For the Fourth Time

Snow fell the night before, turning to sleet in the morning. On the White House lawn, most of the 13 Roosevelt grandchildren were out early in their snowsuits, coasting on the gentle slopes.

Inside, Franklin Roosevelt went to church services. With 250 members of his official family, he sat in the East Room, joined in the singing (O God, Our Help in Ages Past), listened to the prayers--including one for the enemy.

Late in the morning, on the lawn where the children had played, the crowd began to gather. Diplomats had been told to leave their frock coats at home, and did. Only two top hats were visible: on Charles M. Dale, a Governor (New Hampshire), and on George Jessel, a comedian. The crowd came in overcoats and galoshes, sloshed about in mud and slush.

Thirty feet above, behind the Ionic columns of the south portico, the small circle of great and near great began to form: Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members, close Presidential advisers, and their wives. Promptly at noon, at the time prescribed by law, the short and simple fourth-term inauguration began. The Marine Band, thin and brassy in the cold winter air, burst into Hail to the Chief.

The 13th Year. The Right Rev. Angus Dun, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, prayed: Almighty God, for the sake of this people, and of all peoples, lift those who bear authority among us above the claims of class. . . . Make them in truth the resolute servants of the common good. Neat, grey Harry Truman, onetime Senator from Missouri, stepped forward and took the oath as Vice President.

Then came that dreadful moment when Franklin Roosevelt must rise in public. Those below could not notice, but those on the portico could see what a supreme effort it takes to hoist himself up. He rose. Spurning a cape offered by his son James, he walked to the black podium, bareheaded and in a blue suit. He was grave and solemn. His big shoulders and his suntanned face with the resolute jaw were all that was visible to the crowd below. Immediately below the portico were 7,806 invited guests, including the Roosevelt grandchildren (see cut);* in the Ellipse stood 3,000 more. The President gazed at the crowd, then lifted his eyes to the Washington Monument, and to the Jefferson Memorial beyond.

As the applause died down, Franklin Roosevelt placed his right hand on his old family Bible, on the same page where it has rested at five previous inaugurations/-: the 13th Chapter of 1st Corinthians, which ends: And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. His repetition of the oath, after it had been intoned by Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, was clear and firm, ending with the familiar so help me God.

Of Peace. His large hands firm on the podium, his breath turning to vapor in the raw winter wind, Franklin Roosevelt then delivered his shortest inaugural speech (573 words). It would probably never be considered a great speech, but it indicated the President's mood and temper. There was no reference to domestic affairs, nothing but a passing remark on the war. The President's thoughts that day were on the kind of world that will follow the peace:

"In the days and the years that are to come we shall work for a just and honorable peace, a durable peace. . . . We shall strive for perfection. We shall not achieve it immediately--but we shall strive. . . .

"We have learned lessons--at a fearful cost--and we shall profit by them.

"We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace. . . . We have learned that we must live as men, and not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger. . . .

"We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that 'the only way to have a friend is to be one.' "

Down below, the crowd had been mouse-quiet, so that it even heard the whirring of the newsreel cameras. Now it burst into polite, gloved applause.

The Guests. The speech over, and Hail to the Chief again ringing in his ears, the President went back inside, to the Red Room. Also inside streamed 2,000 invited guests, for luncheon. It was the biggest reception of the twelve Roosevelt years in the White House, but it was also spare. The President had wanted chicken a la king. But he was overruled by the housekeeper, who settled for chicken salad. The rest of the lunch: hard rolls without butter, unfrosted pound cake, coffee.

Present were all the bigwigs of Washington, some little wigs, and a host of loyal Democrats from all over. They all filed by to shake the hands of Eleanor Roosevelt and Bess Truman. (The President received in the Red Room, for close friends.) The characters of the day turned out to be a farmer from Morris, Minn., and his wife. Anton Ettesvold had won a competition staged by a Yankton (S. Dak.) radio station as "the typical Midwest farmer." His reward was a trip to Washington, where he was invited to the inauguration by Mrs. Roosevelt.

When it came time to eat, Mrs. Ettesvold took up a plate, found a chair, and sat down. Everyone else was standing. Another woman walked up, introduced herself and said: "My father gave $5,000 to this campaign and here I am, standing up."

Said Mrs. Ettesvold: "We always sit down to eat in our part of the country."

Lunch lasted well into the afternoon, and was shortly followed by tea for "all those who didn't come to lunch." In the interval, Eleanor Roosevelt was discovered in a corner, teaching Bess Truman how to make entertaining less tiring by relaxing the knees. "I've learned from long experience," said Eleanor Roosevelt.

For dinner that night the Roosevelts had their first rib roast in months.

* Elliott's Elliott Jr., 8; Princess Ragnhild of Norway; Elliott's David, 3; Prince Harald of Norway; John's Anne, 2, and Haven, 4; Anna's John, 5; James's Kate, 8; Elliott's Chandler, 10. Grandchildren there but not in picture: Anna's Sistie, 17, and Buzzie, 14; James's Sara, 12; Elliott's William Donner, 12; Franklin Jr.'s Franklin III, 6, and Christopher, 3.

/- Two as Governor of New York, three as President.

* A notable absentee: PAChairman Sidney Hillman, who was on the West Coast.

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