River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-12-05

/ very QuNcSlIdD1e 10 nave The senior grades
| OF the army composed of men who have
come 70 MI the positions by the mere facf
OF seniority. A system should be adoptr
by which there shall be an elimination
| grade by grade of those who seem unfit
to render the best service in the next
| grade. Justice to the veterans of the
civil war who are stu IN the army would
( seem TO require that in the matter of re-
tirements they be given by law the same
privileges accorded to their comrades in
the navy
Another recommendation which the pres
ident makes In connection with the army
is for the reduction Of the paper work
Of the service, known to the public as red
tape OF this he says:
Every effort should be made to bring
the army 10 a constantly increasing state
of efficiency. When on actual service, no
work save that directly in the line of such
service should be required. The paper
work in the army, as in the navy, should
proved power OF command and capacity
to work well IN the field. Constant care
Is necessary &c prevent dry rot in the
transportation and commissary depart
He also urges the enactment Of legis-
lation in connect on with the militia and
national guard forces Of the nation that
they may be better lifted for active serv-
Ice In time of war, and says
Our militia law s obsolete and WORTH
less. Inc organize ton and armament of
| the national guard of the several states,
which are treated as militia in the APP
preparations by the congress- should be
made Identical with those provided for
the regular forces. The obligations and
duties of the guard in time of war should
pc carefully defined and a system estab-
lished by Law, under which the method OF
should be prescribed in advance 1t is ut
terly impossible in the excitement and
haste or impending war to do this salts
factoriiy If the arrangements have not
been made long beforehand. Provision
should be made for utilizing In the first
volunteer organizations called out the
nh
ready had experience under arms and
especially for the selection in advance of
me officers of any force which may be
raised; for careful selection OF the kind
of war; an
He praises the veterans OF the civil war
the war with Spain and those who have
rendered the nation valiant service in the
Indian uprisings of the west and in the
PhlIlpplnes; and counsels continued lib
crafty IN the nations dealing with them.
The Civil Service.
He recommends the enactment of lesis-
lation that will place under the rulings
OF the merit system many classes OF en-
pIoyes not now governed by it. His rec
ommendation for this is as follows
Il recommend the passage of a law
Wmch Will extend the classified service to
the District of Columbia or viii at least
enable the president thus to extend it.
IN my Judgment all laws providing for
the temporary employment of clerks
should hereafter contain a provision that
they be selected under the civil service
| law"
He also wishes the merit system to OBJ
tain IN the government service in the
| colonies, and says:
Not an office should be filed IN the
Pmnppines or Porto Rico with any regard
TO the mans partisan Affiliations or serv-
ices, with any regard to the political, So
eial or personal influence which he NAV
nave at his command. In short, heed
should be paid to absolutely nothing save
the mans own character and capacity
/ n artsfOa
The administration o. these islands
should be as wholly FREQ from the sus-
pielon OF partisan politics as the admin
istratlon OF the army and navy. All that
We ask from the public servant in the
philippines or Porto Rico Is that he re-
Meet honor on his country by the way in
beneht to the peoples who have come UNI
der 1T. This is all that we should ask.
and we cannot afford to be content with
Other Recomme ndnfions.
Among other recommendations which the
president makes are those asking for leg
islation that will improve the consular serv-
ice along lines outlined in bills introduced
az previous sessions, and he says that:
1t is true that the service is now in the
main efficient, but standard of excellence
eanhot De permanently maintained until
the principles set forth in the bills here
tofore submitted to the congress on this
subject are enacted into law
he believes the time has arrived when
the Indian should cease to be treated as a
member of a tribe, but as an Individual.
and recommends breaking up the tribal
FUNDS, putting a stop to the indlscriminate
permission to Indians to lease their allot-
ments and stopping the ration system He
recommends also the establishment Of an
industrial educational system, and an en-
deavor to encourage the Indians to become
cattle raisers rather than agricnlturists
where their lands are unsuited to the latter.
he recommends liberal appropriations for
the Louisiana Purchase exposition and an
appropriation covering expenses incurred
by the Charleston exposition in removing
government exhibits from the Buffalo ex.
position to that at Charleston
Another Of his recommendations is for
a permanent census bureau, as IL would In
sure better, cheaper and more satisfactory
work in the interest of business, statistics.
economic and social science
The Postal Service.
He calls attention to the growth of the
postal system and to the fact that the an
nual deficit in this department Of the gov
eminent service has been reduced to the
small sum of $S92S,727 This, he says could
further be increased and possibly surplus
shown but for the fact that many publi-
cations are now securing the pound rate
as second-class mail matter which are not
entitled to the same under the law or
this he says:
which might be realized has long been
hampered and INSTRUCTED by the heavy
burden imposed on the government
through the intrenched and well-under-
stood abuses which have grown in con-
nection with second-class mail matter
| The extent of this burden appears when it
is stated that, while the second-class mat
ter makes nearly three-fifths of the weight
of all the mail, it paid for the last fiscal
year only s4,294445 of the aggregate postal
revenue of Sill ,631 1893. If the pound rate
of postage, which produces the large loss
thus entailed and which was fixed by the
congress with the purpose of encouraging
the dissemination of public Information,
were limited to the legitimate newspapers
and periodicals actually contemplated by
the law, no just exception could be taken.
That expense would be the recognized and
accepted cost of a liberal public policy de-
liberately adopted for justif1able 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 re-
quirements or through lax construction.
The proportion Of such wrongly included
matter Is estimated by postal experts to
be one-half of the whole volume of second
class mail. II it be only one-third or one
quarter, the magnitude of the burden Is
apparent. The pest Office department has
now undertaken to remove the abuses so
far as possible by a stricter application
of the law, and it should be sustained in
its effort"
The Chinese Difficulties.
He calls attention to the satisfactory
settlement of the Chinese difficulties of
last year, and this nations part in the
settlement, and says provisions have