Evening star., 1936-11-30

Both In Berlin and Toxic there are coy
suggestions that the United States might
not be averse to teaming up in some
form or other with the German-Japa-
nese drive to form a league of nations
to combat communism. These fancy
hopes are apparently based on the pro-
test submitted at Moscow last year fol-
lowing references to this country during
the Congress of the Third International.
There Is, Of course. not Chinaman's
chance that Uncle Sam would ever en-
tangle himself in any anti-red alliance.
When Litvinof secured Soviet recogni-
tion in Washington three years ago. the
U. s. S. r. entered into specific stipu-
lation to refrain from subversive -propa-
ganda on American soil in any way,
shape or form. It was condition for
establishment Of diplomatic relations, Oil
which President Roosevelt laid as much
stress as he did on debts and trade. 1t is
undoubtedly Washington's purpose, as
far as the Communist peril is concerned.
to rest on this formal agreement with
Stains government and let 1t 60 at
that In any event, nothing is more
fantastic than the thought that we would
ever be coaXed, browbeaten or horn
swoggled into cooperation in so-called
defense measures" military or other
wise, of the sort which the NaZiS and
the japanese now plan for the purpose
of rolling back the crimson tide which
they pretend is about to engulf the world.
Photographic Register of the Amer
lean Foreign Service" Is the title of an
uncommonly interesting 171-page publi-
cation just off the press. In it are not
only individual photographs of the men
and women who conduct our interna-
tional relations at home and abroad,
from President Roosevelt and Secretary
Hull down to the humbleSt Vice Consul,
but also pictures of all United States
diplomatic and Consular premises
throughout the world. The book tells
a graphic statistical story about the for
eign service. Established in 1776, with
the declaration of American indepen-
dence, it now consists of 81 embassies
and legations, 259 Consular offices, II
Ambassadors, 81 Ministers. 683 foreign
service officers assigned abroad or on
duty in the State Department, 1919
clerks and 1,29l miscellaneous employees
"a total personnel as of July l, 1896, Of
3647 Other details narrate that there
are more than ZOO treaties, conventions
and agreements to which the United
States is a party and 26 permanent in
ternational bodies in which this coun-
try maintains membership, including its
share in the cost of their operation. AS
Spanish events are proving, protection
of American citizens living abroad is a
primary function of the foreign service.
On January /, 1885, they numbered 409,-
306. The net cost of conducting our
foreign relations Is around 81, ,00O, 900 q
year.
Apropos current discussion of foreign
funds, or hot money" invested in Amer
ican securities, estimated at a round
$1,000 900 900, it is noteworthy that our
own stake abroad on January l, 1851
which was about the time our dollars
quit rolling so merrily into overseas
ventures-aggregated $15,170,0 ,028 900 in
long-term investments, or more than
double the amount which foreigners
have tied UP in stocks and bonds over
here. That figure does not include the
$4,000 000, ,000-odd Of European war
debts, which are about to be semi
annually ignored again when due date,
December Is, comes around. Theoreti-
cally, individual American holders of
foreign obligations could play just as
much havoc by sudden withdrawal OF
the funds-provided they could get hold
of them-as would any abrupt movement
OF the same sort by foreigners in the
American money market.
tttA
There's lively speculation IN certain
European and Astatac quarters st wash