so millions) was
greater than in any previous elec-
ton. The popular vote for Roose-
welt (over 81 millions) was greater
than that for any other President,
being exceeded only slightly by the
vote cast for him in 1886. Roose-
velts electoral vote (449 was ex-
ceeded only by the electoral votes
cast for him in 1886 and 1882. The
election was also notable in that
Willkie, the defeated Republican
candidate, received a greater popu-
lar vote lover % millions) than any
Republican presidential candidate,
whether winner or loser, in all Amer
ican history.
In respect to the weather, factor
so important in effect upon the
comfort of paraders and the pleas
ure of observers, we suffered most
in Taft's Inauguration of 1909, from
snowstorms and icy gales which
characterized Weather Bureau Chief
Willis Moore's famous bareback. "
The only close rival of that inaugu-
ration in superlative badness Of
weather was Grants second inaugu-
ration, when frigid temperature and
lack of artificial heat made even
the inaugural ballroom the scene
of acute suffering.
The first Inauguration of Cleve-
land as President, in 1885, was IA
vored with warm spring day, which
may, on the whole, give to that oc-
casion the best weather record.
George Washington's first inaugu-
ration in New York and the ad-
vantage of a celebration on the
warmer spring date of April 30 and
many of us hoped, after freezing in
the bareback" of freakish March 4,
that the Inauguration date might
be changed to that of the Father Of
His Country, but when the change
finally came it was not to more
clement April, but to midwinter
January.
When the Inauguration period is
over and the returns are all in, it
will perhaps appear that this in
auguration is the most spectacular
of all in some respects-as in aerial
display and in recording the great
est number of inaugural visitors and
rejecting the intense popular inter-
est that has been aroused by the
threat of war and the need and de-
mand for the fullest national pre-
paredness as a means of war pre-
vention, or-if war must be met
as potent measure of war defense.
Surely, no other Inauguration and