New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-03-25
SEEKERS FOR CONSULATES.
FEW VACANCIES FOR MANY APPLICANTS
HUNGRY AND THIRSTY PATRIOTS TO WHOM
EVEN THE 81 600 SALARIES LOOK BIG.

seems 10 be Trustworthy authority that nearly 1000
applications for places In tile consular service Of tho
United States have already been fled Will be
filed in the state Department. II is branch Of the
public service which to offer great and peculiar
attractions hungry and thirsty Democratic patriots,
especially from the bacliwoods regions. TO whom
salary OF IL 900 $1,000 year and fees appears
to DO munlfcent yearly income.
Probably not one in Il dozen Of the applicants can
understand speak any language except the English
but 1t makes little difference TO one who cannot
do whether he BE- sent 10 represent the United
States and promote It's commercial interests In Cork
or Cologne, In Bahia Birmingham In Dublin or
Dusseldorf, in Hamburg or Iiavre. In Naples or New
CASTLE in Sheffield smyrna. long the salary
and fees" are sufficient. About all he cares for
besides a commission travellers guide and
money enough to pay his passage TO the scene of his
future official labors. OF course, nne-tents Of the
men who want to b. consuls general consuls or
commercial agents Will fail 10 get places, and a
majority Of those who succeed will often feel sorry
for It.
In the consular service there are thiryssven cOnsus
general. ten OF whom also required TO perform
other duties. ministers resident, secretaries Of
legation diplomatic agents; 1853 consuls ard eighteen
commercial agents who receive fixed salaries and are
not allowed to engage in business: eighteen consus
who receive salaries and allowed 10 engage In
business, and nftynine consus and twenty nine COM
mercial agents who receive 10 compensation except
fees, all OF whom allowed TO in business.
This makes n total Of 324 places about a dozen OF
which vacant
The consulates and commercial agencies where
fees the only Compensation are not solisht, rs
a rule. by the oiicehuntcrs: most OF them are held
by persons engaged In private business where the
offices situated. large proportion OF the inc'in
bcnts being merchants who are NOT citizens OF the
United States After dcducting the unsalaried consul
and commercial agencies there remain 23d saih
ried uatp cOusulatss and commercial
agencies. on February H. 1893. the incumbents
OF Weight OF these offices were men who held them
before and during President IIarrisons Admnistia-
ton OF these iiftyc eight officers. nineteen entered
the consular service during Mr.. Cevelands Admins
tration, and were continued In Office by President
Harrison and the other thirty nine were appointed
at different times prior to lssJ. One of them. Con
sui Sprag,ie, Of Gibraltar. received his original com
mission from President Polk, May l.. 1-4s nearly
forty five years ago. There were on the same date
seventeen consus and commercial agents paid by
fees Only who appointed prior to President
IIarrksons Administration. and eleven OF them prior
to the beginning of President Ceveland's first Ad
ministration
II appears, then. that after deducting from the
saarIcd Offices the fifty eight which are held 10y
who occupied them during Mr. Clcvelad's first Ad
ministration nineteen OF whom were appointed BY
him, there remain only 11S consuls general and con
sus who were appointed by President Harrison
since February j. this number mas alIen 10 10 ny
the expiration Of the term OF Consul General Gold
schmidt Of Vienna, in whose place Senator Vests
friend, Mr. Judd, Of 81. Louis. an eminent amateur
chess player has been appointed 1t should also De re
membered that ten OF the consnls general perform
diplomatic duties also. and deducting these the total
number Of Offices which may be regarded rs game
within the rench NJ the a,cragc spos-huntcr is re
duced 10 1G1.
Til. problem that now confronts President Cleve
land and secretary Gresham Is to divide these 1877
Offices among IA thousand hungry and greedy appn-
cants so that all OF them shall be satisfied. II vii
he observed that this Is condition. not theory?
OF course the problem would be simpiicd somewhat
II Mr.. Cleveland should apply bis rules against
"nepotism'' and cX- olilcc-holders and TINS make
nineteen more vacancies in the consular Offices which
he filed during his first Administration. some OF
these Offices look exceedingly tempting 10 needy
and hungry Democratic Office seekers In Washington
who spend hours daily In study OF the bne DooR.'
For example, there Is the consulate at Eeichenbers
which pays salary Of ~ 800 a year. and the fees
OF which amounted TO nearly $4,000 last year JOhn
Is. Hawes, Of California. who was appointed Consul
by Mr. Cleveland In June, 1856. still hohls the Office
Another good place to which Mr.. Cleveland In loo6
appointed Alexander {. Jones, Of Minnesota, who i
still In Office, Is the Consulate at Chin kiang, C'una
which pays salary Of $4,000 year. III loao lie
appointed ". ID. Warner, OF south Carolina, VINO
still holds the Office, Consul ut Cologne. The
amounted to "a CAT. In the same year President
Cleveland appointed william j. Black. OF Delaware
Consul at Nucmburg, Germany, an Office which he
still holds.
The salary Is $500, md the fees last year
amounted TO $4.oo. In England there are a couple
OF rather tempting consular plurs" which are SUI
enjoyed by the Democrats TO- whom President Cleve-
land gave them one Is the Leeds Consulate, TO
which F. H. wigfall, OF Maryland, was appointed
April H. 1885, and which pays a salary OF S2,OoO IA
year and about S3,1OO in fees; the other Is the
sheffield Consulate, to which :" Cousin Benz Folsom
OF ew.Yorh, was appointed October 10, 1856. The
salary Of this Office Is 900 year. ana Inc lees
collected last year amounted to SA.4'2
Among the other consulates TO which President
Cleveland appointed Democrats who still hold the
Offices are tie following: odessa, Russia Thomas
C. Keenan, OF Minnesota. appointed october ~
1880 salary $1,000; Cienfncgos. Cuba, Henry a..
Ehningcr Of NcwYork, appointed August Is, 1855,
salary 81, 800. fees Sl,l4j sagn La Grince CUBA
Eancl y, AIuln Of Massachusetts, appointed OCTOBER
90 1853 salary $1,000, fees $500; smyrna, Turkey,
william c. Emmett, OF New York. appointed November
90 1855, salary ~, 800, fees S1,4j3. by consulting
tho Official register Of COns,iis, Democrats WHO arc
willing 10 accept ohccs under his administration
Will discover number Of other consulates WIDEN gre
| now Icd by men were appointed during Mi.
| Ceveland's former Administration. - g.. ooo -
| The salaries oil coiNus-sencral range from so,oVo
wear Tor the COnsu General at Havana ana FJUVJ Il
wear each for the Consus General at London, Paris
| Shanghai ana taFutld, d-VlV s'' w" ~
| Inng1rr ana Maincaibo and Si.JO0 II year AT sun
Domingo. The amount received IN ices varies sun
| more widely, also doe, the proportion OF uhohc'a
fees which consular officer, are allowed To retain ~
| a part o! their compensation. Inc io'ni nhio"hl '"
fee, collected Dy Consul General hins OF iai,, mS'
year Was $J5.i3O tonsul,ncril New. 81 LDnuoh' cor
| lccted Sj2. 49, and his successor rat SUIis eA
poets 10 do equally we'll Consrtencral Williams o
havana collected s2O3JJ. but the proportion OF n
oIncuI FEES much smaller than lhat AT iohuoi
or Paris Consul General Merrill Of Calcutta coerlT
| $5.aj and Consul-t'cncml Leonard OF sninsn,',
s602I. The con.uls at Liverpool ana Hong c Mon'
| and the commercial agent ut Bonay, Congo S;a,e,
| receive 5000 year each. The ices o lhe L'er
| uool consulate amounted To s2J.tcO last year
| There are five con,ultes for which Congress ms
| appropriated $3.50 each for payment at s;.','irs
for tg cniy two cOnsulatcS the amount al Pfopfii wa
s 900 each for twenty. eight consulate, 1t was s2ooI
i