The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1906-03-17
CONSULAR REFORM
PRESIDENT ADDRESSES COnTEN-
TON At WASHINGTON.
Favors Appointment Of Foreign
Consuls by Promotion Only.
Dwells on the Need Of AIDE
quate Salaries IN Order to Sc
cure Good Men for Service.

SURF T0IOTm COuV0utlOu 00CT0thIy
Root spoke in favor of an improved
consular service. The convention
adopted resolutions fully approving
the bill introduced in congress by SEN
ator Lodge. The resolutions conclude
by expressing regret that one of the
most vital provisions of that bill has
been removed from it, and asks that
the provision authorizing the presi.
dent to transfer consuls from one point
to another in the same grade be rein.
corporated in the bill.
The following have been added to
the executive committees:
r. w. Gates, Los Angeles; Horace
Nice lure, Seattle; Joseph T. Stearns.
Richmond; Isador Strauss, New York,
and Francis B. Loomis. Cincinnati.
A publicity and promotion commit
tee was decided upon. It was also de-
cided to invite every commercial body
in the United States to become mem
Der, and where there is no such organ
| ization in any congressional district
some prominent individual in the dis
trict will be designated as member.
The delegates called in body dur
ing the afternoon at the White House.
The president addressed them as fol-
lows:
President Roosevelrs Address.
II need hardly say that our only
chance for getting the consular service
put on a really effective basis lies with
just such organizations as this. We
in Washington must rely upon You to
make our people-pre-e minently bus
mess people-appreciate that the con-
sular service should be in its essence q
part of the general scheme of broad
development of the country.
81 have not, am sorry to say, been
able to persuade the people thus to
look upon such question as the San
to Domingo treaty, which is q purley
non partisan measure, for If it was
treated as it should be-purely on it's
merits-there would not be one shade
of opposition to or criticism of it.
"But while we have not been as yet
successful in getting the work of the
department looked upon quite in the
non partisan spirit that should be our
national attitude in foreign affairs,
and have not been successful in get
ting the consular service made by law
what we strive to have it made-an
absolutely non partisan service still
we have made a certain amount of
progress, and with the help of you
and those like you we shall xbe able to;
make great deal more progress.
Adequate Salaries Needed.
Zone point let me dwell on. You
cannot expect to get permanently good
service when that service is unattract-
i've and i'll protected. We have had a
great deal Of dicfiulty with our con-
sular service in China. It came partly
because men were appointed for polit-
ical reasons without reagrd to their
qualifications; principally because men
found themselves in remote Eastern
ports where there was not much that
made life >attraetive, where there was
very little supervision over them and
yet great temptations. We all know
that under such conditions it is neces-
sarily difficult to secure honest and
efficient service.
"A pretty thorough cleanup there is
needed. But we cannot keep the serv-
ice as high as it should be kept un-
less we have adequate salaries.
Remember that the dearest kind Of
public servant is servant who is paid
SO cheaply that he mdst render cheap
service. Also feel most strongly that
in the consular service, which stands
entirely apart from the diplomatic
service. proper entrance should be
made by law into the lower grades
and that the higehr grades should be
filed by gradual process of wedding
out and promotions; remembering,
gentlemen, that the wedding ont pro-
cess must not be interfered with.
1T is not too easy to get rid of q
kindly natured elderly incompetent at
best, and, il you add to the difficulty
by law he then permanently stays.
Make the entrance to the service as
far as possible non partisan and make
it at the lowest grades, SO that deisra-
BILE positions shall come to those who
have rendered good and faithful serv-
ice in the lower grades and SO that
those entering the lower grades shall
feel that if they do well they will
have long and worthy career ahead
Of Them
Traek Nest Not AbandoGed.