Evening star., 1945-05-01

tive or executive competence ar,
convinced that Truman is a rea
President, a competent Chief Ex
ecutlve. Those who think in term.
of national morale are convinced
that Truman will not let the people
down, that he will sustain theil
hopes and their faith.
This is good deal for a man tt
have achieved in little more thar
two weeks. 1t is remarkable wher
one considers that he has achieved
it beneath a flag still flying at half
mast for man destined to be
knoWn-if we accept the verdict oi
both his friends and his foes-as
one of our few truly great Presi.
dents. The feeling toward Roose'
velt being what it was, it is al
extraordinary tribute to the new
President that Roosevelt's devoted
followers have made Truman the
heir to their loyalty.
Decisive Man.
The basis for the admiration Tru-
man is winning as an executive is
probably to be found in his readi-
ness to accept responsibility and
to make decisions. Despite his own
modest appraisal of himself, Tru-
man never has been, or he cer-
tainly never was as Senator, an
indecisive man. He always was
capable of reaching his own con-
clusions and acting on them. The
fact that his conclusions now have
taken on vastly greater Importance
seems not to have changed this
characteristic. Aware that decisions
have to be made, aware that the
duty to make them is his, he does
not seem disposed to torture himself
with doubts. He does the best he
can with the immediate problem
and passes on to the next.
For the understanding of the
problems that have been presented
thus far, of course, he was better
prepared than many had realized.
AS Senator he already had come
to grips with most of them, whether
they were political, economic or So
cial problems, national or interna-
tlonal. At his first press confer
ence, when he was asked, in effect,
where he stood with regard to GER
tain issues, he referred in two in
stances to his record as a Senator.
He will be able to refer to that rec
ord again and again, if he so de-
slres, since it is a positive record,
not negative one. Beyond this
there is his pledge, not given idly
to carry out the program on which
he and the head of his party ticket
were elected by the people last No
vember. Truman accepted that pro-
gram with such sincerity that he
occasionally embarrassed some of
his puSsy-footing fellow candidates.
He has shown himself loyal to the
party's professed program and he
understands the program in detail.
This, SO far as existing issues are
concerned, aids him greatly in the
making of decisions.
Can Really Be Tough.
Close associates of the new Pres
ldent are aware OF degree of
toughness in his character that cas-
ual acquaintances are apt to miss.
They know that he really can be
tough. They expect him to be tough
with any member of his own ad-
ministration who reveals the least
disloyalty to the general program;
they expect him to act without hesi-
tation when he finds an associate
more concerned with self-interest
or personal prestige than with the
common purpose. They expect to
see more than one head fall They
will not be surprised If Truman,
taking up where Roosevelt left off
: shows less tenderness toward those
who let Roosevelt down than Roose-
welt himself would have shown, the
late President being VIGOROUSLY re-
luctant ever to fire anybody.
In brief, Harry Truman seems to
know who, by the grace of God, il
President of the United States and
humbly though he accepts the title