Thou Art the Man!

In Franklin Roosevelt's acceptance speech, he pointed a finger of reproach at the "one exception," the only man who had refused to help him in his program for national defense. Who was the man? Gossip sizzled. The President would not tell. Washington wisemen thought it must have been Alf Landon, who had reportedly turned down a Cabinet job when the President refused to commit himself on Term III.

Last week, checking on gossip (see p. 44), John C. O'Brien of the Philadelphia Inquirer suddenly asked at the President's press conference if the man were Roy Howard, boss of Scripps-Howard newspapers and former head of United Press. Smiling, spreading his hands, Mr. Roosevelt responded that, like "Georgie da Wash," he could not tell a lie. It was indeed Mr. Howard to whom he had referred.

The secret out, Mr. Roosevelt told more. He had asked globe-trotting Mr. Howard to go to South America (where United Press leads the newspaper field), talk to his friends there among editors, publishers and political leaders. The assignment would take about 40 days. He had wanted Mr. Howard to find out all he could about fifth-column activities in South America. But Mr. Howard excused himself. Later that day, G. B. Parker, editor in chief of Scripps-Howard papers, revealed what his boss had written the President when he turned down the job. He was not the man for it, Mr. Howard had explained. It was 20 years since he had been in South America for any prolonged period; he spoke neither Spanish nor Portuguese.

Mr. Howard, who recently came out as a supporter of Wendell Willkie, could not give his side of it last week. He was in the Far East gathering material on the Ori ental situation, visiting Australia, Japan, China, The Netherlands East Indies, the Philippines (see p. 16}.

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