| Show little white house made a sherine story of summer sanctums Sanc tums of U so presidents traced by news analyst and nl commentator washington this summer the warm springs infantile paralysis foundation turned over a little five room house on the mountainside to the state of georgia which will run it As as a museum and national shrine and so another of the little white houses goes back to the people it is the only one in which a president spent his last days in one of its three bedrooms president roosevelt died in its living room he spoke his last words the warm springs house was different from other summer hideaways of presidents because it was really a home the late president roosevelt himself built it in 1932 at a cost of he willed it to the infantile paralysis foundation it was a very simple structure in which the architecture of the locality and a few ideas are blended there are the two bedrooms a third guest room a living room a kitchen and all but there is a view that would make a park avenue penthouse owner jealous like all of the houses which pres ident idena roosevelt occupied this little cottage Is crammed with history much of it still unwritten warm springs was the symbol of Roosevel ts victory over disease and pain since then largely bej cause of his efforts many hundreds of others h have a v e achieved similar victories in the community of which the little li atle white house was a part parl the simple cottage was also the scene of his death he was posing tor for a por baukhage trait when the terrible headache came he had signed his letters tor for the day and in his last signature which I 1 have seen there Is evidence that death already was plucking at his sleeve late in the war when it was difficult to go tar far from washington another summer white house in maryland was established it was given the name shangri la 11 the president himself named it jokingly when because of security reasons during the war its location had to be concealed it was discovered thanks to a slip of the tongue on the part of mrs roosevelt and because absurd stories were written about the tremendous amount of money which had been expended on it as a matter of fact it cost very little to convert it was thrown open to the press one article described its million dollar pool I 1 have seen the pool it is less than 20 feet across polly bogs wiggle in it rocks green with years of moss surround it it has been there a long time and I 1 doubt it if anyone ever had the temerity to bathe in it although shangri la was a deserted boys camp when it was taken over it sits high on a mountain top beside a splashing trout stream surrounded by thick woods today there is one over overstuffed stuffed chair in the corner comer of the solarium that somehow always seems to get turned around at a certain angle turned that way a side table is within easy reach a push button and a hand telephone with an extension number on it lift it and the answer comes white house it connects directly with the switchboard at 1600 pennsylvania avenue it gives me a rather strange feeling to took look at that chair empty and realize what messages went over the telephone beside it what words were dictated while the long cigarette holder bolder moved nervously to the ash tray on the table at its arm president truman has not used shangri aall la very often but when he goes there next he and mrs airs truman will find a retreat which gives them more privacy than probably any other spot on earth tucked away in the deep woods I 1 is s a new little cabin just big enough for two no guest room no parlor just a cozy cottage with a neat modern modem kitchen a dining room sitting room with a fireplace there two Is a company three a crowd A sanctuary any president deserves |
