The Foreign Service Journal, November 2005

deep appreciation of his services.” There is little evidence in the archives to suggest that these reports of Paddock’s actions ever reached the higher echelons of the depart- ment or the White House. Indeed, the Department of State, apparently unaware that Paddock was on his way home at the time, replied to Near East Relief on Feb. 7 that his “whereabouts were unknown.” It was not until Mrs. Shedd made con- tact with her first cousin, General Charles G. Dawes (then director of the Bureau of the Budget and later Calvin Coolidge’s vice president) that higher officials took notice. At least partly due to her efforts, on May 19, 1922, President Warren Harding addressed a letter to Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes, expressing the interest of Gen. Dawes in the “advancement of Mr. Gordon Paddock.” The Secretary of State replied on June 2: “I beg to say that a careful exami- nation has been made of the work of Mr. Paddock. ... Unless in the future Mr. Paddock should show greater ability in the performance of strictly consular duties than he has shown in the past there would appear to be lit- tle likelihood that he could properly be advanced to a higher position in the Consular Service.” (At that time, before the Rogers Act of 1924, the Consular and Diplomatic Services were separate.) Attached to the letter was the fol- lowing evaluation of Paddock’s work: “Careful consideration of his entire record indicates that Mr. Paddock is regarded as possessing good political and diplomatic ability but that he has poor ability as an executive and on commercial and general consular work. His rating for efficiency as a consular officer upon all phases of his work is ‘fair’ and in the order of relative efficiency to the other offi- cers of Class VI of consuls he is numbered 81 in a total of 95.” But the Secretary of State’s letter went on to say, “The inspection of his record, however, has developed other facts which I feel should be brought to your attention.” The let- ter noted that Paddock’s original appointment had been to the Diplomatic Service and observed: “His activities in behalf of American interests, including those of the interests of American missionaries in Persia and also in the protection of British and other foreign interests in his care, have been highly com- mendable. In view of these consid- erations, which we put before you when you wrote your letter of May 19, it occurs to me that you might feel disposed to transfer Mr. Paddock to a secretaryship in the Diplomatic Service. …” On June 23, 1922, a reply from President Harding to Secretary Hughes N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 63