Letter to Philander C. Knox, January 18, 1910

Authors

Unknown

Document Type

Letter

Files

Date

1-18-1910

Keywords

Jacob Sloat Fassett, Diplomatic Corps, Under Secretary, James A. Tawney, James B. Perkins

Description

The document is a carbon copy of a typed letter to the Secretary of State concerning hearings about an undersecretary position for the Department of State and the Diplomatic Corps.

Sender

Unknown

Recipient

Philander C. Knox

Corresponds to:

Folder 1-9, Document 1

City

Washington, D.C.

Transcription

January 18, 1910.

Dear Mr. Secretary:

In correcting the manuscript of the hearing, I come across this question and answer:

Mr. Fassett: I notice you do not have there the renewal of your former suggestion of an under secretary.

Secretary Knox: No, there seemed to be so much objection to that name that we have tried to meet the duties and functions of that office in another way.

I rather hesitate to bring up a matter of this kind at so busy a time, but the printing of your answer to Mr. Fassett's question puts you permanently on record upon a point of some interest, and I therefore call it to your attention.

I believe that the functions of my own office and its relations to you and to the Diplomatic Corps and to our foreign service are in fact precisely those of under secretary under another name. I have supposed as a matter of course that you take precisely this view, and it occurs to me that your answer may be susceptible of a different interpretation. Do you care to revise your answer?

The Honorable
P. C. Knox,
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Secretary of State.

-2-

The work is going forward very well. I send herewith the material which I think you will wish to study in preparation for the hearing before Mr. Tawney's Committee. Pages 10 to 20 of the typewritten memorandum contain an outline of the Department's work. The rest of the material for Mr. Perkins's committee will comprise the corrected report of the hearing, this material and a quantity of statistics, a systematic description of the financial obligations of international conventions, etc., and further explanation of consular estimates in the diplomatic and consular bill. All this is promised to the Committee this evening in order that it may be printed tonight. Unless you send me some word as to modifications which you desire, I shall send the whole thing to the Capitol to the Committee at half past five.

Yours very sincerely,

Language

English

Rights Statement

Please contact the Myrin Library Special Collections Department for permissions to use this document. https://www.ursinus.edu/library/archives-special-collections/

Recommended Citation

Unknown, "Letter to Philander C. Knox, January 18, 1910" (1910). Organization of the State Department. 5.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/fmhw_organization/5