May 11, 1962 - Former President Harry S. Truman said today he considered it “disrespectful” for newspapers to refer to Mrs. Kennedy as “Jackie.” “I didn’t allow them to do that to Mrs. Truman,” he said. Mrs. Truman’s name is Bess. On a half-hour early morning walk that began at the Carlyle Hotel, Mr. Truman dismissed as “just a Republican statement” former President Eisenhower’s charge that President Kennedy was seeking too much power. General Eisenhower had said at a news conference in Washington on Thursday that the Kennedy Administration was making “strenuous efforts” to increase the power of the Executive Branch, and that this created a “threat to our liberties.” Mr. Truman also expressed the opinion that Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt would “make a good U.S. Senator” and that she would win if she ran against Sen. Jacob K. Javits. Mrs. Roosevelt on Monday had laughed off as “plain silly” a suggestion that she become a candidate for the Senate, citing her age of 77 as a hindrance. Reminded of this, the 78-year-old Mr. Truman said: “You are only as old as you feel. That’s up to her.”
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