The Sentinel=record., 1915-02-25
CRITICAL DAYS FOR
 UNITED STATES
STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL SAYS ONLY THOSE IN INIT.
 MATE TOUCH REALIZE.
Declares That to Put the Diplomatic Service Under CIvH Service Rules Would Be a Grave Mistake.

New York, Feb. 24.-Ro5ert Ian sing, counsellor for the state depart ment, in a speech before 700 alumni of Amherst College at their annual banquet here tonight, declared that these were critical days for the United States, 'how critical only those who are in intimate touch with affairs can realiZe.'
 The European war, he said. had raised a series of problems which never before had been solved and the liability of error, the danger of uniutentional partiality and the con stant complaint of one or another of the belligerents makes the path of neutrality rough and uncertain"
 Mir. Lansing expressed disapproyal Of the suggestion that diplomatic of ticers be placed under civil service rules. and defended President Wilson and Secretary Bryan against criti- sim that they failed to retain dip o. mats who had been named by former administrations.
 must FoF NitA tiit till i'titItlA O}llA@ ions of some of our former represen- tatives are rather amusing, when one considers that they would never have been appointed under civil ser vice rules" said Mir. Lansing. "The trouble is that they as well as other advocates of the system start out on wrong premises. Chief of these, think. is the idea that an ambassador or minister never acts independently and his only duty is to repeat words put in his mouth by the department Of state. that he has no more initiative than consular officer.
 Successful diplomacy requires to- day individual initiative and sound judgment as it always has.
 When it comes to the principal posts abroad I am strong y opposed to tying the hands of the president i'll any way If we had obtained all our ambassadors and ministers by promo tiou, we would not have had such men at London as F. J. Phelps and Joseph r. Choate. or men like Myron Y. Her rick and Brand WhitloCk Such men, inexperienced in diplomatic practice but equipped with qualities which command respect and achieve success are the ones who have brought lustre to American diplomacy.
 Diplomacy today 5 wres ting with novel problems to which it mnst ap- ply natural justice and practical common sense Things have to be done, not studied, these days. The motto do it now is not piece of ad- vice in the deparment Of state; it IS a command A question which is a week old is ancient history Cons!d- ering the customary slow and digni' fled ways of diplomacy this touch and go method of doing business was decided innovation and compelled radical change in the machinery through which our foreign affairs are conducted
 "These are critical days for our country. It is a time for serious thought. time of anxiety
 "Today when nations are swayed with unreasonable passion, when prejudice blinds them, when they sec red: when they misjudge their friends as well as their foes, is the time for us to avoid harsh ju gmaDt to preserve ca mness in dealing witr them and to curb the natural resent ment waich arises when our acts are misinteIpreted and we are charged with wrong motives and purposes.
 American citizens, he concluded, could not be too thankfui that they had a president whom we can trust to deal with the momentous and diff cult problems of the hour with wis dom, justices and patience, having equal regard for all and favor toward none, uninfluenced by popular clamor unswerying in his determination to maintain the strict neutrality which this government has preserved l6hroughout the war"