THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3082, 16 April 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE.

Tiierk is probably no more central figure in American politics that Mr James J. Blaine, the United States Secretary of State. Gifted with great intellect and force of character, Mr Blaine has, upon more than one occasion, practically decided the policy to be puisued in dealing with importaut international questions. His elevation to the Presidential chair is admitted to be but a question of time. This is, if his health permits, but as our readers are aware, this is very precarious ; indeed not very long ago the Secretary of State was so ill that even his life was despaired of. At present Mr Blaine is in good health, and the following uotes of an interview given to a representative of the New Fork World will be read with interest : —

The room in which I sat awaiting an audience with the Secretary of State was long and of good proportions, furnished and decorated in a style of rich sobriety. It faced south, and through the windows were visible the shining reaches of the Potomac, illuminated by the yellow sunlight of Indian summer. Opposite me was an old steel engraving of Franklin Pierce ; on the mantelpiece to the right was a bronze statuette of General Jackson on horseback ; there were bronze busts of Washington and other Revolutionary celebrities surmounting polishedwood cupboards and bookcases. A clerk sat at a desk in the middle of the room ; in a corner was the desk of Private Secretary Dent, a tall, pale young man. Half-a-dozen men aud women were seated in chairs around the room, also waiting for an audience. There was no sound except the quiet ticking of the big clock at the west end. Whenever any one spoke it was in a hushed voice. Noiseless clerks or messengers entered and left occasionally by the door communicating with the Secretary s office, which was open, but was protected by a tall, chocolate-coloured screen. I was reminded of the ante-room of some great physician, where patients wait to learn whether they are to live or die. Presently a coloured attendant appeared from behind the screen and beckoned to me. I followed him, aud found myself in a small cabinet, from which I passed by another door into a room narrow in proportion to its great length. The walls were encircled with oil portraits. At the hither end was a table covered with papers, and there, fa«iug down the room, sat a man with white hair and close-cut beard, but with clearcomplexioned face that showed few sigus of age. , Secretary Blaine—'for it was he rose and gave me his hand—-a white, well-kept hand, firm and shapely. _ Before I sat down he had given me an instance of his extraordinary memory by recalling the occasion of our last meeting, at a dinner given by Whitelaw Reid nine years

before. Mr Blaine spoke in a fall, musical voice agreeable to the ear and expressed himself with noticeable distinctness both of matter and utterance, yet with the naturalness and ease of one whose mind is perspicacious and whose ideas flow easily. He sat down with his elbows on the arms of his cbair, occasionally making slight gestures with bis hands. His eyes are soft, bright and clear, and they are intelligence itself, I don't know that 1 have seen such another pair of eyes : they see and understand everything at once and without effort. In fact, effort, in the sense of straining to achieve, is not suggested by Mr Blaine's aspect ; he seems to do what he does easily and even pleasureably. He holds the most important and responsible post under the Administration ; but, (so far, at least, as his intellect is concerned) his capacity remaius indefinitely in excess of auy demauds upon it. OFFICE ROUTINE. "The routine of the office," said he, is very simple, and you can understand it in five minutes. I have under me au Assistant Secretary and a Second and Third Assistant. The Assistant Secretary take 3 his place as Secretary pro tem when the Secretary is a! amt, and attends to all the consular ct-r.••ciiondence. The present incumbent is Mr William F. Wharton, of Boston. "The Second Assistant, Mr Alvey A. Adee, is engaged wholly in the diplomatic department. The Third Assistant has all cases of extradition and does a great deal of miscellaneous duty besides. It is vacant now. It was occupied by Mi-

John B. Moore, who rosigncd to accept a very tempting offer in Columbia College as Professor of International Law. He was introduced into the Department a? a clerk by Mr Bayard, my immediate predecessor. He is a very mature man, and very able. At twenty-nine only he wrote what I think will be considered the standard work on extradition. I predict he will be heard from in his career

MIX IiURKAOS. " There are six bureaus in the Depart-ment-Diplomatic, Consular, Accounts, Statistics, Rolls and Library, and Indexes and Archives. There is also an officer, Mr Frank P. Partrige, who serves here, but appointed by the AttorneyGeneral, the supreme law head of the Government. The chief clerk is a very important ott>cer in the administration of the Department— a man of all work, who knows everything about the Department. The present occupant is Mr Sevellou Brown, who was originally appointed by Mr Seward."

" But you haven't told me where you come in, Mr Blaiue ?" " Well, of conre. all these subordinate divisions centre here," replied the Secretary, tapping his tinkers on his desk. "The moment any difficulty occurs in the transaction of any division it cornea to me. I have to sign all diplomatic correspondence and countersign documents, such as proclamations, treaties and commissions, to which the President has affixed his signature, and all passports and exequaturs." " But in such matters you place some trust in your subordinates —you don't have to go through everything personally ? "

TRUSTED SUBORDINATES. " Oh, a very greit deal of trust is placed in subordinates. I sometimes think, for instance, that I couldn't get on without my assistant secretary, Mr Adee, who is in that room there." He pointed to a room at the western extremity of the room. "He is a very able man," he added with emphasis. " Our force is somewhat less than iu the other departments—we have only sixtynine altogether; but they know their duties, and perform them diligently and faithfully. At the beginning of our Government, the head of the State Department was called the 1 Secretary for Foreign Affairs,' but two years afterwards the duties of the office were widened and it was called the 'Secretary of State.' At first the Secretary had but a single assistant. Mr Clay, when Secretary of State under John Qnincy Adams, had but twelve. Mr Webster, when Secretary under Ocneial Harrison, had but thirty. The business has expanded enormously of late years, principally owing tn the invention of the telegraph. A great part of our correspondence is carried on by telegraph. The saving of time is of the greatest importance. I often wonder how they ever got on without the telegraph." PERSONAL WORK. " There are some parts of the corrospondeneo tmd negotiations which you are obliged to perform entirely yourself ?"

" Yes, anything of importance or that assumes-the form of a diplomatic discussion," said Mr Blaine, laying his hand on his deck " Any critical matter ; anything involving special responsibility, Tho correspondence with Italy respecting the New Orleans matter, for instance, I wrote myself. Literally yourself ?" " Yes, actually, myself, with my own hand- I wrote the papers at ir>y home ; I didn't oven have an amanuensis. And I wrote in tho same way the papers in the Behring Sea controversy. I do most of tho more important part of my work at home." Hero an attendant entered with a sheet of paper, on which were half a dozen lines of writing. "This man is in great distress," he said, putting the papers before Mr Blaine. Tho latter glanced over it and signed it. I said : "Do you have much of that sort of detail work to do ?" " Such things are coming in all the time ; but nevertheless," added the Secretary, with a smile. " this office is one in which it is very easy to dodge." You can refer mat tors to various subordinates." But it was evident that Mr Blaiue was not in tho habit of dodging. Ho did all I

that camo to his hands to do, and always, kuew just what he was doing. A clerk ca.ne in bearing several large parchments with ornamental lettering and writing. One or two or them bore the signature of Benjamin Harrison. Mr Blaine signed them in a small, neat, running hand, slanting upwards. One was a commission for a secretary of legation to tho Minister at Chili. DIFFIOOI.TIKS IX CKTTINO MEN. "Our chief trouble in appointing these secretaries to foreign legations is to get men who can speak the language," remarked Mr Blaine. "It seems to me that we Americans don't pay much attention to the study of foreign languages. Our country is so big, and all speaking the one language, that it doesn't oceur to us. In England now it is a matter of course that anyone connected with the Government, or at least with the Diplomatic Department, should speak French at any rate. But the other day we wanted a secretary for the legation at Japan, where French is the diplomatic I think it was three months that we were hunting everywhere for a man willing and able to take the position, who can speak French. There were graduates of perhaps half a dozen of our best colleges. You will suppose that anyone taking up a diplomatic career would make foreigu languages one of his first studies."

" Are all the negotiations of this Department reduced to writing?" I asked.

" A great deal is done by personal interviews with Ministers, and private talks, of which no record appears. Some questions of first-rate importance arc treated in this way, when for any reason

it may be inexpedient to have the details published." "During the Rosso-Turkish war," I said, "Colonel Wellesley, of the English army, was the bearer of a verbal despatch from Queen Victoria to the Czir, saying that unless the war was finished in one campaign. England would support

the Turks. This mission was so secret that Lord Derby, then Secretary for War, was not aware of it until months afterwards. Have such things ever occurred under our Government ?"

MIGIIT OCCDR. " Such a thing might occur," answered Mr Blaine. " It is a picturesque idea thai history may turn upon a spoken word, of which no record remains," said I. " Yes, it is often conver.ient so to conduct affairs that no tangible ovidenoe may survive. A diplomatist is often glad to be able to make a technical denial. This ia a very public age, but affairs of state may easily be obstructed or compromised by ill-timeii publicity. '• Have you much correspondence with the Governors of States in this country ? " No, not much ; very seldon. Occasionally circumstances may happen to mako it necessary. At the time of the lynchiug of those Italians, for instance, I had some correspondence with the Governor of Louisiana. But the bulk of our correspondence has relation to foreign couutries."

" Do you have much personal intercourse with the foreign representatives in Washington " A great dual. They are all free to come here at any time. But Th.irsday is the day specially appointed for their visits. Wo give up practically the whole of the day to thein. They begin to come at 10 o'clock in the morning, for many of them have the foreign habit of lakiuii' a very light early breakfast. Americms. you know, need a substantial breakfast to begin the work of tho day on." " You receive them I suppose, in the order of their importance

all ox one level. " Oh, no," replied the Secretary, laughing. "All foreign representatives here are strictly upon an equal footing. There is absolutely no other precedence than of arrival. The one who comes first is the first to be received. If the representative from Hayti gets here one minute before Sir Julian Pauncefote, Sir Julian must wait uutil the gentleman from Hayti has said his say." "Aud you are in constant communication with all of them?"

" They dou't necessarily come to me about any matter of ordinary business that can as well be attended to by oubordinate officers; but on matters of any importance they communicate directly with me, and, as I said, Thursdays are specially given to them." " Do you sec much of the President ?' " Yes, the Secretary of State is very near the President owing to the nature of his duties. They must eanfer together on a great number of questions. I am, in fact, the Secretary of the President—not that I ever do any work in the White House, of course, but it is through the medium of this office that he carries on communication with foreign Governments." " It seems to me," said I, " that this Department must be the most interesting to administer of any in the Government."

VERY PLEASANT DUTIES. "Well," returned Mr Blaine with a smile, " I don't wish to be understood as underestimating the charms, or certainly not the importance of auy of the other departments ; but for my own part I do find the duties of the office very pleasant. It deali necessarily mainly with questions of National policy, and has, perhaps, a more direct hand than most of the others in aiding to shape the course of contemporary history. A number of events of largo importance are conducted, or take their rise here."

«' The relations of a great country like thin with other countries are naturally more striking and picturesque than the ordinary routine of domestic nffairsBut the treasury is a vast department; so is the Inferior : so is the Post Office. They all have infinite details which would be mure irlcsnme to ine. The Navy has become of great importance und-ir Mr Tracy, and the Department, of Jnstiie under Mi- Miller, is large and to a layman very complicated, Mr l'roctor who has been a very efficient Secretary of War , has resined to accept a life office —United States Senator irom Vermont. The oecrotary of Agriculture, " Unule Jerry," is the most popular man in the Cabinet." "You have had some great predecessors," I remarked, looking at a portrait of I Jdarcy hanging oa the wall opposite,

LOOKINf! AT I'ICTPIIKS. " Marry was a great man," replied Blair e ; ' there, at the further end of tinroom, are two fine portrait* I want you to look lit-'' lie got up from his chair and we walked down the lcngi.li of tin apartment. Th« secretary i» a tall man. little less than (i feet in height, aad buttoned up in his black frock :x>nt and holding himself erect, he looked his height. " That is Lord Ashburlon," Insaid, indicating the the portrait of a rosy faced, homely, clever, Englishman sitting at a table with his lean, long fin sored hand upon the famous treaty. "And that," he continued, indicating the other —but there was no need to name the owner of that, marvellous head, and those smouldering uufathomable eye*. It was a portrait of Daniel Webster, and ono of the best I havo ever seen.'

*' I havo heard him speak," said Mr Blaine ; " and here is his contemporary, Henry Clay . It is a fino work of art and was bought by the Government at a large price I believe." It was a remarkable bead, differing from any likeness of Clav with which I am acquainted, but bcariug enternal evidences of beiug a fiithful likeliest*. I havo listened to him when lie made one of Iris most cogent speeches," said Mr Blaine. " How do the contemporary orators of Congress comparc with the men of those days in eloquence ?" I asked. TAXING Ills MEMORY. Mr Blaine stroked his chin and scorned to be taxing his memory. "I don't know," he said at last, in a hesitating tone, " that we have any great orators in Congross just now, but a number of great debaters." Another portrait which he pointed out out to me was that of Seward, with all the acuteness and capacity of the man in it ; " and if you'll come in liore," said Mr Blaine, "I'll show you another of him." He opened the door of the further room and at a table sat a man with his back towards ns, writing. There wore one or two clerks in the room with whom the Secretary exchanged kindly greetings. Meanwhile the man at the desk had not looked round or appear to no'ico our entrance.

"Ho is deaf," observed Mr Blaine to me, " but I want iutroduce you to Mr Adce," and ho tapped hitn on the shoulder.

Very little communicationwith Mr Adee sufficient to show me that his chief characterization of him as a very able man was deserved. Ability glows and sparkles from his face ; anil one fancies that his insensibility to outward sounds but opens his inner ear more actually to the discourse of bright and penetrating thought. It is goo ' to h-ive such an ally at ones back, and Mr Blaine's friendly feeling for his assistant was obvious.

As we came out I glanced at the clock, and discovered that I had been monopolizing the Secretary's attention for nearly an hour.

"There 13one thing that has always been an engaging mystery to uip, and I imagine to most outside people," I raid. " l would like to know what happens at Cabinet meetings !" " Well, in regard to Cabinet meetings, one hardly wishes to speak of them, for they are regarded as private, but there is no harm that I can sso in saying that they are simply a conference twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, betsveen the President and his several Secretaries. Everything presented there is regarded as confidential. When assembled the President naturally communicates wliat he wishes before any one else speaks. He is an extraordinary man of bu-iiiess, prompt, decided, clear headed. He wastes no ti.ne. I have rarely heard a man more ably or mors tersely discuss public questions. When he is through the several Secretaries, in their order, bring up anything from their Departments that present a general question, a question which all Departments are asked to take part in deciding. Business is settled promptly,, and it affords almost the only time when tho Secretaries meet, and in Cabinet meetings they becorno very well acquainted. Morel would not wish to say in regard to tbem." COULD NOT IMPROVE IT. " One tbiug more, Mr. Blaine. Have any improvements suggested themselves to you that might be introduced into the methods of the"Department of State " I scarcely know of anything. The present system has grown up by degiees and grown of necessity. It is no mill's work. It has been added to from time to time as occasion called for, anil will doubtless be enlarged hereafter. At present the system works well, expeditio lsly nnd rapidly. I do not know of anything particularly that could improve it." At this juncture the attendant came 111 and said that the Govornor of New Mexico was outside and wished to see the Secretary. So I took my leave, well content to oomo in contact with the finest genuis in American politics.