Evening star., 1947-10-13

MT. AlleL.
But those days are gone forever.
The last smile that he brought to
the face of the Chief Executive was
Of the wry variety. Now, the peri
patetic Mr.. Allen no longer wanders
in and out of the rooms of the White
House at will. The mats that used
to spell welcome" spell nothing at
all to him.
There is a reason for this total
eclipse. Mr.. Allen finally resigned
the job of chairman of the RFC,
after he had successfully blocked
the veterans housing program that
Mr.. Wilson Wyatt had been work.
ing upon SO industriously, in order
to make good on at least one presi-
Dental promise. At the time, it was
given out that Mr.. Allen would still
have free access to the White House
to present his sturdy shoulder for
President Truman ITO lean upon on
those frequent occasions when he
was in need Of support.
But this carefully cultivated i'm
preston was merely a smoke screen
behind which the exjester was in
full retreat. After all, when a pro-
fessional purveyor of jokes finds
that he no longer amuses customer,
he has no option except to move
elsewhere.
Didn't Leave Voluntarily.
AS a bearer Of tragic news, have
been trying to prepare the mourn
ers for a tragic event. It appears
that Mr.. Allen did not voluntarily
vacate his coign of vantage at the
ear of President Truman. He may
have left the White House with a
jaunty air, but the fact is that he
was ushered to the exit. His final
Joke, so far as the laughter loving
President was concerned, was a grim
one indeed.
Peering into the future, Mr.. Allen,
the late laughing boy of the White
House, was impressed with the polit-
ical possibilities of Gen. Dwight D.
Eisenhower, not so much for Gen.
Eisenhower's advantage as for his
own. Mr.. Truman, and particularly
his kitchen cabinet whose jobs stem
from the former Senator from Mis-
souri,, were not able to squeeze out a
smile when they learned that Mr.
Allen had walked down the plank
to the more solid shore.
And so, another beautiful friend
ship has been broken. Jonathan and
David, Damon and Pythias, Truman
and Pendergast, have already won
legendary places for their devotion
and constancy to each other, but
doubtless the time will come when
cold type will glow with the recital
of the spiritual love that also ex-
listed between Harry and George-at
least until George, suspecting that
he was on sinking ship, decided
that self-preservation was still the
first law of nature.
Article Told of Devotion. =,
But at least before quietly edging
his way into the very fringes of the
Truman "last ditchers," George, In
one Of his mellow moods, wrote an
article for the Saturday Evening
Post, in which he declared his undy-
ing devotion to the man whom, q
little condescendingly perhaps, he
acclaimed as his friend. It was
thoughtful Of George to bestow a
final sentimental bouquet, even in
his haste to get away before the
flowers should wither. After all,
George 1t not a sentimentalist just
for the sake Of being one, and If he
can detect writing on the wall that
warns him to beware of date that
will fall somewhat short of the Ides
Of March Of 1949, who Is to blame
him?
Doubtless George feels the loss Of
Harry almost as poignantly as Harry
feels the loss of George. But surely