The resignation of Secretary of State Byrnes came as a great surprise to everybody in Washington - even to the people in the State Department. There had been rumours since last April that he had been anxious to resign because of ill health. I saw Byrnes last night at a diplomatic reception at the White House, three hours after his resignation had been announced. I asked him why he had resigned and he said simply that he needed a rest. Dean Acheson told me subsequently that Mr. Byrne's doctor had warned him that his heart was in a serious condition and that he would have to slow up.

The appointment of General Marshall as Secretary of State is not regarded as a weakening of the United States attitude vis á vis Russia - rather the contrary, in fact, but Western European diplomats here and those from the Middle East are very much concerned because General Marshall, it is thought, knows very little about Europe and won't know how to handle Russia.

Apart from the personalities involved, such sudden and drastic changes are upsetting as there are again doubts as to whether there would be continuity in United States policy.