One of the most evident examples of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's mastery of the press and his manipulation of public opinion was the 1940 arrangement of the transfer of 50 United States naval destroyers to Great Britain while that nation was at war with Germany and Italy and while noninterventionist sentiment was quite strong in the United States. Factors important in Roosevelt's success include his overemphasis of the importance of British bases and his defense plans with Canada, his instigation of public discussion of the plan without his name attached, and his neutralization of the deal as a political issue by keeping his Republican opponent semiinformed through an intermediary. Although Roosevelt's relations with press columnists were antagonistic, he was friendly with and trusted by the Washington press corps. The key to the public relations aspect of the deal was keeping the destroyer issue separate from the bases issue so the merits of a complete deal could not be debated as a whole before the deed was accomplished. Roosevelt provided pieces of a puzzle, not allowing them to come together until the public was fully prepared. (DF)