Evening star., 1902-03-03
What a Consul Needs.

There are very few things more desir-
able in consul than knowledge of the
language of the country to which he is
accredited, and Yet very few Of our con-
suls, either in the orient or in South Amer
lea, speak any other language than their
own. They have to depend largely upon
their clerks. who are often persons with
out standingaor responsibility and very i'll
paid, to do their translat!ng for them
Naturally the usefulness Of such a consul
is greatly limited.
ut is fair to say that very few cons,ls
before their appointment know anything
about the duties of the places they are
to fill, nor are they at all fit to estimate
their own qualifications for filing them.
These duties consist of certain admins
trative functions to be performed at the
places to which they are accredited and Of
the giving of important and useful informa-
tiOn to the people at home. COnSuis must
inspect the manifeSts of vessels to see that
they conform to the tariff law; they inves-
tigate shipwrecks and save property from
wrecked vessels: they are given police juris-
diction over commercial vessels ana over
disputes between seamen and captains
they are given power to arrest desaTters
and send back ShpWrecked sailors.
I'm war their duties are delicate and ex-
acting. They must protect the interests
of the United States and it's citizens against
arbitrary acts. They verify invoices Of
goods exported, to the United States and
in order to prevent frauds they ought to
know the values of different kinds Of ,ner-
chandiSe. They take charge of the fleets
of those who die. and administer estates:
they make reports on fifty or moro differ
ent classes of subjects required by the
State Department. covering the agricul-
tural. commercial and Industrial interests
of the country to which they are sent
These reports include questions regarding
the tariff, currency. finance. public lands,
taxation, besides many others.
Not One is a Lawyer.
"In many non-Chrstian countries consuIs
are charged with civil and criminal iuris-
d.c.ion under so-caled extra terrific
rial rights They may arraign and try Uni
ted States citizens and sentence trem to
fine and Imprisonment and even death
They may try civil causes between United
States citizens and foreigners. These du-
ties all require a knowledge of the law;
and Yet in the far east where these du-
| tics are to be performed, there is not a
| single American consul who is 4 lawyer
| This single fact speaks volumes as to the
| character of the examination which we le-
| quire, as well as of the appointments
which we make
ITO be efficient consul a man must
| have wide range of nfOrmatiOn He
| must have an alert mind, a certain meas
ure of the detective instinct. of the news
paper man S eagerneSS for a SCOOP and
it Is owing to this requirement that we
| find some of our most efficient cOnSulS have
been persons connected with journalism in
| America Now, the man who gets this in
| formation here at home will be most like
| abroad. and the best way of testing a
| mans ability to get information is to find
| out whether he has got it; that is, to
| examine him.
| Invariably the best test of efficiency. 1t
| is often true. as the opponents of the merit
system say. that the man who passes high
est may be inferior IN actual work to some
| al hat 1,oo lniv
ed for the competitive system is that 1t is
| a better test than any other which any one
has ever PROPOSED 1t is surely a better
the test of mans political affiliations.
Difference Of Tests.
1.-THE civil service commission has often
| been criticised for proposing irrelevant
ques,ions-for asking janitor the distance
| to the sun, or requiring a skilled mechanic
| to name the ports In Kamchatka These
criticisms are not true, but if they were
| they would be no more ridiculous than the
| requirement that consul should be skilled
| in the manipulation of primaries and con-
ventions in his own district to show his
qualifica tions for a consulship. And vet
| these are exactly the qualifications which
| The best test for appointment to the lower
grades of the consular service is a COM
petiuve examination to test the applicants
knowledge of the duties which he is to
perform.
But how can this be done under the
Constitution? The appointment both Of
ministers and consuls is vested in the
President, subject to the confirmation Of
the Senate. No law providing for the ex-
animation Of consuls could therefore have
any efficacy unless it were voluntarily oh
served by the president On the other
hand, the President has the right. even
without any law at all. voluntarily to limit
his own discretion in making nominations
to the Senate.
IYA r.
would nominate only those standing high
est UPON competitive examinations, and his