The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1903-01-23
|SLAYDEN'S ROAST
SAYS CONSULS ARE UNDERPAID
AND coNSULATES ARE
ASYLUMS FOR DEBAUCHERY
Grosvenor of Ohio Denounced Some Of
the Statements Made as Slander on
Our Consular Service-Considerab
Debate Over the Matter.


committee suspension day in the house
and Immediately after the reading of
the journal the speaker recognized
several members to move the passage
of bills under suspension of the rules.
bill was passed to grant right
of way through the Fort Sill military
reservation to the Oklahoma & West.
ern railroad.
A bill to revoke the sentence of
court-martial against First Lieutenant
Francis S. Davidson, Ninth cavalry,
who was dismissed from the army in
1875, and to authorize his appointment
and retirement as a first lieutenant,
aroused some antagonism.
While the house was dividing upon
the demand for a second, a photog
rapher in the public gallery took
flashlight photograph. The glare of
the flash startled some of the mem
| bers and Mr.. Sulzer On. " cried
out: Mr.. Speaker, | thought it was
bomb"
Mr.. Lawrence (MassD, in support
of the bill for the relief of Lieutenant
Davidson, said the bill would be a
tardy act of justice to deserving off
Ger. The bill was passed.
A senate bill was passed to appro-
pirate s1,00O,0O0 for the payment of
the Hawaiian fire claims and to au-
thorize the territorial government to
issue 100000 in bonds for the same
purpose.
The senate amendments to the mil
itia bill were agreed to, which passed
the bill.
The house then went into commit
tee of the whole on the diplomatic and
consular appropriation bill.
Mr.. Hit, in charge of the measure,
explained that it carried s2,0O2,925, or
S75,900 more than the current law, and
$216,300 less than the estimate.
Mr.. Mcclellan IN. W submitted
some interesting figures to demon
strate that our consular service is I'M
derpaid and Over-manned. He made
comparisons with other first-class
sular and diplomatic officers received
the lowest salaries, but that the total
cost OF the service was increased by
the excessive number of such officers,
in some cases double and treble the
number maintained by other countries.
Mr.. McClellan's remarks led to con-
criticised very severely the character
of our consular officers abroad, espe-
cially some of those in Mexico. Some
of the Mexican consulates, he said,
were made regular asylums for ''inva-
lids and drunkards."
1T makes an American blush" said
he, to hear the stories that are told
of some of our official representa-
tives.
Proceeding, he narrated how Uni |
ted States consul at Saltillo Mex, |
with two companions last summer en-
tered the Office of newspaper editor
to assault him.
Were any charges made to the |
state department against this official?"
asked M. Adams pa.
Charges have been repeatedly !
made replied Mr.. Slayden. This /
particular official left town between /.
night and morning, while was IN the .
city.
''The particular service Of our repre- !,
sentatives," Mr.. Slayden proceeded to
say, seemed to be drunkenness" and |
in this connection referred to the case
of the special envoy sent by a demo-
cratic president several years ago,
wnom, he said, got drunk at FL PasO
and painted a broad red streak down
TO the city of Mexico, 1000 miles to
the south" He also told of con-
sular official who, he said, some years
ago pawned the American flag for 40
cents with which to buy a drink The
concluding chapter of his arraignment
was that the charge that an American
vice consul had been charged with
being implicated in the theft of some
coal.
Mr. Adams (Pa), a member of the
foreign affairs committee, said he was
glad the question of reforming our
consular service was attracting atten-
ton On a point of order made by
Mr.. Mcclellan, the provision for
secretary of legation to Switzerland
was stricken out.
Mr.. Grosvenor (OD denounced some
of the statements made earlier in the
day as ISLANDERS on our consular serv-
ice. He declared that they were not
justified and that he was prepared to
prove by the opinions of leading Amer
leans abroad that the Americans had
the best consular service in the world.
The bill was then passed, and the
horsa took I'm the District of Columbia / ,