The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-02-05
State Department
Suffers From Recent
Diplomatic Changes
u nd e n s ecretary of
State and First Assist
amt Secretary to 90

State and First Assist
amt Secretary to Go
4 HENRY p. FLETCHER. who
has been named as ambassador
TO Belgium, expects. ! believe. to
leave for his new post once the
conference is over and its bust
ness, In which he as Undersecre-
tary of State has been much in
volved, Is completed. was talk
ing about his nomination with
Pennsylvania the other day, and
she suggested that Pennsylvania
might insist upon his staying at
home in the event Of yet another
Senatorial appointment being ne
cessary. but doubt II seat in
the Senate would appeal to Mr..
Fletcher, who has been in the d.
plomatic service for years. and
was. Il believe, the first man who.
having worked his way up through
the .lolwer grades, actually
achieved the position of head Of
one of Uncle Sans diplomatic mis-
sions. ~
Mrs. Fletcher has had her last
at home In Washington and. while
they are not attempting as yet to :
say Just when they will get Off,
they are getting slowly packed and
ready and the impression seems to
be that they will get away about
the first of March. They are 60
ing to be very much missed when
they do go. To be sure, 1t Is gen.
erally believed that John. n. Gar :
rett, who has been general secre-
tary of the conference. will succeed
Mr.. Fletcher as Undersecretary OF
State, but Washington gains noth-
inc bv that, as the CARROTS have
been here all winter.
Mr.. Fletcher will succeed Brand
whitlock, who has served IN
Brussels since early in the wilson
Administration, first as minister
and then as ambassador. Prior 10
his appointment as Undersecre'
tary of State he was Ambassador
TO Mexico and had served before
that in various capacities In diplo'
matte posts. He is a native OF
Chambersburg, Pa, and during
the Spanish-American war was
Of the famous Roosevelt Rough
Riders. He has the reputation OF
being one of the Presidents init
mate personal friends and Is fire.
o,,entlg, his companion on the
golf links. .,..-
Both he and Mrs. Fletcher have
been exceedingly popular In the
CapitaL. Mrs, Fletcher is charm
ing. She, wss, before her mar
rage IN 1917, Miss Beatrice Bond;
Of New York. As Miss Bond, she
accompanied Dorothy Whitney
now Mrs. willard Stfaighr to
China, and was with her there for
n number of years. They have
been occupying during summer the
Straights' farm" out on the
Rockville road-a place which Mr..
Straight bought and spent a good
deal az money improving shortly
before his death during the in
fluenza epidemic. 1t rather looks
as IL the Fletchers, when they
reach Brussels, will find them
selves surrounded by Pennsyl-
vanians. The counsellor Of the
embassy there is Craig Wharton
wadsworth, a Philadelphia, who
was sergeant In the Roosevelt
Rough: Riders when Fletcher was
q private. ,Phe two entered the
diplomatic service just twenty
years ago, Mr.. Wadsworth as third
secretary at London. Mr.. Fletcher
as secord secretary at Havana.
= .
RECE MT diplomatic appoint
ments have played hob with
the State Department organizs-
ton, for the First Assistant Sec
rotary of State, Fred bearing. is
going too, having been appointed
minister to Portugal. Mr.. Dear
ing is another man who has
grown up in the service, and I
well remember the joy with which
his appointment as assistant sec
rotary was hailed.
He has been here less than a
year and Mrs. bearing consider
ably less than that. as she was i'll
for a long time and didn't come to
Washington until fall. Then for
q time she devoted all her ener-
gies to finding some place to live,