130 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [voL. 48 
tion, best qualified in certain leading subjects, such as international 
law, the common or civil law or both, including, as absolutely neces- 
sary, some practice in one or the other of these, the history of 
treaties, general modern history, political economy, a speaking 
knowledge of French and a reading knowledge of at least one other 
foreign language. 
As to the practice of the law, I would demand that every candi- 
date should have been admitted to the bar and have been in practice 
at least two years. You ask, perhaps, why I lay such stress on the 
actual practice of the law. My reasons are two. First, in the 
interest of the service, I wish every Secretary to have been in touch 
with real men and real activities. Secondly, in the interest of the 
candidates, I do not wish to see a diplomatic proletariate. Bear in 
mind that the number of candidates for a regularly organized ser- 
vice would doubtless be large, and that the number to be appointed 
is small. Without this practical requirement we should have great 
numbers of ingenuous youth left with no occupation save cursing 
the unfitness of the Secretary of State or the stupidity of the ex- 
aminers: with this requirement, the rejected would simply pursue 
the even tenor of their profession—all the better fitted for it by their 
diplomatic studies. 
I would make the examination in all the above subjects strict, 
and would limit the selection of Secretaries of Legation and Em- 
bassy to the men thus presented. But, in view of the importance 
of various personal qualifications which fit men to influence their 
fellowmen, and which cannot be ascertained wholly by examination, 
I would leave the Secretary of State full liberty of choice among 
those who have honorably passed the examinations above required. 
The men thus selected and approved I would have appointed as Sec- 
retaries of the lower grades—that is, Third Secretaries of Embassy 
and Second Secretaries of Legation—and these men when once 
appointed should be promoted for good service, to the higher secre- 
taryships of Embassy and Legation, and from the less to the more 
important capitals, under such rules as the State Department might 
find most conducive to the efficiency of the service.. No new Secre- 
taries of any grade should thereafter be appointed who had not 
passed the examinations required for the lowest grade of secretaries 
as above provided; but all who had already been in the service dur- 
ing two years should be eligible for promotion for good service, 
from whatever posts they might be occupying. 
VI. I would attach to every Embassy three secretaries, to every 
Legation two, and to every post of Minister Resident, at least one. 
