The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-07
Dollar Diplomacy Not Gov
 ernment Prostitution
BENEFITS MERCHANTS
Helps United States as a Nation and Therefore Helps the Individual. Money Invested in. Foreign
 Countries Makes Trade
Ry SIDNEY EspEY

the criticisms that have been directed against dollar diplomacy and the reeen agitation begun in Congress 10 reduce 1t, appropria ton by something like S5o0,0oo.
 The state department insists that dol lar diplomacy" Is not, as represented b, it's enemies, a prostitution of government and diplomacy to ''big business" Score tary Knox admitted in a recent articli on the subject that big business" dit profit. of course, but, it Is alleged, th' person who is really and permanentl, benefited is the small merchant
 Reduce our appropriation, says thu officials of the state department, in eff feet, and you will give England ant Germany a larger advantage than they now enjoy in the fight for internationa commercial supremacy. What is more yot will he hurting one of the cardinal poll cies of the Taft administration. Finally there is no excuse for attacking dollar diplomacy, since the diplomatic and con sular services are now returning no les. than $2,000, 100000 a year to this country in the shape of exports"
 Persons not conversant with the work. ings and organization of the consular service for the development of dollar di. plomacy can have no idea of the i'm portance it has assumed in the affair. of this important branch of the govern ment service.
 One consul general, recently returning from a South American post, declared that 1t was not at all unusual for him tC receive as many as 100 letters a das from merchants in the United States. Al of them were seeking a market for thei1 wares and the consul general was ex pecting to furnish the names of thos' who might be in the market as purchas CTS of the goods handled by the inqurni merchants. These letters have to bi promptly answered if the particular con sul wants 10 make a good impression oi the voters who. indirectly, put his supe riors Into office.
 Every consul, no matter where station ed. whether 1t he Cape Town or Timbuc too. is supposed to do this sort of work and the natural objection on the part O the man who is not in business and i working on a salary is that he is asked to pay the taxes which enable these con sul generals to develop the private bus mess of merchants and capitalists wh, are far better able, financially, to hir, their own agents and send them abroad as representatives.
 Nevertheless, the state department take, issue with this argument, calling the mar a very poor citizen who is not willing t contribute what little he is able to ad vance the commercial interests of tn, United States In foreign lands
 ''It is a proven fact in foreign trad' that the country whose money is in vested In a foreign country gets the bus mess of that country" says the stat q o,.t,,1 bar fe t- that the consular and diplomatic ser vice not only furnish information val uable to the American business man, bu it is also essential that assistance b given to the capitalists to place his loan in foreign lands"
 Thus the consul is not only the fiel, agent of all the business men, large ant small. but he Is also the representative of banking houses and bond brokers.
 The complaining citizen who works ol a salary and has hard work paying tn taxes on his home declares:
 'WhY should I help some New Yorl banker or other, who doesn't car whether I eat regularly or not plac large and lucrative loens which go onl. to swell his own bank account? Wha does this dollar diplomacy do for me-?
 The advocate of dollar diplomacy t whom these complaints have been for warded in large quantities make tn reply:
 It helps the United States as com merclal nation. And everything whlc1 helps the United States as a whole, help you indirectly
 As an evidence of it's great activity th state department declares that hefor dollar diplomacy came into vogue tn United States was not to be mentione in the same breath with England as d exporting nation Even with dollar diplo macy, 1t is pointed ont. Uncle sam i still several grades lower as a shrew, business man than England or Germany Both of these countries have made thei foreign business getting service a spe cialty and have prodted accordingly
 "The only thing for the United State to do is not to cripple the consular ser vice and dollar diplomacy. but to dr everything to help it." is the conclusion of the state department.
 Pending the results of the attacks mad, on the department by its enemies thu United States will continue to take deel interest. therefore, in the loans made t China, Nicaragua, Honduras, or any othe foreign country. and it will zealousv SCI to it that no foreign nation crowds I'ncl Samuel ont.
 Were a commercial nation." says tn state department. "and we must have ou share in whatever business any other ma ton may have to give out"