STATISTICS AS TO MERIT AND NONPARTISAN CHARACTER OF APPOINTMENTS

How faithful to the merit system and how nonpartisan has been the conduct of the Diplomatic and Consular Services in the last four years may be judged from the following:  Three ambassadors now serving held their present rank at the beginning of my administration.  Of the ten ambassadors whom I have appointed, five were by promotion from the rank of minister.  Nine ministers now serving held their present rank at the beginning of my administration.  Of the thirty ministers whom I have appointed, eleven were promoted from the lower grades of the foreign service or from the Department of State.  Of the nineteen missions in Latin America, where our relations are close and our interest is great, fifteen chiefs of mission are service men, three having entered the service during this administration.  Thirty-seven secretaries of embassy or legation who have received their initial appointments after passing successfully the required examination were chosen for ascertained fitness, without regard to political affiliations.  A dearth of candidates from Southern and Western States has alone made it impossible thus far completely to equalize all the States’ representations in the foreign service.  In the effort to equalize the representation of the various States in the Consular Service I have made sixteen of the twenty-nine new appointments as consul which have occurred during my administration from the Southern States.  This is 55 per cent.  Every other consular appointment made, including the promotion of eleven young men from the consular assistant and student interpreter corps, has been by promotion or transfer, based solely upon efficiency shown in the service.

In order to assure to the business and other interests of the United States a continuance of the resulting benefits of this reform, I earnestly renew my previous recommendations of legislation making it permanent along some such lines as those of the measure now Pending in Congress.

Larger provision for embassies and legations and for other expenses of our foreign representatives recommended

In connection with legislation for the amelioration of the foreign service, I wish to invite attention to the advisability of placing the salary appropriations upon a better basis.  I believe that the best results would be obtained by a moderate scale of salaries, with adequate funds for the expense of proper representation, based in each case upon the scale and cost of living at each post, controlled by a system of accounting, and under the general direction of the Department of State.