The Daily Alaska empire., 1949-10-04
T THESE DAYS
GEORGE E. SOKOLSKY
JOHN FOSTER DULLES

come to the United States Senate with the intellectual equipment the scholarly attainments, and the established international position of John Foster Dulles. He is the author of the bipartisan foreign poIicv. which, for better or for worse. controlled the conduct of our affairs from 1914 to few weeks ago. He saved the San Francisco conference from collapse, and he carried his party with him in pre- venting it from using the foreign
 affairs of this country for partisan
 purposes.
 While many of us felt that the
 bipartisan foreign policy gave the
 Democrats an undue advantage and
 prevented the American people
 from having a full and open de- bate on the war, it's conduct, it's
 errors and it's costly aftermath, it l is nonetheless important to give to it's author the recognition that he deserves.
 John Foster Dulles is now can- didate for the United States Sen ate. having been appointed to that body by Governor Dewey. His op- ponent is Herbert Lehman, whose goyernorship of New York state ! followed Franklin D. Roosevelt's. ! Lehman enjoys considerable fol- lowing, although an analysis of his i careers makes the reason dubious Lehman has a reputation of a liberal, which means that he can say what is fashionable to say at particular moment.
 It would, indeed, be difficult to write of his philosophy of life with any objectiSity or sureness of thought One would be limited to such phrases as New Dealer, Fair Dealer, Liberal without definition His management of UNRRA, which preceded La Guardia's, was unin- spired and served Soviet Russia to advantage, although that would not make Lehman a Marxist.
 Generally speaking, he is what is called a nice person, charitable, honorable, well-intentioned. Tp say more than that would be to enter a realm of wishful thinking with out substance.
 Dulles, on the other hand, is a of unusual intellectual equipment New York state has, in recent years. United States Senate and none who assumed q leadership befitting its size, population and significance in the life of the American peo- pie. The last U. s. Senator of out standing significance and leader ship was Elihu Root, sent to that body in 1909. James w. Wadsworth, Jr.. who served during World War and the years immediately after, assumed a position of leadership, although he would, I am sure, be the first to admit that Root was in a class by himself.
 Excepting Root and Wadsworth, the United States Senators from the Empire State have been James A. O'Gorman, William M Calder, Royal s. Copeland, Robert F. Wag- ner, James M Mead and Irving M. Ives, none of whom have left scratch upon history. Robert F. Wagner left somewhat of a repu- tation as the lntroducer of the bill that bears his name, said to have been prepared by Lee Pressman and other C.IO. lawyers. Irving Ives, the present incumbent, gave promise of great career, but it is still a promise and not fulfill ment. The others were political hacks of the kind that are now so usual in public office.
 The nomination of John Foster Dulles then gives to the voters of New York state an opportunity to redeem themselves by proving that it is possible for an upright, train- ed, competent, independent mind to be elected. Dulles runs in a year when mayor is to he elect cd for the City of New York with a population of 100000, and of the three candidates who are run ming one is no better than the other and one of them is Vito Marcantcnio, so that gives you an idea of the best that 8,000OOO Americans can produce.
 If Dulles were elected to the Sen ate, 1t would be of singular ad- vantage to that body because, at any rate, there would be one there who knows our foreign relations at first hand. But it is difficult to say whether he will make it or not, for the issues are often racial and religious and skin pigmentation, and Dulles cannot claim member ship in any minority group, which is indeed very bad politics. How ever, 1t would be fortunate for the United States if he were elected.
 Copyright, 1949, King Features