Munsey's Magazine, October 1913

Munsey's Magazine, October 1913 This issue features a nonfiction article by Judson C. Welliver examining the diplomatic service under President Wilson's administration. "Making Over the Diplomatic Service" analyzes the structural deficiencies handicapping American representation abroad. Welliver documents how American ambassadors, paid only $17,500 annually with no official residences provided, operate at severe disadvantage compared to counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Austria, who receive $22,000–$45,000 plus government-owned mansions valued in the millions. The article details specific diplomatic appointments Wilson attempted (and several prominent refusals from Richard Olney, Charles W. Eliot, and others) and profiles new appointees including James W. Gerard to Germany and Walter Hines Page to Britain. Welliver describes Congress's inadequate $150,000-per-capital limit for purchasing embassies and documents the embarrassing practical consequences, including Ambassador Gerard's house-hunting difficulties in Berlin. The piece concludes by addressing proposals to better coordinate diplomatic and consular services through merit-based reorganization.