Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-14
DIPLOMATIC CHIEFS IN FEAR
OF LOSING POSTS MARCH a
Career Men Have Worked Up
to Place Where Politics
Threaten.
Condition Becoming Serious
Which Rogers Measure
Sought to Avoid.

=
because they have shown enough abil.
| ity to become chiefs of their posts
| should the custom which dictates thai
they offer their designations to the
incoming administration be followed
next March.
officials of the State Department ir
revealing these figures yesterday also
| admitted that the career men who are
! forced to resign face not only the
ruin of their life work but the loss
! of at least part Of their retirement
pay.
This condition. which long has been
| the subject of criticism, has become
especially serious since the enactment
! four years ago of the So-called Rogers
| act, which placed the foreign service
on a permanent basis and which was
designed to offer to ambitious young
Americans life careers of honor dignity
| and distinguished service to the Nation
Under the Rogers act the induce
ment is held out that young men enter
! ing the foreign service and meeting its
! stringent requirements successfully
| eventually may hope to work them
| selves up through the service to the
I nigh post Of minister and even am
! baSSador Because OF the custom which
| calls for the. resignation of officers of
| this rank, however, the attainment OF
! these goals of q lifetime of service
brings with it the threat of speedy
separation from the diplomatic corps
| for political reasons alone.
| This unfortunate state of affairs has
been forcibly called to the attention of
| the American people during the past
| few days. Several Ministers. in this
city on leave from foreign posts have
noan aSRor1 IL, llxy vul1of hor thau will
bow to custom and tender their resigna-
tons when President Hoover or Presi-
dent Smith takes oath of office next
March 4.
Agree Among Themselves.
One published report, which has not
been affirmed, and which, In fact, has
been denied by Secretary of State
Kellogg. in dicates that American Min
listers In approximately score of
foreign countries have agreed privately
to nout custom and withhold their
designations next Spring. State De-
partment officials however, hold it to
| be extremely unlikely that any such
agreement has been made, owing not
only to the geographical scattering of
the ENJOYS, but also to the common
knowledge that the withholding of a
resignation could not prevent the re-
moval of an ambassador or minister by
the President. 1t is known, however.
that the question has been discussed
freely by foreign service men of all
ranks
Many of the chiefs of United States
embassies and legations have been ele-
waited to those posts rs reward for long.
faithful and meritorious service in the
f0A f1AV fc
! in the diplomatic corps that for them
| even to go through the form of sub
mitting a resignation, even thought it
may not be accepted, is essentially un-
| just.
The hardship of the custom Is IL
Illustrated in the cases Of two foreign
service officers who have Just been ap-
| pointed to the posts of Minister and
WHO, have not yet bad time Ito assume
their new posts. They are H. F. Arthur
Schoenfeld. of the District of Columbia
| counselor of embassy at Mexico City,
who has been appointed Minister at
Sofia, Bulgaria and Warren D, Rob-
bins of New York counselor of en-
bassy at Rome. appointed Minister to
Salvador.
Mode Service Life Work.
Both these new Ministers have made
the foreign service their life work,
Sch0enfleld having served Is years and
Robbins 20 years. Schoenfeld who is
but 80 years old. Is the youngest Min
lister IN this Nations foreign service
Though their appointments have been
made In the flag end of the present ad-
ministration and they will not even
have an adequate opportunity to dem
onstrate their ability as chiefs of Of
fees In the countries to which they
have been assigned, custom requires
that, after less than six months of
service. they must hand in their reSig-
nations next March. Should the resig-
nations be accepted the fruits of two
decades of struggles must be lost to
them just as success is within their
grasp.
Among the former career men" who
have risen to the highest honors open
! to them in the diplomatic corps are
five Ambassadors: Henry P, Fletcher
at Rome: Edwin v. Morgan, Rio de
Janeiro. Brazil: Hugh S. Gibson, Brus-
sells, Belgium; Joseph C. Grew, Con-
stantinople. Turkey, and Robert Woods
Bliss, BuenoS Aires, Argentina.
| Among the Ministers who have been
! appointed from the foreign service ana
whose designations will be in order
March are three who have been ap-
pointed within the past year: Hugh r..
Wilson, Bern, Switzerland j. Butle.
! Wright budapest. Hungary, and Le-
land Harrison. Stockholm. Sweden.
Under the terms of the Rogers act a
retirement system has been set up for
the foreign service, each member OF
the service contributing per cent of
| his salary toward this fund. The law
/ provides that appointment of a mem
Der Of the foreign service to the post
of Minister or Ambassador automati-
! cally terminates his career in the for
eign service. but the retirement law
protects his interests by providing that
he shall continue to be entitled to re-
tirement benefits in the same manner
and under the same conditions as for
eign service officers.
Retirement Provision.
The Rogers act stipulates that any
foreign service officer shall be retired
automatically on pension upon reach
ing the age of IS years and after a
least Is years of service. Scaled dowr
payments are provided however. fol
those leaving the service before reaching
retirement age, this provision applying
to Ministers and Ambassadors who may
have been appointed from the foreign
service. Those retiring before reaching
the age of IS years are 10 be refunded
rs per cent of their payments into The
retirement fund. plus accrued Interest
and those past IS years of age are eligi'
BILE for pensions based upon the length
of service.
Operation OF this ancient diplomatic
custom is considered by State Depart
ment officials to be blow TO the morale
of the TOO members of the United State:
Foreign Service in that is removes one
of the strongest incentives for foreign
service officers to advance themselve:
to the highest posts within their reach
There are several instances, it Is re-
called by State Department officials
where foreign service officers have re-
fused to accept appointments as Minis
tiers because of the danger of losing out
entirely at the next change of admin