Cheever Praises Kennedy Aides

The Kennedy Administration is "almost unique in being composed of people who have studied public affairs and public policy most of their adult lives," Daniel S. Cheever '39, instructor in Government and Special Research Assistant to the President, declared last night.

Speaking before a meeting of the Harvard-Radcliffe World Federalists on "New Faces in Foreign Policy," Cheever examined the qualifications of McGeorge Bundy, Walt W. Rostow Panl Nitze, and other key Presidential advisers. Cheever voiced fear that a plethora of special assistants might hamper the President's all-important relations with his Secretary of State, or interfere with the unified direction of his foreign policy.

Notes Advisory Posts

He attributed the numerous new advisory posts to the expansion of national security affairs activities, which are now too numerous for the State Department to handle alone. Referring to possible conflicts in the decision-making process, Cheever suggested "Who Is Secretary of State?" as a possible sub-title for his talk.

Unlike Eisenhower, President Kennedy will rely on his staff to "stimulate ideas and provoke action," rather than to carefully screen the information reaching the President. Cheever pointed to the informality of Kennedy's decision-making and his ready accessibility, as evidences of his new approach.

New Policies

Cheever saw greater emphasis on Latin American affairs, and an increased stress on economic, as opposed to military aid as the most probable new policies to be pursued by the Kennedy Administration.

Touching on the Peace Corps, Cheever warned against thinking that "lots of enthusiasm and youthful idealism" can solve problems which responsible experts have been working on for years.