Evening star., 1932-08-21
Economy Hits ENJOYS
Foreign Service Officers Are Forced to Use Own
Money for Necessary Entertainment of Officials
abroad as Congress Lops off Allowances.

thanks of the highest officials in the
administration. 1t is an acknowledged
debt of gratitude, but looking at it from
a different angle, the financial indebt-
edness of the Government to Mr..
Gibson has gone unnoticed.
Like many other American Ambassa-
doris, Ministers and high officials in the
Foreign Service, Mr.. Gibson is what is
called a poor man" The salary of
an ambassador is $17,500 year. Min
listers get $4,000 year, except in the
cases of the ministers to China and the
Netherlands, who receive $4,000 an
nually. Since July l. last, they have
sustained the reductions in salary pro-
vided in the economy bill. They like
wise have lost the appropriations
which, in a more prosperous year, the
Government allowed to make up for
some of their annual deficits. But the
entertainment must go on. There is
no escaping it.
Ambassador Gibson, in addition to
the official entertaining he Is actually
compelled to do at Brussels Is scheduled
again for another long siege Of extra
expenses at Geneva. With the reduced
allowances it will prove a more expen-
sive session for him than the last.
The post allowance of 100000 Is
hllOlLcQ 10 Illc Ilcduo Vi IlloolOIlo dL %
foreign cities, which are classified ac-
cording to living costs. There are five
such classifications, with Bombay,
Buenos Aires, Medan, Rangoon, Singa-
pore and Vienna heading the list as
the most expensive capitals in the
world Berlin, Calcutta and London
are included in the next high class.
Toxic, Paris, Havana and Mexico City
are some of the posts in the third class.
Warsaw, Santiago, Chile; Montreal and
Shanghai may be found in the second
class. while among the cheapest posts
are Cairo, Bucharest, Rome and some
half dozen others.
Washington Is Moderate.
Washington is considered, according
to living costs, to be somewhere be-
tween the first and third classes. Yet
the British Ambassador to Washington
last year was said to have received in
salary and allowances something ap-
preaching 100000 a year, or a total
nearly equal to the entire entertain
ment allowance for the American for
eign service.
The post allowance, now discarded
during the present fiscal year, repre-
sents appropriations given to help
equalize salaries to special increases in
the costs of living. Sometimes, by
fiuctuation in the exchange, foreign
officer awakes in the morning to find
his American dollar worth little less
in buying power than the week before.
These and other conditions over which
the officer has no control were recog-
nized by Congress as warranting spe-
cial allotment of funds. This year he
will have to shift for himself.
In the same way-though less gener-
ously-Congress recognized the neces-
sity Of official entertainment. All en-
tertainment might be classified as off,
Is demanded of an Ambassador or
Minister or even a consular officer, just
as his routine duties of Office are a part
of his position.
That foreign governments are more
generous than Uncle Sam in this mat
ter of official entertainment allowances
for its diplomatic officers Is a well
known and established fact. Press re-
ports last year stated that the French
Ambassador to Washington gets s44, ,498
q year for entertainment and other nee
essary allowances. The post at London
Is said to call for $4,000 in allowances.
Even some of the smaller and more i'm
poverished European and Near East
dIC HOiC lbCAaAs PANROA-
tionately, than the United States In
these matters Of necessary allowances.
Entertainment Expected.
every American tourist who visits a
consular Office expects to be entertained,
and If he doesn't he Is an unusual
case" said State Department official.
1t is quite possible to escape some OF
these tourists, but when an American
congressman or a delegation of Amer
ican business men descend upon the
embassy or legation, the wise diplomat
this year will dig into his own pocket,
grin and bear 1t.
1t is always mandatory for newly
appointed head of mission to give
a formal dinner or reception for the
head of the foreign Office in the capi-
tai or city TO which he Is assigned. He
Is invited as a matter Of etiquette to
entertainments given in his honor by
practically all the other heads of for
eign missions in the capital Then he
is in duty bound to return these favors.
1t generally proves an endless chain of
entertaining-all the expenses of which
he must meet without aid from his
government.
In these respects, probably, American
foreign service officers are being hit
harder by economy this year than any
other class in the Government service