Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-02-08
Swollen Stuffs Of u. S.
Foreign Missions Hit
Remedy Adopted by President
Held Test Of Sincerity
BY Fronk R. Kent

By Frank R. Kent
The part of the Eisenhower state-of-
the Union message which caused almost
unanimous approval was that dealing
with the debt, the deficit and taxes On
these subjects, it is overwhelmingly
agreed, the new President was clear
and concrete. Avoiding the demagogic
approach, he emphatically asserted
that. desirable as it is, tax reduction
must wait until control of the budget
has been regained and the looming
deficit wiped out-by eliminating
waste.
That is neither new nor an original
idea and extremely few members of
Congress or any one else will dispute its
Soundness. However, considering the
frequency by which it was voiced by
Mr.. Eisenhower's predecessors, two
auctions seem pertinent: First. how
deeply does he mean it? Second, where
do We start? AS to the first, there is
every reason to believe the Eisenhower
sincerity Is more to be relied upon
than that Of either the late Mr.. Roose-
welt or Mr.. Truman.
For one thing his personal pledge
in which he included the head Of every
executive department-has been made
in q more impressive and determined
way. For another, he has no spending
program, such as the Messrs. Roosevelt
and Truman had, to nullify all efforts
at economy. For still another. as re-
suit Of 20 years unrestricted ex-
penditureS, the Federal fiscal structure
Is more insecure and alarming than at
any other time in our history. And
finally, Immediately following his
speech, Mr.. Eisenhower issued rather
convincing orders freezing Federal
jobs and barring "unneeded" agency
programs.
AS to the second question-where do
we start? What seems to be a more
than usually adequate answer has Just
been made by Senator Johnston
OF South Carolina, recently returned
from an extended personal investiga-
ton IN Europe, Africa and the Near
East. In report to the Senate
Senator Johnston presented some star
Ting facts. There are, he declared, at
least 100000 superfluous employees on
the Government payroll in foreign
countries. Billions Of dollars, he said,
are wasted. For example, In Paris
alone there are 40 separate American
agencies each independent of the
others. Manning these agencies are to
be found three different Americans
with the rank Of ambassador, three
with the rank Of minister and numerous
administrators. directors and heads of
missions. Commenting on the state of
affairs, Senator Johnston reported that
there was Incredible duplication Of
effort. overlapping authority, over
stating. waste and the fraud and in
efficiency consequent to such condi-
TONS"
Further. the Senator said, the expen-
Sive scale on which these American
agents live abroad does not contribute
to- American security or prestige.
Rather. 1t breeds contempt, suspicion
and disgust. This is strong language
from usually mild Senator and the
indictment is too devastating to be
ignored or swept aside. Nor is there
any flavor of partisan politics in 1t. In
the first place, Senator Johnston is a
Democrat and the setup he is criticizing
was created by Democratic admin
istration of which he was a part. In the
second place, Senator Johnston's report
to the Senate is exactly in line with in
formation brought back by other in
vestigators and travellers of both
parties. In addition, the Johnston report
is supported by H. w. Brawley, minority
clerk Of the Senate Civil Service Com
mittee. who Travelled over the same
ground. According to Mr.. Brawley, the
United States has more than 100000
employees abroad and a payroll exceed
ing slice, 800. 900 year.
In the light Of the revealed facts,
it seems impossible to deny that our
policy Of building up our allies abroad,
however sound in conception, is being
carried out with great, unnecessary
waste and inefficiency. Secretary Of
State Dulles and Mutual Security Adj
ministrator StasSen are about to return
to washington after a tour Of the 10
European countries upon which Sena-
tor Johnston, Mr.. Brawley and others
have reported. Undoubtedly these con-
ditions will have been brought to their
attention. AS leading members Of the
Eisenhower administration and the
men now responsible for the aid pro-
gram abroad, If they confirm, as seems
inevitable. the Johnston report. some
thing will have to be done about it
and quickly. It seems situation in
which inaction upon part of the adj
mfnistration would reflect upon the
sincerity Of the Eisenhower declaration
that waste must be eliminated and the
budget brought under control.