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After the initial surprise wore off, Goldberg's selection was widely applauded. More difficult to understand was why Goldberg had agreed to leave his lifetime job in the calm prominence of the court for the turmoil and uncertainty of the United Nations.* Among other things, Goldberg's move entails a salary cut—from $39,000 on the court to $30,000 as ambassador—although the U.N. post carries such perquisites as an embassy apartment in the Waldorf Towers ($33,000 annual rent), a limousine and a big expense account.
But Arthur Goldberg is first and foremost an activist—a man who thinks on his feet, enjoys the storm centers of conflict. Less than a year after President Kennedy had named him to replace the late Felix Frankfurter, ex-Labor Secretary Goldberg said a bit wistfully: "The Secretary's phone never stops ringing. The Justice's phone never rings—even his best friends won't call him."
Vigor, Strength & Anger. The son of Jewish emigrants who had fled czarist Russia, Goldberg grew up in poverty: his father used a wagon drawn by a blind horse to cart produce. Arthur went to Northwestern University Law School, where in 1930 he got a doctorate in jurisprudence and ranked No. 1 in his class. He got into the rugged world of labor law, in 1948 became general counsel for the C.I.O. and the United Steelworkers, helped plan the A.F.L.-C.I.O. merger. On Capitol Hill he met John Kennedy; they became good friends. Later Goldberg became one of Kennedy's most trusted associates.
As a Supreme Court Justice, Goldberg has been ardently liberal—always favoring the fullest use of the court's power in behalf of civil rights and civil liberties, willing to override a state law, a congressional act or a previous court ruling if he felt that they encroached on an individual's constitutional rights. He was an insistent, spirited questioner of lawyers arguing before the bench.
Although Goldberg's background bears little similarity to his predecessors'—Edward Stettinius, Warren Austin, Henry Cabot Lodge, Adlai Stevenson—all of whom were well-versed in foreign affairs before they went to the U.N., it seemed little cause for concern. Arthur Goldberg once said of the art of collective bargaining: "The main thing you must have is the ability to realize there are two sides to the story, and so to be generally calm and courteous in the handling of people in inflamed situations, but at the same time not to relinquish the position of leadership, which on occasion will require the calmness and courtesy to be submerged in a show of vigor and strength, and even anger."
No one could ask more than that of the U.S.'s new man at the U.N., and at week's end the Senate quickly gave unanimous consent to Goldberg's appointment. Quite clearly President Johnson's immediate aim in naming Goldberg was to put his negotiation skills to work toward solving the U.N.'s crippling financial crisis—caused largely by the Soviet Union's refusal to pay its part of the U.N.'s peace-keeping costs. Last week Goldberg said that he was well aware of "the gravity of the constitutional crisis facing the U.N." Then he added determinedly: "I share the conviction of the citizens of this country that that crisis must be resolved and the U.N. must go forward."