Evening star., 1947-11-09
Chip BohIen Is More
Than a Russian
Interpreter
By Richard 1. Stokes

younger CdlccT lIlcll, h1iOWc AAoW w
keep silent in all three. His lips
wore a tighter clamp than ever on
his return from service as political
adviser to Secretary Of State Mar
shall at the conference of Foreign
Ministers in Moscow.
The role of silence is natural to
one who has shared at first hand the
outstanding international secrets OF
the day. Probably no other man OF
his age (43) and position in this
country has beheld, on the very
scene, so much history Of our time In
the making. Among other things,
he acted as President Roosevelt's
interpreter during the fateful nego-
tiations with Premier Stain at
Teheran and Yalta.
Though he played only scrub foot
ball at college, Mr.. Bohlen carries
with athletic ease his stature OF
6 feet inch and his weight OF ITS
pounds. His eyes are gray and his
hair is light brown. The skull is
long and compact and the strong
features are ably carved. He looks
more like an engineer than the con-
ventional image of diplomat. 1t
is his preference to think OF him
self as a technician. His craft, as
he sees it, calls for skill and knoWl-
edge, both of a high order. 1t is
more complicated than plumbing or
steamfltting, but it Is technique.
Revolted Against Background
Except" as the wife of one for
eign service officer remarked, I'VE
are paid less than plumbers and are
supposed to live like Mrs. Astor and
Lord Chesterfield rolled into one"
Mr.. Bohlen was born August 30,
1904, at Clayton, N. Y. The Bohlen
family in America is related to the
Krupp Won Bohlen dynasty of arma-
ment makers in the Ruhr. Partly
because he has been plagued with
this accident of birth by gossip col
umnists, he Is unduly sensitive to
reminders Of the Krupp connection.
This may be one reason why, as
young man, even in the sacrosanct
preserves of the foreign service, he
took a position definitely to the left
of center. 1t was a form of revolt
against tribal background.
He attended ultra-exclusive ST..
Paul's School and took an A. B. de-
gree in 1927 at Harvard. where he
was a member of the Porcelain
"the club" as the late George APP
ley, with typical Boston snobbery
invariably referred to 1t. From his
fellows in the Pork" he acquired
the nickname Of "Chipper," which
was later abbreviated to Chip"
Associations like these were re-
garded as the only proper back
ground for a diplomat. Following
the tradition of "noblesse oblige"
which obtains in q few successful
American families, he entered the
foreign service in 1929. This was
thought of as a social career for IA
vored young men, who could look
ahead to soft and agreeable lives in
foreign capitals as cookie pushers"
and striped pants boys" with
rounds of hand-kissing and cock
tail-passing at ritual teas.
An Unpretentious Start
Striped pants were all right for
signing treaties, in Mr.. Bohlen's
opinion, but the everyday toll of
the foreign service required work
ing clothes. His entry was not even
on the bottom floor. He went In
through the cellar. At that time
the foreign service had eight grades,
which since have been reduced to
six. Below the eighth grade was a
lowly area rated as "unclassified." "
There young Bohlen labored for five
years as Vice Consul in Prague,
Paris and Moscow.
Even as an apprentice, he selected
Russian as his language specially.
though the United States at that
date showed no sign of ever recog-
nizing the existence Of the Soviet
Union. Language requirements in
the foreign service are often super
fetal. Mr.. Bohlen went long way
toward mastery of Russian, which
is no small feat.
Tracing the devious i1as and outs
Of the Communist line, In Moscow
and abroad, he read extensively in
MARKHAM literature and dug into OBJ
scure periodicals that often fur
nished early clues to shifts not Wis
ible on the surface.
He was promoted to class 8 in
October, 1895, and has since climbed
upward at rate of one promotion
in rank every two years. Today he
is in class 2, but his advancement
to class l is pending in the Senate.
This is the top grade of the foreign
service and from 1t ministers and
ambassadors are normally chosen.
After recognition Of the Soviet
Union in 1888 came four periods of
service in Moscow. All this was
preparation for the moment when
President Roosevelt asked Mr..
Bohlen to accompany him to Te-
heran and act as his official inter-
prefer in the conversations with
Stain. Mr.. Bohlen confessed after
ward that he left with sinking
sensation in the pit of his stomach.
It was one thing to talk with ac-
quaintances in a difficult foreign
language. 1t was quite another to