White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1933-05-25

How 1t Operates
BY William Brxckar5
OUR FOREIGN SERVICE


be specialist In the several lines he
follows; the professional man or
woman can hardly rise above mini
mum level without concentrating on
a particular subject and the indus
trialist who does not understand all
phases of the business that is his
finds the road full of ruts.
Our government is leader in this
field of specialization. 1t has experts
here, there and everywhere and for
this and that and the other subject,
but l believe few of them receive
more thorough training than do
those who are classified as foreign
service officers. I do not mean that
they have the technical training re-
quired of the scientist, or the legal
learning of the law divisions, or the
skill and training of the type who
draft plans for battleship or great
post office building. 1t Is another
type of training, but just as intensive.
1t has been less than score of
years since congress finally was will
ing to enact legislation to make our
foreign service one of career type,
a service in which capable individ.
uals might properly expect promo.
ton. That has been done and now
only our ambassadors and ministers
to foreign capitals remain as polit.
ical plums to be picked by the VIC
torious party each four years. It
seems to me that they, too. ought to
be career" men, but it has not hap.
pened. Some Of the foreign nations
maintain their ambassadors and min
listers in that classification and it has
long been the conviction of students
of the subject that such diplomats
are among the best to be found in
the corps at washington.
TO get into the foreign service
now, it is first necessary for the APP
plicant to pass a stiff examination.
It is not test Of grade school ma
ture. The applicant has to know one
or more foreign languages; he has
to have rather broad acquaintance
with business and finance and he has
to satisfy a board of examiners that
he knows how to conduct himself
when he meets people whether on the
business of his government or In q
social way.
After he has done all of these
things satisfactorily, he starts to
"school" under guidance of the De.
partment of State which has group
of men who have been through the
experience necessary to enable them
to teach the newcomers what to do
The course Of study entails not only
study but work in the various di
visions of the department where the
applicant can see what Is done and
how and why it is done. He learns
there all Of the questions that have
arisen between his government and
Others he learns how they were
handled and the results, and he is
informed of how pending matters are
viewed. In other words the course
provides a perspective of American
policy respecting international af.
fairs. and if he is good timber, the
training he has received fits him ia
start shaping policy on his own initi'
alive once he is assigned to a post in
foreign land. He has become
diplomat. equipped to look after the
interests of his government and pro-
mote good will.
The young diplomat who goea
abroad enters on his duties with spe.
cial Instructions concerning questions
concerning the particular peoples and
government where he is detailed. II
is obvious that there are different
questions to be considered in western
Europe than in Latin-America. Like
wise, they are different in the Near
East than in the Far East. The De.
partment of State, therefore, has di
supervises relations with particu
lar part Of the world where the prob
lens and the people have some com
mon basis.
10 accomplish llllS clu anu Bill
plify administration, six divisions
have been created in the department
They are the divisions of Far Eastern
affairs, Latin-American affairs, West
ern European affairs, Near Eastern
affairs, Mexican affairs and Eastern
European affairs. 1t will suffice to
show the scope Of these groups to
point out that China and Japan are
among the nations included In the Far
Eastern division; that all Of South
and Central America are included In
the Latin-American list; that Great
Britain and France are among those
under Western European supervision
that Albania and Bulgaria are listed
as Near Eastern; that Finland and
Poland are termed Eastern European
and that Mexico Is dealt with alone
in one division.
Acting under the general super.
vision of the secretary, or the under
secretary. the chiefs Of these di.
visions are the direct contacts of the
foreign service personnel with theii
government at home. OF course, in q
time Of crisis, the secretary or the
under secretary is kent constantly in !