Death of a Statesman

The death of former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles signals the end of an era in American foreign policy. While his influence on international affairs was not as lengthy as that of a Roosevelt or Churchill, the mark of his personality is stamped on the five-year period from his appointment in 1953 until the present.

Perhaps the State Department was too much "under the Secretary's hat," perhaps we will not mourn the absence of "brinkmanship" and "massive retaliation." Nonetheless, Mr. Dulles' forceful leadership and unyielding moral strength are an inheritance future statesmen can be proud of.