Medford mail tribune., April 03, 1960, Image 41

Family Weekly April 3, i960
I II it n 1 1 " TT
To the President and Mrs. Eisenhower, John's and Barbara's presence makes any affair more gala.
In recent months, the President has come
to depend on John and Barbara more and more,
and despite their busy personal lives
they've met the toughest challenges
By FLORA RHETA SCHREIBER
NEW
OF
THE YOUNG
EISENHOWERS
On Ike's tour of India, such moments of "relaxation" were rare.
In Washington, D.C., a tall, shy young man leaves
the third floor of the White House, where he
has spent the night, and goes to work as an assist
ant White House, stall secretary to Brig. Gen.
Andrew Goodpaster, who is in charge of liaison
between the Presidential offices, the State Depart
ment, and the Pentagon.
In Gettysburg, Pa., a tall, slender, dark-haired
woman with full hazel eyes and a round smiling
face steps out of a simple two-story frame home,
a remodeled schoolhouse, to visit the local hos
pital, where she is a nurse's aide.
These are John and Barbara Eisenhower, the son
and daughter-in-law of the President.
Seeing John at this moment, one does not sus
pect that his are anything but the routine duties
of an Army officer assigned to the White House.
Yet according to close observers, John, whose
opinions carry great weight with his father, plays a
major role in the conduct of White House business.
Seeing Barbara at this moment, one does not
connect her with the woman who, as her father-in-law's
unofficial hostess, danced with ambassa
dors, dined with premiers and presidents, and had
an audience with the Pope.
When I asked John to describe his White House
duties, he said simply: "My work involves briefing
the President on matters pertaining to national
security, assisting in the handling of staff action
in this field, and miscellaneous activities which
might include assisting in the editing of speeches
or acting as a member of the advance party for
a Presidential trip."
As an "advance" man, John went with a team
of seven others to South America about three
weeks in advance of his father's own trip. Then,
on Feb. 15, he again went to Latin America, to be
based in Buenos Aires, to greet his father and the
Presidential party upon their arrival.
In June, when the President leaves for his long-
awaited, much-heralded trip to Russia, it is as
sumed that John, who will be part of his party,
will again precede him as "advance man."
These facts, however, are only a small part of
the true picture of John Eisenhower's increasingly
important White House role. His arrival preceded
Sherman Adams' departure by three months. The
President, who said of Sherman Adams, "I need
him," has transferred some of that need to his own
son. Sustaining a much greater loss with the death
of John Foster Dulles, Ike has turned to his son
to help fill that void, too. In the 16 months that
John has been in the White House, he has been
the sounding board, the confidant, and, not infre
quently, the actual adviser of his father.
Says George A. Horkan, a Middleburg, Va.,
lawyer and close friend of John since early child
hood: "I hate to think of history labeling John
only as a pleasant young man when, in reality, he
is of substantial value in the White House. His
Family Wetkly, April 1. I960