Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-21
FLETCHER GIVES TARIFF BOARD
INSIGHT AND CRAFTSMANSHIP
New Chairman Capable of
Task for Home and
Foreign Good.
Soldier, Diplomat and PoIiti-
clan Has Character
for Place.
BY WILLIAM HARD.

Henry Prather Fletcher, who last
week assumed his duties as chairman
of the United States Tariff Commits
sion, has upon him the burden of per-
forming task which, on the one hand,
is technical and on the other hand is
political, and large theme Of Wash
ington discussion is found in analyzing
his personal character AS an omen to
his possible performances in a post
which deals with the most historic
fundamental issue between our two
great political parties.
Mr.. Fletcher, to begin with, is
soldier and rough enough. There Is
in him great virility, great brisk
ness, a great hardness. II was not
inappropriately that he served in Roose-
velt's Rough Riders" in the Spanish
American War as private and after
ward as a first lieutenant for two
years in the suppression of the Philip
pine instruction" He would make
perfectly good Marine Corps comman-
dant. Leathernecking would not be
out of his line at all. Treating EN-
rough would be easy for him. For
some 25 years he was a professional
diplomat 1t would take at least
10 ordinary professional diplomats to
provide enough leather to equip the
psychology of one Marine. Mr.. Fletcher
could by himself rough-stuff a Marine
and have plenty of material left over.
In fact, if there are delicate exquisites
in our diplomatic service. it may be
that a dozen or so of them were put
there to balance Mr.. Fletcher.
Also Man of Polish.
Next. though, Mr. Fletcher is a man
of polish He can be an exquisite too
not a delicate one. but a very gleam-
social routine and has all the requisite
social address-and more He also has
all the obligatory hats, coats and shoes.
He additionally has country house.
He further has memberships in our
best clubs. His dining orbit is in our
best circles He can dine and tea up
to the severest diplomatic standards.
To this point, then, he is the soldier
socialite. Add to his ingredients now
a realism which gives him what few
soldiers and few socialites have-strong
political horse sense.
Throughout his long diplomatic career
in Latin America, in the Orient, in
Europe-rising from legation secretary
all the way to AmbaSSador-he never
lost touch with the actualities of the
politics of the United States. He also
never ceased to be wholly American.
He is as unforeignized as if he had
never set foot outside this country.
He is aware of the whole world, but
aware of it through the medium of an
incurably American consciousness. In
Towering. he never lost his roots. He
knew precisely how to get along in
Rome with the Romans, but could re-
sign his ambassadorship to Italy to
become at once a figure of interest in
the politics of Pennsylvania. There
is perhaps no other instance in our
history, since John Quincy Adams. OF
an American so much automatically
abroad and yet still so politically at
home. He has never joined himself
to those Travelled Americans who preach
to the United States career of world
wide self-sacrifice which domestic
political sentiment renders impossible.
Points TO Be Recognized.
It can thereupon be abundantly
safely calculated that. as chairman OF
the United States Tariff Commission,
be will recognize both the advantages
Of foreign intercourse, which have been
evidenced to him from his experience
and the claims of American interest,
which are ingrained into him by his
In weighing those ex-
ternal advantages against those inter-
nal claims he is unlikely to use any
weights of theory. His realism
excludes theoretical prepossessions.
OF that trait in his character he has
given recent most conclusive proof.
AS a soldier and as an inhabitant OF
a conservative social environment, he
could have been expected when the
President appointed hi mon the COM
mission to inquire into our occupation
of Haiti, to report upon it in fairly
"imperialistic" sense. On the contrary,
he came back from Haiti with views
more or less in harmony with those of
the liberals" and Progressives, who
have assailed the wisdom Of our Haitian
policy. He was actuated, however, not
by their theories of liberty but by his
observations of practice. He saw that
imperialism" was producing princi-
pally trouble He perceived the benefits
of American rule in Haiti. but perceived
also the resultant political connections.
He recommended that the public serv-
ices of Haiti be increasingly Haitian
lied" and he concluded:
''Interventions and mandates and
protectorates of democracies by democ-
racies for democracy are anomalies
these days The native Demos has
routed, or is routing, the imported idols
of efficiency. Imperialism, no matter
how unselfish and evangelistic, is on
the defensive"
Henry Prather Fletcher, soldier, dip
lomat, politician, has the realistic in
sight TO know when and where national
interest must be risingly merged into
international craftsmanship He did 1t
in Haiti. 1t is the very thing that he
will have before him TO do in the
United States Tariff Commission.