The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-04

scourges The work of the state and city boards of health should be supple mented by a constantly increasing inter est on the part of the national govern ment. The Congress has already pro- vded a bureau of public health and has provided for a hyglenic laboratory.
 There are other valuable laws relating to the public health connected with the various departments. This whole branch of the government should be strength ened and aided in every way.
 Government Commissions.
 call attention to two government coni- missions which 1 have appointed and which have already done excellent work. The first of these has to do with the or ganization of the scientific work of the government. which has grown np wholly without plan and is in consequence so unwi5ely distributed among the executive departments that much of it's effect Is lost for the lack of proper coordination. Th's commissions chief object Is to introduce a planned and orderly development and operation in the place of the ill-assorted and often ineffective grouping and meth ods of work which have prevailed. This cannot be done without legislation, nor would it be feasible to deal in detail with so complex an administrative problem by specific provisions of law. l recommend that the President be given authority to
  duce duplication by executive order through transfer and consolidation of lines of work.
 The second committee. that on depart ment methods, was instructed to inyesti- gate and report upon the changes needed 10 place the conduct of the executive force of the government on the most eco- nomical and effective basis in the light of the best modern business practice. The committee has made very satisfactory progress Antlduated practices and bu- reaucratic ways have been abolished, and a general renovation of departmental methods has been inaugurated. All that can be done by executive order has al ready been accomplished or will be put into effect In the near future The work of the main committee and it's several assistant committees has produced a wholesome awakening on the part of the great body of officers and employees en- gagged in government work. In nearly every department and office there has been careful self-inspection for the pur- pose of remedying any defects before they could he made the subject of adverse criticism. This has led individuals to wider study of the work on which they were engaged. and this study has resulted in increasing their efficiency in their re- spectlve lines of work. There are recom- mendations of special importance from the committee on the subject of personnel and the classification of salaries which will require legislative action before they can be put into effect. It Is my intention to submit to the Congress in the near fu- ture Q special message on those subjects. Presidential Campaign Expenses.
 Under our form of government voting is not merely a right but a duty. and, moreover, fundamental and necessary duty If a man is to be a good citizen. It ia n sh not contribute to presidential or national campaigns and Furthermore to provide for the pubica ton of both contributions and expenditures. There Is, however, all ways danger in laws of this kind. which from their very nature are difficult of inforcement; the danger being lest they be obeyed only by the honest, and dis obeyed by the interruptions, so as to act only as a penalty upon honest men. More over, no such law would hamper an un- scrupulous man of unlimited means from buying his own way into office. There Is very radical measure which would, l believe, work a substantial improve ment in our system of conducting d cam paign, although l am well aware that 1t will take some time for people so to familiarize themselves with such u pro- posal as to be willing to consider its adoption. The need for collecting large | campaign funds would vanish If Con
 
 proper and legitimate expenses of each ] of each of the great national parties, an l appropriation ample enough to meet the necessity for thorough organization and machinery, which requires a large expen- allure of money. Then the stipulation ! should be made that no party receiving campaign funds from the treasury should accept more than a fixed amount from any individual subscriber or donor; and the necessary publicity for receipts and expenditures could without difficulty be provided.
 A National Gallery of Art.
 There should be a national gallery of art established In the capital city of this country. This Is important not merely to tho artistic but to the material welfare of the country; and the people are to be congratulated on the fact that the movement to establish such a gallery is taking definite form under the guidance of the Smithsonian institution. So far from there being tariff on works of art brought into the country their lmporta- ton should be encouraged in every way. There have been no sufficient collec- tions of objects of art by the govern ment and what collections have been ac- quired are scattered and are generally placed in unsuitable and imperfectly lighted galleries.
 me DioiogiCdi survey.
 The biological survey Is quietly work ing for the good of our agricultural in- terests, and Is an excellent example of q government bureau which conducts or iginal scientific research the finds of which are of much practical utility. For more than 20 years it has studied the food habits of birds and mammals that are injurious or beneficial to agriculture, horticulture and forestry; has distrb- uted Illustrated bulletins on the subject. and has labored to secure legislative protection for the beneficial species. The cotton boil weevil, which has recently overspread the cotton belt of Texas and is steadily extending it's range is said to cause an annual loss of about s3,0O0- GOO. The biological suryay has ascertain ed and given wide publicity to the fact that at least i3 kinds of birds prey upon this destructive insect. It has discovered that j7 species of birds feed upon scale insects-dreaded eilemiss of the fruit grower It has shown that woodpeck- CTS as q class, by destroying the larvae of wood boring insects, are so essential to tree life that 1t is doubtful if our for ests could exist without them It has shown that cuckoos and orioles are the natural enemies of the leaf-eating cater pillars that destroy our shade and fruit trees; that our quails and sparrows con sume annually hundreds of tons of seeds of noxious weeds: that hawks and owls as a class (exceptins the few that kill poultry and game birdsD are markedly beneficial spending their lives in catch ing grasshoppers. mice, and other pests that prey upon the products of hus-