The Washington herald., 1912-06-23


Receives Instruction.
II the candidate finally secures the
Job, he receives thirty days instruction.
being under salary meanwhile. before be-
ing sent to his post. He hears lectures.
given by officers Of the department,
about political conditions in the far East.
the near East, &C. Together with 9TH
er candidates, he learns something OF
international law from the law onicer
OF the department.: and In ike manner
he obtains some acquaintance with Dip
lomatic ethics and methods OF proceed
| ure; the relations between diplomatic
officers and consular officers in foreign
fields; customs and regulations governing
trade in different parts Of the world, and
the keeping Of such accounts as are re-
quired In connection with legation or
embassy.
The new appointee then starts for his
post He is entitled to draw upon the
Secretary Of State for his travelling ex-
penses at the rate OF cents n mile. In
every year he has sixty days leave Of
absence He may spend six months or
four years in one place, the period Of his
assignment being indeterminate. The
idea in view Is to shift him about as
may best suit the advantage Of the ser
vice; and through frequent transfers
from one part Of the world to another
he obtains a wide experience which is ex-
pected to prove useful.
As time goes on he returns to Washing
ton every now and then, for a term Of
duty in the department. Acting. il may
be, as an assistant to the chief Of one
or another Of the bureaus in the depart
ment, he places at the latter's service
knowledge which he has acquired abroad.
For instance, il he has been stationed
at Constantinople, he may ind temporary
and profitable employment in the Dfvfs-
ion Of The Near East, helping with the
correspondence relating to that part Of
the world.
This plan helps to keep the secretaries
in touch with the department and its
point OF view. The whole Of our diplo-
matte system nowadays is based upon
the idea that every individual member
OF 1t shall know what every one else is
doing. Thus all parts Of the machine
work together tremendously A man in
Japan may have sudden occasion to take
up British, French. or German matter
from his end, and II is important that
he shall be able to operate It intelligent
y.
Should Know French.
The first service assigned to a new ap-
polntee Is that Of second secretary Of le-
CATION, or third secretary OF embassy.
As for the post to which he is sent, Il
depends largely upon the man. II he
happens to know how to speak Spanish,
he is likely to be dispatched to some
capital in Latin America. A good
acquaintance with French may affect the
problem.
As places Of residence, Central Ansri-
can countries and some Of the South
American capitals are usually esteemed
least desirable. But they AFFORD the best
opportunities for advancement. because
there Is always something doing. such
as may give a bright young man a
chance to exhibit efficiency and earn pro-
motion. Brussels and The Hague are
pleasant cities TO live in. but things Of
Importance in a diplomatic way rarely
happen there.
A place in our diplomatic service, as Il
is now organized, is permanent, with good
work ana conduct. The young secretary
Is always under the orders Of the head
OF the mission TO which he is attached.
who is required to report at intervals
upon his efficiency and behavior. II he
loafs or does not behave himself prop
erly. he is liable to lose his Job, as in
any other business. Much Of his rou-
tine work consists in tfanscribing the Of
hcial communications OF his embassy or
legation, and recording them in books
which are preserved as part OF the arch
ives OF the ofice. He also classifes and
indexes the originals OF dispatches,
notes" &c. A note" in diplomatic
parlance, is 4 letter passing between an
envoy and the head Of the Foreign once
at the capital where he is stationed.
Wealth Desirable.
It is much better for a young man in
the service to be a bachelor-especialIy
II he has no private means. The gov
ernment does not pay the travelling ex-
penses of his family, and living in some
foreign capitals is high. Secretaries at
taChed to the important European mis-
siOns sometimes find il dificult to sub
sist on their pay, and it is embarrassing
for a minor diplomat not to be able to
keep up his end" so to speak, in social
matters. Suppose that a first secretary
is left in charge OF an embassy during
a temporary absence Of his chief. He
may feel called upon to give dinners; and
who is going to pay for them?
Ordinarily a minor diplomatic ofdcer
In our own service can make his social
to great extent what he
pleases. Card leaving is a large part OF
them. He never lives with the head Of
the mission, and so is usually obliged to
pay for his own quarters In China,
Turkey, and Japan, however. residences
are provided for the secretaries. Thus
at PelIin there Is one house for the
American Minister, and in the same
compound" or Enclosure, dwellings for
mis- subordinates
Interpreters Replaced.
The service is American throughout.
save for the fact that some Of the in
terpreters attached to our missions
abroad are foreigners. These latter are
being replaced as fast as possible, how
sver, with American student interpret
ers," as they are called. in Turkey,
China. and Japan. On being appointed.
they are atttcned for two years to the
mission in one or another Of those coun-
tries, to study the language, and during
that period they get S1,oOO per annum.
Then, ON passing examinations satisfac-
torily, they become fuIl-hedged inter
prefers. and rise through Successive pro-
motions finally to consular rank.
In the three countries mentioned there
are language secretaries" attached to
the missions; and in China and Japan,
there is also an assistant
Chinese secretary and an assistant
Japanese secretary"-these places being
illed from the student Interpreter corps.
The language secretaryships are filed by
The promotion Of assistant language sec
or by others from the same
,orps having a knowledge Of the Ian
yuage required.
The secretary of legation to Persia, the
.hird secretary Of embassy to japan, and
he second and third secretaries OF en-
oassy TO Turkey are required to be