Evening star., 1933-11-18
.bU[L|TT FORMER
NEWSPAPER MAN
New Ambassador Started
Career Battling Against
Humanity'S Wrongs.

william Christian Bullitt, Assistant
Secretary of State, who has just been
designated as United States AmbaSsa-
dor to Russia by President Roosevelt,
has figured prominently in interna-
tional news for many years, and as
long ago as 1919 urged American recog-
milton of the DOlShevik regime.
Mr. Bullitt was born In Philadelphia
January 25, 1891, the son of William
Christian Bullitt and Louisa Gross
Horwitz BulIitt, and grandson of John
Christian Bullitt, who framed the gov
ernmental document long known as
the Philadelphia city charter, under
which the City of Brotherly Love was
governed from 1886 to 1920. The grand
17thers statue has stood for years on
tn City Hall Plaza in Philadelphia
william was born with a silver spoon
in his mCuth"-but also with a yearn-
ing for action, for change for rapldity
of event. He vent the usual course of
a young man of wealth and leisure, up
to point. He attended private schools
and was graduated from Yale in 1912
as bachelor of arts. good enough to
achieve Phi Beta Kappa.
Gives Up Law.
Destined by family tradition for the
law, he entered Harvard Law School,
but did not finish. The story is told
he one time observed distinguished law
yers preparing papers for an appeal in
case in which the first verdict had
seemed to him Just and equitable. The
story goes that he happened to know
the distinguished lawyers themselves
believed the verdict Just and equitable,
but were preparing an appeal because
their clients could afford to pay them
to do so and demanded it. His reac-
ton to that situation constituted Mr..
Bullitt's formal divorce from the law.
At loose ends for career and craving
action, newspaper work appealed to
him. Because of his name and family
position, he got chance on a Phila-
delphia paper as cub reporter at SIS a
week, covering district. He burned to
discuss the wrongs of humanity. He
showed what he had written to an asso-
ciate editor. 1t so happened the trend
he had taken agreed with the editorial
trend of the paper. and because he had
written with Juvenile enthusiasm and
fresh viewpoint. his offering was ac-
cepted and printed. From cub reporter
to editorial writer in few weeks!
Sent to Europe.
Further contributions followed and he
became officially an associate editor of
the paper. Then he was sent abroad
as foreign correspondent and later
brought back to this country as Wash
ington correspondent of the same pub
lication
This connection lasted from 1915 to
1917 during which he had acquired
some first-hand knowledge of foreign
affairs and personalities. Handsome,
dynamic, forceful in speech and writing
and gifted with a penchant for gaining
the confidence Of men Of prominence,
he seemed valuable find to the State
Department in the troubled and uncer-
tain days of the World War and he be-
came an assistant in that department
in 1917 and 1918. Later he was drafted
as an attache of the American Peace
Commission and sailed to Paris on the
George Washington with President Will
son and other members of the commits
sion.
Russia at that time was one of
the major international problems. Mr..
Bullitt sold himself" to President
Wilson for secret mission to Russia
to learn what was what 1t was secret
in so far as NJ Clemenceau, premier
of France, never heard of it until later,
and David Lloyd George, British prime