Man Wanted

During the campaign, Candidate John F. Kennedy left no doubt that he considered the southern half of the Western Hemisphere one of the principal and immediate concerns of his Administration.

"I attach to Latin America an importance second only to defense," he said time and again. Last week, only a few days before Inauguration, President-elect Kennedy was still without an Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs--and not for lack of trying. After two months of beating the bushes, the hunt was so badly thwarted that he was forced to ask the Eisenhower Administration incumbent, Thomas C. Mann, to stay on temporarily until the right man could be found.

No Thanks. Mann himself was one of Kennedy's first candidates for what is becoming, at least in terms of responsibility, an increasingly important job. But Career Officer Mann was physically worn out after four years of 70-hour weeks in Washington; he declined with thanks. Chester Bowles passed up the job in favor of his State Department Under-Secretaryship. Adlai Stevenson, who toured Latin America early in 1960, was a possibility, but he went to the U.N. Puerto Rico's Governor Munoz Marin was approached; he, too, turned it down because he wanted to complete his program of economic development on the island.

Another top candidate was Kennedy's closest adviser on Latin American affairs, Manhattan Lawyer Adolph A. Berle, 65, a State Department braintruster for Franklin Roosevelt, who was an Assistant Secretary of State (1938-44) dealing with Latin American affairs. Berle had objections based on the job itself. The Assistant Secretary for Latin America, says Berle, ranks below two Under Secretaries, two Deputy Under Secretaries, an Assistant Secretary for Policy Planning, a Counselor, an Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations and a Legal Adviser. "I suggest," said Berle, "that there is here too wide a gap between the Secretary of State and the sensitive day-to-day handling of dangers or opportunities which mean success or failure in each area." Berle's recommendation: Give the Latin American chief Under Secretary status so that he has the rank to go with his responsibility. Such a program would involve the complication of congressional action, and so far Kennedy has given no indication that he intends to follow Berle's advice.

Three Roads. Now there are three roads open to Kennedy. He could pick an able man from the second echelon of Latin American experts (such as Ambassador to Brazil John Moors Cabot or ex-Ambassador to Cuba Philip Bonsai) and build him up to first rank by going to great personal lengths to stress the importance of both man and job. He could reach outside the ranks of Latin American specialists for a big name that would by itself prove the importance he attaches to the job. Or he could agree to Berle's terms.

Last week, as the need to choose approached the point of command decision, Kennedy was leaning strongly toward the selection of a top-name figure. Among the names buzzing around Washington: Labor Leader Walter Reuther, the U.N.'s Ralph Bunche.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.