Speak Softly

At last week's press conference, President Eisenhower, although he didn't say so, borrowed a leaf from his Republican predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt. Agreeing with Defense Secretary Charles E. Wilson, who had complained that Americans have been doing too much "atom rattling" by scare headlines and speeches warning of the nation's military might, the President said he has spent some little time at war, and he didn't think that big and bombastic talk was the thing that other people fear.

A number of campaigns were fought over in Europe, the President observed, and he didn't recall once issuing a pre-campaign statement that his forces were big and strong and mighty and tough and were going to beat somebody's brains out. By the same token, the Administration is just going about its business like Americans ought to, he hoped.

In other words, Dwight Eisenhower had adopted T.R.'s maxim: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Last week the President also:

P: Revealed that, on his orders, the presidential Constellation Columbine had brought 16 leave-bound G.I.s from Berlin after taking Secretary of State Dulles to the four-power meeting. The surprised soldiers thought they were assigned to a cargo plane until they boarded.

P:Sent to the Senate the names of 272 nominees for postmasterships. Among them: Neva B. Quick, to be postmistress at Nichols, N.Y. (pop. 578).

P: Vetoed three bills,1954'$ first vetoes. The bills were to authorize commemorative half-dollars for the Louisiana Purchase sesquicentennial, the Northampton, Mass, and New York, N.Y. tercentennials. Explained the President: "Multiplicity of designs on U.S. coins would tend to create confusion among the public and to facilitate counterfeiting."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.