The Wilmington morning star., 1946-02-02
BY WALTER LIPPMAN
HARRY HOPKINS

Now that Harry Hopkins is dead,
his reputation may come to bear
some recognizable relation to his
work. While he was alive, it did
not. II in one room some one had
assembled say the twenty men,
chiefs of state, foreign ministers,
and high commanders, who organ
lied the allied victory, and in an
other room an equal number OF
private citizens-if each group had
then been asked to describe Har-
ny Hopkins, an inquiring observer
would not have believed they were
talking about the same man.
There is a reason for this. The
career of Harry Hopkins was di-
vided into two chapters, one be-
fore May, 1910, when Hitler broke
into western Europe and reached
the shores of the Atlantic, and one
after. In the first chapter, that Of
the domestic New Deal, Harry
Hopkins was on public view ano
his public reputation became fix
ed. In the second chapter, that
of the war, he disappeared entire
ly from the public view, and in this
vacuum of information his former
reputation chung to him like tir
can to a dogs tail. Except among
the relatively few who were plan
ming and directing the war, Har
ry Hopkins was judged as New
Dealer. He was liked or disliked
suspected or trusted, not for VIVA
he was actually doing but for wha
he had done in the years before
May, 1910.
His great work, upon which hi!
lasting fame will rest, was done
as the principal adviser and agen
of President Roosevelt in the for
nation of the allied coalition
Through him, more than throug:
any other American, the negotia
lions were conducted which pro
duced the common strategical pal
and the combined operations
That was his mission, whether h
was administering lend-lease, o
travelling back and forth anon
the capitals, or attending the coun
ellis of war in Washington, Casa
blanca, Cairo, Tehran, Quebec
Yalta, or working for the Presi
dent with the combined and tn
Joint chiefs of staff, or with tn
shipping, production, and re
sources boards.
No one would say that he wa
the inventor of the conception Q
a unified effort under a commo
strategical plan. But his contr.
button in making the conception
workable was very great indeed
That is why his private reputa
ton rose so high among thos
who knew most intimately wha
was going on, how great were tn
difficulties Of collaboration. In tn
Inner councils of the war. Eve
the outside observer, if he watche
closely and. was reasonably We
Informed, could detect an objee
Tive measure of his influence
There were alternating periods Q
decision and cooperation on tn
one hand. of hesitation and con
f1ic, on the other. These period
conceded remarkably, one begal
Ito see. with the periods whe1
Harry Hopkins was active and il
good health and with the period
when he was away from Washing
ton or was i'll.
Coalition warfare is notoriousl.
d;ffic11t and the coalition whicl
Won the second world war wa
the most complex, and also tn.
most brilliantly successiul, whlcl
statesmen and soldiers have eve
orasn;zed The coalition of tn
=. world war was simple in com
IL -; moreover, it fell apart
Pc +l;s one never did, before thu
a. was concluded. The Napo
1eonic wars lasted for 20 years a!
|one coalition after anotner dis
solved. , - ~.
times to appreciate now the great
ness ness Of the achievement IN unit
MSS in@ ~ many diverse nations il
ing IL, 81 % oieantic campaigns all inter
locked one with the otner IN ev
erv continent and on an the
cry But the historians whe
,,,rita for our descendants viii ap
WIFE ;. ~ it and the men who
lpreclate ~ -. mart in il. MOI