The Foreign Service Journal, January 2010

modern languages. They also wrote a thesis on an economic/commercial subject. Times Have Changed The exams were definitely not easy! They are at least as difficult as the ones I took in 1968. Here are some other observations about the pre-Rogers Act Foreign Service that one can safely deduce from the tests. For one, it appears that secretaries of embassy were engaged only in political reporting, negotiations and representation. Officers in the Consular Service performed the duties 34 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 0 Consular Service and Economic/Commercial Exams, 1922 Here are a few sample questions from the Consular Service exam. 1. Distinguish between citizen and domicile and name three ways in which citi- zenship can be terminated. 2. Name eight bodies of water through which a ship would pass on a direct voy- age from Baltimore to Odessa. 3. A merchant bought goods for $2,058. For how much money must they be marked to sell in order that he may give a discount of 12 1 / 2 percent, lose 16 2 / 3 per- cent by bad debts, and still make a gain of 14 2 / 7 percent of the cost? 4. Translate a commercial letter from English into a modern language and vice versa. 5. State the three main factors of production and briefly discuss their relation to each other. 6. What was the Ordinance of 1787? To what territory did it apply? 7. Discuss the Boxer War and its causes and results. Sample questions appearing on the econ/commercial consuls’ exams include: 1. Give reasons from an economic standpoint for or against government owner- ship of railroads. 2. Formulate a plan for securing statistics of wholesale prices for an industry, such as the steel or textile industries in the United States. State briefly the necessary methods to secure accuracy and definiteness. 3. Write a short thesis on the effect of the World War on the economic life and industries of Japan. The Diplomatic Service Entry Exam, 1922 Here are sample questions from each of the areas covered. 1. Upon the execution of Louis XVI, the British government refused to receive the French diplomatic agent and send him his passport. Was the action of the British gov- ernment correct? 2. Give your understanding of the difference between a chargé d’affaires, a chargé d’affaires ad interim, and a chargé des affaires. 3. Translate an official document from one of the following languages (French, German or Spanish) into English, and from English into the chosen foreign language. 4. With which countries and events do you associate the following: Alexander I; Bismarck; Marquis Ito; Dom Pedro; Cecil Rhodes; Garibaldi; Maximilian? 5. Name the executive departments of the federal government, and state the prin- cipal functions of each. 6. Name five important groups of manufacturing industries in the United States, and two states leading in each. CHANGE OF ADDRESS Moving? Take AFSA With You! Change your address online at: www.afsa.org/comment.cfm Or Send change of address to: AFSA Membership Department 2101 E Street NW Washington, DC 20037