Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-12-05


naFching camping. emharking aatl tiSem-
parking, will it be possible to train the
llGher officers to perform thei. Guiies well
and smoothly.
Much good has already come from tho aot
reofganlnZing the army, passed early in the
present year. The three prime reforms. an
oI them of incstimable value, are first the
of four-year details from tho
line for permanent appointments in the So
called staff divisions; second the establish
ment OF 4 corps of artillery with n chief Mt
She mead; third, the establishment of n
anu minimum limit for the army
1t would be difficult to oyerestimate the
Improvement i'll the efficiency of our army
which these three reforms are making and
n'nt IN part already effected. The reor-
sanizatfon provided for by the act has been
SUBSTANTIALLY accomplished. Thorough mil
ltarN education must he provided and in
a at!h TO the regulars the advantages of
TINS euucauon should he given to the Off
GERS Or the national guard and others in
ciNli hte who desire intelligently to dt
themselves for possible military duty The
ShcetS should be given the chance to, per
branches of this art Al West Point the
educatlon should be Of the kind most ant to
turn out men who are good in actual field
service; zoo much stress should not be laid
therein be held to establish the right Of
entry TO corps d'clitc. The fyptcal
American officer of the best kind need NOS
be good mathematician lint he nnSt h.
aple TO master himself, to control others
ana 10 show holdneSS and fertility of re-
source in every emergency. The organiza-
tioh ana armament of the national guard OF
the several states which are treated NJ
militia in the appropriations by congress.
should he made identical with those pro-
Ylded for the regular forces
MERIT SYSTEM.
The merit system OF making appoint
mentS Is in its essence as democratic ana
American as the common school system it
sell II simply means that in clerical and
othCr positions where the duties are en-
ilrely non-polttical, all applicants should
have a fair field and no favor, each stand
ing ON his merits as he is able to show
them 10y practical test. Written compcti-
tive examinations offer the only available
means IN many cases for applying this Sys-
TEN. In other cases. as where lahorers are
employed. a system of registration un-
doubtcdly can be widely extended. There
are, of course, places where the written
competitive examination cannot be applied,
and others where ii offers by no means an
ideal solution, but where under existing no
httcal conditions 1t is, though an imperfect
means. vet the best present means Of get
ting satisfactory results. Wherever the
conditions have permitted the application
OF the merit system I'm it's fullest and
has been immense. The navy yards and
postal service Illustrate, probably better
than any other branches of the govern
mCnt the great gain i'll economy efficiency
and honesty due to the enforcement of this
principle. The passage Of n law which will
extend the classified service 10 the DistrIc,
of Columbia is recommended. Not an Of
nee should be filled i'll the Philippines or
Porto Rico with any regard To the mans
partisan affiliations or services, with any re
gard TO the political, social. or personal In
tiucnce which he may have at his com
mand; in short heed should be paid to alb
Soutcly nothing save the mans own char
actcr and capacity and the needs OF the
service.
CONSULATE REFORMS
The guardianship and fostering Of our
rapidly expanding foreign commerce, .he
protection of American citizens rcSurting to
foreign countries In lawful pursuit Of their
affairs, AMI th" maintenance Of the dignity
of the nation abroad, combine to make ii
essential that our vonsulS should he men
of character knowledge and enterprise. II
is true that the service is now, In the main,
efficient, but a standard of excellence can
not he permanently maintained until the
principles set forth in the bills heretofore
submitted to the congress on this subject
are enacted into law.
In the presidents Judgment the time has
arrived when we should definitely make Hp
our minds to recognize the Indian AS an
individual and not as member Of tribe
We should now break up the tribal fCuds
doing for them what allotment does for the
tribal lands; that is, they should be di
vidcd into individual holdings. A STOP
should be put upon the indiscrimnute per
mission to Indians to lease their nllot
ments. The effort should he steadily to
make the Indian work like any other mnE
on his own ground. The marriage laws Of
the Indians should be made the same az
those of the whites In the schools the
education should be elementary and Largely
| industrial. There Is no use in attempting
10 induce agriculture In Il country suites
only for cattle raising, where the Indian
should be made Il stock grower. The Entioh
! system, which Is merely the corral and the
reservation system is highly detrimental 10
| the Indians. II promotes heggary. pcrpet
yates pauperism, and STILES industry. 1t
! is an pffectu9i barrier TO progress. The Ia
dian should be treated as an individual
like the white man.
Communication is accorded the st. LOWE
and Charleston expeditions.
LIBRARIES.
Perhaps the most characteristic cduca
tional movement Of the past nifty years IL
that which has created the modern public
library and developed II into broad and va
tive service. There are now over 5000 pub
lie libraries In the United States, the pros
Vet of this period. In addition 10 uccunu-
lating material, they are also striving by
organization, by Improvement In method,
and by cooperation to give greater eth
cheney to the material they hold, 10 make
IL more widely useful, and by avoidance Of
unnecessary duplication in process to re
duce cost Of it's administration. In those
efforts they naturally look for assistance to
the federal library
For the sake of good administration
sound economy. and the advancement Of
science the census office as now constitutes
should be made permanent gOVerRmeai
bureau
POSTAL ABUSES.
The full measure Of postal progress which
might be realized has long been hampered
and INSTRUCTED by the heavy burden i'm
posed on the government through the In
trcnched and well understood abuses whieA
have grown up In connection with seeona-
class mail matter. The extent Of this bur
den appears when It Is stated that while
ffths Of the weight Of all the mall, IL paid
for the last fiscal year only 1921, AS of the
aggregate postal revenue of $lll,63l, 1913. If
the pound rate Of postage, which produces
the large loss thus entalled, and which was
fixed by congress with the purpose OF en-
couTaging the dissemination of public in
formation, were limited to the legitimate
newspapers and periodicals actually con
templated by the law, no exception could
be taken. That expense would be the REQ
Ognized and accepted cost OF q liberal pol
Icy deliberately adopted for justltiabe
end But much Of the matter which enjoys
the privileged rate Is wholly outside Of the
intent Of the law, and has secured admis-
sion only through an evasion Of Its require
ments or through lax construction. The
Of such wrongly included matter
il estimated by postal experts 10 be once
hall of the whole volume Of second-class
mail. If it be only One-thlrd or One-quarteF
the magnitude Of the burden Is apparent
The pOstOffice department has now under
aiken to remove the abuses so far as pos
,ibIe by q stricter application Of the law;
and 1t should be sustained in its effort.
In conclusion the president alludes to the
settlement Of the troubles in China.
Eorejun Affairs