The herald., 1898-09-11
: Need Of Trained Diplomats

| Our noeU OF peTmdneHt uiPioihatiS eoA
vice is discussed In the August Forum by
Hon. George l.. Rives. formerly assistant
secretary of state.
"A diplomatic agent should be an unfail-
ing reservoir Of information as to The tinan-
cial, political and military condition OF the
country to which he Is accredited. He
should be ready at any moment TO take up
those friendly verbal negotiations with for
eign governments which are so immensely
important But he cannot we'll convey a
confidential message. or put a delicate in
quiry, unless he can dispense with the SER
vices of an interpreter, and unless he Is
thoroughly familiar. through an almost life
long acquaintance. with foreign modes OF
thought, with the personal peculiarities
OF the individuals he must meet and with
the forms Of social intercourse that are
locally considered important. He ought
also to know. by actual experience. some-
thing Of the working Of our own govern
ment, and especially Of the department of
state. An agent who knows all these
things can be depended on TO speak the
word In season which every man familiar
with affairs knows is indispensable In the
management Of important business.
1.-The personnel Of the diplomatic corps
constitutes the machinery through which
the government must work in Its dealings
with foreign countries The secretary OF
state, II he is to accomplish large results.
must feel that he can rely on the dscre-
ton. loyalty and trained capacity of his sub
ordinates, either as channels Of contiden-
t.al communication with other govern
ments or as sources Of prompt ana accu-
rate information. He ought to have the
same unquestioning confidence In them
that the secretary Of the navy. for ex-
| ample, feels In the officers under him.
The whole force Of the state department
and the diplomatic service must work as a
unit, II complicated business, involving
| several countries. is to be successfully con-
tducted. Individual capacity, however
brilliant. will not d. as much as tine united
efforts Of experienced men working con-
| sc!ously toward one common end-a truth
which Is evidenced In such diverse forms of
human endeavor as war, railroaddng, the
game Of football and the game Of whist.
lone bit of cant relative to the diplomat
service Of the United States Is perhaps
| worth considering. 1t Is sometimes said
that under our peculiar ssytem of govern
nIent 1t is essential that our foreign rep
resentatives should be In full political SYM
pathy with the executive. Probably no
| one would pretend that this rule ought to
apply, II we once had a regular and per-
| manent service organized like the army
and navy. But even now the rule Is not
applied whenever an emergency requires
| the services Of men exceptionally qualified.
To 60 no further back than the present
year, we find that when a deadlock had
been reached In our Turkish negotiations,
Mr. Strauss was appointed our minister at
Constantinople without regard 10 his well
known views on domestic politics. When
| It became necessary to select a governor
for the Philippines-a post requiring high
diplomatic capacity-no one stopped to con-
| slider how far General Merritt was In SYM
pathy with the administration. And when
during the present war, a vacancy oc-
CURED In the office Of assistant secretary OF
state, no one asked what were the political
convictions Of Professor Moore
High and steady efficiency in the man.
| agement Of our foreign affairs has become
| imperative. 1t is no longer possible for us
| to trust to luck. Whether we like it or not
it is plain that the country is now entering
a period in its history in which It will
necessarily be brought into far closer and
more complex relations with all the other
great powers Of the world. The constan,
growth Of our foreign commerce of Itself
counts for much. The end of the present
war will not improbably find us in posses
sion Of Cuba, Porto Rico, the Ladrones
the Carolines and the Philippines. II we
seek to retain the latter We shall not be
met with the indifference that attended our
retention Of California. We shall become
involved at once in all the jealousies and
rivalries which the partition Of Asia has
awakened. We shall need all the skill we
can command to avoid awakening the
enmity OF one or more of the five great
powers that are now manoeuvering for
he spois Of China. The acquisition of Ha-
wall creates many new points Of contact
with foreign countries. The construction
of an interoceanic canal will probably re-
Quire us to maintain a greatly increased
navy and to take permanent military occu-
patton Of the country through which the
canal passes; and we shall thus have tc
| face the same sort of serious questions
that Great Britain has to deal with In
Egypt. More than all else, our demonstra-
ton Of commanding naval strength and
skill makes us henceforward an ally or an
enemy with whom every one Of the other
grea, powers must reckon. Our friendship
J will be eagerly sought.
"In taking our part in the great move
ments of the next century, and in dealing
with the enormously difficult and import
ant questions OF foreign policy that are
certain to arise, we shall need above every
thing to be adequately equipped for our
task. Nothing short of the most complete
organization which the experience of all
ma lions can suggest will serve for the work
we have to do. We can no longer be con-
ltent to build a new diplomatic machine
after each presidential election and look
| forward to throwing 1t aside when 1t is
Just beginning to work with some degree
of efficiency. Next to the establishment
of we'll equipped and trustworthy army
reserve, there will be no more urgent I'M
dertaking for this government than the re.
orga nization of its diplomatic service. Thai
there will be much opposition to any change
is to be expected; but to doubt that a
change will be made is to doubt the success
of the nation in the new career upon which
1t is surely entering"
|
Mrs. Elizabeth Custer, widow Of Genera
Custer, has just returned to her Georgia
home from a trip to Egypt, where she wal
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