Act IV of "The Crucible," what makes Danforth anxious to obtain confessions and why does he refuse to postpone the executions?

Danforth knows that the people of the town are tiring of the executions and the trials. He wants to preserve both his reputation and that of the court. In order to do so, he must obtain confessions and make them public so people will believe he conducted a sound and truthful investigation. He has already lost the support of Rev. Hale; he is afraid of losing the support of others. So, he wants the confessions and the executions as quickly as possible so he can wrap up the cases and get out of town.