Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-10

to this country.
In olden times the visit of the head
Of one state to another was the occa-
sion of much solemn ceremony-o1
much courtly ritual. But Mr.. Macdon-
aid and President Hoover and all those
with whom they came in contact moved
In an atmosphere of quiet simplicity and
spontaneous genuineness which Is the
product of new friendliness and a new
democracy that has entered interna-
tional affairs.
3 From ancient times until recently phi
losophers as well as common people have
looked upon the profession of diplomacy
with a distruStful eye. 1t was Socrates
who said the rulers of the state are the
only persons who ought to have the
privilege of lying, either at home or
abroad. And in the seventh century Sir
Henry Wotton coined that famous say
ing, AN ambassador is an honest man
sent to lie abroad for the common
wealth."
The suspicion which surrounded a
diplomats existence may be imagined
for a law passed by one of the Italian
city states in 1868 declaring then that
an ambassador could not take his wife
with HIM to a foreign pest, lest she
divulge his business; the same law. how
ever, required him to take his own cook,
lest he be poisoned by enemiesl So
strongly had the custom of duplicity be-
come intrenched in the profession of
diplomacy that one of the most clever
of all diplomats. Bismarck, instructed
his agents to deceive their adverSaries
simply by telling the truth.
Distrust Ruled Old Day.
Thus diplomacy until recent years
gr~a Inl of af
suspicion and untruStworthineSs And
this atmosphere persisted down until the
World War. Europe was divided into
two groups, the central powers and the
allies, each armed to the teeth, each
watching the move of the others with
suspicion and dread. Diplomacy was
carried on in secret; when communica-
tionS were exchanged, every word was
examined in the hope of revealing a
hidden meaning or of putting the oppo-
nent in a trap. Diplomatic moves were
furthered by jingoist newspaper cam
paigns often acting under government
orders.
This campaign of deceit had reached
such a height that just before the out
break of the World War Russian spies
continually pried into the correspond
ence of the French Ambassador in Mos
COW, despite the fact that France and
Russia were allies. Following the out
break of the war in 1914, the govern
ments published documents attempting
to Justify their position, but historians
now reveal that these governments de-
1iberately suppressed or falsified docu-
ments which tended to show their own
guilt. These diplomats of the great
powers were genuinely attempting to
serve the interests of their own coun-
tries, but they were engulfed in a SyS-
tenn which placed the interests of the
state above all morality and sooner or
later meant disaster to every nation in
volved. The first characteristic of the
old diplomacy was. this characteristic of
fear, suspicion, intrigue and distrust.
In 1915 Diplomacy Danced.
The second characteristic Of the old
diplomacy was the characteristic of
''splurge" and position" Diplomats
often cared more about gayety and good
wines than they did about the trans
action of official business. The Prince
de Ligne once declared that the Con-
gress of Vienna (of 1879 does not walk,
but 1t dances. At this conference the
fate of peoples was often decided in the
midst of a ball! For centuries diplo-
matte gatherings were the scenes Of
splendor and of fineries; knee breeches
nnd wigs were the order of the day.
Controversies over questions of prece-
dence were, moreover, frequent and Sc
rious. In 1861 the retainers of the
French and Spanish Ambassadors
fought a pitched battle outside the city
of London to determine which of the
two dignitaries should precede the other
Into the city.
Weeks and even months were expend-
ed in determining the seating of diplo-
mats at conference tables or in decid-
|tng the title by which particular king
|pr his diplomatic representatives should
be addressed. The most classic exam
I'm the negotiation of the famous treaty
'of Ryswick Of 1897. The historian
Macaulay. in his history of England,
tells how the allies on the one hand.
and the French on the other, arrived
lat Ryswick in many coaches and six,
attended by harbingerS, footmen and
|pages It was necessary to hold several
meetings to decide how many carriages,
how many horses, how many lackeys,
how many pages each Minister should
be entitled to bring to Ryswick: whether
the serving men should carry canes or
swords, and who should take the upper
hand in the public walks. According TO
Macaulay, the chief business of Harlay
and Kaunitz, the two chief negotiators,
twas to watch each others legs. Neither
Of them thought it consistent with the
dignity of the crown which he served
TO advance toward the other faster than
the other advanced toward him. If.
therefore. one of them went too quickly
he went back to the door and the stately
minuet began again."
Many Ceremonial Issues.
At one diplomatic conference in
Europe more than Is months were
required to settle questions of etiquette
and ceremonial. Should this delegate
lie called excellency? Should the dele
gate from State A on call on the dele
gate of State B or should the delegate
of State B call first? At another con-
ference 1t was necessary to erect new
hall so that there would be enough
doors for delegates of equal diplomatic
Importance to enter at the same time
Ali this pickering over position was
disgusting to that great philosopher
Jean Jacques Rousseau, who rallied
against congresses which go solemnly
from assembly to assembly to say
nothing, where all public affairs are
treated privately, where we deliberate
in common whether the table will be
round or square, whether the hall will
have more doors or less. whether such
and such a plenipotentiary will have
s his face OF back toward the window;
whether such and such another viii
make two inches progress, more or less
s IN one visit, and on a thousand ques.
\ tions of like Importance, uselessly agi'
! tated for three centuries :" Bach
of all this struggling was the belle
that to give the representative of ont
monarch less recognition than the rep
feSentative of another meant fastening
a position of international inferiorit!
upon the former country by the othe
powers.
Despite the passage of several hun
bred years, diplomacy down until tn
outbreak of the World War was marked
by this same show of pretense, thi
same spirit of suspicion, the same fea
that every country was scheming to pu