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Show President Maintains 1 New Deal Policies f j 1 1 fear-End Check Shows Some Change of '""I ; Faces but Not of Any Principles; FDR J' ' ' : ; Intimates Remain in High Posts. I - By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator. VNU Service, 1616 Eye Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. Sufficient time has elapsed since 'resident Truman went into the ?hlte House to warrant a year-end nventory of his reconstituted fed-ral fed-ral setup, and the result adds up 0 many changes in personalities, ut little switch of fundamental poli-ies. poli-ies. In its numerical aspect, the hanges wrought by the President uggest more of a shakeup than ctually has taken place, for there till are many Intimates of FDR 1 high positions, some of them pro-loted pro-loted by Mr. Truman. James F. Byrnes, secretary of tate and top man in the Truman abinet, was lifted out of the rela-ive rela-ive obscurity of a "career senator" rom the southland by Mr. Roose-elt. Roose-elt. He came within reach of his resent eminence under the guid-nce guid-nce of the late President, who ap-ointed ap-ointed him to the United States upreme court, made him war mo-ilizer mo-ilizer and economic stabilizer, and sok him to International confer-nces confer-nces which built him to the point rhere he was a "natural" for the tate portfolio when Edward R. Stet-nius Stet-nius Jr. was moved out by polit-:al polit-:al party considerations. Byrnes 'as schooled in the Roosevelt ways nd he continues along those paths. Henry Morgenthau probably would ave remained as secretary of easury had the President who ap-ointed ap-ointed him lived on. But while he 'as more a personal friend, he 'as less a political associate of Mr. :oosevelt tMan was Fred Vinson, le present secretary. And again, was FDR who brought Vinson to le forefront made him a federal ldge, then took him into the White louse to share Byrnes' multiple motions and burdens. He had little lore than passing acquaintance ith Truman, and his present post as a promotion for a "Roosevelt lan." Robert E. Hannegan, postmaster eneral, was slated for that office efore Mr. Roosevelt passed away. ; is political custom to award that turn to the winning party's national Dmmittee chairman, whether the lemocrats or the Republicans win. Robert Patterson, secretary of ar, came in during the Roosevelt dministration as assistant to Henry . Stimson, creating a team of Re-ublicans Re-ublicans In the top 'spots of the de-artment. de-artment. He was advanced by resident Truman when Mr. Stim-jn Stim-jn retired, although there were :rong representations made to the fhite House on behalf of other can-idates, can-idates, practically all of them 'emocrats. Original Roosevelt cabinet mem-ers mem-ers retained by Mr. Truman are ames V. Forrestal in navy, Henry . Wallace In commerce, and Har-Id Har-Id L. Ickes in interior. inderson Took ff 'Heaf on Food Clinton P. Anderson, the secre-iry secre-iry of agriculture, won White louse entree during Roosevelt days y taking the heat off the adminis-ation adminis-ation with a food Investigation. La-Dr La-Dr Secretary Lewis B. Schwellen-ach Schwellen-ach has been described as "more ew Deal than Roosevelt." Continuing, it was President oosevelt who brought Tom C. lark, the present attorney general, ito government service, placing im in line for the advancement hich Mr. Truman gave him. Paul . McNutt, who left recently to be-nme be-nme high commissioner in the Phil-ipine Phil-ipine islands, was originally a oosevelt appointee. Even in the Intimate surroundings -! the White House will be found iveral "hold-overs," notably schol-rly schol-rly William D. Hassett, a presiden-al presiden-al secretary whose typewriter has irned out many of the lyrical neeches delivered by the late Present, Pres-ent, and whose skill can be detect-3 detect-3 by Washington newsmen in Mr. ruman's more formal addresses. J. A. Krug remained at the head ! the War Production board until went out of existence, although le new President was often critical ! WPB when he was presiding er the senate committee which Dre his name. Almost every move made by Mr. ruman in organizing his official imily had underlying it a record ; Roosevelt association. There has een only one notable discernible departure from the administrative status quo so far as fundamentals go, and that was the appointment of John W. Snyder as chief of the office of-fice of war mobilization and reconversion. recon-version. Snyder was a friend and military buddy of the President for a quarter of a century. But Washington Wash-ington hears that the OWMR direc-1 tor is being sidetracked, that the I President is taking counsel with Secretary Vinson on subjects that rightly fall Into Snyder's bailiwick and that a resignation has been offered. of-fered. There is nothing In the Truman appointments to indicate whether the President is turning to the right or the left of center using FDR as "center." Mr. Truman is franker than most public figures and commentators com-mentators he says he frankly doesn't know what "center" is, Imagines he's about the same as his late chief. Opinion is growing in the capital that the government is "reconverting" "reconvert-ing" too rapidly and that the force of speed without direction will have harmful results. Except for a few generalized thrusts, the White House has shown ne disposition to come to grips with the wage-price dilemma, hasn't attempted at-tempted to develop a comprehensive program to eliminate the element of chance, and, in the opinion of critical crit-ical congressmen, is simply trusting that things somehow will work out all right In the end If left to their own devices. There is a striking example of the haphazard system which has been followed, and that is the retention of OPA while permitting the National Na-tional War Labor board to go virtually vir-tually out of existence. WLB exercised exer-cised a fair degree 6f control over wage and salary levels, and with wages the largest single item of production costs, there is today no agency effectively operating in that field. Both management and labor agree the President's radioed speech on the subject clarified almost al-most nothing. The result has been to cut the ground from beneath OPA in its efforts to maintain price ceilings. Another example is the War Production Pro-duction board, which was permitted to go out of existence on November Novem-ber 3. Odds and ends fell to the newly created Civilian Production administration, but there is today no raw materials allocation plan and efforts are being made to create out of export licensing a means by which domestic industry might have its needs fulfilled. The theory is that refusal of export licenses for needed civilian materials will back those commodities onto the market here. But its effort upon restoration restora-tion of foreign trade is making congress con-gress unhappy. There still are agencies in Washington Wash-ington "winding up" the business of World War I, and it seems entirely possible that history will repeat after aft-er World War II Is officially over. That day will be fixed by( President Truman unless he tarries too long and congress steps in to do the job. Dissolution of the Office of War Information In-formation may supply an insight into what happens when bureaus which came into existence since Pearl Harbor cease to exist. Except Ex-cept for changes in the top positions and discarding of the domestic branch, which always was a minor part of the operation, OWI seems to be a very live corpse. Blanketed into the state department depart-ment may be upwards of 5,000 OWI payrollers. They will continue, and expand, a worldwide plan of information infor-mation dedicated to the purpose of teaching other nations more about this country, its people, their aspirations, aspira-tions, their accomplishments. About 2,000 more have gone Into the bureau bu-reau of the budget to continue their present assignment, which Is publication publi-cation of the United States government govern-ment manual. Closing of the domestic do-mestic branch actually affected fewer few-er than 200 jobs in Washington. Larger, actually, than OWFs foreign for-eign branch will be the informational information-al office of the state department, for it will Include also the public relations rela-tions section of the office of coordinator co-ordinator of Inter-American affairs, which beams its material to points south of the Rio Grande and which heretofore functioned independently of OWI. BARBS ... by llaukhage The British tried paying a head Dunty for every rat killed in rat-dden rat-dden Hong Kong. They gave it p . . . the enterprising Chinese arted rat breeding farms to make lore money. The Japanese womc.i's federation jggests that every Japanese worn-i worn-i give up her kimono to raise funds ir food Imports. Strip for warmth. It is the boast of the Koreans that it was through them that Chinese culture reached the Japanese and ! led them out of the Dark ages. The 1 Japanese idea of repayment was to j return the Dark ages to Korea. Faver Castle in Nuernberg was "modernized" by a rich wife. Now during the Nuernberg trials, 200 ' guests share the three bathrooms. |