Man for All Sacrifices

When James Callaghan rose in the House of Commons two weeks ago after announcing that Britain had devalued the pound, a Tory frontbencher shouted: "The Chancellor is an honor able man. Will he resign?" Last week Callaghan resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Harold Wilson moved him over to the Home Office and replaced him at the Treasury with Home Secretary Roy Jenkins, 48, a tough but suave economist who may be one of the few Laborites to gain from the par ty's recent embarrassments -- provided that he can help extricate Britain from its present economic morass.

Callaghan, 55, was bound to be one of the biggest losers from the devaluation. For three years he has had the melancholy task of explaining Harold Wilson's economic policies and defending the tottering pound. When Wilson finally devalued, Callaghan sat down on the same day to pen his resignation.

He wrote that he "did not think it right" to remain in office because he had gone back on pledges to other countries to maintain the value of their sterling reserves. But Callaghan's career is not necessarily finished. In fact, he may have even enhanced his stature by the candid way in which he outlined the new sacrifices demanded of the country, while Harold Wilson agilely avoided mentioning them.

Wide Appeal. Jenkins is a practical socialist whose views do not differ widely from Callaghan's. He is a firm backer of Britain's entry into the Common Market, favors some relaxation of government controls and greater tax incentives for industry. The son of a coal miner who was a Labor M.P., he went to Oxford not on a scholarship but on his father's earnings.

Once a member of the late Hugh Gaitskell's "Hampstead set" of Laborite intellectuals, he has written biographies of Herbert Asquith, Clement Attlee and Sir Charles Dilke, the Victorian politician whose career was ruined by scandal. Jenkins appeals to a wide assortment of people, including businessmen, who regard him as a seasoned administrator, and members of London's exclusive clubs, who approve of his elegant tastes for good claret and cozy dinners.

Under Jenkins' velvet exterior, though, ripples a thick political hide. As Aviation Minister in 1965--he became Home Secretary the same year-Jenkins withstood heavy Tory fire for canceling construction of three new types of planes and insisting that the British aviation industry reorganize. He firmly believes that the British people will accept sacrifices, provided that these will bring a "sharp break with the weaknesses of the past." The British learned a little bit more last week about just how much they will be asked to sacrifice. Partly in order to get a $1.4 billion credit from the International Monetary Fund, Britain vowed to continue tight wage controls, promised to make heavy cuts in its budget and to take any further steps necessary to reverse its balance-of-payments deficit.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.