THE CABINET: In the Tradition

For 150 years the U. S. has made much of its diplomatic inexperience. If the classic picture of a British diplomat is a well-read University man, trained to translate Rimbaud or snub the Estonian minister with equal aplomb, the classic figure of the U. S. diplomatist is a man who knows no foreign language, mixes up seating arrangements, and is just learning as he goes along. U. S. foreign service bags at the knees, pretends that its hearing is not very good, cannot dance, has only a vague idea of what is going on, is cheerfully disparaged by the populace, and is judged by historians to have been extremely successful. So it was when Ben Franklin popped up in Paris wearing a fur cap instead of a wig. So it was when General Schenck (less successfully) "became the lion of the hour when he introduced draw poker into London society." And so it was last week when U. S. foreign policy and the U. S. State Department made plenty of news.

Biggest was the news of the appointment of Myron Taylor to the Vatican (see p. 7). But behind the old cream-colored swinging doors of the State Department, Cordell Hull, 47th U. S. Secretary of State, his aides and under secretaries, carried through the routine steps according to the great tradition of their great and second-rate predecessors:

> Secretary Hull signed a trade agreement with Cuba that cut the duty on sugar 40%, the duty on stemmed cigar filler tobacco from 40¢ to 25¢ a pound.

> The Secretary also tangled with Senator Vandenberg when the Senator attacked his beloved reciprocal trade agreements. Wrote the Secretary grandly: "I have received your letter ... in which you express your concern over possible reduction of the duty on beans. . . ."

> Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles said a few words about Cuba, speaking at a dinner given by the Cuban Chamber of Commerce. Last October Soviet Premier Molotov defended Russia's course in Finland, said Russia had granted Finnish independence while the Philippines and Cuba "had long been demanding freedom and independence from the U. S. and cannot get them." Said Mr. Welles dryly: matters between the U. S. and Cuba appear to be in better shape than matters between the Soviet Union and Finland, and are getting still better. Coming next February: Cuba's national election, of which the Under Secretary made a graceful mention.

The State Department's most notable move was to join the U. S. with the 20 other American Republics in protesting to France, Germany and Great Britain against violations of the 300-mile safety zone, established by the Declaration of Panama last October. Because a naval battle was fought off the coast of Uruguay, because the Admiral Graf Spee took refuge in Montevideo and was scuttled on the River Plate, because a German merchant ship was sunk within the zone, the American republics warned the belligerents that they were going to consult "in order to strengthen the system of protection."