Show 40 domestic problems to test truman s mettle Il harmonious armonious relations on foreign policy soon to give way to contention over 9 difficulties of by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator fanu service union trust building washington ashington D C the po political 1 armistice in washington will end shortly after the presidents return from berlin the big three meeting followed so closely on the heels of the san francisco conference that foreign affairs have dominated the scene almost to the exclusion of domestic matters which sooner or later must test the mettle of the new administration another reason perhaps why president Tr honeymoon has teen been extended is the fact that the main issue before the country the united nations charter has been robbed of its partisan flavor this is largely due to the long and arduous efforts of former secretary of state hull he built up a working understanding on foreign affairs between the administration and the congress which resulted in the N ma 7 1 T 3 4 V T P U av alt vice president truman shortly before his elevation to the presidency discusses politics and artillery shells with baukhage wholehearted whole hearted operation cooperation co of most of the leaders of both parties sturdily supported by public opinion secretary hull was able to achieve this harmony because of the confidence in which his former colleagues held him and also because of his experience peri ence as a member of the legislative branch of the government roosevelt could never have been as successful in this endeavor and because he realized that fully he left the matter largely in hulls hands chief still one of the boys in the first place president truman stepped directly from the upper house to the vice presidency and ever since he left the legislative branch for the executive he has been acting as liaison between the two shortly before president roose belts death I 1 had occasion to interview the then vice president I 1 talked about the forthcoming san francisco conference with him as well as the field artillery of which we are both alumni he indicated that he was holding aloof from any public participation in the discussions of international affairs but was attempting to carry on and to complement the work of secretary hull tt in promoting a sympathetic discussion of the dumbarton oaks agreement ment with members of the senate foreign relations committee the house committee on foreign affairs others one of his first unorthodox acts was to take lunch with some of his old colleagues at the capitol this was almost as if the lung king of england were to attempt to enter the city of london without first having a formal parley with the lord mayor but it was a perfectly natural act on tru mans part like his spontaneous remark to the effect that there was a 2 certain chinese restaurant where he would like to eat while he was on the west coast on second thought lie he realized that as president he do such a thing and admit ted d it with a smile the presidents informal visits to the capitol hurt him nor his is formal ones after his last appearance pe arance when he delivered the charter he lingered so long in the senate chamber shaking hands and patting backs that an aide had to hint flint gently that he a senator any more and must hurry back to his MS work his cabinet appointments are highly significant Tr secretary of state james byrnes is not only a former senator but a former supreme court justice byrnes provides an understanding link with the judicial branch as well as with the legislative the secretary of the treasury fred vinson is a former member of congress as well as an ex judge secretary of agriculture anderson is not only a former member of congress but was head of the house food committee which directed some of the most serious criticism against the former administrations handling of the food situation this committee is now working losely closely c with the new cabinet member while secretary of commerce e wallace does not bring to his department part ment the close associations of 0 the men over whom he presided as president of the senate the scope and function of his office has been considerably reduced by the beor of the department and so is not a source of friction in his secretary of labor president truman has a man who was exceedingly popular in the senate another judge lewis Sch fear influence I 1 of 01 party bosses of course when it comes to questions like the poll tax and the fair employment practices act or any other measure in which the race question is involved the old friction arises with the southern congressmen and any republicans they can attract to their cause also while there are those who say that the president is steering a course much farther to the right than president roosevelt did he nevertheless 1 is committed to a number of the so called new deal reforms both because of his record in the senate and because of his natural leanings however since truman is known tc be a strong party man it will be bc easier for him to keep the southern sou democrats in line of course some of the radical new dealers dealer are doing a lot of eyebrow raising behind the bushes and a remark perhaps written tongue in cheek which appeared ir in the wall street journal sent shiv ers down some spines that news paper which hardly depends or democratic support for its ciraula tion said recently not since th thi short lived administration of warrer short lived harding has there been the prospect cf of teamwork as exists today if the results of the berlin meet ing are such that they reveal 5 marked improvement in big three thre relations and a harmonious settle ment of some of the difficult inter national problems the president prestige will be greatly increased however by that time domestic dl dis content will be crystallizing the th honeymoon will be on the wane anc the president will need all th teamwork he can muster it if the japanese war should ba b any chance end suddenly before another year it would mean tha threats of inflation anc an unemployment and a hundred othel problems will be upon us and dent truman will be stripped of hii protective authority as commander in chief then the slings and ar rows which even Roosevel ts ene mies were wont to deflect to con gross gress and other government agen cies will be aimed squarely at thi man in the white house peace wil not be too peaceful at penn sylvania avenue |