To Better Serve Thy Country

It is with respect and regret that we note the departure from the public sector of Franklin D. Raines '71, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget at the White House. As he arrives on campus this coming Monday to address the Harvard Black Law Students Association at the Faculty Club at 5:30 p.m., he is worthy of our welcome.

An alumnus of both the college and the law school, Raines at one time served as President of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University and is currently Chairman of the Visiting Committee of the Kennedy School. In addition to his contributions to the University, Raines served as the architect of this summer's historic budget bill. In comparison with many of his Washington contemporaries, Raines' efforts have met with relatively little media attention. Yet his quiet toil has produced huge benefits to the nation. As the chief actor in the budget negotiations, he has been pivotal in determining the outcome of the most important of the Federal Government's undertakings.

Hailed by members of both parties as an outstanding negotiator, Raines spent months working behind the scenes to make possible the agreement that has undoubtedly helped send the Dow soaring to new heights as our national economic confidence rises. Forsaking the vastly higher salaries and benefits available in the private sector, Raines has spent two and a half years of service in the fray of the nation's capital, with its media frenzy and partisan battles.

As he steps down as Budget Director and returns to the private sector, he leaves behind him a fiscal foundation that is sure to buoy the nation for quite some time. Raines has clearly taken to heart the College's advice to go forth to better serve thy country and thy kind. As he, at least for the time being, departs the public sector, he leaves behind an example of dedication to a mission and to public interest that undergraduates today would do well to heed.