Evening star., 1943-12-17

hluCH 70 TlSk-a pOSltlOn OF great
responsibility, namely, the Presi-
dency of the United States-but he
knew how to meet that risk.
Today President Roosevelt is back
In the United States. The story of
how he travelled and where he went
will soon be told. For five weeks he
has been absent. 1t has been an
nounced that he visited Teheran in
Iran, and Cairo, and that he went
to Italy near the battle fronts. The
Nazis tried hard to ascertain his
route. They even went to the des-
perate lengths of issuing fake re-
port Of the capture of one of the
Presidents sons, believing that
maybe the President would be ques-
toned or informed by radio and
that his whereabouts would then be
detected.
But the scheme failed The Nazis
are not to know at this time anyway
just how the President went to
Europe and the Near East. But the
American people can know that it
was a hazardous journey in more
senses than one. They can know
that Mr.. Roosevelt was warned
about the dangers but felt that it
was his duty to make a supreme
effort to meet with Marshal Stain
and Prime Minister Churchill to ac-
complish the military coordination
that must bring victory.
No such trip in the midst of war
was made in 1917 or 1918 and no
such journey by the Commander
in Chief has been made in all our
history. 1t was much more a Jour-
ney by the head of our military
and naval forces than by the head
of our Government, because the OBJ
jectives were so predominantly mill
tary.
Those who knew in advance about
the trip have been genuinely wor-
ried. That he would be absent from
the United States more than
month at a critical time in do
mestic as well as foreign affairs was
in itself an argument offered by
some advisers against the making
of the journey There were risks
also at the places where the Presi-
dent stopped.
But Mr.. Roosevelt does not lack
personal courage and determination.
Whatever differences of opinion
there are among us with respect to
the qualities of Mr. RooSevelt's ad-
ministration at home or the con-
troverSieS that have surrounded him
in public office, it cannot be said
that Mr.. Roosevelt sought to hold
so tightly to his Office as to decline |
to risk his life on long journey by
sea and by air and by land near
the war zones.
The measures taken to protect the
President were far-reaching. There |
was no doubt airplane escort if he
went aboard a warship to transact
business such as signing bills-for
the deck of warship is American
territory-and there also was pro-
lection whenever the air transport
took him across thousands of miles
in the Mediterranean or the Near
East. But if anything had happened
while the President was aboard q
ship, if torpedo from a plane or
submarine had made an effective
attack, Franklin Roosevelt couldn't
jump into a life boat or do those
simple things for himself in an
emergency that man in full ply
sical vigor can do. For him the risk
of a catastrophe was greater be-
cause he was already disabled
But though he cannot stand or
walk except with support, Mr.. Roose-
welt has never yet allowed that fact
to impair his determination to get
about just the same and to carry
out in the midst of war the respon-
sibilities of his position as Com
mander in Chief. Those of us who
knew him as young man in the
1920s have never forgotten the spirit
of his fight against his handicap
Somehow today as he comes back
from overseas, his whole trip seems
a heroic manifestation of that same
spirit and resolution plus a readi-
ness to make the supreme sacrifice
for an objective so closely related
to the shortening of the war.
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