Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-01-21
ID Term Opens
With Prayer
By President
Perfect Weather
Marks Ceremony
On Capitol Hill
BY CROSBY S. MOVES

~ OAsOcO4 De INOA Ed
With a prayerful plea for
divine guidance, Dwight D. Eli
senhower today reaffirmed his
leadership Of the Nation and the
free world for the next four
years.
Standing solemn and bare
headed before an admiring
throng Of spectators massed in
the Capitol Plaza, the grazing
ier-stateSman sWore once
again to faithfully execute the
office Of President" and to
preserve, protect and defend
the Constitution Of the United
States"
The brief oath was adminis-
tered by Chief Justice Warren
who once renounced his own
presidential ambitions for the
Supreme Court. The climax of
the ceremony came at 1924 pm.
under clearing skies after a
morning of damp and chilly wait
ing by many thousands Of
spectators.
AT the conclusion of his oath,
President Eisenhower turned to
the crowd and launched into the
delivery Of his second inaugural
address. His solemn words BOOM
ed out over loudSpeakers domi-
mating the Capitol Place and
were carried to the crowd lining
the parade route along Pennsyl-
vania avenue.
A few minutes earlier Richard
M. Nixon was sworn in as Vice
President by his fellow Cali
fornian. Senate Minority Leader
IKnowland. Mr.. Nixon. on whom
Imany of President Eisenhower's
cherished hopes depend, received
ian encouraging round of ap-
Iplause as he took the oath.
For color and pageantry, the
spectacle left nothing to be de-
lsired, although since it was .
second inaugural, some of the
drama of past occasions YVES
missing. Here was no great
Ichange -Elo sudden shifting Of
the burden of leadership to new
shoulders. The faces on the
platform above the crowd were
familiar faces. And when Pres
ident Eisenhower launched into
his inaugural address, the en-
Iphasis was on continuity of lead
ership. rather than on any rad
ical new departures.
And yet. IN one sense, this in
augural was unique. For the first
time in American history, a
President at the very height of
his personal power was speaking
what amounted to a valedictory.
To-day. as a matter of law, Pres
ident Eisenhower was making his
last inaugural address. Four
years from now, whatever hap
pened. a new leader would be
standing in his place, making his
pledge to the Nation.
The crowd, responding warmly
as ever to the almost magical
magnetism of the man, seemed
! to sense this. First and foremost
they were on hand to pay tribute
to a leader-the soldier with the
smile who, in four years. had be.
come indisputably the most pow
erful political figure in the coun-
try and perhaps in the whole
Free World. His place on the
pinnacle was secure-confirmed
last November by the greatest
popular Endorsement ever given
to any American President.
Challenge Is Clear
At the same time, since in
augurals look to the future. the
challenge was clear enough: The
great personal prestige and
popularity of the President Of
Ifered unique opportunity for
leadership in a world in which
lea hip was desperately
needed. Could it also somehow
be transformed into an endur-
ing legacy to be passed on to
those who would come after
him?
The question would dominate
the political horizon in the
months to come. Today, it
focused unusual attention on the
sturdy, dark-haired man sitting
near the President on the plat
form and the increasingly cru
cial role in the direction of the
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