Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-18

EsssHEzvva HE most complete index to
-. III diplomatic transactions in the
~ Hsb world is now being made at
N W&A the state department in
"a W. Washington. 1t will repre-
slla1zl- sent the most thorough ap-
plication of modern methods
to the transaction of governmental
business that is to be found. 1t has
kept pace with current events since 1t
was started in 1906, and gradually all
of the archives of the department back
of that year. will be classified and in
dexed in the same way, so that when
the whole work is completed the en-
tire diplomatic history of the world as
II has affected the United states Will
be placed at the finger tips of him
who has access to the cards.
Roughly speaking, the matters with
which the state department has to do
are of two kinds, those which are of
permanent Importance and those which
are ephemeral. The latter probably
cease to be Of value after year or
so, yet under the law may not be de-
stroyed. But a greater proportion OF
the correspondence and information of
the state department is of permanent
value than in the case of any other
department. The smallest item of to-
day may affect the diplomacy of the
world a dozen years hence. 1t Is I'M
portant that these things be filed away
and equally important that they may
be readily accessible when they are
needed. They would be needles in the
haystack of voluminous record were 1t
not for the card index.
That the volume of correspondence
of the department is large is shown by
the fact that it has required nearly
half million cards to index the accu-
mulated matter of less than four
years That ii covers a wide range is
shown by the fact that it may relate
to an international situation affecting
all the powers, or to the registration
of the marriage of John Smith and
Susie Brown in Paris, with the Amer
lean consul as witness Its services
are in requisition in hundreds of ways.
Its consular service gathers business
information, general and specific, from
all parts of the world, thus bringing
foreign commercial opportunity within
reach of American enterprise.
The negotiations that led to the exc
cution of the Argentine ship contract
whereby American ship builders nave
secured judgments which will give en-
ployment to thousands of laborers, is
but one of the hundreds of cases where
the consular service has been the
American lookout on the watch towers
of international trade. So complete has
this service been made that it's prin-
cipal features have been copied by all
the other commercial nations. If the
American manufacturer does not re-
ceiVe as great benefit from il as the
German manufacturer receives from
the German service 1t is simply be-
cause he overlooks his trade oppor-
tunities. The German and English
man eagerly enter every door of for
eign trade opportunity opened by their
consular representatives.
All matters pertaining TO the Ameri-
can end of international conferences
and congresses are arranged through
the state department. Various insttu-
tions, including missionary societies,
have their protection assured through
its labors, as i'm the case of the estab-
lishment of schools, hospitals and the
like. 1t maintains a record of the mar
riage of all American citizens abroad
when performed in the presence of
American consus and certified by them,
and of American children born abroad.
1t also maintains a register of all
Americans residing in foreign lands,
according to consular districts. In
quiries are made relative to the where
abouts or fate of American citizens
who drop out Of sigt. For instance, an
electrical engineer goes to Ecuador
and his friends lose track of him. The
department endeaVors to locate him.
When Americans are deprived of
their treaty rights abroad or those of
aliens infringed in the United States
the department conducts the resulting
international correspondence. 1t col
lects information for congress, as in
the case of postal savings banks and
inland waterways abroad, information
about treaties, gives information to
foreign governments concerning mar
riage and divorce laws in the states
and many other matters looks after
the United States courts in extra-ter-
ritorial regions and issues letters rog-
atory i'm court cases which are tried in
one country while testimony is de-
sired from another country. II looks
after all treaties matters of extradi-
ton, foreign and international tariff
relations and all similar subjects.
In addition to this it keeps a record
of all diplomatic notables of the world
"a sort of who's who" of the nations.
For instance, when any other power
appoints one Of its citizens on board