It is difficult to say much more about the appointment of Christian Herter as Secretary of State than that it will be good to have a full-time, full-powered Secretary again. Much as one may sympathize with Mr. Dulles' personal misfortune, his decision to resign was a welcome one. For a foreign ministry--especially one so dependent on a single man as the State Department was under Dulles--cannot go on for long without a responsible leader. The lower echelons of State, whose policy-making role has been so limited in recent years, are unprepared to carry on with just an Under-Secretary at their head.
Because Herter did serve under Dulles and, even as second in command, was little more than a cipher where policy was concerned, his personal attitudes on policy are very much an unknown quantity. Whatever actions he may pursue, however, the lessons of the past several months should be quite clear to him: the State Department cannot survive "under the Secretary's hat," for the removal of either hat or Secretary results in a paralysis of policy. Herter must use all the resources of personnel available, not only in the execution, but in the formulation of policy.
Read more in News
On the SASCRecommended Articles
-
Herter Asserts Win By Mass. Democrats Could Wreck GOP"If the Democrats win both Houses of the Massachusetts legislature this fall, I would fear gerymandering on a large scale,"
-
John Foster Dulles--An Agonizing ReappraisalFor a man who is supposed to have spent a large part of his life preparing for the Secretaryship of
-
One-Way TicketLate in August, Secretary of State Dulles made a serious error when he committed himself to the policy that "every
-
Supports LehmanTo the Editors of the CRIMSON: I was pleased to see your editorial supporting the candidacy of Herbert H. Lehman
-
Principle Over PartyThe State Department gave heartening support to the ideal of bi-partisanship last week. Only a month ago, Secretary Dulles presented
-
DIFFRERENT SLANT ON LKETo the Editors of the CRIMSON: Concerning your editorial on Republican foreign policy--I wish the CRIMSON would discard its mantle
