THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE

Of the many reforms which are expectantly assigned to the next administration, none is more essential than a reorganization of our diplomatic corps. Under the present system, there are two preliminary qualifications which a candidate for office must possess before he can hope to find a career in the service: one is "pull," and the other is a private income. Added to this the uncertainty of being retained when a change in political power occurs in Washington, the man who hopes to advance on merit alone has stall chance of success.

Constant and justified criticism is discoed at the enlargement of our diplomatic service. Not only is its personnel inadequate, but in many instances it is inefficient. Our representatives abroad are not equal to the tasks which confront them; appropriations for this branch of the government are wholly insufficient, so that its business cannot be properly conducted, the Consul-General bears the brunt of the hard work, and salaries are so meagre as to make individual support by the secretaries themselves a necessity. A contrast with the extensive provisions of foreign nations for their diplomatic delegates serves to lace the United States in a glaringly unfavorable light.

Ordinarily the life of a diplomat offers much that is attractive to a college graduate. But in the majority of cases the attendant difficulties forbid his participation and he casts Lis lot with an occupation that is more assuring for the future. Our growing trade relations is only one of the many reasons why our position today demands an increasingly competent handling of international affairs. A few tentative steps have already been taken toward the improvement of the consular service. Conditions authoritatively claim an immediate and wide-sweeping reconstruction of that body, the diplomatic corps and their common connections.