Evening star., 1933-11-26
Tales of Well-Known Folk
In Art, Letters, Politics
Diplomats Abroad-British Interested In
u. S. Civilian Conservation Camps.

Shall the wearing OF SpatS be lett
only to their elders and betters? is a
question among the young men of the
Department, or will they be allowed to
don spats and weather the wintry cold?
There has not before been any rank
attached to ''uppers" as they are
called in Boston, but there seems now
to be some unWritten law about sport
ing them before one has achieved a
certain rank in the foreign service
The Secretary, assistant secretaries to
the last degree, ambassadors, ministers
consul generals and master of cere-
monies may wear spatS, but it looks like
the consuls and vices stationed in cold
climates will have to don top boots.
Over in Russia par example the climate
IS a bit raw.
Senator William E. Borah came from
his home in Boise, Idaho, last week in
time to go over to New York on Thurs
Gay to attend the banquet given in
honor of Commissar Litvinoff, who
seems to have covered himself with
diplomatic astuteness If not glory.
One of the Senator's dreams is at last
to be fulfilled. for he has worked long
and to the purpose for the recognition
o. Russia. When friends of the Soviet
Republics were few he allowed no oc-
casion to pass when he could say a
word for the benefits to be gotten from
restoration of relations between the
United States and Russia A letter
from the Senator to a traveller in what
was once a vast empire and friend of
America was as good as a passport.
Ano speaking of Russian friendship.
When American Minister to England
James Munroe at his first state dinner
was seated at the foot of the table
between two representatives from small
German principalitieS which made him
Sd furious that after rising to drink the
health of King George III he was so
confused and angry that on reseating
himself he set his wine glass down in
the finger bowl-splashing the water.
visible smile went around the table.
The Russian Minister. who was seated
a the right hand of the minister of
state. gracefully rose and offered the
toast. "A health to our latest conner and
to the President of the United States"
Well. now that it is all settled that
the United States is to exchange Am
bassadors with the Soviet Republics it
private means has been selected for the
post as it is quite likely there will be
no salary forthcoming for month or
two. Mr.. William c. Bullitt knows his
Russia like a book and will doubtless
find no trouble in comfortably settling
himself there. 1t seems the Soviet gov
ernment has, however, taken steps to
see that the necessary office space and
living quarters for the staff of the
American representative are provided.
The last permanent American en-
bassy in Russia, a rented building in
Leningrad, is now occupied by the gov
ernment. But Mr.. Bullitt will be given
the choice of the building now used by
the Soviet Supreme Court or the House
OF the Central Committee" where most
of the government Official social func-
tions are held.
Notwithstanding the depression here
and the millions of American citizens
who have suffered from unemployment
and the loss of income, great hue and
cry has gone up about the cutting OF
salaries and allowances in the diplo-
matte corps and especially in the con-
sular service. Word even comes from
abroad that the wife of an American
consul has to resort to the making and
selling of cakes in order to keep up ap-
pearances. That another consular host
ess can afford but one servant. al
though wages are at a minimum in the
European country where she is located.
and she has to help out with the house
work. Another instance is cited where
the consular representative has had to
give up his expensive car and take a
modest fiat in back street in order to
live at all
While SIT .500-minus the cut-the
highest salary paid American Ambas-
Sadors is but little more than the
monthly salary of some of the foreign
representatives at Washington, it may
also be remembered that the mode of
living established in recent years by
Uncle Sans rich representatives abroad
has taken much of their private for
tune and has not been in step with the
lean years at home.
The late Mr. Walter Hines Page. Am
bassador to the British court in the
Woodrow Wilson administration, was
one of the first American Ambassadors
to take handsome house in London.
Mr.. Page wrote that when he arrived
IN London in 1912 the American chan
celery at 1913 Victoria street, between
two cheap shops, was so dark and dingy
that he was utterly shocked. And that
the same entrance being used by the
dWellers in a cheap fiat above was also
used by the embassy. Although Lowell,
Phelps, Hay Choate. Bayard and Reid
had endured this Cheap hole" Mr.
Page thought that more sanitary quar-
ters should be given the working staff
and moved the chancellery to 4 Gros-
venor Gardens and took a commodious
house at Grosvenor Square.
Neither Mr.. Thomas F. Bayard nor
Mr.. John w. Davis had large incomes
when Ambassadors to the Court of St.
James. yet both were most popular in
lightful affairs. Mr.. Bayard Americas
first Ambassador to England, was a
though he had grave misgivings as to
what would be the warmth Of his re-
ception when he presented his Gre
dentialS. Because as Secretary of State
in the Cleveland cabinet he had drafted
the rather cavalier note dismissing the
British Ambassador. Lord Lionel S.
Sackville West from Washington
But even in the COS the menage of
American diplomats abroad far out
shone that of Uncle Sans first Ministers
Plenipotentiary to London and Paris.
So far as George III was concerned
the only saving grace about John
Adams, first American Minister to Lon
don, was that he was not Thomas Jef-
ferson, the man who had held him up
to the world as a tyrant and who had
the audacity to write the Declaration
of Independence. Mr.. Adams came from
generation of hard-working people
and did not intend that the fruits of
early economy should be foolishly spent