Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-02-29

when Gen. Eisenhower, in q cele-
brated letter to publisher Leon
ard v. Finder of the Manchester
IN. H. Union Leader. put it as
fatty as ever:
II am not available for and
could not accept nomination to
high political Office"
That was IN January l948. Six
months later. in a similar state
ment. Gen. Eisenhower said he
could not "at this time" get into
partisan politics.
Time went on. Mr.. Eisenhower,
as president Of Columbia Uni
versity, made speeches. He as
sailed high taxes and unbalanced
budgets, cracked at the Truman
administration without mention
ing it by name.
| Visited by Republicans
Beginning in 1850. after his
appointment as Supreme Com
mander of NATO. he was visited
by scores of Republicans urging
him to seek the presidency in
1852. increasingly. they described
themselves as encouraged by the
prospect that he would.
/ Finally. in another letter to
Mr.. Finder. he said he would
accept a nomination If it were
"a matter of duty" And he made
| 1t official with his January de-
claration that he would accept
the G. o. P. nomination il 1t
were offered to him.
/ Early in his White House days
speculation arose as to whether
Mr.. Eisenhower would seek a
second term. This didn't get into
the acute stage until after the
1854 congressional elections. But
from then on the pressure
mounted on him to declare his
intentions - something he has
steadfastly refused to do until
now.
He laughed at some questions,
parted others. asked Tin March
of 1857 years moratorium on
the subject. He gave his sup
porters alternate cause for hope
and dismay. One thought ran
through many Of his pronounce
ments: He didn't think any man
is indispensable" Otherwise, he
asked news conference March
II, 1855. what would become Of
civilization when the indispen-
sable man went the way of all
Iflesh?"
Win without Him?
/ Did he think the Republicans
could win in Sc without him =?
oh. yes, said the President-any
worthy" candidate could win
If the party produced fine pro-
grams for the benefit of all
America"
BY mid-l955 every word, al
most every grimace of the Presi-
dents was studied as a possible
clue to his intentions. He toured
New England. said with a grin
that he wondered II he could
listen in one term to all the nice
things aide Sherman Adams
kept saying about New Hamp-
shire.
Was this a tipoI? A pleas
antry? The latter, said Mr..
Eisenhower - he'd only been
kidding.
! But he sounded a somber-
and. as it turned out, prophetic
note at meeting with some
. Ohio hackers August 3. He spoke
of his duty" But he also men,
toned the physical erosion that
a President suffers. No man, Mr.
Eisenhower recalled, has reached
20 In the White House. He him.
self would be 10 three months
; before the end Of second term
Less than two months later
; the Chief Executive suffered a
, heat attack. And. while the Ma
! tion prayed for his recovery. the
, second term question immedi-
ately took on a grim new di-
: mension.
! 'Mind Is Not Fixed"
It was not until January 8
that Eisenhower mentioned the
subject publicly. Then, in a
chat with reporters at Key West,
a Fla. just before returning to the
White House, he said my mind
at this moment is not fixed
to such an extent that it can't
be changed" And he added his
decision would depend in part
on consultations with trusted
advisers
/ On January 10, meeting with
the press in Washington, Mr..
Eisenhower announced he was
leaving his name in the New
Hampshire primary-but that
any other Republican should
feel free, too, to seek backing
for the presidency in this first
in-the- Nation voting test.
1T would be idle to pretend, +"
said the President, reading care
fully from a prepared statement.
that my health can be wholly
restored to the excellent state in