New Face; Old Faces

Franklin Roosevelt remarked last week that newspaper columnists and radio commentators had been very kind indeed: they had offered him not one but five new, complete Cabinets.

No newcomers had joined the official Administration family, as yet. But a round, familiar face popped up in a new place: Paul Porter, 40, who press-agented Term IV for the Democratic National Committee, got a Presidential nomination as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to take the place of James Lawrence Fly (TIME, Nov. 13).

Among politicians the choice was popular; the top radio trade journals (Broadcasting, Radio Daily) praised the appointment. Kentuckian Porter, a tall (6 ft. 4 In.), convivial ex-newsman (Lexington Herald) is an able lawyer and a seasoned bureaucrat (AAA, OPA, WFA, OES). Friend of Henry Wallace, Leon Henderson and General "Ike" Eisenhower, he has been an ardent New Dealer since 1933. Having learned the ins & outs of radio during five years (1937-42) as Washington lawyer-lobbyist for CBS, he could probably earn far more outside of Government than the FCChairman's $10,000 salary.

If any dramatic, lightning-bolt personnel changes should strike the Administration in the next few weeks, most of Washington would be vastly surprised. Term IV orators had campaigned strenuously on the theme of keeping a war-winning "team" in office. And continuity remained the New Deal keynote. The Old Faces were staying. Political observers saw a clear pattern for the future in the President's efforts to hold the old team together. War Mobilizer Jimmy Byrnes was persuaded to stay until Germany falls; so were Chairman William H. Davis and two associates on WLB.

For the biggest vacancy--Ambassador to China--the President had made a choice, but would not announce it until China approved. The dopesters' best guess: ramrod-straight Major General Patrick J. Hurley, now in Chungking on a special Presidential mission.

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