Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-18
Consul General Frank n. Mason.

L.
survived the horrors of Libby prison. AS
editor of the Cleveland Leader he made him.
self known and felt in journalism and pol
itics, and it was through the personal
knowledge of President Hayes and John
Hay, who was then assistant secretary of
state, that he was appointed consul at
Basic, Switzerland He served at this post
from 1850 to 1884, at Marseile from 1884 to
1889. at Frankfort-en-M Main from 1889 to
1899 and in 1899 was appointed to his pres
ent position in Berlin. AT each of these
places Mr.. Mason accomplished something
which only attracted the attention of
government officials but made more or less
of sensation throughout Europe and the
United States.
Some Notable Work.
At Basic he was instrumental in putting
stop to undervaluations of silks and
aniline dyes shipped to the United States
and some of the cases with which he was
connected considered the most notable
in the history of the Treasury Depart
ment. Through his efforts in this direc-
ton, it is estimated that the United States
government recovered over a million dollars
of revenue which would not otherwise have
been collected at the customs houses, or,
in other words. he saved enough money for
the American taxpayers while he was sta
toned at Basic to more than pay the cost
of running all the consulates with which
he has been connected in the twenty-five
years of his service.
Shortly after his arrival in Marseille
there came a terrible epidemic of cholera,
in fact, two epidemics, one closely follow
ing the other. Those who were able to
leave Marseille speedily did SO. but the
American consul remained at his post of
| duty and performed a service not only for
American interests, but for the interests
of the community in which he lived, which
is still remembered. He maintained close
supervision over the hospitals, looked after
American ships and superintended the dis
in faction destined ha
States. He made series of reports con-
corning cholera and its treatment, which
were published as special document by
the United States, and, considering that he
| was not a physician, their value to the
| medical fraternity was most remarkable.
When Mr.. Cleveland was elected President,
and Mr.: Bayard became his Secretary of
State, efforts were made by prominent DEM
pcrats to secure Mr.. Mason's removal.
These efforts were unavailing, for Secretary
Bayard informed his democratic friends
that any one who would do what Mason
| did at Marseille was good enough for
him. no matter what his politics might
be. When Mr.. Cleveland again became
President after an interval of four years,
efforts were again made to secure Mr. Ma
sons removal but President Cleveland re-
| manned loyal to him. making the state
ment that If he was good enough to be
appointed by him during his first term he
saw no reason why he should not be again
appointed in his second term.
Valuable Services in Germany.
From Marseille Mr.. Mason went to
| Frankfort-on-Main. He was there ten
years, and in that great Industrial city de-
voted his time and energies to the introduce
| ton of goods manufactured in America.
Believing that there was a great opening in
Germany for American-made shoes he
| hammered away on this topic In his re-
ports, and in his letters, written in answer
to INQUIRIES from American manufacturers
| In ina hc c.fn cd In And inc arto
capital willing to make the venture, and
| today every large German city has head
| quarters for the sale of American shoes,
| the business is profitable and its volume
| is tremendous.
From Frankfort he went to Berlin, and
| here found a field for his energies, UNI
limited In Its scope, and presenting every
| opportunity to secure results. He has been
| instrumental In expanding the German
market for American goods to notable
degree, and many businesses of that de-
| scription owe their inception and present
| development to his practical knowledge of
the situation.
Without perhaps realizing the fact, Amer
| lean newspaper editors have derived a large
part of their foreign commercial news from
| Consul General Mason's reports. All Of
1 these reports are upon matters affecting
/ trade and commerce. A rough estimate
| shows that Mr.. Mason's publications by the
| State Department now amount to over
100000 words, or seven good-sized volumes
of print In addition to these trade reports
] he has made number of special reports to
| the Department of States which have been
| published in special volumes devoted to
| particular topics.
| A German and American Combination.
Mr.. Mason is not bound by any conven-
| lions in making reports, and a recent COM
munication of his to the State Department,
| which was published very widely in the
/ United States, created no little comment
It was a summary of the opinion of the
| German visitors to the st. Louis exposi-
ton. who returned to their native country