shown during the last three years. In the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto
Rico it has proved itself a great constructive force, a most potent
implement for the upbuilding of a peaceful civilization.

No other citizens deserve so well of the Republic as the veterans, the
survivors of those who saved the Union. They did the one deed which
if left undone would have meant that all else in our history went for
nothing. But for their steadfast prowess in the greatest crisis of our
history, all our annals would be meaningless, and our great experiment
in popular freedom and self-government a gloomy failure. Moreover, they
not only left us a united Nation, but they left us also as a heritage
the memory of the mighty deeds by which the Nation was kept united. We
are now indeed one Nation, one in fact as well as in name; we are united
in our devotion to the flag which is the symbol of national greatness
and unity; and the very completeness of our union enables us all, in
every part of the country, to glory in the valor shown alike by the sons
of the North and the sons of the South in the times that tried men's
souls.

The men who in the last three years have done so well in the East
and the West Indies and on the mainland of Asia have shown that this
remembrance is not lost. In any serious crisis the United States must
rely for the great mass of its fighting men upon the volunteer soldiery
who do not make a permanent profession of the military career; and
whenever such a crisis arises the deathless memories of the Civil War
will give to Americans the lift of lofty purpose which comes to those
whose fathers have stood valiantly in the forefront of the battle.

The merit system of making appointments is in its essence as
democratic and American as the common school system itself. It simply
means that in clerical and other positions where the duties are entirely
non-political, all applicants should have a fair field and no favor,
each standing on his merits as he is able to show them by practical
test. Written competitive examinations offer the only available means in
many cases for applying this system. In other cases, as where laborers
are employed, a system of registration undoubtedly can be widely
extended. There are, of course, places where the written competitive
examination cannot be applied, and others where it offers by no means
an ideal solution, but where under existing political conditions it is,
though an imperfect means, yet the best present means of getting
satisfactory results.

Wherever the conditions have permitted the application of the merit
system in its fullest and widest sense, the gain to the Government has
been immense. The navy-yards and postal service illustrate, probably
better than any other branches of the Government, the great gain in
economy, efficiency, and honesty due to the enforcement of this
principle.

I recommend the passage of a law which will extend the classified
service to the District of Columbia, or will at least enable the
President thus to extend it. In my judgment all laws providing for the
temporary employment of clerks should hereafter contain a provision that
they be selected under the Civil Service Law.

It is important to have this system obtain at home, but it is even more
important to have it applied rigidly in our insular possessions. Not
an office should be filled in the Philippines or Puerto Rico with any
regard to the man's partisan affiliations or services, with any regard
to the political, social, or personal influence which he may have at his
command; in short, heed should be paid to absolutely nothing save the
man's own character and capacity and the needs of the service.

The administration of these islands should be as wholly free from the
suspicion of partisan politics as the administration of the Army and
Navy. All that we ask from the public servant in the Philippines or
Puerto Rico is that he reflect honor on his country by the way in which
he makes that country's rule a benefit to the peoples who have come
under it. This is all that we should ask, and we cannot afford to be
content with less.

The merit system is simply one method of securing honest and efficient
administration of the Government; and in the long run the sole
justification of any type of government lies in its proving itself both
honest and efficient.

The consular service is now organized under the provisions of a law
passed in 1856, which is entirely inadequate to existing conditions.
The interest shown by so many commercial bodies throughout the country
in the reorganization of the service is heartily commended to your
attention. Several bills providing for a new consular service have in
recent years been submitted to the Congress. They are based upon the
just principle that appointments to the service should be made only
after a practical test of the applicant's fitness, that promotions
should be governed by trustworthiness, adaptability, and zeal in the
performance of duty, and that the tenure of office should be unaffected
by partisan considerations.

The guardianship and fostering of our rapidly expanding foreign
commerce, the protection of American citizens resorting to foreign
countries in lawful pursuit of their affairs, and the maintenance of
the dignity of the nation abroad, combine to make it essential that
our consuls should be men of character, knowledge and enterprise. It is
true that the service is now, in the main, efficient, but a standard of
excellence cannot be permanently maintained until the principles set
forth in the bills heretofore submitted to the Congress on this subject
are enacted into law.

In my judgment the time has arrived when we should definitely make up
our minds to recognize the Indian as an individual and not as a member
of a tribe. The General Allotment Act is a mighty pulverizing engine
to break up the tribal mass. It acts directly upon the family and the
individual. Under its provisions some sixty thousand Indians have
already become citizens of the United States. We should now break up the
tribal funds, doing for them what allotment does for the tribal lands;
that is, they should be divided into individual holdings. There will be
a transition period during which the funds will in many cases have to
be held in trust. This is the case also with the lands. A stop should
be put upon the indiscriminate permission to Indians to lease their
allotments. The effort should be steadily to make the Indian work like
any other man on his own ground. The marriage laws of the Indians should
be made the same as those of the whites.

In the schools the education should be elementary and largely
industrial. The need of higher education among the Indians is very, very
limited. On the reservations care should be taken to try to suit the
teaching to the needs of the particular Indian. There is no use in
attempting to induce agriculture in a country suited only for cattle
raising, where the Indian should be made a stock grower. The ration
system, which is merely the corral and the reservation system, is highly
detrimental to the Indians. It promotes beggary, perpetuates pauperism,
and stifles industry. It is an effectual barrier to progress. It must
continue to a greater or less degree as long as tribes are herded on
reservations and have everything in common. The Indian should be treated
as an individual - like the white man. During the change of treatment
inevitable hardships will occur; every effort should be made to minimize
these hardships; but we should not because of them hesitate to make the
change. There should be a continuous reduction in the number of
agencies.

In dealing with the aboriginal races few things are more important
than to preserve them from the terrible physical and moral degradation
resulting from the liquor traffic. We are doing all we can to save our
own Indian tribes from this evil. Wherever by international agreement
this same end can be attained as regards races where we do not possess
exclusive control, every effort should be made to bring it about.

I bespeak the most cordial support from the Congress and the people for
the St. Louis Exposition to commemorate the One Hundredth Anniversary
of the Louisiana Purchase. This purchase was the greatest instance of
expansion in our history. It definitely decided that we were to become
a great continental republic, by far the foremost power in the Western
Hemisphere. It is one of three or four great landmarks in our
history - the great turning points in our development. It is eminently
fitting that all our people should join with heartiest good will in
commemorating it, and the citizens of St. Louis, of Missouri, of all the
adjacent region, are entitled to every aid in making the celebration a
noteworthy event in our annals. We earnestly hope that foreign nations
will appreciate the deep interest our country takes in this Exposition,
and our view of its importance from every standpoint, and that they will
participate in securing its success. The National Government should be
represented by a full and complete set of exhibits.

The people of Charleston, with great energy and civic spirit, are
carrying on an Exposition which will continue throughout most of the
present session of the Congress. I heartily commend this Exposition to
the good will of the people. It deserves all the encouragement that can
be given it. The managers of the Charleston Exposition have requested
the Cabinet officers to place thereat the Government exhibits which have
been at Buffalo, promising to pay the necessary expenses. I have taken
the responsibility of directing that this be done, for I feel that it is
due to Charleston to help her in her praiseworthy effort. In my opinion
the management should not be required to pay all these expenses.
I earnestly recommend that the Congress appropriate at once the small
sum necessary for this purpose.

The Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo has just closed. Both from the
industrial and the artistic standpoint this Exposition has been in a
high degree creditable and useful, not merely to Buffalo but to the
United States. The terrible tragedy of the President's assassination
interfered materially with its being a financial success. The Exposition
was peculiarly in harmony with the trend of our public policy, because
it represented an effort to bring into closer touch all the peoples of
the Western Hemisphere, and give them an increasing sense of unity.
Such an effort was a genuine service to the entire American public.

The advancement of the highest interests of national science and
learning and the custody of objects of art and of the valuable results
of scientific expeditions conducted by the United States have been
committed to the Smithsonian Institution. In furtherance of its declared
purpose - for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men" - the
Congress has from time to time given it other important functions. Such
trusts have been executed by the Institution with notable fidelity.
There should be no halt in the work of the Institution, in accordance
with the plans which its Secretary has presented, for the preservation
of the vanishing races of great North American animals in the National
Zoological Park. The urgent needs of the National Museum are recommended
to the favorable consideration of the Congress.

Perhaps the most characteristic educational movement of the past fifty
years is that which has created the modern public library and developed
it into broad and active service. There are now over five thousand
public libraries in the United States, the product of this period.
In addition to accumulating material, they are also striving by
organization, by improvement in method, and by co-operation, to give
greater efficiency to the material they hold, to make it more widely
useful, and by avoidance of unnecessary duplication in process to reduce
the cost of its administration.

In these efforts they naturally look for assistance to the Federal
library, which, though still the Library of Congress, and so entitled,
is the one national library of the United States. Already the largest
single collection of books on the Western Hemisphere, and certain
to increase more rapidly than any other through purchase, exchange,
and the operation of the copyright law, this library has a unique
opportunity to render to the libraries of this country - to American
scholarship - service of the highest importance. It is housed in a
building which is the largest and most magnificent yet erected for
library uses. Resources are now being provided which will develop the
collection properly, equip it with the apparatus and service necessary
to its effective use, render its bibliographic work widely available,
and enable it to become, not merely a center of research, but the chief
factor in great co-operative efforts for the diffusion of knowledge and
the advancement of learning.

For the sake of good administration, sound economy, and the advancement
of science, the Census Office as now constituted should be made a
permanent Government bureau. This would insure better, cheaper, and more
satisfactory work, in the interest not only of our business but of
statistic, economic, and social science.

The remarkable growth of the postal service is shown in the fact that
its revenues have doubled and its expenditures have nearly doubled
within twelve years. Its progressive development compels constantly
increasing outlay, but in this period of business energy and prosperity
its receipts grow so much faster than its expenses that the annual
deficit has been steadily reduced from $11,411,779 in 1897 to $3,923,727
in 1901. Among recent postal advances the success of rural free delivery
wherever established has been so marked, and actual experience has made
its benefits so plain, that the demand for its extension is general and
urgent.

It is just that the great agricultural population should share in the
improvement of the service. The number of rural routes now in operation
is 6,009, practically all established within three years, and there are
6,000 applications awaiting action. It is expected that the number in
operation at the close of the current fiscal year will reach 8,600. The
mail will then be daily carried to the doors of 5,700,000 of our people
who have heretofore been dependent upon distant offices, and one-third
of all that portion of the country which is adapted to it will be
covered by this kind of service.

The full measure of postal progress which might be realized has
long been hampered and obstructed by the heavy burden imposed on the
Government through the intrenched and well-understood abuses which have
grown up in connection with second-class mail matter. The extent of this
burden appears when it is stated that while the second-class matter
makes nearly three-fifths of the weight of all the mail, it paid for
the last fiscal year only $4,294,445 of the aggregate postal revenue of
$111,631,193. If the pound rate of postage, which produces the large
loss thus entailed, and which was fixed by the Congress with the purpose
of encouraging the dissemination of public information, were limited
to the legitimate newspapers and periodicals actually contemplated by
the law, no just exception could be taken. That expense would be the
recognized and accepted cost of a liberal public policy deliberately
adopted for a justifiable end. But much of the matter which enjoys the
privileged rate is wholly outside of the intent of the law, and has
secured admission only through an evasion of its requirements or through
lax construction. The proportion of such wrongly included matter is
estimated by postal experts to be one-half of the whole volume of
second-class mail. If it be only one-third or one-quarter, the magnitude
of the burden is apparent. The Post-Office Department has now undertaken
to remove the abuses so far as is possible by a stricter application of
the law; and it should be sustained in its effort.

Owing to the rapid growth of our power and our interests on the Pacific,
whatever happens in China must be of the keenest national concern to us.

The general terms of the settlement of the questions growing out
of the antiforeign uprisings in China of 1900, having been formulated
in a joint note addressed to China by the representatives of the
injured powers in December last, were promptly accepted by the Chinese
Government. After protracted conferences the plenipotentiaries of the
several powers were able to sign a final protocol with the Chinese
plenipotentiaries on the 7th of last September, setting forth the
measures taken by China in compliance with the demands of the joint
note, and expressing their satisfaction therewith. It will be laid
before the Congress, with a report of the plenipotentiary on behalf of
the United States, Mr. William Woodville Rockhill, to whom high praise
is due for the tact, good judgment, and energy he has displayed in
performing an exceptionally difficult and delicate task.

The agreement reached disposes in a manner satisfactory to the powers
of the various grounds of complaint, and will contribute materially to
better future relations between China and the powers. Reparation has
been made by China for the murder of foreigners during the uprising and
punishment has been inflicted on the officials, however high in rank,
recognized as responsible for or having participated in the outbreak.
Official examinations have been forbidden for a period of five years in
all cities in which foreigners have been murdered or cruelly treated,
and edicts have been issued making all officials directly responsible
for the future safety of foreigners and for the suppression of violence
against them.

Provisions have been made for insuring the future safety of the foreign
representatives in Peking by setting aside for their exclusive use a
quarter of the city which the powers can make defensible and in which
they can if necessary maintain permanent military guards; by dismantling
the military works between the capital and the sea; and by allowing the
temporary maintenance of foreign military posts along this line. An
edict has been issued by the Emperor of China prohibiting for two years
the importation of arms and ammunition into China. China has agreed to
pay adequate indemnities to the states, societies, and individuals for
the losses sustained by them and for the expenses of the military
expeditions sent by the various powers to protect life and restore
order.

Under the provisions of the joint note of December, 1900, China has
agreed to revise the treaties of commerce and navigation and to take
such other steps for the purpose of facilitating foreign trade as the
foreign powers may decide to be needed.

The Chinese Government has agreed to participate financially in the
work of bettering the water approaches to Shanghai and to Tientsin,
the centers of foreign trade in central and northern China, and an
international conservancy board, in which the Chinese Government is
largely represented, has been provided for the improvement of the
Shanghai River and the control of its navigation. In the same line of
commercial advantages a revision of the present tariff on imports has
been assented to for the purpose of substituting specific for _ad
valorem_ duties, and an expert has been sent abroad on the part of
the United States to assist in this work. A list of articles to remain
free of duty, including flour, cereals, and rice, gold and silver coin
and bullion, has also been agreed upon in the settlement.

During these troubles our Government has unswervingly advocated
moderation, and has materially aided in bringing about an adjustment
which tends to enhance the welfare of China and to lead to a more
beneficial intercourse between the Empire and the modern world; while
in the critical period of revolt and massacre we did our full share in
safeguarding life and property, restoring order, and vindicating the
national interest and honor. It behooves us to continue in these paths,
doing what lies in our power to foster feelings of good will, and
leaving no effort untried to work out the great policy of full and fair
intercourse between China and the nations, on a footing of equal rights
and advantages to all. We advocate the "open door" with all that it
implies; not merely the procurement of enlarged commercial opportunities
on the coasts, but access to the interior by the waterways with which
China has been so extraordinarily favored. Only by bringing the people
of China into peaceful and friendly community of trade with all the
peoples of the earth can the work now auspiciously begun be carried to
fruition. In the attainment of this purpose we necessarily claim parity
of treatment, under the conventions, throughout the Empire for our trade
and our citizens with those of all other powers.

We view with lively interest and keen hopes of beneficial results the
proceedings of the Pan-American Congress, convoked at the invitation
of Mexico, and now sitting at the Mexican capital. The delegates of the
United States are under the most liberal instructions to co-operate with
their colleagues in all matters promising advantage to the great family
of American commonwealths, as well in their relations among themselves
as in their domestic advancement and in their intercourse with the world
at large.

My predecessor communicated to the Congress the fact that the Weil and
La Abra awards against Mexico have been adjudged by the highest courts
of our country to have been obtained through fraud and perjury on the
part of the claimants, and that in accordance with the acts of the
Congress the money remaining in the hands of the Secretary of State
on these awards has been returned to Mexico. A considerable portion of
the money received from Mexico on these awards had been paid by this
Government to the claimants before the decision of the courts was
rendered. My judgment is that the Congress should return to Mexico
an amount equal to the sums thus already paid to the claimants.

The death of Queen Victoria caused the people of the United States deep
and heartfelt sorrow, to which the Government gave full expression. When
President McKinley died, our Nation in turn received from every quarter
of the British Empire expressions of grief and sympathy no less sincere.
The death of the Empress Dowager Frederick of Germany also aroused the
genuine sympathy of the American people; and this sympathy was cordially
reciprocated by Germany when the President was assassinated. Indeed,
from every quarter of the civilized world we received, at the time of
the President's death, assurances of such grief and regard as to touch
the hearts of our people. In the midst of our affliction we reverently
thank the Almighty that we are at peace with the nations of mankind; and
we firmly intend that our policy shall be such as to continue unbroken
these international relations of mutual respect and good will.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.


WHITE HOUSE, _December 16, 1901_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, with
accompanying papers, showing that a civil government for Puerto Rico has
been organized in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress
approved April 12, 1900, entitled "An act to provide revenues and a
civil Government for Puerto Rico, and for other purposes," and that the
legislative assembly of Puerto Rico has enacted and put into operation a
system of local taxation to meet the necessities of the government of
Puerto Rico.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.


WHITE HOUSE, _March 11, 1902_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I return without approval Senate bill, No. 1258 entitled "An act to
remove the charge of desertion from the naval record of John Glass."

There can be no graver crime than the crime of desertion from the Army
or Navy, especially during war; it is then high treason to the nation,
and is justly punishable by death. No man should be relieved from such a
crime, especially when nearly forty years have passed since it occurred,
save on the clearest possible proof of his real innocence. In this case
the statement made by the affiant before the committee does not in all
points agree with his statement made to the Secretary of the Navy. In
any event it is incomprehensible to me that he should not have made
effective effort to get back into the Navy.

He had served but little more than a month when he deserted, and the
war lasted for over a year afterwards, yet he made no effort whatever to