Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1913-07-25
HIGH PLACE COSTLY
Some Ambassadors Spend More
Than Their Salaries.
Pay Well for Honor Of Office Holding
--Inslsnflcant Emoluments Of Presi-
dent and Other officials Hardly
Cover Expenses--cnly for Rich.

Cover Expenses--Cnly for Rich.
How would you like to spend more
money than your salary just to hold
your job? President Wilson has point
ed out lately that the great cost OF Y
some of our diplomatic posts closes
them to all but the rich. You would
be diving down into your private treas
ure chest quite often II you happened
to be holding any one of numerous
high positions under our government.
From the president down to some Of
our consuls at the more important
posts the expense involved In main
tanning the position always equals and
frequently surpasses the emolument
accruing. the New York Evening sun
states.
Conspicuous among Improbable po-
sitions Of honor and trust are the chief
ambassadorships The post at ST.
James Is a particular luxury. The sal
airy is only $17.50o This might seem
ample for an ambassadorships needs.
at first thought. But consider the OBJ
legations under which our foreign rep
resentatives are put. They must en-
terrain on large scale in harmony
with the ways Of royalty. Certain It Is
that when the late Whitelaw Reid held
the post in London the annual stipend
was not big enough to be taken into
consideration. Only the fact that the
late ambassador had private fortune
enabled, him to do the honors of the
position as he did. y"
The expense is mentioned az the
reason that deferred William +.
McCombs from accepting the offer OF
the corresponding Paris post. 1t
would have meant big financial sac
rifice. According to Henry White, for
many years first secretary OF legation
and of embassy at London, salary OF
$4O, 900 to $4,000 Is necessary to do
justice to the diplomatic posts at Lon
don, Paris, Berlin and st. Petersburg.
The result of this condition of affairs
has been that only rich men can be
considered for the honors. But It is
not so generally known that some of
the consuls at large cities are In
similar predicament with regard to
finances.
Seventy-five thousand dollars year
seems a salary sufficiently large to
cover any mans expenses and enable
him to put by moiety for future ref
erence, and yet no president has ever
! left the office substantially richer than
when he entered 1t. 1t is said that
President Taft left the White House
with an income of $4,000 q year, but
it must be remembered that he held
public offices consecutively for nearly
all his previous life. His income from
property seems very small, nothing
compared to what he could have pos
sessed had he been earning the same
salary in an humber capacity
as a lawyer. The chief executives
mode OF living in accordance with the
dignity OF his Office and his position
as leader of the cosmopolitan society
of the capital put any great saving out
of the question. An even break IS
about all president can expect.
The vice-president has not the obi
cations of the president, but then ne
must be hard put to it to manage on
s12,O 900 a year. Although most of our
yice-presidents came to the position
from other public Offices and had but
little time to accumulate personal for
tunes, there is no record OF any OF
them having left with much more than
they had when they came.
The late James s. Sherman and
Theodore Roosevelt came into office
independently rich, but the present in
cumbent will have to go slowly to
make ends meet on his annual 49,
900. ..s.. '.*s* /.
A great deal Of expense Is attached
to the cabinet positions, that Of secre--
tary of state in particular, owing to
that officers close contact with for
eign diplomats. OF late the men who
have held this pivotal cabinet Office
Root, Knox and Bryan--have been
financially independent of the emolu-
ments of the Office Root and Knox,
in giving up their great incomes from
the practice of law. made proportion
ately great sacrifices in accepting the
$4,000 year Job. "ss ...-s' 4.a
! J Although Supreme court Justices
get $14,50O a year, none of them ever
accumulates any money. Justice Har-
Ian died practically penniless after
long years Of service. Nor is the $751;
500 a year which an admiral receives
or the $4,000 Of the first nine rear ad-
mirals large enough to permit of any
saving when 1t is considered that en-,
pertaining in foreign ports is just Is
costly as it sounds. ri ~
| 4
| ,-.. I'd,
| Misapplied 6enevolence.
A benevolent old gentleman one day
saw a rural looking man sitting on