Evening star., 1947-05-25

of the Foreign Service officers stafal
and consulates abroad will be vete
This trend is the result Of d.
Secretary of State Marshall dotted
his generals uniform for the civilian
attire of the Nations top-ranking
cabinet officer.
1t does not mean that the State
Department is going militaristic.
It does reflect official belief that:
/. Men who have seen war have
more than ordinary interest in do
ing their best to prevent another
and will bring valuable experience
to the battle for world peace.
Many Careers Delayed.
2. The cream of the Nations
young men were caught up by the
armed forces during the war at the
time some of them normally would
nave been starting Foreign Service
careers. and so should be given first
consideration in plans for postwar
expansion of the service.
Americas vastly increased respon-
sibilities over the world since 1889
make tremendous expansion of the
foreign service necessary. At the
wars end there were less than 800
career foreign service officers. State
Department plans call for an ESQ
force of 1,400 by June 80, 1948.
This expansion is being accom-
plished in three ways:
l. Bringing into the beginning
class of the career service applicants
between the ages of 81 and 81 who
pass stiff written and oral examina-
tions.
2. Commissioning as career Off
GERS young men who pass oral eX-
aminations after earning the right
to bypass the written examinations
by working in noncareer positions
with the service abroad.
Every Fifth Man a Veteran.
3. Appointment into the middle
and upper grades of the service of
up to $50 especially qualified men
over 81, under special act of
Congress signed by President Tru-
man last July 3.
All the men taken into the serv-
ice since the war under the first
category are veterans. About half
of those commissioned so far under
the third category are veterans, and
the proportion is increasing. AL
ready veterans account for nearly
20 per cent of the approximately
1000 Foreign Service officers on duty.
State Department records show
that a total of 305 persons have been
approved for admission into the be-
ginning class of the Foreign Serv-
ice since May, 1945. OF these, 218
served in the armed forces during
the war and 86 were "in-service"
applicants-those already working
in the Foreign Service with non-
career appointments.
Many in Upper Grade, Too.
Under the so-called "Manpower
Act" of last July 8, total of 6S
highly qualified older men have been
selected for positions in the upper
grades of the service. Fifty per cent
of these were veterans, and the.
others had records of exceptional
Government service during the war
period.
The last general written examina-
tions for applicants for admission
into Foreign Service at the bottom
were held September Gil, 1941. No
examinations were held during the
war. The first postwar examina-
ton open to nonveterans is sched-
uled for next September.
Two special written examinations
have been held for members of the
armed forces and veterans since
VI day. One was in November
1945, and the other last September
30-October /.
These examinations first put into
effect, under former Secretary of
State Byrnes. the policy of seeking
to expand the Foreign Service with
men who had gained special inter-
ests in international relations
through their experiences in the war
against the Axis.
Qualifications Listed.
To qualify to take those examina-
tions an applicant had to be a
member of the armed forces or an
honorably discharged veteran, born
between July /, 1915, and July /,
1925: an American citizen for at
least Is years, able to read French,
German or Spanish and have COM
pleted three-fourths of a college
course required for bachelors or
equivalent degree.
The written examinations were
given, under special arrangements
with the Army and Navy, at numer-
Gus points overseas for the con-
venience of applicants still wearing
uniforms.
In order to pick out only the most
highly qualified young men, the
written examinations we're made ex-
tremely tough. A total df 3,412 per-
sons took the 1945 examination and
only 631 passed. Later, oral exami-
nations cut down to 161 the number
approved as Foreign Service officers.
Another 2,768 took the second spe-
cial written examination last fall.
Only 495 passed it. So far, 100 of
these 495 have passed their oral ex-
aminations. Another 12s still are on
the list to take the oral examina-
ton,