The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-31
White House Issues State ment Declaring That Cas- ual Remark of Kaiser Was Distorted by
 Gossip. NO FRICTION EXISTS Government Wishes to Make It Evident That Aspirant for High Diplomatic Honors
 Need Not be a Mil
 lionaire.

" dSHlHstpll, MdTCn oU--Nltl VIEW to bring to close the gossip connect ed with reported disapproval in Berlin of the appointment of Dr. David Jayne Hill as ambassador and terminating the incident, Baron Von sternberg, the German ambassador called at the White House tonight, by appoint ment to see President Roosevelt and Secretary Root. Assistant Secretary Bacon also was present. At the con clusion of the conference the follow Ing statement was given out:
 Tn addition to the communication already made public from the German foreign office the German ambassador has also conveyed to the American government the assurance of the em- peror that there has never been any change in his attitude towards MT Hill and his cordial willingness to well come MT. Hill to Berlin. The emper- or's favorable opinion of Mir. Hill was communicated to the Washington ad- ministration last November and his attitude has never changed since.
 Apparently some remarks In a cas- ual conversation have been distorted by gossip and exaggerated by rumor so as to give a totally erroneous impress sion of the whole matter"
 ''The two governments have never shared this Misunderstanding. The design of the president and the sec 4ne e,s t< ix. .<t. rrsIt was to choose the man who. of all the men in the diplomatic service, was best fitted for this particular position "a position of the very first order in honor and responsibility and one to which, therefore, it was deemed we'll to send a skilled diplomat, a student, a speaker an authority on interna- tional law, learned German. scholar, who had served with signal ability as assistant secretary of state under John Hay and as foreign minister in two successive posts, in the last of which he had rendered marked service in connection with the Hague peace con ference This purpose is and always has been, fully appreciated by the elf1ptIOI DtlHOltdliA anu III tINl iiloliA at large"
 The nomination of Dr. Hill as am. bassador to Germany will be sent 10 the senate tomorrow. according to the plan agreed upon tonight. No time has been fixed for the retirement of Ambassador Tower, but 1t is ex pected that pr. Hill will succeed him some time in May.
 It was stated tonight that the pur- pose of the administration has been to make it evident that the great dip lomatic positions are not to be treated as positions to be held only by mil lionaires. but so far as possible as re- wards for faithful service to the pub lie in other positions Thus the last four ambassadors appointed. Messrs. Riddle to Russia. Dudley to Brazil, O'Brien to Japan and Hill to Ger many, have all been men of moder- ate means. who in previous positions of lesser rank had shown especial fitness for the performance of the du- ties of the higher posts to which they were appointed. It was pointed out that every amhasSadof HOW III the service has had previous diplomatic experience and most of them long and varied previous experience: although in some cases the chief previous ser vice of the man has been rendered outside of diplomacy.
 The administration has been partic- ularly anxious to have it made evident in the case of Mir. Hill, as in the case of Mir. Riddle, Mir. O'Brien and others mentioned. that the possession of merely moderate means was no bar to preferment to the highest position and it is because of this feeling that it so deeply regrets the failure of congress to provide proper official residences for the ambassadors abroad. It was stated tonight that this failure initiates di- rectly in favor of the man of great wealth and against the man of smaller means, and both permits and causes such violent contrasts in the scale of expenditure of successive incumbents of the same office and fosters just such gossip and trouble as occurred in the present instance.