Evening star., 1937-10-23


davs of the late Louis Howe the oues-
tion Of liaison between Mr. Roosevelt
and the outside world has been dif-
ficult one to understand First the
President tried ont the idea OF an eX-
rcutive co-ordinator-Fra Walker
end then later he appointed Donald
Fichberg. The plan didn't work. II
was hard to get the cabinet officers to
: do business with Mr.. Roosevelt
through an Intermediary.
Presidents Task Colossal.
But the task of the presidency is
colossal one. No human being can
possibly see all the persons who want
to see a Chief Executive. persons in
side his own administration, and get
anything else done. much less see
ANYBODY from the outside world And
It isn't a question always Of personal
interview, bit of attention for an
urgent memorsDdum-or at least one
that the head Of some Government
agency thinks is urgent.
Mr.. Roosevelt has been fianked by
, an able group of secretaries. each
EklllFn III JllS ONit init ilAH 1NtoA 'A''
MCINTYRE handles the appointments
very we'll and Stephen Early does
splendid lob Of dealing with the press.
There has been nobody, however. ex-
eept the Tom Corcorsns and the others
of The brain trust 10 take up specific
problems and dig into them for the
President. The request made by Mr..
Roosevelt in the executive reorganiza-
ton bill for six assistants with pas
sion for anonymity" was treated with
some humor by the critics. but the
truth is Mr.. Roosevelt and every Presi-
dent needs some able young men TO
sift out the mass of valuable data
which people want him to have.
Sensible Solution.
Intrllsting 10 James Roosevelt the
work of meeting with the heads of
IA different agencies of the Govern
nent once a week was sensible solu-
tion of the Presidents problem of
overwork. The son has the implicit
confidence Of his father and has a
very good understanding Of current
problems
For several months il has been |
reported that James Roosevelt would |
some day run for the Senate from I
Massac chusetts or for the governorship. |
He makes the Bay State his legal
residence and recently bought farm
there. Undoubtedly, young Roosevelt
has a political future. He makes
good speech and inherits his fathers
ability to make friends and to mix
well with the people generally.
The President is. of course, giving
his son a remarkable opportunity TO
see government from the inside and
1t ought to stand in good stead some
dsy when he enters the political
arena for himself. But meanwhile
the President is getting a very abs
assistant To get at the bottom of the
many conflicts and collisions that
occur in Government departments and
bureaus.
Liked in New York.
Jimmy Roosevelt is said TO be a
good listener This is an excellent trait
in q presidential assistant. The other
dav he was in New York talking TO
come of the business men about cur
rent problems and is said To have
made an excellent impression. He was
spoken Of as level headed and keen
In his understanding Of some of the
things that are bothering the business
and financial community in the effort
to get the recovery movement started
forward once more.
While the President may be criti-
cised bv some for putting his son in
public office. Mr. Roosevelt must be per-
rnitted not to discriminate against his
own son when he happens to be capable
and exceedingly useful to him. Many
of as may disagree with the Roose-
Welt policies, but this is no reason
for beGrudging the President all the
human help he needs in handling his
enormous lob with its unprecedented
responsibilities.
fCopyrfsht 1887 }