Evening star., 1945-07-08

Byrnes, can hardly be called an expert
on foreign affairs. He has never filled
a diplomatic post; nor, during his IL
years in the Senate, was he ever a
member of that body's Foreign Rela-
tions Committee. Neither has he, like
many of his predecessors. been an In
ternational lawyer.
Yet the consensus among long-term
observers in the Capital is that he Is
likely to fill his new ofice capably and
with credit to the country. For he has
attributes which outweigh his lack of
technical knowledge of treaties, protocol
and aides memoire.
First, it is well to remember that
the duties of Secretary of State have
changed draStically since the days when
John Jay, Thomas Jefferson or even
Philander C. Knox penned verbose and
journalistic notes to foreign powers.
Today the Secretary of State is the
head of vast and intricate organi-
zation with hundreds Of experts who
can answer questions ranging from the
correct salutation for the Emperor of
Ethiopia to the density of population
in Patagonia. He does not require
detailed knowledge of the political and
economic situation In half hundred
foreign lands BY pressing q button,
he can always summon man who
knows the answers.
Three Prime Requisites.
The prime requisites tor capable
Secretary of State today are three:
An ability to negotiate shrewdly while
still inspiring confidence and trust,
thorough knowledge of America and
the thinking of its people and cordial
relationship with the President and
Congress.
Most men in public life who have
known MIR. Byrnes or his record during
some three decades of national service
in Washington agree that he has these
attributes to marked degree.
During the Is years the wiry, sandy
haired South Carolinian spent in Con-
gress, he made his mark as a skillful
negotiator. Although he came from a
State which produced such oratorical
giants as John c. Calhoun, Jimmy"
Byrnes was never noted as a speech
maker But during his service on Capt.
tol Hill, and particularly during his last
four years in the Senate. when he fire.
quently worked in close contact with
the late President Roosevelt, he was
known as a past-master of cloakroom
persuasion. He didn't talk much on the
floor, but he usually garnered the votes
for administration bills.
Congress Is Cordial.
Mr.. Byrnes' relations with both Presi-
dent Truman and Congress are excellent.
The President and his Secretary of
State were close friends during their
years in the Senate, and some politicians
consider that Mr.. Truman sits in the
White House today, probably, as result
of Mr.. Byrnes' self-sacrifice at the Chi
cago convention last year. He had
strong backing for the vice presidential
nomination, but withdrew his name
after President Roosevelt indicated that
either Senator Truman or Justice Doug
las of the Supreme Court was his choice
as running mate. The new Secretary
knows many of the members of Con-
gress intimately, and the Senate's action
in confirming his appointment immedi-
ately and unanimously indicates the
cordial feeling toward him in the
chamber that must approve the postwar
treaties he negotiates.
The new Secretary's Americanism is
bred in the bone. He wasn't born in
log cabin-long considered the birth
but he left school at an early age to
support widowed mother, won his way
to learning by the midnight oil" route
and has never allowed high position to
isolate him from what Henry Wallace
calls "the common man."
Few men in public life have had the
background in public service that Mr..
Byrnes has accumulated. Since 1910,
save for six years d925-193D when he
retired to Spartanburg, S. c., to prac-
tice law following his defeat for the
Senate by Coleman A. Blease, the new
Secretary has been in Washington. He
spent IA years (1910-24) in the House.
For II years Q93o-194D he was a menu
ber of the Senate. For little more
than year he sat as an associate JUS
tice of the Supreme Court. He stepped
down from the bench, at President
Roosevelt,s urgent request, to become.
first, director of economic stabiliza-
ton 1929 and later (l943-5) director
of war mobilization. In this latter post
he was known unofhcially as the AS
sistant President. His sweeping au-
thority over the Nations economic life
made him the most powerful ofIicial in
the country, aside from the President
himself.
Those who would label Mr.. Byrnes