Roosevelt Week

Though still bearing the tan of his Bahamian vacation, President Roosevelt seemed to White House observers last week almost as tired, harassed and supersensitive as when he went away. Three mutually aggravating circumstances had helped to make him so. They were:

1) Congressional delay, caused by an unwieldy party majority, lax leadership and the customary rebelliousness of Congressmen at Presidential midterm;

2) steadily bolder hammering at his legislative program by critics;

3) growing confusion among plain citizens as to the direction of the New Deal program, growing doubt as to whether the President himself knew where it was leading.

It seemed a good moment for the world's most persuasive broadcaster to draw close to the people of the U. S. So late Sunday night the President betook himself for the first time since Sept. 30 and the seventh time in two years to the firesides of "My Friends." Sounding a little querulous at first, he soon became strong, brave, confident as ever. P: Housing Administrator James A. Moffett, having resigned (TIME, April 15), indiscreetly paid a farewell call at the White House. Once more he fell prey to Franklin Roosevelt's persuasion, announced that instead of resigning he would take a three months' trip around the world, then return to his job in Washington. P: Since the World War, U. S. Presidents have grown accustomed to dunning other nations to pay their debts. President Roosevelt last week had a taste of being dunned. Dr. Ricardo J. Alfaro, Minister of Panama, demanded once more that the U. S. pay its canal debt to Panama in gold as specified by treaty, not in devalued dollars. Twice Panama has turned back interest checks for $250,000 in 59-c- dollars, demanding the 100-c- gold dollars which the U. S. solemnly covenanted to pay. When Minister Alfaro left, he admitted that he got no promise that the debtor would live up to its engagement. P: Weary from the heavy job of setting up machinery to spend his $4,000,000,000 works fund and trying to spur Congress into action, the President got some relief when, for the first time this year, the weather was pleasant enough for him to spend an afternoon on the Potomac aboard the Sequoia. P: Fortnight ago the President and Chief Justice Hughes considered the disposal of that half of Oliver Wendell Holmes's $550,000 estate which the Supreme Court Justice willed to the U. S. Last week with no less than five bills pending in Congress to use the money to buy law books for the Library of Congress, to buy portraits of former Supreme Court Justices, etc. etc., the President thought it time to stop Congress from quarreling over the legacy. He sent a message to the Capitol, urged the money be put into a trust fund, not to be spent until after "ample deliberation."

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