Foreign News: CAGEY PIXIE

Successor to Canning, Palmerston, Salisbury, Britain’s new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: Herbert Morrison.

Born: Jan. 3, 1888, in drab Brixton, South London. His father was a policeman, his mother had been a housemaid.

Lost his right eye when three days old in a domestic accident which neither he nor his relatives will explain.

Education: Left elementary school at 14.

Business Career: Errand boy, shop clerk, telephone operator in a brewery, assistant circulation manager of a Labor newspaper.

Political Career: At 27 became part-time secretary of the newly formed London Labor Party (salary: £1 weekly). Conscientious objector in World War I. Elected to Parliament in 1923, appointed Minister of Transport (1929-31) in Britain’s second Labor government. Later (1934-40) became a dynamic leader of the London County Council, concentrated on clearing the Dickensian squalor of London’s slums, had notices put up in schools saying: “The teacher may be wrong. Think for yourself.”

In Churchill’s coalition cabinet of World War II, he was Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security, responsible for civilian defense. Since Labor came to power in 1945, Morrison has been Attlee’s heir apparent and chief adviser on political strategy. In his triple capacity as Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House Commons, he had his hands on all legislative and administrative machinery.

Appearance: Wears plain, ready-made suits and an almost perpetual grin, been described as Socialism’s happy pixie. He has an obstinate cowlick that hangs over his forehead. Complained Tory M.P. Sir Waldron Smithers last week: never brushes his hair or gets it cut. How can he get abroad and win that respect or give that leadership which is so necessary if this country is to survive?

Private Life: Married, has one daughter, Mary, 29. Loves to dance (especially an energetic waltz or polka), enjoys a drink. Likes to watch television and thinks receivers ought to be cheaper so that everybody can have one.

Appraisal: As Foreign Secretary, Morrison will probably keep Britain on the course set by his onetime bitter rival and recent friend Ernest Bevin. Morrison, a cagey leader, will do nothing to divide the Labor Party—and this may be his greatest weakness in a time when Britain needs a more vigorous foreign policy. Above all other considerations, he wants Labor to stay in office. Morrison quips: “Maybe I wasn’t born to rule, but I’ve got used to it.”