National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-03-23


| Your editorial of Saturday upon our
diplomatic and consular service will meet with
universal approval. The entire system should be
recast But it seems to me that your propositions
| should be supplemented by several other import
ant considerations. You say: " The first and great
prercquisite-the s;nc qua non Of fitness in an am
! bassador or consul-iS that ne should have q
| thorough and intimate acquaintance either with
the language of the country in which he is to rep
resent us and our interests or in the language of
| diplomacy, the French"
| In qualification of that proposition submit the
| following suggestions: The men who are most
thoroughly and intimately acquainted with for
| eign languages are Of three classes. 1. Men who
| were born and bred in the countries where those
| languages are spoken, and WHO, from instinct,
habits, associations, and often from interest, are
| thoroughly I'M American. .. American snobs,
1 whose wealth has enabled them to travel abroad
and whose stock in trad isan ffcced contempt for
| everything American. 5. Americans Ofweaith and
leisure who have acquired the foreign languages
| simply as elegant accomplishments, and who re-
leved by fortune from the necessity of work, are
destitute of all practical knowledge of business
affairs OF this class 10 better illustration can be
found than the helpless generation of elegant gen.
tlemen spawned in the South by the institution OF
slavery and sent adrift by its overthrow. Now it
is obvious that q policy requiring an intimate
acquaintance with a foreign language as the prin-
cipal qualification for foreign appointment would
fill our diplomatic and consular service with for
| eigners, snobs and ornamental nonenttieS. re-
suit like this must be the arthest thing possible
| from the purpose of the new administration.
Ifthe rule stated is TO De enforced broadly as
you state it, changes, except on a very limited
scale will be prohibited, for the great body Of cur
foreign agents have been so long in service
that they themselves are far more expert in the
languages of the countries 10 which they are ac-
credited than any new set of men can be. Eut
nothing better shows the fallacy Of the rule than
the patent fact that a large proportion of these
men, though expert lingusts. worthless officers.
And the converse fact Is equally true, that many
who were at first, and some who are even yet, Ell
| tireiy ignorant of the LEGAL languages are among
the best and most useful of our foreign agents.
The best possible forecast of the foreign system
the new administration may be- expected to inau-
gurate is Afforded by the character of the men who
are to shape aud control it. The President and
the Secretary of state not only The ablest OF
statesmen, butin every feature ofcharacterthey
broadly thoroughly, and cH,phaticaly America IL.
We may therefore safely anticipate that the first
positive requisite in the character of every one of
our foreign agents will be an absolute and inteIi-
gent devotion to American principles AID Amcri-
can interests.
Again. both in character and achievements
these great men present the noblest exemplifca-
ton Of the practical, restless, aggressive energy
which Is the impelling force of American progress
We may therefore predict that our new diplO-
matte and consular force will be composed of ell
ergetg. intelligent, business men, accustomed by
habit 10 the perplexities aud difficulties and
trained by experience In tue complicated details
of practical business
But such men may not he the most expert lin
gusts. The most successful iinguist is the man
who makes the study of languages his business
He is generally good for uathigg else He would
not be a successful consul or diplomat. The prac-
tical. the successful. the useful man finds Ord-
narily, little time for the study and little occasion
for the use of foreign languages. The very in
tlustry and application which makes him success
full and useful deprives him of the opportunity 10
master strange tongues. But he is the man To-
learn. Send him abroad, where il becomes neceS-
part OF his business. applies TO il his character
istc industry, aud masters it accurately,
swiftly, and perfectly. Any industrious
man, of good English education and fair general
culture, can learn to speak and write French or
German with reasonable Facility in from three 70
six months. If he IL good Latin scholar and has
Il liberal general culture, he will even in less time
attainsill greater success. II is not 10 be denied
that a knowledge of the langaAge OF the country
to which the foreign agent Is sent Is great a6VaI
tagc, but [ think l have shown flat il is not, as
you have stated. - the one great pr1TequiSite-the
1,ia non
| hope TO see the new Government expel and
exclude from our diplomatic aud consular service
foreigners, who care nothing for our national in
tcrestS Or hOn0r; snobs who bring lis into contempt
elegant idlers, who are worse than worthless, and
ignorant political brmTucrS and dead heats, who
degrade -the service and disgrace the country.
hope also to the service reinforced with practi-
cal Intelligent, energetic new men, to the end that
our commerce may be inagnifcd prosperity in
creased. and eventually our marine revived and
the honor OF our nag restored upon the sea.