Evening star., 1944-10-30
Tough Outdoor Tours
Answer Question Of
Roosevelt 5 Health
BY ]. A. FOX.

BY ]. A. FOX.
With election day Just a week
away, President Roosevelt seems
to have answered satisfactorily
one of the big questions raised in
connection with his quest for a
fourth term-the state of his
health. Certainly this is true If
outward appearances count, for
after two week ends of intensive
campaigning, in which he has
spent hours outdoors in the worst
kind of weather, the President
gives every indication of being
in as good physical condition as
when he started, and he looked
we'll then.
On his first road tour, to New
York, where he delivered a major
speech October 81, Mr.. Roosevelt
travelled so miles in an open car
through a cold, driving rain, in the
course of four-hour trip over the
city.
He got almost the same dose at
the outset of his second campaign
tour, three-day jaunt that ended
here last night. Travelling the Phila-
delphia- Camden area for four hours
again in an open car-the Presi-
dent. Friday, encountered 40-de-
gree temperature and rain with a
trace of snow, and he ended his
Philadelphia stay with speech in
wind-swept Shibe Park, where he
spoke, bareheaded, from the car
On Saturday night. in Chicago for
the second major speech Of the trip,
the President finally got break
from the weatherman, but while the
skies were clear, the wind that swept
Soldier Field carried punch,
But he showed no i'll effects yes
terday when newsmen saw him. In
fact, he seemed to have thrived on
it, and Secretary Stephen T. Early
said today he came through the
trip in excellent condition.
Millions See President.
The two trips have given the
President an opportunity to see
and be seen by-several million
voters in eight States which have
total of ITS votes in the electoral
college. With wartime censorship
discarded, his route has been well
in advance, and the peo-
pie have turned out.
The New York crowd. naturally,
was the largest, Mayor La Guardia
quoting police estimate of 3,0OO.-
600. In Philadelphia, it was any
body's guess, but 1t was generally
agreed that the warmth OF the
Presidents greeting there exceeded
that which he received in New York,
and something like $4,000 persons
shivered through the Shibe Park
address which brought the Presi-
dent before the first party rally ar
ranged in his behalf.
In Chicago, thousands upon
thousands of people stood in the
darkness outside of Soldier Field
hoping for a glimpse of the Presi-
dent. Inside, with 10000 seating
capacity. the stands were nearly
filled. There was no parade in Chi
cago, where the President spent less
than four hours.
Platform talks in Wilmington, Del,
and Fort Wayne. Ind, on the out
ward lap of the Philadelphia
Chicago trip and at Clarksburg, w.
Va, on the homeward journey,
brought out sizable crowds, and at
points where it had been announced
his train would slow down, this was
reflected in the railroad station
gatherings. Saturday, as the special
rolled through Ohio, with only a
single stop to change engines, it
drew little attention, except at Lima
where a showdown" had been previ-
ously scheduled.
Sunday Crowds Small.
Yesterday being a holiday, little
gatherings were out early along the
Presidents route through West Vir-
ginia and a good sized crowd waited
hopefully, but without luck, to see
him late in the afternoon, when
the special made service stop
at Keyser. At Martinsburg, at dusk,
there was little knot of "hopefuls'
at the station as the Presidents
train rolled by, but they also failed
to see the Chief Executive.
Cumberland, Md, an important
rail center was by-passed
The President has yet to make a
direct appeal for votes. but in the
platform talks Friday and Saturday,
and in brief speech to a rain
swept gathering at Camden City
Hall, he hit hard on the "get-out-
the-vote" theme, although he did
not put this on party basis. In
Clarksburg. where he talked about
reforestation, Mr.. Roosevelt said he
was getting away from politics,
this being Sunday"
In what he called sermon" on
trees, the President referred to the
Dare h1lltops' he had observed in
West Virginia and telling of his own
experiences in growing timber,
stressed the benefits of State
reforestation program.
He pointed out that this had its
value in preventing floods and soil
erosion, and recalled the shelter
belt" project his administration
sponsored in the Midwest Dust
Bowl. Termed another "crackpot
scheme by its critics, he said, it has
proven of great value in restoring
farmlands.
On two or three occasions, the
President has made some jocular
reference to his own candidacy,
but Senator Wagner of New York,
for whom he spoke at Brooklyn
rally week ago, is the only local
candidate for whom he has asked
support.
After watching crowd reaction, at