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Students in the University who are interested in American Consular work will have an opportunity to take the consular examinations held in Washington on June 26 by applying to Professor G. G. Wilson in Widener 776. All the examinations covering the various departments will be held in Washington, but applications must be filed immediately with Professor Wilson. The examinations are intended primarily for Seniors.
The duty of the consular Service is to protect the interests of the Government in foreign countries and to extend and protect American trade. It differs in its scope from the Diplomatic service, which is the medium for the conduct of international affairs, but, as a result of its close relation to the various government departments, offers a valuable opportunity for the study of foreign customs, international, maritime, and commercial laws, political and commercial geography, and other subjects of diplomatic interest.
The consul is responsible for the protection of all American citizens and American property in his district. He must settle personal estates, discharge ships, settle disputes, investigate insubordination on the high seas, take charge of American wrecks, enforce immigration laws, collect statistics on commercial questions, and aid the marketing of American merchandise abroad. The consul is the general representative of the Government and as such must be ready to handle questions of any description involving his country's interests in a foreign land.
The Consular Service in divided into a number of branches. Consuls general and consuls are the principal officers, and it is they who have charge of responsible consulates. But there are many subordinate offices requiring the same type on work on a smaller scale and offering opportunities for advancement. Moreover there are numerous special positions of which the most important is the of consul general at large, whose duty, it is to travel from place to place inspecting each consular office once in two years. For men especially interested in economics there are offices for economic investigation, in which the appointee spends all of his time in the study of economic conditions.
Postitions as vice-consuls consular assistants, interpreters, and consular agents are also open for those who are successful in the examinations, while there are a large number of clerical offices offering excellent opportunity in training for the higher positions.
The salaries for the various offices range from $12,000 annually for the highest class of consul-general to $1,500 for student interpreters. In addition the Government has made special allowances and compensations for the adjustment of official incomes to the cost of living at the various posts, and for travelling expenses.
There are various requirements for appointment to the several branches of the service, the first of which is that applicants must be citizens of the United States. A possible exception is made in the case where American citizens are not available, but in such cases only minor positions are filled by foreigners. A special requirement is placed on candidates for appointment to economic investigational work. They must be graduates of a college or university of recognized standing and must have had at least two years experience in economic and statistical investigation.
No list of the posts is published by the government and it is not able to make any definite forecasts as to when vacancies will occur, but once a candidate has passed the examinations his name remains in the list for two years subject to appointment at any time a vacancy should result.
Each candidate is required to pass a written examination in prescribed subjects and an oral examination to test his adaptability to the conditions which a consul must be prepared to meet. The written tests cover international, marl-time and commercial law, commercial geography, modern languages, commercial resources of the United States, political economy, American and modern European history, and other special studies. Samples of the examination may be obtained from Professor Wilson
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