Evening star., 1946-01-25

oACo oid4GCa hNaHA As AeHbs
good many third-class ones. The
hrst-class fellows came down, worked
hard, expected nothing, got nothing
and are now out and back at their
private jobs. Nothing short Of an
other war would get them back to
Washington.
Many of the third -class ones are
still around. clinging to the old pay
roll one way or another, on the
various boards, bureaus and COM
missions with which the Government
is so shockingly cluttered up. It will
take pretty drastic use of the
Presidents powers under the new
Reorganization Act to reorganize
them out Of their Jobs.
Mr.. Truman's trouble Is that the
reluctance Of the best men to come
back forces him to turn to the poorer
groups more often than he likes in
order to f1ll some really major posi-
tons. This lays him open to the
charge of putting in personal friends
and inadequate men for political
reasons. Undoubtedly he has done
too much Of that, but SO did most
otheF Presidents. and Mr.. Truman is
entitled to fuller appreciation of
the enhanced dif1iculty of getting
really big men to take Government
posts at the Capital. Any President
would be up against the same thing.
AInducements Lacking.
The inducements either in the way
OF financial reward or chances for
making reputation are simply not
there, The whole business of Gov
ernment has been cheapened in the
last 13 years.
1t is now just beginning to be real
lied that while this state of affairs
at home is acutely embarrassing,
the situation abroad Is equally so.
1t used to be that the larger am
bassadorshipS - the British, the
French, italian, Russian, German
were all eagerly sought by men of
wealth and standing. Usually. these
places went to outstanding contrib
utors to party campaign funds.
Such posts were esteemed as a
great honor and there was keen
competition for them. But that is
no longer so. On the contrary, the
President is hard pushed to get
qualified men to succeed diplomats
abroad anxious to return. These
posts, once so glamorous, have be-
come undesirable to the type of
man to whom they were customarily
given.
Take the case Of the British am
bassadorship. Until now this had
always been the prize diplomatic
post. For the rich and socially
ambitious 1t was like going to
heaven. None such was ever known
to decline. A good many have been
deeply disappointed not to land 1t.
But things are different now. Two
extremely rich and Unfortunately So
cially ambitious men have declined
it in the last three months.
Work Now, Not Fun.
Their reasons seem adequate. For
one thing, there is no longer any
social glamour in London. Life is
hard in that great city since the war
ended, and its people will be
pinched for long time. A very rich
man able to entertain extensively
would seem guilty of bad taste If
he tried to do so. Neither he nor
his wife would be popular with the
best people"
For another thing, the work at
tached to the post has been enor-
mously increased. For another, the
possibilities for friction and irrita-
ton as a result OF our financial
relations has become greater. For
another, there just isn't any fun in
being British Ambassador now-that
Is, for the sort Of man who once was
so keen about 1t.
Take France and Italy-who
wants to go there? Probably there
are lot of men-but not of the
first grade and not Of the old class
These countries were badly war torn.
Their governments are unstable
Their people are poverty stricken
and suffering, many Of them with
out enough to eat or wear. Their
industries are dislocated, their eco
4ioLii1 oyobCAilo AiidAl6iCo 0kAo h1llCl
leans are UNDERSTANDABLE unpopular.
There is no Joy in being American
Ambassador there under these con-
ditions. 1t Il somewhat the same
way in Russia.
Raises Career Men.
The climate there is tough, the
social life extremely restricted, the
government unfriendly and foreign
ambassadors subject to many small
irritations and Illustrations, gen.
orally unable to master the language
or get on an intimate basis with the
Russian rulers. In Germany, Aus
tria and japan military occupation
stretches indefinitely and there are
no ambassadors. But even II there
were, they would obviously be un-
happy positions for an American.
Actually, SO far as we are con-
cerned, the most desirable diplo-
matte posts in Europe today seem
to be Switzerland and Sweden,