Evening star. [volume], November 24, 1963, Page A-15, Image 15

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
♦Kennedy Was Fourth President
Shot Down By Assassin's Bullets
r John F. Kennedy U the fourth
American President felled by
B*l assassin's bullets and the
sFhth to die In office.
His death continues the odd
(ohfKidence that Presidents
ttected at 30-year intervals in
•ero-number yean have died
while serving as Chief Execu
tives.
Mr Kennedy was the first
PiVsident to be killed since the
Secret Bervlce was assigned to
pfjtect the American chief
president Abraham Lincoln
apj»ro\ ''d the establishment of
the Secret Service to protect
the currency against counter
feiter?, but he and two other
Psgßidents were slain before
Congress extended the duties of
the Becret Service to guarding
trtkPresident.
In the more than six decades
tl»t followed, every attempt at
asßtssination was foiled until
Friday. Some of the attempts
hare come close and the num
ber* has increased.
None Against Eisenhower
tn recent years, only Dwight
D, t Elsenhower was free of a
direct attempt on his life.
Two plots against Mr. Ei
senhower were uncovered,
noisever. Both were traced to
the Nationalist Party of Puerto
Rico. Neither attempt came
off and no one was arrested.
As President-elect, both Mr.
Kennedy and President Frank
lin D. Roosevelt were the tar
gets of assassination attempts
Only once has an attempt
been made on the life of the
President in the vicinity of the
White House. The intended vic
tim was President Harry S.
Truman.
Over the years, every assas
sin has been captured.
Mr. Kennedy was the young
est President to die in office.
The second youngest was Pres
ident James Oarfield, a victim
of assassination when he was
49.
Those Who’ve Died
These American Presidents
have died in office:
William Henry Harrison, who
caught pneumonia and died In
Washington on April 4, 1841.
only a month after his Inaugu
ration.
Zachary Taylor, who served
16 months before he died of
typhus on July 9, 1850.
Abraham Lincoln, who was
shot by John Wilkes Booth
while sitting In a box at the
old Ford’s Theater on E street
N.W., April 14. 1965. He died
early the next morning with
out regain inf consciousness.
Booth was tracked down by
soldiers and shot to death a
few days later In Southern
Maryland.
Disappointed Office Seekers
James Oarfield. shot by a
disappointed office-seeker on
July 2, 1881 while entering the
dllt Baltllqpre and Potomac
Railroad station located on
the present site of the National
Gallery of Art. He lingered for
mVe than two months before
h® death at Elberon, N.J.. on
sAtember 19, 1881. Charles J.
GBteau, his murderer, was
William McKinley was shot
dqwn by Leon Czolgosz, an an
archist, on September 6. 1901, j
during the Pan American Ex
position in Buffalo, N.Y. Czol- ■
goaf had stood in a long line
of people waiting to shake
hands with the President, i
When his turn came, he pulled
out; a revolver wrapped In a
handkerchief and fired. The
President died eight days later,
and Czolgosz was executed.
11l After Trip
Warren O. Harding became
111 on his return from a trip
to Alaska and died In San
Francisco on August 2, 1923.
Franklin D. Roosevelt died
of a cerebral hemorrhage at
Warm Springs, Ga.. on April
l£ 1945, shortly after his re
turn from the Yalta confer
ence.
Assassination attempts have
figured in American history as
far back as 1835. Andrew Jack
son was the first President
whose life was endangered In
office.
President Jackson was walk
ing through the rotunda of the
Capitol on January 30, 1835,
at the head of a funeral pro
cession for a Congressman
when a young man standing in
the crowd only eight feet away
aimed a pistol at him.
Pistol Misfired
The cap exploded but the
pistol misfired. As the would
be assassin tried to fire again,
the President rushed at him
with upraised cane. A Navy
lieutenant knocked the man
down.
President Theodore Roose
velt was the first to be given
Secret Service protection. In
later years, when he had left
the presidency and was cam
paigning in Milwaukee, Wis.,
for a return to office, he was
shot by John Schrank on Oc
tober 14, 1912. The bullet
lodged in his chest but missed
his lung.
President Franklin Roosevelt
narrowly missed death less
than three weeks before he was
to be inaugurated for the first
time in March, 1933. As presi
dent-elect, he had addressed
a crowd In a Miami (Fla.) park’
and was about to drive away
when Guiseppe Zangara started
firing.
A woman standing next to
Zangara .grabbed his arm and
the shots went wild. Five oth
erfrwere wounded, among them
Mfyor Anton Cermak of Chi
cago. Mayor Cermak died on
March 6 and Zangara was elec
trocuted.
Waited in Park
President Roosevelt was well
Into his third term when the
Secret Service arrested Walter
W. Best of Pontiac, Mich.,
1
nflr'iEyl mm m X W
An artist for Leslies Magazine depicts the slaying of President McKinley,
in white shirt at right, by Leon Czolgosz, at left of the President.
—AP Wirephoto.
■ - jfjjpwp
These are the three earlier President who
were assassinated. From left to right, they
are: Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley and
James A. Garfield.—AP Wirephoto.
! after finding a ‘3B caliber re
volver and ammunition in his
Washington room. Best told
< agents he had loitered in La
fayette Park for days, hoping
that the President would drive
near enough to be shot. At the
time, the President was out
of the city. Best was sent to St.
Elizabeths Hospital.
The attempt on President
Truman's life was made by two
Puerto Rican Nationalists who
attempted to storm Blair House
where the President was liv
ing during the renovation of
the White House.
Bomb-Laden Car
In the blaze of gunfire that
November 1, 1950, one of the
would-be assassins was killed,
the other wounded. Pvt. Leslie
Coffelt of the White House
Ipolice force was slain and two
other White House policemen
were critically wounded. Oscar*
Collazo, the wounded assassin,
was sentenced to death but
President Truman commuted
Shocked Secret Service Putting Itself
Through an Agonizing Self-Appraisal
By MIRIAM OTTENBERG
Star Staff Writer
1 The Secret Service has
turned Its investigative talents
on 11 se 1 f—to find out every
move made by every agent be
fore the assassination of Presi
dent Kennedy Friday.
The braod investigation now
engaging every high-ranking
Secret Service official has a
twofold purpose.
The Secret Service wants to
know first what combination of
circumstances occurred to frus
trate the elaborate precau
tions always taken to guard the
President. This phase of the
investigation looks to the fu
ture, to what additional pre
cautions must now be taken
whenever the President leaves
the White House.
The second purpose of the
investigation is designed to
provide the answers to the
questions expected from Con
gress and the people.
Agonizing Seif-Appraisal
Until the investigation is
completed, Secret Service
spokesmen are answering no
questions. They want to know
the entire picture before they
start providing pieces of it.
"We’ve just started piecing it
together,” a spokesman said.
"We’re taking it from the
ground up. We intend to talk to
every person who had anything
to do with the Dallas trip.
“We’ve got to see the entire
picture. We’ve got to know
what the planning was, what
the problems were, what was
done and exactly what hap
pened.”
The agonizing s e 1 f-appraisal
comes at a time when the Se
cret Service is working around
the clock to devise security
precautions for President
Johnson. Some of the agents
riding in the tragic cavalcade
his sentence to life imprison
i ment.
1 The Secret Service blocked
an attempt on President Ken
; nedy’s life a month before he
took of floe. Richard Paul Pav
lick, a 76-year-old retired
: postal worker from Belmont,
N.H., was captured In Palm
Beach on December 14, 1960.
Agents found seven sticks of
dynamite wired together with
, a detonator switch In bis car.
He told the Secret Service
that his first plan was to
crash his bomb-laden car Into
the President-elect’s car. Then,
he decided to make a human
bomb of himself, get as close
as possible to the President
elect in church and detonate
the explosive.
Pavlick has been under
psychiatric observation and
treatment at the Federal Medi
cal Center In Springfield where
he has repeatedly demanded
(trial and release. Earlier this i
month, further psychiatric 1
i checks were ordered at a hear
ing in Miami. ]
at Dallas flew back to go on
immediate duty at the new
. President’s home.
Faces Reflect Sorrow
r I
Their grim faces mirrored
. the extent of their personal
sorrow. Each of them had
r pledged himself to sacrifice his
, own life if necessary to protect
, the White House family.
Secret Service Chief James
, Rowley was particularly hard
> hit. Before he became chief in
; September, 1961, he had had
. direct charge of protecting the
, President since 1946 and had
j served on the White House de
. tail for 22 years. President
Kennedy chose him to become
i chief of the Secret Service.
; Chief Rowley was more
acutely aware probably than
: any other man of the dangers
i accepted so casually by the
American chief of state.
“The biggest threat to a
President's life,” he once re
marked, “is from the self-de
, luded who become the dupes of
| terroristic or subversive organi
j zations.”
He has been continually con
, cerned about snipers firing
from a distance. When Presi
dent Eisenhower golfed at
Burning Tree County club, for
, instance, some of the golfers
, nearby carried high-powered
- rifies instead of clubs in their
golf bags. Chief Rowley feared
, that snipers might lurk on the
r wooded golf course.
Buildings Are Cheeked
>
Checking the buildings along
the route the P r e s i d e n t will
1 travel is a customary precau
■ tionary in the advance plan
l ning for the President's out-of
’ town trips. Although the Secret
/ Service is declining comment,
i it was pointed out by White
: House sources that the building
U. S. Markets
To Be Closed
Tomorrow
NEW YORK, Nov. 23
(AP).—The major stock mar
kets of the United States will
remain closed Monday as the
Nation mourns President Ken
nedy.
The New York and American
Stock Exchanges announced
today that there would be no
trading in securities of any
kind by any brokers through
their facilities.
The Midwest Stock Exchange
at Chicago, the Pacific Coast
Exchange at San Francisco,
the Boston Stock Exchange
and others followed suit.
The Toronto, Montreal and
Canadian Stock Exchanges also
will be closed.
The New Orleans Cotton Ex
change said there would be no
trading until further notice
but as with other commodity
markets, trading was expected
to resume Tuesday.
The Chicago Board of Trade
said there would be no trading
until Tuesday. The Minneapolis
Orain Exchange, as a result,
also was to be closed, although
formal action was not expected
until Monday morning.
The Kansas City Livestock
Market will be closed.
Urban Renewal Call
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP).—A
prominent attorney, who had
hired a new secretary, returned
from lunch to find this note on
his desk: “Mr. Irvin Renewal
i from which the shots were
’ fired was an isolated one in an
area where no large crow ds
had been expected.
Lee Harvey Oswald was em-
I ployed in that building, but
l Dallas police did not give his
i name to the Secret Service in
i the agents’ routine check of
; possible crackpots. Oswald, now
charged with the murder of
> Mr. Kennedy, had not brushed
I with the Dallas police,
i He had been arrested in New
l Orleans in August and FBI
agents had questioned him then,
1 but he was not kept under
surveillance and an FBlspokes
; man said it was not known
: that he had settled in Dallas
two months ago.
A White House spokesman
. said no special precautions
i were taken for the Dallas visit
beyond the customary security
arrangements whenever the
President travels. This source
said no information in the na
ture of a warning reached
Washington that would have
prompted a d oubling of the
guardians of the President or
other additional precautions.
Preventive Protection
Customarily, the Secret
Service has stressed preventive
protection. This has included
both tracking down anonymous
threats and exploring every
possibility of danger, from the
food the President eats to his
methods of travel.
The car in which President
Kennedy was riding was built
in 1961 to rigid Secret Service
specifications. The car was de
signed by Ford Motor Co. tech
nicians and built by Hess & Ei
senhart Manufacturing Co., a
custom automobile firm.
Hess & Eisenhart officials
told the Associated Press yes
terday that the “Presidential
Continental” had a protective
WREATHS AT DEATH SPOT
SAY 'WE ARE SO SORRY'
DALLAS. Tex. <AP>.—Two small wreaths lay last
night within a few feet of toe spot where President
Kennedy was assassinated.
The wreaths were on a grassy slope.
A card on one spray said:
"In memory of our beloved President, John F.
Kennedy. From the bereaved citizens of Dallas.”
The other, signed by Mr and Mrs. Henry H Stauser,
said. "We are all so sorry.”
Bumper-to-bumper traffic moved slowly by the
site of toe assassination. A policeman said the traffic
had been heavy all day.
Small knots of people took pictures of toe building
where the assassin had waited. The sixth-floor window
he fired from was still open.
The building was locked. A patrolman said FBI
agents were inside.
Many Events Canceled
For Mourning Period
The period of mourning for
President Kennedy in the Na
tion’s Capital is being marked
by cancelation ax postponement '
of numerous civic, social, re- 1
ligious and cultural events.
The following is a list of
schedule changes that havej,
been announced by local j I
organizations: *
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Phillips Omllery -of - Art—Concerts
scheduled for today and tomorrow '
canceled. I,
Georgetown University—Harpsichord
recital by Albert Puller scheduled yes
terday to be held January 11.
National Gallery of Art—All concerts
canceled until official period of mourn
lng is observed.
National Symphony Government
series concert scheduled today post
poned. '
National Theater—Performances to
morrow canceled.
McLean Ballet —Performance sched
uled (or last nlcht postponed until
December 12. _ _ _
Montgomery County Symphony Or- >
ehestra—Concert aet (or today at
Sherwood Hlfh School poatponed until
December li concert tomorrow at la
land Junior Hlih School poatponod
until December 2.
Library ol Congress—Presentation
of Vincent Youmann manuscripts to
morrow postponed.
American Ballet Theater - National
Symphony—Monday night performance
canceled. Ticketholders may use their 1
tickets for Tuesday or Wednesday f
evening performances. Monday night!
program to be performed Wednesday.;
Fort Hunt High School —Concert j
-! Tuesday cancelled.
WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS
! Women's Nstional Democratic Club
* i Luncheon meeting for tomorrow
fe canceled.
j Business end Professional Women's
| club—Tea today canceled
I | University Women’s Club—Tea to
| morrow canceled.
s Temple Sinai Sisterhood —Luncheon
!tomorrow canceled. ...
! Ladles’ Board of Georgetown Uni
i versity Hospital—Lunrncon meeting to
,m °Beth Shofom Sisterhood—Fashion
3 ,h gank o< Woma^s t Club of Washington
. —Dinner tomorrow night canceled.
Young Women s Christian Assocla-
II lion—Facilities dosed tomorrow. ’
Adas Israel Sisterhood Monday
e board meeting canceled.
Woman's City club—Birthday cele
- bratton today canceled.
Twentieth Century Club—Meetlna
tomorrow canceled. .
n Ladies Auxiliary of the Hebrew Home
for the Aged—M-etlns today canceled
d Har Tieon Slaterhood —Book fair
scheduled for tomorrow postponed until
O December 2.
: Moscow Radio Balks
At Red Label on Oswald
d
0 MOSCOW. Nov. 23 (AP).—
Moscow Radio charged tonight
- that rightist elements in Amer
o ica are trying to cast the blame
!, for President Kennedy’s assas
y sination on the Communists.
1 The radio said: “Serious ob
servers do not believe the police
e version about toe responsibility
8 of leftist elements for the as
s sassination and wait for further
;, results of the investigation.”
1 The radio commentary on the
i arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald.
an avowed Marxist and former
i defector to the Soviet Union,
stated:
“The head of toe Dallas po
lice said that Oswald allegedly
admitted that he was a member
* of the Communist Party, but
I the more details and announce
i ments are made, toe more sus
i picious and dark this case
appears.”
- • |
; bubble-top but declined to say
"whether this was bullet-proof.
> The top was not on the car as
the President’s motorcade
. drove through Dallas. It is de
; signed mainly as a protection
i against inclement weather.
11 Route Always Checked
When the President rides in
’ a motorcade. Secret Service
agents have always gone over
> the route in advance, assessing
every source of danger. Local
police always play a large part
: in manning this phase of the
, operation, providing the motor
' cycle escorts and handling
crowd-controlling details.
1 That is a responsibility
1 Washington police always live
with. It is a new responsibility
: for the police wherever the
’> President goes, but usually the
• Secret Serviec advance agents
have worked out the details to
the point where the local forces
can give the maximum protec
tion.
The Secret Service agents
themselves form the Presi
dent’s personal bodyguard,
keeping their eyes fixed on the
crowds, ready to shield the
President’s body with their
own.
Any one of them would have
; done that Friday, but when the
| shot was fired from above none
' of them had a chance.
if ’
Mother, 3 Children
Are Killed in Fire
FORT LEONARD WOOD,
Mo., Nov. 2 (AP).—A young
mother and her three small
children burned to death early
in a fire that swept their trail
er home.
The highway patrol identi
fied the victims as Mrs. Ralph
Meeks. 20, and her children.
' aged 3, 2 and 3 months.
SOCIAL EVENT? AND
CLUB MEETINGS
Toung Democrats—Dinner meeting
at Rhein Restaurant tonight canceled.
All military inatallationa—Social
events canceled until further notice.
National Naval Medical Center—All
nonmedlcal facilities closed until fur
ther notice.
Inter-American Defense College—
Reception scheduled for tomorrow to
honor Urugueyen Command and Staff
School canceled
National Frets Club—Luncheon to
morrow for Chester Bowles canceled.
cilff Dwellers’ Society—Social affair
scheduled tonight postponed until De
cember 12.
University of Missouri Alumni Asso
ciation—Tuesday luncheon canceled
_ Indonesian Embassy Reception
Tuesday canceled
_ Fort Myer—Army-Nsvy-Alr Force
Cotillion scheduled Wednesday can-
CIVIC AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Civic Council
—Meeting tomorrow night canceled.
_ Archdiocese or Waahinaton —Open
house scheduled at elf churches today
canceled.
Hebrew Aid Circle—Tuesday lunch
eon meeting canceled.
Beth Sholom Congregation—Member
ship luncheon tomorrow canceled.
Cherokee Lane Bementarv School—
Dedication scheduled tomorrow night
! Postponed until fu-ther notice.
Garrett Perk CLisen s Association—
; November meeting postponed: neat
meet.ng De-ember 8.
j Ravensworth Elementary School—
[Dedication set for today canceled.
Edge wood Clvtr Association—Meet
ing tomorrow night canceled.
Le Droit Park Civic Association—
Tuesday meeting canceled.
1 ' K hte ,, ?o”r Si
«rp.ri,oSr mb ‘ r ,o
Adtms-Morgan Planning Committee
and Community Council—Meeting to
'nojfOF postponed until December 3
Allied Civic Oroup—Meeting tomor
row night canceled.
Health end Welfare Council-Board
of „.l lrMtor « meeting Tuesday can-
WIIM.
miscellaneous
_ Students Against Discrimination—
Meeting tonight canceled.
Washington Oas Light Co —Cooking
show se, for tomorrow night canceled.
Half-Acre Garden Cfub—Tuesday
meeting canceled.
National Photographic Society
Meeting tomorrow canceled.
Washington Recorders Society
Meeting tomorrow canceled.
Emers in Hotel. Baltimore—Recep
tion to honor Maryland State Comp
troller Louis L Goldstein postponed
It was expected that Mr. Goldstein
would announce his candidacy for the
Democratic nomination to the Unite*
States Senate at the reception
American Institute of Oraphle Arts—
Magaalne seminar and dinner tomorrow
cancelled.
The United Travel Club meeting
scheduled at the Presidential Arms to
morrow at S o m. has been postDoned
It said that Oswald was
t charged with Mr. Kennedy’s
- slaying after 10 hours of inter
> rogation, “but there was no
• evidence which could prove this
accusation.”
"The police are trying to in
i volve the Communist Party of
r the United States in the as
. sassination of the President.”
- it said
For the first time today the
, Soviet news report mentioned
that Oswald "allegedly was in
; the Soviet Union.”
The young ex-Marine de
fected to the Soviet Union in
1959 but returned home in 1962
with a Russian wife and a baby
daughter.
“Political Crime” Charged
Moscow Radio commentator
Valentin Zorin countered
charges that Mr. Kennedy was
a victim of a leftist fanatic by
saying: “Those who know how
the security of President Ken
nedy is organized, know that
it is not possible for a fanatic
to commit such an assassina
tion.”
• A political crime, thorough
ly prepared and planned, has
taken place,” he continued.
“It is not accidental that it
took place in the Southern
States which are well known as
a stronghold of racist and other
Fascist scum. It is precisely
here that (Arizona Sen. Barry)
Goldwater, who is one of the
contenders for the presidency,
gets his support.”
Mr. Zorin charged that the
President’s slaying was in
spired by forces opposed to Mr.
Kennedy’s policy of improved
relations with the Soviet Union.
HOUSE SPEAKER
IS NEXT IN LINE
FOR PRESIDENCY
House Speaker John Mc-
Cormack is next in the
line of succession to the
White House after Presi
dent Johnson.
Speaker McCormack, a
Massachusetts Democrat,
is 71 years old.
A 1947 law places the
Senate’s president pro
tempore, Senator Carl
Hayden, 86, Democrat of
Arizona, next in line to
Mr. McCormack.
Before this law was
passed by Congress during
the Truman administra
tion, the third in line would
have been the Secretary
of State.
Cabinet officers follow
the vice president, speaker
of the House and presi
dent pro tempore of the
Senate in this order:
Secretary of State,
Treasury, Defense; Attor
ney General; Postmaster
General; Secretary of In
terior, Agriculture, Com
merce, and Labor.
The Secretary of Health,
Education and Welfare is
excepted since no amend
ment has been passed to
include this office since it
was created.
■ THE SUNDAY STAR
Waihiagtoa. 0. C, November 14. 19t3
All the World Mourns,
Even Kennedy's Critics
> By the Associated Press
It vu beginning to sink in. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was
gone. Around toe world, many wept, some fumed and others
became apprehensive.
Nations broke their own precedents to mourn him: cold
war enemies praised him: people all over the earth—kings
and presidents, street peddlers
and fishermen—expressed their
sorrow
In Britain, Queen Elizabeth n
commanded her court to go
into a week’s mourning, and
every minute from II am. until
noon yesterday the great tenor
bell in Westminster Abbey tolled
This token of mourning is usu
ally reserved only for dead
British royalty.
President de Gaulle of
France ordered the flag of
France flown at half staff im
mediately. By tradition, the tri
color flies at half staff only on
: toe day of the funeral of a
i i chief of state.
! Khrushchev Pays Respects
; In Moscow, Premier Khru
t shchev broke off a tour to pay
. his personal respects at the
, United States Embassy and
- send messages to President
- Johnson and Mrs. Kennedy. He
i said he and the Soviet nation
, were deeply grieved. Crowds
' came to toe Embassy to sign a
( book of condolences—some
, thing unprecedented for Mos
cow in the depths of the cold
! war.
At Vatican City, Pope Paul
VI dedicated his morning mass
to the dead President, the first
i Roman Catholic to become
Chief Executive of the United
‘States.
• In Tokyo Bay. the tiny boats
-of Japanese fishermen pulled
. up alongside United States
. Navy warships with little flags
- flying at half mast.
Nehru Is "Shocked”
Bum Million Candles
Sorrowing West Berliners
a burned a million candles last
night In memory of their great
! friend John F. Kennedy.
I City lights were dimmed and
in nearly every window
f throughout this sprawling met
-7 ropolis flickered four or fiv»
- candles.
- 1 To West Berliners, the young
leader was a symbol of free
f dom, hope and steadfastness,
b He became one of their own
• when he said on his visit here
. five months ago:: "Ich bin ein
• Berliner (I am a Berliner).”
« 2nd Speech by Brandt
a For the second time since the
tragic news shocked this Com
munist-surrounded city, West
Berllnprs gathered at their City
Hall to hear Mayor Willy
Brandt praise the man assas
sinated Friday and urge the
If trust \of Berlin in the new
American President, Lyndon B
Johnson.
With hardly a sound, except
s the shuffling of the marching
s feet, 12,000 high school stu
-I dents carried flaming torches
o from the memorial of th«
s 1948-49 airlift at Tempelhof t<
City Hall.
Nearly 30,000 persons were
. already at the City Hall square
_ | when the student arrived.
’ The City government an-
t :
: Sports World Has Lost:
I A Champion and Friend
By the Associated Press
The sports world lost a
: champion and a friend in the
1 tragic death of President Ken
‘ nedy, sports leaders throughout
r the Nation said yesterday.
• From the leaders of every
t major sport came expressions
: of shock and sorrow over the
- passing of a man who empha
sized the importance of building
’ the body as well as the mind.
• “We all feel a deep loss and
t at the same time a great sense
, of shame and unhappiness that
i this should happen in our
r country,” said Ford Frick, com
r missioner of baseball. “We are
> all shocked and in deep sor
i row.”
“Enjoyed Swapping Stories”
: Joe Cronin, president of the
■ American League, said: “He
• surely was one of the greatest
• sports enthusiasts ever to live
• in the White House. He knew a
-lot about sports, things you
wouldn’t expect, and he en
joyed swapping sports stories.”
Wa rr e n Giles, Nati on al
League president, said: “While
all citizens of the Nation are
crushed by the loss of our
crushed by the loss of our Pres
ident. we in sports are especial
ly saddened and schocked.
“John F. Kennedy was a
sportsman and! a friend of
baseball. Words seem so out of
proportion to one’s feelings as
we reflect on the tragic, almost
unbelievable circumstances
causing his death. The -.Na
tional League shares the grief
of this tragic loss and our deep
est sympathy goes out to Mrs.
Kennedy and his fainily.”
Walter Byers, executive di
rector of the National Colle
giate Athletic Association, said
all people must be stunned by
shock, disbelief and the
Elderly Receive
Tax Reductions
Some of the older, long-time
residents of Bladensburg, Md.,
will get a tax break on their
homes, the town council has
decided.
It has authorized re
duction of the assessment on
homes of persons who are at
least 65 years old, have been
residents for the last five years
and who have gross incomes of
$4,000 or less.
■ ' ~ ~ ' ■ 11
r nouneed It will rename toe
City Hall square "John P. Ken
[ nedy Plata." It now bears the
) name of Rudolf Wilde, a for-
I mer mayor
1 Big and little alike con
- demned Mr Kennedy's assassi
nation and began to wonder
- what course the affairs of toe
1 world will take because of it.
The common reaction at first
Ibis incomprehension, then
f grief, then in many rage and
* apprehension.
Prime Minister Nehru of la
-1 dia said:
1 ”We are deeply grieved and
shocked at this both for perso
nal and International reasons.-.
. The consequences of it aik
far-reaching and will gradually
[ seep down."
j "It's not so hard to believe,”
t said a Parts blues singer with
, tears streaming down her
' cheeks. “It’s just so hard to
5 t^e "
i Mrs. Byron Novitsky of Fort
. Wayne Ind., sobbed in London
. where she is Visiting. "Poor
1 Jackie. . . . Poor Kennedy
family. . . . Poor world”
1 “Ail the. world will cry,” said
i a Paris cabbie.
; Asia. Africa, Europe, Latin Am
-1 erica.
There were the touching
* scenes. In toe London suburb
3 of Sydenham, a children’s rose
s garden was dedicated to John
s P. Kennedy. In the garden are
130 rose plants and 130 chi],
dren will tend them in toe
President’s memory.
s In a British village garden, a
t tattered Union Jack flew at
t half staff from a private flag
pole.
i
v Gesture by Cabinet
■ In Katanga, the former
breakaway province of the
Congo, the entire provincial ca
? blnet rushed to the residence of
' the United States consul with
their wives to express grief.
e "This is an old Bantu cui
,'tom/’ one Minister said. "We
Bantus always mourn the pas*-
ing of a great chief.”
e Nation after nation declared
- periods of mourning, canceled
f social and sports events and
y scheduled services of their 1 omi
y for the President.
e Lines formed up outside Ufi
x’ ited States Embassies in scores
I. of countries to give their con
dolences to America in its tiriie
it of sorrow.
8 London stores put large phi
tographsof Mr. Kennedy in
* their windows.
a At United States mllit anj
posts around the world, men <jf
e the armed forces, some sob
e bing, stood In silent attention
as the haunting notes of tapis
- sounded.
thought such a thing could
i happen in America.
! "President Kennedy contrib
uted to the advancement iff
America in uncounted ways,”
he said. "We shall remain fort
ever conscious of the new mean
ing and significance he gave to
i the importance of being physt-
Really fit apd maintaining a
sound body as a base for an
alert mind.” r '
Joe Dey, executive director of
the United States Golf Associa
tion. said:
; •
“President Kennedy’s con
cern for the total man—for his
body as well as his brain and
spirt—gave a tremendous lift
to the national health. He left
both a legacy and a challenge
for every red-blooded Ameri
can.”
The late President played
golf regularly, but seldom took
time to go a full round.
' “He's the best golfer of any of
1 our many golfing Presidents,”
, a Newport, R. 1., professional
once said. “If he took time he
1 could be an 80 shooter.”
Wire From MacArthur
Gen. Douglas MacArthur,
named by Kennedy to arbitrate
the bitter NCAA-AAU dispute
, which threatened our Olympic
teams, sent the following tele
gram to Mrs. Kennedy:
; words at such a time, but the
, World of civilization shares the
i wignancy of this monumental
ragedy. As a former comrade
n arms, his death kills some
thing within me.”
Col. Donald Hull, executive
director of the AAU, called
Kennedy "a great dynamic
reader with an interest in
; sports.”
“His loss certainly will be
| trongly felt,” Hull added.
Pete Rozelle, commissioner of
the National Football League,
xpressed himself as "deeply
hocked” and Commissioner
Toe Foss of the American Foot
i ball League, which postponed
ts week-end games, said:
“It is difficult at this time to
i comprehend the full impact of
President Kennedy's loss as a
man as well as the head of our
i Government. The magnitude of
; his loss can only be measured
i by time and his accomplish
i ments as a heroic service man
f and devoted servant of our
[country.”
A-15