Evening star., 1943-08-27
BY FRANK 1. WELLER,
Associated Press Staff Writer.

| aren so secret. Ihey re Just silent
They quietly whittle away at war
time complaints, misunderstanding
mistakes.
These $10,000-a-year (apiece) men
hired to assemble and analyze" the
mass of information Mr.. Roosevelt
needs for his many decisions, are
David K. Niles trouble-shooter)
Jonathan Daniels (fact-finder)
Lauchlin Currie (economist), Lowell
Mellett (advise), William H. Nc
Reynolds civil service monitor)
and James M. Barnes (White House
Congress conciliator).
They were chosen for the roles
of the men of high competence
great physical vigor and a pas
sion for anonymity" recommended
six years ago by the Presidents
Committee on Administrative Man.
agement to help him work with the
executive departments and Con-
gress.
'oih tobh law W Dhons
Some congressional critics will
give you an argument about theil
high competence" but no one ques-
tions their physical vigor. They
work from dawn until, dusk with
only one secretary and one stehog-
rapher each, and most of the time
! fight their way from home to office
and back on overcrowded Washing
ton streetcars and buses.
And, for anonomity, whether OF
not they have passion for it, just
try to get one of them to talk!
This is the reason they are called
the Secret Six" mystery men and
a number of other things Mr.. Roose-
velt's less ardent admirers dislike
about the silence which stirs sus-
picion.
Representatives Bradley, Repub-
lican, of Michigan and Taber, Re-
publican, of New York declare thai
Mr.. Niles is spear heading an un-
dercover fourth-term campaign fol
Mr.. Roosevelt. Mr.. Niles denies it
says rumors that he has been writ
ing around the country sounding
out people is lot of bug juice.
But the Secret Six" know poll
tics.
There is no Boss" of the crew
Each runs his own show. sees the
President personally about twice &
week and they gang up on hin
after regular press conferences eact
Tuesday and Friday.
They go over President-reportel
questions and answers Sometimes
they suggest Mr.. Roosevelt back ur
little bit-or go further nex'
time-in something he has said.
Safe To Bet on Niles.
There is a feeling around here
however, that if there is a secret
understanding about who is head
man, you can put your chips on Mr.
Niles. .
Some say Mr. Niles wangled that
$500 900 from John L. Lewis to help
finance the Roosevelt 1886 cam
paign. i
This short, dark, 54-year-olo
bachelor who is getting a little
thick in the middle, lives in SWank
downtown hotel and reads himself
to sleep, was born Neyhus, the sor
of a Russian tailor in Boston. He
was a close friend of the great Jew
ish liberal, the late Associate JUS
tice Louis Brandeis of the United
States Supreme Court, and is pa.
of the Jewish liberal, Associate JUS
tice Felix Frankfurter.
He is veteran of Massuchsett;
politics, Harvard graduate anc
former director of Ford Hall Forum
Boston sounding board for "ad-
vanced ideas" The latter connec.
ton has led to some talk that he
is trying to pin socialism on the
country, but Mr. Niles calmly asks
how could he if he wanted to.
Does Feats Over Phone.
He is strictly background worker
who knows almost everyone and car
get almost any job done for the
President simply by calling on the
telephone
The youngest of the batch is
"Jonna" Daniels, 40 son of Josephus
Daniels-that patriarch of Demo
cratic politics who was President
Wilson's Navy secretary, President
Roosevelt's recent Ambassador tc
Mexico and is president of the Ra-
leigh IN. c. News and Observer.
Some will tell you that young Mr.
Daniels secret" job is to report to
Mr.. Roosevelt on Southern politics
Suppose, they say, some big-shot
Democrat gets out of line in Atlanta
Or Mobile-they say it wouldn't bt
long before Jonathan got there tt
take the heat off The Boss"
This reporter can vouch, however
that Mr. Daniels big job recently
has been to find out whether Gov
ernment young men of draft age
have been permitted overseas ci-
william duty in excess numbers and
if SO, to jerk them back here anc
slap on the khaki
Currie Working on Canada.
Mr Currie, a Nova Scotian who
got his B. S. from the London Schoo
of Economics, his M. A. and PhD
at Harvard, currently is trying tc
pound out a unified American
Canadian economy. He handled ar
economic program for China anc
the United States in 194l-42 Mr.
Currie, then economic adviser to
Secretary Morgenthau, was one oi
the law and diplomacy experts who
planned 'pump-priming" with Fed
eral funds to fight the depression
Mr.. Mellett is the crusader type
He comes from long line of In
| diana newSpapermen who were
eternally boosting someone for pub
lie office and in the next moment
trying to find something to get him
| impeached
He quit a s20,O0O-a-year job ir
1887 after 16 years as editor of q
Washington chain newspaper be,
cause, he says, the boss didn't like
Mr.. Roosevelt. He is smooth
scholarly, has countless friends, car
get as politely indignant as Cordel
Hull if he gets roughed up.
Present Task UndiscIosed.
He bossed the National Emer-
| on,,nu CoI,nci1 o,,J tl,o Na6oa ~