The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-12-06
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

a system Of registration undoubtedly
q be widely extended There are. Of
course places where the written COM
p~etitive examination cannot be applied.
and others where 1t offers by no means
an ideal solution, but where under ex-
listing political conditions IL is. though
an imperfect means. yet the best pres
emit means Of getting satisfactory re-
suits.
Wherever the conditions have permit
ted the application OF the merit system
in its fullest and widest sense, the gain
TO the government has been immense.
The navy-yards and postal service IL
lustrate, probably better than any other
branches OF the government, the great
gain in economy, efficiency, and honesty
due TO the enforcement OF this prin-
ciple.
Civil Law
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 ex-
tend it. In my judgment all laws pro-
yiding for h temporary employment
of clerks should hereafter contain a
provision that they be selected under
the civil service law.
1t is important to have this system
obtain at home, but it is Eel more i'm
portant to have it applied rigidly in our
insular possessions. Not an office
should be filled in the Philippines or
Porto Rico with any regard TO the
mans partisan affiliations 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 ca
pacity and the needs of the service.
The administration of these islands
should be as wholly free from the sus-
picion of partisan politics as the ad-
administration of the army and navy.
All tha we ask from the public rvant
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 it. This is all that we
should ask, and we cannot afford to
be content with less.
The merit system is simply one meth
cd of securing honest an efficient ad-
ministration of the government; n i'll
the long run the sole justification or
any type of government lies in its prov
ing itself both honest and efficient.
Our Consular Service
The consular service is now organized
under the provisions of a law passed
in 1856, which is entirely inadequate to
existing conditions. The interest shown
by so many commercial bodies through
out~the country in the reorganization OF
the service is heartily commended TO
your attention. Several bills providing
for a new consular service have in re-
cent years been submitted to the con-
gress. They are based upon the just
principle that appointments to the
service should be made only after a
practical test Of the applicants fitness,
tina promotions should be governed by
trustworthiness, adaptability, and zeal
in the performance of duty, and that
the tenure OF office should be unaffect-
ed by partisan considerations.
The guardianship and fostering of u
rapidly expanding foreign commerce,
the protection of American citizens re-
sorting to foreign countries in lawful
pursuit Of their affairs, and the main
tenance of the dignity of the nation
abroad, combine to make it
tina our consuls should be men Of char
acter, knowledge, and enterprise. 1t is
true that the service is now, in the
main, efficient, but a standard Of excel
lence cannot be permanently maintain
ed until the principles set forth in the
bills heretofore submitted to the con-
gress on this subject are enacted into
law.
The American lnO1an
In my judgment the lime has arrived
when we should definitely make up our
minds to recognize the Indian as an ~
dividual and not as a m OF a
tribe. The general allotment act is a
mighty pulveriZing engine to break up
the tribal mass. 1t acts directly upon
the family and the individual. Under
it's provisions some sixty thousand In
have already become citizens of
the United States. We should now
break up the tribal funds, doing for
them what allotment does for the tri-
bal lands; that is, they should be divid-
into individual holdings. There will
a transition 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 In
to lease their allotmentS. The
should be steadily to make the
indian work like any other man on his
ground. The marriage laws OF the
Indians should be made the same as
those of the whites.
In the schools the education should
be elementary and largely industrial.
The need OF higher education among
the Indians is very, very limited. On
the reservations care should be taken
to try to suit the teaching to the needs
Of h particular Indian There is no
use in attempting to induce agriculture
in a country suited only for cattle rails
ing. where the Indian should be made
a stock grower. The ration system,
is merely the corral and the res
system. is highly detrimental
to the Indians. 1t promotes beggary,
perpetuates pauperism. n stiles in
lustry. 1t is an %effectua1 barrier to
1t must continue to a great
ar or less degree as long as tribes are
herded on reservations and have every
thing in common. The ndia should
be treated as an individual-ike the
a During the change of
inevitable hardships viii oc-
;ur: every effort shoul be mad to min
.miZe these hardships: but We hould
lot because OF them hesitate to make |
change. There should be a contin-
reduction in the number of
agencies. |
In dealing with the aboriginal races
things are more important than To
them from the terrible phys |
and moral degradation resulting
rom the liquor traffic. We are do
ng all We can to save our
Indian tribes from its evil. Where
.yer by international agreement this
same end can be attained as regards