The Dragon Lady Conquers America Part II
in her achievements as a woman, but when she spoke it was no longer as a woman that one thought of her." Yet the next day at the President's press conference, Mrs. Roosevelt said the Madame took the role of ingenue; or as columnist Raymond Clapper noted, she deferred to the President as the "big man who could make things happen."
As the reporters filed into the Oval Office they saw three chairs arranged near the window away from the President's desk. Madame Chiang sat in the middle chair; the President, puffing a cigarette through his famous holder, sat to her left; on her right sat Mrs. Roosevelt. Time described the Madame as sitting "expectantly...like a young girl at her first matinee. Only when she leaned forward did the tips of her tiny open-toed pumps touch the floor....On her right, Eleanor Roosevelt sat stiffly erect, one hand on Madame Chiang's chair in a protective gesture."
When all the reporters had crowded in the President said, "May I take this opportunity, not to introduce Madame Chiang to you, but introduce all of you to her." After some small talk a reporter asked whether the Madame was on an official visit or just a personal visit. The Madame answered that the visit was for her health. "At the same time," the reporter continued, "you made quite an impression with your speech yesterday, which might percolate into official mentality?" Everyone laughed. The Madame drew a bigger laugh when she answered "That is for you to judge."
Midway through the press conference, the ingenue got the better of the hero. The President ended a long monologue about aid to China by saying the American government would get that aid to the Chinese "Just as fast as the Lord will let us." A few minutes later a reporter asked the Madame how she thought the aid could be accelerated. Repeating the President's call on the Lord she added, "The Lord helps those who help themselves." Amidst the laughter a red-faced President answered "Right."
A week later, on March 1, Madame Chiang arrived in New York City and was cheered by crowds at Pennsylvania Station, City Hall, and Chinatown. The following night the Madame was scheduled to speak at a mass rally in Madison Square Garden. Prior to the Garden appearance, the Citizens Committee to Welcome Madame Chiang Kai-shek, chaired by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. held a dinner at her hotel, the Waldorf-Astoria. As the dinner progressed the guest of honor failed to appear, so Henry Luce sent an emissary to her suite. The message from the Madame -- she was indisposed. Eventually she was prevailed upon to make
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