New Man, New Terms

Lieut. General Walter Bedell Smith, the President's new Ambassador to Russia, had the finest of references--his last boss, Ike Eisenhower, once called him one of history's great chiefs of staff. Affable, determined, sometimes furious "Beedle" Smith coordinated the plans and handled the administrative details of Eisenhower's campaigns from North Africa to Germany. Besides that, he kept peace among the U.S. and British officers involved in those joint complications. The State Department was getting one of the Army's best diplomats.

No one who knows Beedle Smith doubts his ability to get along with the Russians--though it will not be on precisely the same terms as glad-handing Joe Davies or closemouthed Averell Harriman. Last week the new Ambassador carefully stated what his terms will be. At a Manhattan dinner celebrating Red Army Day, to an audience which included Russians and friends of Russia, Beedle Smith proclaimed:

"We ... are prepared to go a long way to meet our international associates but at the same time we ... must recognize the line beyond which compromise cannot go. . . . The Soviet people are a very practical people. . . . They are inclined to drive hard bargains and they expect us to do the same."

Besides his plain talk, the Russians will find many things about Beedle Smith to interest them. Like most of their top leaders, he is a self-made man--he rose from private, never went to the Military Academy or to college. Like many a Russian, he is a rabid chess player. Like a few quiet Russians, he is a Roman Catholic.

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