Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-11-16

President will LEVEL Mellstt.
make the effort. During the pas
four years he has been. criticized
frequently for having failed to builc
up a successor.
The question arises, however
whether the President can do thi.
thing If he so desires. There is not
much question as to the desire
Any President who had reason te
feel that he had administered the
Affairs of the Nation well would
naturally like to see his work car
ried on by a man in sympathy with
his ideas.
But bringing this to pass is not
easy. 1t has happened only once in
the memory Of men now living
Theodore Roosevelt, having de-
cided against asking for a third
cup Of coffee-his own expression
-groomed his Secretary of War,
William Howard Taft, for the presi-
dency and obtained his nomination.
Mr.. Taft in ONCE proved unsatis-
factory and the man who made
him thereupon undertook to unmake
him. Mr.. Taft was renominated
Notwithstanding, causing T. R. to
bolt the ticket and attempt unsuc-
cessfully to return to office himself
at the head Of new party.
Unhappy Experience.
Theodore Roosevelt's unhappy ex-
perience may have had something
to do with it, but in any case no
President since his time has seemed
to devote much effort toward estab-
fishing an heir apparent.
Nevertheless during the next four
years the President will be sus-
pected OF engaging in this precarious
undertaking. One man and another
from time to time will be the center
OF speculation as the man the
President is believed to be building
up. II the President names Henry
Wallace to a position of Importance
and prominence, speculation will re-
volve about Wallace. II he gives
John Winant a task calculated to
keep him in the public eye, the
oPSSAAheAoh WAL tulI W
Winant, and so on as fast as the
President makes such selections. It
will be shrewd man, however, who
succeeds in reading the Presidents
mind. His ability to keep the poll
ticians guessing has been demon
strated and that he will continue to
do 50 is about the only safe fore
cast that anybody can make.
1t Is conceivable that the Presi-
dent may regard his own personal
blessing as something less than a
political benefit, since it would be
certain to make target of the man
receiving it. The opposition, both
within and without the party, would
devote more energy to tearing such
q man down than the President
could possibly devote to building him
UP. Furthermore, no matter how
good In his own right the man
might be, in the public eye he might
be regarded as only a reflection of
his chief.
Something of this surely was in
Henry Wallace's mind when he was
thrown on his own at Chicago.
Heavy Burden to Bear.
II the President had been thinking
then Of Mr.. Wallace as a possible
presidential candidate in '48, he
could not have done better than he
did when he cut the vice presidential
apron strings. Mr.. Wallace was
enabled thereby to emerge as a
strong personality in his own right,
with a better claim, in terms of
popular following, on the 1913 nomi-
nation than any one else in sight.
II the President was thinking that
far ahead, then he already was en-
gagged in doing what he had been
criticized for failing to do. On the
other hand, If he now finds spot of
prominence for Mr.. Wallace in the
administration he will not escape
criticism. 1t will be said that the
President is seeking to name his
own successor and it won't be said
in praise.
The President has a tremendous
burden to carry. He has more than
one terribly important job to get