National Affairs: Top of the Batting Order

In cleansed but still restless Guatemala, pistol-packing U.S. Ambassador John Peurifoy created a little too much drama for a comfortable longer stay, or for a transfer to another Latin American country. Peurifoy, who was a sensationally successful Ambassador to Greece before his sensational success in Guatemala, is now slated for the embassy post in Thailand, another trouble spot.

To replace Peurifoy at Guatemala City, the White House was ready this week to announce the appointment of Norman Armour, 66, one of the most able, loved and respected men in the career service, who has already come out of retirement several times when his country has called. A product of inherited wealth, Princeton and Harvard Law School, Norman Armour got his start under Joseph C. Grew (another diplomatic giant) in Vienna, married a White Russian wife whom he met during the Bolshevik revolution, has helped bolster U.S. prestige in 13 countries, including Franco’s Spain and five posts in Latin America.