The Topeka state journal., 1906-01-19
USED AS SHELVES
Secretary Root Says Places in
the Consular Service
Are Appropriated by Friends of
Elderly Gentlemen.
RESULT OF CUSTOM.
Law Regarding Examinations Is
Ignored in Such Cases.
The Service Has Suffered Seri-
Ously in Consequence.

Washington, Jan. 19.-Secretary Root
while appearing before the house ap-
/ propriations committee in relation to the
expenses of the state department spoke
frankly concerning the shortcomings of
the American consular service. The
statements of Mr.. Root which have just
4 been made public show that in response
/ to questions by Representative Living
ston, the secretary said:
/ There are a great many consulates
/ that have been in that condition and
! there are some that are still in that con-
dition and the fact arises from several
causes. One cause is that consulates are
used and regarded here not as places in
which active and sufficient work is to be
done, but are used as places in which to
/ shelve estimable and elderly gentlemen
whose friends find it necessary to take
care of them in some way. (Laughter).
Now, I have got old enough to be
/ able to say that sort of thing without
IanybOdy being offended. I do not think
/ that when a man has lived out the ac-
/ tivity of his life and passed beyond his
ambition and his energy and his desire
to make career for himself do not
think that then Is the time to start him
out in a new place where he has got
( to learn new business and push the
/ commerce of the country"
The following statements were then
made by MI Root in reply to questions
of members of the committee:
Mr.. Brundige: Il quite agree with you,
/ Mr. Secretary. as to that. but upon
whom rests the blame for that condi-
ton?
Custom Is Blamed.
Secretary Root: 1T rests upon long
standing custom, whereby the executive
is expected to appoint to important con-
suIates important men from the differ
ent states"
Mr.. Graft: But you have a system
of examinations"
Secretary Root: Yes, so far as the
young fellows go. You can put the
screws on them and make them come up
for examination. But when an eminent
citizen"
Mr. Livingston: "An eminent ex-sen-
atOr or member of congress
Secretary Root (cortinuing): Yes.
When an eminent citizen comes around.
you can not examine him in geography
| and arithmetic. He resents it, and there
| is the dickens to pay all along, (Laugn-
I ter.) 1t is custom that has grown up
just like this deficiency custom. When
you step in to change custom you can
not change It by piecemeal; you have to
jar hething.
Take this consular bill which is
now pending. When it was introduced
it contained a series of provisions un-
der which the consulates were to be
graded. The original appointments
were to be only to the lower grades,
and the upper grades were to be nlled
by promotion, so that we would eaten
( fellows young while they still had
some motive power left in them
1 These provisions have been stricken
out and the bill reported without
them. Still. the bill makes a great
/ advance over the present system"
Reciprocity Bureau Doomed.
The approaching end of the active
work of the reciprocity bureau was
sounded in Mr.. Roots statements
/ about the expense for its maintenance.
/ Representative Littauer asked Mr..
/ Root if the bureau would be perma-
nent. and the secretary of state pro-
voked a laugh with the following re-
ply:
1.-The indications are that it will not
/ be. The making of a system of reci-
/ prOcity treaties does not appear to
have the elements of eternal life"
In discussing the trade conditions
in China and the necessity for gath
| ering information concerning COM
mercial troubles there, Mr.. Root
said:
There is no occasion for sending
a commission to China. Our min
listers and consuls at the treaty ports
of China are commissioned now. If
these gentlemen viii come up here
viii bury them in papers so that they
could not dig out for a week. We
have bushels and bushels of reports
from perfectly trustworthy American
witnesses as to what has been happen
ing in China and to the cause thereof.
The trouble now is not ignorance as
to what the conditions are; it is ap-
plying the quite plain and simple
remedy. There have been two
troublesome arising from the fact
that the law the Chinese exclusion
act contains some provisions which
experience has shown to be i'll ad-
vised' and the other is that the law
has been administered in a harsh and
inconsiderate way
The president has remedied the
administration, I think, Just as far
as the law permits him to do so. and
the thing to be done now is for YOU
to change the law in some respects;
not so as to permit the Chinese Ia
oorers to come in. but so that the
Chinese labOrer can be kept out with
out insult and indignity and hardship
TO the Chinese merchants and scholars
and the men who occupy the same 20
sltlon in the Chinese community as
the people in this room occupv ir
ours They have been subjected te
gross indignity and gross hardships ir
many cases, and I do not wonder thai
they are indignant at it,