PROHIBITIONS.
Uncle Sam doesn’t propose to have his public servants abroad intermeddling in foreign politics. Consuls are desired to “cultivate friendly social relations with the community in which they reside”, but to “refrain from expressing harsh or disagreeable opinions upon local, political or other questions which divide the community within their jurisdiction. They are forbidden to participate in any manner in the political concerns of the country. In their (public) dispatches upon such subjects, they will confine themselves to the communication of important or interesting public events as they occur, avoiding all unnecessary reflections upon the character or conduct of individuals or governments, and they will not give publicity, through the press or otherwise, to opinions injurious to the public institutions of the country or the persons concerned in their administration”.
This is good, sound diplomacy; and the same paragraph goes on to say, “It is at the same time no less their duty to report freely and seasonably to their own government all important facts which may come to their knowledge touching the political condition of the country, especially if their communications can be made to subserve or may affect the interests of their own country”.
Public Speeches.—He is “not allowed to allude in public speeches to any matters in dispute between the United States and any other government, nor to any matters pending in the consulate. It is a still better rule to avoid public speeches when it can be done without exciting feeling”.
The Press.—The prohibitions extend also to correspondence with the press, not literary or non-political articles, but to such as touch upon public affairs in any foreign government, or communications to newspapers relative to epidemic diseases abroad.
Gifts, Testimonials.—Consuls are not permitted to ask or accept for themselves or anybody else “any present, emolument, pecuniary favor, office or title of any kind from any foreign government”. If any such offers are made to them “they may apply to Congress through the Department of State for permission to accept the same”.
Recommendations for Office.—Consuls are forbidden to recommend any one for any governmental office or trust of profit. By permission of the Secretary of State they may make recommendations to offices subject to their own jurisdiction.
Uniform.—Consular officers are forbidden to wear any distinguishing uniform. The Regulations are indulgent enough to allow them to wear an Army uniform if they happen to have been in the Army of the United States during the Rebellion.
Absence.—Consuls are forbidden to be absent from their posts longer than forty-eight hours without reporting to the Department about it. No one is permitted to be absent more than ten days at any one time without permission from the President. Special permission must be obtained in order to return to the United States, and the statutes do not provide for a continuance of salary for an absence of longer than sixty days.
This is about all that need be said about the consuls themselves. What remains to be considered will come up in connection with the duties of the consular office. We will wait a few moments for questions.
Q. “Professor, aren’t there other needed reforms in the consular service besides those you have mentioned”?
A. “Certainly, but I preferred to dwell only upon the most difficult and at the same time the most vital of them all; namely, the choice and preparation of the men. I think it might be well to emphasize just a point or two more in this connection. The first is that the consular service ought not to be filled with foreigners. The Consular Register of July, 1899, shows that out of 706 subordinate positions, including commercial agencies, 412 are filled by men born in the country where they are stationed. In fact, out of a total of 1,020 men in the consular service only 547 are of American birth or parentage. The reason for this is that so many of the positions don’t pay enough to induce Americans to undertake them. Four or five hundred dollars a year may mean something to a man who is on the spot, small as the sum is, but it shuts Americans out of a large majority of the subordinate positions.
“The second point to be mentioned is the effect of this parsimony—miscalled economy—upon the higher positions. For instance, suppose a man is appointed to a place, the duties of which involve some diplomatic responsibility. Such a man must live on a scale becoming his position, or bring himself and his country into contempt. As a matter of fact it has frequently happened that a thrifty consul, profiting by the example in frugality set by his government, has tried to save money by living in rented rooms above his business office, only to find when the inspector came around that he had to move out and live in a more sumptuous fashion. Aside from the question of sentiment, democratic or undemocratic, the government is best served by a consul who, other things being the same, enters a great deal into society and is not too careful to live within his income. It gives him an influence, a prestige among his surroundings which inures to the financial advantage of his country. Uncle Sam pays less for his consular service than does any other power of equal wealth, but those who know best the service and its possibilities have always claimed that it is poor economy.”
Q. “Will you please distinguish again between Consular Clerks and Clerks at Consulate”?
A. “Certainly; Consular Clerks are not stationed at consulates at all. They are specialists who work upon some task assigned by the State Department. Such a one may specialize upon a certain line of textile fabrics in all its degrees of quality and the methods employed in its manufacture. Another may become an expert authority on chemicals or iron and steel products, etc. Clerks at Consulate are, as you may suppose, those engaged in ordinary clerical duties at the consulates.”
Q. “Do you think that the present movement in favor of consular reform has any partisan purpose”?
A. “Not at all. The last two administrations, i. e., Cleveland’s and McKinley’s, have done more for this cause, perhaps, than all the others put together. Moreover, the time just now is ripe for this reform and Congressmen should be more than ever awake to the necessity of it, irrespective of party”.
Q. “How about that school for consuls and diplomats, Professor? It seems to me that however desirable it may be, it is hardly feasible for partisan reasons.”
A. “That, of course, is the stock objection to such a proposition. Yet I fail to see why such a school might not be put into the hands of a non-partisan board—say the second and third Assistant Secretaries of State, who do not change with the administration as a rule. And we might add to these the Civil Service Commissioners, or any other competent men, provided they are not to be meddled with on the score of partisanship. Partisanship does not enter into the management of West Point or Annapolis to any noticeable extent, nor does it prevent our numerous State universities from being as well managed as other institutions of learning.”
Q. “But why not leave all this to the institutions already established?”
A. “Well, perhaps as good a reason as any is that none of them are in Washington. The government has here its great scientific museum, the Smithsonian Institute; also its historical museum, various experiment stations, and above all, perhaps, its Congressional Library and collections of State papers and archives. Besides, diplomacy should be learned from diplomats in active service—men acquainted with their occupation both past and present, European and American. Such a school need not be continuous, perhaps, or conducted as many months of the year as other schools, its chief purpose being to satisfy the exigencies of the Government, rather than to furnish a liberal education”.
Q. “I suppose, Professor, that our Government has treaties with most other countries covering the principal points of commercial importance”?
A. “Yes, in the main, though there are some surprising exceptions. For instance, ‘the-most-favored-nation’ clause is not in the treaties with either Great Britain or Sweden and Norway. With many of our neighboring states we have no extradition treaties whatever. A glance at the synopsis[[5]] given will show that our treaties are fullest with the following named countries: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Roumania, San Salvador and Servia. Evidently the treaties with some of the other countries need overhauling.”
