The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-02-04
THE ARMY AND THE DIPLOMATIC
SERVICE

rFoNN thc w T. ouU
ALI sensible citizens will approve of the
proposition to dismiss from the army such
officers as are really superfuous The num-
Der of these unnecessary officers amounts, il
is said, to over five hundred, and the saving
to be effected by discharging them will be
something like a million of dollars year
The country will gain both by the reduction
of the payroll, and by the transfer of five
hundred men from the non-producing to the
producing class and yet it must not be for
gotten that our relation to this class of public
servants is very different from our relation
to those of any other class, or that our obli-
cations to them are of a much more sacred
nature.
But there is another branch of the national
service to which the pruning knife Of re-
trenchment could be applied even more pro-
fitably than to the army. Indeed we are sure
that It might better be Topped off altogether.
While we are busy considering what we shall
do with our military men, who have great
claims upon us for their services during the
war, suppose we look moment at our costly
and useless ambassadors abroad, who have no
claims at all. Not one in Congress has vet
introduced bill to reduce their number or
their emoIuments; but if any money was
ever worth saving, it il that which goes for
their support.
For instance, we are paying $17, 500 year
to the Hon. ]. Lothrop Motley for the
arduous labor of living in a fine house in
London, eating no end of good dinners,
toadying the British aristocracy, and occa-
sionally delivering bungling and useless
despatch written here in America by Caleb
Cushing or Sidney Webster, and signed by
Secretary Fish.
For doing about the same thing in Paris
that Mr. Motley docs in London, the Hon.
Elihu B. Washburne also gets $17, 500 year
| Fortunately for him, however, the President
is not very exscting in requiring his attend
| ance at the French Court and let's him off for
| months at time to visit Homburg and other
famous watering g-places. When there is any
real work to be done, such as trying to nego-
tiate postal treaty, some Congressman or
1 other has to be sent out to do it, at an extra
expense of several thousands of dollars. At
Berlin we are paying Mr.. George Bancroft
$4,000. At st. Petersburg, Governor Curtin
gets $4,000 To Vienna we have sent Mr..
John Jay, and allow him $12, 900, which
enables him to give close atteRtion to his
wife's fathers property, so that none of it may
be snatched away by his 'brother-in-law. Al
Lisbon we were paying Mr.. Shellabarger
| $500, but, like sensible man, he resigned
| and came home, tired of having nothing to
do. The Ministers to Spain, Brazil, Mexico
China, and Italy also get $12, 900 each; those
to Chill and Peru, each SIC, 900; and those to
twenty-five other countries, $1,000 each. The
total amount required for salaries of these
men and their various secretaries of legation
interpreters, and assistants, is 1857, $50
year, all of which is invariably paid in gold
Besides this, 100000 is appropriated fol
contingencies, making the total cost of oul
diplomatic service $457, $50 in gold, annually
Now this seems small sum compared with
the total of our national expenses; but it il
certainly worth saving, and in the course o.
time will amount to something handsome. In
ten years it would come to $1,000, 600, il
twenty years to $40, 900, 600, and SO on. We
get nothing for it that is of any value Oul
consuls can do, in ninety mine cases out of {
hundred, all that our ambassadors do, and in
the hundredth case special ENJOYS could be
called into requisition, as they are at present
Where is the shrewd member of the Hous,
of Representatives to attack this time-hon
ored abuse, and make himself famous as
genuine economist Or will all our states
men prefer instead to turn out of Office th,
veterans of the war, who have few friend
and few votes at their command