The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-06-12

geCner WlCn the QeSClnaC1On remained the strictest of military secrets until D-Day.
 The President has used map of this kind ever since the start of the war, and every day has kept track of each ship in the Pacific and Atlantic, a naval aide moving them around for him.
 Ever since Mrs. Roosevelt, ST., found her son at the age of IA reading Admiral Mahan, one of the toughest of U. s. naval strate- gists, Roosevelt himself has been a naval expert. Naval officers who have sailed with him, first as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, later as President, pay tribute to his shrewdneSS in naval strategy. ROOSEVELT AND DE GAULLE
 U. S. and British military lead CTS have had some differences of opinion in the past. - as all strong minded men must - but there was unanimous agreement before the invasion started, except on one point. That was General de Gaulle.
 That was why the world witt messed the strange spectacle of Allied troops landing to liber- ate France with not single French soldier in the vanguard.
 Even in regard to de Gaulle, there was agreement between the U. s. and British military. It was only Presiednt Roosevelt who did not agree. The British were strong for having de Gaulle as the new provisional leader of France to set up a government immedi- ately behind the invasion army. General Eisenhower also favored this plan. So did the War De- partment.
 At one point, Secretary of War Stimson and Acting Secretary of State StettiniuS called on the President and urged that de- Gaulle be recognized as the pro- visional leader of France. Roose- welt, however, put. them off.
 Later, when Churchill and
 Eden wanted de Gaulle to come
 to Washington, the President
 put his foot dOwIi hard. He
 also opposed de Gaulle's going
 to London.
 FDR was so adamant that it became a source of some ernbar- rassment. He has yielded to Churchill on many things, as for instance the shipping of tre- mendous quantities of U. s. sup- plies to India, where they are used not for the war, but for putting down potential Indian revolts. However, he refused to budge re- garding de Gaulle.
 At the Teheran-Cairo confer- ences, Roosevelt found it difficult to work with Churchill on things political, such as restoration of Hong Kong to China and other matters affecting the Victorian pomp and circumstance of the British Empire. So he decided to play closer to Russia.
 Hence, ever since, Churchill
 has been playing closer to de-
 GaulIe. Prior to Teheran, Chur.
 chill made frequent derOgatOry remarks to the President about
 de Gaulie. But after he watch cd U. S.-Russian cooperation at Teheran, he obviously decided
 to build France up as a closer British ally to offset the Rus sians.
 Therefore, the President de- cided to buck the British at least regarding de Gaulle. He has had the Justice Department look up French law and political preced- ent and finds that. following past wars, French cities and provinces formed their own governments and then united with other cities and provinces to establish a cen- tral government. They have never had a central governor or presi- dent. such as de Gaulle. form an overall government for them af- ter c war. So. although the Free French are boiling mad and the British are predicting political chaos, General Eisenhower will follow out this system of local government.
 CHURCHILL's lD4e ATTITUDE
 Before the British started to play up de oaulle. they told the following story on him. When the French were retreating in June, of the inner heart. 4 man is free