Mission to the Raj

A tall, bony-cheeked Boston brahmin arrived in India on Jan. 8. He had been entrusted by President Roosevelt with one of the most delicate diplomatic missions of the war. Always correct, hitherto adequate, William Phillips had been the last U.S. Ambassador to Italy. In India he was still called Ambassador. But at his first press conference he parried with a correct diplomatic laugh the question that all Indian nationalists were asking: "Are you an ambassador to His Majesty's Government, to the Government of India, or to the People of India?"

Mr. Phillips' credentials stated, correctly, that he was Ambassador to the Government of India. Last week, the full nature of his mission still wrapped in a dhoti of mystery, Ambassador Phillips announced that he was flying back to the U.S. He had behaved with dignity. He had worked hard. He had received and sought out many Indians of many political faiths. In public, he had kept his mouth shut. He had pleased the British, not displeased the Indians.

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