New President's Call To American Youth On the steps of the White House in Washington yesterday, Mr. Eisenhower is followed by Mr. John Kennedy and his wife. Later they drove to the Capitol for the inauguration ceremony. From Our Own Correswondent WASHINGTON, JAN. 20 In a city clogged by deep snow and 10,000 abandoned cars, Mr. John Fitz- gerald Kennedy at noon today became the thirty-fifth President of the United States. Snow-ploughs and gangs of men had worked through the night to clear the processional route from the Capitol to the White House, and a brilliant sun shone as the young President delivered his inaugural address restating the old idealism with a new and determined sense of purpose. It was a stirring address, delivered in level tones, for the most part to his own generation. Let the word go forth (said the President) from this time-and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans-born in this century. tempered by war, dis- ciplined by a cold and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage-and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today. XLet every nation know, whether it wish us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, or oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and success of liberty. To those nations which would make themselves America's adversaries Mr. Kennedy offered not a pledge but a request, that both sides should begin anew the quest for peace. TWILIGHT STRUGGLE To his fellow Americans the President said that the trumpet summoned them again, not as a call to bear arms, though arms were needed, not as a call to battle, though they were embattled, but as a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, " rejoic- ing in hope, patient in tribulation "-a struggle against the common enemnies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. Could they forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance assuring a more fruitful Life for all man- kind-? Would they join in that historic effort ? He went on:- In the long history of the -world only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility-I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, and the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it-and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country will do for you-ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. GENIAL CEREMONY The President's fine speech, which will surely delight young Americans, came after a ceremony casual and genially inefficient, as becomes a demo- cratic people, and yet with the dignity firmly founded on nearly a century and three quarters of tradition. The desk at which the oath was administered by the Chief Justice caught fire, presum- ably because of an overheated stove, and there were fumbling pauses, but nothing could disturb the natural con- fidence and friendliness. There were some movements away from precedent, ancient and recent. President Kennedy and Mr. Eisenhower conversed easily, the hard words spoken in the election forgotten as they were not forgotten eight years ago. Mr. Nixon was the first to congratulate President Kennedy. For the first time in the history of the states the Invocation was said by a Roman Catholic dignitary, Cardinal Cushing of Boston. President Kennedy, who had earlier attended Mass at his parish church, crossed himself after the long prayer, apparently oblivious of the tens of millions of non-Catholics- many, alas, hostile-watching their tolevision screens. Their hostility can be judged by the unprecedented number of threatening letters, more vicious than usual, which persuaded the secret ser- vice to increase the number of guards along the processional route to 4,000. Mr. Robert Frost read his poem The Land was Outrs, slightly changed at President Kennedy's request to empha- size the sentiments for the present generation of Americans. Mr. Frost also tried to read a dedication. especially written, but the light refracting off the stove and the brilliant new facade of the Capitol building were too much for his old eyes-he is 86. Yet the stumbling words of the man who would be Poet Laureate if this democracy could formaUy honour its distinguished citizens were more than adequate. President Kennedy took off his over- coat to deliver his address, a gesture whose significance was not lost on the shivering crowd. During the long pre- liminaries his repressed nervous energy was apparent in small impatient gestures, but as soon as he spoke the now recognizable forcefulness came through, especially when he made his request that both sides begin anew the quest for peace and not be afraid to negotiate. EMPTY CHARGES It may have been a coincidence that so many of the displays in the march- past before the White House afterwards took peace as their theme, but few people present today could recall a more reasoned call for peace at previous inaugurations. Only later was it realized that the President had made no direct reference to pressing internal problems, or that he had offered Americans nothing but the opportunity to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle. The charges made during the election that he was too young and too inexperi- enced for this high office then sounded remarkably empty. Points from Mr. Kennedy's address, page 5. NEW PRESIDENT'S CALL TO AMERICAN YOUTH ENERGY AND FAITH NEEDED TO DEFEND FREEDOM MR. KENNEDY'S INAUGURATION IN SNOW-BOUND CAPITAL