The Yale expositor., 1910-01-28


to transac, their business. with a
view to providing for them better
quarters.
There have been some communica-
tons sent TO congress which in de-
scriptive way the word unique" fits
admirably. but 1t is likely that no
paper intended for any president ever
contained more striking paragraph
than one which occurs in the mes
sage which was sent not long ago
by the civil service commissioners to
the chief of the nations authorities.
The commissioners are tired of be-
ing moved about from place to place.
and are particularly tired of their
present quarters. There is some hui
NOR in the situation, and it is shown
! by this paragraph which occurs In
an official letter which carries the sig
nature of Gen. John c. Black, the pres
ident of the civil service board, with
the signatures of his fellow commits.
sioners added.
Humorous Protest.
The moral element In this propo-
sition, Mr.. President, is worthy of con-
sideration. A man is hardly respected
head of the family until he owns a
roof under which he may gather with
his family. Any bureau OF depart
ment of the government wholly peri
patetic and without permanent quar-
tering is subject to suspicion and a
sighting consideration. We want to
be helped out of this situation"
This plea borders on pathos, but 1t
has strength of its own, and con-
gress has been asked to give that
heed to the request of Gen. Black and
his colleagues, which will give them
more room and will be in keeping
with the dignity OF their work. The
day when civil service is mentioned
by members and senators with the
sheer OF Roscoe Conkling as "snivel
service" has gone by. and while the
work of the commissioners has robbed
the congressman of much patronage.
1t is likely that they will see to 1t
that habitable quarters are given to
the officials and their employees.
1t is hardly probable that the coun-
|
service. The employees of the COM
mission supervise and complete the
work of 1859 local boards composed
Of 4 1890 members, distributed through
out the territorial extent of the United
States, Hawaii, the Isthmus of Pana-
ma and the islands of Porto Rica.
There are now 225,000 in the competi-
| a IL nd In hn Los
there were nearly 100000 applications
for examination.
Army Bill Meets Favor.
Congress is taking more kindly to
the army appropriation bill this year
than rGs been the case fer q long
time. Secretary of War Dickinson
managed to get several millions Of
dollars from the estimates for the
support of the land forces. and I'M
der his direction the chiefs of the
different bureaus made reductions
that have appealed to the members OF
congress as an evidence that economy
this year is the army's watchword.
General Leonard Wood before long
will be made chief of staff of the
United States army with headquarters
in Washington. Gen. Wood Is the
ranking officer of the service. If the
general were TO be ordered into the
field in case of war he could have
placed under his orders within two
months over a half million Americans
armed with the latest type of Ameri-
can rifle, the new model Springfield.
which is believed by American army
officials to be the best weapon known
to modern military science.
The house committee on military
affairs at its hearings on the needs
of the army complimented Gen. Gro
zier of the ordinance department on
the marked reductions that he had
made In expenses, reductions that the
general showed were possible while
they did not tend in any way to de-
crease the efficiency of the service.
] The committee reported favorably
on the recommendation that a re-
serve supply of one million rifles OF
the modern approved type be provid-
ed. When the authorized limit of one
million is reached the manufacture
OF the rlIleS Will DC SlOppeu, OHly W
be taken up again when the necessity
is shown or when new inventions
make new rifles imperative.
No Need for Large Army.
Congress does not believe that the
United States will ever need an enor-
nous army for war purposes. 1t takes
1t for granted that the navy will be
able to keep all foreign foes at dis
lance and that being safe from invas-
ion the army of half million men at
the outset will be sufficient to meet
any seemingly possible emergency.
The army officers, however. look at
the matter in another light. They say
that the most unexpected thing hap
pen in military affairs and that it
would be little less than sin for the
United States to be unprepared as II
was at the time of the opening of
the Spanish war. Congress has been
told that there is no first-class power
other than the United States which
cannot put into the field almost in