Republican Endorsed

To wave his hand at a neighbor down the river, Franklin Roosevelt rocked the boat, almost dumped his party in the water.

At a jovial White House press conference he endorsed hen-shaped little Fiorello H. LaGuardia, Republican candidate for a third term as Mayor of New York City.

In doing so, Franklin Roosevelt undercut one of his most loyal friends and party advisers: Boss Edward J. Flynn, Jim Farley's successor as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. It was Boss Flynn who helped pick Brooklyn's District Attorney William O'Dwyer as a likely candidate to run against Mayor LaGuardia (TIME, July 28). Said a White House correspondent: "Mr. President, there have been reports . . . that Mr. Flynn would resign if you supported Mayor LaGuardia." The President's smile vanished. He looked hard at the reporter. Then he answered curtly that he did not think there was any story in that situation.

He was right. In Manhattan, a few hours later, Chairman Flynn announced that he would not resign. But Franklin Roosevelt's friend was visibly shaken. Said he: "Free speech is a cardinal principle of American democracy. The President has seen fit to exercise this privilege, and I shall do likewise. . . ."

The real issue was, of course, not free speech but party regularity, and Boss Flynn was not the only good Democrat who was shaken by this bit of amiable boat-rocking. In Congress, many a loyal follower of the President thought that Franklin Roosevelt ought to sit down and stop rocking the boat.

But, party politics aside, the President had at least three good reasons for giving the Little Flower a hand: 1) the Mayor had risked his own political neck to back Franklin Roosevelt for a third term; 2) LaGuardia is one of the most ardent supporters of the President's foreign policy; 3) the President really thinks that Fiorello LaGuardia is the best mayor New York City ever had.

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