The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-30
A MAN OF MANY TONGUES.
"A Talk with the State Department Translate
How Its Correspondence Is Carried On.

Talk with the State Department Translator
How Its Correspondence Is Carried On.
Pittsburg Commercial Gazette.
Mr.. Henry l.. Thomas. translator at the State
Department in Washington is visiting his
brother, Mr.. John Thomas, general superlntepd-
ent Of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at
his home on Locust avenue Allegheny
Mr.. Thomas has had quite varied experience.
and now, after travelling over greater part of
the globe and devoting a large portion of his life
to the study of languages, is IF the most
widely posted and cultured gentlemen it is ones
good fortune to meet For sixteen years he has
been connected with the State Department,
and in that time has kept up his study of
languages till to day he can speak fluently
some eight or nine, and is able to make
himself understood in as many more. When
boy he took but little interest in the study Of
languages, but starting out in life as a printer
he found his frs. start, and used to employ him
self during all his leisure hours with porting
over the grammar OF some foreign tongue
Along in the ''ffties' he started on his travels,
and was professor in college in one of the
West India islands for several years. He became
tired of this kind of life, however and dur
ing the ''sxties" returned to this country. In
1866 he was appointed translator in the State
Department by Mr. Hamilton Fish, then Secre-
tary of State. He has served constantly ever
since during all the changes of administrations.
TO representative of this paper he said last
night: My duties are sometimes very light
and sometimes very arduous 1t is hard to
average the work, some days there will be
rush of matter and on others but little Ny
duties confined largely to official CORE
spondence, though often letters addressed to the
President or some of the Cabinet officers are
handed to me for translation. Most of the
countries represented at courts their
own language or French in their diplomatic cor
respondence. Some, however use English.
Austria, for instance, used its own language
up till about six years ago, when it changed and
now all its official correspondence is carried on
in English. Italy and some of the other Eu-
ropean countries use French. SO did Germany
until the antipathy between her and France be-
came SO bitter. Since then her correspondence
has been in pure, hard German. The South
American countries all use Spanish, and their
official correspondence must all be translated"
I'm what language are the treaties writtenW
"In the language Of the country with which
the treaty is made and in English. Some of the
old treaties have been rather loosely translated,
though there have been no serious errors. Once
in a while have to go back to the old cor
respondence and treaties of years ago. In this
way | can see how the translations were made.
Some time since l had to go back thirty years to
the official correspondence between this country
and the Argentine Confederation. A great many
references were made in the correspondence to
those old days"
''Does the Department ever receive personal
letters2"
Eyes, quite Often and from all over the world.
Every President who has occupied the White
House since l have been in Washington has
received more or less letters containing advice or
begging for something Subjects of other
countries often write and tell the President how
he should act. Many of the foreign letters come
from Germany, asking the President to send the
writer passage ticket across the ocean, as he
wishes to become q citizen of this country.
Another man wrote from Holland the other day,
advising President Cleveland to pay OIL the con-
federate bonds
But puZzler was received some months ago
from Samoa No one could read it. and we had
about given it up when an English translation
was discovered. 1t was pretty fair English,
too. have to make an abstract of the letters,
which are sent to the persons TO whom they were
directed Some of them are answered. and some
are not. We get good many letters from
Germans living in this country. They are
mostly filled with grievances of some kind
During President Arthurs administration an
old German out West wrote to him, asking the
President to pay off mortgage on his farm.
He had got into difficulty, SO he said through
fault of his own, and he wanted it fixed up.
The second letter was filled with threats. ana
the third was filled with abuse. After PRESIDENT
Cleveland was inaugurated be wrote TO him' out
since no attention was paid to it he has stopped.
During President Hayes's administration he
received a letter written in Hebrew. 1t was in
poetry. and made loose rhymiug translation.
can only remember the first verse 1t ran like
this:
Ring out the sounds of Joyous mirth
Up and down throughout the earth,
For the who's pure of hand
Hath chosen been to rule the land.
During General Grants administration some
funny letters were received. One OF them was
from a German woman who claimed thai her
neighbor threw slop over her ack-yard ana she
wanted it stopped. The slop throwing may De
going on yet for all know. There are so many
incidents of this kind that forget all of them.
But these letters come from everywhere. One
came from Palestine the other day written in
Hebrew. The Turkish language stumps all Of
us, though. But fortunately an English trans
lation accompanies it.
All the wooden parts OF every tool and imple>
ment especially il liable to exposure to the
weather, should be we'll oiled with crude petro.
leum, applying enough to thoroughly penetrate
the pores. Such tools will last much longer for
this treatment, and such parts as hoe handles or