Evening star., 1927-10-23
CRITICS OF u. S. FOREIGN
SERVICE STIR PRESIDENT
Executive Action Reforming" Present
System of Promotions Held Likely
i'm Official Circles Here.

| to private life, or that even some mem.
ber of the public who has never been
| in the foreign service should be on
the board. The idea is that such mem
| bers would introduce an element into
| the appointment system unlikely to
be hedged in by either State Depart
n.ent or foreign service traditions.
prejudices or obligations.
Those who make this concrete sug-
gestion are friends of the foreign serv-
| ice. They freely acknowledge that as
now constituted it is fun of highly
capable, experienced men. 1t is urged
by these proponents that newly con-
stituted Personnel Board should in all
cases give ample consideration to the
qualifications of service men for pro-
notion. But it is urged with even
more emphasis that promotion should
henceforth not be confined to service
men. One hears in this Connection a
good deal CT knocking" of the So
called state Department clique"
Rogers Act Stirs Feeling.
Observers who went abroad this
year have returned with the news that
the Rogers act provision co-equalizing
members of the diplomatic and consul
lar branches is not working out as
theory that diplomats outclass and
outrank consuls can apparently not
be lived down. They are coordinate
and on a level under the law, but just
as the Army has always outra nked the
Navy--becauSe established earlier
so the diplomatic folk are a little in
clined to look down upon the consular
people. Eye-witnesses report that this
is seriously undermining the morale Of
both foreign service branches. There's
said to be no single secretary of lega-
ton anywhere overseas who nowadays
doesn't open the State Department
pouch with fear and trembling. lest it
contain the dire tidingS that he's been
transferred to the consular branch.
The appointment of Dwight w. Nor
row as Ambassador to Mexico is now
widely heralded as sign of President
Coolidge's determination to break with
the 'career-men" program, which dur
ing the past year has been in full
swing. Nearly a dozen vacant ambas-
sadorships and ministerships were all
filled from within the foreign service,
including important posts like Brus.
sells, Constantinople, Ottawa. Buda-
pest, Stockholm, Dublin, Athens, Bern
and Buenos Aires.
Career Men" Plentiful.
There was no dearth OF career
men" candidates for Mexico City, as
there is now no shortage of such as.
pirants for the ambassadorship at Ha-
vana. But just as Mr.. Coolidge went
into the non-service field for an envoy
to Mexico, it is confidently expected
that he will reach out into private life
for his cmissary to Cuba.
The Senate will have two specific
ard ideal opportunities to discuss the
foreign service personnel issue from
both the career" and non-career
standpoints. 1t will be asked to con-
firm the nomination of Joseph c.
Grew, former Undersecretary Of State
and one of the very ablest of our
career men," as Ambassador to Tur-
key, and of Dwight w. Morrow, non.
career man, as Ambassador to Mexico.
Grew typifies tie professional diplo-
mat who, Vice President Dawes thinks,
has outlived his usefulness, while Nor
row personifies the business man who,
Dawes believes, should be put into the
foreign service.
tCopyright. 1927