PAGE 17
Hail To The Chief
by
“Hello, Jenkins–Grossman,” he said, as the two men turned. “I’ve got a hell of a headache again. Aspirin doesn’t seem to help, and I can’t get any sleep.” He looked rather dazed, as though he wasn’t sure of his surroundings. He smiled lopsidedly. “Call Frank, over at Blair House, will you? Hurry?” Then he swallowed, looked dazed, and fell to the floor in a heap.
The two Secret Service men didn’t move, but they shouted loudly. Their orders were to guard the body of the President–literally! Until it was declared legally dead, that body was their responsibility.
The other Secret Service men in the White House came on the run. Within one minute after Cannon had fallen, a call had gone to Blair House, asking for the President’s brother.
Inside of another two minutes, Dr. Frank Cannon was coming through the front door of the Executive Mansion. In spite of the chill outside, he was wearing only a topcoat over his pajamas.
“What happened?” he snapped, with the authority that only a physician can muster. “Where is he?”
He heard the story on the way to the President’s room. Jenkins and Grossman were still standing over the fallen Chief Executive. “We haven’t moved him, except to make him more comfortable,” said Grossman. “He’s still O.K…. I mean, he’s breathing, and his heart’s still going. But we didn’t want to move him–“
“Fine!” snapped the doctor. “Best thing.” He knelt over his brother and picked up his wrist. “Have you called anyone else?” he asked sharply while he felt the pulse.
“The Naval Hospital,” said another agent. “They’re coming fast!”
“Fine!” repeated Dr. Frank. By this time, most of the White House staff was awake. Frank Cannon let go the wrist and stood up quickly. “Can’t tell for sure, but it looks like a slight stroke. Excuse me.”
He went into the Executive bedroom, and on into the bathroom. He closed the door. Quickly, he fished the hypogun out of the wastebasket and dropped it into the little black bag which he had carried with him. He came out with a glass of water. Everything was taken care of.
* * * * *
PRESIDENT SUFFERS STROKE!
JHC Taken To US Naval Hospital
In Washington After Stroke In
White House
All over the world, headlines and newscasts in a hundred tongues carried the story. And from all over the world came messages of sympathy and concern for the stricken Chief Executive. From England, simultaneous messages arrived from the Sovereign and the Prime Minister; from France, notes from both the President and the Premier of the Seventh Republic; from Ethiopia, condolences from His Imperial Majesty and from the Chief Executive. The United German Federation, the Constitutional Kingdom of Spain, the Republic of Italy, the United Austro-Yugoslavian Commonwealth, and the Polish Free State all sent rush radiograms. So did Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. From Africa, Australia, Southern Asia, Oceania, and Central America came expressive words of sorrow. Special blessings were sent by His Holiness from Vatican City, by the Patriarch of Istanbul, and by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Presidente of the Estados Unidos Mexicanos personally took a plane to Washington, as did the Governor General of Canada, carrying a personal message from the Prime Minister. Even the Soviet Union sent a radiogram, and the story of the tragedy was printed in Pravda, accompanied by an editorial that almost approached straight reporting.
President James Harrington Cannon knew none of this. He was unconscious and unable to receive visitors.
As far as actual news from the White House was concerned, news commentator Barton Wayne gave the best summary over a major American TV network on the morning of the sixth of February:
“Last night, at approximately eleven p.m., James Harrington Cannon, President of the United States, collapsed at the feet of the Secret Service men who were guarding him. Within a few minutes, Dr. Frank Hewlitt Cannon, the President’s brother, called by the Secret Service in obedience to the President’s last conscious words, had arrived from Blair House, where he had been staying.