Show W N R N LOA CHANGES IN PRESIDENT washington recent months of war in europe have made some significant changes in the habits and the outlook of the president he is more serious more worried also he is more circumscribed the latter is important because it means that he sees fewer people loses some of his old contacts during his first eight years in m office probably no president in history was in closer touch with the country as a whole than franklin roosevelt not only did he see a great number of congressmen labor leaders business men and politicians during his daily routine but he traveled more than any other president several times a year he took turns round the country kept his ear to the ground met all sorts of people ever sine since e the international emer gency he has stuck close to washington not once has he got out into the middle west even during the 1940 campaign seldom has he gone farther away than new york or down the potomac thus he has missed the relaxation the rest and the obvious joy he used to get from his roving junkets also he has missed his old personal contacts note the president boasts that he rests on a railroad trip and this is really true he seems to sleep better on a pullman and on occasion orders have been given to the train engineer to stretch out a run between towns in order to give the president extra sleep more gold braid Roosevel ts contacts thus are limited by remaining in washington aad and in washington also he is more circumscribed than ever he does not see nearly as many members of congress and men from many walks of life as formerly this is because he is concentrating so much time on national defense and foreign affairs all ali important decisions in the state department come across his desk the freezing of axis funds the closing of german italian consulates the speeches of secretary knox have to get the presidents 0 K important decisions regarding the army and navy come to him and a constant stream of questions regarding and aid to britain confronts him daily so the president sees far less of the men who helped to build up the new deal far more of army navy officials one dollar men and diplomats much of this is unavoidable though part of it could be eliminated by more diversification of control however this change in the pre presidents S mode of operation is riot not Is as important as the change which grad bally has crept over his general al outlook on the surface and in press conference he is the same old wise cracking fun loving roosevelt but underneath underneath he is not no longer does he have the same zest for what he is doing in the old days when he was building bridges and schoolhouses writing labor laws crusading for social security fighting the big utilities he loved every minute of it he was building up crusading for human needs and human rights and his enthusiasm was boundless no war enthusiasm now however he knows that every step he takes in foreign policy every dollar he spends for the navy every man he inducts into the army may be a step toward tearing down rather than building up he believes the steps he is taking are absolutely necessary but he has no enthusiasm for them in other words he has no enthusiasm for war most of the men around roosevelt believe that war is inevitable and it may be that he does too though he has not admitted that publicly but judging by his hanging back in opposition to his more vigorous military foreign policy advisers the president hates and dreads the idea of this nation going into war he hates the reactions and after maths of war and he hates the idea of having history record him as a war president at the same time he believes that this country will have to move fast and if it does not move now it may be too late for the th ebest best definition of an isolationist roosevelt firmly believes is one who by procrastination wants to see his women and children in the thick of the fighting here at home MERRY GO R ROUND ben welles son of undersecretary of state sumner welles is is working as a newsman in pan panama ama nelson rockefeller government worker gets up at five in the morning shuns parties goes to bed at ten the rockefeller office has been flooded with requests from movie stars who want to tour latin america when senators fail to pay their bills at the senate stationery room he disbursing office instead of dune dun ning them merely docks the amount from their pay checks america latest popular booklet by david cushman coyle has been officially endorsed by the american legion general federation of clubs the council for democracy and the selective service board |