NEW HAND AT HELM

Evening Star, Issue 25995, 9 January 1947, Page 5

NEW HAND AT HELM

U.S. AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS MR BYRNES GIVES WAY TO GENERAL MARSHALL RESIGNATION ON HEALTH GROUNDS , WASHINGTON, January 7. President Truman has accepted the resignation of the Secretary of State. Mr James Byrnes, and has disclosed that he will appoint General George Marshall as his successor. The White House has made public an exchange of telegrams in which Mr Truman accepted, “ with great reluctance and heart-felt regret,” Mr Byrnes’s resignation, to become effective on January 10. , - General Marshall, who has been Mr Truman’s special envoy in China, is at present en route to Washington from Nanking, but he will stay for several days at Hawaii. The correspondence disclosed that Mr Byrnes first sought to resign on April 1(3, 1946, in a letter in which lie told the President _ that he had received medical advice that he ■ must slow dowp. He wanted his resignation to become effective last July. Mr Byrnes on December 19 again reminded the President of this. Mr Byrnes said he had expected that the work on the five Axis satellite treaties Tyould have been completed by July 1, 1946. but when it became obvious that this expectation was over-optimistic he decided he must continue his responsibility. Mr Byrnes, in his letter of December 19, concluded that now that complete agreement bad been reached on the treaties, he wished to be relieved as soon as possible. While Mr Byrnes’s resignation is scheduled for January 10, it was stated that he will remain in office until General Marshall’s nomination has been confirmed by the Senate.

Mr Byrnes told Mr Truman in the exchange of telegrams: “ No man serving as Secretary of State could ask for or receive greater support or encouragement than you have given me.” (Mr Truman, in accepting the resignation, praised Mr Byrnes’s rare tact, judgment, firmness, and tenacity of purpose, and said: “ Yours has been a steadying hand, as you met difficult problems which have arisen with such unvarying succession.” Immediate Congressional reaction indicated a speedy confirmation of the appointment of General Marshall, who has long, been' a popular figure at the Capitol. MARSHALL’S SOLDIER VALUE. Mr Byrnes’s replacement by General Marshall is not expected to alter America’s foreign policy, . which will continue to present a firm but patient front to Russia, says the United Press. General Marshall’s appointment, however, will place a soldier as top negotiator with the Russians, who have a tremendous respect for military men and . the strength they repre- • sent. General Marshall’s appointment follows rumours that he is a possible Presidential candidate in 1948. As Secretary of State and top member of the Cabinet, he would automatically be in, line of succession in the event of the 1 Presidency falling vacant before the Presidential election. While General Marshall does not list his politics in the American' 1 Who’s Who,’ it is generally believed that tile Democratic Party chiefs have been discussing since the party’s defeat in November the possibility of nominating a military man in 1948 to lead them back to victory, .. a specification for which General Marshall might be made to order. Ranking politicians of both parties are speculating as to whether Mr Truman, in naming General Marshall as Secretary of State, considered the possibility of grooming him as his successor for the Presidency. HEALTH ALONE REASON FOR RETIRING. Friends of Mr Truman and Mr Byrnes emphasise that poor health and nothing else accounted for the Secretary of State’s resignation. It has been general knowledge in Washington for months that the little differences between the President and his chief Cabinet officer, which developed some strain a few months ago, had completely healed, and that in the basic foreign policy Mr Byrnes pursued he had the President’s full support and endorsement. The announcement of General Marshall’s appointment came within a few hours of the release of his report on China. Leading commentators, reviewing his work in China, regard it as an indication that he will pursue a middle course in the broader sphere of United States foreign policy, and they consider that the year he spent in China served to break him in to diplomacy. The political correspondent of the J ‘ New York Times ’ says Mr Byrnes’s resignation probabjy does not mark the end of his public service at Washington. where ho has spent most of his adult life. Mr Byrnes’s intimates will be surprised if, after taking a rest from arduous duties, he decides not to run again for the Senate in 1948. PRESIDENTIAL INEPTITUDE? Th° ‘ Herald-Tribune,’ in an editorial, says Mr Byrnes’s unexpected resignation would cause bewilderment and some dismay. None was better fitted to represent America in the negotiation of the German peace treaty. The paper questions whether presidential ineptitude similar to that associated with the Wallace affair has not again been at work somewhere in the conduct of American foreign policy. The editorial adds that General Marshall’s appointment will undoubtedly be popular, but the fact that President Truman had to choose a soldier for a post which is considered a political and civilian responsibility reflected the weakness of the Administration in the conduct of foreign affairs. The ‘New York Times,’ in an editorial, describes Mr Byrnes’s resignation as disconcerting,’ because it means another change in the command of the State Department at a time when questions of far-reaching importance call .for decision. General Marshall will he the fourth Secretary of State within 26 months. Never before have the duties of the office revolved from hand to hand.'in such a bewilderingly rapid fashion.