The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1915-11-20
REPUBLICAN EFFICIENCY
IN CONSULAR SERVICE

IN o6n
One of the most admirable pieces of
constructive legislation to be credited
to the Republican party is to be found
IN the reorganization of the consular
service, which took place in 1906.
The report of the Civil Service com
mission for 1902 stated: "Our consul
lar service has attained an Importance
far beyond that which it had in any
previous period of our history. So long
as our exports were confined to a few
agricultural products and we sold our
manufactured goods mostly at home,
the foreign consul was a man of com
paratively little Importance. But we
have entered upon a new phase of our
national career. We have become the
foremost productive nation of the
world The chief characteristics of
this national expansion were developed
during the fve-year period from 1897,
when the Dingley tariff law went into
effect, TO 1902.
Efforts looking to the reorganization
of the consular service had never been
more than half-heartedly undertaken
by the Democratic party. In 1895
Cleveland issued an order which pro-
vided for an examination board to test
the fitness of consular applicants. A
student of the question, Award l..
Bishop, of Yale, says: cit does not
appear that the standard governing
appointments was thereby much i'm
proved, for the examination was in
many cases a mere matter of form
the appointment often preceding it. T"
In 1906, Roosevelt, Root, Lodge and
Robert Adams, Jr., of Pennsylvania,
took up the question of putting our
consular service on a sound basis. A
bill was introduced by Senator Lodge,
the business men of the country became
interested in the subject, and a ma
tional consular reform convention was
held in Washington, which adopted the
following resolution: ut is the opin-
ion of the constituent bodies of this
convention that the consular service of
the United States should be ~reorganiz-
cd as provided for in Senate Bill 1345,
introduced by Senator Lodge. Every
feature of that bill is, in the judgment
of the business organizations of the
country, most essential and in harmony
with the growing needs Of the United
States.'
The Lodge bill was passed April 5,
1906, receiving the solid support of the
Republicans, both in the Senate and in
the House. 1t became operative June
so, following. 1t provided for a grad
ing of the service, the substitution of
salaries for fees, forbade consuls to en-
gage in private business, declared that
all consuls getting $1,000 or more a year
should be American citizens, and es-
tablished a corps of consular inspectors
To make the consular service still more
efficient, President Roosevelt, by exc.
cutive order of June 81, put it on a
merit system basis. Vacancies in the
two lower grades were to be filed by
examination (and the examination is 9
stiff one), and in the higher grades by
promotion. Due to this order the con
sular service offered a career worthy
the consideration of a high class Of
men. As a political plum-tree it wal
severed at the foot. To use the lang
mage of then Secretary Root, at the
hearing on the bill: $50 long as thu
present administration is in powe
there is every assurance that the meri
system as provided for in the executive
order of June ~ will govern not onl,
appointments, but promotions as well.
The work of the Republican party il
placing the consular service ON a firm
foundation has been productive of ex
cellent results. The structure still re
mains, despite several undermining in
fuences put into operation by thu
present administration. 1t is a splen
did monument to Republican achieve
ment and serves as a further REPUTATION
OF Woodrow Wilson's assertion tina
the Republican party has not had
rev idea in 80 years.