Show KSSlcontinued dent I told him in words of one syllable' that I would not— (hat I had oily recently become a Senator and that 1 wanted to' work at it for about 10 yean" This letter marked the first appearance of an idea that was going to wreak havoc in Bess' life Herold foe history was stalking her again At tire 1944 Democratic National Convention in Chicago Bess still could have forced Harry Thnnan to issue an absolute unshakable no a refusal on the order of General Sherman’s historic turndown of the Presidential nomination in 1884 She could have told him that the whole idea of him one day becoming President and her becoming First Lady was intolerable to her But there was an invisible line in their partnership that Bess never crossed —a line that divided a wife’s power overher husband between influence and control Bess never hesitated to try to inference Harry Truman's decisions Bid she never attempted to control him— especially in those lonely moments when he confronted his deepest self the instinct that drove him to risk the pain and sacrifice of meeting history head-o- n This was the most awesome of those moments Bess allowed him to accept its inevitability even though she dreaded thepain it might cause her There is a picture showing Mother and me as the fund count was announced 1 am cheering nty head off Mother is barely able to muster a smile At 20 of course I reveled in the pandemonium and was relatively unbofeered by the suffocating heat 1 had also been having a good time in Chicago while Mother suffered through Mgukharf days and tlffplffft nights She was losing the serene comfortable life of a Senator's wife which she had worked so hard to master She was 59 years old and all her life she had been making sacrifices for people putting herself and her concerns second to her mother’s peace of mind her brothers’ welfare her daughter’s health her husband’s career 12 1945 was a rainy day Dad April was flying to Providence the following morning to give a speech to the Rhode Island Democrats and Bess eyed the lowering clouds worried as always whenever her husband took to the air About 6 o’clock the telephone rang and 1 answered it In an odd tight voice Dad asked to speak to Mother When I tried to kid with him in our usual style he cut me off and ordered me to put Mother on the line “Bess” Harry Truman said "I'm at the White House President Roosevelt died about two hours ago in Warm Springs I'm sending a car for you and Margaret 1 want you here when I'm sworn in" At the White House Bess asked if she could see Mrs Roosevelt This 3 fed gesture showed how tbor-thstrong will had regained at ofherturbulent Wallace emotions It would have been understandable if a woman who hadjust received such stunning news had simply reeled to her husband's side and awaited orders But Bess demonstrated in what might be called her first official act as die new President’s wife her ability to find her own distinct role I think that Mrs Roosevelt appreciated our visit She was with her aaughter Anna Both were grave but composed Bess expressed our deep sympathy and sorrow She meant every word of it Although Mother had been critical of President Roosevelt’s political tactics she had been charmed by him when they met face to face Mrs Roosevelt thanked her and said: T just told Harry I am ready to do anything I can to help That of course applies to you too" Bess thanked her and we hurried to the Cabinet Room where Cabinet members and Congressional leaders had assembled to see the new President sworn in I remember glancing at Mother as Dad raised his hand to take the oath of office Her eyes were red from weeping But her face was calm her lips ram I find that amazing now If the scene was dreamlike to me who had more or less grown up in Washington DC it mist nave seemed incredible to Bess remembering the night in 1910 when she had invited that shy but strangely youngfarmer into her living room an North Delaware St In those chauvinistic days women repoiicn usually covered the First Ladyh ride of the White House They had a separate organization for which Mrs Roosevelt had held weeklypressconfer- self-confid- ences Mother had already received a message from Mrs Roosevelt suggesting she continue this custom It goes without saying that the newspaperwomen were extremely anxious for her to do so Mother said no The squawks from the frustrated reporters were tremendous But Mother stood her ground She had no desire to compete in the public mind with Eleanor Roosevelt This did not mean she had changed her mind about Eleanor Roosevelt She remained an admirer of her energy and idealism But Mother felt quite rightly I think that admiration did not necessarily require imitation Bess Wallace Thiman was determined to chart her own course as First Lady There was one subject that Harry Tmmandid not mention in his letters to Bess while attending the Potsdam Conference Throughout the last weeks of July he got a stream of reports from the test of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico In the opening paragraphs of his letter summing up the conference he made an oblique reference to it He remarked that he had "an ace in the hole" if Stalin refused to reach an agreement Obviously Bess knew about the existence of fee bomb But it is also clear dun Dad did not discuss wife her the decision to drop it John Snyder one of Dad’s longtime associates recalls feat Bess was deeply disturbed by this new weapon "Wnat do you think of it?" she asked him "Should we have dropped it?" John told her it was necessary to end the war and save American— and Japanese— lives Bess accepted the explanation without comment But she found herself wishing that Harry Thnnan had consulted her on this momentous decision Shewas forced to face a very unpleasant fact She had become a spectator rather than a partner in Harry Truman's Presidency That rude her very angry She felt more and more superfluous This feeling combined with her original opposition to Harry Thiman becoming President to build a smoldering anger that was tantamount to an emotional separa- Around this time Bess found herself embroiled in one of the nastiest political crossfires offee Thiman Presidency It started wife her acceptance of an invitation from the Daughters of the American Revolution to a tea in her honor at Wuhington’s Constitution Hall The announcement of this forthcoming event raised the hackles of Rep Adam Oayton Pswell of New York a thoroughly unpleasant demagogue on race and anything else feat could get him a little publicity ItoweQ announced that his wife pianist Hazel Scott had been refused permission to perform in Constitution Hill because of her color This stirred memories of an ugly incident in 1939 when the singer Marian Anderson had been barred from Constitu-tk- m Halfby the DAR because of her race Mrs Roosevelt had resigned in protest from the DAR Representative fas-el- l sentatelegram to Bos the day before the tea urging her not to attend He went out or his way to compare what she was doing to Eleanor Roosevelt's protest "1 can assure you” he wrote hint no good will be accomplished by attending and much harm wUlbe done Ifyou believe in 100 percent Americanism you will publicly denounce the DAR’s action Bess stood her ground She was not a segregationist but she was also not a crusader She wired back feat "fee invitation was extended prior to the unfortunate controversy which had arisen In my opinion the acceptance of the hospitality is not related to fee merits of the issue I deplore any action which denies artistic talent an opportunity to express itself because of prejudice against race origin" President Tuman backed Bess up wife a telegram of his own which reminded Mr Rswell that we had just won a war against totalitarian countries that made racial discrimination their state policy He said that he despised such a philosophy but in a free society neither he nor Mrs Tuman had the power to force a private organization to change its policy In his heart Dad knew this telegram was a mistake He was far more inclined to condemn the DAR He was already formulating plans for one of the great breakthmghs against discrimination the integration of the armed forces But Bess had decided she was not going to let a Congressman teU her where me could mot s Man m nas nutuc |