Last night I was watching a program on the history channel, in which they explored the underground and underworld of Istanbul, Turkey, and then NYC. The program is Cities of the Underworld and it’s fascinating, although the host is overly animated about 25% of the time.

The episode discussed, among other things, the secret power-plant – the nerve center of NYC’s subway system – and a Nazi plot to take it out, crippling the U.S. war mobilization effort, and a now abandoned platform under the Waldorf-Astoria rumored to have been used by then President F.D. Roosevelt into and out of the city without revealing his infirmity. A train would depart Washington D.C., with an armored car carrying his Pierce-Arrow limousine, a few hours later it would arrive under the Waldorf-Astoria, the car would exit the train and use a freight elevator to reach street-level. Looking for corroborating stories, I’ve been disappointed. The general consensus seems to be that FDR either didn’t use it, or didn’t use it with the frequency suggested on several other documentaries. I did find a recent article from the Stanford (CT) Advocate, about a mystery rail car which sits on an abandoned portion of the tracks. The Advocate makes the same case that the History Channel did: the MTA has no record of the car (although they have records for every other car), its markings are probably governmental in origin, it appears to be armored, its trucks and suspension are unusually supple for freight, etc.

I find it hard to stomach – that in the midst of a great catastrophe – the president would commission a private train station in order to hide his infirmity. How vain, how arrogant, how evil. Lead by example; show the people that polio had taken your legs but it couldn’t stop you, in order that they might overcome whatever hardships they were enduring.  That is, unless you’re nothing more than an opportunist. It’s easy to spend other people’s money while telling them to make yet another sacrifice.  Instead, he “temporarily” confiscated the people’s gold. For 40 years.

More evidence, if the legend is true, that they’re all moral defectives…