A New Secretary

Although President Eisenhower seems unprepared to admit it, John Foster Dulles is no longer able to perform his duties as Secretary of State. His personal tragedy deserves the utmost sympathy. But the treatment required to check his illness is lengthy and not guaranteed to return the Secretary to his job on a full-time basis.

Because of Dulles' peculiar administrative habit of running the State Department as a one-man show, no one can completely act as a substitute Secretary carrying out Dulles' policies and attitudes in every respect. Even if there were such a person, an Acting Secretary cannot command the prestige necessary to be an able forceful representative of the United States in the Big Four conference on Germany this spring.

If America were not approaching such a major set of negtiations, it might be feasible to maintain the present arrangement with Christian Herter in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Department. If the President showed any willingness or capacity to take on the formulation of major policy re-orientation, the country could face the prospect of an ersatz Secretary with equanimity. But since the reverse is true in both instances, it is essential that Secretary Dulles resign immediately.

Any search for a replacement must unfortunately be limited by considerations of partisanry. Because of the President's refusal to concern himself very deeply with foreign policy, he will want a nominee whom he can trust completely as he trusted Dulles. This is a criterion which excludes the candidacies of Adlai Stevenson, George Kennan or Chester Bowles. It is just not possible to conceive any of these men enjoying the trust and latitude which Dulles' relationship with the President gave him.

Within the State Department there are already two possible choices--Undersecretaries Herter and Dillon--and outside the Department there are more--John McCloy, General Alfred Gruenther, and Ambassador David Bruce. Of these five possible choices--the nomination of Tom Dewey is about as probable as that of former Senator Knowland--only Bruce has all the qualifications for the position. Herter, seriously crippled by arthritis, has only been in the Department a few years; Dillon, though young and reportedly popular with Eisenhower, lacks a really broad background in foreign policy. Both McCloy and Gruenther have been out of the government so long that they cannot easily take over in the middle of a situation as grave as the present one.

Bruce, however, has been intimately connected with the problems of Europe since the end of the war. In his present position as Ambassador to West Germany, he is probably the most knowledgeable negotiator the United States could have at the coming Foreign Ministers' meeting. Though he has not been in government service all his life, he is more nearly a career diplomat than any of his potential rivals. Installing a Secretary of State who has devoted much of his life to professional government service is a valuable precedent. Bruce served in the Foreign Service for two years during the Twenties; his major contributions have been in the Office of Strategic Services during the war and in Marshall Plan Administration after it.

The most pressing problem to consider in selecting a replacement for Dulles is his capability to handle German policy re-evaluation. In this respect, and because of the confidence and respect he has in Europe and in Washington, and because of his experience in the State Department, David Bruce is well equipped to assume the position of Secretary of State.