Evening star., 1928-10-28
Our Far Eastern Pilot

werp MacMurray, now rendering sklll1ul
service as our Minister at Pektng, and
Nelson Trusler Johnson, now Assistant
Secretary of State. It was Johnson's
complete understanding OF all the FAC
tors involved. his clear vision Of the
part America should play and his utter
imperturbability in the face Of hyS-
terical demands for overhasty action
that enabled the State Department TO
weather the Chinese storms OF the last
two years.
But when Johnsons masterful han
ding of our Chinese policy during this
period was recognized by his promotion
to the position of Assistant Secretary
1t became necessary to find new chlef
for the Far Eastern Division. The
State Department, because OF the
starvation budget upon which 1t always
has been compelled to subsist, seldom
has been able to train its own experts
for positions of this kind. True, it can
call in from the field foreign service
officers who have had experience in
the countries concerned. But the men
who can think through world situa-
ton and devise an effective policy 10
meet Americas needs are few, even IN
the foreign service. And again, the
law requires that such men return
to the field after four years, at the
most, In Washington. This means a
shifting personnel and instability OF
policy-instability where continuity is
| vital.
To find the right man as chief of the
| Far Eastern Division the department
was therefore impelled to look outside
| it's own forces. To those who had some
| familiarity with Far Eastern problems
| and who knew the men in this country
| who were studying them the choice was
| obvious. In the many conferences on
| China and Chinese American relations,
and on Japan and Japanese American
relations, which were being held from
| time to time, there was one man whose
presence was essential. That man was
| Stanley K. Hornbeck.
| Frequent service in official positions
| had given him a knowledge of the inner
workings of international affairs quite
as great as that of the best professional
| diplomats. At the same time his wide
travel and his work as university pro-
| feSsor and as student of international
relations had familiarized him with the
non professional point of view and en-
abled him to estimate accurately the
/ mind and thought OF the layman.
/ Hornbeck's training had been very
much that which an ideal State De-
partment sufficiently provided with
funds would seek to give its officers.
| 1t hardly occurred to anybody to dis
cuss Hornbecks qualifications. That he
was the man for the post was too OBJ
viouS for discussion. But the ques-
ton was asked repeatedly: will he
accept?" While he was considering, he
was talking one night with one of his
friends. who put that question directly.
Hornbeck's answer was typical OF the
man: "I don't see how can refuse"
He summarized the situation OF the
State Department. Work increasing in
amount and in difficulty. A staff under
manned, underpaid A country slowly
awakening to the Importance of that
department to a leading world power.
He was confident that Congress would
some day effect necessary changes.
Meanwhile, those who are asked to do
so must carry on as long as they are
able.
"a Man of Ideals"
A thing of this kind makes easily un-
| derstandable the fash of comment from
an important public man when Horn
beck's appointment was mentioned:
"a man of ideals. Willing to make
sacrifices for the things he believes in.
So willing, in fact, he hardly knows he
Is making them"
1t is intellectual idealism. He is a
servant of mis- own mind. It will not
let him rest. He has two complete Of
fees in Washington, one at the depart
ment and one at his home. In the latter
he has an assistant steadily at work
among those rooms full of books and
papers.
At the department he sits in a Vic
torian room in quite un-Victorian
frame of mind. There he sits, he SO
modernly equipped. He sits and listens.
! He listens to those who come to tell
him in florid words of the magnificent
ideals and sterling character of the
Chinese Nationalists, exhorting him to
favor forthwith all their demands. He
| listens to those who come to tellthim in
hard-boiled language that all Chinese
are untrustworthy and bolshevik, and
urge him to advise sending in the
marines. He listens while one man