The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-04-02
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, Director,
Washington, D. @.
DIPLOMATIC DANES.

delicate of all the tasks confronting
President Harding and his secretary
Of state at Washington today is that
of selecting wisely the amba ssadors
and ministers who will represent the
country and new administration
abroad.
In the selections of these various
ENJOYS, and of their secretaries and
attaches, President Harding and Sec
! rotary Hughes must not only take into
consideration the fitness of these men
for their jobs, but the qualifications of
their wives also.
1.-THE wife is the most important of
all the elements of an embassy" said
| Napoleon once in an explanation of
| of an attractive and accomplished
woman for the post of ambassador at
an important court.
| Nor is the wife of the diplomatic
chief alone important. The wife of
the most unimportant secretary is
capable of wrecking the success of a
| diplomatic mission. A tactless slip
| of the tongue on her part may give
rise to a GOODNESS between the home
government and the foreign govern
ment that only years will eradicate.
The ambassa dor or attache himself is
more easily forgiven for a break than
| his wife.
| Madame must possess all the social
graces, with wisdom and guile to boot
1 But she must not be too Circe-like.
A "vamp" would not be tolerated in
diplomatic circles. She must not be
too extravaganza, she must not talk too
much and above ALI else she must not
| be given to the habit of writing indis-
Greet letters.
! Illustrating the last Unjust not
Washington still remembers the case
of the beautiful Lady Susan Townley,
whose husband, Sir Walter Townley,
was for q brief space charge daffaires
| of the British embassy in Washington.
The briefness of his sojourn here, after
distinguished diplomatic career else
where, was attributed to Lady Susan 8
| fondness for letter-writing. Social
Washington is still sore,s tho the
case of Lady Susan is now more than
Is years old, over some Of the things
the witty young Englishwoman said
about the elect of the capital in her
letters home. Lady Susan was too
witty and her friends at home en-
toyed her clever satire so much that
they let some of the letters slip into
the hands Of a publisher.
The charge d'affaires was recalled
after a few warm remarks had been
passed between the two governments.
Afterwards his government relented to
the extent of sending him to a less i'm
portant post.
Most BIunders flushed.
The affair OF Lady Susan was given
wide publicity but the diplomatic Gus
tom in such cases is to hush matters
up, quietly to recall the offending
envoy and never to let the general
public into the secret of So-andSo's
abrupt return home. How many
promising careers have been wrecked
by tactless wives, therefore, will never
be publicly recorded.
Equally numerous are instances in
lit ,, ,, r 1nr. p haa InIrN
by clever wife in his rise in the
graces of the government to which he
had been accredited. Perhaps one OF
the most striking incidents of thai
kind in Washington at present is the
minister of the Croats, Serbs and Slov-
enes, to give him his full title, Or
Slavko Y. Grouitch. DR.. Grouitcf
frankly admits that he owes much OF
his diplomatic success to his charm
ing and attractive wife.
She has, it may be added, kept g
faithful account of her life as the wife
of q diplomat. If ever the volume i:
published it should be useful hand
book for the wives Of ambitious young
secretaries and attaches.
Madame Grouitch is American born
The chief qualification for a diplo
matte post in Washington of late year,
: seems to have been an American wife
; so many of the embassies ant
legations have American mistresses
Madame Jusserand, was Miss Elsie
Richards of Philadelphia Tho Lad!
Geddes, wife of the British ambassa
dor, is an nglishwoman, she wal
born in this country and spent tn
greater part of her girlhood here. TIL
diplomatic routine seems to be, sent
a young, unmarried secretary t
washington marry him to an Ameri
can girl and later send him back a.
the head of his country's mission.
, American Women Good Diplomats
l The American woman seems t.
have been a success in the diplomat
field. Seldom If ever does news leal
out of an American envoy recalled
/ thru some break on the part of hi
> wife, The young secretary attache'
TO the embassy or legation in Wash
, ington married to an American gir
and sent away to other diplomats
: posts is usually successful. During tn
past few years there have been numer
. Gus such marriages. Among them on
recalls the marriage of Major Mar
2 riott of the British embassy staff t
D Miss Maud Kahn, daughter OF OFT
Kahn of New York; the marriage o
=. Senior Don Luis A. Penaherrera of tn
t legation of Ecuador to Miss Argent
: Perkins, and the marriage of Capt. r
y r. Glen of the British staff to Mis-
. Jane Story.
! 1t will be remembered also, tina
Mai Crawford Stuart, the storm cen
). ter of a slight diplomatic unpleasant
/, mess between our government an
: Great Britain, married an America
s girl shortly before his return home
1 which was at the request of the Whit
- House. it is said. Owing to the ma
ture of the disagreement over Majo
Stuart, it is difficult to say whethe
r or net having an American wife upo
c his arrival instead of his departur
might have averted the trouble. Lor
: Grev returned to England himself
g few months later and it was wits
h pere6 his return was fastened by tn
;, tStuart incident.
Il 1t is probably owing to the i'm
o portance of a wife in the diplomat
a game that one finds but few bache
, llors and widowers at the head of mis-
sions.
d A bachelor or unattached secretar
i or attache is welcomed at any cap
: ltal. The bachelor diplomat offers
the ambitious society woman an OF
portunity to enter the diplomat
e eanoa nv marriage which is at pre-: