Evening star., 1949-01-21
Presidents Big Day
Ends as He Leaves
Ball at 1:40 Am.
Bv ChoImers M. Roberts

Inauguration Day ended for Harry
s. Truman at lao am. today when
he waved a smiling goodby to the
crowd at the Inaugural Ball and
went home to bed.
It was a whopper of finale, the
Inaugural Ball Officially. exactly
$500 persons entered the Armory-
all the fire laws allow-but closer
guess would be nearer twice that
number.
The 6-hour-long ball was all
things to all men: To those who
love to dance, 1t was a wonderful
collection of music by such experts
as Benny Goodman, Guy Lombardo
and Xavier Cugat and their bands
plus some local talent. And most of
the crowd did at least turn on the
huge floor of the National Guard
Armory, reminiscent Of college dances
In the gym.
To the Democrats, it was a fun
filled finale to the day of festivities
and there were Democrats of all
shades on hand. There were three
ex-OPA administrators, Senators
aplenty, cabinet members standing
in line to check their hats and coats.
Just to give it flavor, there was
good handful of Republican Senators
and their wives, looking just as
though it hadn't really happened.
And sitting in the balcony through
1t all for two and half hours, from
1l:10 pm. to 1:40 am, was the
dapper little man who a long half
day earlier had taken the oath of
office for his new term as Presi-
dent. Harry S. Truman was i'm
maculate in white tie and tails and
he smiled and waved and shook the
hands of hundreds who managed to
wangle their way to his balcony
seat.
One of the first to greet him was
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, war;
time Supreme Allied Commander
in Europe and now president of
Columbia University. With the
general was Mrs. Eisenhower. Mr..
Truman and Gen. Eisenhower
chatted earnestly for several min
utes.
Others who came to the box in
cluded James A. Farley, former
chairman of the Democratic Ma
tional Committee, and Gen. Omar
N. Bradley, Army chief of staff,
wearing a blue dress uniform
trimmed in gold braid.
Below the presidential box a.
huge part of the crowd just stood
and craned its neck at the presi-
dental goings on while the bands
played on across the huge hall.
They kept an eye on the Presi-
dents every move, on Mrs. Truman
and daughter Margaret, on Gen.
Eisenhower who stood with the
President in serious conversation
for nearly 10 minutes, on the num-
erous members of the families of
both the President and his wife.
Photographers were ceaselessly
throwing spotlights on the presi-
dental box while politicians ex-
changed words on the floor below
where a series of box seats had been
improvised with little waist high
eurtained partitions.
In these little boxes, like animal
cages at the circus, sat the Chief
Justice of the United States, Fred
M. Vinson: the French Ambassador,
Henri Bonnet: the Secretary of
Agriculture, Charles F. Brannan,
and so on and on.
In one of these boxes, Margaret
Truman sat for quite a while with
q group of friends while the crowd
of invited guests-no one came who
hadn't been invited by the Ball
Committee-sauntered by to have a
look or, more rudely, simply stop
and stare. Even Shirley Temple was
among those more looking than
looked at.
The President and Mrs. Truman
did not come to the dance floor, but
Margaret did couple of turns with
her friends First she danced to the