The Washington herald., 1909-03-07


and exacung. More Is asked Of an
American Ambassador 20 the Court Of St
James than o. any other diplomat in
any other capital. It has always seemed
10 me 10 be al once the pIeasantest and
most arduOUs post in the whole range OF
diplomacy. As rule, diplomatists live
IN a world OF their own making. an
agreeable world, as every one is aware
who has been admitted 20 II. but at the
same time a rather stir. professional.
and restricted world II Is the good for
tune OF the American Ambassador in
London that he is able 70 step out or
all this completely He has not 20 make
a world. he finds one already made for
him. and in England Il is co-extensive
with the nation Englishmen instructive
ly separate the American from his brother
ambassadors He stands peculiarly apart
from the other members of the diplo-
matte corps. so much so that people half
forget he Is an accredited official and
come TO think of him as a distinguished
national guest whom Il is a pleasure 20
honor.
The American Ambassador is the only
one who reaches the mass OF the people
The ordinary Londoner. who could no
more tell you the name OF the italian or
German or French Ambassador thar 4
New Yorker could tell you the name Of
the lieutenant governor OF Kansas. would
not only answer correctly II YOU asked
/ him the name Of the American Am
| bassadOr. but would probably rattle of
/ Mr.. Reid's predecessors as far back as
/ James Russell Lowell He is the only one
/ in whom the people as a whole have any
| interest From the moment he has pre-
! sented his credentials he becomes an in
I innate part cf English social life and a
/ still more intimate part OF the world OF
| English arts and letters Other ambas-
| ssdors may be as lavisHiy entertained,
/ may De able % show as fUll an engage
ment fist. may dispense IN return an
| equality OF the welcome extended 20 them
/ differs altogether from that which greets
I their American colleague. He alone gets
/ behind the scenes. and is shown the best
I Of whatever England has % OfIer. or him
| alone ii IS expected that he VIII be less
OF an Official and more OF man
] one hears. perhaps. once in lifetime
\ Of Ehe Russian OF German AmbasSad0r
K being asked 10 lecture before a literary
I or philosophical society. or invited 10 a
/ literary dinner However great tha'r
I u
l wonderfully couplete-they still stand
/ outside all but fraction OF the national
life The public knows nothing OF them
and does not care 20 know anything
/ They are what the American Ambassador
I never is-they are foreigners. and treated
/ as such. A paragraph in the court cir
| cular IS enough 10 announce their advent
! or recall. while their American colleague
| on his arrival as wei as his departure
] receives q full-blown editorial salut,
from the entire London press. The on.
IS merely an incident Of ofcialdom- n,
other a national event
Indeed. even before the American Am
Ibassador lands in the country he IS giver
a foretaste Of what is 10 come Th'
corporation OF Southampton boards hi.
steamer in all the regsUa OF of7ce and
assaults him with an address or welcome
A formal greet such as this from
! provincial mayor does not, YOU may say
after all. amount 10 much. And yOl
would be right r il were a compliment
irdiscTimnately paid 70 all ambassa-
dcrs. But that Is perfectly what it i
not. I cannot recall any ambaSSadO
from any other country than the Unite,
States who has ever been similarly hon
OTpd. And directly he Is installed in tn
somewhat dllgy office OF the embassy &
Victoria street. everything IS done q
make him feel that he belongs 10 the na
tion and not 20 Downing street or n,
|. Court. He Is deICged with invitation
that other ambassadors may or may 10
be glad 10 escape. that are meant. AZ al
events 70 convey the peculiar affection
and esteem IN which the people plac
him They come not only from the aris
tocracy and officialdOm and the leader
Of society, but from the universities
wOrkirgmen's societies and all manner o
/ literary and educational Institutes
Mr.. Lowell once humorously complains
that England spoiled the American Am
!, bassadOr. I am not sure that the Ameri
can Ambassador does not g little spoi
England He gives at least much as n
I receives. and much Is expected OF him
The capacity OF a long line Of American
Ambassadors 10 warm both hands az "a
cheerful fire OF English existence ha
been so palpable. their interests have s
! manifeStly stretched beyond the hum
5 drum game OF protocols and dispatches
P they touch life at so many more point
5 than the ordinary diplomat. that Eng
! lishmen would hardly know what 10 q
II the United States sent them any on
= but her best.
A torgue-tied. uusociable. narrow
4 gaUged. inhexibly official ambassador fror
T America has become UnthinkaSie TO us
We take Il as a matter Of course that IN
representative OF the United States. who
ever he may be, viii not fall below n
standard OF Mr.. Lowell and Nj HAY
, that he will be a frst-claSs after-dinne
? speaker. and able and willing al an
time TO read a paper. deliver an address.
or unvel a monument. Il has becOm
impossible for Englishmen 20 conceiv
= American Ambassadors as immersed
[ the banalities OF international neEotia
: tons. They are expected to open lbrarie
more often than dispatch boxes. and {
b. make speeches instead of representa-
tons" and Of all the freaks OF natur,
an American Ambassador who could
or would not speak. who loathed p1oli
. occasions and who screened himself bt
= hind the ramparts Of OhicialdOm, woul
s be looked upon as the most iacredibl
a and astounding
This. it must be owned. is asking
= good deal Indeed. I am not sure tha
= we English do not overdo our part. NJ
HOwells. is a deathless adjective. ouc
L dubbed and damned American hospltalit
as "tnexorable." There is something If
7. tie short Of iEexorable in our treatment (
American Ambassadors We are positiv.
II brutal IN our Kindness We DO not,
course, mean 20 be, but that does nd
alter the fact that We are Indeed.
rather aggravates IT, Our inhumanity
all the more pitiless for being uncOl
= scious. and the chances OF ref]rnatic
s are all the more remote because we al
=, blandly unaware that reformation
! needed
We ought 10 make distinction. and y
b do make a distinction between the Amer
can and other ambassadors. Il would