The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-12-20
THE NEW DIPLOMACY.

Your art diplomatic is STUFF" once ex-
| claimed Coleridge with his finest air OF
| infallibiity. He was scCffiug at the as
! sumption that every English ambassador
necessarily combined IN his own person
the craft of d Nachiavelli. of RIoheiieE,
and of Catherine II. Coleridge had seen
1 too many OF the profession 10 believe that.
says the New York Evening Post II
| was he. too. who recorded the saying Of
| Baron Humboldt, that the English gov
/ eminent sent titled fools 10 continental
courts as a ruse &c guerre-the idea being
10 beguile foreign rulers into thinking
| that al Englishmen were equally easy
| game.
Coleridge's low idea Of the diplomatic
calling, however, almost seems 20 be
shared by that veteran OF Il, Sir Edmund
| MonsOn. British ambassador in Paris. IN
| a recent address before the British cham
Der of commerce IN that city. Sir Ed
nnund took occasion TO review the changes
which had taken place in the diplomatic
! service since his entrance upon il. fresh
| from the university. He described the
way in which his early notion of the part
/ which personal intrigue and secret init
ence must play in diplomacy had been
| Well-nigh dissipated by his experience or
/ the actual practice. and pictured he
steps by which the ail-pOwerful diplomat
/ OF other generations had descended 20
1 the ithEl DI Il mere ltllt4l4lt ftttN ese liz
end of a telegraph wire. q gatherer-up OF
1 news who had necessarily 70 come limp
! ing after the press, and a sort of glorified
! commercial agent. It is. indeed. the
| heightened importance OF the commercial
relations Of civilized countries which has
done most TO modify the old conceptions
and the old activities Of diplomacy. II
has become the intimate associate. II
not the handmade. OF commercial pro-
gress." and Sir Edmund Monson gently
complained of the increasing burden Of
| politicO-commercial duties now laid up
! on the representative abroad of every
great power.
We see every day proofs OF the success
| OF newspapers in driving the old-styie
diplomatist of the field. For prompt news
he is no longer looked to. OF the recent
events in Venezuela. for example, the
foreign offices both at London and Ber-
lin, had to confess themselves officially
! ignorant for some time after press dis
| patches had laid the facts before the
world. Newspaper organization and
! method are too much for the most alert
| diplomat He dares not, like the enter
| prising correspondent, telegraph mere ru-
nor and hearsay; and while he is wait
! ing to verify his information, the news
! gets ahead of him. It is in this way that
| the ancient function OF his which. as in
| the case OF the Venetian ambassadors
made diplomatic correspondence r mine
of intelligence for the historian. has been
| usurped-if many times 10 the embarrasS-
| ment OF the historical inquiTer-by the
ubiquitous and not always too accurate
special correspondent" Metternich ex-
| pressed to his English colleague n Co
penhagen. early in the last century, his
wonder that he could find material III that
| slow gowing capital for a long dispatch
to his home government every week.
| Why" said the unblushing English min
| lister, when there is nothing else, / send
| off a pack of lies one week and con-
tIadict them all the next" One sees how
| diplomacy was thus anticipating its trans
formation into newspaper correspondence
OF a certain type.
With the loss of so large a part Of its
old ambiguity and stealthiness. diplo-
matte secrets are no longer what they
used TO be. This is especially the case
with democratic governments 1t is stiil
possible IN Germany for an autOcratc
chancellor to conduct foreign relations in
the spirit of a Bismarck. who boosted
that there were whole provinces in his
breast which he allowed no man 10 in
spect He inherited the tradition of the
great Frederick. who used to say that
if his shirt knew his secret he would
tear it to tatters. That German diplO-
macy is still unfortunately tinctured by
ar occasional suspicion of double deal
ing is shown in the recent official CORE
spondence relating to the evacuation Of
China. The Germans were detected in an
attempt to go behind the general agree
ment of the powers. and TO acquire es-
pecial advantages in the Nang-tse valley.
Won Buelow had TO retreat as gracefully
as possible.
1t is the obvious effect of the modihca-
ton Of diplomacy by business TO make it
franker and more direct. Men Of large
affairs like to come swiftly 10 the point.
Circumlocutions and sapping and mining
their soul doth hate. Hence the intro
dUctiOn into diplomacy Of something Ike
contracts, or at least 'gentleman's agree
ments." with every detail set down in
black and white. Secretary Hays
'open-door' negotiations We're distinctly
Of this order. 4 railroad president send
ing about a round-robin for signature
could not have been more business-like.
It was in something Of the same spirit
Of methods ebove-bOard. and cards all on
the table. that the English and German
governments laid bare 10 the state depart
ment their intentions respecting Vene-
Zuela. The occurrence was suggestive Of
the straightforward dealing IN which the
new diplomacy INDUCES so much more
often than the old
In a country like ours. moreover. secret
sible. Even those matters which the pres
ident holds # incompatible with the
public good 70 communicate 70 congress.
he has to share with too many to keep
them really secret. His cabinet must De
taken into his confidence. The chairmen
OF the congressional committees on for
eign affairs have 10 be consulted. Even
influential senator's. the later practice IS.
cannot be denied Il they demand the right
TO inspect secret documents I'm conf
dence- Hence the growing habit Of max
ing a clean breast OF everything. SO FAR
az possible. An old American statesman
said 70 Francis Lieber that he would not
give one dime for all the valuable secrets
in the archives % the United STATES he
knew too we'll that there were none thcre.
Nor need there be secrets long kept in
the present Venezuelan complication.
Secretary Hay viii soon. $40 doubt. inform
congress and the country 81 an the steps
he has taken II L0rd Salisbury cane
20 admit that 1T is but right the many
headed beast should know what English
diplomacy IS doing. an American secretary
cannot well deny g. IL VIII b. entirely
II keeping with the frankness ri the
new diplomacy 20 give us the G0curcrts
as soon a. may hc
Kindred Woncers.
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