present themselves for examination at that department. The Second Assistant Secretary of State, the Examiner of Claims and the Chief of the Consular Division constituted the board of examiners. It appears that but one examination was held. Seven out of nine applicants qualified for positions. The next step taken in the same direction was an executive order of April 16, 1872. It is not clear as to just what was done under this regulation, and it was soon superseded by a similar one dated March 14, 1873, under the Civil Service Act of 1871. Non-competitive written examinations were required to be conducted by a board consisting of three officials from the Department of State. Several examinations were held in 1873 and 1874 and, in the words of Secretary Olney, "the system is said to have worked

well in practice, and to have both improved the consular service and relieved the department of much embarrassment." It was soon dropped, however, contemporaneously with the suspension of work by the Civil Service Commissioners of 1871, caused by Congress refusing to make adequate appropriation for their work.1

No similar important attempt to improve the service was made until 1895. On September 20 of that year, President Cleveland issued an order which provided, among other things, for an examination board to test the fitness of such consular applicants as should be approved by himself. It does not appear that the standard governing appointments was thereby much improved. For the examination, in many cases, was a mere matter of form— the appointment often preceding it. Thus for the year closing March 3, 1897, of 112 candidates approved for positions subject to examination, but one failed to qualify. Dismissals were issued by the wholesale to make way for appointees of questionable qualification. Between March 3, 1897, and November 1, 1898, out of a possible total of 272 consulates of $1,000 salary

1 See U. S. Consular Reports, vol. 49, No. 181, October, 1895, for letter of Richard Olney, Secretary of State, to President Cleveland. This letter, dated September 17, 1895, contained an historical sketch of the consular service of the United States, and was the basis of President Cleveland's Executive Order which was issued three days later.

and upwards, changes were made in 238 cases; while 21 changes out of a possible 48, in positions carrying less than $1,000 salary, were made.1

Even before the issuance of the executive order of 1895, considerable activity regarding consular reorganization was shown among certain commercial and trade associations. Why they should interest themselves in this matter at this particular time has already been indicated. The Boston Chamber of Commerce and the National Board of Trade were among the first to take up the subject. The latter adopted the following resolutions during a session held at Washington, D. C., on January 23, 1894:

"Resolved, That the National Board of Trade heartily approves the action of the Boston Merchants' Association and the Boston Chamber of Commerce in agitating for a reform of the consular service of the United States, and believes it to be the duty of the national organization and its constituent bodies to take up and push the good work in utter disregard of all party feelings, party prejudices and party affiliations.

"Resolved, That to this end a special committee of seven be created, to whom shall be committed all plans, methods and recommendations designed to place this great national service on a footing corresponding to that of other nations, removing it from the spoils system."

These resolutions are rather typical of a number that were soon passed by business organizations throughout the country.

It was soon realized that little could be done without a united effort. For, owing to lack of support in the country at large, successive attempts to secure reform legislation had been defeated in one or both houses of Congress. In 1896, the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce placed itself on record as favoring the passage of the Morgan-Lodge bill then pending in Congress. Two years later, this association sought and secured the coöperation of a number of other organizations desiring consular reform in support of a bill introduced into the House by Mr. Adams of Pennsylvania. It provided for a method of reorganization to

2

1 See Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the National Civil Service Reform League, 1903, p. 63.

This was H. R. 10924, 2d session, 55th Congress.

be worked out by a commission consisting of the president, an officer from the Department of State, two senators and three representatives. Upon more mature consideration the commercial bodies above mentioned decided not to support the Adams bill. Accordingly, they set about preparing one of their own. To this end, delegates from the Cleveland and New York Chambers of Commerce, and from other similar bodies, visited Washington. A number of the officers of the State Department rendered valuable assistance. The bill, having been prepared, was introduced into the House by Mr. Burton in January, 1900, and into the Senate by Mr. Lodge. It was popularly known as the Chambers of Commerce Bill. It differed from its predecessors, as they from each other, only in matters of detail. All provided for a systematic classification and grading of consulates; for the abolition of the fee system; and for the establishment of an examination board to govern the entrance to the lower grades of the service, from which promotions were to be made. The Chambers of Commerce Bill further specified, however, that all consuls then in the service should be recalled within two years, and be required to pass an examination such as should be prescribed for new appointees, as a test of their fitness for retention. In spite of the organized efforts of the business interests, which in 1901 had created a national committee on consular reorganization, and of the individual efforts of Senator Lodge and other reformers at Washington, the bill, though persistently introduced for several sessions, received little attention by Congress. By 1905, such was the relaxation of effort that the prospect of early reforming the consular service was anything but bright.

It was at this juncture that the New York Board of Trade and Transportation, backed by a number of other leading commercial bodies, came to the rescue. The ground for action was the firm belief that Congress would respond by proper legislation were it demanded with sufficient emphasis. Moreover, they were as firmly convinced that the commercial and manufacturing interests of the country were practically unanimous in desiring reform. Accordingly, it was decided to call a National Consular Reform Convention to meet at Washington, D. C., when Congress was in

session. Provisions were made for having a satisfactory reform bill before Congress at the same time. The preliminary arrangements having been completed, the formal call for a convention to be held on March 13, 1906, was sent out to hundreds of commercial organizations. The following extract from this circular gives quite conclusive evidence of the high value of the consul in the expansion of foreign commerce from the point of view of practical business men:

"The importance of such legislation [for consular reform] to the commercial interests of the United States cannot be overestimated. It is one of the most vital questions bearing upon our welfare at the present time. Up to now, our output of manufactured articles has in many instances barely kept pace with the demand for home consumption. In a number of cases we have been, and are as yet, compelled to depend upon foreign manufactures for a large share of our supplies. Our factories,

however, have been gradually expanding; the greatly increased capital of the country has been and is seeking investment, and the time is fast approaching when our production of many classes of goods will be greater than the demand of our home trade. We shall, consequently, become more largely dependent upon foreign markets for the proper maintenance of our factories and for the full development of our commerce. It is obvious that, if we are to be successful in our efforts to secure foreign trade, we must be as well equipped in every direction as are the countries of Europe, which to-day carry on that trade on a large and profitable scale. These countries have, for a great many years, been extremely careful in selecting for the position of consuls only men of ability and efficiency who, by training and business experience, are qualified to become largely instrumental in the development of the trade between the country they represent and the countries to which they are sent. Such men enjoy per

The call was signed by representatives of the following organizations: New York Board of Trade and Transportation; Boston Chamber of Commerce; Boston Merchants' Association; Philadelphia Board of Trade; The Trades League of Philadelphia; Chamber of Commerce of Buffalo; New York Produce Exchange; The Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco; Baltimore Chamber of Commerce; The Manufacturers' Association of New York; Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, and The National Association of Manufacturers of the United States of America.

manency of tenure of office, are promoted as vacancies occur, and their usefulness is thereby constantly increased. ....

"That, unfortunately, our consular system has not been based upon a careful and intelligent selection of the men to be appointed, but has been instead subjected to political considerations with each change of administration, is well known. This should be reformed at the earliest possible moment, if we are not to be seriously handicapped in the struggle for a proper development of our foreign commerce."

A large percentage of the organizations appealed to appointed accredited delegates, and on the date named the convention assembled. It was representative of all parts of the country and many prominent men were present. Addresses were made by Secretary Root, Senator Lodge, Representative Adams and others. The following resolution, among others, was adopted:

"It is the opinion of the constituent bodies of this convention that the consular service of the United States should be reorganized as provided for in Senate bill 1345, introduced by Senator Lodge December 11, 1905. Every feature of that bill is, in the judgment of the business organizations of the country, most essential and in harmony with the growing needs of the United States."

Every legitimate means for pressing their claims was resorted to. On March 14, the Convention in a body called upon Speaker Cannon, who promised to give the bill an early chance. It was then before the House, having passed the Senate in an amended form. Two days later it came out of committee and was passed almost unanimously. On April 5 it received the President's signature and became effective as law on June 30, 1906.

The bill as finally passed was shorn of many important features. To these reference will be made later. As enacted it provided for a classification and grading of consuls-general and consuls as follows: The former are divided into seven classes, according to salaries. These vary from $12,000 at London and Paris to $3,000 at Athens, Christiania and Copenhagen. Consuls are divided into nine classes on the same basis, the salaries ranging from $8,000 at Liverpool to $2,000 at such specified places as