The Washington herald., 1907-01-17
PRESIDENT SPEAKS
FOR SHIP SUBSIDY
CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE.

applied. IN accordance with the agree
ment entered into between the republic
and her creditors, for the settlement Of
her debts.
plan Is Effective.
Meanwhile. for two years, the island
has been going on under a tentative
/ agreement 10 the same effect. and how
well il has worked is proved by this fact
alone. Sant0 Domingo has received but
/ Is per cent Of her revenues, yet that a
/ per cent as collected by the officials whom
we have sent down there has given her
( a larger revenue than she has ever had
/ before, even when she nominally got all
/ Of IT, Meanwhile, the rest Of the money
! collected is being accumulated, and al
/ ready forms very substantial nucleus
; for the payment Of the entire debt, and
! If this arrangement can be, in whatever
/ shape. perpetuated, the chance of dis
! order is lessened fbecause one great OBJ
] ject of revolutions ia Santo Domingo has
I been 10 get possession Of the custom
: houses, ana NJ present that possession is
4 denied. while the chance of foreign
! interference has vanished and we are
saved from the disagreeable possibility
Of having TO intervene in the island. !
:
/ accomplishing. and if Mr.. Root has his
way. or any reasonable portion of his
way, they VIII be accomplished.
second, as 10 the consular service.
wish now TO express my deep sense Of
obligation 10 this gathering for the way
| in which its members in time past have
worked TO secure the putting OF the con-
/ sular service of the United States upon a
proper basis of noupartisanship and busi-
ness efficiency. You recommended the
/ passage of a law to secure these ends by
/ Congress. There has been some little
question as to whether such law would
De constitutional because it limits the
power of appointment, its opponents eX-
pressing the most ardent desire that my
/ constitutional powers should not be in
fringed upon-a sOlicitIde gentlemen. TO
which ] am totally unaccustOmed. II was
! advanced that it was impossible 10 limit
the Presidents power as / have recon-
mended that il should be limited
Regulations in Force.
Without discussing the constitutional
question raised, may only say that as
| Congress did not limit it last June. Sec
retary Root did, and we have adopted
regulations which in effect put into force
the measure as YOU recommended that #
should be enacted into law. providing foI
q system of promotion So that the higher
/ grades should be filled only by promotion
Of those who prove themselves worthy
and providing for system of rigid tests
Of the fitness Of those entering the service
and that they should enter the service il
the lower grades.
Il am glad 10 say that during IN,
period OF about year. since I have beer
applying these methods We have ap
pointed men from all sections of the coun
try and of all varieties of political belief
and that the higher positions have beer
hl!ed. when vacancies have occurred. only
. by the promotion of those most fit. mos
competent to I'll them.
i believe that "a very great improve
ment has been worked in the consula
service. ] want to say here. however
that I do not believe in restricting N.
! power of removal IN your private bus
inesses each one OF YOU knows that yol
b will often find that some man become
unsatisfactory, and that it viii be an ad
3 vantage to set rid of him. but you wOul
j not want 20 try him in a court As yor
know. in all branches of the service. civi
Z and military. I keep and shall COntinu
to keep a wide door Of exit for the IN
- ft-discussion as 10 whether the doc
D. shall be closed or not being OF q pureI
- academic character. because I alone hav
, power TO close it.
e Now, gentlemen, I am not prepared Z
, speak as TO whether or not il woul
, transgress the requirements Of the Con
> stitution 20 enact into law such a syster
Z as you advocate. which system has bee
= put in force by Executive regulation 4
4 the consular service If so. / very muc
wish that the Congress would at leas
: pass a resolution expressing approval O
the action of administration in establish
ing this system Of regulation Thl
would largely accomplish our object q
y putting the system on permanent basi;
L Reverts to south America.
}. Finally, gentlemen. I wish 10 spea
r of the effort which We are now maxim
Il to extend and strengthen our commerci.
a relations with South America and th
- Orient by the passage Of laws designe
d to secure swift and adequate commun
cation by steam with South and Centrg
n America, Asia, and Australia. I mU.
l. frankly admit that I never fully realize
IS the importance Of this movement; that
, never took very great interest in IL, Ut
I'll after Mr.. Root came back from h
mOmentOus South American trip last sun
. mer, and after listening to what he ha
a 20 say as TO the humiliation it was
= us nationally and the loss to us material
/, TO have our merchants our residents.
= South America in the position of fudin
y that normally they had TO Communica1
with the northern half Of their own hen
isphere by going to Europe.
~ Mr.. Roots trip TO South America va
- designed especially 10 give proof Of. an
. at the same time TO strengthen the bono
of friendly interest that knit the repul
lies Of the Western hemisphere tOgethe
He found that there was a general fee
> ing down there among the people then
selves, and among Americans there res
dent, that in addition to political friendl
/ ness. we needed commercial intimacy. ar
that it was quite impossible to get sue
commercial intimacy without far be
j. ter system of communication betwee
North and South America.
THE proposed measure viii be Of ben
fit TO all sections Of our country ar
io that is one reason why il is so eminent
e fitting that an organization like this, rel
N resenting East and West. North an
% South, the Pacific and the Atlantic. Il
)t interior as much as the seacoast, shou
'e take the interest it does in this questio
For. Of course, it is not only the seab0al
cities that are interested in lines of shil
TO South America; it is the people wi
le send what is in the ships. and they liz
n in the interior just as much as on the Sc
, coast.
= "a bill has been prepared almost e.