Evening star., 1948-04-25

WALLACE.
t criticism by Truman.)
-AP Wirephoto.
of your career with a view toward
setting the record straight, to set
down the truth as you sect 1t.
Mr.. Wallace: III be surprised
if anybody cares to print that.
@. Do you think that your 1943
battle with Jesse Jones, after which
the President asked you to give
up the Board of Economic Warfare,
had anything to do with your fall
ure to win the vice presidential
nominal ton in 1914?
Says Roosevelt Wanted Him
Mr.. Wallace: I honestly don't
know. 1t might have. Jimmy
Byrnes held several conferences at
which Jones and I thrashed out
our disagreements. The President
was getting a good deal of advice
from Bysnes then, and I had the
impression Byrnes did not favor
my denomination. But I'm not at
all sure how much weight that feel
ing carried with Roosevelt.
@. Did you and Roosevelt ever
talk over whether or not you would
be on the ticket again in 1914?
Mr.. Wallace: Well, the week be-
fore the Chicago convention had
lunch with the President in the
White House. He couldn't have
been heartier. I felt, but didn't
say, that all I needed at Chicago
was one vote. and that was FDR's
But didn't want to put him on the
spot. I was willing to settle for his
just staying out of the whole thing
and I had the impression that he
was sold on that idea. AS was
about to leave, he pulled me over to
his chair and whispered In my ear:
Henry, I hope it's the same OLD
team"
@. What do you think happened
after that?
Mr.. Wallace: I believe the final
conclusive pressure was put on the
President when he passed through
Chicago on his way West. That
was when Ed Kelly, Bob Hannegar
and those other folks got to him
and persuaded him to write thai
letter mentioning Truman ane
Douglas. Hannegan tried to keel
the letter out of the press, ane
just pass it around among the del.
egates. But it leaked out anyway
and, after that, I knew as we'll al
anybody what was going to happen
Offered Any Job but Hull's
@. Did you and FDR ever tall
about it afterward?
Mr.. Wallace: The President die
mention it once. He recalled tha
he had had to make a deal witt
Garner in 1882, and that that's th'
way politics was. He felt had no
made the necessary connections be-
fore the convention and there wa:
nothing ne could do about that. w
didn't really discuss it. I only said
Mr.. President, you know wha
happened as we'll as I do." We lie
it go at that.
Q. Would you say the inciden
had any effect on your relation
with the President?
| Mr.. Wallace: No. The .Presiden
was very kind to me in talking
about my part in the campaign.
worked as hard as I knew how, ant
paid all my own expenses out o
my own pocket. didn't take cen
from the Democratic National Com
mittee.
| @. Is it true that Roosevelt Offered
you your pick of any place in th'
cabinet?
Mr.. Wallace: Yes. Any place ex
cept Secretary of State, of course
because Cordell Hull was there. I
was Roosevelt's own idea. I WASH
asking for anything. He precipi
tated the offer himself.
I @. Why did you choose to be Sec
retary of Commerce?
Mr.. Wallace: The President toll
me he was going to get rid of Jess
Jones, anyway, and I didn't want t.
displace anybody who might other
wise remain in the cabinet. And
had learned in the Department o
Agriculture how much farm pros
perity depended on the elimination
of the boom bust cycle in business
I thought I might help get at tina
problem from Commerce.
! @. After Truman was sworn il
as President, were there any i'm
mediate clashes between you ant
him in cabinet sessions?
! Mr.. Wallace: No. I often didn'
like the drift of things on foreigl
policy, and said so. But I had tn
feeling Truman himself was no
particularly committed to all tn
State Department policies and wa
sort of feeling his way along.
don't believe he realized himself. a
first, just where those policies Nigh
lead. :,
@. How about your speech u