"0 Lord, our Heavenly Father, the high and mighty ruler of the Universe, Who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth; most heartily we beseech Thee, with Thy favor to behold and bless Thy servant, Franklin, chosen to be the President of the United States. . . ."
His face cupped in his hands Franklin Delano Roosevelt began the biggest day of his life with that prayer ringing in his ears at Washington's St. John's Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House. For the 20-minute service in the plain white chapel he had gathered about him his family, his Cabinet, a few close friends. At the altar in cassock & surplice stood his old schoolmaster, Groton's Dr. Endicott ("Peabo") Peabody who had married him to Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. From his heart, from the hearts of his little band of worshippers, from the heart of a stricken nation rose a wordless appeal for divine strength to right great ills. . . . The President-elect stood up in his pew, squared back his shoulders. As he walked out of St. John's, a brief streak of sunlight shot down upon him through grey wintry clouds.
Uphill. Before the White House portico Mr. Roosevelt kept his seat in the car, waited a few minutes for President Hoover to join him for the ride up Capitol Hill. A lift of silk hats, a quick handshake, a few formal words and their greeting was over. With the country's most precious cargo behind, Richard Jervis, silvery-haired chief of the White House Secret Service, slipped into the front seat of the car, kept its door cracked and one hand on his pocketed pistol.
Whizzing up Pennsylvania Avenue, the Hoover-Roosevelt car missed its cavalry escort, had to pause before the Post Office building to let the horsemen catch up. On the mile-&-a-quarter drive Mr. Roosevelt kept up a running fire of conversation with Mr. Hoover. The President, his face drawn and lowered, replied in monosyllables. Street crowds along the way pattered out mild applause which the incoming President left to the outgoing President to acknowledge as his final tribute.
"We'll Wait." As the car swung around to the long-unused north entrance to the Capitol Mr. Roosevelt noticed that the flags on the building were half-staffed. That was for the death of Montana's Senator Thomas James Walsh, his Attorney General-designate. Once inside the Capitol, they separated. Mr. Hoover going to the President's room to sign bills, Mr. Roosevelt to the Military Affairs Committee Room down the same hall to kill time. Louisiana's Long, spying the new President, started to sweep in upon him blatantly, changed his mind at the threshold, tiptoed away. Mr. Roosevelt was restless to get going. Ten minutes before noon he moved down the corridor toward the Senate, only to be stopped at the door, told that it was not yet time for his entrance. "All right, we'll go back and wait some more," he laughed.