The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-11-02
CHESTERF |ELDS
GRACE STATE
DEPT.
Attendants Are Expert Diplo-
mats in Their Own Little
Spheres.
BY GEORGE FRANKLIN.

Suave, niftily dressed, keenIy alive
to opportunities to aid visitors, the
colored attaches at the Department
or State make a prize winning Pull
man car porter look like a rough
neck. Chesterfield never rendered
little attentions with a grace much
less exceIling than of these
omnipresent attendants. You find
them In relays along all of the
principal corridors and lowering
around in groups outside the doors
OF secretaries reception rooms.
Training Absorbed.
Where did they get their training?
It is more than broadly intimated
that much of it they absorb by
watching the department of the sec
retaries in their reception of visitors.
II one ever wants to experience the
Ieeung or real old homelike re-
ception casually drop in on the
State department. Then begin at
the top and work along down from
the secretary of State to his last
steenth assistant. BY the time one
DldS the latter adieu he will have
become surcharged with whatever
the glau nand transmits, and begin
70 feel tnat lie is just one continual
series OF rainbows, pink teas, carni-
Vals, clrcuses and other Ethiopian
realizatfons.
Later he may come to realize he
encountered the Champion .greetars'
team bent on putting over The most
finished performance in their.
repetoire. But that will make little
difference lie nothing else exists to
excite his apprehension.
But to return to the colored
Chesterfields modified in the service
OF the Secretary of State.
Real Service Rendered.
Attention has been called to their
suaVity and appearance. Next con.
slider the real service they render.
Take them into confidence and LET
them do the steerings. Half of ones
troubles will have disappearel
through this process of handling
the State Department. They know
just where every inquiry should be
made, whether 1t pertains to some
international issue involving Pafa-
gonia in the prospective JAPANESE
loan, or the possibility Of securing a.
passport for paralytic grandmother
unable to apply for the document
herself.
They can decide offhand whether
the second assistant secretary is tl,e
proper channel in which to nut .
claim for the value Of the mouse
trap lost when b transyal rodent
annexed it and carried it OFF. Or
whether it should. go to the depart.
ment supervised by the custodian. Of
the Army and Navy. building. .
Psychology Applied.
Then they understand the pSv-
ehology OF extending sympathetic
comments when a mission ends IN
rruitless result. They have
learned how to deal scientifically
with the owner of lost cause in a
way to make him feel it is only
necessary to come back and try
again to win, and that he has At
least one staunch friend at State
Department headquarters.
They can accept stipend in a
way to create the impression they
are bestowing a favor by permitting
the donor to become their benefac.
tor, and get away with 1t. Never
before has the art of meeting an
expectant public been more effec-
lively developed than by them. And
with it all, they manage most
adroitly to keep themselves well in
the background.
Really 1t makes one wonder why
the State Department ever goes fur
Their than the hall in recruiting its
corps OF diplomats for European
assignments!
Just how careful they are of visi-
tors is often illustrated by the time
~, suggestion that those departing
have overlooked an umbrella. brief
case, walking stick or bull rup.
Rarely is one permitted to return
for forgotten article. When this
happens, they are always met with
a profusion Of apologies accompan.
led by every indication of genuine
modification that an oversight on
their part necessitated such an ex-
perfence.
All Speak English.
They all speak English. Some Of
them may have q command of other
languages. When talking they
speak in low tones and with I'M
accent There Is always
ample, time at the State Department
to say all that it is necessary to
say, and of this condition they
take proper advantage. The re-
suit Is they seldom have to convey
the same information to the same
party second time. After all the
practice proves a time saver.
Then, again, 1t is quite restful
when one has recently escaped the
turmoil OF Pennsylvania avenue
and to do its little bit in the rest
cure campaign is one OF the obliga.
tions accepted and recognized by
the department. Poincare could, II
he would, testify to Its lullifying
quality and apparently endless prac.
tice.
It is impossible to conceive OF
these State Department attendants
ever losing their poise. They are
as well in hand as the statcliest
statue that ever ornamented park,
hall, or parlor. You simply cannot
feaze them. try as you may. If they
know how to entertain feelings of