Odd Man Out

Irving Florman, self-made inventor (cigarette lighters, mine detectors), onetime Broadway play angel and songwriter (Chauve Souris), resigned last week as U.S. ambassador in La Paz. His diplomatic career had lasted 22 lively months. A heavy Democratic campaign contributor, Florman maintained generally good relations with the Bolivian government. But his relations with his own Government in Washington were always testy. After his appointment by President Truman, he spent a full year at La Paz without confirmation by the Senate; the appointment was not actively pushed by the State Department. Recalled for "consultations" with the President last May, he signed a letter of resignation and left it at Foggy Bottom before going back to Bolivia.

An odd individualist, Florman had no flair or liking for conventional striped-pants diplomacy. He thought he could find his way through Bolivia's intricate political affairs better than the seasoned career men on his staff. Taking charge of embassy press relations, he wrote signed articles for the Bolivian papers explaining events in his own way ("Bolivian silver . . . helped create the first middle class in the world"). He had freely-expressed opinions on everything. But most Bolivians appreciated what the newspaper La Razon called "the friendly attitude with which [Florman] has tried to foster relations between the two peoples."

The Yanqui inventor claimed credit for having 1) encouraged a 1950 petroleum law allowing foreign oil companies to resume prospecting in Bolivia, 2) arranged for the U.S. to buy Bolivia's strategic tungsten, 3) promoted resumption of payment on $145 million worth of defaulted Bolivian bonds. However others felt, Bolivians thought kindly of the ambassador. Before Florman left last week, they gave him the Order of the Andean Condor, their highest decoration.

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