Evening star., 1934-08-19

| same OTeSS WOIn Dy court servants al
over Europe, and an American min.
lister with it on might be called upor
to perform the menial Office of tht
court by those who perhaps have no.
been introduced to him and who have
not been told that surrounding hin
is the atmosphere that always sur
rounds the American citizen anc
makes him equal to the King.
Mr. Richelieu Robinson has intro
duced very foolish resolution. II
has not even the recommendation oi
being original. This dresS-for- "a
minister question has been before the
people many times before, and small
men have made capital of it in the
past as Richelieu is doing now Marcy
who was Secretary of State at the
time Buchanan was Minister to Eng
land, send circular to all our min
isters abroad, directing them to ap-
pear at court in the simple dress of an
American citizen. The announcement
fell like bomb into the quarters of
the different American legations and
a large amount of state correspond
ence was the result. The Minister at
Paris wrote that it would not seriously
impair the relations existing between
the two countries, the Berlin Min
ister compromised the matter by wear
ing simple dress. Buchanan was in a
peck of trouble for time, and Au-
gust Belmont, who was then at The
Hague. wrote enthusiastically home
that he had even danced with the
Queen in the simple dress of an
American citizen.
The dress question hung fire in
London for five months at this time.
There was no court and it did not
come to head until February when
|. Parliament met. Buchanan stayed
away from the opening. His absence
was commented upon by the London
papers, and it was said that the mat
ter of dress was the reason. The first
levee of the Que-n occurred during
this month. Buchanan appeared at
it in a swallow-tail coat with the
addition of small dress sword He
created sensation but was well re-
cetved. He describes the reception as
follows in pirate le ;ar II Harriet
Lane, dated February a. 1854:
"The dress QUESTION, after much
difficulty, has been finally and
satisfactorily settled. I appeared
at the levee on Wednesday last in
just such dress as I have worn
at the Presidents 100 times. A
black coat, white waistcoat and
cravat, and black pantaloons and
ryit he
very plain, black-handled, black
hilted dress sword. This to
crafty those who have yielded
SO much and to distinguish me
from the upper servants.
l knew ! should be received in
any dress m ght wear, but could
not have anticipated that I should
be received in so kind and dis
t1nguiShed man ler. As I ap-
preached the Queen, an arch but
benevolent smile lit up her coun-
tenance, as much as to say, You
are the first man who ever ap-
peared before me at court In such
a dress -"
So ended the trouble in England.
Buchanan had thought of wearing
United States brass buttons on his
coat, but he finally chose the dress
sword instead.
The American Embassy in France
had quite a trouble over this same
question at this same time. Henry
5. Sanford Of Connecticut was sec
retary of the legation, but he acted
as charge d'affaires for a short time
before the appointment of Mason as
Minister in 1853. Sanford was a
great Stickler for American dress: he
resigned because Mason, he said. went
to court In a ccat embroidered in gilt
t1nsel, a sword and a cooked hat, the
invention of a Dutch tailor in Paris,
borrowed chiefly from the livery of
one Of the attaches of a minor con-
tinental court.
Six years later, after Mason had
gone out, Sandford still had the cues
ton on his mind, and he wrote from
Connecticut to Cass, then Secretary
OF State, that Faulkner, just appoint
ed Minister to France, should have
his dress dictated to him just before
he left America.
Some of our Ministers abroad"
he wrote, conform to the instruc-
ttons on June l, 1858; some consult
their own individual notions as to
the kind of dress most becoming
personally. One to my certain
knowledge has the constellation of
our Confederacy embroidered in
thlrty-odd emblematic stars on the
collar OF his coat. Another adopted
the uniform of the United States
Army, another that of a munich
pal controller of Paris-a black
velvet dress with rich embroidery.
One functionary has all his but
tons fashioned after the national
shield with spread-eagle attach
ments, and I hear of another pro-
posing to have a gorgeous suit
manufactured out of the Star
Spangled Banner"
The idea of clothes making the
Minister dates back to Ben Franklin.
who appeared in citizens dress at the
courts of Europe about the time of
the formation of our Government.
Later Ministers, however, did not fol-
low his example, and in 1917 Ameri-
can diplomats wore "a blue coat lined
with white silk. straight standing
cape embroidered with gold, single
breasted; straight or round button
holes, slightly embroidered buttons
plain or if they con be had, with
the artillerists' eagle stamped on
them q. e., an eagle flying with wreath
in its beak); cuffs embroidered in the
manner of the cape; white cashmere
breecheS. gold knee buckles, and a
thrCe-cornered chapeau."
Picture, if you can, how our Min
listers then looked 1 cannot!
So the custom continued until, !
think, the days of Andrew Jackson
who prescribed the following change
in the interest of cheapness:
American Ministers at foreign
courts should wear a black coat
with a gold star in each side of
the collar near its termination, the
under clothes to be black or white,
at the option of the wearer. A
three-cornered chapeau de bras
with a black cockade and gold