The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-05-31
STETTTNTUS DESIRES TO QUIT JUN POST
Byrnes Rift Starts Action By Delegate
Truman Attempts To Overlook PIeG For Resignation

WaSnlngCOH, way OA
 UP) = President Truman said today that Edward R Stettinius, IT,, had submitted his resignation as U. s. rep resentative on the United Ma tions Security Council but that the President was trying to persuade him to remain on the job.
 MT. Truman said at his news conference that StettiniuS sent q letter of resignation to the White House two or three days ago. The President has not yet answered It. MT. Truman said both he ana Secretary of State James F. Byrnes wanted Stettinius to stay. The President added that Stettinius desire to resign had been 8 surprise to him.
 May Stay on Job
 President Truman said he hoped that Stettinius would reconsider the resignation. The President said he thought StettiniuS would stay on the LIN job.
 Stettinius told MT. Truman in his letter of resignation that he thought the original job he assumed on UN-to stay with it until the organization was well under way was completed.
 However, the origination current- ly is in the midst of a grave crisis with considerable skepticisrn, even in Security Council circles, about the future of the organization.
 MT. Truman said he would not act upon Mir. Stettinius' resignationl until he had sent him a letter re- questing him to remain as U. s. Representative at LIN.
 His desire to quit was reported
 in the midst of circumstances which
 indicate differences between Stet-
 tinius and Secretary of State James
 F. Byrnes, and dissatisfaction by
 Stettinius with the way ByrneS ignores and by-passes him on all important issues.
 \ American officials in the UN delegation in New York would not confirm or deny the resignation report. They said that, it StettiniN1 did resign, the personal relationship , between Byrnes and Stettinftls would not be a factor. . Plan Comes As Surprise Stettinius' plan to resign came
 as a surprise and probably will have
 8 depressing psychological effect on the LIN, the prestige of which is already very low. His name has been closely associated with UN since its conception.
 But 1t has been evident for some
 weeks that the white-haired Stet- tinius, a former secretary of State himself, could not long be satis- fled with job in which he merely carried out orders from Byrnes. Like Soviet Ambassador Andrei A.
 Gromyko, he has acted on inStruc-
 tionS and plays virtually no part
 in their formulation.
 Well-informed sources were uzi-
 able to confirm whether Stettinius,
 formal resignation has been Sub-
 mitted to the White House. But
 they did confirm that he has told MT. Truman he wants to quit and . his reasons for doing so. These ? sources pointed out that StettinfuS and the President were on the best 5 of terms, In such circumstances, one doesn't resign without warning but
 more or less asks permission to do { SD to avoid embarrassing the presi- , dent.
 Stettinius was at his Virginia farm during the holiday, but un- 5 available for comment. His house refused to accept telephone calls. His spokesman in New York at LIN . headuuarters declined to confirm or . deny the report. They merely said
 neither they nor Stettinius had any comment.
 Forced to Second Place ' stettinius has been forced to play 1 second fiddle to Byrnes ever since ! the Security Council moved to the United States. The President and
 the Secretary of State always must determine the policy to be followed by the American representative on the Council.
 But Byrnes has played the major active role on the Council as well On the only major case to come
 before the LIN since March-1raIl- Byrnes personally handled the Council, sitting in the U. s. seal
 with Stettinius on the. sidehnes. r Ten days ago, when the Iraniai1 premier notified the Council that q |, special commission had reported the
 Red Army out of Iran, it was
 Byrnes who personally ordered Stettinius at the last minute to in-
 sist that case remain on the Coun-
 cil's agenda.
 The American delegation to UN
 was divided over the wisdom or
 that move and several of Stettinjus
 closest advisers thought it iH-ad-
 vised to continue the case which had such a wide split with Russia
 once the chance of dropping 1t had