REFORMS IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE 365 



leased for a term of years by the American Government. 

 Every other great power, and many of the smaller 

 nations, have provided such quarters for their repre 

 sentatives, and some years ago President Cleveland 

 recommended to Congress a similar policy. Under the 

 present system the head of an American embassy or mis 

 sion abroad is at a wretched disadvantage. In many 

 capitals he finds it at times impossible to secure a proper 

 furnished apartment; and, in some, very difficult to find 

 any suitable apartment at all, whether furnished or un 

 furnished. Even if he finds proper rooms, they are fre 

 quently in an unfit quarter of the town, remote from the 

 residences of his colleagues, from the public offices, from 

 everybody and everything related to his work. His term 

 of office being generally short, he is usually considered 

 a rather undesirable tenant, and is charged accordingly. 

 Besides this, the fitting and furnishing of such an apart 

 ment is a very great burden, both as regards trouble 

 and expense. I have twice thus fitted and furnished a 

 large apartment in Berlin, and in each case this repre 

 sented an expenditure of more than the salary for the 

 first year. Within my own knowledge, two American 

 ministers abroad have impoverished their families by 

 expenditures of this kind. But this is not the worst. The 

 most serious result of the existing system concerns our 

 country. I have elsewhere shown how, in one very im 

 portant international question at St. Petersburg, our mis 

 taken policy in this respect once cost the United States 

 a sum which would have forever put that embassy, and, 

 indeed, many others besides, on the very best footing. 

 If an American ambassador is to exercise a really strong 

 influence for the United States as against other nations, 

 he must be properly provided for as regards his resi 

 dence and support, not provided for, indeed, so largely 

 as some representatives of other nations; for I neither 

 propose nor desire that the American representative shall 

 imitate the pomp of certain ambassadors of the greater 

 European powers. But he ought to be enabled to live 



