FDR - Jean Edward Smith [72]
Ostensibly, Howe’s duties involved labor relations, special investigations, and speechwriting. He also took charge of patronage, handled Roosevelt’s correspondence, made appointments for his boss, wheedled postmasterships for deserving upstate Democrats, and kept his finger on the pulse of New York politics, building an organization to challenge Tammany when the time came. He thought up myriad projects for Roosevelt to sponsor and insofar as possible took the blame for whatever went wrong. He mastered the intricacies of the Navy’s bureaucracy with remarkable swiftness. As Daniels put it, Howe “knew all the tides and eddies in the Navy Department, in the administration, and in the political life of the country. He advised [FDR] about everything. His one and only ambition was to help steer Franklin’s course so that he could take the tide at the full. He was totally devoted. He would have sidetracked both President Wilson and me to get Franklin Roosevelt to the White House.”65
FDR was never a friend of paperwork. He had an exceptional ability to absorb information and was able to make decisions rapidly, but his attention span was short. Paperwork was Howe’s strength. He read quickly, wrote quickly, and had a way with words that was lucid and convincing. He had a newsman’s ability to distill essential facts from vast amounts of information and make the most wearisome details appear interesting. Howe’s mordant sense of humor, his distrust of piety, and his biting cynicism also appealed to FDR. Roosevelt’s personal letters to Howe, often in a jocular German, express an instinctive rapport. “Lieber Ludwig,” he would write. “Hier bin ich, mit grosser Gesundheit und Vergnügen,” which translated means “Here I am in great health and having loads of fun.”66 FDR benefited personally as well. Howe, who loved to bet on the ponies and visit establishments less than genteel, knew much about life that Roosevelt never had the opportunity to learn. Howe shared those experiences and made Franklin more worldly. Frances Perkins once wrote that FDR’s Harvard education was a political handicap.67 In many respects Louis Howe was the antidote.
Howe, the older man, always called Roosevelt by his first name and spoke out whenever he thought FDR was mistaken. “Louis Howe was a damned smart able man and the best advisor Roosevelt ever had,” said Admiral Emory S. Land, “because he had the guts to say ‘no.’ ”68 Few people could have talked to FDR the way Howe was overheard on the telephone: “You damned fool! You can’t do that! You simply can’t do it.… If you do it, you’re a fool—just a damned idiotic fool.” Howe said jokingly that his principal function in Washington was to provide “toe weights to keep Franklin’s feet on the ground,” and FDR accepted Howe’s advice, usually without question.69*
As assistant secretary of the Navy, Roosevelt’s impact on the policies of the Wilson administration was minimal. But his duties in the Navy Department were significant, and, more important, his eight years in Washington provided a proving ground where he learned the realities of national politics. Under the tutelage of Daniels and Howe, FDR came to appreciate the diversity of the Democratic party, the need to accommodate regional politicians, and the importance of small favors and public gestures. Howe taught Franklin how to deal with organized labor. As assistant secretary, FDR had supervisory responsibility for the Navy’s vast civilian workforce—tens of thousands of workers at Navy yards across the country. Howe insisted that Roosevelt handle labor relations personally. Time and again he would usher union leaders and delegations of workmen into Franklin’s office to chat with “the Boss.” Always a good listener, FDR was at his best in these exchanges. “I want you to feel that you can come to me at any time in my office,” he was soon telling union spokesmen, “and we can talk matters over. Let’s get together for I need you to teach me your business and