The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1961-03-10
The Country Is Ready

Paul ii. Douglas, to serve as cnalrmal
of the National Labor Relation
Board; Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Harvard historian, to a special post il
the White House; Norman Clapp
once secretary to the late Robert M
LaFollette, Jr., to head the Rura
Electrification Administration; Pro
fessor William L. Cary of the Column
bia University law school, to heaC
the Securities and Exchange Commits
sion; and Joseph c. Swidler, whose
long experience as general counsel
of the Tennessee Valley Authority
makes him eminently qualified to
head the scandal-ridden Federal Pow
er Commission.
In the significant area of ambassa-
dorial appointments the President
seems to have chosen wisely, for the
most part, although there are several
selections of doubtful wisdom. Gone
seems to be the old practice of ap-
pointing campaign contributors with
no special knowledge of the country
to which they are accredited and no
real competence in the fields of di-
plomacy and foreign affairs.
Mr.. Kennedy's best selections in
this field, in our judgment, were
those of George KEENAN,, ambassador
to Yugoslavia; David Bruce, ambas-
sador to London; Llewellyn Thomp-
son, to remain as ambassador to the
Soviet Union; Livingston T.. Mer-
chant, ambassador to Canada; Edwin
Reichauer, Harvard's Far Eastern ex-
pert, ambassador to Japan; Ellsworth
Bunker, now ambassador to India, to
serve in Brazil; Kenneth Galbraith,
the gifted Harvard economist, am
bassador to India; and Charles F.
Bohlen, once our brilliant ambas-
sador to the Soviet Union, to act as
adviser on Soviet affairs in
the State Department.
All in all, President Kennedy has
shown an extraordinary capacity to
attract some of the nations ablest
men to government posts by some
how making career of public service
exciting and alluring to men who had
far greater security and earned much
more money in the positions they are
leaving behind.
The Chief Executive has been end
lessly active on the legislative front
as WELL He has fired message after
at Congress proposing action
on wide variety of fronts. But be- |
fore launching his barrage he acted |
DO secure his left flank by employing
The powers of the Presidency to per-
,uade a reluctant House of Repre-
to enlarge the membership
If its Rules Committee SO that the
committee could not continue to exer-
Use strangling control over liberal
egislation.
The Presidents State of the Union
address to Congress was a welcome
contrast to the lullabies presented by
lis predecessor. eve take office. he
aid, Sin the wake of seven months of
ecession, three and a half years of
lack. seven years of diminished eco
ionic growth, and nine years of fail
ng farm prices. Mr.. Kennedy not
My called a recession a recession,
ut enumerated it's profoundly dis
urbing manifestations growing, and
4 many cases chronic, unemploy-
1ent: an increasing tide of bank
uptcies; declining growth rate, al
eady one of the lowest among the
nations of the world
alling business profits and invest
rents; declining construction-an
espite all this, rising prices.
1t seemed to us, and we were by no
leans alone in this, that the Chief
xecutive's prognosis was stronger
ian his prescription. In fact, there
as an audible sigh Of relief in con-
,rvative circles that the President
as been so cautious in proposing ac-
on to meet the urgent challenge he
resented so boldly. Thus, THE
ALL STREET JOURNAL was
eased that the economic proposals
ere rather modest. The New York
INES liked the ''cautious ap-
.oach". And Representative Charles
Halleck, arch-Tory leader of Re-
1blican forces in the House of Rep