National Affairs: Stronger Voice

The “Voice of America” was no longer speaking from the doghouse. Since last summer, when Congress had all but silenced the State Department’s broadcasts to Europe, several things had happened. Assistant Secretary of State Bill Benton, who tried hard to make the Voice an effective propaganda weapon but whose super-salesmanship rubbed many a Congressman the wrong way, had quit. More important, Congressmen who toured Europe last fall became convinced that the Voice was needed to combat distortions about the U.S. in foreign lands. Last week the Voice got a new set of vocal cords and the promise of more lungpower.

From Iran, President Truman summoned one of his ablest career diplomats to be Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and to direct the foreign information service. He was 44-year-old George Venable Allen, who had spent 21 months as Ambassador at Teheran.

Sad-eyed, energetic George Allen* would take on a job that called for all of his quiet persuasiveness and tact. Americans as a whole distrust Government-controlled news. Many Congressmen still suspected that the information service was slanting the news (TIME, Jan. 12). But Ambassador Allen had at least two good recommendations: 1) in Teheran he had had firsthand experience with Russian propaganda; 2) he had at least some knowledge of journalism (he was a newsman in Asheville, N.C. 20 years ago).

It also appeared that he would get some help from Congress. Last week the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a bill to authorize extension of the information services. Chances looked good for the Voice to get a bigger budget.

*Not to be confused with George Edward Allen, onetime White House jester and Truman confidant; no kin.