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the European war. More and more we discussed only matters that impinged upon our foreign policy, our relations with other countries. On many occasions he was preoccupied with the foreign policy toward the Japanese and defended strongly, as I've said, the continuation of shipments of oil and scrap iron to the Japanese.

There was also a great deal of talk about stockpiling supplies of rare metals, and even of rare spices. Why the President was concerned with spices, I don't know. Whether they have any part to play in munitions or not, I don't know. It might have been just one of the great elements of trade that were likely to be blotted out by the Japanese blockade of the whole Mala peninsula and what was called the Spice Isles. That sort of thing occupied his mind more than did things concerned with agriculture and labor, which previously seemed to be his special interest.

So hardly a Cabinet meeting, or even a small meeting, passed without most of the conversation being on subjects related to the European war. However, the opportunity to see the President about purely routine administrative matters and decisions where you had to have an okay in order to go ahead with something was still granted. He didn't shut people out and say, “I can't talk about that.” But he obviously was less and less interested in it.

All through the autumn of 1941 it was obvious from his reports, those of the Secretary of State, and the Secretary