Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-05-18
MR. OARLISLE'S WORK.

MR.. OARLISLES WORK.
The secretary of the treasury, in the
brief period for which he has had con
troll of the department, has conducted
it in a manner that has strengthened
public confidence as to his financial pol
icy, while his general administration
has been marked by a high degree of
intelligence. sound judgment and prac-
tical capacity. He entered upon his
task with peculiar difficulties left by the
late administration, the chief of which
was gene eral uneasiness in the public
mind created by the varied and con-
fused talk constantly issuing from the
officials of the department., to which it
must be said that the late secretary
contributed his share. These utter
ances gave the impression on the one
hand, that the department officers felt
themselves in trying and serious situ-
alton, and, on the other, were quite at
sea as to how it should be dealt with.
To this Mr.. Carlisle has put stop. He
is known to have clear idea of his re-
sponsibilities to the public arising out
of the unsound condition of the cur
rency law; but he recognizes no respon-
sibility for the effect of changing con-
ditions in the money market, does not
worry about them, does not talk espec-
tally in public, of them, but quietly
pursues his own way, keeping the re-
quirements of the treasury and those
alone in mind. He has, of course, been
fortunate in that the demand for cur
rency in the west has brought gold into
the treasury, while the higher rates for
money here have checked the export of
gold, but he is to be credited with the
quiet, sensible and reassuring spirit IN
which he has met the situation, for
that has gone far to help on the restOra-
tion of confidence.
In the matter of appointments and
the management of the department ser
vice it is not unfair to MIR. Carlisle to
say that he has shown clearer under
standing of the principles which Mr..
Cleveland represents and a firmer ad-
herence to them than might be expected
of him. He was the first and so far he
is the only head of department to cause
the record of all applications for ap-
pointment to be opened to the public,
and that is measure of great import
ance, and one that might.well be adopt
ed throughout all branches of the ex-
ecutive departments. The appoint
ments made under him have been of a
high character and have shown
a conspicuous devotion to purely public
interests and independence of partisan
claims. His prompt and firm announce
ment that the lighthouse and life
saving services should be kept entirely
free from politics and that those en-
ployed in them should be judged en-
tirely by their merits was an impressive
lesson in sound business administration.
The plan he is clearly pursuing, gradu-
ally ard carefully to weed out unneces-
sary or unfit employees, to cut off ex-
travagant expenditures and to hold the
various branches of the service to a
strict business accountability is in the
same line. We gave an instance of it
recently in the information furnished
by the treasury department as to the
allowances" made in connection with
the Behring sea arbitration.
1t is particularly fortunate that we
have the evidence which we possess of
the conservative and practical admins
tration of the treasury department, be-
knows how to organize his work so as
to leave him free for the proper study
and consideration of the more import
ant duties that he will have to perform.
These will be complex and difficult. TIE
forces that tend to embarrass and
threaten the treasury in the maintain
anee of gold payments have been check
ed. but they have not been destroyed,
and cannot be by any executive action.
Later MIR. Carlisle will have to deal
with them. The tariff question, both |
as to the effect of changing upon the
anc as to the safe and thorough |
of the principles by the peo- !
pie, is one as to which the guidance of !
the secretary OF the treasury will be at |
once necessary and valuable. Mr.. Car
Isle win be able to meet the require
ments of his high post in these regards
much more satisfactorily to himself and |