Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1912-12-05
TAFT SENDS IN
final MESSAGE
President Starts With Discussion
Of Foreign Relations.
WORK DONE BY DIPLOMATS.

Beneficial Suggestions Regarding
Changes In the Tariff Laws Designed
to Aid Commerce-Turkish War and
Troubles In China.
To the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives
The foreign relations of the United
States actually and potentially affect
the state of the Union to degree not
widely realized and hardly surpassed
by any other factor in the welfare of
the whole nation The position of the
United States in the moral, intellec-
tual and material relations of the fam
lily of nations should be matter of
vital interest to every patriotic citi-
zen. The national prosperity and
power impose upon us duties which
we cannot shirk if we are to be true
to our ideals.
The tremendous growth of the ex-
port trade of the United States has
already made that trade a very real
factor in the industrial and CONNER
cial prosperity of the country. With
the development of our industries the
foreign commerce of the United
States must rapidly become a still
more essential factor in its economic
welfare.
The relations of the United States
with all foreign powers remain upon
a sound basis of peace, harmony and
friendship. A greater insistence upon
justice to American citizens or inter-
ests wherever it may have been denied
and a stronger emphasis of the need Of
mutually in commercial and other re
lations have only served to strengthen
our friendship with foreign countries
by placing those friendships upon a
firm foundation Of realities as well as
aspirations.
Reorganization of state Department.
At the beginning of the present adj
ministration the United States, having
fully entered upon it's position as a
world power, with the responsibilities
thrust upon it by the results of the
Spanish-American war and already en-
gagged in laying the groundwork of a
vast foreign trade upon which it
should one day become more and more
dependent, found itself without the
machinery for giving thorough atten.
ton to and taking effective action
tai to American interests in every coun-
try in the world.
The department of state was an
archaic and inadequate machine, lack
ing most of the attributes of the for
eign office of any great modern power.
With an appropriation made upon my
Recommendation by the congress on
Aug. 5, 1909, the department of state
was completely reorganized. There
were created divisions of Latin Ameli-
can affairs and of far eastern. near
eastern and western European affairs.
The law offices of the department
were greatly strengthened There were
added foreign trade advisers to coop
crate with the diplomatic and consular
bureaus and the politico- geographical
divisions in the innumerable matters
where commercial diplomacy or scon-
sular work calls for such special
knowledge. The same officers, together
with the rest of the new organization.
are able at all times to give to Ameri-
can citizens accurate information as to
conditions in foreign countries with
which they have business and likewise
to cooperate more effectively with the
congress and also with the other ex-
ecutive departments.
Merit System In Consular and Dplo-.
matte Corps.
Expert knowledge and professional
training must evidently be the essence
of this reorganization. Without train
ed foreign service there would not be
men available for the work in the reor-
gained department of state President
Cleveland had taken the first step to-
ward introducing the merit system In
the foreign service. That had been fol-
lowed by the application of the merit
principle, with excellent results to the
entire consular branch. Almost moth
ing, however, had been done In this di-
rection with regard to the diplomatic
service. In this age of commercial d.
piomacy 1t was evidently of the first
Importance to train an adequate per
sonnet In that branch of the service.
Therefore, on Nov. %, 1909, by an
executive order placed the diplomatic
service up to the grade Of secretary of
embassy, inclusive, upon exactly the,
same strict nonpartisan basis of the
merit system, rigid examination for ap-
pointment and promotion only for eff
cheney, as had been maintained with
out exception in the consular service.
Merit and Nonpartisan Character of
Appointments.
How faithful to the merit system
and how nonpartisan has been the con
duct of the diplomatic and consular
services in the last four years may be
Judged from the following; Three am
bassadors now serving held their pres
ent rank at the beginning Of my adj
administration. OF the ten ambassadors
whom I have appointed FIVE were by
DrOmotion from fha rank of vnsnie+o,.