The evening times., 1899-11-23
Home. for Our Diplomats.

Homes for Our Diplomats.
Mr. Thomas w Cridler Third Assistan,
| Secretary of State. has been making tour
of our embassies legations. and consul
etes. in Europe, for purposes of inspection.
and. according TO a report from Paris,
where he has been interviewed. he is much
impressed with the desirability of having
embassy and legation buildings owned by
our Government. So. for that matter. is
every intelligent American who has ever
| given the subject a single thought
The time has come at last, We hope. when
the small and jealous provincialism of our
legislators which has heretofore prevented
this reform, will no longer obstruct it. 1t
is difficult TO speak with becoming patience
of matter which for years has been hu-
initiation 10 our representatives and citizens
abroad, when it has not been an injustice
to many able and much needed public men
| who have had to decline diplomatic service
because of their inability to support the po-
| sitions offered them with suitable dignity
1t has come to this, that poor man could
| rot accept the mission to the Court of st.
| James. or Paris, Berlin, or St Petersburg,
| and attempt TO support his state on the
| salary allowed without modification to him
self and ridicule to his country. To "a
great extent this has been the case
| throughout our history. John C. Calhoun
was compelled to forego nost important
European mission because his means were
Inadequate to the expense il would involve,
| and there have been other similar instances.
We pay an Ambassador a yearly stipend
| which would barely cover the rent of such
houses as the representatives of like rank
from other countries inhabit. And the sys-
TEN We maintain is an all-around vicious.
perny-wise. and foolish one.
For example, William Waldorf Astor was
sent as Minister to Italy. largely because
he was immensely rich. While his mission
in Rome lasted he maintained a style of
living which might have been the hopeless
envy of a Russian grand duke. He might
perchance have been succeeded by some
official of such sls=der means as TO COM
pei him 10 live in inferior lodgings. Such
things are more than once of record in the
annals of our State Department.
If the United States owned its own am
bassadorial and legation residences in the
principal capitals Of Europe. and main
tanned them as European States do theirs
| in the city of Washington. it would be
possible for men of moderate fortune to
occupy the higher places in cur diplomatic
service without accepting humiliation on
| the one hand or financial ruin on the other.
In the past every effort to secure a change
in the method of dealing with our diplo-
matists has been met in Congress by
spirit of ignorant intolerance Of the facts.
and by outspoken contempt for the service
al large.
Whatever may have been the logical basis
for this latter belief-and it was not
entirely groundless when We were without
foreign policy, and were otherwise in the
hands of legislators for the greater part
bucolic and altogether Philistine-it Is
without pertinence to our new situa-
tion as world power. Our present and
future relations with other nations espec-
tally with those Of Europe. render cur
worthy representation at leading capitals
by men of undoubted diplomatic training
and experience, and commanding ability.
not only expedient but positively and i'm
minently necessary. The same legislative
generosity which never holds back its hand
when the improvement of a mountain creek
or the dredging of a mud bank geographi-
cally unnamed and unknown is asked for,
must be invoked TO enable the Government
to maintain nearly its most useful service
in manner befitting the greatness of the |
country, and to relieve it of the present en- |
barrassment of having to depend upon the |
patriotic liberality of Ambassadors and |
Ministers to pay small fortunes fer the |
privilege of working for the American peo-
pie. \ good way TO begin the reform would |
be to buy property in London Paris, Berlin,
st. Petersburg. and Vienna, and build |
houses; and it is to be hoped that the re-
port which Assistant Secretary Cridler will
make on his return. will be so conclusive
that the appropriate committees of Con-
gress will take up the question with
and secure action without de-
lay.