"If He Feels He's Able"

In Washington one night last week, Republican National Chairman Leonard Hall summoned a cluster of advisers to an urgent conference. Chairman Hall was going to see the President of the U.S. the next day, and he knew that what he said after their meeting would be subjected to microscopic analysis around the world. Hall did not expect to get a commitment about Dwight Eisenhower's political intentions, but he wanted to come out of the President's office with word that would help to maintain the suspense until the time comes for "Yes" or "No." After long and careful discussion with his staff, Leonard Hall decided what he would say.

Before dawn the next day, the G.O.P. chairman rolled out of Washington toward Gettysburg in a black limousine. At 10:15 he was ushered into the President's temporary office in the Gettysburg post office. It was the first time the President and his staff officer in charge of politics had conferred since Sept. 10, two weeks before the heart attack. After 45 minutes, a smiling Leonard Hall emerged, and happily threw away the script he had so carefully prepared.

He Didn't Say No. Would the President run for reelection? Hall answered with by far the boldest words he had permitted himself to use since Sept. 24: "I think he will, if he feels he's able." For 25 minutes after that, the correspondents probed and pried and dug at the G.O.P. chairman, but he did not budge from his position. "I can only give you my opinion," he said. "I did not get anything directly or indirectly. He did not say 'Yes' and he did not say 'No.' I feel encouraged."

Leonard Hall did not tell the reporters what encouraged him the most. During their 45 minutes, he told Dwight Eisenhower what he planned to say to the press. Significantly, the President told him to make it stronger, to be more optimistic. Hall was more than happy to comply. Reporters and politicians were inclined, like Hall, to make some adjustments in their calculations about 1956.

From the moment Hall made his statement, the utterances of all men close to the President were examined with new interest. At a dinner of the Advertising Council in Manhattan, White House Chief of Staff Sherman Adams had his listeners hanging on every syllable as he said that the very first time he saw the President after the attack, Ike told him: "If the doctors here didn't tell me differently, I would think this heart attack belonged to some other guy."

"Everything in My Power." When G.O.P. leaders from all over the U.S. gathered during the week in Chicago to plan for the 1956 national convention, the big question hung over every word and act. The faithful listened politely to speeches by Cabinet members, but they preferred to talk quietly and earnestly about what any of their number had heard from Gettysburg. They were cheered by but not entirely sure how to interpret the message they received from Dwight Eisenhower: "I personally am proud of Republican achievements for the peace and the prosperity and the security of the American people. I shall do everything in my power next year to help you report the record accurately and fully to the country."

While they were nervous, most Republican leaders were willing to let the President take his own time about deciding and announcing. Only California's Senator William Knowland counseled that the President should speak up soon, "to give the party and the country ample notice." Both strategy and precedent* are on the side of delay. If the President decides to run, the time factor is unimportant. If he decides not to run, an early announcement might please Bill Knowland, but it would not do much for the nation or the party. An announced decision not to run would diminish the President's influence at home and abroad, and would set off a shooting match in the G.O.P. Delay would give Ike and the men around him greater opportunity to influence the choice of a nominee.

Dwight Eisenhower must undergo a series of tests, both in the hospital and on the job, before he can be sure about the degree of his recovery. As of last week, there was every indication that he has an open mind about 1956. On personal and political grounds, the most likely prospect is that Ike will take his time about announcing his 1956 intentions.

* In 1940 Franklin Roosevelt did not announce that he was a candidate, told Democrats on July 16 that he was not a candidate, was nominated the next day. In 1944 Roosevelt announced on July 11, a week before the Democratic Convention began, that he would accept a fourth term. Harry Truman announced on March 8, 1948 that he would run, revealed on March 29, 1952 that he would not.

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