The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-10-12
tcontinued from Page D

CTS. All evening they discussed the nature Of the report Willkie should make to the President.
 Next day Willkie's airplane. was late, It circled and cireled over the Washington airport waiting for clear weather to permit Q landing. He arrived at the White House tired, his stomach Q bit upset, but gave 6 painstak- ing report to the President ROOSEVELT LISTENS
 ATTENTIVELY
 Word was widely circulated af- terward that instead of listening to Winkie, FDR had interrupted, given him his own views, and that Willkie was hurt, I took occasion to ask Willkie about this, but he said that the Presi- dent had listened intently for on hour and Q half with scarcely q word of Interruption,
 Later, however, Wlnkle was slightly irked when, after the Australian government had In. vlted him to 70 Co Australia,
 the White House had Mrs. Roosevelt go instead. Willkie felt that the President had not wanted him tO get the publicity
 bulld.up which might come
 from such . trip and inter. vened with the Australian gov. ernment.
 A period of coolness followed. deepened momentarlly by c Mar. quis Childs magazine article In which Childs quoted various be- littling remarks Roosevelt was re. ported to have made about Will kie. The President immedi- ately wrote Willkie c long let. ter taking up, point by point, the errors In Childs' article. It was Q letter written by 0 man who cherishes the esteem of another and 1t had the desired effect. WILLKIE AS FDR'S
 RUNNING MATE
 One of the most confidential chapters in the relations between the two men took place Just prior to the Democratic conven. ton, when Q high-up member of the Administration conferred with Willkie and then with Roosevelt about the possibility of Willkie'S becoming his vice presi. dental running-ynate. Willkie was open-minded, though skep- tical that such unusual action would Do taken by Q Democratic convention. He agreed, how ever, that if drafted, he would not decline.
 The President In turn said he would be delighted to have
 WIllkle as hls runnlng.mate, provided there was . spon.
 taneOus move from the con. ventlon to nominate him. He
 added that he did not want anything to take place that locked like Q political deal be. tween them.
 It was on this same day that FDR wrote his Tnuch-controvert- ed letter to Willkie suggesting that they get together for Q talk In the near future. He scrubbed the note in lonkhand, and 1t was later typed and mailed by hlS secretary, Grace Tully. The Presi dent had already left for the West Coast and never actually signed 1t.
 At Chicago c move to draft Willkie actually got under way. Senator Wagner of New York was the center of the move, and actually cleared the decks to make c speech putting Willkie'b name before the convention as vice President. Edward Lough- lin. head Of Tammany, was anxious to second the nominA. ton. He polled most of the New York delegation and found en- thusiastic support.
 However, when Wagner and
 LOughiln consulted the Big City bosses who were running
 things, they got . abuse of cold water. Messrs, Hannogan, Kelly, Flynn and Hague were determined to put across Trus man and nothing could deter them.
 Many Democratic delegates still believe, however, that had the convention been unbossed and free to debate the pros and cons of the candidates, Wendell Will. kie would have ended Up as Vice. Presidential nominee on tho Democratic ticket. 3f HE MIGHT HAVE SAID YES
 WllIkie was under tremendous pressure from Republican friends to come out for Dewey. They hounded him necessarily, but hc stood bat. Several times ile dig- csaased Nith this ooIunlniat tho