REFORMS IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE 367 



least of all an Oriental people, can highly respect a diplo 

 matic representative who, by his surroundings, seems 

 not to be respected by his own people. The American 

 Government can easily afford the expenditure needed 

 to provide proper houses or apartments for its entire 

 diplomatic corps, but it can hardly afford not to provide 

 these. Full provision for them would not burden any 

 American citizen to the amount of the half of a Boston 

 biscuit. Leaving matters in their present condition is, in 

 the long run, far more costly. I once had occasion to 

 consider this matter in the light of economy, and found 

 that the cost of the whole diplomatic service of the United 

 States during an entire year was only equal to the ex 

 penditure in one of our recent wars during four hours; 

 so that if any member of the diplomatic service should 

 delay a declaration of war merely for the space of a day, 

 he would defray the cost of the service for about six 

 years. 



Mr. Charles Francis Adams, by his admirable diplo 

 matic dealing with the British Foreign Office at the crisis 

 of our Civil War, prevented the coming out of the later 

 Confederate cruisers to prey upon our commerce, and, in 

 all probability, thus averted a quarrel with Great Britain 

 which would have lengthened our Civil War by many 

 years, and doubtless have cost us hundreds of millions. 



General Woodford, our recent minister at Madrid, un 

 doubtedly delayed our war with Spain for several months, 

 and skilful diplomatic intervention brought that war to a 

 speedy close just as soon as our military and naval suc 

 cesses made it possible. 



The cases are also many where our diplomatic repre 

 sentatives have quieted ill feelings which would have 

 done great harm to our commerce. These facts show that 

 the diplomatic service may well be called &quot;The Cheap 

 Defense of Nations.&quot; 



WTien, in addition to this, an American recalls such 

 priceless services to civilization, and to the commerce of 

 our country and of the world, as those rendered by Mr. 



