Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-01-08
A Great Man Retires

When it takes effect on January 20, the
resignation Of Secretary of State George
c. Marshall will remove from active public
life genuinely great man. But though
his departure will be deeply regretted by
every informed American from the PreSi-
dent on down, no one will begrudge him
the right to retirement. He has earned it
many times over, and along with it he has
earned the gratitude of our whole Nation,
people and Government alike.
For not many men in history have served
this country and the free world in general
so theoretically, so brilliantly and so self
lessly as has Secretary Marshall His con-
tribution has been the unique, twofold
contribution of great soldier and great
statesman. Thus, as Army Chief of Staff
from 1889 until the total collapse of the
Axis, he was one of the main architects of
Allied global strategy, and as SUCH in the
most terrible and most extensive of all
wars, he played decisive role in winning
the final victory. Then, on top of this,
as head of the State Department during
the past two years, he gave powerful new
direction to mankind's search for q decent
and lasting peace.
In a brief space, of course, 1t is not pos
sible to draft an adequate summary of
General Marshall's career or to define pre-
cisely the qualities that have made him
tower above most of his contemporaries.
Yet this may be said of him with assur-
ance: That part of his genius has been
his ability to deal affirmatively with any
given situation calling for action-a deter
mination to do something constructive
when lesser men would do nothing but
drag their feet or drift futilely into a
morass Of vacillation and indecision.
Nothing could better illustrate that aspect
Of his character than his persistent drive
for the cross-channel invasion of France,
and later, In the middle of his many labors
as Secretary of State, his eloquent and
tireless eSpousal of the European Recovery
Program to save Western civilization from
succumbing to Soviet totalitarianism.
Another Of General Marshall's striking
qualities, both as soldier and statesman,
has been his selfless patriotism After the
exhausting responsibilities of the war, he
needed rest and relaxation and he had his
heart set on retiring to his home in Lees
burg, Virginia. But when the President
asked him to 60 to China, he considered
1t his duty to comply. Then, two years
ago, after his year-long effort to mediate
between the Nationalist and the Com
mun1sts, he once again put aside his
personal wishes to take up the extraor-
dinarily heavy burdens of Secretary of
State. In that role-which he must aban-
don now for reasons of health-the world
at large, and not merely America, has
come to look upon him, with good reason,
as a kind Of modern George Washington,
endowed with a moral prestige and
grandness Of character not frequently
found among men.
But though men of the Marshall type are
few and far between, President Truman
has done well in naming Dean Acheson
as the new Secretary. Mr.. Acheson-who
rendered outstanding service in the State
Department from 1941 until his resigna-
ton in June of 1947-is one of the authors
Of the European Recovery Program and he
can be counted upon, If his record means
anything, to discharge his responsibilities
with distinction. AS for James E. Webb,
who will succeed the able and hard driving
Robert A. Lovett as Undersecretary, he is a
stranger to international diplomacy but
his experience as Budget Director has given
him broad knowledge of the worlds key
problems, and he Is undoubtedly we'll
equipped to take over Mr. Lovetts admin
istrative duties.
In any event, as the President has made
clear, the change in personnel does not
presage any change in foreign policy. AS
he takes his leave, with a grateful Ma
TONS best wishes for full and speedy
recovery and for long years of happy
retirement, General Marshall can be sure
that that policy-which is policy aimed
at building a good peace-will continue to
stand in all its essentials. He can be sure,
too, that for what he has done in shaping
it, as we'll as for his greatness as soldier,
he has already won large place of honor
in the history not only of his country but
of the entire free world