Evening star., 1933-12-10
Foreign Seruice Shake-Up Lands
Attache in Important Job Here
Raymond C.. Miller Once
Felt Economy Az, but
Quickly Recovered.
Training abroad Led to
. Choice for Run, Inn.
ports Post.

A Star reporter optimistically tele-
phoned the Treasury Department and
asked the operator to connect him with
Mr. Raymond c. Miller, chief of the
imports division of the Agricultural Ad-
justment Administration and for the
present serving as a member OF the
Presidents Interdepartmental Commit
tee on Alcoholic Control. He was con-
nected with Mr.. Miller's secretary.
II want to speak to Mr.. Miller" said
the reporter.
IF you will give me your name will
find out the status of your application
for a permit" said the secretary.
What permit?" asked the reporter.
why, aren't you inquiring about your
permit to import 1iquor?" asked the
secretary.
mo, want to speak to Mr.. Miller"
said the reporter.
Sits Tight.
The secretary seemed to consider this
a more or less humorous suggestion.
Mr.. Miller, it seemed, could speak to
nobody, not even the press contact men
through whom his relations with the
press are carried on. Some time late
at night, it was suggested. Mr.. Miller
might be able to speak to somebody for
few seconds
The impression Of Mr. Miller, gained
through his secretary, was of man in
tightly locked Office, buried under an
avalanche of requests by foreign ma
tions for the right to ship liquor into
the United States, and manfully work.
ing to get to the top and keep him.
self from smothering. France and
Great Britain alone, it seems, have ap-
piled for import permits which exceed
the total of 100000 gallons allotted to
all the rest of the world. Mr.. Miller's
job is to help allot the permits.
This impression of Mr.. Miller was
by way of striking contrast. Ray
Miller has lot of friends in Washing
ton who knew him long before he was
given the job of helping to select i'm
port beverages for the United States Ct
America. Many of them will remember
him on rainy, blustery day last Sum-
mer when he popped into town and
undertook speedy and thorough in
vestigation to find out what was going
on in his native land.
Snatched Out Of Belgium.
A few days before he had been COM
mercial attache in Brussels, busily en-
gagged In whatever commercial at
tache is supposed to do-which, in the
case of Mr. Miller, was doubtless the
keeping OF Belgium business men in
a good humor. He also was con-
templating long career in the work
for which he had prepared himself.
when-bang! Mr.. Miller, along with
practically all the commercial attaches,
was ordered by cable to come home on
the next boat and bring his family with
him. 1t was a part Of the economy
program.
Some OF the commercial attaches
had to break leases and pay premiums
computed by foreigners for the privi-
lege. Most of them had to gather their
families, their possessions and their
wits together as best they could and
race for the boat. Mr.. Miller had his
usual luck His children had the
mumps. so he could leave them on the
other side temporarily instead of bring
ing them back home without any as
surance that papa would be able to
find job. A few days before the
cablegram ordering him home, a
feverish citizen of Belgium had begged
Mr. Miller to give up his lease, as the
Belgian's own home had just burned
down-something to which Mr.. Miller,
with apparent reluctance, consented, to
the glory, in the Belgian's eyes, of the
United States.
Back in Washington Mr.. Miller i'm
mediately undertook to find out what
had happened to him and to his job.
He consulted with his friends as to