No-Man

The prime qualification for a Director of the Budget is the ability to say "No." The army teaches men to say "No." Army men therefore make good budget men, and the first two Directors of the Budget, were of the army. Last week the third Director of the Budget was chosen and he was of the army too. The tradition now seemed soundly entrenched. Director No. 1 was Brig.-Gen. Charles Gates Dawes. Director No. 2 was Brig.-Gen. Herbert Mayhew Lord. Director No. 3 is Col. James C. Roop, who will doubtless get higher rank before long. President Hoover induced him to accept "at great personal sacrifice."

Born in Nebraska, educated as an engineer at the University of Pennsylvania, Col. Roop went to France with the engineers and became chief of the A. E. F.'s Purchasing Division. That gave him contact with General Dawes. When General Dawes grappled dramatically with the first budget in 1921, Col. Roop, as a chief assistant, grappled with him, without the dramatics. When Director Dawes quit in 1922, Assistant Roop quit. When Mr. Dawes went last spring to Santo Domingo, he recalled Budgetman Roop to his side to assist in preparing a financial system in that little republic. When General Dawes returned to be ambassador to Britain, Col. Roop was left behind to put their Santo Domingan work into operation.

The Director of the Budget is responsible only to the President. He can command the President's attention at any time, his support always. When the Director of the Budget says "No" to greedy forces in the Government, he speaks with the voice of the President. That President Hoover was prepared to say "No" loud and often through Director Roop was indicated last week when preparations were made to hold budget estimates down to the Coolidge level--about $3,800,000,000 per year.