Evening star., 1947-05-25

rans.
,liberate policy adopted long before
/ the "manpower" appointments give
| the breaks to veterans. Only menu
bers of the armed forces or mer-
chant marine, veterans of World
War II, or persons with at least two
years responsible experince in Gov
ernment service since December Z,
1941, are considered. Each candi-
date must be at elast 81 years old,
be an American citizen for at least
| Is years and, If married, be married
to an American citizen. He also must
be able to read one of these Ian
ges-Arabic, Chinese, French,
German, japanese, Portuguese, Rus
sian or Spanish. And he must havs
college degree except in "excep-
tional cases." where experience
abroad might make up for two years
of college work. ..
Preliminary Screening.
More than 1,500 applications for
these appointments have been re-
ceived, and they still are coming In
at the. State Department. The
answers supplied by the applicants
to Al questions about their educa-
ton and experience provide the in
formation necessary for preliminary
screening"
The State Department has ar
ranged for the College Entrance
Examination Board to do this
screening at its headquarters in
Princeton, N. j. Applications found
acceptable by this board are sent to
the department, where security in
Ivestigations are started that usually
take about two months. The apph-
cants getting by this far then are
given oral examinations by special
boards of five men each.
Those passing the oral examina-
tions are placed in what the State
Department calls its "manpower
pool" winners of the highest marks
going to the top. This list Is
SKINNED" from time to time for
actual appointments.
One-Third Passed.
OF the first 1900 applications for
the $50 available appointments in
the upper ranks of the Foreign
Service, only 500 have got by the
preliminary Screening Ths
Princeton board disapproved TOO
and still has to report on 300.
Examining boards have passed 100
and "fiunked" SO. A total of 68 Of
those meeting all the requirements
now have been selected for appoint
ment, and SO have actually been ap-
pointed by President Truman.
Age, experience and ability of each
successful applicant are taken into
account in determining into what
class of the Foreign Service he will
be appointed. The service is graded
in six classes, ranging from class
6, with salary range of $4,000 to
$4,000 year, to class l. $4,000
to $13,500. OF the So appointed so
far, have gone into class 2, II in
class 3, Is in class and in class 5.
Several men in their 40s, with
wide experience in private business
at home and abroad in addition
to Army, Navy or Government work
during the war, are among those
added to the career diplomatic serv-
ice under the "Manpower Act" The
Oldest is James F. Hodgson, Sc, who
served in the Army duringA both
World Wars, had experience in
Russia with the American Relief
Administration in 1921 1924, and has
worked as counselor for economic
affairs Of the American Embassy
in Czechoslovakia since March, 1945.
For the 10 years before World War
II he ran his own business, advising
firms on foreign trade, and taught
at New York University.
Few Are Professional Soldiers.
A weH-known Capitol Hill figure
winning one of the appointments
under the act is Jack K. McFall,
41, who was assistant clerk of the
House Appropriation Committee
from 1923 until 1941. He served in
the Navy during the war and went
back to the Capitol as executive
secretary Of the House Appropria-
tions Committee before winning his
Foreign Service appointment. He
has been assigned as First Secretary
of the American Embassy in Hun
gary, but his departure has been
delayed by illness.
Most of the veterans coming into
the career Foreign Service cannot
be counted as professional military
men. Like Mr.. McFall, they were
civilians who entered the armed
forces only during the war. But
IA few professional military men-in
addition to Gen. Marshall himself
have been picked for top positions.
Many Were Decorated.
Out of 54 diplomatic missions this
country has abroad, four are headed
by men who first came to eminence
in the Army, Navy or Marine Corps.
These are 1t. Gen. Walter Bedell
Smith, Ambassador to Russia; Ad-
miral Alan G. Kirk, Ambassador to
Belgium; Gen. Thomas Holcomb,
former commandant of the Marine
Corps, Minister to South Africa,
and Brig. Gen. Frank T. Hines, Am
bassador to Panama.
In the State Department itself,
one, Of Gen. Marshall's Assistant
Secretaries Is Maj. Gen. John n,
EyiIIdrjY7o for,,,ar l1aoI - ~. W.