Foreign Career Clarified

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

The brief news item in the CRIMSON on December 2 concerning a talk I delivered at Harvard on the Foreign Service gave a somewhat distorted impression of what I intended to convey.

In explaining career opportunities in the Foreign Service, I presented a number of considerations which interested students should weight pro and con in deciding whether they are fitted for, and would enjoy, a life in the Foreign Service. They must consider whether by native intelligence, intellectual equipment, character, and personality qualifications they stand a good chance in the keenly competitive, nation-wide examinations... They should not entertain fanciful illusions about a life generally characterized by gaiety, excitement, and intrigue. These elements may develop in the life of a Foreign Service officer, but they are only occasional highlights in a career of solid, useful work for the public welfare.

Certainly, for those who possess the qualifications and aptitudes for the Foreign Service, rich rewards in the way of a satisfying, interesting, and important public service are available. William P. Maddox,   Director, Foreign Service Institute.