What is a Generalissimo?

The nation, through its press, demanded a united command, headed by a generalissimo. President Roosevelt made a limited response by finally naming Admiral William D. Leahy as his own personal Chief of Staff (TIME, July 27). But what were Admiral Leahy’s duties, what were his rights, what his responsibilities? Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief sounded at first like a huge job.

President Roosevelt himself gave the answers, and the answers chiseled Admiral Leahy’s new post down to a nub. Heretofore, said the President, he had spent a lot of time on strategy; he had been forced to read a great deal, see many people. Now Admiral Leahy would save him time by assuming some of the burden: the Chief of Staff would do the “leg work” (from the newspaper term for reporters who gather news and turn it in to a writer), the indexing, the summarizing.

So Generalissimo Leahy was a legman. The editor was still Franklin Delano Roosevelt.