Tired Team

Into President Roosevelt's office last week were ushered two Britons whose patience had been sorely tried: Sir Frederick Leith-Ross and Ambassador Sir Ronald Lindsay. Ever since Sir Frederick arrived five weeks ago to talk about settlement of Britain's War Debt to the U. S. ($4,500,000,000), the President and his Treasury officials had been up to their ears in domestic affairs. A few half-hours snatched from Acting Secretary of the Treasury Dean Acheson's crowded schedule were about all Sir Frederick, cooling his heels in the British Embassy, had to show for his visit. Then President Roosevelt instituted his new monetary program and it became clear that it would be futile to discuss debt settlement until it could be determined where the dollar would finally come to roost in relation to the pound. That was the subject of the second, last and longest (one hour) conference which the President had with Sir Frederick and Sir Ronald.

The Britons left the White House and they did not leave with a smile. "There is no statement," Sir Frederick and Sir Ronald snapped in unison to newshawks. Few days later President Roosevelt announced that Britain would pay 7,500,000 U. S. dollars as a "token" on Dec. 15 in- stead of the $117,000,000 due. and that the negotiations would be abandoned until a more "propitious time."

P:The Washington atmosphere nowadays is conducive to huffiness. Nervous strain crackles throughout the enormously complicated network of the New Deal boards, bureaus, councils, committees. The jar of personalities is added to honest differences of opinion.

Most notable conflict of principle is that which exists between the President and nearly all of his chief fiscal officers. At the Treasury, there is no Secretary; William Hartman Woodin continues sick. Acting Secretary Acheson carries on under obvious strain while rubber-dollar professors get the ear of the President. Banker Bruere, appointed to co-ordinate credit activities, is, in one commentator's phrase, "outstared" by huge-framed Jesse Jones of R. F. C.

Between Secretary of Commerce Roper and NRAdministrator Johnson have arisen differences (both of principle and personality). They took visible form last week in the Swope Plan for putting NRA more under civilian control (see p. 10). As General Johnson flew West on an inspection and explanation tour. Washington talked again about his soon resigning.

Secretary Hull's patience is again under heavy pressure. While the Recovery program hoists tariffs and embargoes, he is to be shipped to South America to try to make trade treaties. Madam Secretary of Labor Perkins keeps her department serene but Agriculture under Secretary Wallace and his colleague AAAdministrator Peek is restive. So are the Interior and Public Works offices under Mr. Ickes, sweating to put Federal billions to work. There are many cross-assignments, touching the Treasury's work. A switch of last week in the Home Loan Bank Board, stepping Vice Chairman John H. Fahey up to replace William Francis ("Steamboat Bill") Stevenson, was significant. Stevenson is a big, loose-jointed South Carolina politician, a defeated Congressman. Fahey is a Massachusetts publisher and businessman. He has been doing most of Stevenson's work?starting up a $2,000,000,000 building & loan company with 12,000 employes?while easy-going Stevenson spent most of his time doling out the patronage. Stevenson's secretary, A. E. Hutchinson, was called "Two-Job Hutch" because of his past record of doubling in political posts. Two Stevenson in-laws were taken on as secretaries. Of such stuff jealousies are bred and out of jealousies tension, inefficiency. At the White House, tension is not yet felt. The President remains the easy, smiling, unhurried team-captain, supercharged with cheer, confidence and encouragement. For him, or for their country, the tired and edgy ones work on. Nearing the end of the first quarter of his grueling recovery game, the captain was last week reported to be looking around for reserves and substitutes.

P:Nine Pennsylvania "captive" coal miners, scrubbed clean, hesitant, impressed but not overawed, were shown into the President's office last week. Some 20,000 of their colleagues were still on strike, in spite of the President's conference with their employers week before which guaranteed them the "checkoff" system an< union recognitions (TIME, Nov. 6). Before they quit striking, they wanted to be sure that the forthcoming election to select their representatives would be run on the square, that the operators would introduce no "ringers." General Johnson and President Roosevelt agreed to send National Labor Board representatives to Pennsylvania at once to supervise the voting from start to finish. The miners said they would go back to work this week.

P:Most notable caller expected at the White House this week was Maxim Maximovich Litvinov, Russia's rolly-polly Foreign Commissar, who last week arrived in the U. S.

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