Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-09

THE many social honors which were ex-
tended to Whiteaw Reid prior to his
departure as Ambassador to the Court
of ST. James, the many editorials that were
written and the many speeches that were
made, brought prominently before the public
mind the important question of dip
lomatic representation abroad. Opinions
expressed were many and various
There seems to have been a general con-
sensus of opinion that in our representatives
of the highest class, the who have
upheld rights at Berlin, Paris and London
and have been most fortunate Our
ambassadors and ministers have been selected from
brilliant array of lawyers, literary and schol-
They conceived their diplomatic responsibility
in the highest way and brought to it's fuflment
high culture social refinement and broad ex-
perience of men in a that uniformly
impressed the Governments to which they were
accredited and reflected no little honor upon the
Government from which they came Such men
White, Lowell, Phelps, in broad scholarship
Choate in command of the law, are admirable ex-
emplars of the American people, of any people.
Their high standing at home and the respect in
which they have been held abroad in nearly all
cases have fully justified their selection.
But that even the best of them proved to be
great diplomats cannot be said. Some brilliant
victories have been scored by men like Adams and
Gushing, but such achievements have been excep-
tiOnal. Our diplomats who have distinguished
themselves prominently diplomats are so few
that they and their triumphs be enumerated
easily. But, as class, our representatives at the
great European capitals have been all that we might
reasonably ask for, our ministers and ambassadors
have been fully equal to the demand equal in force
and inesse to the representatives of other Govern
ments against whom they have been matched
This is explained by the natural aptitude, if not
genius, in many Americans which enables them
without any SPECIAL training to deal with new and
grave responsibilities in an able and dignifed
way
But in all those grades of diplomatic appoint
ments which lie below the highest class we as a
nation and have been far below that European
standard which is the worlds standard This has
arisen largely from our geographical isolation and
the comparatively few international questions of
high Importance which have arisen in our history
Another influential has been the fact that
we republic and strongly preiudiced in favor
of what we call republican simplicity as compared
with the form and the ceremony, the fuss" and
the feathers which not only invariabe but
necessary Concomitants of monarchy Moreover
we never, until the Spanish War forced us into
the position of an active world power had been
called upon to adjust the vast number of inter-
national questions small and large, which are now
our daily task. The fact is that just as the war
with Spain found us greatly unprepared a military
nation, SO the natural diplomatic results of that
war have found equally unprepared as a diplo-
matte nation; and confronted with as great
need for reform in system of diplomacy as the
need which was made evident 10 for change in
our system for the conduct of war.
OF our seCond-grade representation, in fact, little
that is favorable can be said. 1t is generally