National Affairs: Sofa Soliloquies

One morning last week in the President's office the Governor-General of Canada, resplendent in a deep blue uniform bedizened with silver braid, stood before a gathering of Washington correspondents.

The lean, 61-year-old Scotsman, now Lord Tweedsmuir but until two years ago just plain John Buchan, writer of history, biography and light-hearted adventure tales," hastened to explain that a tinsel uniform was not his customary garb, then to say that he had asked to see the press in hope that some of the War correspondents whom he had known 20 years ago when he was serving as the British Director of Information in France might be among them. Were there any such? The newshawks looked at one another.

It was 10 a. m. and only the junior members of the press corps had turned out. Wasn't there one War correspondent among them? Finally a hand went up. It was that of the President's press secretary, ''Steve'' Early.

After this embarrassing incident the juniors did their best to engage Lord Tweedsmuir's interest. Had he yet had any conversations of public interest with the President? Goodness, no! Under the Canadian constitution the Governor-General has no part in politics, can no more touch on public matters than his master George VI, whose personal representative he is.

At this point Franklin Roosevelt, who had been sitting in his chair beaming upon press and Canada, quietly put in a word. Of course, he said, there could be no official talk, but if he and the Governor-General sat on a White House sofa, there was nothing in any constitution which could stop them from soliloquizing on international affairs. And neither of them was deaf.

The Insignificance. As an official visit without any official purpose, Lord Tweeds-muir's stop in Washington was a kaleidoscope of glittering but insignificant formalities. The Governor-General had come with his aides-de-camp and his wife with her lady-in-waiting, Mrs. George Pape. They were met at the Canadian border by Richard Southgate, chief of the State Department's Division of Protocol, and by additional military and naval aides supplied by the U. S. They were met again at Washington's Union Station by Secretary of State Hull, by the U. S. Minister to Canada, by the Canadian Minister and the British Ambassador, by General Craig, Admiral Leahy, Major General Holcomb, ranking officers of the Army, Navy and the Marine Corps, by detachments of sailors and marines drawn up in the station, by the Army Band playing The Star Spangled Banner, 0 Canada, and America or God Save the King.

They drove to the White House behind a troop of cavalry and were welcomed by President & Mrs. Roosevelt in the White House portico. They had an official reception in the Blue Room, tea in the Red Room, an unofficial dinner.*

The day of Lord Tweedsmuir's press conference, they drove to Fort Myer for a cavalry review (21 guns), laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, were lunched in state by Secretary Hull at the dignified Sulgrave Club, voyaged aboard the Presidential yacht Potomac to Mt. Vernon where they were met by President & Mrs. Roosevelt, saw the tomb and house of Washington, were guests at a state dinner at the White House.