Evening star., 1943-09-05

the gray building that houses the De
partment Of State. Pressures from with
In and without are converging on thi
solemn, pompous structure that look
like a stale wedding cake.
Never before has the Department O
State undergone such a crisis. The re.
moval OF Sumner Welles as Undersecre.
tary was only one symptom of malady
which goes very deep. The cause i.
obvious. In the midst of great worlo
crisis demands are being made on the
State Department which it is unable tc
meet
Both because of the nature of the in.
stitution itself and because of the men
who staff it the State Department is q
tragically inadequate instrument fol-
these times. 1t is tragedy larger than
the fate of any single individual because
NAer or later its consequences involve
eachSend every one of us.
Ur(er the storm of criticism that has
risen ahd fallen in recent years top State
Department officers have continued to
say that they are not responsible. "It is
the President who makes foreign policy, y
one of these officers said during the past
week. "Our critics are really attacking
the President; you know we are only
functionaries who carry out our orders" "
Makes Foreign Policy.
This contains enough truth to deserve
examination. 1t suggests basic attitude
that may help to explain the depart
ment's lnadequacy. President Roosevelt
does make foreign policy and there has
been evidence from time to time during
the past 10 years that he believes this to
be his exclusive prerogative, his private
domain in which his own predictions
are paramount.
During the 1910 political campaign the
Republicans seized on the expression
'nny ambassador" which Roosevelt had
used in speech discussing relations with
England and the war in Europe. That,
they said, showed how he had arrogated
to himself the functions of government
1t was, they insisted, the expression Of a
monarch rather than an elected repre-
sentative of the people
The White House replied, and properly,
that my ambassador" happened to be
the correct form for the head of State
to use whether King or President. Never
theless 1t was symbolic phrase. Not
only In the White House and in the State
Department here in Washington, but in
every world capital the concept OF
diplomacy remains a 18th century con-
cept. It is matter of exchanging notes
hats II. - ~ ~
a few knowledgeable professionals. 1t
ignores entirely the weight of public
opinion In democratic society in which
modern communication brings news to
millions within hours or minutes OF its
happening.
It is still back in the days when an
Ambassador was the personal messenger
of the ruler. The Ambassadors dis
patches we're sent to the ruler who made
his decisions accordingly There was no
public opinion to be bothered with.
Heads Of state might quarrel to the point.
of going to war, but wars were relatively
small.
Field Was Narrow.
The field of foreign affairs" was mar
row. Today-and this is most important
of all-it effects in one way or another
everything that we do. More and more
Jobs have been slipping out from under
our own State Department. The Re-
construction Finance Corp. has had
part in foreign affairs" through its
lending power. So has the Treasury.
So has the ONCE Of Economic Warfare.
So has the Co-ordinator of Inter-Amer-
ican affairs and half dozen other
agencies, conspicuously both War and
Navy.
This has made State Department Of
ficers jealous and suspicious. 1t has con-
tributed to the atmosphere of intriguing
rivalry which has permeated the depart
ment. Repeated conflicts have grown
out of the pulling and hauling between
State and rival agencies.
In England more or less the same
thing has happened The inadequacy of
the Foreign Once has been recognized
and discussed. Last January two highly
significant articles appeared in the Lon
don Times analyzing this inadequacy and
suggesting remedy. The Foreign Of
fee, according to the Times writer,
should be only one branch-the diplo-
matte branch-of a real ministry of
state This ministry would include those
functions that have slipped away from
the Foreign Office as they have slipped
away from the State Department. The
Secretary of State at the top would he
policy-making officer with half dozen
divisions under him.
The same kind of broad revision could
be worked out to great advantage here in
America, according to Joseph M. Jones,
former State Department officer writ
ing in the current Fortune magazine.
Jones, who resigned from the Depart
nent when he found any effort to in
troduce new ideas futile, suggests three
main divisions, each under an Under
secretary of State elevated to cabinet
rank, the title of Secretary of State be-
ing reserved "for the senior official in
charge of planning and directing policy.
Need Enlightened Public.
This, then, is the dilemma of the in
stitution itself; how to force recog-
milton of the irresistible push of the
times In which we live. A strong and
enlightened public opinion is necessary
to bring about such basic changes. This
of course, is the constant excuse OF Sec
retary Hull and the men around him
we could move no faster because opinion
wasn't ready. 1t overlooks the fact that
the department, If properly organized
might have given the public the rea