The Washington herald., 1920-09-18
Notes BY a Washington Observer
Splendid Market for u. S. to Buy Embassy
Homes Abroad-London Pays Homage
to American Woman.

Several Of our foreign ambassa-
dors and ministers who have re-
Gently been home on leave have
urged that now. when exchange
rates arc vurablc. Is the time for
tn' ], 20 1u buy legation and en-
bass: buildings Of his own abroad.
Tn state department has been as
surrd that prime bargains can be
struck. in Central Europe. where
lmp,r.L loyal and ducdl palaces
hav" becom" drugs on the realty
market. establishments admirably
suited for diplomatic purposes can
be bought on especially attractive
terms. Mr. NopiCka American
Minister to Roumanta. pointed out
yesterday. as a sample Of the pos
sibilitics. that he could have bought
an ex-princrly mansion in Bucharest
for $1,000 in L. :. money which
would normally represent $50 900
in RumanIan coin. When exchange
states would have been propor-
Tomato. All over Europe-in Eng
land. France Italy. Belgium, Ger
tuniues equally seductive are said
to exist.
Huge Profit Possible.
One Of our foreign envoys now
at home figures that if Congress
would authorize the expenditure,
the purchase of quarters in Europe
could be effected under prevailing
exchange conditions that would
yield profit enough to run our
whole diplomatic service for a year
or two. Successive Secretaries OF
State. Iatterly Robert Lansing. have
appealed to Congress in vain for
money TO acquire permanent Amcri-
can legations and embassies. Thc
ChcCSe-parerS on tn" "HilI' are
adamant in opposition to such APP
prOpriatiOns. \ new postOffiCe build
ing in a pOCkct-bOrough constItu-
cnCy back home" strikes the av-
eTaEe Washington statesman as
far more important affair than ade-
quate and representative housing
for our diplomats abroad.
A Particular Club,
There is club in Washington
famed for the quantity aud quality
OF brains represented in its mem
bership. The bylaws require that
an applicant shall have done some
thing before he can aspire. The
autumn list of candidates reveals
the following occupations of men to
be voted on in October: bacterioIO-
gist, political economist, editor,
lawyer, civil engineer, botanist, 10
lticaI scientist, juristic expert. dU-
thor, Journalist, chemist, electrical
engineer. forester, professor of
A
banker, statistician. Topographic en-
gineer, mining engineer, zoologist.
physicist, horticulturlst and animal
husbandman.
London Honors L. $. Woman.
London is paying homage to What
the papers there call zone of the
most remarkable American womeu
who has ever visited England" She
is Mrs. Marion O'Brien. of Florida,
who is described as being (am0ng
other things) mayor of her city,
president of a bank. member of the
women's auxiliary committee Of the
Republican national committee. and
candidate for governor of Florida"
Mrs. O'Brien is also said to have
been the first woman in the UniteI
states to hold a military commits
sion during the world war Eng
lish reporters find her young,
charming and ideally feminine"
Reno Divorces StiIi Booming.
Rcnos principal industry shows
no signs Of withering. The latest
batch of 1920 census returns gives
the Nevada divorce metropolis
population of 1906, an increase of
lO.6 per cent over 1910.
Significant Appointment.
Germany has sent one of her most
SklltuI diplomats to Argentina as
minlster-Baron Won dem Bussche-
who once served at
the kaiser's embassy in Washing
ton. During the war he was on
duty as minister to Rumania. For
meriy he had charge of the "Ameri-
can section" in the Wilhelmstrassa