Friendship

George Edward Allen, a Mississippian with deep political roots (his Uncle John of Tupelo managed to serve eight terms in Congress during the Reconstruction, even though he was a loyal veteran of the Confederate army), landed in Washington in 1929 with a lot of debts and a warm and winning personality. Mississippi's late Senator Pat Harrison, a titan of the early New Deal, introduced him around, and soon Allen's sallies were the talk of the town. Before long the plump, genial young man was a close friend of Franklin Roosevelt. Although F.D.R. was never a great admirer of Allen's broad humor, he esteemed his "100% loyalty" and his political insight. In 1933 Roosevelt appointed Allen one of the three commissioners who administer the District of Columbia, and in 1943 he sent him to England on a special Red Cross mission. During the Battle of Britain, Allen became a fast friend of Brigadier General Dwight Eisenhower.

Allen's Touch. In 1944 Allen attended the Democratic Convention and was one of a handful of backroom movers and shakers who persuaded Roosevelt to dump Henry Wallace as Vice President and put Missouri's Senator Harry Truman on the ticket. During the campaign, Allen worked closely with Truman, added many a deft touch to his campaign speeches, and by inauguration day, he was a member of the innermost Truman Circle. When Truman became President, he rewarded Allen with a job as director of the Reconstruction Finance Corp., but after a year Allen quit. He realized that his best political function was in an offstage capacity, and besides, he had growing private business interests of his own (today he is on the boards of more than 30 companies, is an acknowledged expert in company reorganizations and mergers).

In 1952 Allen told Harry Truman that he was going to switch his lifelong political allegiance and vote for his good friend, Republican Dwight Eisenhower. Replied Truman: "Why, that's all right, George. I once voted for a Republican myself. He was a friend who served in my outfit in the Army." But it wasn't all right. Allen was as witty as ever, and as expert at the bridge table with Ike as he was at the poker table with Truman. He made Ike feel at home at Burning Tree golf course, has been host to the Eisenhowers at his Palm Springs home. It is no coincidence that Ike bought his farm in Gettysburg next door to Allen's own farm. The friendship of the two men has been entirely personal though, and Allen has served no political hitches during the Eisenhower years. And as Allen's friendship with Ike warmed, his friendship with Harry Truman cooled in direct proportion.

Truman's Tirade. Last week, on a trip to Washington, the ex-President was accompanied on one of his early-morning walks by a very young reporter who innocently asked: "Who's George Allen?''

Snapped Truman: He is a "fixer ... a man who would do anything to suck in." In Allen's autobiography, Truman recalled acidly, "he said that he didn't know who the next President would be, but that he would be a friend of his. And it turned out that way." Since 1953, when he left the White House, Truman added, he has seen George Allen just once. "I was at the funeral in New York last year for former Postmaster General Frank Walker. Allen came up and slapped me on the back and said, 'Howdy, Mr. President.' I said, 'I thought you were down in Washington.' That's all that was said."

Genial George Allen had no comment on Truman's story. Instead, he helicoptered off to Gettysburg with Ike for a weekend of golf.

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