The San Francisco call., 1904-09-12
MERIT SYSTEM FREE
FROM POLITICS AND
WE'LL ADMINISTERED

The administration OF the great body Of
classified civil service is free from politics,
and appointments and removals have been
put upon a business basis. Statistics show
that there is little difference between the
tenure OF the Federal classified employees and
that Of the employees OF private business cor
porations. Less than one per cent Of the
classified employees are over 20 years OF age
and in the main the service rendered is Wig
orous and efficient. Where the merit system
was of course most needed was in the Philip
pine Islands. and civil service law of very
advanced type has there been put into opera
tion and scrupulously observed. Without one
exception every appointment in the Philippines
has been made in accordance with the strictest
standard of fitness, and without heed to any
other consideration.
Finally, We come to certain matters upon
which opponents do in their platform Of
principles definitely take issue with US, and
where, II they sincere, their triumph
would mean disaster to the country. But ex-
actly it is impossible to call attention to the
present promises and past record of our op-
ponents without seeming offensive, so 1t is
impossible to compare their platform with
their other and later official utterances and
not create doubt to their sincerity. In their
private or unofficial utterances many of them
frankly advance this insincerity merit,
taking the position that as regards the points
on which am about to speak they have no
iuIeHti0H Ol keeping Ile1r promises or OF de-
parting from the policies now established. and
that therefore they can be trusted not to
abuse they power they seek
When we take up the great question OF the
tariff we are at once confronted by the doubt
as to whether our opponents do or do not mean
what they say. They say that protection
is robbery.. and promise to carry themselves
accordingly IL they given power. Yet
prominent persons among them assert that
they do not really mean this and that IL they
come into power they. will adopt our policy
as regards the tariff while others seem
anxious 10 prove that 1t Is safe to give them
partial power because the power would be
only partial. and therefore they would not be
able to do mischief The last is certainly
curious plea to advance on behalf of a party
seeking to obtain control of the government.
At the outset It is worth while to say a
word as to the attempt to identify the ques-
tion of tariff revision or tariff reduction with
solution OF the trust question. This Is al
ways sign OF desire to avoid any real effort
to deal adequately with the trust question. In
speaking on this point at Minneapolis on
April 4. 1903. / said:
''The question of tariff revision, speaking
broadly, stands wholly apart from the ques-
tion OF dealing with the trusts No change in
tariff duties can have any substantial effsct
In solving the So called trust problem Ger
tain great trusts great corporations are
wholly unaffected by the tariff. Almost all
the others that are of any Importance have
as matter of fact numbers of smaller Amerl-
can competitors and of course change in the
corporation would work not merely injury bI,t
destruction of its smaller competitors and
equally of course such q change would mean
disaster TO all the wage workers connected WITH
either the large or the small. corporatians
From the standpoint Of those interested in the