The Foreign Service Journal, May 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2014 11 also known as the Seward-Burlingame Treaty. This new treaty accorded equality, fairness and reciprocity to China. Regrettably, the national mood in the United States at that time was highly xenophobic, and Congress tried to abro- gate the treaty by legislation. President Rutherford Hayes vetoed that bill, citing the constitutional principle of separation of powers, but the treaty was later nulli- fied by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. En route to Europe, Burlingame and his large Chinese delegation stopped in London, Paris, Stockholm, Copenha- gen, Berlin and St. Petersburg, and were warmly received at each stop by heads of state. Sadly, the Russian winter was too severe for Burlingame, who died there of pneumonia on Feb. 23, 1870. He was buried in a cemetery in Cambridge, Mass., with both American and Chinese flags draped over the coffin. In honor of his diplomatic service, the Qing Court conferred a posthumous Civil Service title of the first rank on him and set up a pension of $10,000 for his fam- ily. The city of Burlingame outside San Francisco International Airport was also named after him. In retrospect, perhaps Mark Twain’s words in his tribute to Burlingame expressed it best: “For he had outgrown the narrow citizenship of a state and became a citizen of the world, and his charity was large enough and his great heart warm enough to feel for all its races and to labor for them. ... In great- ness, ability, grandeur of character and achievement, he stood head and shoul- ders above all the Americans of today. ... He was a good man and a very, very great man. America lost a son, and all the world a servant, when he died.” Stanton Jue FSO, retired Arlington, Va. n A time of service…a time of need Help for Seniors May Be Just a Phone Call Away— Home Health Care Adult Day Care & Respite Care Prescription Drug Copayments Transportation to Medical Appointments Durable Medical Equipment For more information, please contact the SENIOR LIVING FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE 1716 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-2902 Phone: (202) 887-8170 Fax: (202) 872-9320 E-Mail: info@SLFoundation.org Web Site: www.SLFoundation.org The Senior Living Foundation may be able to help you or someone you know. Some examples of assistance are: SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION