Evening star., 1961-01-29
HEADLINE PERSONALITY
! FinIetters Humor
| Will Come in Handy

Those who know him best
describe Thomas K. Finletter
as an urbane man with a wry
sense of humor. He also is a
hard man to beat in q tennis
match.
Mr.. Finletter probably won't
have much time for tennis in
his new job. but his humor will
come in handy.
He has been picked by Pres
ident Kennedy as the United
States Ambassador to NATO-
q job which requires more than
ordinary finesse in dealing with
sometimes fractions and tenn
peramental allies.
Dealing with the problems Of
the military Is an old task for
Mr.. Fin1etter. He was Presi-
dent Truman's Secretary of Air
Force from 1850 to 1858 and,
since then, he has been one of
the sharpest critics Of United
States defense policies.
Mr.. Finletter, who is 81, had
been mentioned as q possible
choice. for Defense Secretary in
the new administration.
When reached last night by
The Star at his home in New
York. Mr.. Finletter said his
reaction to the NATo APP
pointment was "one Of great
pleasure"
1t would be VERY foolish"
though. he said, to- comment
on any plans he has for the
Job.
Began Under Hull
Thomas Knight Finletter, a
native Of Philadelphia, began
his Government service in 1941
as q special assistant to Secre-
tary Of State Cordell Hull.
He had prepared for his
career by attending the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania, where
he received a bachelors degree
in 1915 and his law degree in
1920. Before that he had
studied for a year in Paris.
Both his father and grand
father had been judges in
Philadelphia. and Mr.. Finletter
quite naturally became q law
yer. He worked in q law firm
In New York during the i920s
and still makes his home there. |
During World War II, Mr..
Finletter's speciality in the
State Department was inter-
national economic affairs. In
l945 he was q consultant to the
United States delegation to the
security conference at San
Francisco when the United
Nations charter was adopted.
His work in international af-
fairs continued when he headed |
the Marshall Plan mission to
Great Britain in 194S and 1949. |
AS Air Force Secretary, Mr..
Finletter was q strong advocate |
Of increasing our strength. He |
also argued-with success-for
going ahead with the develop.
n1ent Of the hydrogen bomb.
Backed Stevenson
In recent years, Mr.. Finletter |
has kept his hand In politics. |
He has been one Of the leaders |
Of the liberal wing Of the Demo-
cratic Party in New York. He
took q leading role in backing !
Adlai Stevenson for the presi-
dency; last summer he favored
q ticket Of Stevenson for Presi-
dent and Kennedy for Vice
President.
In 1858. Mr.. Finletter sought
the Democratic nomination for
Senator from New York. After
his bid failed, he turned down
a similar nomination by the
Liberal Party in that State.
During the Eisenhower ad-
ministration, MIR. Finletter. in
books and articles, criticized
policies which he felt were fail
ing to meet the Soviet military
and economic threat.
Rather than relying solely on
a policy of massive retaliation,
Mr.. Finletter said, we should
supplement our deterrent pol
icy with other ways Of prevent
ing war;" He favored disarma-
ment. which he called mo long
er an Impractical dream"
Now Mr.. Finletter will have
an opportunity to put his ideas
into practice.