Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-04

wisest TO order out the guard for use in
the United States. thus freeing the regular
army for any expedition, al the same time
calling for volunteer regiments, into which
those C1lardsmen who wished might go:
then. when the volunteer force proper had
been put in fair condition. the guard could
b. ordered home. In other words. the
guard should he used as IL was in the CIVIL
war and should not be called out for for
eigu service. The identity of each organi-
cation of the guard should be preserved:
This calling out of the guard 70 90 me
work which should have been zone by the
regulars and by special volunteer organiza-
tons. caused great hardship and has re
suited IN much temporary HIs"Tganizdtion IN
the guard Itself The work when inc Na-
tional Guardsmen ought normally to per
form differs entirely from that expected
from regular
Many Of the troops who volunteered
gladly Tor tho emergency. now that the war
is over are most anxious 10 return. Ihat
they arc npt a! of them able to return Is
due IL the utterly inadequate size ot our
regular army If our regular army IS as
il shou't b.. increased To l"rNn men. the
hard necessity Of retain ns III tne serve
the volunteer organizations which ought
not l.. retained viii disappear
Guard Needs New weapons.
Tho IaTncntable result Of keeping the
guard armed with archacic weapons. utter
~ unfit for modern warfare, shown
very Conclusivejy in the late contest with
Spain. Il Is an uuderstatement Of the case
TO say that a single hrst-class regiment,
armed with the Krag-J orE-nsen. is worth
three regiments armed with lOw-pOWer.
siuglc-shot. blaCk-Powder piece Ike the
Springfield The Nationa! Guard should be
armed with a Snlali-CalibHr. high-pOWer
rifle, preferably that used by the regular
army In any event, the cartridge should
i,. the sam.
Governor Roosevelt also commends the
work OF the New York naval militia in the
recent war which. he points out, is not
naval reserve The former. n says, should
he supplemented by naval reserve proper.
called int" being by the action of the fed
eral government.
Reaching tn question Of the civil service,
Gov Roosevelt says of the existing state law
on the subject that il works badly from
every standpoint, and the half mark given
upon the socalled fitness test represents
not a competitive examination at all but
the individual preference Of the appointing
officer. OF rather of the outsider who has
requested the appointment. 1t would be
much better to have ii stated outright that
this was the case and that the examination
was merely pass or non-competitive ex-
animation. instead of going through the
farce Of a nOminallv competitive examind-
ton which is not such in reality"
Il do not the governor says make
fetish of written competitive examinations
for admission to the civil service There
are situations where these written COMPETE
tive examinations are not applicable at all.
simply as makeshifts-that is. as being bet
ter than a system of appointment through
political faNOrItlsm. but being very far
from perfect and not as good as if the
appointments were made by an unham-
pered official trying to get the best man
without regard TO political considerations.
Physical examinations and technical ex-
a1inatlons into the capacity of the man
to do the work sought should. wherever
advisable be used supplemental or even
TO supp!aut the written examination proper,
and this written examination itself should
b. of as practical a type as possible and
directed to the special needs of the posi-
ton sought.
FaNors Biennial Sessions.
In order to check the evil of Over-Iegisla-
ton the governor suggests that the legis-
lature repass the proposed constitutional
amendment providing for biennial sessions
of the legislature, in order that 1t may be
submitted TO the people next fall. He adds:
Il direct your attention to the custom of
the British parliament, which puts upon
the would-be beneficiary the cost of all
private and special legislation and wisely
makes il difficult TO obtain at all and i'm
possible 10 obtain without full advertise
ment and discussion
After mention Of subjects that are of eX
clusively state interest Governor Rcose-
Welt says:
In New York city. even more than in
the state. there X need of cutting down the
salaries Of certain officials. of Forcing 9th
erS to do more work and of altogether get
ting rid of Yet others The evils of police
system in New York have become very Sc
rious. l may find it necessary to commu-
nicate with You again this natter
Both houses Of the legislature adjourned
until Wednesday evening. January II.