THE ADMINISTRATION: Exit

For months Washington had known that white-haired Leo Thomas Crowley, boss of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Foreign Economic Administration, would step out of the Government as soon as he considered his war duties done. Last week he stepped out, calm, neat and precise as ever—but hopping mad.

Leo Crowley was in the midst of the Anglo-American economics talks (see INTERNATIONAL) when he sat down and wrote out his resignation from FDIC, a post he had held since the dark days of 1934. In his letter to the President he said nothing about resigning from FEA, but Harry Truman promptly accepted his resignation from both jobs. Then the President wiped out FEA, handed its most important functions to the State Department.

There were reports that Crowley may have written a separate letter about FEA. Whether he did or not, insiders surmised that he was furious on two counts: 1) because FEA’s handling of surplus property abroad had gone to the State Department; 2) because he had been fighting a minority battle against easy terms to the British. Banker minded Leo Crowley, who had suggested the brusque termination of Lend-Lease to Britain, wanted no part of arrangements with England such as grants-in-aid or non-interest-bearing loans.

After attending his last Cabinet meeting, Banker Crowley admitted that he would attend no more Anglo-American talks. Of the President, he said: “We have always seen eye to eye.” Then he strode off, a little stiffly, to devote himself to his job as Board Chairman of Standard Gas & Electric at a reported salary of $75,000 a year.