The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-08

the United States qualified in respect
to age. physical ability moral char
acter, industry, and adaptability for
manual labor: EXCEPT that in case of
veterans of the civil war the element
of age is omitted. This system of APP
pointment Is distinct from the classified
service and does not classify positions
of mere laborer under the civil service
act and rules. Regulations in aid
thereof have been put in operation in
several of the departments and are
being gradually extended in other parts
of the service. The results have been
very satisfactory, as extravaganza has
been checked by decreasing the num-
Der of unnecessary positions and by in
creasing the efficiency of the employees
remaining.
Board of Charities
The Congress- as the result of a thor
ough investigation of the charities and
reformatory institutions in the District
of Columbia, by joint select commit
tee of the two Houses, which made its
report in March, 1898, created in the
act approved June g. 1900, a board of
charities for the District Of Columbia,
to consist of five residents of the Dis
trict, appointed by the President of
the United States, by and with the ad-
vice and consent of the Senate, each
for term of three years, to serve
without compensation. President Nc
Kinley appointed five men who had
been active and prominent in the pub
lie charities of Washington, all of whom
upon taking office July /, 1900, resigned
from the different charities with which
they had been connected. The MEM
bers of the board have been reappoint-
ed in successive years. The board
e.gs
District of Columbia. The board gave
its first year to careful and impair
tlal study of the special problems be-
fore 1t. and has continued that study
every year in the light of the best
practice in public charities elsewhere.
Its recommendation in its annual re-
port to the Congress through the COM
missioners of the District of Columbia
for tire economical and efficient adj
mlnlstration of the charities and re-
formatories IF the District of Column
bia," as required by the act creating
it, have been based upon the principles
commended by the joint select commit
tee of the Congress in it's report of
March, 1898. and approved by the best
administrators of public charities, and
make for the desired standardization
and Improvement of the affairs under
its supervision. They are worthy of
favorable consideration by the Con-
gress.
New Army Laws.
The effect of the laws providing a
general staff for the army and for file
mGre effective use of the National
Guard has been excellent. Greet i'm
prOvelnent has been made in the cffi-
cheney of our army in recent years.
Such schools as those erected at Fort
I n, =.
institution of fall maneuver work ac-
complish satisfactory results. The good
effect of these maneuvers upon the
National Guard is marked, and ample
appropriation should be made to enable
the guardsmen of the several states
to share in the benefit. The govern
ment should as soon as possible, Sc
cure suitable permanent camp sites
for military maneuvers in the various
sections of the country. The service
thereby rendered not only to the regu-
lar army, but to the National Guard
of the several states, will be so great
as TO repay many times over the rela-
lively small expense. We should not
rest satisfied with what has been done,
however. The only people who are con-
tented with a system of promotion
by mere seniority are those who are
contented with the triumph Of medic
Gritty over excellence. On the other
hand system which encouPa Ced the
exercise of social offpeiitical faVoritism.
in promotions would be even worse.
Nut it would sdreiy be easy to de-
wise a method Of Promotion from grade
to grade in which the opinion OF the
higher officers of the service upon the
candidates should BE decisive upon the
standing and promotion of the latter.
Just such a system now obtains at
West Point. The quality OF each
years work determines the standing
of that years class the man being
dropped or graduated into the next
class in the relative position which
his military su"e'iors decide to he
war; anted by his mer t. In other WORKS,
ability, energy, fidelity, and all other
similar qualities determine the rank of
a man year after year in West Point.
and his standing in the army when
he graduates from West Point; but
from that time on, all effort to find
which man is best or worst, and re-
ward or punish him accordingly, is
abandoned; no brilliancy, no amount
of hard work, no eagerness in the
performance of duty, can advance him.
and no slackness or indifference that
falls short of a court martial offense
can retard him. Until this system
is changed we can not hope that our
officers will be of as high grade as we
have a right to expect, considering
the material upon which we draw.
Moreover, when a man renders such
service as Capt. Pershing rendered last
spring in the Moro campaign, it ought
to be possible to reward him without
at once jumping him to the grade of
brigadier general
Shortly after the enumeration of that
famous principle of American foreign
policy, now known as the Monroe
Doctrine" President Monroe, in a spec
ial message to Congress on Jan. so,
1924, spoke as follows: THE navy is
the army from which our government
will derive most aid in support of our
rights. Every power engaged
in war will know the strength of our
naval power, the number of our ships
of each class, their condition, and the
promptitude with which we may bring
them into service, and will pay due con-
sideration to that argument"
The Nays Improvement.
l heartily congratulate the Congress
upon the steady progress in building
up the American navy. We can not
afford a let-up in this great work To
stand still means to go back. There
should be no cessation in adding to the
effective units of the fighting strength
of the fleet. Meanwhile the Navy
Department and the officers of the
navy are doing well their part by pro-
viding constant service at sea under
conditions akin to those of actual war
fare. Our officers and enlisted men are
learning to handle the battle ships,
cruisers, and torpedo boats with high
efficiency in fleet and squadron forma-
TONS and the standard of marksman-
ship is being steadily raised. The best
work ashore is indisnensa BILE but the