THE PRESIDENCY: Capstones

Last week U. S. eyes were focused on headlines about battered London, headlines about U. S. conscription, headlines about the U. S. Presidential campaign. Franklin Roosevelt, as usual, made headlines too—some as President, some as candidate. As candidate he made a fighting speech before a Labor audience (see below). As President, he received from Congress the capstones of his defense program : 1) conscription of man power, along with unprecedented peacetime powers to draft industry as well; 2) a $5,000,000,000 supplemental Defense Bill, to equip the new Army and launch a world-beating two-ocean Navy.

Mr. Roosevelt gracefully accepted both, signed both. Said he, calling upon 16,500,000 male citizens to register for the draft Oct. 16: “We have set forth the underlying . . . duties, obligations and responsibilities of equal service. . . . We have not carved a new and uncharted trail in the history of our democratic institutions. On the contrary, we have merely reasserted an old and accepted principle of democratic government.”

The President also:

>Acquainted Congress with his National Defense Advisory Commission’s rules to govern defense contracts. Point No. 1: speed first, price & profit second. Point No. 2: Labor is to keep its wage rates, hours standards, overtime pay.

> Forbade the export (except under license) of 1) equipment and formulas used to manufacture aviation gasoline; 2 ) plans and specifications for the construction of aircraft and aircraft engines.

> Attended the State funeral of Speaker Bankhead; with members of his Cabinet and top administrators left on a special train for the Jasper, Ala. services, and announced that Henry Wallace, who defeated Bankhead for the Democratic Vice-Presidential nomination, would also attend.