MONTEAGLE, Tenn.—I was happy to learn that Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas has been successful in increasing from $20 million to $30 million the appropriation for an exchange of persons between the United States and other countries. It is to be hoped that the House, in spite of the fact that this additional money is not in the budget, will allow it.

Much will depend upon the recommendation of Representative John J. Rooney of New York. I hope he will be able to overlook what undoubtedly are sometimes failures in these exchanges and realize that in the aggregate the successes far outweigh the failures.

It was good news that the United Nations Security Council voted to send a U.N. observer team to Lebanon, and it was encouraging that this was made possible by the abstention from voting by the Russians.

Dr. Charles Malik, Foreign Minister of Lebanon, made in support of the U.N. resolution what I understand was one of his really great speeches. Most observers felt that he again had brought the impact of real statesmanship to bear on the members of the Security Council.

I can remember many speeches by Dr. Malik in the past that made their mark upon the thinking of the General Assembly or on the committees in which he was working. It was always proof to me that a small country with the right quality of men could make as great a dent in the results of U.N. deliberations as could a great country. But to do this it is necessary to have the qualities of mind and heart exemplified in Dr. Malik.

Another good thing for which we can rejoice is the passage by the House of the bill extending the reciprocal trade plan.

The President was upheld in his opposition to a two-year protectionist trade bill when the House refused to substitute it for the Administration measure. The hard-core protectionist vote is, of course, almost twice as big in the Republican party as in the Democratic, but the protectionists were not able to successfully oppose the President's wishes.

The bill now has gone to the Senate, and the extent to which it developed support in the House leaves no question in my mind but that it will pass in the upper chamber without much change. This will mean a five-year extension of reciprocal trade, providing a real opportunity for some badly needed planning in the world's present economic picture.

I went to the Countee Cullen branch of the New York Public Library last week to see the exhibition entitled "The Negro in American Architecture—Progress and Potential."

I think it will be a surprise to everyone to find that there is a new opportunity for young Negroes in this field, that they can get the necessary education and can be employed not only by established Negro architects but in offices where Negro and white work side by side.

This is a most encouraging exhibition, and I hope many people will see it before it closes June 27.