Correspondence (incoming) - L

Hon Leland Stanford, U.S. Senator for California

Dear Sir, The undersigned, one of your constituents, takes the liberty of directing your attention to the establishment last year of a school by the German Government whose whole organization and direct aim according to its official prospectus, abstract of which I enclose, appears to be intended for a systematic attack on the English trade in Asia and Eastern Africa.

The Germans seem to have succeeded in wresting from the English their export trade to Mexico and the greater part of South America; if it is true that during the last ten years their competition has become serious in China and Japan and now even threatens the East Indian colonies the object of the German policy is clearly revealed by the organization of this recently established school primarily intended for the training of consular officers, merchants, and engineers for Asia and East Africa..

At this time of a redistribution of England's commerce the United States cannot afford to be a passive looker-on. The Germans have not the advantage of us in the efficiency of our labor, the higher technical education of their engineers is frequently made inefficient by a lack of adaptation, but they have a decided advantages over us through the superior education of their foreign merchants and their carefully trained consular service.

The superior education of the German foreign merchant is more dependent on his excellent primary education which trains him to think [than?] to his secondary training in languages which directly fits him for his calling. As most of our scholars leave the lower schools with more or less crippled thinking power, it will be many years before we shall have an even chance to compete with the Germans in the efficiency of their foreign solicitors. But the Government of the United States is able and ought to [procure?] for the American industries the same advantages which the German industries derive from their government through the employment of professional and carefully trained agents. A Government Academy for the training of [members?] of the Consular Service on a plan similar to the U.S. Military and Naval Academics [thus?] becomes a necessity and I now beg to enlist your interest in the speedy establishment of such an institution. The details of its curriculum do not properly belong here, its organization however should not be limited to the training of officers and other persons for Asiatic nations exclusively, but the education of its different students should equally be directed to all the European and American nations of commercial importance. No state in the Union has a greater interest in the opening up of the Asiatic trade than California; all other things being equal the natural advantages of the Pacific Coast for a supremacy in this trade are undeniable; the Senator

for California cannot perform a more important service for his state, the Pacific Coast, and the United States than by placing the American industries on an even footing with their foreign competitors, if not in all things, at least with regard to the methodical acquisition by professional me of intelligent, reliable and immediate information for every trade opening which the world furnishes. Very respectfully, yours J. Henry [Lenger?] 2122 Steiner [St?] San Francisco, Nov 13th 1888

The Oriental Seminary in Berlin

The German Government on October 27th 1887 formally opened an Oriental Seminary in connection with the University of Berlin. The Secretary of Education von [Gossler?] in conveying the Seminary to the University emphasized the fact, that the aim of this school was practical, not scientific, and outside of the study of philology, that the school intended to equip the student for intercourse with foreign nations to be of service to the government interpreter, the missionary, the merchant, the technical student The prospectus issued by the Department of Public Education in connection with the Department of Foreign Affairs provides for instruction in Chinese, Japanese, Hindustani, Arabic, Persian, Turkish and [Swahili?] directs that in addition to the study of the language of any country, its religion,laws, customs, geography statistics and recent history shall be studied; that the aim of the instruction shall be 1)to impart a knowledge of the grammar and of the vocabulary, such as is in daily oral and written use; 2)practice in speaking and writing the language; 3)an acquaintance with the most popular writings of a public and private character, 4)a knowledge of the land and its people. For every langauge to be taught a special course of instruction is provided consisting of a

theoretical and a practical part. The theoretical instruction will be given by German teachers, the practical exercises by native instructors. The length of the different courses in the different languages is fixed as follows, Chinese, from three to four years, Japanese, three years Hindustani, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, two years each [Swahili?], one year In the first term two courses of practical exercises in Chinese were given by native Chinamen; one with especial reference to North Chinese, the second to South Chinese. The two courses in Arabic included the dialects of Syria and Egypt. It is provided that applicants for the position of translator in the foreign service who have passed the examinations satisfactorily and have the other requisite qualifications, shall receive the preference in appointments. Additional courses will be organized at the beginning of each year, as may be found necessary. In order to secure the best results, the number of students is not, as a rule, to exceed twelve in a class. Students without means will be taught gratuitously, other students pay a very small fee. Examinations occur at the end of a course in any language