A Horse for the President

Canadians are quite used to seeing Prime Minister Mackenzie King* walk around unguarded. Many an Ottawan has had his first glimpse of the P.M. as he got off a train, ambled slowly through Union Station with only a secretary in attendance. He likes to pop in on parties unannounced; at one gathering in Ottawa a fortnight ago his presence was not noticed until he came up behind another guest with a platter of snacks and said: "Wouldn't you like one of these? They're quite good."

Consequently, Ottawans sniffed with amusement last week when what seemed like a regiment of U.S. Secret Service men descended on the capital to prepare for this week's visit of President Truman.

The Secret Service sleuths cased the suburban railroad station at which the President was to disembark, spotted places where they would station guards. Along roads and streets where the President would ride (in an armored, bulletproof car shipped from Washington), the Secret Service men made notes on sharp turns, dangerous intersections, rough spots where cautious driving would be necessary. At Chateau Laurier, where the President would be an honor guest at a state luncheon, they interviewed the waiters. At Governor General Alexander's Rideau Hall, they even insisted on inspecting the rooms where the Trumans would sleep.

To Ottawans, who like the free & easy manner of their own bigwigs, all this seemed like unnecessary fuss & feathers. Said the Ottawa Journal: "This is the American way.. . . The fact is that President Truman could walk alone in any Ottawa street ... in as complete safety as he enjoyed when he was a haberdasher in a small Midwest town.* He might be asked for his autograph, but that would be all."

One Ottawan, noting all the excitement, suggested that the city should make a real show of it. He proposed that the plans for a motorcycle escort be abandoned, that the President be conducted wherever he went by Royal Canadian Mounties on horseback. Everyone thought it was an admirable idea. Mountie bosses said: "We'd like nothing better, but we haven't got the horses."

*Who this week entered his 21st year as Prime Minister. If he stays in office until April 20 of next year (highly probable), he will break the alltime record for Empire Prime Ministers, set by Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of Great Britain from April 1721 to February 1742. *The bemused Journal should mind its geography. Kansas City has 400,000 population; Ottawa, 155,000.

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