Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-12-05

united nation, but they left us also as
heritage the memory of the mighty deeds
by which the nation was kept united We
are now indeed one nation. one in fact as
well as In name; we are united in our de-
votion to the flag which is the symbol of
national greatness and unity. and the
very completeness of our union enables
us ALL in every part of the country, to
glory in the valor shown alike by the
sons of the north and the sons of the
south in the times that tried mems souls.
The men who in the last three years
have done SO well in the East and in the
West Indies and on the mainland of Asia
have shown that this remembrance is not
lost. In any serious crisis the United
States must rely for the great mass of its
who do not make a permanent profession
of the military career, and whenever such
a crisis arises the deathleSs memories of
the civil war will give to Americans the
lift of lofty purpose which comes to those
whose fathers have stood valiantly in the
forefront of the battle.
The Merit System.
The merit system OF making appoint
ments is in its essence as democratic and
American as the common school system
itself. 1t simply means that in clerical
and other positions where the duties are
entirely nonpolitical all applicants should
have fair field and no favor. each stand
ing on his merits as he is able to show
them by practical test. Written COMPETE
tive examinations offer the only availa-
BILE means in many cases for applying this
system. In other cases. as where laborers
are employed, a system of registration
undoubtedly can be widely extended
There are. of course, places where the
written competitive examination cannot
be applied and others where it offers by
no means an ideal solution, but where
under existing political conditions it is,
though an imperfect means, yet the best
present means Of getting satisfactory re-
suits.
the application of the merit system in it's
fullest and widest sense the gain to the
government has been immense The navy
yards and postal service illustrate proba-
bly, better than any other branches of the
government the great gain in economy,
efficiency and honesty due to the enforce
ment of this principle.
recommend the passage of a law
which will extend the classified service to
the District of Columbia or will at least
enable the president thus to extend it. In
my Judgment all laws providing for the
temporary employment of clerks should
hereafter contain provision that they be
selected under the civil service law.
1t is important to have this system OBJ
tain at home, but it is even more impor-
tant to have it applied rigidly in our insu-
lar possessions Not an office should be
filed in the Philippines or Porto Rico
with any regard to the mans partisan af-
filiations or services. with any regard to
the political, social or personal influence
which he may have at his command In
short, heed should be paid to absolutely
nothing save the mans own character
and capacity and the needs of the service.
The administration of these Islands
should be as wholly free from the suspi-
cion Of partisan politics as the admins
tration Of the army and navy. All that
we ask from the public servant in the
Philippines or Porto Rico is that he reflect
honor on his country by the way in which
he makes that countrys rule a benefit to
the peoples who have come under 1t. This
is all that we should ask. and We cannot
afford to be content with less.
The merit system is simply one method
of securing honest and efficient admins
tration of the government, and in the
long run the sole justification of any type
of government lies in its proving itself
both honest and efficient.
The Consular Service.
The consular service Is now organized
under the provisions Of a law passed in
1856. which Is entirely inadequate to exist
ing conditions. The interest shown by SO
many commercial bodies throughout the
country in the reorganization of the serv-
ice is heartily commended to your atten-
ton. Several bills providing for new
consular service have in recent years
been submitted to the congress. They are
based upon the just principle that APP
pointments to the service should be made
only after a practical test of the appli-
cant's fitness: that promotions should be
governed by trustworthiness. adaptability
and zeal in the performance of duty, and
that the tenure of Office should be unaf-
fected by partisan considerations
The guardianship and fostering Of our
rapidly expanding foreign commerce, the
protection of American citizens resorting
to foreign countries in lawful pursuit of
their affairs and the maintenance of the
dignity of the nation abroad combine to
make it essential that our consuls should
be men Of character, knowledge and en-
terprise. 1t is true that the service Is now
in the main efficient, but standard of
excellence cannot be permanently main
tanned until the principles set forth in the
bills heretofore submitted to the congress
on this subject are enacted into law.
In my judgment the time has arrived
when we should definitely make up our
minds to recognize the Indian as an indi-
yidua1 and not as a member of tribe
The general allotment act is mighty
$1,000
mass 1t acts directly upon the family
and the individual. Under it's provisions
some 60O00 Indians have already become
citizens of the United States. We should
now break up the tribal funds doing for
them what allotment does for the tribal
lands-that is, they should be divided into
individual holdings. There will be tran
sition period during which the funds will in
many cases have to be held in trust This
is the case also with the lands. A stop
should be put upon the indiscriminate
permission to Indians to lease their allot-
ments The effort should be steadily to
make the Indian work like any other man
on his own ground. The marriage laws
of the Indians should be made the same
as those Of the whites.
Industrial Education of Indians.
In the schools the education should be
elementary and largely industrial The
need of higher education among the In
dams is very, very limited. On the reser-
yations care should be taken to try to
suit the teaching to the needs of the par
ticular Indian. There is no use in at
tempting to induce agriculture In coun-
try suited only for cattle raising. where
the Indian should be made a stock grower.
The ration system, which is merely the
corral and the reservation system, is nigh
ly detrimental to the Indians 1t promotes
"
industry 1t Is an effectual barrier to
progress It must continue to a greater
or less degree as long as tribes are herded
on reservations and have everything in
common. The Indian should be treated
as an individual, like the white man.
During the change of treatment inevitable
hardships will occur. Every effort should
be made to minimize these hardships but
we should not because of them hesitate to
make the change. There should be a con-
tinuous reduction in the number of agen-
cies.
In dealing with the aboriginal races few
things are more important than to pre-
serve them from the terrible physical and
moral degradation resulting from the liz
uor traffic. We are doing all we can to
save our own Indian tribes from this evil
Wherever by international agreement this
same end can be attained as regards racer
where we do not possess exclusive control
every effort should be made to bring ii
about.
Expeditions.
I bespeak the most cordial support from
the congress and the people for the st.
Louis exposition to commemorate the one
hundredth anniversary of the Louisiana
purchase. This purchase was the greatest
instance of expansion in our history. 1t
definitely decided that we were to become
great continental republic, by far the
foremost power in the western heni-
sphere. 1t is one of three or four great
landmarks in our history-the great turn
ing points in our development. 1t is emf
nently fitting that all our people should
join with heartiest good will in commemo-
rating it, and the citizens of ST. LOUIS. of