The President's News Conference

THE PRESIDENT. Please be seated.

I have no special announcements to make. I made the only announcement I had today, already. So if you want to ask me questions, I will try to answer them.

[1.] Q. Mr. President, what announcement did you refer to?

THE PRESIDENT. The health report.¹

¹ See Item 352.

[2.] Q. I just wondered if you have any reaction to the meeting of General MacArthur and General Eisenhower and Mr. Dulles?

THE PRESIDENT. No, I haven't. I expressed my opinion last week. I have nothing to add to it, and nothing to take back.

[3.] Q. Mr. President, I have got a query about a man named General Larsen² who, as the president of the National Association of State Civil Defense Directors, saw General Eisenhower today; and when he came out he criticized the handling of civilian defense from top to bottom, and said only lip service had been given. Would you care to comment ?

THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I wonder if the gentleman has examined the requests by the Budget, and the appropriations that finally came out? If I remember correctly, we asked for some 400-odd million in the last budget, and we got less than 30 million-I think 29 million and something. And if the gentleman will go down and work with the Congress as hard as he is working in the press right there, we might have an improved situation.

² Lt. Gen. Henry Larsen.

[4.] Q. Mr. President, to make sure I understand that earlier remark, what you said last week about General Eisenhower's trip to Korea³ being--

THE PRESIDENT. I said I had nothing to add to it and nothing to take away from it. That's all the comment I made.

³ See Item 345 [4].

Q. Acting a demagog?

THE PRESIDENT. I said--I didn't mention--I didn't mention that at all. I said I had said what I had to say last week, and had nothing to add to it and nothing to take away from it. That's all I said.

Q. Mr. President, your opinion is still the same then?

THE PRESIDENT. Oh, yes. My opinion hasn't changed.

[5.] Q. Mr. President, have you received any communication directly or indirectly from either General MacArthur or General Eisenhower?

THE PRESIDENT. No, I haven't.

Q. Mr. President, do you expect General Eisenhower to report to you on his trip to Korea?

THE PRESIDENT. I hadn't anticipated that he would.

Q. You are not going to request it, sir?

THE PRESIDENT. No, I had a full, fair report on it from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,⁴ as it should be done.

⁴ General of the Army Omar N. Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

[6.] Q. Anything more you can tell us about your plans, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT. No. I wish I could. When I get to the point where I can give you the inside dope on the plans, I will give them to you.

I have had so much to do that I haven't had a chance to make any arrangements.

[7.] Q. Mr. President, do you expect, sir, to address the Congress before the end of your term?

THE PRESIDENT. I haven't made up my mind yet.

I will send three messages to Congress, but I don't know whether I will go down in person or not.

[8.] Q. Mr. President, could you say whether General Bradley suggested any new plan or proposal--

THE PRESIDENT. Well, I never have been in the habit of commenting on the Korean situation in the press conference, and I don't want to start now.

Q. I know that. I just want to know whether plans will still run in the old channels, or something new.

THE PRESIDENT. Well, I think events will show that situation up all right.

[9.] Q. Mr. President, I apologize--I didn't hear Mr. Wilson's question and your answer?

Q. I asked merely if he planned to address Congress in person before the end of his term.

THE PRESIDENT. I told him I hadn't made up my mind.

Q. You will do that on your State of the Union Message ?

THE PRESIDENT. Well, I haven't made up my mind yet. I may, and I may not.

Q. Mr. President, what I was trying to clear up, as I understand it, the State of the Union is not necessarily required by law, is it? That is customary, but not necessary

THE PRESIDENT. Well, if you will read the Constitution, it says the President shall from time to time inform the Congress on the "State of the Union." It has been customary to do that at the opening of every Congress each year.

Q. You will have your usual three messages ?

THE PRESIDENT. That's right.

Q. Whether you deliver the State of the Union in person or not?

THE PRESIDENT. That's correct.

Q. Is this correct--

THE PRESIDENT. As to whether I will go down in person or not.

Q. There is a fourth one?

THE PRESIDENT. NO.

Q. Haven't you always gone in person since you have been President?

THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I think I have gone nearly every time. I don't remember having missed any State of the Union Messages.

Q. Could you say why this question arises now, if you do depart from custom?

THE PRESIDENT. Well, I may be able to tell them everything without having to go down there and bore them a little bit. You see, it will be a new Congress, and they will be busy organizing. They won't be so much interested in the President that is going out as they will in the one that is coming in. [Laughter]

Q. Mr. President, the State of the Union Message, and the Budget--what's the other message ?

THE PRESIDENT. Economic. They come in that order: State of the Union, Budget, and Economic.⁵

⁵ See Items 366, 367, 376.

Q. I assume work is already underway, on at least a couple of them ?

THE PRESIDENT. It's already underway on all of them. They will be ready in ample time to be presented by the 20th of January.

[10.] Q. I don't want to crowd anybody out. I want to suggest to you before we leave--next Thursday will be Christmas-and we want to wish you a Merry Christmas--

THE PRESIDENT. Does everybody want to have a press conference on Christmas Day ? [Laughter]

[11.] Q. Mr. President, could you tell us in an informal sort of way how the country looks to you as you prepare to turn the reins over?

THE PRESIDENT. I think that that will be covered amply and thoroughly in the Message on the State of the Union, and I would rather not do it at a press conference.

[12.] Q. Mr. President, have you reached a decision of what to do about John Carter Vincent?⁶

THE PRESIDENT. I am not familiar enough with the case to make any comment on it.

⁶ See Item 362.

[13.] Q. Mr. President, do you have any comment on Commerce Secretary Sawyer's recommendation that economic aid to Europe be ended?

THE PRESIDENT. No comment. Wait and read my message on that subject. It will be out pretty soon. It will be in the Budget.

[14.] Q. Mr. President, two of the Washington newspapers have commented editorially on the Vincent matter and have been very critical of the idea, I believe, in the way it was put, of requesting the removal of someone who "might" be disloyal. How do you feel about that, sir?

THE PRESIDENT. Well, I can't comment on that, because I haven't any evidence on which to comment; and I would rather not comment at this time. At the right time I will comment on it, I think.

Q. Mr. President, do you plan to confer with Secretary Acheson on the Vincent matter when he returns?

THE PRESIDENT. The matter automatically goes to the head of the Department. If Secretary Acheson wants to confer with me on it, why it's all right.

Q. As I remember, the State Department statement afterwards said that the Secretary planned to discuss it with you.

THE PRESIDENT. Its perfectly all right with me. I haven't had any conversation with him on the subject.

[15.] Q. Will you follow tradition and ride down the Avenue with the new President?

THE PRESIDENT. Of course. You see, he is riding down the Avenue with me. I am the President until he is sworn in. [Laughter]

Q. I'm glad I asked you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT. You see, I am the President until the oath is taken down there on the platform. There was a time in 1948 when there wasn't any President in office. His term was about to expire, and they waited and waited and waited for a long time before they swore me in; but it happened to be that I was the President, so it made no difference.

Q. Are you going to drive back down the Avenue with him, then, after the inauguration ?

THE PRESIDENT. No. He will be the President, and I will be a private citizen.

[16.] Q. Mr. President, Commissioner "Jiggs" Donohue⁷ said the other day that the new President would have the power to end segregation in the Capital just by issuing an Executive order. I wonder if the present President has that power?

THE PRESIDENT. I don't know. I can't answer the question.

⁷ F. Joseph Donohue, Commissioner of the District of Columbia.

Q. Some question about that in the Supreme Court--

THE PRESIDENT. I say I don't know. I can't answer the question. You can be sure that if I thought I had the power, it would have been done a long time ago.

Q. I think that would be about all, unless you have something to add, sir?

THE PRESIDENT. No, I have nothing to add. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. Voices: Same to you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT. And if you want to have a press conference on Christmas Day, I'll have it for you! [Laughter]