The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 10, 1971, Page Page 3, Image 3
Our man Ho
Th
BY AIlIUlR HlOPPE
Columnist
Well, there goes Franco
American friendship. It's the fault
of our rotten system of selling
ambassadorships. rhe whole
thing's a scandal to the jaybirds.
FLA I
Definite
This is your 'i
fabulous, so
collecdion of
in willow, blu
Strip, cotton
Two-ton, cot
with print pol
Use your "Miss GAM
student I.D. Card to our
Am
buyi
A list of the big donors in the 19(;8
campaign has just been published.
It shows that Arthur K. Watson,
who gave $49,AH) to the Republican
cause, was appointed our Am
bassador to France by Mr. Nixon,
while Guilford Dudley, Jr. who
I
ly ~ ~~ 1 for thtil ihf A
ear or he pnts. . thoe grat lor
al-ilaluig . . .e e h otd
alo WOSC PANTS
ly ot eit rne with flair!
eat four toodstock jen todgra! $lor
EClCK" hante byccoIDES CRSIfG yo
Credrkit top,artmCoent i roh
Personal.
Fine Eashic
DOWNTOWN & D
g of a
donated S52,(00) to the same cause,
was named our Ambassador to
lDenmark.
You can imagine how the French
felt on learning we i sent them a
cut-rate Ambassador who was
s30Xxm cheaper than the one we sent
A9
.4L.
7dcaedle-wtces wo' omli
tcy
Sgdstock. scee. It' ahe vey athe
bone't (heon,it esiny peion tp
f'ervice is our aim ...
ns is our business
UTCH-SQUARE.
presidc
the l)anes. It s a good thing
General I)e Gaulle didn't live to
see the day.
Our only defense is to confess the
sad and incredible truth: when it
comes to selling high Government
positions to big campaign con
re looking so~
Such is our
1 or zip front
'10) Center:
>. 'IS5) R ight:
e, '10 (shown
adav by presenting your
int
tributors. the Nixon Ad
minstration. like all previous
Administrations, is unbelievably
disorganized.
Selling ambassadorships is, of
course. a cherished American
heritage -- cherished particularly
by all Presidential candidates. Nor
can the results necessarily be
faulted. For all we know. Mr.
Watson may even be able to speak
French and Mr. Dudley might
possibly be fluent in Danish. Or
vice versa.
What is scandalous is the total
lack of organization' in this
otherwise businesslike system.
It may shock you to learn, for
example. that no Presidential
candidate over the years has ever
compiled a job opportunities list --
one that clearly states exactly
what ambassadorships are being
offered for sale and precisely what
they cost.
A fixed price would seem
rudimentary. The dignity of the
office precludes haggling between
a potential Ambassador and a
potential President. But there's no
reason discreet notices couldn't be
placed in the help wanted columns
to stimulate inquiries:
'Ambass. to Mbonga open. Good
sal. Palatial res.. limousine. flags
and staff provided. Prestige
guaranteed. Investment required:
$65.500."
But the haphazard way it is now.
a contributor donates $65.500 and,
if his candidate wins, writes:
'Dear Mr. President:
Congrat ulations' I hope my &S.5(0
helped in some small way. As I
mentioned. I've long been in
terested in Mbonga and its im
portance to Mbongan-American
relations.''
So he gets the job and discovers
our new Ambassador to the
Riviera coughed up only $47,300.
Think of the ill will and the back
biting. No wonder our foreign
poliCy is in such a mess.
Moreover, in these days of rising
campaign costs. desperate can
didates are losing millions through
the present disorderly system.
For one thing. they tend to sell
only ambassadorships. But if it's
accaptable to sell am
bassadorships. why on earth can't
they' ~sell the thousands of other
high Government jobs available to
any' new Adminstration?
Surely the Secretary of State
carries ten times the prestige of an
Ambassador. I don't know what, if
anything. Mr. William P. Rogers
contributed to Mr. Nixon's cam
paign. Hut if he got that Cabinet
post f or less than half a million, he
got it for a steal.
'The syst em. then. must be put on
a businesslike basis. In these
perilous times when wars can
break out anywhere we simply
can't afford cut-rate diplomats in
our first line of defense.
In our democracy, we are en
titled to the very best men to
represent us at home and abroad --
and the most organized and
businesslike President their
money can buy. (,Qpyright
Chronicle Co. 1971)i