Evening star., 1952-04-02
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passed." he is reported to have
said, II was excepted as a mat
ter of courtesy. However, the
spirit of the law is there, and
intend to abide by the spirit"
Timing of Announcement.
Once the President had turned
his face firmly against further
White House service, the question
of when to make the announce
ment came up. He is said at first
to have prepared a lengthy state
ment, explaining the step he was
taking. The whole matter was re-
viewed during his recent vaca-
ton at Key West. Eventually,
the more lengthy statement was
boiled down to the few brief lines
he read to the astounded guests
lat the Jefferson-JackSon dinner
In one quarter it is insisted
that not even those closest to the
President knew that he was get
ting ready to pull the trigger"
Saturday night.
The reason that he did act then,
it is explained, is that he thought
it time to clear the air and give
the party a chance to start cast
ing around for a successor. So
the blockbuster was dropped.
Since the President bowed out,
some friends have talked of the
possibility of his Senate candidacy.
The subject is not new, but it
seemed today that the President
was not discarding the idea yet.
The seat now is held by Senator
KEN, Republican, and some have
felt that the President already
had been removed as a possibility
when w. Stuart Symlngton, for
mer head Of the Reconstruction
Finance Corp, entered the pri-
mary, the assumption being that
he had received assurances that
Mr.. Truman was not interested
in once more being the Junior
Senator from Missouri.
It was said today, however, that
the presence in the race of Mr..
Symington would not affect the
President one way or another;
that Mr.. Truman had not given
the former RFC head ard Air
Secretary any commitment.
MIR. Truman often has said that
he was never happier than during
his 10 years in the Senate, and
he has quipped that he was just
beginning to find out what it was
all about when he left.
Friends point out to him that
his presidential service makes him
far better fitted to return to the
Senate, and they bring up the
additional argument that Mr..
Truman has worked too hard for
too many years to cut off sum-
marily all activities and sink hap
PLY into retirement.
The President will have plenty
of precedent to fall back on If he
decides to take another whirl at
Capitol Hill.
After John Quincy Adams left
the White House, he served 16
years in the House of Representa-
tives, and Andrew johnson, Lin
coins successor, was elected to the
Senate after serving as President,
but lived only a few months after
taking his seat in 1875.
John Tyler, strangely enough,
served in the Confederate Con-
gress after he had inherited the
presidency from William Henry
Harrison who lived but a month
after his Inauguration in 1841.
Former President Tyler served in
the provisional Confederate Con-
gress, then was elected to the
House but died before it met.
Senator Humphrey. Democrat.
of Minnesota has just introduced
a bill to make former Presidents
Senators-at-large. a proposal that
also would cover former President
Herbert Hoover. Under the
Humphrey bill, the at-large mem
bers would have all the perquisites
of Senators and could debate but
not vote.
President Truman has until
April 20 to make up his mind
about q Senate race, as the lists
close then for the Missouri pri-
mary In August.