Evening star., 1897-03-06

satisfied with their positions, and all COM
planned OF big expenses and small salaries
There Is scarcely an office in the gift Of
the State Department which pays enough
to allow Its occupant to live up to his sta
ton and entertain as he should. One Of the
chief reasons for sending rich men to the
courts Of London. Paris. Berlin and St.
Petersburg is because by means Of their
private fortunes they can keep up the style
which the American minister should main
tain in order to be OF value at these courts.
These ministers get the highest salaries
paid to any Of our diplomats. They re-
ceive $l1,5OQ year each Their expenses,
however. are often twice or thrice this
amount. Whitelaw Reid paid. it is. said.
$2I.oOO a year house rent while he was
minister to Paris. and his entertainments
must have cost him as much more Our
present minister to France, Mr.. Eustis,
pays $4,000 year for his house, and his
Necessary @ expenses, as given in an itemized
statement not long ago. were $27,O0O a
year. visited Paris when Levi p. Morton
was our minister there. He paid more
thar twice his salary to keep up his es-
was minister to France was too poor to
maintain the dignity of the place out of his
own pocket. He was helped by having a
rich secretary of legation. This was Rep
resentative Hit of Illinois. who spent l
have been told. as much as $4,000 year
In entertaining. ...-
The Berlin Mission.
Another costly foreign place is Berlin.
Our minister there Ought to keep up an
equal style with the ministers from other
countries. He ileannoe do so on much less
than $4,000 Pear. The British minister at
Berlin gets $37,aOO q year. and has palace
furnished by his government and big al
lowance for entertaining. The British le-
CATION building rat Paris is five times AS big
as that of the British legation at Washing
ton. and England s. German minister gets
$4,000 a year sands HOO.OOO additional for
entertaining. Dur last minister to Ber-
lin is l am told worth a2O.OOO less today
than ne was when Cleveland appointed him
American ambassador to Germany. 1t Is
said that he failed In some of his diplo-
matte negotiations from lack of money
for entertaining. and that his necessities
at one time were such that he seriously
thought of sending: in q his resignation I
visited William W alter Phelps a few years
ago, When he was. opr minister to Germany.
he was you know, man of large fortune.
and he spent money freely. When he got
to Berlin he could find no house suitable
for the American legation. An Independent
establishment costs great deal in that
CITY,
Many of the fashionable people live
in flats, and only the richest can afford
houses. There were few houses for rent
In the diplomatic locality. Mr.. Phelps pick
ed out the building he wanted and then
sent his agents to buy out the tenants He
ousted the storekeepers from the ground
hoor. He bought up the leases of the fash
fonable people who were living above. and
then having released the whole building.
he turned an army of carpenters and ma
sons into 1t and had It remodeled to suit
himself. His home was perhaps the finest
any American foreign minister has ever
had 1t contained among other rooms eight
large parlors. which could be thrown into
one and 1t was so large that Minister
Phelps could have entertained the whole of
the German court had he wished to do so.
Still his services to the United States were
such that our government could have well
afforded to have allowed him enough money
for several such houses. His entertain
ments brought him into the closest rela-
tions with the Germans. He was popular
with both Bismarck and the young en-
peror. and when he tried to get anything
done for America he succeeded.
How Our Ministers Live.
Few people have any idea of the expenses
of our ministers. Those who are sent to
the orient require large number of serv-
ants. The minister to Japan has coachmen
who are dressed In Japanese livery and
who wear hats like butter bowls turned
upside down. The minister to Picking has
two men who do nothing else but watch at
the gates of the legation grounds to let the
visitors In and out. His coachman is a
swell Chinaman, who wears bright-color,sd
silk dresses. When the minister goes out
IL
lows behind While 1 was In Calcutta /
met the American consul general He was
a plain Oregon man, who, l venture had
never had more than two servants at home
In India he had to keep twenty. When he
went out to drive there were two coach
men with turbans and gowns on the front
of his carriage, and two other turbaned
Hindoos standing on the footboard behind.
In oriental countries our ministers usually
have servants go ahead of them as they
walk through the city to clear the streets.
In Constantinople and Cairo the man who
precedes the minister Is known as the ka-
vass. The kavass has sword enormous
pistols ard sometimes also a staff with a
silver head.
He is dressed with much gold braid and
wears fez cap. During my stay in Egypt
1 had an interview with the khedive. At
this time kavass went with the consul
general and myself to the palace. When
1 accompanied the American consul to
call upon the natrtafch Of Jerusalem We
man carried a cf1b as tall as himself upon
the top of which was ball of silver as
bg as your fist AsMe walked through
pavement as tIEy Walked in front, and
cleared the way for"Ss. Our minister to
kirg who act as his special body guard
They are dressed in plum-colored zouave
partaloons, short blo16es, belted in at the
waist, and hats sof black horse hair. which
chin. During my stay In Seoul 1 had
an interview with thee king. At this time
the soldiers went In front and cleared the
way for me. The present American minis
ter to Corea waStfirst presented to the king
on that day, and wei went together the
kirg sending down number Of his own
servants to accompany us to the palace
Our consuls in China have each man
called the Ting-chi to go in front Of them
when they go out to make visits of state
Such man went in front of me when I
called upon Ii Hung Chang. He was dress
ed in bright-colored silk and had on a pair
of black cloth boots with soles an inch
thick. Upon his head there was hat
there was q big button on its crown to
show that he was a man Of rank.
Court Dress Troubles.
Style means a great deal in foreign
courts. and our ministers would be much
better or II they could wear uniform
instead of being required to appear, as is
the rule Of the State Department in the
ordinary dress of an American citixen Our
usual evening dress IL. you know, just the
sane as that OF the walters, and our min