President Johnson's replacements of top personnel in the State Department demonstrate the Administration's difficulty in recruiting top policy-making officials from outside the government. Professor Eugene Rostow, who will leave Yale Law School to become Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, was the only outsider named to fill one of the three vacant positions. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach will succeed George Ball as Under-Secretary of State and Foy Kohler, the American ambassador to the Soviet Union, will be the new Deputy Under-Secretary for Political Affairs.

For the past six years, the top positions in the State Department have been occupied primarily by eminent lawyers, bankers, and foundation officials, who first became involved in foreign affairs in subordinate roles during World War II and then became sub-Cabinet officials during the Truman years. Unfortunately, many of the veterans who might have filled the recent vacancies are simply too old, unhealthy, or disenchanted to return to government service.

Although the appointments do not seem to foreshadow any shift in U.S. foreign policy they show again the President's ability to surround himself with advisers of proven ability.

The Attorney General, who once taught international law, is not a member of the foreign policy "establishment" that has been the target of Johnson's critics on foreign policy. All but the die-hard conservatives have considered Katzenbach an effective, intelligent and tireless Attorney General, particularly in the civil rights field. In Congressional committee sessions he has been informed, articulate, and well-received as a witness.

In announcing his appointments, the President gave no indication that the Attorney General's role or opinions will be similar to those of his predecessor. Ball was originally chosen to supervise U.S. policy toward Western Europe, particularly in relation to the Common Market, and in the past few years he has assumed the role of a "devil's advocate" on Vietnam. Since Katzenbach joined the Kennedy Administration in 1961 his views on foreign affairs have not been voiced in public. It is thus difficult to estimate the possible impact of his opinions on Johnson's policies. Still, Katzenbach's lobbying experience as Attorney General and his widely acknowledged intelligence and imagination will surely make him a valuable negotiator if the U.S. ever participates in peace talks on Vietnam.

Rostow, who will succeed the much maligned Thomas Mann in the third-ranking post in the State Department, is expected to assume Ball's duties in supervising U.S. policy toward Europe. Like Ball, he firmly believes in a strong Atlantic Alliance including the Common Market and Great Britain, although three years ago he authored a plan for intra-alliance nuclear sharing that differed sharply in conception from the MLF plan backed by Ball. Most important, he must cope with the problems of French military independence, West Germany's nuclear role, and the size and significance of U.S. troop commitments in Western Europe. He will also have to deal with America's balance of payments deficit, France's inclination to cash in dollars for gold, and the related problem of Britain's unstable pound. Rostow is an open supporter of the Administration's policy in Vietnam.

As Deputy Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Kohler will handle the Department's relations with the C.I.A. and the Defense Department. He does not have the Asian expertise of Ambassador to Japan U. Alexis Johnson; but he has been a widely-praised envoy to the U.S.S.R. in a time of strain and will be hard to replace in that post.