Assembly Line

The Presidential plane Columbine hummed northward from Bermuda, high over the Atlantic. In his midships cabin, Dwight Eisenhower sat at his desk, making final corrections and checks on the speech he would give, later in the afternoon, before the U.N.'s General Assembly (TIME, Dec. 14). As the President finished each page, he handed it across the aisle to Ann Whitman, his private secretary, who sat before a special I.B.M. electric typewriter equipped with jumbo type. As Mrs. Whitman finished the final proofed copy of the speech, she passed it on to Mary Caffrey, secretary to James Hagerty, who banged out stencils for the duplicating machines.

Back in the tail of the plane, Press Secretary Hagerty, manning a hand-operated machine, cranked out press copies of each stencil. When Hagerty had duplicated 600 copies of each of the nine pages of text, AEC Chairman Lewis Strauss, Presidential Adviser C. D. Jackson and the rest of the presidential party snatched up pages, assembled them in numbered order. At the end of the line stood Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, armed with a hand stapler, who efficiently fastened the copies of the speech together. By the time the Columbine landed in New York, Ike's high-level assembly line had 200 advance copies of the speech ready--enough to satisfy the immediate appetite of the press and radio.

Three Weeks to Go. Ike's speech gained for him--and the U.S.--new influence on the world's somber thoughts of war and peace (see INTERNATIONAL). That evening, Ike went aboard the Columbine again and headed for Washington and one of the biggest jobs his Administration has faced: final preparation of the program which he will present to Congress in just three weeks. His Administration and the Republican Party, the President has solemnly stated, will stand or fall on that program.

Next morning, the President summoned the Cabinet for the first of three meetings in the space of a week. Ike apologized to the Cabinet members for putting them through an 80-hour work week, getting the Budget and the State of the Union message into fine form. But, he explained, he wanted to be as well prepared as possible for his three-day conference this week with the leaders of Congress. Much depended on their suggestions and reactions, and Ike wanted to be fully prepared.

A Powerful Persuader. The President intends to take a strong hand in pushing his program up Capitol Hill next January. He plans to use a powerful persuader to assist him. If Congress balks or bogs down, Ike will simply step.up his schedule of speeches and TV appearances, and tell the public all about it.

In the midst of his busy week, President Eisenhower found time to see his old friend Governor Thomas Dewey, who came down from New York to protest the "unprecedented interference" of the Interstate Commerce Commission with Dewey's efforts to reorganize the bankrupt Long Island Rail Road. The Pennsylvania Railroad had applied to the ICC for a 25% rate increase on the Long Island, which it owns. Dewey felt that, since the Long Island lies wholly within the State of New York, the ICC had no jurisdiction --especially no jurisdiction to raise commuter fares on the residents of two heavily Republican counties. Ike promised to look into the matter.

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