Evening star., 1944-07-29
Deputy commonder
Question Seen Arising

Question Seen Arising
Understudies of President Lack
War Background, Says Writer
By Dopid Laurence
II President Roosevelt is the Com.
mander In Chief Of the war operations
and has been acting in that capacity
for the last four years, who Is the
deputy commander in chief? What
man has been trained as an understudy
to Mr.. Roosevelt who could take over
In an emergency?
This question is bound to bob UP II
the campaign centers around the elec-
ton of the Commander in Chief. Tho
public has always had the idea that the
Vice President is really the deputy
president. Actually, very few Vice
Presidents have ever known much about
what Is going on In the executive branch
Of the Government.
Vice President Wallace has been an
exception. He has not only attended
cabinet meetings regularly, but he ac-
tually headed up one Of the war agen-
cies. He went on missions to- Latin
America, China and Russia, and gen.
orally has familiarized himself with the
major policies, both domestic and for
eign, Of the present administration. But
Mr.. Roosevelt, at the behest of the
leaders of the regular Democratic or
ganizations, eliminated Mr. Wallace and
thus got rid of the one relatively ex-
perlenced man who might possibly
have been regarded as deputy presi-
dent.
Byrnes Real Understudy.
Even Mr.. Wallace, however, could
never be regarded as an understudy to
the President. The real understudy, so
far as domestic matters are concerned,
has been James F. Byrnes, who, as Di-
rector OF Economic Mobilization, has his
ONCE in the White House and has be-
come as familiar with the home-front
problems as anybody. Mr.. Roosevelt
recognized this and, for a time, Just
before the Democratic convention, felt
that Mr.. Byrnes was the logical man
to run on the ticket in second place,
but the CIO vetoed the idea and the
President with considerable humilia.
ton had to retreat and pull Mr.. Byrnes
out Of the contest.
But even Mr. Byrnes was not familiar
with actual war operations namely, the
military and naval aspects of global
strategy. Strictly speaking, the Presi-
dent has not developed any understudy
In that direction and there are only
four men who are intimately acquainted
with the details Of our global strategy.
They are Gen. Marshall, Admiral King,
Gen. Arnold and Admiral Leahy.
OF these four men, Admiral Leahy
perhaps comes nearer to being deputy
commander in chief than anybody. His
position as chief of staff to the Presi.
dent" is not provided for in the Con-
stitution or the statutes and is merely
an emergency position created by Mr..
Roosevelt and accepted by Congress
and the country because it Is obvious
that the Commander in Chief could not
keep in touch with the details of mill
tary operations and needed some one
to serve virtually as his aide or secre-
tary on military affairs.
So when the situation is examined
minutely, 1t will be found that the only
understudy for the Commander in Chief
Is Admiral Leahy. AS former chief Of
naval operations and former Ambas-
sador to France, he brings to his present
post wide knowledge of international
affairs, but If fate subtracted Mr.. Roose-
welt from the presidency, it would be
necessary for Vice President inex-
perienced in global strategy or military
plans to succeed him as Commander
in Chief
Background for Problem.
If such contingency arose between
now and next January. it would be Mr..
Wallace who would become the new
Commander in Chief. If Mr.. Roosevelt
Is reelected and does not serve out his
term, Mr.. Truman would become the
Commander in Chief. Yet neither Mr..
Wallace nor Mr.. Truman has any par
ticular background or intimacy with the
problems of the Commander in Chief on
which Mr.. Roosevelt's supporters are
about to base their campaign.
The idea that Mr.. Roosevelt is In
dipensable carries with it an implica-
tion that he has done the job so well
that he deserves to be continued in
power, and yet one of the first principles
of organization in any business and,
indeed. in any government, is to provide
for a successor. Yet there is no such
person or office as deputy president
any more than there Is a deputy COM
mander in chief.
If Mr. Dewey should be elected Presi-
dent and becomes the new Commander
in Chief, he would have at his right
hand Admiral Leahy as chief of staff as
well as Gen. Marshall and Admiral King
and Gen. Arnold. These four men have
attended all the international confer.
ences held at Casablanca, Quebec, Cairo
and Teheran. A new President would
receive from them the same loyalty and
devotion to duty that the present Chief
Executive receives.
The Commander in Chief argument IL
a much exaggerated one and the elec-
ton should turn more on international
and domestic policies to be pursued by
the next President rather than on the
specious argument that the Commander
in Chief must be retained because Of
his familiarity with the war.
Reproduction RiEhts Reserved)
HitIer's New Quirk