Evening star., 1936-12-04
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

European and American records, past
and present, are replete with examples
of intermarriage between diplomats and
women of other nationalities. The State
Departments dictum against further al
lianceS of that sort for Uncle Sans for
eign service officers therefore has little
historical background to support it. At
outbreak of the World War; four belliger-
ent countries were represented in WASH
ington by ENJOYS with American wives
Russian Ambassador Bakhmeteff, French
Ambassador Jusserand, German Ambas-
sador Bernstorff and Belgian Minister
Qater AmbassadoD Cartier. 1t was only
the other day that retiring Italian Am
baSSador RoSSo announced his betrothal
to an American. Two United States Dip
lomats now active in Latin America are
married to foreigners-Rio de Janeiro
Ambassador Gibson, whose wife Is a
Belgian, and Special Ambassador Bra
den, who is married to Chilean. Pres
ident Roosevelts late cousin, Warren De-
lano Robbins, who was Minister to Can
ada, was the husband of an Argentine
lady now attached to Secretary Hull's
delegation at Buenos Aires. Norman
Armour, present American Minister at
Ottawa, has Russian wife, born prin-
cess. Four foreign ENJOYS now accredited
to Washington are welded to Ameri.
cans-British Ambassador Lindsay, Ar.
gentine Ambassador Espil, Austrian Min
lister Prochnik and Hungarian Minister
Pelenyi. Sir Esme Howard, former Brit.
ish Ambassador here, was married to an
Italian. Sir Henry Chiffon, present
British Ambassador to Spain, has an
American wife.
Since time immemorial, European
statesmen and diplomats of renown have
gone abroad to seek their life partners.
Germanys famous pre-war imperial
chancellor, Prince Won Buelow, was the
husband of an italian countess. Soviet
Foreign Commissar Litvinoff Is married
to an English woman. Chamberlains,
Churchills, Curzons and other English
men Of distinction in statecraft and
diplomacy during the Victorian reign,
and later, entered the Yankee matri-
monial alliances. Along with marriages
between members of European royal
houses, unions of eminent public men
with women of other countries have
tradltionally been regarded in the Old
World as an important potential force
LUZ tilc CcucltALS OF COrQldl lnCerna-
tional relations, rather than as q peril
to the amity or safety Of nations.
X \
Speaking Of diplomats, President
Roosevelt's selection Of James w. Gerard,
former Ambassador to Germany, as the
United States special envoy to the coro-
nation Of King Edward vuI-if such
there Is to be-is sure to be regarded .
happy choice by our British cousins.
During the period Of Americas World
War neutrality, Mr.. Gerard had charge
of British interests at Berlin. He in
gratiated himself particularly with John
Bulls people by his courageous and un-
remitting efforts on behalf Of British
prisoners of war and British civilians in
termed in German concentration camps.
The former New York State Supreme
Court justice and recent Democratic Ma
tional Committee finance chairman viii
on that account be cordially welcomed
at London, when he turns up as Uncle
Sans coronation representative.
~ \
That the Constitution Of the United
States u by no means sacrosanct, as far
- amendmsnt = concerned. . graph