THE PRESIDENCY: A Desk in the Sun

Except for two muggy days, the weather at Key West, Fla. was fine. The sky was blue, and out beyond the rustling palms, sunlight glittered on the turquoise shoals and cobalt deeps of the Gulf of Mexico. The nights were cool. But as he settled down for his eighth vacation at the lawn-bordered "Little White House," Harry Truman seemed less intent than usual on savoring the joys of sunburn and exercise.

He gave up his usual early morning walks ; after rising, he went directly to his desk to read mail* and sign bills. Most of the time, his midday jaunt to the naval station's crushed-coral beach was his only outdoor activity.

He had brought a variegated collection of sartorial exhibits to Key West and wore them with obvious relish; during a week of beach expeditions, he showed one white pith helmet, one cane, one light yellow sport shirt with orange-and-brown palm trees on its front, one black-and-yellow sport shirt with brown trimmings, and one bright yellow sport shirt with a brown grill design on the front. They were worn with light-colored slacks. Usually, at the beach, the 65-year-old President simply sat in the sun, watching his staff frolic with a volleyball, then changed into bathing trunks and took a quick dip in the warm and transparent water.

On most days he retired to his room after lunch to nap and read. He shunned the nightly movies shown for the staff and went to bed early. He was doing more work than usual on vacations; last week he seemed content to spend the rest of his time dozing, enjoying the quiet, and recharging his energies for the spring's transcontinental political campaigning.