Show Diplomatic Sinecures to Be Abolished r t p1I p1 i I fCONSUlKR SERVICE I 1 fj BUEAFTER there will be no pure HEREAFTER ll ly ornamental places in the foreign for-eign service of the United States While this cannot be said to be new policy it is the declared Intention of the present administration and especially espe-cially of the state department that there shall be no deviation from It This rule will not be made to apply only to the diplomatic service but to tho consular offices of the United States from the highest to the lowest In years past there have been many complaints that the consular service of the United States was generally gen-erally speaking Inefficient and of a much lower grade than that of many foreign countries having representatives representa-tives in the United States The state department officials themselves In previous years have acknowledged this and while the service has improved Im-proved of late It has not made the rapid advance that Is noticeable In the service of some of our foreign trade competitors At present this government has in foreign countries 298 consuls and consuls con-suls general with a large number of vice end deputy consuls interpreters etc making a total of about 1200 and It Is the expressed determination of the state department to elevate the service In every possible way A working familiarity with the subjects with which they will have to deal is demanded to a greater extent than ever before It Is tho purpose of the state department depart-ment to unify the work of the diplomatic diplo-matic and consular services in the interest in-terest of greater efficiency For many years It has been a matter of regret > to the government that so many na tlvo foreigners occupy subordinate positions in our consular service as deputies and clerks This however has been largely a matter of inadequate inade-quate compensation but the policy from now on will bo to substitute Americans for foreigners wherever it Is possible to do so and considerable progress has already been made la this direction Within a comparatively short time the percentage of foreigners In our consular service has been reduced from 401 per cent to 188 per cent and the percentage of Americans In that service has been Increased from D39 to 812 per cent These percentages percent-ages however apply only to clerkships clerk-ships paying 800 a year or less but the work of weeding out foreigners will continuo as long as Americans of the requisite capacity can bo obtained to fill the places |