West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-03-29
OUR washington LETTER.
The Reports Show That Newspaper
Men Make The Best
OFFICIALS In CONSULAR SERVICE
Senator Eaynsr Of Maryland Made a
Strong Speech on the Railway Rate
Rill Before Congress.

WASHINGTON, Mar. 10, 1906. -
Consular reform In all Its branches
has been the subject before the Ma.
tional Committee on consular re-
form in session in Washington this
week. The members of the com
mittee have called on the Presiden,
and on the Speaker of the House
and have been addressed by Secre-
tary Root, Senator Lodge and sew.
eral other eminent speakers. The
conclusion of the committee so, tar
has been that the most effective
consuls have been recruited from
the ranks of newspaper men. This
ought to be satisfactory to the rank
and file of journalism the country
over as most newspaper men are
looking for consular appointment
or something else to take them out
of consular appointment or some
thing else to take them out of the
business. But the committee put
itself on record as paying this tri-
butte to the Fourth E.tate, saying
that il had been shown that the
newspaper men in the service, being
trained observers and used to esti-
mating human nature and general
conditions had proved the most ef-
fective workers in service that is
more variedly good, bad and ndif-
ferent than any other in the govern
ment service.
Secretary Root in addressing the
meeting, said that his ideas of con-
sular reform had been embodied in
the bill presented to the House.
He dld not say that this bill had
b=en emasculated to the point where
there was nothing much left of it,
but If he had, he would have been
telling only the truth. Congress
has cut down the consular appro-
priation bill this year TO the point
where there is an average OF $500
per consul, and as the postage bills
of the more important posts like
Paris, London and Berlin amount
to an average of $500 a year, it
looks as though the Government
would have to cut out a number of
the smaller positions to give the inn
portant posts enough money for rum
ming expenses.
Senator Lodge in speaking before
the convention on the bill admitted
that two of the most important pro-
visions that of examination and pro.
motion, had been stricken out.
But he said that much of what re-
mained was valuable. One of the
best provisions was for turning into
the Treasury all fees and commits
sions and equalizing the pay of con-
suls so far as was possible. He
said that as the case now stood, a
few of the consuls were over paid
and great many were underpaid.
An equalizing of salaries would tend
to put the whole service on a better
basis.
1t may be said that since the
transfer of the consular reports
from the State Department to the
Department of Commerce and La
Dor, there has been an Improvement
in the service from the standpoint
OF the manufacturer, and Of cours e
he is the man to be benefited. The
daily issue of the consular reports
have been better selected and better
presented so that there was more
encouragement for h c average
manufactures to take them and scan
them carefully. The manufacturers
are beginning to realize the value oil
the consular reports and the consular
service aud It is likely that in few
years the whole service will b. re-
formed and will be OF nfnitel,
more value 90 American exporters
and manufacturers than it has ever
been before. This is a matter il
which every manufacturing com
munity, however small, is direct,
interested, and by bringing pressure
to bear on its Senators and Repre-.
sentatives II can help to build NJ
the consular service where it will bt
of much more benefit than it hat
been before to the American manu-
facturer and exporter.
One of the most convincin,
speeches that has been delivered IL
the course Of the rate debate wa
that of Senator Rayner of Maryland
He SAID that il was impossible e
adjust all the differences and in
equalities in railroad rates withou
comforting on the Interstate Com
merce Commission the rate MAXIM
power. In addition he said that j
one were 10 nako on arrorafc No,