The Oskaloosa herald., 1904-09-15

| the United STATES anu SHlltleu " plo-
lection as such. 1t is a standing order
to every American diplomatic and con-
sular officer to protect every American
citizen, Of whatever faith, from unjus.
molestation; and our officers abroad
l have been stringently required TO COM
ply with this order
''Under such circumstances, the de-
mand Of our opponents that ne9otia-
lions be begun to secure equal treat
ment Of all Americans from those gov
.ernments which do not now accord it,
shows either ignorance of the facts or
| insincerity. No change of policy in the
method or manner of negotiation would
add effectiveness to what the state de-
partment has done and is doing"
OF the enforcement and extension of
the civil service law the president says:
"our opponents have now declared
| themselves in favor of the civil service
law. the repeal of which they demanded
| in 1900 and in 1896 If consistent, they
should have gone one step further and
| congratulated the country upon the way
| in which the civil service law is now adj
ministered, and the way in which the
classified service has been extended.
The exceptions from examinations are
fewer by far than ever before, and are
confined to individual cases, where the
application of the rules would be i'm
practicable, unwise, unjust, or unneces-
sary. The administration of the great
body of the classified civil service is free
from politics, and appointments and
removals have been put upon business
basis. Statistics show that there is lit
tie difference between the tenure of the
federal classified employees and that of
the employees of private business corpor-
ations. Less than one per cent. of the
classified employees are over 20 years
of age, and in the main the service rem
dered is vigorous and efficient. Where
the merit system was of course most
needed was in the Philippine islands;
and a civil service law of very advanced
type has there been put into operation
and scrupulously observed. Without
one exception every appointment in the
Philippines has been made in accord
ance with the strictest standard of fit
ness, and without heed to any other
consideration.
The Real Issues.
In passing from the democratic crit
icisms of the administration to what
are called the real issues of the cam
paign, he says:
FINALLY we come to certain matters
upon which our opponents do in their
platform of principles definitely take
issue with us, and where, if they are
sincere, their triumph would mean dis
aster to the country. But exactly as it
is impossible to call attention to the
present promises and past record of our
opponents without seeming offensive,
so it is impossible to compare their plat
form with their other and later official
utterances and not create doubt as to
their sincerity. In their private or I'M
official utterances many of them frank
ly advance this insincerity as a merit,
+v,isis, . Tho 1pSJsInon% tI.at as regards the
points on which am about to speak
they have no intention of keeping their
promises or of departing from the poll
cies now established and that therefore
they can be trusted not to abuse the
power they seek"
. The Tariff Issue.
He charges the democrats with in
sincerity and evosiveness in their state
ments regarding tariff policy, and
says:
Undoubtedly it would be possible at
the present time to prevent any of the
trusts from remaining prosperous by
the simple expedient of making such a
sweeping change in the tariff as to para
lyze the industries of the country. The
trusts would cease to prosper; but their
smaller competitors would be ruined,
and the wage-workers would stave,
while it would not pay the farmer to
haul his produce to market"
Continuing on the subject Of the tariff
he says:
From time to time schedules must
undoubtedly be rearranged and read
justed to meet the shifting needs OF the
country; but this can with safety be done
only by those who are committed to the
cause of the protective system. To up
root and destroy that system would be
to insure the prostration of business,
the closing of factories, the impoverish-
ment of the farmer, the ruin Of the
capitalist, and the starvation Of the
wage-worker. ~
at is matter of regret that the pro-
tective tariff policy, which, during the
last 40 odd years, has become part of the
very fiber of the country, is not now ac-
copied as definitely established. Sure
ly we have a right to say that it has
passed beyond the domain of theory.
and right to expect that not only its
original advocates, but those who at one
time distrusted it on theoretic grounds,
should now acquiesce in the results that
have been proved over and over again by
actual experience. These 40 odd years
have been the most prosperous years this
nation has ever seen; more prosperous
years than any other nation has ever
SEEN Beyond question this prosperity
could not have come If the American
people had not possessed the necessary