The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-04-02
U.S.D|PLONAT|C
!. CORPS HIGHLY
TRAINED
Yankee Consul Type Fast Civ
: ing Way to Distinguished
Representative.
BY STEWART JACKSON,
international News Service.


The United States, according to
approaching that ultimate goal of
all great world powers-a hand
picked, highly trained, professional
diplomatic corps.
Time was when j.. the Yankee
Consul" was byword among ma
ttonS-when, in competition with
the brilliant, Suave courtier, bred
and reared in European schools Of
diplomacy, speaking with scintillat-
ing fluency every leading language
in the world-the American po-
Htical appointee from some small
town. whose, linguistic and diplo-
matte education was nil, whose
manners were not those Of the
court, and whose tenure of office
was the length Of Presidential
4 four years, strobe into the arena
like a bull in china shop.
j. But that day is passing and the
ranks Of the American diplomatic
and consular service are rapidly
being filled by well-bred, been
Witted, young and middle-aged men
brought UP in the service.
SO a new type OF American is
making his bow to the world-the
career man." as he Is known-the
professional diplomat.
Has Wide Experience.
The latest chief of mission, nom.'
mated on Friday, March 81, by
President Coolidge as minister to
Greece, is Irwin Boyle Laughlin,
who has been a member Of the
diplomatic corps since 1904 and has
served at such posts as the lega-
stipns Of Tokyo, Pekin, Petrograd,
Athens. Paris, Berlin, CONSTANT
nople and London-surely most
cosmopolitan experience.
And now, at the capitals of twenty
of the most powerful nations of the
world, the United States is repre-.
scented by men brought up in the
diplomatic service-six ambassadors
and fourteen ministers. The list is
growing each year, and more young
men are being groomed for the i'm
4portant posts as head of our mis-.
.aions. At the end Of the last ad-
ADMINISTRATION there were only five.
. The Government realizes, however,
that it would be inadvisable to ap.
point only diplomatic service men as
chiefs of missions, since, as Secre-
tRry Of State Hughes pointed out in
an interview this week, it is some.
times useful to bring in outsiders
for their special knowledge and for
their contacts in America. Thus
the Ambassador to the Court Of St.
James probably always will be a
thand-picked man of high Qualifica~
ton and Of International caliber, not
drawn from the diplomatic service,
and Paris may also come under
this category.
Many Well Qualified.
The Diplomatic Corps, submerg-
cd for too many years, now finds
itself too young to produce men
like Benjamin Franklin, the AID.
samses,' Joseph w. Choate, Walter
III. Page, John w. Davis or James
Russell Lowell, who were born
diplomats anyway; but the records
Of the State Department show, be-
yond all measure of doubt, that
for the most part the other diplo
matte positions are being more ef-
ficiently handled by men who have
been raised in the service. For
they are men who speak half q doz-
en- languages fluentIy, who have
served their flag all around the
world amid situations that required
the utmost diplomacy and the quick
Fest of wits, and whose fingers are
constantly on the pulse of world
currents.
For example,. Of the thirty am
bassadors and ministers now rep
rosenting this country abroad who
are political appointees and not
trained diplomats, there are only
i've (only II per cent? who were
able to speak any foreign language
when they were appointed, and
this five includes the ambassador
to England.
Badly Handicapped.
In other words, the United States
has sent representatives to such
countries as Italy, Norway, Holland,
Austria, Hungary, Spain, Chile,
Venezuela, China, Peru, Persia,
Bolivia, Panama, Colombia and
many other. countries who could
not converse with the natives Of
those countries and were for that
reason, IL for no other cause, wa..
fully handicapped every day.
Now the chiefs of the missions
who have been Brought up in the
Diplomatic Corps, or who have had
FORMER experience as ministers or
ambassadors abroad, are as follows:
Albania-Minister U. s. Grant.
Smith;
Observation-Disclosures John w.
Riddle.
Belgium Ambassador William
Phillips
Brazil-Ambassador Edward b.
Morgan.
Observation-Disclosures Charles 8. Will
son.
Szechoslovakia - Minister Lewis
Einstein.
France-Ambassador Myron T.
Herrick.
Greece - Minister Irwin Boyle
Laughlin.
Haiti-Minister Arthur Bailly.
Blanchard.
Italy = Ambassador Henry p.
Fletcher.
Japan - Ambassador Cyrus f.
Wood.
Tug Observation-Disclosures H. 'ercival
Mexico-Ambassador Charles @.
Warren.
Portugal-Minister Fred Norris
bearing.
Observation-Disclosures Peter Angus.
tus Jay.
Salvador - Minister Montgomery
Schuyler.
San Domingo-Minister William
w. Russell.
: Sweden-Mlnister Robert Woods
Bliss.
Observation-Disclosures Hugh s.
Gibson.