Show A Y President Pl id of tIle the U. U S. S Has Biggest J Job Jobin 01 in the World By BAUKHAGE X ru 1 Analyst and Commentator 1 L Service 1616 Eye Washington D D. D C C. C WASHINGTON D. D C. C Once C.-Once Once more I i It events bring up the so far unanswered unanswered unan unan- sweed problem how can the 1 White House be bc f 7 put on a business t. t l' l basis i iThe ro v The White WhiteHouse WhiteHouse k House executive r offices are the headquarters of the biggest organization organization or- or k in the world The President President President dent of the United Unit Unit- V 4 ed cd States is the head of this tremendous tremendous tre tre- administrative administrative admin admin- set setup Few people realize realize realize real real- ize the extent of his functions most of which arent aren't even suggested in inthe inthe inthe the constitution and ond few lew laws define define define de de- de- de fine them They have grown like Topsy I We are reminded of the scope of I the presidential duties by Willard Kiplinger in his Washington Is Like That He points out that the President President President Pres Pres- ident as leader of his party runs the party policies through the national national national na na- na- na committee Some times the party line isn't working You recall recall recall re re- re- re call the stew over meat A meeting meeting meeting meet meet- ing of Democratic party leaders at ot atthe atthe the moment wh n the President was preparing to announce at a news conference that he opposed removIng removing removing ing the controls on meat prices passed a resolution asking Chair Chair- Chairman Chairman man Hannegan to confer with administrative ad officials concerning the removal of such controls The President as the top executive five tive heads the executive set up and he appoints the men who run the thc executive machin machinery ry He cant can't talk to each one every day When there is friction a hot box often develops There are plenty of examples in history from Ickes and Wallace back to Lincoln and Seward and before 4 1 Chief Executives Executive's Task Never Ends The President issues executive orders which orders which someone has to write for him but which have the force of law and the President I must see that they are properly interpreted in in- in- in Again there is trouble l if 11 r these decrees tread on congressional al prerogatives He has to get bills which he fat favors favors fa- fa t J vors passed Frequently he writes the first drafts of such bills with the help belp of his legal advisors He is expected i if necessary to put the heat beat on to get them through con con- gress press This means a lot of work j In conference with congressional leaders on the phone and through his bis personal agents A tactless ag agent nt can easily upset the apple apple- cart Remember how Tommy Corcoran Corcoran Corcoran Cor Cor- coran used to get under the skin of congress Many others well In intentioned ten ten- boned and otherwise who came and went might be named J The President has to make up the budget with the help of the budget director If the director makes mistakes mistakes mis mis- mistakes takes or asks for too much or too little it is the White House that takes the rap This involves billions He appoints the Justices of the Supreme Supreme Supreme Su Su- Su- Su preme court and federal judges A Abad Abad bad choice may be fatal latal and yet u u one person cant can't know the personal history of every likely candidate In Inthis Inthis Inthis this sense the President forms forms' the legal thinking of his era He is not only his own and his party's but also the nations nation's chief publicity man A slip of the tongue not only can lose an election but also could start a war If II war comes he has to run it fort fori the they y strategy in the field is based on broad objectives decided at home It was by no means merely military mill mili- tary opinion which decided when J and where the invasion of Europe 11 Y 1 took pIa place ce o These are only a few of the things 0 a n President has to think about We have bave omitted mention of ol many minor ml- ml v 4 nor but time consuming matters such as whether the architectural j J. J beauty of the White House sha shall l be altered with a new wing or where f some visiting potentate shall sit at atthe atthe the table All AU full Cull of dynamite It was the death of of Woodrow Wilson Wilson Wil Wil- son which brought the presidential workload to public attention He died as much from overwork as from his disappointment over repudiation repudiation of the League of Nations Serious study of the problem off of furnishing fur fur- fishing a means to lighten the presidential p presidential esi- esi burden began shortly thereafter thereafter thereafter there there- there there- after but it was not until 1939 that thata a specific plan was drawn up and submitted to congress Among other other other oth oth- er suggestions for various departmental departmental depart depart- departmental mental reorganizations the plan created a presidential staff of executive executive ex c assistants About all the public knows about this corps of assistants Is that they are supposed to possess a passion for anonymity The other thing about them which isn't usually admitted ad Is s that they have hove never functioned functioned functioned properly That at least Is the private opinion of one insider who has watched them come and go from the beginning The reason is simple People who expect a decision decision decision deci deci- sion on an important matter wont won't take it from anyone but the President President President dent himself Must Keep Close Check on Aides A pitiful example of the breakdown breakdown breakdown break break- down of the White House machinery was the recent Wallace ruckus The President never need have been placed in the position he was It is not a Presidents President's job to read over every document submitted to him No head of ot a business as big bigas bigas bigas as the government would dream of trying to do that But somebody should have read both the Wallace memorandum on foreign policy and the Wallace speech and ond apprised the President of what they contained and ond implied Whether it is the Presidents President's PresIdents PresIdent's Presidents President's Pres Pres- ident's fault tault that he didn't have properly experienced hired help is another matter That his hired help didn't function caused the damage I An e explanation if U n not t an excuse has been offered in this case The job of reading over public statements statements statements state state- ments of administration members members members mem mem- bers to see sec that they didn't conflict was handled by the OWl during the war Before Belore that the White House machinery had bad always taken care of such matters That machinery machin machin- ery cry had not been again set in motion motion motion mo mo- tion when OWl ceased to function The fault ault was not that the President President President dent didn't prevent the Wallace- Wallace Byrnes clash but that he was not prevented from rom preventing it itI I can think of only one similar bad mistake made by President Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose Roose- velt which parallels the Wallace mix up and it was due to a similar I but not the same cause It involved the highly technical question of the public debt An assistant supposed supposed supposed sup sup- posed to be an expert furnished the figures on which the President based an important public statement The eyed eagle financial writers caught it The expert was called to account account account ac ac- ac- ac count he be furnished new figures was wrong again and caught again The President was forced to make a second public correction The duties of a President are simply simply simply sim sim- ply too great grea t for tor any anyone one man So Presidents have always had personal person person- al advisors some times they were given an office some times they had no official title title like like Colonel House in fn the Wilson regime Today Today To To- day we hear little about presidential administrative assistants but we hear a great deal about a group of advisors who have failed to function function tion properly in spite of ol the fact that unlike the executive assistants they lack authority These advisors are too close to the President And they have been criticized by other members of the administration for standing between department heads the congressional and party leaders They are all aU old close personal friends of the President They are ore inexperienced in government Whether President Truman's little circle of cronies has helped or hindered him is beside the question No one can dispute the fact that they were chosen because of th their ir loyalty rather than because of their I experience The question is whether er presidential duties as they exist today can be delegated even to a well-trained well highly capable staff They can is the answer IF such a astaff astaff astall staff stall is not blocked by higher authorities authorities authorities au au- who from motives of love hate hale politics religion temperament temperament temperament tempera tempera- ment taste or previous condition of servitude use such authority other other oth oth- er than in the public good When Oscar pet seal of the California California California Cali Cali- fornia Academy of Science died it was found that he had swallowed in pennies nickels and dimes plus a Canadian penny and an on amusement token But it was the pennies which were fatal the fatal the zinc ones developed poison A Russian engineer claims he has perfected so small that I I can be placed in a match box I But will that make it any easier to I roll your own |