The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-07-23
GOOD PLACE FOR REFORM.
American Consuls and ConsuIates in China and
japan.

the State, and especially of its individual citi-
Zens or subjects, are called "Consu!s." In so
far as this definition is concerned. the main OBJ
ject of the institution of Consular office appears
to be a commercial one But beyond this the
functions of Consular Office in most countries of
the world include the performance of certain
diplomatic duties; and though these duties are
not readily defnable, they are nevertheless,
easily appreciate, being based upon the main
tenance of intelligent and friendly relations
with the native authorities of the district under
Consular jurisdiction. A Consul should, par
excellence, be a gentleman, for he represents
during his tenure of Office the dignity of his
country. Consul should be man of general
information; he should have enjoyed a sound
education, have considerable acquaintance with
legal matters marine Jurisprudence in especial,
and ought to be able to appreciate and converse
Understandings upon the political questions
of the country to which he has been appointed.
A Consul should be the soul of honor.
Unfortunately, the total want of an organ
lied Civil Service in the United States-a most
vital diplomatic necessity-renders the ap-
pointment of Consuls too frequently independ-
ent of personnel merit. COnsuls are far too
often sent from the United States to foreign
parts, not because of their knowledge of the
countries in which they are to reside, but be-
cause some Government authority finds it con-
venient to secure comfortable birth for one
or more of his prOteges. They are occasionally
sent to China and Japan OH account of past
services to the State, but large percentage of
the Consuls in the East owe their position to
influential patronage. The upshot of this sys-
tenn is that raw, untried, often illiterate and
inscriptions, men are hurried into Consular
sinecures,-sin in so far as they are ac-
tually incompetent to fulfill the duties incum-
bent upon them. And as to their absolute ig-
norance of the countries in which they are to
- +
astonishing fact that men have been appointed
to China and Japan without having the faintest
idea of the real condition, Of the history, lam
guage customs, or political Importance of these
two countries What is China to the average
American citizen but the land of tea and silk,
of Acknowledged Celestials COnfucius, the Great
Wall, the immigration question, Shanghai, and
Pekin? What is Japan but the land Of curios
of painted screens aud picturesque costumes,
the Mikado's Empire, the Shimonoseki In
demnity, and Commodore Perry's adventures
Practically, Asia is as little known in America
as are the wilds of Africa. And yet this same
continent is destined to be of the utmost i'm
portance to the United States and the world
at large; it can teach us grand lessons in his
tory, politics, and letters, and is worthy the
serious and studous attention of every one
who believes in the great future of our race.
But, absorbed in political triumphs or defeats
at home, the election of a Republican Governor
here, or the chances of a Democratic nominee
elsewhere,-the United States seem content to
be represented in China and Japan by men
who, as like as not, have been fOisted on an
Eastern Consulate in order to have them out of
the way. Indeed, it would seem as if abso-
lutely no question were raised as to their abil-
ity to carry out the oath they take on entering
upon Consular career; and it is of no conse-
quence ut all whether they know anything
about the reigning dynasties, political factions,
social status, aye, even the very names of the
EmperOrs of the countries in which they are to
scjourn.* Could anything be more discredit-
able.
No man, however great statesman, can
draw up a complete code suitable for every
emergency in our intercourse with foreign
lands But the application of intelligence
combined with simple and practical earnest
ness to the solution of political problems will
bring with it the capability of dealing nobly
with other nations. If one 1.-THE of the enthu
siasm with which our home elections are dis
cussed and debated were given to the consider
alton of the great Asatic questions, there
would then be no lack of competent men to
represent and uphold the prestige of the United
States in China and Japan. To introduce a
real reform, we must educate our Ambassadors,
our Ministers and COnsuls for their special
Offices Such course, and this course alone,
will save us from the contemptuOus Indifference
and unintelligible apathy that are the charac-
teristics of too many American COnsuls in for
egn lands. Surely, the incapacity of our Con-
suls in China and Japan is dark chapter in
the political history of our times.
Look at other professions. The candidate
for collegiate honors has, time and again, to
undergo severe examination as to his knOwl-
edge and attainments. The lawyer must serve
a long term before he is called to the bar. The
physician, the pedagog, all alike have to SUBJ
NIT to years of constant study before receiving
their license or diploma. Aud yet to enter
upon the mysteries of foreign service, and to
represent the highest law and gravest interests
of the United States utter ignorance of the
peoples and languages of Eastern Asia is no
detriment! That the most essential qualihca-
tiOnS are wanting makes no difference what
ever. Can it be urged in good faith that fair
knowledge Of the spoken and diplomatic Ian
guage of China and Japan is unnecessary? Cur
experience does not justify such an assumption.
1t is a well-known fact that recent attache of
the American Legation in Pekin, man whose
duty it was to attend to the verbatim transia-
ton of his superiors dispatches into Chinese,
took liberties with the text and made such
alterations as struck his fancy Could this
have occurred in dispatch from the English
or German Legations? Utterly impossible, for
the heads of each of these departments were
and are as we'll acquainted with Chinese as the
Consulates the duty of translation and inter-
probation generally devolves upon some native
clerk, who is bound to follow the text by no
greater obligation than that of petty and
wholly inadequate salary. Take, for instance,
the manner in which our recent representative
in Corea held durbar with the King of that
country. He spoke in English to a japanese
interpreter, a man only tOlerably well &C
quainted with our language; the phrase was
then put into Japanese to another Japanese
who understood Chinese: the message by this
time nicely mutilated, was retailed to the King
by Court official who understood Chinese!
And this is only an isolated instance. There
are many such, equally painful to one who
compares them with the scholarly inguists
representing the great powers of Europe.
Yet these discreditable facts fail into insig-
nificance when we come to examine the per-
sonal character of many an American Consul
in the East. Men of sound honesty of political
integrity, of unimpeachable faith have GER
tain moral force which replaces to a great ex-
tent their want of infOrDatiOn on essential
topics. But what of those who enter the Con-
sular service with the deliberate intention of
enriching themselves at their country's ex-
pense2 1t is superfuous to say that we are
Inundated in our foreign relations by such
characters. And how often have deeds of i'll
renown struggled into nOtoriety within the
last 90 years! One reason of this, though by
no means the sole cause, is that the salaries
of American officials in China and Japan are
pitifully small
There is such thing as the dignity of
etiuuet, an acknowledged essential in all civil
lied and more especially Oriental Govern
ments. Our Consuls and their associations
sbonld ha accorded "A distinction OmmenSurate