Evening star., 1948-01-16
Public Protests Make
Truman Balcony Plan
Look Like Bad Error
Resentment Of Women
Moy Prove Foetor in
Presidential Compoign
BY Dapfd Laurence

Judging by letters from different
parts OF the country, President
Truman Is making a political mis-
take In building q balcony on the
south portico of the White House.
Women especially seem to resent
the fact that MIR. Truman is alter
ing the White House q few months
before the people are choosing O.
President. The argument Is fire.
quently made thar Mr.. Truman vas
never elected to the presidency but
got into the White House through
accident. If he were reelected, 1t
Is assumed opinions might be Diff
ferent.
The President in his press con-
ference replied to criticisms in
Congress that he was only a ''tem-
porary tenant" by saying all Presi-
dents are temporary. He missed the
point Of the criticism, which issthat
all Presidents are tenants and the
White House belongs to the people.
When an important structural
change In the building Is to be made,
the people leave 1t to an impartial
board-the Fine Arts Commission
which Is not political but repre-
sents the architectural point Of
view OF the people as q whole.
Rejected by Commission.
The commission f1atly rejected the
proposal BIS being undesirable. For
Mr.. Truman to go ahead anyhow,
as he Is doing, is not only bad taste
but bad politics. The American
people do not like to see any one ex-
ercising proprietary prerogatives in
respect to so historic a building as
the White House.
Local newspapers have recently
published many letters of protest.
One of them, signed by ~. M. H.,
Of Kensington, Md" is in the form
Of prose poem and reads as follows:
I'm these inflated times, our
President Is conserving. While other
people, even less deserving, are
clamoring for houses and such stun,
for him balcony is quite enough.
Apparently the south side of the
White House Is too sunny. Besides,
this construction will save the tax
payer money.
with the new economical blinds
drawn to keep him out of sight,
what a wonderful spot for the Presi-
dent to sit on a hot summer night!
Let's get rid Of those ugly awnings
that don't last Cbut I would like to
know what kind deteriorate SO fast).
"Nero had balcony and Shakes
peare's Juliet, and the British Royal
Family (and Mussolini, I regret);
but let us not be Influenced by
some foreign rendition, the Nations
number one balcony should fol-
low the American tradition.
''It should be constructed to re-
semble the rear of train SO that
1t could be also used in practice
for the coming campaign. And
perhaps this very private balcony
might be detachable at both ends,
50 the President could take it
back to Missouri with him in case
his successor prefers to sit on a
patio with his friends, ",e.i.t
Hit ON House Floor.
Representative Muhlenberg, Re-
publican, of Pennsylvania, who is an
architect by profession, said on the
floor of the House of Representatives
that he is vehemently opposed to
the use Of maintenance and re-
pair" money for the purpose. Mr..
Muhlenberg is a member Of the
House Public Works Committee
which handles legislation on public
buildings. He thinks the $4,000
item should not have been diverted
from the maintenance fund to make
an improvement of a basic nature
and that it is illegal to switch
funds from one specific purpose
to the other.
"But beyond the point of IL
legality" he said, comes the ques-
ton Of propriety. The building
belongs to the American people.
The Commission on Fine Arts Is
doing its proper duty in objecting,
as they have unanimously, to-
changes In the structure that would
materially affect the physical ap-
pCdl o14SC IA 4b 40 ck AaCl l1tdSC VA
the American people, not lightly
or casually to be altered at the
whim Of any tenant"
Mr.. Truman seems to have re-
sented the criticism. When 1t was
drawn to his attention, he told the
press he is going ahead with the
changes, anyway.
Congress may insert a provision
In future appropriation bills that
changes cahnot be made in the
basic structure of the White House
except with the approval of the
Fine Arts Commission. Such leg
islation would not bring the White
House back to its original position
and the two-family fiat appearance
that Mr.. Truman is introducing
on the south portico would doubt
less remain, but it might apply re-
straint on future Presidents If any
of them should really need it.