Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-10-18

for officials and residents in
Washington, but he certainly
has added a touch Of glamour
to those he has.
When he appeared last
week at his dinner for Presi-
dent Lopez Mateos Of Mexico
wearing the golden yellow
silken sash Of the Order of
the Azetc Eagle across the
stiff shirt front of his full
dress suit, and again when
he wore a bemedalled ribbon
below his white tie at his
dinner for Queen Elizabeth,
Americas only "court"-i.e,
a White House formal func-
tion-took on a new look of
elegance.
The rare sight of a United
States President wearing a
foreign decoration-eSpeci-
ally the dazzling sash type
invariably worn by all royal
chiefs of state-caused a
string of questions to bubble
forth.
QUESTION: Has any other
President in our history worn
q foreign decoration while
in the White House?
ANSWER: Nobody this
columnist talked to, who was
either connected with the
White House or wrote about
1t, can remember any Presi-
dent as far back as 60 years
ago being so adorned.
y
QUESTION = How about
earlier PTesidentS2
ANSWERED. is not likely
any earlier Chief Executives
wore them because the
American Constitution for
babe the United States off,
Gals from accepting ANY
present, emolument, Office, or
title of any kind whatever,
from any king, prince or
foreign state" without the
consent of the Congress.
All Presidents, including
Eisenhower, have made a
practice of refusing such
decorations.
QUESTION = Then how
did President Eisenhower re-
ceive his?
ANSWER-There are two
periods in our history when
the constitutional ban was
lifted by congressional legis-
lation for military personnel
only. During World Wars I
and II a law was passed to
permit persons in the armed
services to receive decora-
tions and awards from our
allies from the outset of the
war until a period sometime
after the fighting had ceased.
After World War II the pc
Rod extended until 1947.
President Eisenhower re-
ceived his Mexican decora-
ton in 1916 upon his tri-
umphal return from Europe,
and only brought it out upon
the occasion of the Mexican
Chief of States visit. It is
reported that the Mexicans
were so touched when they
saw that he had donned
their most cherished foreign
decoration for the occasion,
that some of the men we're
actually misty-eyed.
4 4 4
QUESTION-How does 1t
happen that other Presidents
who previously had served
with distinction in wars
either did not have foreign
decorations, too, or did not
wear them?
4, ANSWER: The practice Of
presenting foreign decora-
tons did not really get
started until World War I,
and it was not until World
War II that it became wide
spread. The United States
didn't even have a decoration
to give to foreigners until
World War II when the Le-
gion of Merit and Medal of
Merit came into existence.
The latter is now obsolete.
Also it was not until after
World War I that a chief
of state (King Albert of the
Belgians) visited this coun-
try, thereby providing the
suitable occasion for parti-
cular presidential apparel.
u II
CONCLUSION: Dwight D.
Eisenhower is the first Presi-
dent with both the privilege
and the reason for wearing a
foreign sash across his chest.
WANT TO LOSE 5
Pc U N ID ) IN TWO hours?
Leonard Bernstein can tell
you how to do it, or at least
how he does it. He simply
conducts a symphony orches-
ira for one concert and after
wards he weighs 5 pounds
less than he did when he
started. Even if you stood
up and waved the arms,
gyrated the torso and spun
the head for two hours with
the vigor of the great young
composer conduct tor, we
might not lose that amount.
I imagine some of the in
tense mental concentration
that goes into leading a full
symphony orchestra might
also have something to do
with the shedding of pound
age.