Presidents at Play

A picture of former President Harry S. Truman cavorting in the Key West surf usually brought affectionate chuckles from Democrats and sarcastic grunts from Republicans. Now that Eisenhower is in office, his Grand Old friends smile fondly at him ambling down the links intent on breaking 100. His political opponents mumble something about first things first.

More important, however, than the fact Truman swam and Eisenhower golfs, is how their respective vacations have interfered with the job of president. Roosevelt had an excellent system for assuring the public and Republicans that his vacations were well spent. He merely labeled Hydc Park the "Summer White House," Palm Springs the "Vacation White House," and said Shangri-La, his Maryland retreat, had the prefect atmosphere for writing important speeches.

Eisenhower has shown almost as much finesse by posing, with that smile, beside mothers, infants, and Bobby Jones. One might say he fully utilizes his "just another nice old guy" appeal by frequently appearing at social functions in Augusta.

"If you can't lick 'cm, join 'cm" was Truman's method. He guarded himself by inviting reporters, Cabinet members, and friends to swim with him. His selection of shirts also helped him show that he was just any other hard worked executive on a needed vacation. With those hybrid Hawaiian Crosby choices, he eclipsed everything except his lined but happy face.

The only fair comparison, though, is a statistical one, and since Eisenhower has only had three months to play, the contrast must be with the first three months after Truman's inauguration in 1949.

Mr. Truman seemed to favor lengthy vacations. In March of 1949, he and his little family spent two weeks in the surf and sunshine at Key West. During this time the Atlantic Treaty Pact was signed, and he communicated daily with Secretary of State Acheson and other Department officials. He followed this "work while you play" pattern throughout his seven years in office. Roughly twelve percent of his first three months as Chief Executive was spent at vacation retreats.

The short, frequent vacation appeals to President Eisenhower. Since his inauguration he has taken three vacation totalling six days. Not only does he golf but paints pictures of his golfing friends. He is a strong proponent of the "vacations are for fun" theory, and holds a minimum of press conferences. So far he has spent seven percent of his term playing.

Although the statistics decidedly favor President Eisenhower, Truman had very little vacation while he was completing Roosevelt's fourth term. And, naturally, we cannot yet accurately judge the present President's capacity for good times. It will be interesting to see how often he will think it is time for a change.