THE CABINET: Better Equipped

Henry Lewis Stimson is the sixth Secretary of State in the last quarter century to go traveling out of the U. S. For the first 117 years of the country’s history Secretaries of State stayed at home, conducted all foreign negotiations from the nation’s capital. First to break this tradition was Elihu Root who attended a Pan-American Conference at Rio de Janeiro in 1906. Philander Chase Knox six years later toured Central and South America to soothe Latin suspicions of “dollar diplomacy.” Robert Lansing attended the Paris peace conference in 1919, Charles Evans

Hughes junketed to London in 1924 with the American Bar Association and Frank Billings Kellogg went to Cuba for the 1928 Pan-American Conference.

Last week Statesman Stimson sailed for home from Southampton aboard S. S. Leviathan. He had spent two full and profitable months of work and play in Europe. Landing in Italy, he had met Benito Mussolini for the first time, talked arms limitation (TIME. July 20). In Paris he had participated in the preliminaries to the London economic conference which he attended as a delegate (TiME. Aug. 3). He had been to Berlin, met President von Hindenburg and Chancellor Briining, departed advising them to “keep a stiff upper lip.” At Rogart in Scotland he had rented a farmhouse on the Duke of Sutherland’s estate, rested for a month. Prime Minister MacDonald motored the 120 mi. from Lossiemouth to pay him a two-day visit. Later Mr. Stimson had to deny formally that they had discussed War debt revision.

Abroad Secretary Stimson had a double mission: 1) to meet Europe’s statesmen and learn their problems firsthand; 2) to sound them out on arms limitation at the Geneva conference next February. That he had participated in the London Conference was almost accidental. As he sailed for home, he figuratively lifted his hat to Europe in a statement of farewell:

“I am going back encouraged that the countries I have visited are making progress toward the solution of their difficulties. . . . One thing that impressed me is the growth of the spirit of good will among the European nations and that is why I am returning home with a spirit of hope and optimism. These personal meetings with representatives of different countries must lead to an enormous amount of good. … I feel better equipped for my own duties.”