Harry Truman had been President only a few days when he was rubbed the wrong way by a time-honored White House custom: he got stuck between floors in its creaky elevator. Ever since Theodore Roosevelt had it installed in 1902 (his rollicking sons used it to haul their patient pony Algonquin to & from their quarters). U.S. Presidents had frequently been stalled in the ornate mirrored and oak-paneled cage. The only power a President had in that emergency was to ring a gong, then wait while workmen hurried to the basement and jiggled the...
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