Evening star., 1946-04-20
Rooseve|t's Health
|Af Cairo Shocked Her
Nine. Chang Reveals
By John Ia Cerdo
North American Newspaper Alliance

North American Newspaper Alliance
TOKYO.-From Madame Chang
Kai-shek has come an intimate ac-
count of personal incidents she
observed during the last failing
days OF Chinas loyal friend, Presi-
dent Roosevelt.
A group of Americans visited the
Chinese first lady in Shanghai re-
Gently. Among thew was Joseph B.
keenan,. international war crimes
prosecutor. who is now in Tokyo.
Members of his party told of their
interview with Nine Chang.
Mr.. Keenan, informed her that
he had known the late President
well and she replied that she had
been fond of him and thought he
was a very great man.
Roosevelt Looked Ill.
She said she was greatly shocked
when she saw him at Cairo. He
had fallen off" considerably, she
said, and she thought he looked
quite ill.
She noticed that he did not eat
much. She told Mr.. keenan, it
Is Chinese belief that so long as
one is able to eat and digest food
all else will be we'll.
Mrs Roosevelt had told her that
toward the end of the Presidents
life all foods tasted the same to him.
Madame Chang talked of times
she used to have at the White
House She said she and the Presi-
dent always would sit up very late
in his study and talk.
One night everybody stayed up
till l o'clock. Finally. she got up to
go. The President started to move
and she said:
please, don't get up"
And he said:
MY dear child, I couldn't stand
up if I had to-
N. Y. Trip Criticized.
She told Mr.. keenan, she thought
it a shame that the American
people allowed the President to
ride through the streets of New
York in the rain in his last election
campaign.
Mr.. keenan, pointed out that Mr.
Roosevelt had heavy cloak and
she said she could just hear the
President mutter: ITO hell with
it." She said she had often heard
him say that and it always gave
her so much satisfaction since she
did not swear herself.
The visitors asked Madame
Chang if she knew Winston
Churchill.
She said, yes. She described him
as stubborn, but said that she
felt he had done more by far
for England than any one else of
his generation.
Of Wendell Willkie, she said that
she had thought him wonderful, but
he was no diplomat or politician
and had so informed him.
Willkie Praised.
Mr.. Willkie, she said, had the
moral courage and strength to
stand behind his convictions. She
commended that it was "one of
the tragedies of our times" that
Willkie and Roosevelt had to be
on opposite sides.
Mr.. Keenan, asked If she cared
to give American women a recipe
for keeping their youth. She re-
piled:
my dear, I have not yet reached
an age where 1 should think OF
that"
There was some laughter and, ap-
parently feeling that the 5S-year
old Mr.. keenan, was embarrassed,
Nine. Chang quickly added:
That was unkind of me-"
He said: IT can take it." but she
reforted, but do you like it?"
Mr.. keenan, said that the gen.
eralissimo had told him in Chung
king that the Chiangs might visit
the United States this summer.
United States Visit Uncertain.
Nine. Chang said that the inter-
prefer must have misunderstood
because that was not so. However,
if the generalissimo had made the
promise she would see that he
kept it.
Mr.. Keenan, said that maybe the
generalissimo would like to have
his health checked in the United
States. Nine. Chang said she had
1. L =
there was nothing wrong with him
except a back injury he had suffered
in Siam in 1886.
She said she though the United
Nations would survive and that
there would be no move to form a
new world organization because
we'd still have the same people in
it, and all the energy expended on
U. N would then have been wasted.