Evening star., 1902-03-07

they can be had II property paid Tor their
services. especially ifs they know that a
good record will secure to them a reason
able tenure of Office
Seventy per cent of all of our srbordi-
nate consular offices abroad are now filled
by foreigners. Some of them are able,
distinguished and wealthy men, but not 5
per cent Of them have the east interest in
the American foreign& trace. and if they
had they would suppress their interest for
fear OF the criticism q "a os Facism OF their
few of them have any real sympathy in
this direction and many Of them are an
actual hindrance, not even a passive force.
Some Of them cannot speak our language.
BUT Few of them have any idea of our pol
icies, foreign or domestic and many of
them are enemies Of our policy Of Ameri-
can commercial expansion One hundred
and fifty foreigners fill the important po-
s1tions OF United States vice consais. where
they have free access to the secrets OF
trade movements as far as the consulate
holds them. as well as access to al of the
trade secrets contained in the invoices Of
their neighbors. This is unjust to the
honest exporter.
Two hundred and ninety foreigners oc-
cupy our consular agencies out Of a total
OF 395, and 40 foreigners out Of a total Of
$50 are receiving over 5000 annually as
clerks to the various consulates. Besides
this there are foreigners occupying a few
OF our principal offices. Seventy-five per
cent of all these foreign gentlemen filling
our consular Offices are in social and COM
merc1al positions that naturally prohibit
their taking an energetic and active part In
the extension of our trade. no matter how
conversant they may be with the American
trade aims and methods, which is rarely the
case. In Germany, out of 40 vice and
deputy consuls, 60 per cent are Of foreign
citizenship In the British empire there
suls. Of which eighty-three are foreigners
of different nationalities
"A real Improvement would obtain II, at
each consulate-especially consulates where
shipments to the United States are Of any
1mportance-an -merican citizen were ap-
pointed vice consul. who should act as
clerk TO the consulate, and at Offices where
there are more than one clerk he should
be the chief clerk. These men should be
paid salaries according to the grade Of the
consulates where they serve, ranging from
$1,000 to $1,5OO, and, where any one Of
them makes good and useful record, he
should, In due time become consul of the
sixth grade proposed in the Burton BILL
For the amount mentioned young Ameri-
cans of good character and ability could
be secured and these positions wotild be
the best possible school in which to train
them for the duties Of a principal officer.
Foreign vice consuls are not qualified for
these places not only owing to character
istics already mentioned, but their control
of affairs in the absence OIL the consul is
simply nominal, as the clerk, owing to lne
vice consuls want of knowledge of affairs
of the Office. is practically in charge Of the
place. Besides this shippers criticise and
resent the fact that a fellow countryman,
perhaps neighbor, knows the secret con-
tents OF his invoices, for they are conscious
that great injury can inure to them If the
contents of their invoices are known to
their competitors. These things happen
and they ought to be stopped. AmericaniZe
the American consular service and keep it
America nized. This will be a long step
forward In the scheme of reform.
Consular Agencies.
There are 395 consular agencies of the
United States scattered throughout the
world. Two hundred and ninety of these
are in the hands Of foreigners" Mr.. Du
Bois favored the doing away with these
agencies.
The Unofficial Fee System.
Both bills require that all fees. official
and unofficial, shall be turned into the
treasury. Reorganization or no reorgani-
zation. this feature ought to be adopted
at once but every consulate affected by
this change should be fully reimbursed
for the losses sustained. except in cases
where the salary and the unofficial fees
make the income larger than at other con-
sulates of the same grade. The strongest
barrier to an improvement of the service is
the unofficial fee system. 1t tempts to ex-
tcrtion; 1t creates friction among consuls;
home and abroad and it is sometimes an
unjust burden to the foreigner"
System Of Appointments.
eff good men could be appointed simply to
the service, and not to a particular place,
great good would be accomplished from
the fact that the proper authority could
send this man to any post where his train
ing and experience would be the most eff
fective. 1t is a fact that man we'll equip
ped to fill a consular position in wooden
district has been sent to a beet-sugar
region; a man acquainted with laces, to a
toy district; man we'll versed in the china
and porcelain trade, to a pin and needle
district; a silk-ribbon man, to a fur district;
and a political striker to perform consular
functions at fashionable resort. This
condition is unavoidable under the present
system Of appointment. BY appointing men
simply to the service they could be located
by the government where their experience
and ability would be OF real service, not
only to our trade, but to the customs reve-
nue. Under the present system, If a man
is assigned to a place wnere he is best
equipped to administer the affairs of his
office it is usually by mere accident.
Summary Of Recommendations.
"A reorganization of the consular system
on broad lines, retaining its present virtues
and abolishing it's present vices. is press
ing necessity, apparent to every one who
has had experience in the service.
with 36 consuls generals and 90 con-
suls and the vice consular force suggested
in the foregoing statement, the United
States government would have a sufficient
corps to handle successfully the business of
the service, provided the men are expert
enced able and Industrious.
IF Congress is not ready to pass q reor-
ganization bill with civil service features in
it, bill containing the features mentioned
in this statement. exclusive of the civil
service idea, would be long and wise step
in the right direction.
'All reasonable objections against the in
crease of salaries ought to be overcome
when it is considered that they are only
just and fair, and that one consular officer
saves to the revenue in one year enough to
pay the total expense of the service for the
same period.
Five hundred and sixty-seven foreigners
are holding positions in our consular sery-
ice. who are keeping at least 500 600 from
reaching the treasury. Eighty per cent of
these incumbents are not in sympathy with
our institutions and policies, and 20 per
cent. from a natural condition of things. are
a hindrance instead of help to the exten-
sion of American trade. They are mostly
our commissary soldiers of commerce in
our struggle for the trade of the world
THE pernicious unofficial fee system
ought to be abolished REORGANIZATION NV =, -