OneofthethoroughlywisearrangementsofeveryBritishembassyorlegation——anarrangementwhichhasgoneformuchinGreatBritain’sremarkableseriesofdiplomaticsuccessesthroughouttheworld——istobeseeninhermaintainingateverycapitalafullnumberofsecretariesandattaches，whoservenotonlyinkeepingthecurrentofficeworkinthehighestefficiency，butwhobecome，asitwere，theANTENNAEoftheambassadororminister——additionaleyesandearstoascertainwhatisgoingonamongthosemostinfluentialinpublicaffairs。Everyembassyorlegationthusequippedservesalsoasanactualandpracticaltraining—schoolfortheservice。
VII。Iwouldappointeachattachefromtheranksofthoseespeciallyrecommended，andcertifiedtoinwritingbyleadingauthoritiesinthedepartmenttowhichheisexpectedtosupplyinformation:as，forexample，formilitaryattaches，theWarDepartment;fornavalattaches，theNavyDepartment;forfinancialattaches，theTreasuryDepartment;forcommercialattaches，theDepartmentofCommerce;foragriculturalattaches，theDepartmentofAgriculture;butalwayssubjecttotheapprovaloftheSecretaryofStateasregardssundryqualificationshintedatabove，whichcanbetterbeascertainedbyaninterviewthanbyanexamination。
Iwouldhaveagoodlynumberofattachesofthesevarioussorts，and，inourmoreimportantembassies，onerepresentingeachofthedepartmentsabovenamed。Everyattache，iffitforhisplace，wouldbeworthfarmorethanhiscosttoourgovernment，forhewouldnotonlyaddtotheinfluenceoftheembassyorlegation，butdecidedlytoitsefficiency。Asarule，allofthemcouldalsobemadeofrealuseaftertheconclusionoftheirforeigncareers:somebyreturningtothearmyornavyandbringingtheirknowledgetobearonthosebranchesoftheservice;somebytakingdutyinthevariousdepartmentsatWashington，andaidingtokeepourgovernmentabreastofthebestpracticeinothercountries;somebybecomingprofessorsinuniversitiesandcolleges，andthusaidingtodisseminateusefulinformation;somebybecomingwritersforthepress，thusgivingus，insteadoflooseguessesandhaphazardnotions，informationandsuggestionsbaseduponcloseknowledgeofimportantproblemsandoftheirsolutionincountriesotherthanourownFromthesearrangementsIfeelwarrantedinexpectingaverygreatimprovementinourdiplomaticservice。Thusformed，itwouldbecome，initsmainfeatures，likethemilitaryandnavalservices，and，indeed，initsessentialcharacteristicsastoappointmentandpromotion，likeanywell—organizedmanufacturingorcommercialestablishment。Itwouldabsolutelyrequireascertainedknowledgeandfitnessinthelowestgrades，andwouldgivepromotionforgoodservicefromfirsttolast。Yetitwouldnotbeacast—ironsystem:acertainnumberofmenwhohadshowndecidedfitnessinvarioushighpublicoffices，orinimportantbranchesofpublicorprivatebusiness，couldbeappointed，wheneverthepublicinterestshouldseemtorequireit，asministersresident，ministersplenipotentiary，andambassadors，withouthavinggonethroughexaminationorregularpromotion。
Butthesystemnowproposed，whilethusallowingthefrequentbringinginofnewandcapablemenfrompubliclifeathome，requiresthatalargeproportionofeachgradeabovethatofsecretary，saveaverysmallnumberofdiplomaticagents，commissioners，andthelike，shallbeappointedfromthosethoroughlytrainedfortheservice，andthatallsecretaries，withoutexception，shallbethoroughlytrainedandfitted。Scopewouldthusbegiventotheactivityofbothsortsofmen，andthewholesystemmadesufficientlyelastictomeetallnecessities。
Intheservicethusorganized，theclassofambassadorsandministersfittedbyknowledgeofpublicaffairsathomeforimportantnegotiations，butunacquaintedwithdiplomaticlifeorforeignusagesandlanguages，wouldbegreatlystrengthenedbysecretarieswhohadpassedthrougharegularcourseoftrainingandexperience。AnAmericandiplomaticrepresentativewithoutdiplomaticexperience，onreachinghispost，whetherasambassadororminister，wouldnotfind——aswasoncelargelythecase——secretariesasnewashimselftodiplomaticbusiness，butmenthoroughlypreparedtoaidhiminthemultitudeofminormatters，ignoranceofwhichmightverylikelycripplehimasregardsveryimportantbusiness:secretariessoexperiencedastobeabletosethiminthewayofknowing，atanycourt，whoarethemenofrealpower，andwhomereparasitesandpretenders，whatrelationsaretobecultivatedandwhatavoided，whicharetherealchannelsofinfluence，andwhichmereillusionsleadingnowhither。Ontheotherhand，thesecretariesthoroughlytrainedwoulddoubtless，intheirconversationwithamanfreshfrompublicaffairsathome，learnmanythingsofusetothem。