The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1903-12-11
who passed the examinations.

the extension OF classification to the rural
free delivery service and the appointment
last year Of over 1000 rural carriers, A
revision of the civil service rules took eff
feet on April 10 last, which has greatly
ton of the reform Of the civil service is
recognized by good citizens everywhere
as a matter of the highest public impor-
lance. and the success of the merit svs-
TEN largely depends upon the effective
ness of the rules and the machinery pro-
vided for their enforcement"
The effect of the laws providing a |
general IF for the army and for the
more effective use of the national guard
has been excellent" says the president.
the efficiency of our army in recent years. |
Such schools as those erected at Fort
~LeavenwOrth and Fort Riley and the in
plish satisfactory results. The good eff
feet OF these maneuvers upon the national
guard is marked, and ample appropria-
ton should be made to enable the guards
men of the several states to share in the
benefit. The government should as soon
as possible secure permanent camp sites
sections of the country. The service |
thereby rendered not only to the regular
army, but to the national guard of the
several states. will be so great as to
repay many times over the relatively
small expense. We should not rest salts
fed with what has been done. however.
The only people who are contented with
a system of promotion by mere seniority
are those who are contented with the
triumph of mediocrity over excellence.
On the other hand a system which en-
cOuraged the exercise of social or po-
litical favoritism in promotions would be
even worse. But it would surely be easy
sra6e to grade in which the opinion of
the higher officers of the service upon the
candidates should be decisive upon the
promotion and standing OF the latter
The president congratulates congress
upon the steady progress in building up
the American navy. He says: I'VE can
noe - fyr - - 49, l.. +hI~ rrnnf yynTlF
To stand still means to go back. There
should be no cessation in adding to. the
effective Units of the lighting stTengtH of
the feet. Meanwhile the navy depart
ment and the officers of the navy are do
ing we'll their part by providing constant
service at sea under conditions akin TO
those Of actual warfare. The establish
ment Of a naval base in the Philippines
ought not to be longer postponed. Such
a base is desirable in time If peace; IN
time of war it would be Indispensable,
and it's lack would be ruinous. 1t is
eminently desirable, however, that there
should be provided a naVa! general slatf
staff created for the army. We need the
establishment by law Of a body Of trained
officers, who shall exercise a systematic
control of the military affairs Of the
navy. and De authorized advisers of the
secretary concerning it,"
The president goes into the tsthmian
ing he says: by the act of June %,
1902, the congress authorized the presi-
dent to enter into treaty with COLOMBIA
for the building Of the canal across the
that in the event Of failure to secure
such treaty after the lapse Of a reason
building a canal through Nicaragua.
1t has not been necessary to consider TINS
| alternative, as / am enabled to lay before
the senate a treaty providing for, the
Building of the canal across the lsthmus
of Panama. This was the route which
commended itself to the deliberate judg-
acquire by treaty the right TO construct
the canal over this route. The question
now. therefore,, is not by which route the
isthmian canal shall be built. for that
revocably decided. The question is
simply whether or not we shall have an
iSthnlian canal.
When the congress directed that we
should take the Panama route under
treaty with Colombia, the essence of the
condition. of course, referred not to the
government which controlled that route,
but to the route itself; to the territory
across which the route lay, not to the
name which for the moment the territory
bore on the map. The purpose of the law
was to authorize the president to make a
treaty with the p0wer in actual control
Of the isthmus ca Panama. This purpose
has been fulfilled.
I'm the year 1886 this government en-
tered into a treaty with New Granada.
republic of Colombia and Of the present
Republic of Panama, by which treaty 1t
was provided that the government and
citizens of the United States should al
ways have free and open right OF way or
transit across the IstlItnuS of Panama by
any modes of communication that might
be constructed, while in return our gov
eminent guaranteed the perfect neutral
ity if the above mentioned iSthmus with
the view that the free transit from the
one to the other sea might not be in
terrupted or embarrassed. The treaty
vested in the United States a substantial
property right carved out of the rights
Granada then had and possessed over
the said territory. The name Of New
Granada has passed away and its terri
tory has been divided. Its successor. the
own any property in the isthmus. A new
republic, that Of Panama, which was at
one time a sovereign state, and at an
other time a mere department of the sue
cessive considerations known as New
Granada and Colombia, has now snc-
ceeded TO the rights which first one and
then the other formerly exercised over
the isthmus. But as long as the isthmus
endures, the mere geographical fact of its
existence. and the peculiar interest there
IN which is required by our position.
perpetuate the solemn contract which
binds the holders of the territory to re-
spect our right to freedom Of transit
across it, and binds us in return to safe-
guard for the isthmus and the world the
exercise of that inestiEcataoia privilege.
The true Interpretation of the obligation
upon which the United States entered in
this treaty of lS46 has been given re-
peatedly in tie utteranceS OF presidents
and secretaries of state.
For four hundred years. ever since
shortly after the discovery of this hemi-
sphere, the canal across the isthT1us has
been planl ed. For two score years it has
been worked at. When made it is to
last for the ages, 1t is to alter the
geography of a continent and the trade
routes of the world. We have shown
by every treaty we have negotiated or at
tempted to negotiate with the peoples in
control of the ith1nus and with foreign
nations in reference thereto our con-
} sistent good faith in observing our obliga-
tions: on the one hand '" the peoples of
the sthmus and on the olhtI hand to
the civilized world whose commercial
, rights we are safeguarding and guar
anteeing by our action. We have done
our duty to others in letter and In spirit,
and we have shown the utmost forbear-
ance in exacting our own rights.
Last spring, under the act above re-
, ferred to, a treaty concluded between the
representatives of the Republic of Co.
> lombia and of our government was rati-
fled by the senate. The treatv was en-
tered into at the urgent solicitation ot the
t people of Colombian and cfter a body OF
g experts appointed by our government es-
pecially to go into the matter OF the
routes across the iSthmuS had pro-