Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1907-12-05

Under these favorable conditions, Q
change In the method OF prosecuting
the work would be unwise and unjusti.
liable. for 1t would inevitably disorgane
ise existing conditions. check progress.
and Increase the cost and lengthen the
time Of completing the canal.
President Recommends
Postal Savings Banks.
II commend to the favorable consid.
Grafton of the congress postal saw
ings bank system. az recommended by
the postmaster general. The primary
object 10 to encourage among our peo-
pie economy and thrift and by the use
Of postal savings banks to give them
an opportunity to husband their re.
sources, particularly those who have
not the facilities at hand for depositing
their money In savings banks. Viewed.
| however, from the experience OF the
| past few weeks II is evident that the
advantages OF such an institution are
still more far-reaching. Timid depoa-
| itors have withdrawn their savings for
| the time being from national banks; In
| dividuals have boarded their cash and
the workingmen their earnings; all
Of which money has been withdrawn
and kept In hiding or In the safe de-
posit box to the detriment OF pros
perity. Through the agency Of the pos
tai savings banks such money would bc
restored to the channels Of trade. TO
| the mutual benefit of capital and labor.
II further commend to the congress
the consideration of the postmaster
generals recommendation for an ex-
tension of the parcel post. especially ON
the rural routes. There are now SS,-
| 2l6 rural routes, serving nearly 1b.00O.s
| 900 people who do not have the adj
| vantages Of the Inhabitants Of cities In
obtaining their supplies. These recon-
mondationS have been drawn up to
benefit the farmer and the country
storskeeper; otherwise, should not
favor them, for believe that It 10 good
policy for our government to do every
thing possible to aid the small town
Ss. tA oSSasTz ssTss Z snSSd SsnFsSs
be crushed out.
THE fourth-cl postmasters' con-
vention has passed q very strong reso-
| luton in favor Of placing the fourth
class postmasters under the civil-Serv-
| Ice law. The administration has als
| ready put into effect the policy Of res
fusing to remove any fourth-class post
masters save for reasons connected
with the good Of the service: and It 10
endeavoring so far as possible to re.
move them from the domain Of partisan
politics. 1t would be a most desirable
thing to put the fourth-class poStmas-
ters in the classified service"
He renews his recommendations Of
last year in regard to Alaska; calls at
tentiOn to the admission of Oklahoma
as a state; urges the Importance Of pro-
viding shipping relief for Hawaii; asks
for citizenship for Porto Ricans, and
promises submission Of Secretary
Tafts rsport on Philippines when that
official fsturns.
He asks for the creation of q buresu
| Of mines; recommends the providing Of
funds for preserving The Hermitage,
the home Of Andrew Jackson; and the
erection Of q naval monument at
Vicksburg.
Corporation Contributions
to COmDalgn Expcnses.
Under our form Of government voting
is not merely a right but a duty, and.
moreover, q fundamental and necessary
| duty II q man Ii to be q good citizen.
It is well to provide that corporations
shall not contribute to presidential or
national campaigns. and furthermore to
provide for the publication OF both con-
| tributions and expenditures. There 10,
however, always danger In laws Of this
kind, which from their very nature are
difIicult OF enforcement: the danger being
lest they be obeyed only by the honest.
and disobeyed by the INSCRIPTIONS, 20
as to act only as a penalty upon honest
| men. Moreover, no such law would ham,
per an INSCRIPTIONS man Of unlimited
means from buying his own way into Of
| fce. There is very radical measure
which would. believe. work Substan-
tial improvement In our system Of con-
| Quoting a campaign, although l am well
aware that 1t will take some time for
| people to so famlliarize themselves with
| such q proposal a. to be willing to con-
slider its adoption. The need for collect
ing large campaign funds would vanish II
! congress provided an appropriation for
| the proper and legitimate expenses OF
each of the great national parties an ap-
propriation ample enough to meet the
necessity for thorough organization AMI
machinery. which requires q large ex-
penditure OF money. Then the stipula-
tion should be made that no party re-
celving campaign funds from the treasury
should accept more than fixed amount
| from any Individual subscriber or donor;
and the necessary publicity for receipts
and expenditures could without difficulty
be provided"
wants Improvement In the
Ocean Mail Service.
II call your especial attention to the un-
satisfactory condition Of our foreign mail
service, which, because Of the lack OF
American steamship lines, IL now largely
done through foreign lines, and which.
particularly 20 far as South and Central
America are concerned, is done In man
ner which constitutes . serious barrier
to the extensions Of our commerce.
''Ths time has come. in my Judgment,
to set to work seriously to make our
ocean mall service correspond more
closely with our recent commercial and
political development. A beginning was
made By the ocean mail act Of March 4
1891, but even at that time the act was
known to be inadequate in various par
ticuIarS. Since that time events have
moved rapidly in our history. We have
acquired Hawaii the Philippines. and
lesser Islands in the Pacific. We are
steadily prosecuting the great work OF
uniting at the Isthmus the waters Of the
Atlantic and the Pacific. To q greater
extent than seemed probably even a
dosen years ago We may look 10 an
American future on the sea worthy Of
the tradition OF our past As the nrSt
step IN that direction. and the step most
feasible at the present time, recommend
the extension Of the ocean mail act Of
isgi. That act has stood for some years
free from successful criticism Of its prin-
chile and purpose II was based on theO-
ries Of the obligations Of q great mari
time nation, undlsputed in our own lana
and followed By other nations since the
beginning Of steam navigation Brieny
those theories are that Il II the duty Of
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