* First, the Commissioner may well become a rubber-stamp for the county organizations, the governor, the parole board (one of whose members was instrumental in lobbying for the appointment of McGrath's successor). McGrath is a fighter, and he fought pressure from all sides, such as industries' complaining about competition from prison training programs, to get what he needed.

* Second, the first intrusion of politics into the Department of Correction in 15 years will, in the words of one state official with several correction employees under his authority, "unquestionably hurt morale." It took many years for McGrath to build morale in the Department, and John Volpe had no right to jeopardize this.

* Third, the exemplary working relations between the Department of Correction and the resources of the state--government agencies, universities, and industry--are in serious jeopardy. McGrath was widely respected. The new commissioner is coming in under a cloud, and it remains to be seen what type of cooperation outside sources will offer him.

* Fourth, the Department of Correction has lost a man, only 40 years old, whose very presence gave stature to at least one corner of Massachusetts government, and stature is a commodity that the Commonwealth needs more of.

* Fifth, and most distressing, is the future of the carefully acquired staff of the Department. All over the country, criminology is becoming more respectable and common in college curricula; more and more college-trained people are entering the field, but after last week, if they have any great ambitions, they would have to be naive to come to Massachusetts.

A very high correction official said bitterly, "This is a perfect example of why more college-trained people don't go into government. Politicians just won't leave them alone."

Fortunately McGrath has left a substantial heritage and qualified staff behind him. The question is how far they'll be allowed to go, now that a political specter has been resurrected in the Department of Correction by Volpe.

After trampling so crudely over one of the state's most dedicated administrators and one of the only sources of state pride, Volpe bears careful watching indeed. After considerable criticism form the press about the firing of McGrath, Volpe issued a statement on Wednesday by way of excuse. After predictibly denying that there had been a "purge," Volpe justified the action against McGrath and another official thus: "They did not have life tenure."

Then, after insisting that the governor is responsible to the public for his appointments, Volpe declared in a whirlwind burst of contradiction, "I see nothing to be gained and much to be deplored by a public discussion of the relative merits of the candidates." Ironically, Volpe's original statement, in toto, given last week as his reason for firing McGrath might loom as a campaign slogan in 1966: "It's time for a change."