The Topeka state journal., 1905-12-05

do not desire that they should be ad-
mitted- At present their entrance is
prohibited by laws amply adequate to
accomplish this purpose. These laws
have beens are being, and will be, thor
OuEhly. enforced. The violations of
them are so few in number as to be
infinitesimal and can be entirely dis
regarded. There is no serious proposal
to alter the immigration law as re-
CARDS the Chinese labOrer, skilled or
unskined, and there is no excuse for
any man feeling or affecting to feel
the slightest alarm on the subject.
But in the effort to carry out the
policy of excluding Chinese IabOrers,
Chinese coolies, grave injustice and
wrong have been done by this nation
TO the people of China, and therefore
ultimately to this nation itself Chi
nese students, business and professions
al men of all kinds-nOt only mer-
chants, but bankers, DOCTORS manufac-
turerSs professors, travellers, and the
iike-ShOuld be encouraged to come
here and treated on precisely the same
footing that we treat students, busi-
ness men. travellers, and the like of
other nations. Our laws and treaties
should be framed. not so as to put
these people in the excepted classes,
but to state that we viii admit all
Chinese. except Chinese of the coolie
class, Chinese skilled or unSkiled Ia
bOrers. There would not be the least
danger that any such provision would
about laborers. These will. under all
conditions, be kept out absolutely. But
1t will be more easy to see that both
justice and courtesy are shown, as
they ought to be shown, to other Chi
neSe, if the law or treaty is framed as
above suggested Examinations
should be completed at the port of de-
parture from China. For this pur-
pose there should be provided a more
adequate consular service in China
than have The gnnTnnTi4-
tions, both for the offices of the con-
sulS and for the Office forces in the
cOnsulates, should be increased.
AS a people we have talked much
Of the open door in China. and we eX-
pect, and quite rightly intend to insist
upon, justice being shown us by the
Chinese But we can not expect to re-
ceiVe equity unless we do equity. We
can not ask the Chinese to do to US
what we are unwilling to do to them.
They would have a perfect right to eX-
clUde all our laboring men if our Ia
boring men theatened to come into
their country in such numbers as to
jeOpardiZe the Well-being of the Chi
nese population; and as, mutatis mu-
tandis, these We're the conditions with
which Chinese immigration actually
brought this people face to face, we
had and have q perfect right which
the Chinese government in no way
contests, to act as we have acted in the
matter of restricting cOOlie immigra-
ton. That this right exists for each
country was explicitly acknowledged
in the last treaty between the two
countries. But we must treat the Chi
nese student, traveller, and business
man in a spirit of the brOadeSt justice
and courtesy if we expect similar treat
ment to be accorded to our own peo-
pie of similar rank who go to China.
Much trouble has come during the
past summer from the organized boy
colt against American goods which has
been started in China. The main fac
tor in producing this boycott has been
the resentment felt by students and
business people of China, by all the
Chinese leaders, against the harShnesS
of our law toward educated China
men of the professional and business
classes.
This government has the friendIiest
feeling for China and desires China's
well-being. We cordially -sympathize
with the announced purpose of Japan
to stand for the integrity of China.
Such an attitude tends to the peace Of
the world
The Civil Service.
The civil service law has been on
the statute books for twenty-five
years. Every president and a vast ma
jority of heads of departments who
have been in Office during that period
have favored the gradual extension of
the merit system. The more thor
oughly its principles have been under
stood, the greater has been the favor
with which the law has been regard
ed by administrative officers. Any at
tempt to carry on the great executive
departments of the government with
out this law would inevitably result in
chaos. The civil service commission
ers are doing excellent work; and their
compensation. is Inadequate consider
ing the service they perform
The statement that the eXamina-
tiOns are not practical in character is
based on a nisapprehenSiOn of the
practice of the commission. The de-
partments are invariably consulted as
to the requirements desired and as to
the character of questions that shall
be asked. General invitations are fre-
quently sent out to all heads of de-
partments asking whether any
changes in the scope or character of
examinations are required. In other
words, the departments prescribe the
requirements and the qualifications de-
sired, and the civil service commission
cO-opeTates with them in securing
persons with these qualifications and
insuring open and impartial compe-
titiOn- In a large number of eXami
nations Gas. for example, those for
! trades pOsitiOns) there are no educa-
tional requirements whatever, and a
person who can neither read nor write
may pass with a high average. Va
cancies in the service are filed with
reasonable expedition and the ma
chinery of the commission, which
reaches every part Of the country, is
the best agency that has yet been de-
vised for finding people with the most
suitable qualifications for the various
offices to be filed. Written competi-
tive examinations do not make an
ideal method for filling positions, but
they do represent an immeasurable e
advance upon the ''spoils'' method
under which outside politicians really
make the appointments nOminally made
by the executive officers, the appoin-
tees being chosen by the politicians
in question, in the great majority of
| cases, for reasons totally unconn nected
with the needs of the service or of
/ the public.
Statistics gathered by the census
I bureau show that the tenure of office