Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-04

greets them in the name Of the Ua1194
States.
From the entertainment Of the exalted
Prince Sum. brother OF the Regent OF
Of whom visited here recently. do the 90
cial secretarys duties extend 1nnumer-
able notabes come here On oficial or pri-
waite business. and they must be vel
coined according to their ranks. The most
trivial deviation from the established Ell
quCtte may be construed as an Intentional
slight and involve the nation. Great coun
tries have been forced to apologize TO
insignificant blunders on the part Of their
repre- SentativeS.
Not only must the social secretary be q
man of unusual diplomatic acumen. but
he must possess an insight into the Gus
toms and etiquette in vogue in practic Ill :.
every court In the universe. The lttl =
South American republics are just as par
ticular about the reception rendered their
ENJOYS as are the dominan; pow'rs OF
Europe. Lest an oversight occur. the So
cial secretary must be on the job at ali
times.
Take. for example the friendly or Off
cial visit of a representative of any for
eign power. When he leaves his native
shores the State Department Is advised
of the fact. 1t is known in advance
what steamer he will sail by and when
she will dock at New York, This in
formation is turned over to Mr. Hale. and
he gets busy Immediately. The rank OF
the coming visitor is hunted up through
the channels of the d. partment, which
contain records of every foreigner OF
note TIE arrangements are made for
his reception and Mr. Hale meets him At
the dock.
y In case the prince or earl. or wha tey er
he happens to be, wishes To proceed 10
Washington Immediately, Mr.. Hale is
charged with seeing that the arrange
meBts are perfect, and the gut st is made
to feel at home, so to speak. Upon arriv-
ing here, the visitors credentials are
turned to the Secretary of state IL
he is of high rank. the Secretary calls
upon him at his hotel at the embassy
or the country from which he comes. In
any event Mr.. Hale accompanies him.
Before the visitor is received by the
President the chief executive signifies
al what hour interview would suit
his convenience. The meeting is arrang-
ed by the social secretary.
When on sightseeing trips around the
city or down to Mount Vernon, a shrine
visited by most foreigners, Chandler
Hale goes along. He points out historic
places. Gives his guest smattering OF
the history Of the adjacent country, and
ADDS i'll every way possible to the COM
fort of his charge. The Chinese prince
was accorded every courtesy that Mr..
Hale had at his command. and he LETT
Washington impressed with the brand Of
entertainment dished out by Uncle Sans
officials.
4:
Charles Lee Cooke. a scion of an old
Maryland family, assists Mr. Hale in
caring fer the guests of the government.
He also is versed in the latest wrinkles
of governmental etiquette, knows who's
who and materially aids his chief The
details are turned over to him, and the
fact that he might be called under social
secretary speaks for his ability.
Al big official ''doinss' of any kind
Mr. Cooke arranges the seating OF the
invited guests in order OF precedence.
the memorial service held in Washing
ton at the time of King Edwards death.
Mr. Cooke made diagram of the pews
and was present when the guests arr
rived TO see that they occupied the places
assigned them. In other words, he as
sunled the part OF official usher for the
time being.
Even when parsonage Of rank travels
incoGnito our soc ] secretary and his
assistant are constantly on the qui vive.
the ordinary workaday Ameri-
cans may not realize that distinguished
foreigner is within the confines of Uncle
Sans domain, Chandler Hale knows il.
and he keeps vigiIant eve on him.
Such an incident as that which befell
Queen Alexandra when she visited Bel
GUM incosnito recently would be i'm
possible in this country. The uueen's
baggage was held up and examined at
the port of entry, and she was subjt TED
to much embarrassment and delay rho
Belgian foreign Office lost no time IN
an apology.