National Affairs: Red Wax, Green Light

One day last week, President Harry Truman pulled out a sheet of his pale green personal stationery and penned a personal letter. A little later, a White House functionary brought in the antiquated equipment necessary for affixing the Presidential Seal. He lit a stick of red sealing wax, allowed some to drip on the envelope and quickly pressed it with a heavy, wrenchlike instrument.

A few minutes later, the letter—addressed in longhand to General Dwight D. Eisenhower—was on its way to the Pentagon offices of the Overseas Courier service. That night, it was flown across the Atlantic, and the next day was hurried to Ike’s headquarters near Rocquen-court. Nobody concerned would say what the message contained.

At his press conference, however, the President gave reporters some idea of his current thinking on the subject of Eisenhower. A reporter asked the President how long he thought it would be necessary for Eisenhower to remain in Europe. The President hesitated a bit before answering. He did not think that the general’s duties would interfere with things that might happen in 1952, said the President, if General Eisenhower happened to be in that frame of mind. Eisenhower will be guided by his sense of duty, the President went on. He is doing a magnificent job in Europe; the President said that he both hoped and believed Eisenhower would continue to do so.