Evening star., 1926-09-05
BY WILLIAM RUFUS SCOTT.

~ n October the third term of
the Foreign Service School
of the Department of State
~ will begin with an enroll
ment' of IL students"
bearing commissions as foreign serv-
ice officers, unclassified." Salaries of
$4,000 a year are paid to the students
while learning how to do their pros
pective work in the consular and
diplomatic service and are unique
feature of this school, which was Gre
ated by executive order of President
Coolidge in 1924.
The number taking the course is
not a measure of the interest in the
school. but is determined by the needs
of the State Department and vacan-
cies in the foreign service. Thus. in
the first term, April to September,
1925, there was a class of IS, and the
second term. November, 1925, to June,
1926, had a class of 13. In the latter
class was d. X. f. Bruce, whose mar
riage to Miss Ailsa Mellon was a brill
liant social event Of this year. Mr..
Bruce, on graduation, was appointed
vice consul in Rome.
For the term about to begin some
40 applicants were examined in every
section of the country. OF this num-
ber 81 passed successfully. but only
IL have as yet been commissioned to
take the course. in view of existing
vacancies or new posts to be filled.
The 19 remaining of the 81 will stay
on the eligible list for two years for
future terms of the school.
Personnel of Glass.
No Washington man is among the
IL this term. but in the first class in
1925 there were four. Selden Chaplin.
Allen Dawson. Harvey Gerry and
David Nick. Key, while in the second
term there were two, McCeney Wer-
Itch and Lloyd Yates. The personnel
of the 1926 class follows:
Henry A. w. Beck Of indianapolis,
Ind; j. Ernest Black of Pittsburgh,
Pa; Cabot Coville of Los Angeles,
Calf; John B. Faust of Denmark, S.
c.; Walton c. Ferris of Milwaukee,
Wis; William NJ. Gwynn of Los An
geles, Calf; Lawrence Higgins of
Boston, Mass: John B. Ketcham Of
Brooklyn, n. Y: Gordon p. Merriam
of Lexington, Mass: Samuel Reber.
jr., of New York City; Thomas F.
Sherman of Boston, Mass. and S.
Walter Washington of Charles Town,
w. Va
The Foreign Service School was
instituted as a period Of training and
probation with the object of sending
better equipped men into the service.
To this end careful sitting Of ap-
plicants is made by an examination
which requires a sound education to
pass, Though college degrees are not
requisite. For instance. an applicant
must know one modern language,
French, German or Spanish. and pass
tests on international. maritime and
commercial law; political and COM
mercial geography; arithmetic; nat
ural. industrial and commercial re-
sources and commerce Of the United
States; political economy; American
history, government and institutions,
and modern history (since 1850 Of
Europe, Latin America and the Far
East
Procedure Is Stated.
Any one desiring to take the course
must be between 21 and 35 years old
and make application to the State
Department for examinations usually
held in January. The applications
should be received several months
before that time and. if approved,
the applicant is designated to take
the examination. If the examination
is passed the applicant then is ap-
pointed by the President as foreign
service officer, unclassified. Thus the
students" are in the service while
taking the course.
The coming term probably will run
until next June. In addition to lec-
lures by State Department officers,
bys officials from other departments
of the Government and by authori-
ties outside the Government. there is
practical work within the State De-
partment learning the actual methods
of handling visas. passports and other
duties of foreign service officers, as
well as the activities Of the various
divisions under the supervision Of the