Evening star., 1950-10-13
Public Getting Used
To Idea OF President
Going Out Of Country
Questions Were Raised
When Wilson and Taft
Visited Foreign Lands
By David Laurence

Times have changed since the
days when the American people
learned to their surprise that a
President of the United States
William Howard Taft-had ac-
tually stepped across the Mexican
boundary in 1910 to a foreign
country for days visit.
Promptly the question arose as
to whether the precedent meant
that the United States was mo-
mentarily without a Chief Execu-
tive. Then when. in 1918. Presi-
dent Woodrow Wilson went to
Paris and stayed there several
months at time during the peace
conference that followed World
War I, the same sort of discussion
arose. The Theory was advanced
that. because the President went
to the American Embassy to sign
official papers, he was still able
to transact business on American
territory.
When President Franklin Roose-
velt went aboard the cruiser Au-
gusta and later aboard the battle
ship Iowa and the cruiser Quincy
for his sea journeys, the point that
a warShip is American territory
was still maintained as the legal
basis for official action.
Public Accustomed to Idea.
Gradually, as Mr.. Roosevelt took
long airplane Journeys, the ques-
tion of legality was hardly men
toned, though technically a big
military plane is as much Ameri-
can territory for strictly legal pur-
poses as ship that travels the
surface of the sea.
Now, when President Truman
has gone across the Pacific to
Wake Island, he is far away from
any embassy during the time he
travels through the air on his
way to island posts where the
American flag flies.
The public has become accus-
toned to the idea that a Presi-
dent of the United States may be
absent from continental United
States for long periods of time.
Mr.. Truman's trip to meet Gen.
Macarthur puts him out of tele-
phone communication with Wash
1ngton, as there is no overseas
service by phone to Wake. Radio
communication. however, from the
plane to shore stations is constant
and, If any emergency arose re-
quiring change in the Presidents
itinerary, he could be reached in
stantly. Perhaps it was this lack
OF means of immediate communi-
cation which caused Presidents of
the United States before 1918 to
refrain from making Journeys
across the ocean.
System of Communication,
There is today an elaborate
system Of communication set up
whenever the President goes to
sea. II he goes by plane, the
Navy co-operates by sending de-
stroyers and other warships to
take up station at allotted points
fairly close together along the line
OF travel. This furnishes not only
communication facilities but added
protection in the event that any
forced landing on the sea should
become necessary If anything goes
wrong with the plane.
1t is to be noted there are three
big passenger planes travelling
together on the Presidents trip.
This, too, affords a certain amount
OF communication help in the
event that signals are not heard
plainly on the Presidents plane.
To go 1000 miles across the Pacific
Ocean to Wake is much longer
than any journey across the At
lantic and would appear to be a
much longer series of hops than
President Franklin Roosevelt took
on his trips via Africa to met with
heads OF state in the Near East
during World War II.
Only the White House staff who
know the urgency arising occa-
sionally for presidential signature
or for presidential approval,
as required by law, can appreci-
ate what it means to have the
President of the United States
out of touch for even a few hours.
theoretically, it's all legal, no
matter if the President signs any,
thing when he is away from con-
tinental United States-and the
question of an acting president"
analogous to the case of mayors
or governors who are absent from
their respective Jurisdictions has
never been raised in the courts,
There is no provision of the Con-
stitution which covers this ex-
plicitly.
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