Diplomatic Exchange

Gaston Henry-Haye, 54, is a sleek, well-nourished little diplomat who used to represent Vichyfrance in Washington. Fifteen months ago, when Vichy broke off relations with the U.S., M. Henry-Haye was tenderly interned (along with his pedigreed Dalmatian and his solicitous staff) in a $24-a-day suite at swank, luxurious Hotel Hershey, in Pennsylvania's pleasant Lebanon valley.

Douglas MacArthur II, 34, nephew of the General, son-in-law of Kentucky's Alben Barkley, is a gaunt young diplomat who used to be secretary of the U.S. Embassy at Vichy under Admiral William D. Leahy, now President Roosevelt's personal military adviser. While Diplomat Henry-Haye was escorted to the lilies and languors of Hershey, Diplomat MacArthur was packed off to a dreary Vichy prison camp at Lourdes, was later turned over to the Nazis.

Last week, homeward bound in a U.S.Vichy diplomatic swap, the two ex-prisoners met in a Lisbon hotel lobby.

Henry-Haye (effusively): "How are you, my dear MacArthur? You have indeed lost a lot of weight."

MacArthur (without his usual diplomatic charm): "You wouldn't be surprised if you remembered that I am just out of an internment camp in Germany."

Henry-Haye (pained): "But certainly you must realize that we diplomats run some risks."

MacArthur (grimly): "Indeed we do. But nothing can justify that Vichy should have handed us over to the Germans from their own internment camp at Lourdes."

Henry-Haye (no longer smiling): "You know France was occupied--and there were certain legal points."

MacArthur: "You would probably have lost weight yourself, too, sir, if we had handed you over to the Japanese."

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