Executive Order

It being of great importance that the consuls and commercial agents of the United States shall possess the proper qualifications for their respective positions, to be asertained either through a satisfactory record of previous actual service under the Department of State or through an appropriate examination:

It is hereby ordered, That any vacancy in a consulate or commercial agency now or hereafter existing the salary of which is not more than $2,500 nor less than $1,000, or the compensation of which, if derived from official fees, exclusive of notarial and other unofficial receipts, does not exceed $2,500 nor fall below $1,000, shall be filled (a) by a transfer or promotion from some other position under the Department of State of a character tending to qualify the incumbent for the position to be filled, or (b) by appointment of a person not under the Department of State, but having previously served thereunder to its satisfaction in a capacity tending to qualify him for the position to be filled, or (c) by the appointment of a person who, having furnished the customary evidence of character, responsibility, and capacity, and being thereupon selected by the President for examination, is found upon such examination to be qualified for the position.

For the purposes of this order notarial and unofficial fees shall not be regarded, but the compensation of a consulate or commercial agency shall be ascertained, if the office is salaried, by reference to the last preceding appropriation act, and if the office is not salaried by reference to the returns of official fees for the last preceding fiscal year.

The examination hereinbefore provided for shall be by a board of three persons designated by the Secretary of State, who shall also prescribe the subjects to which such examinations shall relate and the general mode of conducting the same by the board.

A vacancy in a consulate will be filled at discretion only when a suitable appointment can not be made in any of the modes indicated in the second paragraph of this order.

GROVER CLEVELAND.