The Ambassadors

All through the German occupation the U.S. Embassy in Paris was a symbol of hope to Frenchmen. The graceful, cream-tinted building off the Place de la Concorde shone brighter every day. Its gardens behind the high iron railings were always carefully manicured. Every window was clean and glistening. Inside, every inkwell was full, every desk tidy, no pastepot gooey.

This diplomatic spit & polish was the work of a tireless Frenchwoman, Mme. Simone Blanchard, who had been secretary at the Embassy when Ambassador Bullitt pulled out in 1941. She kept the place ready for instant reoccupancy.

For its spotless Embassy the U.S. Government, which does not recognize the De Gaulle Government, had no Ambassador last week. But Charge d'Affaires Selden Chapin, accompanied by a dozen aides and advisers, arrived from Algiers, made an approving tour of the Embassy's vacant splendors. Then he moved into a hotel.

Not to be outdone, the British Government, which also does not recognize the De Gaulle Government, dispatched its "representative with ambassadorial rank," also from Algiers.

Into Paris trooped elegant Alfred Duff Cooper and his exactress wife, Lady Diana, heading a safari of secretaries, clerks and baggage-bearers. They took one look at the Embassy on the rue du Faubourg St. Honore. The high-ceilinged building had been turned into a warehouse by British subjects, who stored so much furniture in it that the floors will have to be re-enforced before the building can be used again. The Ambassador and his lady moved into a suite at the Hotel Barclay.

The Russian Government, which does recognize the De Gaulle Government, sent a Minister Plenipotentiary. He too moved into a hotel. His official quarters were in worse shape than the British. Reason: the Germans had used the Embassy of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics as a labor exchange.

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