Evening star., 1947-04-06

a notable record in the Senate.
Supreme Court-sent the miners
back to work, as people wearied
of Lewis tactics applauded. That
move against Lewis was further
evidence that the President is not
an advocate of the labor r-can-do-
no-wrong" philosophy. despite his
earlier veto of the Case bill which
sought to effect certain union re-
forms.
Mr.. Truman's firm handling of
the Russian situation, and the ap-
pointment of Gen. George C. Mar
shall as Secretary of State to sue
coed James r. Byrnes, are other
items to which reaction has been
highly favorable.
Right here it should be offered as
a good guess, however, that neither
the President nor those around him
look for indefinite continuation of
the smooth sailing he now Is en-
joying.
Rough Road Ahead.
For instance, If the Republican
tax-cutting program carries in a
form that threatens to make any
sort of dent in the Treasury, it will
pose a tough problem for the Chief
Executive. He has been firmly
against tax reduction. stressing on
several occasions that the public
debt comes first, If the financial in
tegrity Of the country is to be un-
impaired. A veto would not be re-
ceived happily by lotso taxpayers.
Labor legislation may be another
hard one. Despite his breakdown on
the rail unions and the mine work.
ers, the President has urged Con-
gress against enactment of "puni-
tive" legislation, and has presented
his own program, which would out
law jurisdictfonal strikes, curb sec
ondary boycotts and provide for an
overall study of the labor problem
before any long-range measure is
drafted. Mr.. Truman has received
little support from labor on this
moderate program, and the Repub-
lican Congress may go further than
he desires. Like taxes. this can
cause trouble, and II and when the
President vetoes any major Repub-
lican measures, he is sure to be ac-
cused of withholding the co-opera-
ton he has asked.
Likes His Team
Whatever his troubles may be. on
the outside, however, the Internal
affairs of the White House are caus-
ing Mr.. Truman no worries. There
are no prima donnas in the official
family, either in or out Of the cab
met, and the staff work is definitely
good. If cabinet members happen
to get at cross-purposes, the issues
are ironed out before they go far,
and the President is satisfied that
he's got a team" that is working
together as a team should.
The agreement that the top COM
mand of the Army and Navy worked
out on the merger plan is a case
in point.
This administrative efficiency, the
product of trial and error. will. it is
safe to say, avert any more wal
lace incidents" such as occurred
last fall when a foreign policy
speech by the then Secretary of
Commerce. which had passed over
President Truman's desk, stirred Ill
feeling in the state Department
which was salved only with Mr..
Wallace's custer.
Gets Along With Press.
The Presidents own attitude in
the job has undergone a change,
too. Enjoying pleasant relation
ship with press and radio, Mr.. Tru-
man has quit trying to answer every
question that bobs up at his news
conferences. The testiness that
often marked Mr.. Roosevelt's ses-
sions with reporters is absent, but if
Mr.. Truman doesn't care to answer
a question, it doesn't get answered.
Like a good fighter, his 'footwork"
has improved.
An observer gets the idea, too,
that, despite the burdens. Mr.. Tru-
man has come to enjoy the things
he does from day to day, and if at
times he wearies of the cares that
go along with the presidency, the
outside world knows nothing about
it.
He undoubtedly realizes that
barring an act of God he will be the
Democratic presidential nominee
next year, but news conference
questions along this line get no.
where. After Postmaster General
(see FOX, Page C-5D