The Herald Tribune led off its editorial page Sunday with a muted tribute to FDR on the anniversary of his death. As a Republican paper, it had opposed him on most domestic issues and in this issue said that his policies remained a partisan matter but conceded that “his impact on his times and imaginations of men is incontestable.” It noted that tributes had been made around the world Friday on the anniversary of his death from Stalin's Russia to Franco's Spain.
The paper took issue with the administration's insistence that the International Bank and Monetary Fund be located in Washington DC rather than New York as had been widely expected. It also objected to setting the salaries of the two score executive directors at $17,000 a year after taxes (about $185,000 in 2009 money). The editorial said that this figure had been met with dismay by the British Commonwealth and European members. It dismissed the argument that this salary was needed to draw top talent from the finance world, claiming that these jobs would most likely be make-work political positions. In scoffing at the use of “after taxes” in announcing the salary levels, they complained that the administration never used an "after tax" figure when it attacked the $75,000 a year banker. It seems incredible that bankers in 1946 were satisfied with $75,000, an annual salary equivalent today to $820,000 a year, a laughable pittance to today's plutocrats. The editorial noted that in contrast the IMF salaries, members of the British Parliament received $4,000 a year, half of which was expected to cover expenses. The highest paid individuals in Great Britain, those who received in excess of $24,000 a year, consisted of only sixty individuals and families while only 900 individuals or families were in the next bracket, those making between $16,000 and $24,000.
The newspaper urged the nation to take the lead in dealing with the world food crisis. Unless American consumers cut back on their consumption of wheat and oils the US would fall far short of meeting its commitment. At this point we were caught up in a game of “you first” with other nations. The editorial pointed out that Britain rationed meat, had strict controls on milk, margarine, butter, sugar, chocolate and tea and that eggs and fruit were rarely available. It was not enough for us to urge other nations to do what we have not done ourselves, it concluded.
The newspaper gave kudos to New Jersey's Republican governor, Walter Evans Edge, for passing difficult legislation in his lame duck year. The editorial spoke approvingly of Edge's success in diminishing the power of powerful state Democratic boss Frank Hague, mayor of Jersey City. It did not mention Edge's ties to the corrupt Atlantic City Republican machine or the deals made earlier in his career with Hague that had led to his initial election as governor over a Democratic reformer who was a Hague foe.
The Herald Tribune called the visit of former French prime minister Leon Blum to New York City “an unexpectedly moving experience” despite the lack of official fanfare. “Leon Blum has justly been described as 'a great European,'” the paper said, who “demonstrated the strength of vitality of European culture.” It seems a little strange for a Republican paper to lavish such praise on a Socialist leader, but Blum had a compelling story. He had spent the war years as a prisoner of the Nazis in Buchenwald in a special section where high-ranking notables were interned. Were it not for his stature in France and the world, he most likely would have suffered the fate of most of his fellow Jews. As it was, the Nazis had ordered his execution in the final days of the war along with the others who had been gathered together in a convoy of notable prisoners that also included Blum's wife, but the order was not carried out. His brother, Rene Blum, founder of the Ballet de l'Opera de Monte Carlo, died at Auschwitz. While in the city, Leon Blum paid tribute to the American men who had rescued him.
The final editorial drew attention to the address given to the Herald Tribune Youth Forum by General Carl A. Spaatz who headed the Army Air Force. Spaatz was praised for speaking of the role in aviation in promoting world peace as well as inspiring the young audience with the adventure and challenges of the air age.