Evening star., 1948-03-05

The President then urged yer,
insistently that I not resign until
the end of his present term, Jan.
uary 20. 1945. I replied that per.
sonally would be extremely glad to
take this course, but I pointed out
that II did so critics would begin
almost in no time to emphasize the
tremendous responsibilities resting
on me and the State Department
and, while expressing sympathy for
me in my illness, they would soon
begin to insist that the critical ma
ture of conditions required q Secre-
tary Of State on close watch at the
department, with the result that
they would soon be criticizing the
President.
Mr.. Roosevelt then asked that I
not resign at least until after the
election. To this I agreed.
The President on November 81
wrote me a splendid letter, which he
began by saying that my letter has
hit me between wind and water"
1T has been very sad" he went on,
for me even to contemplate the
ending Of our close relationship dur
ing all these II years. It Is not
merely that our personal relations
have been so uniformly and invari-
ably agreeable, or that our joint
work has borne true success in 80
many fields, as it is the personal
feeling of not being able to lean on
YOU for aid and intimate interchange
Of thought.
This is especially true because we
have come so far along the road of
friendly relations among nations
that have counted so much on your
help in carrying this work through
the final stage of complex and din :
cult conditions which still face us.
Health First Thought.
Your health is honestly, my first
thought. and I am really confident
that you will be on your feet again
in relatively short time, even
though you are limited to special
tasks and avoid the daily routine OF
department work. As Of today,
therefore, you must devote all your
thought to getting back on your feet
and on this all your friends will join
in helping"
He then repeated his suggestion
that I continue in Office until the
beginning Of the fourth term, say
ing: --.. H.."R q
IT will, Of course, accept your
resignation as Secretary Of State II
you want me to do 80. But I wish
you would, as an alternative allow
me to accept 1t as Of January goth,
which is the end Of our third term.
Perhaps sentiment enters into this
suggestion little bit, but it would
give me great satisfaction II we
should round out the three terms.
That means two months more, and
during that time I could see you
from time to time and get your
advice on some of the things that
will come before U.s."
The President then made q sug-
gestion which would have been dear,
indeed to my heart had been able
to accept it. Incidentally" he said,
when the organization Of the United
Nations Is set up, I shall continue
to pray that you as the father of
the United Nations may preside over
its first session. That has nothing
to do with whether you are secre-
tary of State or not at the time, but
should 60 to you as the one person
in all the world who has done the
most to make this great plan for
peace an effective fact. In 80 many
different ways you have contributed
TO friendly relations among nations
that even though you may not re-
main in a position Of executive ad-
you will continue to
help the world with your moral
guidance"