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on this matter. The report of the last expert here states that a
company was organized when the Blucher Palais was bought and that their
names were all kept absolutely secret. This company bought the Palais
for $75,000 and sold it to our Government for $1,750,000.  I have not
been able to learn the name of a single man in that company, and I
might add that it was immediately dissolved when the contract was duly
recorded. If the waste in
London and Paris and this sort of extravagance does not mean anything
to departmental administrators, I can hardly see how we can avoid a
great waste of the common man's money. The last point I take the
liberty of mentioning to you was the urgent and pressing desire of one
of the richest men in the United States to be Ambassador to Berlin.
From all I was able to learn from our service men who really work, the
service of such a man would have been very distasteful and would have
led to the requests of several people to be transferred. It had been my
expectation to retire September l, but you agreed with me to the extent
of delaying the appointment which was demanded of you and by asking me
if I would not return to Berlin and remain some months. Therefore, I
naturally did what you wished. As my wife had to rent our house or be
compelled to live at the Esplanade Hotel the rest of our residence
here, there was nothing to do but make the contract again for a year.
The only limitation of this was to be found in the fact that all our
contracts have a three months' notice clause. Consequently, I could
retire after being here and giving three months' notice. While this has
not embarrassed me as much as I thought it would, I do not like to be
considered as ignoring my promises; and Mr. Panofsky, who is in grave
trouble and has been for two years, is very anxious to rent his house
to the next Ambassador from our country. If that cannot be done,
Panofsky is in grave danger of having his $500,000 house practically
taken away from him,