Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-09
CONTINUED From First Page

capacitated.
Mr.. Hagerty said administra.
ton officials are keeping in touch
with developments at the hos
pital through Presidential AS.
sistant Sherman Adams and Mr.
Eisenhower's staff secretary, Col
Andrew Goodpaster. Mr.. Adams
and Col. Goodpaster were at the
hospital in the early morning
hours.
Later. Mr.. Hagerry said, hi
telephoned bulletins to one OF
the other of the men for relay.
ing to other administration lead.
ers.
Mr.. Hagerty said he also i.
keeping Vice President Nixon in
formed by telephone on the Pres.
ident'S progress.
Asked if there is a master
plan" for continuing executive
department functions during the
Presidents illness, Mr.. HagertS
said there is. He said he knew
of nothing requiring immediate
signature by Mr.. Eisenhower.
The press secretary, haggarC
and red-eyed, conducted six o.
seven press conferences during
the night.
First Report at ASS A. M.
Mr.. Hagerty's first terse report
on the successful" operation
as relayed to newsmen at Ash
am, said:
1.-THE operation was concluded
at 4:52 am.
THE operation was successful
"The Presidents poSt-operativC
condition is very satisfactory.
HE left the operating table ir
excellent condition"
Mr.. Hagerty, on the hospita.
third floor himself, telephoneC
the cheering news to Dewey
Long, White House commune
cations chief, seated beside q
special White House telephone
in the emergency press room.
Mr.. Long read out the state
ment word by word as Mr.. Hag-
erty dictated it to him.
Decision to Operate
Mr.. Hagerty was tense as HI
announced the decision to oper.
ate to about rs newsmen.
The decision to operate came
a little more than "a hour.
after the President began sui.
fering pain in his abdomen-first
reported as an upset stomach,
then as inflammation of the small
intestine. and finally diagnosed
as a partial obstruction in the
terminal portion of the small
intestine"
Signs of growing worry devel-
oped among the Presidents fam.
lily and close associates as the
diagnosis grew more and more
serious. The tension began cas-
ing off after news Of the success
full operation.
With the Presidents life hang
ing in the balance, no one in
the White House official circle
even mentioned the cloud his
illness raised over his plans to
run for a second term after re-
covering from the heart attack
he suffered in Denver last Sep
TENDER "a.
Carried in on Stretcher
Mr.. Eisenhower, who had
walked into the hospital in Den
yer last September to spend
seven weeks recovering from a
coronary thrombosis, was carried
on a stretcher into Walter Reed
at lao pm. yesterday.
The doctors named by Mr.;
Hagerty, plus some Walter Reed
staff members whose names he
had not taken time to get, con-
suited in a living room of the
presidential suite during the eve
ming and early morning hours.
Shortly after midnight, they
ordered another X-ray of the
Presidents abdomen-the third
taken since he had entered the
hospital. They studied it and
consulted some more.
Then, at 2:15 am. showing
the tension under which he was
laboring by reading so fast that
newSmen had to ask him to slow
up more than once so they could
get his words accurately. Mr.
Hagerty read this statement:
ut is the considered opinion
of the physicians in attendance
that since the previously men,
toned partial obstruction in the
terminal portion of the small
intestine has persisted. an ex-
ploratory operation is necessary
This operation will be under
taken Immediately"
In explanation, Mr.. Hagerty
added:
"An exploratory operation is an
operation to find the cause OF
the obstruction and to relieve
the cause"
Mr.. Hagerty, who had said in
mid-morning yesterday when he
was relaying medical reports that
the President was suffering only
from an upset stomach" that
his "hunch" was the President
would be driving with Mrs. Eisen-
hover to his Gettysburg farm to-
day, showed his anxiety again by
telling a reporter who wanted to
know who was actually doing the
operating that Il am not going
to deviate from what / have got