The Wilmington morning star., 1945-07-05
TODAY and TOMORROW
By WALTER LIPPMANN

After his return from Yalta it
was as clear as such things can
| be that Mr.. Byrnes was all in all
| by far the man best fitted to be
Secretary of State.
The Department of State is a
peculiar one in that it exercises
very little substantial power of its
own: our dealings with the outer
world are in fact operated by
other departments OF government
War, Navy, Treasury, Interior,
Horticulture and Commercially
independent agencies - for eN-
ample, the Federal Reserve Board
and the Maritime Commission
and. of course, by Congressional
LEGISLATION and appropriation. To
shape and conduct foreign pollcy
the Department of State has to
coordinate and guide, under dlrec-
ton from the President, the action
of the government as a whole IN
| SO lar DIS It's dCClOll oSoAS Nf
security and vital interests.
That is why it has been the
custom to appoint as Secretary OF
State, not a specialist in foreign
affairs, but man of PRESIDENTIAL
caliber. The office calls for man
who knows the American govern
ment, and has personal prestige
and experience in making 1t work.
Secretary of State can be little
more than the handy man OF the
President, or he is reduced, be-
cause he has no power, to verbal
diplomacy, to writing diplomatic
notes and issuing statements.
MI. Byrnes has served W. 20
tinction and practical success Ill
all three branches of government,
as lawmaker in both Houses Of
Congress, as a judge on the Su-
preme Court, and at the very cen
ter of the executive power in the
White House. A more comprehen-
sive and thorough preparation for
The office. especially at this time,
it would be hard to imagine. For
affairs originate all over this COM
plicated government, and when
the difficult problems in foreign
decisions are made by the Resi-
dent and his Secretary OF State,
the solutions have to be admins
tered through all the complicated
departments.
When the reorganization OF the
Cabinet has been carried through
it's next logical step, the combina-
ton of Truman, Byrnes, Vinson,
and a new Secretary of the Treas
ury will for the first time in many
years unite power with response
bility.
This is indispensable if foreign
affairs are to be managed success
fully. Conditions in Europe and
the state of the war in the Pacific
are at a point where the national
interests has to be defined clearly
and then asserted skillfully and
firmly over all branches of the
armed services and all the depart
ments and agencies of government.
The time has passed when it is
feasible to treat the plea of mill
tary necessity as untouchable -
except when there are two conflict
ing pleas of military necessity
which have to be arbitrated.
The military victory in Europe
can easily deteriorate into social
disaster in Europe which might be
irretrievable for years to come. IT
that is to be prevented, if Europe
is to be carried through the coming
winter without breakdown of So
ciety, the United States will need
at once to take energetic and de-
cisive measures to see to it that the
people of France, Italy, Belgium,
and the Netherlands are not al
lowed to sink below minimum
standard of life. This will require
concerted measures affecting the
Army, shipping, food, fuel, land
transport, and money. It will be
the first business of the Secretary
of State to make certain that these
measures are formulated and,
when approved by the President,
that the full authority of the gov
eminent is used to put them into
effect. General Eisenhower will be