Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 March 1888 — THE TROUBLE WITH MOROCCO. [ARTICLE]

THE TROUBLE WITH MOROCCO.

A Divpate Growing Oat of an Irregnlar Way of Ttansaoting Bnslnes*. The American consul at Tangiers, Morocco, reports that he has encountered great obstructions in the form of proteges at hiß consulate. It has been the practice of the American consuls, in many of the foreign countries, to grant favors to Americans and natives in the way of official recognition, by which they become vice-consuls or consulsgeneral, and have a kind of supernumerary supervision over the export trade to this country. It was the policy of the present administration, in making consular changes, to weed out tnese hangerson, and to confine exclusively to the regularly authorized consul the work of countersigning invoices and supervising the export of merchandise, as well as the general looking after the interests ot American imports and exports. The consul in Morocco says that when these men were cut off from their connection with the United States government they became obstructionists, and, as far as possible, impeded c mmunication with the Moorish Minister for Foreign Affairs at Tangiers, and other officers connected with that government. The Moorish Minister

enjoys the munificent salary of S3OO a year, and our consul there says that this officer could not live if all the conwitb. He has becomeas much of an obstructionist as possible,and the refusal of our agents to,bribe him and procure his alleged valuable semceiTEas put him in a miff. The United States government at three-four'hs of tne consular stations in the world has suffered immensely during the past twenty years by maintaining lobbyists and vice-consuls, and clerks and messengers, who were both dishonest and unenterprising. The service has been at a standstill for a quarter of a century, and if the present administration really intends to weed out these men and ininse new blood and American ideas in fdrwarding onr interests in the various parts of the world, it will do a service the benefits from which will be felt more potently every year in the future. For a long time the consular service, as well as the diplomatic service of the American government, has existed' only ill name,and, while it has been ornamental, the expefiditure of tW&money has been wasted, since the service was not useful.