President Roosevelt is subject to strains which woman of less robust constitution or buoyant personality could bear. He alone is faced with the responsibility for decisions upon which not only the fate of his own country but the future history of the world will depend. But these decisions cannot be made in a calm detached atmosphere for the President can never withdraw himself from ihe bustling routine of his Administrative duties. They must be made as it were on the run and time for reflection snatched from an overcrowded day which is always too short for the tasks which must be done, If at times the President appears to hesitate and to be confused in his own mind and to aver between caution and boldness the on is plainly to be found in the many-sided roles which he is forced to assume.
The President is a political leader. He cannot ignore public opinion, but must move with it, He can exercise his skill in modifying it, but must always bear in mind that the strength of his Administration depends upon the strength of the public support which it commands. He might by bolder leadership evoke the public support which he strives to create but in so doing might subject the party organization which elected him to such strains that it would no longer be an efficient instrument when the next electoral test took place. The President is not only concerned with the war but with the social programme he inaugurated before the war and wishes to see continued after the war. The desirability of some move from the international or strategic point of view must always be tempered by considerations of its effect on domestic politics, The President is Commander-in-chief and strategist-in-chief. He is responsible for running the army and navy and he is also responsible for questions of high policy. The United States is at the moment the most important single unknown factor in the world situation. It is the last strategic reserve of Democracy. If this last reserve is badly applied or dissipated the cause of Democracy is lost. Nothing remains to fall back on. Not only is the President responsible for American policy but as administrator for the Lease and Lend Act he is responsible for world policy. The final decision on where to send supplies from the American arsenal of Democracy rests with him. His judgment may dangerously deplete one area or pile up unessential material at another, may cause the collapse on one front or lead to the con-tinted resistance of another. ^'The- President is /an administrator." He the executive head of an enterprise which finds work for over 1,000,000 civil servants. In addition to the powers conferred on all presidents by the Constitution he holds vast powers delegated him by Congress. As from July 1 he is responsible for the expenditure of $22,000,000,000 (£5,200,000,000). His is the hand which must guide the controls over prices and regulate finance. He has vast power over trade, over agriculture, over industry. He has the power to avert disaster and conversely by wrong use of those powers to create it.
Even in peacetime the killing burdens laid on American presidents were a subject for comment. In time of emergency they are far heavier. Hitler as a dictator need not shoulder the burdens of a political leader. Mr. Churchill as head of a united nation enjoys the same freedom of action. Both men are able to delegate administrative powers and confine themselves to broader questions of strategy and policy. The President, however, feels that since the consequences of administrative action may have repercussions in the realm of policy he must exercise minute control over all phases. Moreover he is thinking not only of the war effort but of the subsequent peace. Unless all authority is dependent on the White House centres of opposition may be created in the defence organization to many of the fundamental new deal policies. Finally the President by temperament likes to keep his finger on every control lever and know the contents of every government dossier.
The two individuals who now have most influence on the President are his wife and Mr. Harry Hopkins. Mrs. Roosevelt's trips throughout the country and her habit of turning up in the most unexpected places have been made the butt of innumerable jokes and cartoons but these trips serve Very useful purpose. They enable the President to learn what the current of opinion is in widely scattered areas. Mrs. Roosevelt has also maintained her contacts with New Dealers and acts as a link between them and ihe White House. She exercises a strong influence particularly over domestic policy.
Mr. Harry Hopkins lives at the White House and is the only person in the Administration who can approach the President at any time. He is handicapped by ill-health which usually reduces his working day to six hours, but despite this there is no phase of the Lease and Lend programme which he does not supervise. Since his trip to London Mr. Hopkins whose previous background was entirely domestic lias become one of the most ardent supporters of a strong foreign policy.
The President meets regularly with a War Cabinet consisting of Secretary of State Hull, Seer of the Navy Knox, Secretary of War. Stimson and Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau. The war cabinet has little influence on policy but helps to fill in the general strategic picture for the Pre—sident.
Next in importance to the "war" cabinet in wartime work of the Administration are.the joint heads of the Office of Production Management, Mr. William Knudsen and. Mr. Sidney Hillman. At first it was felt that many of the unemployed realized that a far greater The conflict between the New Dealers who used to be the most important element in the Government and $l-per-year men who were brought to Washington to look after defence production has been another element weakening the defence organization. The $1-per-year men though they get $10 a day expenses in addition to their annual salary of $1, have in most cases come to Washington at considerable financial sacrifice through patriotic motives, They have found themselves hampered by red-tape and lost in a labyrinth Of burocratic procedure. The chief criticism levelled against Mr. William Knudsen, their most outstanding member, is that instead of insisting upon more authority and greater centralization of control, has acquiesced in the situation.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.