THE PRESIDENCY: Signs of Progress

The dog days ended with a crash in Washington last week. The President began moving forcefully, directly, and broadly—ordering activities ahead on many fronts, hammering powerfully through his own work-cluttered desk, speaking his mind with a new clarity and simplicity. As always, all Washington began moving, catching the rhythm from the stroke of the crew. All along the line were signs of progress. Many of the things done were things that should have been done once-upon-a-time—long, long ago. But the big fact was that, belated or not, these things were getting done now. The U.S. pondered: Better late than never—and silently digested the long list.

> To China the President sent a military mission headed by Brigadier General John Magruder, staffed by competent aides. Their task: to advise the Chinese, to learn the lessons of War II in the Far East.

> The President talked with Japanese Ambassador Nomura, received from him a note from Premier-Prince Konoye (see p. 10).

>The President accepted the Rosenman plan for reorganization of the defense management, put it into effect. The plan was the greatest single step forward yet in the defense program, and honestly represented the most possible reorganization, short of an earthquake (see p. 11).

> The President appointed W. Averell Harriman as chief of the U.S. mission to Moscow. The appointment was nothing special—the fact of the mission’s getting under way was all important. Flying via Siberia, Alaska to Washington were two flying boats loaded with Soviet technicians, dignitaries, aides, prepared to set up the Washington end of aid-to-Russia.

> Out of the Senate Finance Committee, after four and a half months of argument and bogglement, came a pretty fair tax bill, geared to raise $3,672,400,000 of the $5,600,000,000 that should be raised now. But the bill’s mere forward movement was a big sign of progress.

> The President nominated World War I Hero Artemus L. Gates as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, filling a long-open hole (see p. 28).

> The Office of Civilian Defense announced that 6,700,000 pounds of pots-&-pans aluminum had already moved into defense production, enough to make about 1,825 fighting planes.

> The President recognized an organized campaign to spread ugly rumors through the U.S. about British misuse of Lend-Lease funds, called the stories dirty falsehoods, vicious lies (see p. 10).

Having done all this, the President, relaxed and happy, trained back to Hyde Park, made a little speech at the corny annual get-together of the Franklin Roosevelt Home Club, held each late summer for twelve years at the home of his tenant farmer, dignified old Moses L. Smith.

On Labor Day, Mr. Roosevelt really got in stride. Giving up his year-long attempt to compete with Winston Church ill in the manufacture of richly phrased, purple-worded dramatic addresses, he switched style, went back to his own earlier simplicity, clarity. Result was one of his best speeches this year, a powerful, moving, direct and candid effort. Ostensibly speaking to U.S. workmen on Labor Day, he told all the people:

“We shall do everything in our power to crush Hitler and his Nazi forces.”

This was the most far-reaching pledge the President had yet made. It was a final repudiation of peace negotiations of any kind preceding the destruction of Naziism. Said the President, bitterly: “[A few appeasers and Nazi sympathizers] even ask me to negotiate with Hitler—to pray for crumbs from his victorious table. They do, in fact, ask me to become the modern Benedict Arnold and betray all I hold dear—my devotion to our freedom—to our churches—to our country. This course I have rejected—I reject it again.”

He had begun by outlining once more the threat of Naziism to the fundamental rights of U.S. citizens. He then passed to the meat of his speech—a lucid passage:

“In times of national emergency, one fact is brought home to us clearly and decisively—the fact that all of our rights are interdependent.

“The right of freedom of worship would mean nothing without freedom of speech. And the rights of free labor as we know them today could not survive without the rights of free enterprise.

“That is the indestructible bond that is between us—all of us Americans: interdependence of interests, privileges, opportunities—interdependence of rights.

“That is what unites us—men and women of all sections, of all races, of all faiths, of all occupations, of all political beliefs. That is why we have been able to defy and frustrate the enemies who believed they could divide us and conquer us from within.”

He stated once more that if the British, Dutch, Norwegian and Russian Navies are destroyed, the American Navy cannot now or in the future maintain freedom of the seas against the world.

He admitted that U.S. war-material production was not yet enough. He pounded heavily at the sacrifices ahead: “The defense of America’s freedom must take precedence over every private aim and over every private interest. We are engaged on a grim and perilous task. Forces of insane violence have been let loose by Hitler upon this earth. We must do our full part in conquering them.”

There was still much to complain about in the U.S. But for at least one week most citizens could not complain of inaction, of doldrums and bottlenecks in Washington.

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