Evening star., 1946-11-13

4 permen than to Henry McLemore.
have Mr.. Truman brush the cherry
blossoms from his feet and take it
on the. liam from the White House.
One Of the primary duties Of q
newspaperman is to know the in
nermost secrets Of the Presidents
political and personal life. To quail
ify as q competent journalist one
must know the Presidents maternal
Igrandmother's maiden name,
whether he dries his razor after
shaving or leaves II on the edge
of the basin to rust, whether he
hangs up his clothes at night or
throws his pants over q chair, If
he drinks out of the ice-water
pitcher when no one is looking,
and II he always calls his wife
when he is going to be late for
dinner.
Intimate Details. !.
After his 10 or so months In
ofice, newspapermen are just be-
ginning to master these intimate
personal details. II Mr.. Truman
were to quit as the gentleman from
Arkansas has suggested, we Of the
Fourth Estate would have to start
all over again, prying and snoop-
ing into the new Chief Executives
most personal and private business.
AS 1t IS now, even q lazy, Siovenly
tenth-rate journalist can write
about the President without even
disturbing single brain cell. He
knows 1t Is always safe to refer to
the Presidents broad grin" II YOU
are a member Of the opposition
press, you can refer to him as the
"ex-Kansas City haberdasher. If
you are In sympathy with him you
can speak Of him as q Horatio
Alger hero who fought his way up
from haberdashery In Kansas
City to the highest, most exalted
elective of11ce in the world.
II you are for Mr.. Truman you
write that he has stood Loyalty by
his host Of Missouri friends, and Il
you are agin him you are never at
"a loss for q wisecrack about his
fragrant abuse Of political patron-
age. This Is an absolute pushover.
because there are as many Jokes
about It as there are Jokes about
Pat and Mike.
At the present, the press knows
all about Miss Margaret Truman's
collegiate activities, her musical am
bitions. and current gentlemen ad-
mirers.
Months 1t Sea.
I don't know who Senator Full
bright planned to have succeed Mr..
Truman, but say Gov. Warren Of
California was the man. For
months, newspapermen would be
completely at sea. Why, w don't
even know what size shoes Gov.
Warren wears, much less his neck.
band size, or whether he Is an ex-
pert la crosse player or gets his ex-
ercise playing chess. The Governor
has lot Of children, too, and presi-
dents children always make Il
awfully tough on US newspapermen.
A man with all the, children Gov.
Warren has would have to serve at
least two terms before newspaper
men would know, without having to
stop to think, whether Junior War;
rem was the one who flunked alge-
bra or II 1t was his older sister-the
one In college.
No one who did not suffer through
1t will ever know the anguish, the
terrible mental strai,s caused us
newspapermen by the l.ltricacies of
Mr.. Roosevelt,s extensive family.
Long after I had mastered the Blue
Eagle Of the NRA, was still strug-
Cling to get the grandchildren
straight. Mr.. Roosevelt was well in
his second term before I discovered
that Fala was not q human being.
Once I got all this Strengthened out,
I would have voted to make him
President for life.s
II Mr.. Truman does heed Senator
Fulbright's suggestion, let us all
pray that q bachelor orphan hermit
win succeed him In the White
House.
Distributed By McNausht Syndicate. Inc.}