Cabinet officers. He deals personally with the diplomatic officials of other nations, who form a numerous and costly clientele. His official obligations are enormous and compelling. He will fail, to the national detriment and discredit, unless he fulfils them." In many ways his representative character is like that of an ambassador, and the same considerations which have led to the adoption of representation allowances for the Foreign Service should suggest an extension of the same facilities to the Secretary of State. In no other way is this great office ever to be properly filled, except by quasi-millionaires.

Permanent assistant secretaries required.-Secretary Hughes, upon taking office, promptly selected a trained service man of the grade of ambassador, to be Undersecretary of State. The two vacant positions of assistant secretary he filled with other diplomatic officers selected from the career service. Largely through this sagacious move, the chief points of weakness in the departmental structure have been overcome temporarily, but future administrations may hardly be expected to follow this constructive example. Such appointments, therefore, while a splendid expedient, do not establish and maintain continuity.

It has long been recognized that there should be permanent and very capable officials in this department, and that the whole of the establishment should be

82"Although the Secretary of State is usually considered the leading man in the Cabinet, his salary of $12,000 is no greater than that received by the other members of the Cabinet and is quite insufficient, in view of his living expenses and the social duties incumbent upon him. The outbreak of the European War greatly increased the work and responsibilities of the state department and accentuated the inadequacy of its personnel and financial support. It is only within recent years that either Congress or the country has begun to realize the great importance of the work of the department and the need that it should be adequately supported."Mathews, "The Conduct of American Foreign Relations," p. 50.

strengthened to the utmost." Must the United States, in the most important international period of its existence, suffer some sad blunder or reversal before a law to that effect is enacted?

The Foreign Service reorganization act carries a provision in the retirement feature which permits Foreign Service officers to retain their retirement status when appointed to an official position in the Department of State." If this provision should be so broadened as to apply as well to salary, the whole of the trained Foreign Service might then be considered as a field of selection for permanent assistant secretaries.

A suggested formula of reform.-The only functions of the Department of State which in any way resemble those of the other executive departments of the Government are the so-called "home functions," which are largely routine in character, and which have no relation to the conduct of foreign affairs. It has been suggested that these should be transferred to some other department and the name of the Department of State changed back to the "Department of Foreign Affairs." In the unique rôle of a foreign office, pure and simple, it would be a small establishment and could, with appropriate discrimination, receive special legislative treatment at the hands of Congress. As matters now stand, it suffers its proportional share of every financial curtailment of the Government, precisely as though its work were dependent upon domestic, instead of foreign, exigencies.

33"In addition to making provision for adequate salaries it is equally important to perfect the machinery for selecting and promoting those who are ablest among the officers. In the first place political appointments should be limited to the Secretary of State and one other official, who replaces him in his absence."-Report on the Foreign Service, National Civil Service Reform League (1919), p. 88.

34 Sec. 18(0), Act of May 24, 1924.

36

The four positions of assistant secretary could be rendered non-partisan and permanent by a simple statute declaring them to be so, and requiring, in case of removals, that the President submit to Congress a writ___ten_statement of the reasons which prompted his action. There is a precedent for this procedure in the position of consular assistant (formerly consular clerk). But, of course, another difficulty would be to find suitable men; men of education, ability, experience, personality, vision, and character, to whom such a permanent trust might reasonably be confided. We have had such men, and we have them in the department now, temporarily. Surely the Foreign Service is capable of supplying the requisite number of additional permanent officials.

Bibliography.

Hughes, Charles Evans: "Some Aspects of the Work of the State Department"; American Journal of International Law, July,

1922.

Hughes, Charles Evans: "Some Observations on the Conduct of our Foreign Relations"; American Journal of International Law, July, 1922.

Hunt, Gaillard: "The Department of State of the United States; Its History and Functions"; Yale University Press, New Haven,

1914.

Low, Sydney: "Foreign Office Autocracy"; Fortnightly Review, January, 1912.

35 The problem here, like that which confronted the Foreign Service for so many years, is a question of securing relief from political pressure. The Report of the National Civil Service Reform League states that "very often one of the Assistant Secretaries of State is a scion of politics, and forced upon the Secretary of State by influential members of Congress."-p. 84.

36"And no clerk (consular assistant) so appointed shall be removed from office, except for cause stated in writing, which shall be submitted to Congress at the session first following such removal.”—Act of June 20, 1864, R. S. 1705.

Phillips, William: "An Account of the Development of the Geographical Divisions in the Department of State"; American Consular Bulletin, Washington, December, 1922.

"Reorganization of the Department of State"; The Nation, LXXXIX, 294-5, September 30, 1909.

"Rules and Regulations Governing the Dept. of State"; Sen. Doc. No. 359, 59th Cong., 2nd Sess., 1917.

Sweetser, A.: "Why the Dept. of State should be Reorganized"; World's Work, XXXIX, 511-15, March, 1920.

Thayer, William Roscoe: "The Life of John Hay"; Houghton, Mifflin Co., Boston, 1915.

Young, George: "Diplomacy, Old and New"; Harcourt, Brace & Co., New York, 1921.

CHAPTER IV

THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE

A branch of the Foreign Service.-By way of facilitating analysis, the Diplomatic Service and the Consular Service will first be discussed in separate chapters, and afterwards as a single Foreign Service composed of two coordinate branches which function on a basis of amalgamation and interchangeability as a result of recent reorganization.

Together, these two units, operating abroad under the direction of the Secretary of State, constitute, with the Department of State, the executive machinery for the conduct of foreign relations. They are now administered jointly as the "Foreign Service of the United States." 1

Diplomatic offices.-Diplomatic offices are created by international law, and by the Constitution; not by act of Congress, nor by the President.2

The expression "ambassadors and other public ministers," as used in the Constitution, is understood as comprehending all officers having diplomatic functions, whatever their title or designation.3

James Madison, in 1822, clearly showed the nature of diplomatic offices by pointing out, in contrast with views originally held by him:

1Act of May 24, 1924.

2 Attorney General Cushing held "that 'public ministers' as a class are created by the Constitution and law of nations, not by act of Congress. No act of Congress created the office of minister *** to which ministers were sent by President Washington."-7 Op. U. S. Att. Gen., 212. 3Moore, “Digest of International Law,” vol. IV, p. 489.