Evening star., 1898-05-28
URGENT NEED FOR L REFORM
The Standard of Admission Should
Be Raised.
AN EXAMINATION FAVORED


81. 1850. and July 1, 1870. and it is curious
fact that during the entire century of or
ceuntry's development. commercially. since
this service of our government has receiv-
ed but scant attention at the hands Of
Congress. Except in the few instances
where personal influence and favoritism at
Washington have enabled an individual
consul to secure an advance in the amount
of his salary. the consular salary remains
substantially as 1t was fixed in 1856. and
for all the necessary expenses Of living III
foreign countries 81 would reach as far
then as three times that SUM can do now.
Many consulates that were important thir-
ty years ago have lost much Of their conse-
queEce with the decaying Of our merchant
marine or the changed currents Of interna-
tiCnal trade, while many others that were
then obscure have become more important,
SO as to require irst-class men to admin
lister them In the proper manner.
Needed Revision Of Salaries.
THE shipping statute OF 1888 swept away
the whole schedule Of fees for services 10
American vessels. which. up to that time.
had been a lucrative emolument to the
cCnsuls. and little or nothing has since been
given to them in compensation for their
less.
Such changes in condition show the ne
cessity for careful revision Of the salaries
throughout the service. As an example Of
the incongruous condition which this de-
tached legislation has imposed upon tho
service the following are cited:
The consulate at Nuremberg. Germany,
city OF 10000 Inhabitants has a salary
Of 5000. and the consulate at Furth, but a
salary Of $2.0OO.
'On tn. other hand, the important CONSUL
ates at Mannheim and Munich, the latter
the capital OF Bavaria. city Of 4Oo. 600 in
habitants and the residence Of large
American colony. have a salary Of only
8. 500 each The case at Kehl Il even mora
striking, for the district of that consulate
includes all Of Lorraine and a large part of
Alsace. whers the cases of friction between
the authorities and naturalized American
citizens, natives Of those provinces. are of
constant occurrence and require on the part
Of thu United States consul the exercise of
frmness and diplomatic discretion, while
the duties Of the consul at Munich with its
large number of fnhabitants, many Of them
being Americans, requires the assiduous
and constant attention of the person occu-
rying that position.
The recital Of these facts assuredly
shows the need Of the revision in our con-
sular service. and they could b. amplified
in every portion of the globe to which that
service is extended. The advantage of a re-
organization Of our consular service has
been called to the attention Of Congress
from time to time by those who saw the
growing necessity for some legislation in
that regard. The Department of State has
long recognized. the inadequacy of tn, con-
sular service to the growing needs hof the!
country and to the pr-ooer protection of the
business and property Of our citizens resid-
ing abroad, either for business or the pleas
ure of travel .'
Need of Improvement.
The report cites the recommendations
which have been made for change in our
consular system. and says:
-These opinions represent the Judgment
CT men best informed as to the needs of
the consular service, by the practical ex-
perience OF our representatives abroad and
those having the supervision of the service
at home and of those who have the most
material interest at stake. =.
mo stronger argument could be offered
for the necessity of reform in the con-
sular service than the present war with
Spain: Our naval authorities have right
to look to the consuls to keep them inform
ed on all matters Of interest appertaiping
to the movements of the enemy's vessels
OF war. whether separately or in squad
rons; of the movements of war supplies
whether Of munitions or fuel; with the
measures taken by the government for the
prosecution of the war, whether of a legis-
lative or military character. How can
men. however patriotic they may feel. be
competent to furnish such Information
when many Of them have been inducted
into office for less than a year, most of
whom can neither read nor speak the Ian
guage Of the country to which they have
been accredited, thus making it Impossible
for them, Of their own knowledge, to gath
er information from the people, or even the
newspapers thereof. without the aid of In
terpreters. who may be false in their SER
vice to them? 1t is practical facts like;
these which emphasize the business char
acter OF our consular service, and illus
trate the necessity of conducting 1t on
business principles.
The Importance of our consular service
being recognized, as well as the useful part
1t may be made to play in the hoped for
extension OF the foreign trade. the question
naturally arises. How can ii be improved i?
Two great obstacles appear at the first step
in that direction: First, the ignorance Of
the majority Of the people Of the impor-
lance OF the consular service as affecting
their individual interests: and, second, the
reward for political service that has en-
grated itself on our political parties. Let
the people understand this question and
they will soon insist that proper rules shall
be applied to this branch Of the government
service.
Examination Should BE Required.
Our consuls should be trained for their
positions and pass an examination on such
subjects as the laws regulating shipping
the commercial treaties existing between
their own and other countries, the laws re-
lating to intestates. on the consular regula-
tions Of the United States, aac on such
other subjects as relate to their duties
They should also be required to have a
practical knowledge of French or of the
language Of the country to which they are
to be sent. 1t will be demanded. Where will
such specially educated class come from?
Once 1t Is understood that the service Is a
permanent one. young men will prepare for
1t the same as they do for other professions
and In sufficient numbers to arouse competi-
tion. That this was not matter of con-
lecture was fully established by the expert
ence In Great Britain when the examina-
ton for the civil service was thrown open
to ALL the number Of applicants having in
creased the first year from 5000 to ia,vOO
and the character and ability Of the appli-
cants having proved as high as II not bet-
ter than that Of the selected applicants had
been before.
ITO insure this. however, the salaries
must be raised. How can q man be ex-
pected to live at Para In Brazil, under an
equatorial sun. exposed to malarial and
yellow fevers. and deprived almost entirely
of all social intercourse, for e, 900 year.
or, even worse, at Santos, where the town
was decimated by yellow fever, the victims
including the United States vice consul?
Yet the importance Of the first position to