The age-herald., 1899-01-05
WILL TAKE PROMINENT PART
In the Affairs of the World in the
 Future.
MAGNIFICENT HERITAGE WAS LEFT
To the Citizens of This Country by the Late War, and It Must be Guarded Zealously-O
 Foreign Policy.

Albany, N. Y, January 4.- The state legislature convened today. In both the as- sembly and the senate the republican eau GUS nominees were elected. Fred Dixon, of Chautauqua county, was made speaker of the assembly, and Archie Baxter, of Chemung, was chosen clerk.
 In the senate T. E. Ellsworth, of Niagara county, and James s. Whippe, of Chatta- rauga county, were elected temporary chairman and clerk respectively After brief address by Lieutenant Governor Woodruff the annual message of the gov crnor, Theodore Roosevelt, was read.
 koosereit's Message
 Governor Roosevelt's message opens with reference to the alacrity with which New York responded to the call for volunteers to engage in the war with Spain. "We are Americans,' the governor continues, and the interests of all Americans are equally dear to the men of the Empire State As we grow into a mighty nation which, whether it will or not, must invariably play a great part for good or evil in the affairs of the world at large, the people of
  look at all American questions of foreign policy from national standpoint. The tropical islands we have taken must neith- CT be allowed to lapse into anarchy nor to return under the sway of tyranny. War is a grim thing at best, but the war through which we have passed has left us not merely memories of glory won on land and sea, but an even more blessed heritage, the knowledge that it was waged from the highest motives, for the good of others as well as for our own national honor.
 The Country One
 Above all we are thankful that it brought home to all of us the fact that the country was indeed when serious dan ger confronted it. The men from the east and west, from the north and south, the sons of those who wore the blue and of those who wore the gray, stood shoulder to shoulder in the fight, met the same dan gers, shared the same hardships and won the same ultimate triumph
 Governor Roosevelt recommends a con- tinuance of the commission appointed by the preceding state administration to ex- anime into the causes of the decline in the commerce of New York city.
 He says: "It is essential to the state no less than to the city of New York that our commercial supremacy should be main- tained. With this end in view the canals should be administered economically and with an eye single to the welfare of the whole people. Any man, wehther public servant or contractor, who in any way de- frauds the state or perverts the business of the state to his private gain must be 1aa1f xt,sfl ri fh.a XVil permit"
 Subject of Labor Laws
 Governor Roosevelt discusses the subject of state labor laws at considerable length Under this head he says: Tn dealing with interests which we have grown to group to- gether the interests of labor we must always keep in mind the fact that ultimate ly each mans salvation rests mainly with himself, and that no amount of legislation or of cobmination can supply the lack of individual initiative-the lack of individual energy, thrift and industry. Yet this capaci- ty for individual self-help can and should be generally supplemented by that form of self-help that follows on organization and ssociation, has been shown by the carer of many of the trade unions and labor federationS, and sometimes 1t can be sup plemeted by that direct action of the state itself.
 This Legislation Is not necessarily against the interest of capital; on the contrary, if wisely advised, it is for the benefit of both loborers and employers"
 The National GuarI
 In discussing the National Guard, Cover nor Roosevelt says among other things: Tt is much to be hoped that some well thought-out plan may be adopted by the national government for the use of the guard in any future war. The guard should be used as it was in the civil war, and should not be called for foreign service. The work which the National Guardsmen ought normally to perform, differs entirely from that expected from regulars.
 Many of the troops who volunteered gladly for the emergency, now that the war is over, are most anxious to return. That they are not all of them able to return is due to the utterly inadequate size of our regular army. If our regular army is, as 1t should be, increased to 100000 men, the hard necessity of retaining in the service the volunteer organizations, which ought not to be retained, will disappear
 "The Iamentable result of keeping the guard armed with archaeic weapons ut- terly unfit for modern warfare, was shown very conclusvey in the late contest with Spain. It is an underratement of the case to say that single f1rst-class regiment, armed with the Krag-Jorgensen, is worth three regiments armed with the low power. single-shot. black-powder piece like the Springfield
 Question of Civil Service
 Reaching the question of the civil ser vice, Governor Roosevelt says of the ax- isting state law on the subject, that it works badly from every standpoint and the half mark given upon the so-called fitness test represents not a competitive examin- ation at all, but the individual preference of the appointing officer or rather of the outsider who has requested the appoint ment. It would be much better to have it stated outright that this was the case and that the examination was merely pass CT pon-competitive examination instead of going through the farce of a nomnally examination which is not such in reality"
 After mention of subjects that are of ex- clusively state interest, Governor Roose- welt says: ''In New York city even more than in the state there is need of cutting down the salaries of certain officials. Of forcing others to do more work and alto- gether getting rid of others.