Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-17
TREND To- CAREER
. MEN is INDICATED
Hoover Appointment of John
son to China Post Seen as
!, Turning Point.
By FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Appointment of Nelson T. Johnson.
Assistant Secretary of State, to be
American Minister to China denotes,
In the opinion of qualified spokesman.
a definite turning point in favor OF
career diplomats, as far AS the
Hoover administration Is concerned.
Some authorities believe the turn may
have been precipitated by the almost
coincident designations Of John V. A.
MacMurray as Minister to China and
of William Phillips as Minister to
Canada. Both MacMurray and Phillips
are shining types of the career man
in the United States foreign service. A
deep-rooted suspicion existed in WASH
ington that something savoring OF a
general flight from the service was in
prospect among the career group be-
cause 1t has seen all major diplomatic
pluns so far bestowed by President
Hoover go to outsiders" The out
siders" include Gen. Dawes, at London;
Senator Edge. soon to go to Paris; John
w. Garrett, at Rome; Harry F. Gug-
genheim, designated Ambassador at
Havana; Irwin Laughlin, appointed to
the embassy at Madrid, and Gerrit j..
Diekema. former member of Congress
from Michigan. who received the at
tractive ministerial post at The Hague.
Bound to Revive Hopes.
The promotion of Assistant Secretary
of State johnson to the legation in
China is bound to revive the hopes of
hundreds of younger career" men who
have spent their lives in the service and
are now on duty in different parts of
the world. 1t is a signal that blue
ribbon posts. after all. are within their
reach. At present some &c or 81 of the
SO or 81 missions" Uncle Sam has
abroad-embassies or legations-have
as their chiefs, respectively, Ambassa-
doris or Ministers who have grown up
within the service. Less than IS years
ago this was an unheard-of siuation.
The diplomatic as we'll as the consular,
service was the happy hunting grounds
of spoilsmen and politicians. The
Rogers foreign service law. enacted five
or six years ago, applies the merit sys-
tenn only to men below the rank Of
Ministers. Considering that a Presi-
dent, therefore, can distribute foreign
service plumS without restrictions of
any kind, authorities feel that. by and
large, the career" principle Is being
well looked after.
This writer learns in we'll informed
. quarters that President Hoover may be
expected to look after 1t in increasing
degree from now on. The Johnson as
. signment to China is symptomatic CT
the administrators policy. That policy
. calls for the sending of trained spc-
cialiStS to foreign fields where special
training is required for the proper rep
resentation and advancement of Amer
lean interests. MIR. Hoover, for example,
might hcye searched high and low
! through the non-career world-amons
, American captains of industry-but he
: couldn't have possibly discovered man
; for China who family approximates the
, equipment of Mr.. johnson, with %
years of incessant experience of Chinese
affairs both in the country itself and in
/. the State Department.
Transfer in Service Cited.
Not long ago President Hoover made
, a transfer in the diplomatic service,
: which also carries out his ideas about
] specialists. Leland HARRISON, Minister
/ to Sweden. was withdrawn from the at
+. tractive post at Stockholm and sent to
! Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The
reason is that the seventh conference OF
/. pan-American states is to be held in
Uruguay in 1884, and the President de-
sires that the United States shall hav-
/, Minister stationed at Montevideo who
can intelligently lay the groundwork
+. for that important meeting. Mr.. Haf-
] rison had previous duty in Latin Amer
; lea and speaks Spanish f1uently.
Throughout both hemispheres there
are specific diplomatic situations anU
conditions for which career" men are
, believed to be much better SUI ted thar
those who might be appc ,nted to fol
! eign service posts wholly without experl-
ence abroad. The predic ION is hazard
ed that, as far as possible, these posts
will continue to be occupied by the meI
now holding them, If they have gooc
records there and if the do not volun
tarily quit the service. If their trans
fer is desirable. or If it becomes neces'
) sary for any other reason to fill thell
places, it appears to be the Hoover pol.
!. icy henceforward to search the career
mems list for the purpose Of finding
their successors. The best man for thu
job is to be the rule.
Salaries Still Low.
Messrs. MacMurray and Phillips ar
not likely to be the only seasoned Tor
eign service men who will resign, Al
the months and years go by, despite tn
Hoover administration readiness u
have due regard for their careers. In
deed, it is extremely probable tina
designations may become the rule
rather than the exception, unless Con
gress provides better living condition
for American diplomatic and consula
oficials Salaries and allowances ar
still far below those paid by any othe
first-class country in the world. Am
bassador Dawes at London gets hous
and Sl7,500 salary, but not another cen
or grant of any kind. The Brltlsl
Ambassador in Washington gets
house and $4,000. which includes nj
salary and REPRESENTATION" funds: !