National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-02-13

lions. MIR. Belmont is a man Of the world,
and possessed Of liberal thought and gener-
Gus motives. Mr.. Phelps was for three
years our honoreI representative ut the
Austrian court, and Mr.. HIT was for long
time a valuable ana distinguished member
Of the diplomatic service and also assistant
secretary Of state. These gentlemen being
members Of the committee on foreign af-
fairs, It is amazing that bill $40 was ever
conceived, not to mention the fact Of It's
having been actually born and given over
to the tender mercies of the House.
There are three hundred and ninty-nino
consular officers in the service, and large
majority of tiieir salaries are under two
thousand dollars per annum, many Of them
are under fifteen hundred dollars. Take
fifteen hundred dollar place like Stuttgart
where there are many Americans residing
Live as closely as he may the fifteen hun
dred dollars will not cover the legitimate
expenses Of the consul II he pays his bills,
and we are glad to say that the United
States consuls have the manhood and
decency, for the sake of their great govern
ment and position, to do that, The notarial
fees of the Stuttgart consulate amount
yearly to five or six hundred dollars. This
sum helps the consul out and by II he is
able to live modestly, very modestly in
deed, but at least in respectable manner.
But now along comes Mr.. Belmont, who
has also been in the habit Of living very
modestly and very closely on perhaps fifty
thousand dollars a year, and proposes to
80 Ne snp
income out Of his pocket and into the in
satiable maws OF the treasury vaults, which
will probably later on be lcgislated out
again and into the still more Unsuitable
maws of the omnibus bill
We use the Stuttgart consulate as an eX-
ample. II would be the rule and not an
exception should bill $40 pass In its pres
ent form.
Mr. Belmont may be right in wishing to
make all notarial fees official and to be ac-
counted for to the treasury Of the United
States, but he is PROFESSIONALLY wrong in
attempting to commit legalized robbery
on members Of branch Of the public SER
| vice which has no superior in this or any
other country. We say legalizei robbery,
because to reduce the small incomes of a
large number Of consuls without making
some provision to increase their salaries
| las was wisely and generously urged
| by President Cleveland in his pessage)
would be a legalized robbery and some
thing more. If the present bill had pro-
| posed or even limited at proper in
crease of salaries commensurate with pub
lie good and the losses sustained, 1t would
have had an air of justice aud respectable.
ity about it; but in its present shape it
ought TO be referred back to the committee
with the respectful request that 1t be placed
on file with an ignited match.
/ Should the bill pass and later on should
nckle fortune find Mr.. Perry Belmont with
out place and without competency, and
should he, in searching about in the cold
world for employment, happen to drop into
[ the meshes of fifteen hundred dollar con-
sulate without any notarial fees attached,
| lie will pine to get back into Congress to
/ right the great wrong which he inflicted
upon the consular service by bill $40.