Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-01-27
N GORGEOUS ATTIRE
New American Ambassador to
Russia Abandons American
Civilian Dress
m'coRMlck's ACTION STRANGE
State Department Regulations Provide
That Men Holding Such Positions
Shall Wear Civilian Ores. of Aneri-
ca Unless Army or Navy Officers,
Exciting Much Comment.

Washington, Jan. 27.-The new
American ambassador at ST. Peters
burg, Robert S. Mccormick, is reported
to have abandoned the. simple Ameri-
can civilian dress ana adopted a court
uniform, which, in It's amount Of gold
lace. excels all the gorgeous uniforms
Of the European ambassadors at the
Russian court. MI. McCormick's uni
form is described in a special dispatch
from st. Petersburg as comprising "a
cooked hat. which is a dream" a sword.
and more gold braid than is Worn by
q French general.
The state department has had no Of
fetal report from Ambassador McCor-
mick regarding this new diplomatic Gre
alton. n is at a loss to understand
the meaning of it. The regulations of
the department have for many years
prescribed h a American ambassadors,
ministers. etc., at foreign courts shall
wear the civilian dress of this country,
except where they arc or have been Of
ficers in h army or navy, when they
may wear the uniform of the highest
rank they attained in either the regular
or volunteer service OF this country.
There has, from time to time, been
much talk of adopting a court dress
for American diplomats, but 1t has new
Ell been acted upon officially. There was
much criticism here because Clifton r.
Breckenridge, ambassador to Russia,
conformed to the regulations Of the
Russian court and wore knee breaches
and silk stockings at the coronation of
the car, and there have been unpleas-
ant comments on the reports which
have been printed that Ambassa-
dor Choate wore the same kind OF dress
at the coronation of King Edward last
summer.
But none of our ambassadors has I'M
til now offended American democratic
simplicity by copying and rivaling the
gold-braided dress of European diplo-
mats. 1t Is possible that Ambassador
Mccormick may have followed the ex-
ample of Col. Fred H. Winston of Chi
cage, who, when appointed minister to
Turkey by President Cleveland, secured
a commission from Governor Oglesby
as a major general in the Illinois ma
tional guards to enable him to wear
that uniform at Constantinople. But
Col. Winston's tailor gave the secret
away and the minister left his gorgeous
uniform In Chicago, going to Constan-
tinople to represent the United States
in h plain, black clothes of an Ameri-
a gentleman. Some of the state de-
partment officials suspect that Ambas-
sador Mccormick has adopted this plan
and secured a commission from Cover
nor Yates to enable him to appear at
ST. Petersburg in a uniform that ut
shines all others, for the uniforms of
the Illinois colonies were the most gor-
geous creations OF cooked hats and gold
braid ever seen in Washington, and
made all The diplomats envious OF them
at the last Inauguration of President
Mckinley. II u ambassador is APP
pearing at the Russian court In the uni
form OF an Illinois colonel the surprise
in ST. Petersburg is considered entirely
natural.
One of the leading democratic menu
bers Of the foreign affairs committee,
who has been in the diplomatic service,
said:
III this report is true and Ambassa-
dor Mccormick is not promptly called
w ~ GU dSRdIllIle2ll,
there will be a resolution Of inquiry in
troduced in congress. The republicans
had their fun with us over the bad
breaks of Ambassador Bayard in Lon
don and Ambassador Breckenridge in
st. Petersburg, and we can not allow
the worse break of Ambassador McCor-
mick to pass unnoticed. Bayard only
INDUCED in foolish after dinner talk,
and Breckenridge only adopted the
knee breeches and silk stockings of Eu-
rppean courts. But here is an ambas-
sador reported to have revolutionized
the dress OF an American diplomat and
tried to Guido the European ambassa-
doris in the use of gold braid and cooked
hats and dress swords. 1t is in defiance
Of the regulations OF the state depart
ment as we'll as the democratic taste
of the American people, and We can not
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