The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-10-11
HONESTY PRACTICALLY APPLIED.

l thing more than the mere personal hon. esty of officials. Those personally dis honest rarely ever win through to high position, aDi if they do, they soon are forced out. Honesty in government means discharging the duties of high of flee faithfully and to the utmost of per- sonal ability. It means to give the people an efficient administration of their pub 1 lie affairs, the effective application and enforcement of the statutes, the repeal or amendment of bad or faulty laws, and the passage of enlightened legisla- ton. It means the summoning of spe- cial ability to the solution of vexing pub lie problems, and the forward-looking statesmanship that pro'';des also for the future comfort, safety, happiness and prosperity of the people. The faithful public servant receives his most cherished reward through the satisfaction of know ir.- that he has performed his whole pub lie duty, not only conscientiously, but also successfully. It is not enough to have the will to perform public duty. One must also possess the capacity, or the results are not dependable nor ade- iquate. c.x
 In the early days, before revenues ir- creased so enormously, and before the responsibilities and concerns of govern ment were so multiplied and imposing, statesmanship was simpler thing. It meant largely the embodiment of ideals in statutes and the stately debates at- tendant thereon. Nowadays one of the chief requisites of the executive, as the name implies, is executive ability, bol- stered on theone side by business sagaci- ty and on the other by breadth of view. The business of government is a tre- mendous affair. It means the proper dis posal of billions of revenue annually. It means the exercise of the duties of gov ernmente through the most effective methods. There is a general impress sion throughout the land that people are not getting their moneys worth out of government. It appears sometimes as if it costs more to operate the machinery than it does to grind the grist.
 Because of our system of political patronage and complete change of per sonnel of department heads and even of countless minor officials, there is with each new administration what might be termed a great labor turnover in im- portant public office. Every industry knows what costly process that would be in private activity. It is even more costly in government, because, while in- dustry chooses it's agents because of ability, official patronage considers ability second to political obligation. To be sure, the chief executive must sur round himself with leaders of his own party in sympathy with his political pro- gram. But in the offices not directly in contact with him, especially down among the less important, such shift is neither necessary nor wise.
 As long as that system persists to its present extent, public acts will continue too often to spring from motives other than regard for the public welfare. Sim plification and reduction in the multi plicity of political favors is essential to economical administration of affairs. Men in minor offices should hold their offices by virtue of the substantial re- suits they have attained, or, they should lose their offices for lack of such results. It is thought that it takes at least two dollars now to do the work of one in government. -
 It is believed that John W. Davis, man who has never sought public office of his own volition, possesses those ideals of government and that capacity which would make him an efficient president, one who would make the good of the peo- pie his primary objective. Already he has attacked the problems of government with a clarity of vision and simplicity of utterance that have quite won his hear CTS, and those who have read him with open mind. He has not promised to cure agricultural ills with statutes, nor has he preached any revolutionary doctrine. Nevertheless, he has suggested solutions that meet the approval of students of farm questions. He espouses no flood of new legislation, but stoutly declares to his countrymen that there are well-nigh laws enough were they properly in- voked. Congress has been passing laws for more than a hundred years. Surely, there is little ground it has not covered.
 There is some legislation that requires either amendment or repeal in behalf of the public welfare. There still needs to be areduction a in the tariff, especially as regards some of it's admitted absurdities. There must be revision of taxes and amendments to some of our important acts. But congress need not anticipate