THE PRESIDENCY: Check-Up

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Louis McHenry Howe, gnomish "no-man" to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, died in 1936. Since that time only one man has consistently said "No" to the President—and last week he said "Yes."

This was Ross Mclntire, White House doctor, a small, baldish, informal man who pays no attention to the heavy titles and gold braid—Rear Admiral, Surgeon General of the U. S. Navy—conferred on him by a grateful President. After nearly seven years of checking up on Mr. Roosevelt's health, Admiral Mclntire last week told the President he could let himself go. This meant that Mr. Roosevelt could have that second dish of ice cream he often craves.

The Admiral likes to keep the Presidential weight between 183 and 188 Ibs. Mr. Roosevelt returned from Warm Springs at Thanksgiving weighing 190, was sternly warned off second helpings for weeks. Down he went 5 Ibs. He liked this display of will power so well that he cut off another 2½ Ibs., just to show off. But the annual Christmas aftermath brought him up again to 184.

Admiral Mclntire looked on his handiwork last week, found it good. In a few days Franklin Roosevelt will be 58 (Jan. 30). Knocking on wood, Dr. Mclntire noted that this winter the President has had no colds—last winter he was plagued with them. His health, said the doctor, is at least equal to that of the average man of his age; his physical energy much greater.

Crises, wars, politics notwithstanding, Mr. Roosevelt sleeps eight hours nightly—usually from midnight. He does a lot of reading in bed. Exercise and fresh air, difficult problems for him always, are still difficult. Thrice a week he swims in the fresh green waters of the White House pool; daily he is massaged. But fresh air is another thing. He rarely goes to church of a Sunday, and such things as Christmas tree lighting, Gridiron dinners, etc. come too seldom. So Dr. Mclntire encourages him to travel, likes to get the President off on a trip every two or three months. Next trip: probably Warm Springs.

For amusement the President still relies on moving pictures, and his favorites, like many another citizen's, are animated cartoons. He gets little time for his beloved stamp collection, little time to con his ship models, his collection of navy prints. Most cheering note to anti-third-termers: his big tan sombrero, which he wears on campaigns, is packed away many layers deep.

Last week the President:

>Pledged equal treatment and recognition to all Christian denominations, after a White House visit by Lutheran, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist leaders, who came to protest his appointment of a representative to the Papal State (TIME, Jan. 1). To these Mr. Roosevelt outlined, in deepest secrecy, his tentative program for peace proposals. Later, it was learned, the appointment to Rome of Myron C. Taylor may fall through. The President wants to take advantage of the Vatican's unsurpassed diplomatic coverage through world-wide listening posts; the Vatican is not so keen.

>Proposed to Congress immediate non-partisan action on whatever Finnish relief measures they think best.