Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-08-21

tTlDuIIon OF chemlcal science to the
ordinary wants of man. Frank
Leslie's New World.
What we Spend for Useless Foreign
Ministers.
a report presented to Congress
last session, in connection with the
reform of the diplomatic and con-
sular service, shows conclusively that
while the representatives of Europe-
an powers make it their paramount
duty to promote commerce and in
dustry our agentsin foreign countries
do nothing of the kind, and content
themselves with pocketing their
salaries and pushing their official
claims upon the consideration of
Old World aristocratic anti-republi-
can society.
The report in question further de-
clares that in the eleven smaller
south American States, England,
with an aggregate commerce of $50.
900 900, spends annually but SI2O'-
600 for diplomatic and consular rep
resentation and France, with 500, :
oO0, ,OOOof commerce, ,only$50, 900 while
the United States, with a commerce
aggregating barely SIC, 1000, 900, are
mulcted i'll the annual expense of
S173, 900.
In European countries, France.
with trade of $3.50, 200, 900 with her
English neighbors, only spends S13O.-
600 annually for a legation and thIr-
teen consulates while the United
states, with trade of $3.50, 900, 900.
employs twenty consular officers in
England, besides Minister, at an
| aggregate annual cost of $113 ,OeO. In
Ral inn ID
QUO annually for minister and two
consuis, with trade of $56, 900 900 :;
we, with trade only of So, 600, 900, or
less than one-third of that of Eng
land, employ six consuls and a iepa-
! tIon, at nearly half as much expen-
| diture as England
| In Ecuador our diplomatic and
F, consular esta ablishments cost almost
as much as the entire gross amount
| OF the aggregate value of imports
and exports-namely, about SIC. 900 !,
| In Japan, with a trade of 81 800
| 600, we pay upward of So, 900 to our
| official representatives.
| In Mohammedan countries we pay
| SOL 900, for Official agents, with a
| trade of only $2,000,O 900 in Portu-
| gal, SIS 900, with trade of $500 900 ::
IN denmark, S29, 900, with a trade of
100000. In Peru we pay $25, 900,
| the same amount we pay in Cuba,
though with the former country the
trade amounts only to 500, 900. and
| with the latter to nearly $40, 900, 900.
1t is well said in the Congressional
| report that "such a system impover-
| lshes the people by abstracting
rom their pockets many hundreds
| of thousands of dollars, to be lavish
ed upon rswhoattitudinize as
| Tralleyrands among the PatagoEi-
ans, while trade which might en-
rich our people slips from our hands
and passes to other markets of the
| world
These and similar facts disclosed
IN the report that has been submit
ted 20 the Senate, from the Joint
Committee on Retrenchment, 90
far to cOrroborate the opinion
which we have repeatedly express
ed IN regard to the worthlessness of
our diplomatic and consular system.
| we fully agree with the Committee
IN It's opinion that "other considera-
tions besides commerce are certainly
| worthy OF attention in connection
with foreign countries.u But we
agree with it still more thoroughly
in its additional statement that com
mercial intercourse affords one of the
most practicable means of testing
the efficiency of the foreign service,
and the value which it yields as COM
pared with the expenditure which it
involves
Regarding as we do our dispIoma-
tic and consular system as miser-
able failure, so far as the promotion
OF national interests is concerned
and entertaining but little hope of
change for the better, we think it
Is time for our merchants, through
their regular Chambers of Com
merce, to devise means for the i'm
prOVement of our commerce and
navigation. They may take for
granted that nothing OF the kind
Will ever be done under our present
system of representation in foreign
| countries. we are a great nation
only IN imagination so long as we do
not possess our full share of the COM
merce and enterprise of the globe.
Previous to and during the war we
| were all absorbed by the slavery
question, and the financial specula-
| tlons since the restoration of peace
have been rather turned into the
channel Of local operations than to-
ward commerce, industry, and navi-
| CATION.
| That change is necessary in this
direction, in order to vindicate our
claims as commercial and enter
prlslng people, must be obvious to
the careful observer of our national
| vlcissitudes. But since the impulse
which is given in Europe to foreign
commerce and navigation by able
and industrious official agents is not
vouchsafed to our people, it behooyes
our Chambers of Commerce to lake
hold of this vast subject, and we
know of no public bodies in our
country who could do justice to it
more effectively.-TN. Y. Sun.
| 1t is stated as one of the effects of
the construction of the Suez Canal
that in the adjacent deserts, where a
| drop of rain was never known to
fall, showers are now not unfre-
euent, and heavy fogs prevail. These
climatic changes are attributed to
the number of trees planted along
the canal, and the shrubbery in the
| VilIQpp which hara