The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1956-07-06
ALL GREAT POSTS NEED
FULL HEALTH AND VIGOR
hY VICTOR MEEKINS

When the president of the
United States is mildly sick or
seriously ill, the people never get
the. full and complete facts about
it. Those who surround him see to
it that the public believes he will
soon be up and out and giving his
full time to his job which job is
the most demanding, the most ex-
acting and the most important one
in the world. The group who sur
rounds to president does not re-
mind the public that days on end
go by without the president being
able to attend to a single official
duty; that countless decisions of
great moment to the nation and
the world are made by men who
are mere subordinates. At the best
of it, the president when he is well,
makes only the big decisions which
others cannot make; when he is
ill, all the decisions are made by
others. If they are not made at all,
then it is not we'll for them to
hang fire for long period of time.
We do not know on any occasion
how seriously i'll the president has
been. But we do know this; we
are never told, and are not going
to be told, and we can say it again
that the president has been more
sick and in more danger than his
associates have admitted, on the
two occasions during the past year
when he has been seriously and
dangerously i'll and in hospital for
weeks at a time.
We do know this; that the long
periods of time the president has
had to be away from his work are
longer than they should have been.
No important job can be filled if
the head of it has to be away the
greater part of the time. 1t is diff
ficult to realize that any smart and
patriotic man cannot see this, and
he would see it perhaps, were he
not saturated with loyalty toward
those who surround him. President
Eisenhower has demonstrated at
all times that he stands by his
team, he defends his men, so per-
haps he mistakes their fervent
protestations of faith in him for
sincere devotion and is grateful
therefor.
We know too that no man who
has been unable to give even half
his time to the most exacting job
on earth, will also have no time
this fall to devote to what prom
Uses to be one of the most vigorous
campaigns for ten election to the
presidency. We think it is cruel and
indecent to demand that a person
in the Presidents condition, run
for office, regardless. Yet out of
their desperation and dearth of
timber, that is what the Republican
leaders of this country are doing.
By every hook and crook they en-
deavor to force Eisenhower to run
for office, so many of them there
by showing they care nothing for
his health, his happiness and the
welfare of their country. They
know only one thing, that regard
less of cost and future conditions,
good or bad, they wish to keep the
Republican label on the national
administration.
We have had no cause to do
other than regard the president as
a great soldier, a great American,
great patriot. We have had no
complaint of the manner in which
he has met and held his own
against difficult conditions. We
realize from reading history that
all nations in all ages have found
their problems most complex and
often disastrous, following great