Evening star., 1942-12-31
Powerful Bloc
Seeks Custer Of
Admiral Leahy
Move Follows Proposal
By Chief of Stuff for
Four-Mon War Cabinet
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

Dy ooANo Il h4N AANL D1to"Ns
A powerful and concentrated
pressure is being exercised on
the White House to induce
President Roosevelt to dispense
with the services of his chief of
staff, Admiral William D.
Leahy, jr.
The arguments set forth are that
Admiral Leahy is too DID, toe
reactionary and ultimately will prove
a liability to the President in the
1914 elections.
His ability as military man is not
being disputed. but it is emphasized
that the military situation-in the
minds of the those who are seeking
the custer of the uncompromising
admiral-is such that his services as
a strategist are of little value COM
pared to the harm he may cause to
the party in the political field.
The attack on Admiral Leahy
came to the surface when it was
disclosed that he had prepared a
plan to integrate governmental
agencies whose functions are di-
rectly concerned with the war eff
fort under four heads, alone respon-
slble to the Presidential small war
cablret-in order to produce an
effective co-ordinated machine
concerned with the vigorous prose-
cutlon of the war.
The contributory causes, which
some consider the principal reason
why powerful animosity was
created against Admiral Leahy in
circles close to the President, are
the admiral's stand in the Darlan
affair. his determined attitude that
there shall be no compromises with
Americas pledges to foreign coun-
trles-including North Africa-and
his determined opposition to crea-
ton of an independent air force In
the latter. he has the support of
Admiral Ernest King and Gen.
George Marshall.
Storm Over War Cabinet Plan.
The storm is said to have broken
over his proposal that a war cabinet
be formed as soon as possible to
eliminate unsatisfactory conditions
on the home front.
The Presidents chief of staff
looks on the. home front as a battle
front. Admiral Leahy and those who
think as he does point out that
there are many agencies which have
fn6nnanHnnt onI
heads who proceed on their own
without any coordination of ef-
fort. They emphasize that such a
situation is similar to a battlefield
on which one general ordered a
certain move while another decided
to take an action on his own ini-
tiatiVe.
In suggesting that war cabinet
OF four men be formed. the Admiral
proposed that the President be
chairman, with one member the
director of civilian requirements
another the Chief of Staff. a third
the adviser on United Nations af-
fairs and war supplies and the fourth
the director of civilian warfare.
These four men would be directly
responsible to the President for the
administration of the war effort and
would be able to present to him a
clear and co-ordinated picture of the
situation. This cabinet would in no
way interfere with the usual peace
time Government agencies and
departments.
Would End One Sided Pleas.
II adopted the plan would end
the present practice of many agen-
cies' heads going to the President
and presenting him with a one
sided picture of their own agencies
to the exclusion of the CO. o-ordinated
viewpoint.
James Byrnes. as director of ci-
william requirements; Admiral Leahy
as chief of staff; Harry Hopkins,
as head of the United Nations af-
fairs, and Bernard Baruch. as di-
rector of civilian warfare, have been
(See LEAHY, Page 2-XD