Evening star., 1955-06-16
EISENHOWER
Continued From First Page

SOHtIHuCu EEOH EuSS dSt
assigned to the President. were
halted by the military and kept
away from the site at which
the NSC was assembling.
j. Edgar Hoover, director o1
the FBI, which would have tt
round up potential conspirator'
and saboteurs in the event of 6
real attack, was added to the
NSC group that met with the
President.
Vice President Nixon was moi
present at the underground Pen
tagon meeting because Congress
was not evacuated from Wash
ington in this exercise. Mr.. Nixor
stayed with his regular job o1
presiding over the Senate.
This was Mr.. Eisenhower
first visit to the emergency De-
tense Department headquarters
He made a brief tour of inspec-
ton before the NSC meeting be-
gan.
Peterson Gives Briefing
There was first a "brief1ng" of
the NSC on the early results and
problems of Operation Alert.
This 30-minute report was given
by Val j. Peterson, Federal civil
defense director.
Before leaving his base, the
President worked at his desk,
signing documents and reading
official papers concerned with
the routine conduct of Govern
ment and not with the civil de-
fense emergency. Cameramen
were allowed to photograph the
interior of his Office, but were
not permitted to take any pic
lures from the outside since
geographic features conceivably
could be tip-of to its location.
On his desk were combina-
tion of expensive and cheap
com munication equipment.
There was a big talk box" con-
nected directly with an all-Gov-
ernment radio circuit and
microphone into which the
President could talk directly with
officials at any or all of the 81
relocation centers scattered over
o 300-mile radius from Washing
ton.
Two "Toy" Phones
There also were two "toy" tele-
phones, which retail for about
S.. serving as inter -communica-
tion sets so the President could
talk with his personal secretary, !,
Ann Whitman. and his staff Sec
retary. Col. Andrew j. Good
paster.
He breakfasted with his ply
sician, DR.. Howard McC. Snyder,
and conferred during the morn
ing with Harold E. Stassen, di-
rector of the Foreign Operations
Administration and White House
assistant for disarmament prob
lens.
For the second day of the
exercise. the President enjoyed
a bright. sunny but cool day.
The President had fed his own
capital more than three hours
ahead of the enemy bombers that
destroyed" it, but he was operat-
ing as the head of a government
that still possessed cohesive Or
ganiZation and not as "parti-
san leader" cut off from direct
communication with his civilian
and military chiefs.
TV Circuit Used
A closed circuit Government
operated television circuit that
allowed him to chat privately
and face to face with the chair
man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
or to report in person to the
people Of the Nation was one
example Of technical efficiency.
Some of this was a war game, 81
o test Of how the Nation might
react to a real atomic attack.
But much Of the communications
traffic that flowed into this secret
White House last night was seri-
Gus: The regular business of o.
Government from which a Presi-
dent cannot divorce himself for
three days no matter how impor-
tant the mock exercise may be.
The President had to keep on
top of the developing interna-
tional situation and give last
minute instruction to Secretary
Of State Dulles. who was in New
York ready to enter on vital
negotiations with our Western
allies on a common policy look
ing toward the Big Four meeting
In Geneva, Switzerland, in mid
July.
There were telephones, tele-
types and the most modern
cryptographic machines available
TO carry on the discussions be-