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HE practice of New Year's Day calling 1a •aid to be a heritage of the American peo­ ple from the early Dutch fathers and mothers on Manhat­ tan Island. Therefore It Is of northern ori­ gin, but It has a firmer hold on the South today than it has in many places in the North. In Washington, the capital, New Year's calling seem­ ingly is a fixed habit. Custom has given it virtually the force of law, and the Washington people do not wish to be considered in any way law-breakers. The president of the United States holds the earliest New Year's Day re­ ception. It is in the broadest sense » public reception, for every American of whatever creed, color or station in life is welcomed into the big White House to greet the chief executive and his wife, who by custom as fixed as that of the holiday calling, is known as "the first lady in the land." The "wedding garment" is not neces­ sary for the visitor at the White House on the first day of the year. The callers come literally some in rags and some In velvet gowns. The president by force of the cut- tom-law of precedence-is obliged to divide his reception into two parts, one for officialdom and one for the "laity." Precedence would not be such a powerful thing in Washington were it not for the presence here of BO many foreigners to whom prece­ dence 1b everything. The representa­ tives of foreign governments would take instant offenie and also would take means to show it if they were not given the exact place in line to ; which their service rank entitles •.*"* them. There is one thing which for- !>; eigners have to forget while in the / ,, diplomatic service. Their social rank •; at home counts for nothing in diplo- ' * matic circles. Length of service is i- jthe only thing which is given consld- ,r oration in sststblishing prsGsdssc® I . cept, of course, that ambassadors rank ^ \ * ministers, irrespective of the time they h^ve been in the diplomatic em- plo3|tnent. New Year's Day President m m- •: or tDWARDB. CIAP •mm® >' ̂ ' ppzjiwir jwwmws CALWJ /fOX J?£C£lVi 4TVfflI ' - 4 i f 7 r ' » - . » . . . - < j . - . ' i , ' L , - i , a > ' •• \ Of. . 5 I • ' *v~ V r-j. FINANCES ARB" IN GOOD SHAPE Economies Have Effected Cut k) Expenses of Various Departments. MONETAflY REFORM IMPORTANT jmrrr ofricEm m zmc "Baft seeks his office and transacts such business as is absolutely necessary. Ordinary official mas­ ters must wait the coming of the second day dt the year for consideration. When the first office duties of the morning are over the president re­ turns to the White House proper, where he takes 4 hls place in tb® big east room with his wife at ! his right hand. By the special invitation of Mrs. jjf ' Taft the wives of some of the more prominent •' tofficials of Washington, with some of her c^se vac^uaintances among the resident Washlnffon t v ^re asked to become members of the |vr•"ti" receiving party. The cabinet women always are fcf. present at the White House reception, taking ^|u their places at the right of Mrs. Taft in order W' Jof cabinet rank. The wife of the secretary of % instate takes the first place, and the wife of the rjsecretary of commerce and labor the last place. i- -rV;/|Cabinet positions rank in the order of the crea- '43 4 tion of the departments. With the president and in full uniform are the £|young army officer and navy officer aides. It Is t-,jMaJor Archibald Butt of the army who is Mr. * ̂ {Taft's chief personal military attendant. It is Major Butt's duty to repeat the name of each •ijguest as he or she is presented to the president, /•sand a hard duty it Is, for the major must catch every whispered name as the visitor gives it to him and catch it correctly, for if he makes a mistake he is likely to give offense to some per­ son who thinks that his name ought to be known even without the asking. Major Butt's position carries with it cares to make a man's hair grow ' fwhite over night. At eleven o'clock in the morning the official . procession begins. For an hour It has been form- • Ing outside the White House, for the lines of the visitors are long, being mjde up as they are senior and junior officials of some hundreds departments, divisions, bureaus and sub- f.|" *•' bureaus of the government. The president receives the diplomatic corps in a s e n s e s e p a r a t e l y . T h e f o r e i g n e r s r a n k b y , themselves and anything like a chance to give ,. ,. ^ offense is. avoided by treating diplomacy as an -^entity separate from American officialdom. The diplomats are all garbed in the dress of their , rank and tome of them are fearfully and won-:" 'derfully garbed, wearing in some cases high K^.sJboots, the soft leather of which falls over from * the tops in more or less graceful folds, tight trousers, sometimes white, sometimes blue and on occasion red, and cloaks trimmed with costly jfurs. With some of the foreigners tb« sword is '0^an Inseparable companion when full dress is ' T9ke cabinet comes first, headed by Secretary mmr mmm m m warn nouj£ MJfWYEA&J of State Philander C. Knox. The mem* bsrs of the supreme court and Ae members of both houses of congress follow with army and navy officers in their handsome dress uniforms tread­ ing fast on their heels. Some one njlght ask why the army and navy do not take precedence of the civilian officials at New Year's receptions and other formal functions. To get the • - answer to the question it Is only ' necessary to remember that in a re­ public the military power is always supposed to be subordinate to the civil power. The army ranks the navy because it was of earlier crea­ tion. The highest ranking officers of the army today are the lieutenant gen­ erals of the service, all of whom are now on the retired list, but their rank holds, nevertheless, because, although re­ tired, they are still in the military service. Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles, who un­ questionably is the best-known living American soldier, resides in Washington. He still takes a most active interest in government affairs. About eighteen months ago the general was thrown from his horse while riding along the Potomac drive. Miles is a splendid horseman and it is said that his mishap was the first of the kind which had happened to him in all the years of his service. It was feared that he would die from his injuries, but his splendid natural constitution, reinforced by the strength which comes from an abstemious life and frois campaigning in the free air of the fields, helped him on to rapid recovery. He shows no sign today of the accident. The first officer in the holiday line of the sol­ diers still on the active list of the army is Major General Leonard Wood, now the chief of staff oi the United States army Only fourteen years ago Wood was a surgeon o the service, ranking as a captain. He became col onel of Rough Riders through the influence of Theodore Roosevelt, and later McKinley made him a brigadier general of the line, from which position he rose to be a major general. By the death% or the retire­ ments of ranking major generals, Wood is nbw at the head of the army There are three hun­ dred army officers sta­ tioned in Washington. Every one of thrnn, un­ less on sick reftort, is compelled to be ta line at the New Year's recep­ tion. A few days before the holiday an order is issued by the general commanding that all of­ ficers of the Distr*ct of Columbia subject to duty shall pay their re­ spects to the president of the United Ststtfs on the morning o* the year's first day. It an officer falls to £ut in an appearance he Is likely to be called to account for disobedience, a se­ rious offense. ,The army in its commissioned ranks is represented in Washington by details to gen­ eral staff, to quartermaster, to commissary, to ordnance, to engi­ neer and to artillery work. More­ over, there are many officer stu­ dents in the city who are taking "strategy" courses at the war col­ leges. / highest ranking officer, the active list of either armed service in Washington today Is Admiral George Dewey. He holds his active rank for life. He is long past the general retiring age which Is fixed for the navy at sixty-two years, but an act creating him full admiral carried with it the delegat­ ed right to remain on the active list as long as he should choose. Dewey Is still in active service, although he no longer goes to sea. Tfcere is no army officer of equal rank with Dewey. An admiral ranks with a general and there has been no full general of the service since the days of the last great trio--Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. The official visitors to the White House on New Year's Day form In separate lines, the members of each department of government taking positions by themselves. The lines radiate from the front door of the executive mansion in a dozen different directions. The multitude of officials and sub-offi­ cials Is so great that it would seem it would take hours for the president to greet each of Uncle Sam's servants separately and to call him by nftme, but the arrangements are perfect for expediting the line of march past what might be called the reviewing stand. In two hours at the most the last official has been greeted and then the "laymen" are admitted to the presidential presence. Year after year thou­ sands of Washington residents and visitors from afar take advantage of the holiday to shake the president's hand and to exchange a word of greet­ ing. Men, women and children are in the line. Some of the men in frock coats and silk hats, some of the women in fetching morning a'pparel, but for the most part it is the workaday portion of the populace which files Into the great east room to say the Happy New Year word. Colored people are numerous, for in Washington they form at least one-third of the population, and many of them seek the White House on the holiday. It is a pic­ turesque crowd and one well worth watching for the charm of the human interest which it holds. As soon as "the White House reception is over the women of the cabinet retire to their own homes, where In turn they hold receptions to which everybody is welcome. The wives of nearly all the public oflltlals also keep open house on the afternoon of New Year's Day. The White House reception is the only one given by the president during the year which la in every sense a public reception. No one is barred from admittance. The holiday reception is followed by four semi-public receptions given in the evening, and to these ad- on IB It is So It is that only once in the year Is it possible for every American to call at the White House and be certain of a personal greeting from th« president i We greet you with a hearty hall, A welcome of the best; We bring fond hopes of friendly deeds* And that you'll do the rest. We usher In your coming reign With fealty and cheer, And heart to heart, give royal start To you, our glad New Year. What are you bringing unto us, This welcome to return? What's hidden in your secret hands, Fate fortunate or stern? What are the words of destiny You'll speak for us to hear? Oh, bring you good or bring you ill. As on you go, New Year? You will not speak--the secret's safe. Your lips are firmly sealed, And not on threshold of your reigti, Are they to be revealed. Yet will you not, to human will A pliant friend appear, And let us shape some part of you, Oh, promising New Year? p ̂Firrfip, FOR GOOO SOCIETY ijii ftn O^stingulshlng Mark of a Gentle- j#,. man, Which It Is Impossible lyfi . * -to Counterfeit ' "It takes tferee generations to make M'4, » gentleman," says Sir Robert Peel; *.Vf,ibnt, aias! it takes ociy one genera- \ I itton to uqdo the work. Jus£ as the '> proper development of the physique Ithrough several generations produces ,'a h'utier type of organization, so the jit tit* morU and spiritual nature elevates the human soul, and gives us a higher type of mofal nnd spiritual life in the individual. | Here aptly recur the words of Catas Marlus, again giving emphasis to the truth that it is not what our ances­ tors made themselves, but what we make ourselves, that our standing, Our merits, our influence depends up­ on. "The glory of ancestors casts a light, Indeed, upon their posterity: but it only serves to show what the de­ scendants are. It alike exhibits to public view their degeneracy and their worth." As true todays as , theft. An English author ve*y eensibtr de­ fines the duties of the individual, or rather his proper objects in life if he wishes to fit himself for good society, to make himself better in every re­ spect than be is; to render himself agreeable to every one with whom he has to do, and to Improve, neces­ sary, the society in which he is placed. If he can do this, he will not want good society long. It 4s in the power of every man to create it for himself. An agreeable and polished pereoa at­ tracts like light, and every kind of so­ ciety which is worth entering will soon and easily open its doors to him. and be glfcd to have him in its circle. As surely as water finds its ie*el. so surely will they who are fitted tor the best society find their way to a permanent place In it; while those who are not fitted for it, who find the observance of its forms irksome, may be tolerated In circles where they are well known; but they carry no pass­ port that will ^dmlt them into the best society of other circles President Hopes It Will Not Be Made Subject of Party Politics--Sur­ plus in Postal Department^- Attention Called to Canal Matters--Postal Savings. Washington. -- Finances and cur­ rency reform are the subject of a spe­ cial message to congress, which reads In part as follows: The financial condition of the govern­ ment, as shown at the close of the last fiscal year, June 30, 1S11, was very satis­ factory. The ordinary receipts Into the pener&l fund, excluding postal revenues, amounted to 1701,372,374.90, ana the dis­ bursements from the general fund for current expenses and capita.! outlays, ex­ cluding postal and Panama Canal dis­ bursements, Including the interest on the public debt, amounted to JS64,877,307.89, leaving a surplus of $47,234,377.10. The postal revenue receipts amounted to $237,879,823.80, while the payments made for the postal service from the postal revenues amounted to $237,660,706.48, which left a surplus of postal receipts over dis­ bursements of $219,118.12, the first time in 17 years in which a surplus occurred. The interest-bearing debt of the TTnited Btates June 80, 1911, amounted to $916,- 853,190. Teh debt on which interest had ceased amounted to $1,870,830.26, and the debt bearing no interest, including green­ backs, national bank notes to be redeem­ ed, and fractional currency, amounted to ,751,917.43, or a total of Interest and non-interest bearing debt amounting to 11.808,984,937.69. The actual disbursements, exclusive of those for the Panama Canal and for the postal service for the year ending June 1911, were $654,137,997.89. The actual disbursements for the year ending June 80, 1910, exclusive of the Panama Canal and the postal service disbursements, were $669,706,391.08, making a decrease of $5,367,398.19 In yearly expenditures in the year 1911 under that of 1910. For the year ending June 90, 1912, the estimated re­ ceipts, exclusive of the postal revenues, are $6G6,000,000, while the total est'mates, exclusive of those for the Panama pay­ able from the postal revenues, amounted to $664,842,799.34. This is a decrease in the 1912 estimates of $1,634,367.22. For the year ending June 30, 19J3, the estimated receipts, exclusive of the pos­ tal revenues, are $667,000,000, while the total estimated appropriations, exclusive of the Panama Canal and postal dis- busements payable from postal revenues, will amount to $637,920,803.36. This Is a decrease In the 1913 estimates from that Of the 1912 estimates of $7,521,995.99. As to the postal revenues, the expan­ sion of the business In that department, the normal increase in the post office and the extension of the service, will in­ crease the outlay to the sum of $260,938,- 463; but as the department was self-sus­ taining this year the postmaster general is assured that next year the receipts will at least equal the expenditure^, and probably exceed them by more thaLn the surplus of this year. It is fair and equit­ able, therefore, In determining the econ­ omy with which the government has been run, to exclude the transactions of a de­ partment like the post office department, which relies for its support upon its re­ ceipts. Ir\ calculations heretofore made for comparison of economy in each year, it has been the proper custom only to Include in the statement the deficit In the | post office department which was paid out of the treasury. A calculation of the actual Increase In the expenses of government arising from thn Increase In the population and the general en&ansion of governmental function^, except those ot the post office, for a number of years shows a normal | increase of about 4 per cent, a year. By I directing the exercise of great care to keep down the expenses and the estimates we have succeeded In reducing the total disbursements each year. Efficiency and Economy in the Treas­ ury Department. In the treasury department the efficien­ cy and economy work has been kept steadily up. Provision 1b made for the elimination of 134 positions during the coming year. Two hundred and sixty- seven statutory positions were eliminated during the last year In the office of the treasury in Washington, and 141 positions In the year 1910, making an elimination of 642 statutory positions since March 4, 1909; and this has been done without the discharge of anybody, because the nor­ mal resignations and deaths have been equal to the elimination of the places, a system of transfers having taken care of the persons whose positions were dropped out. In the field service of the department, too, 1.269 positions have1 been eliriiliiated uOwu to the present time, ma­ king a total net reduction of all treasury positions to the number of 1,801. Mean­ time the efficiency of the work of the department has increased. Monetary Reform. A matter of first importance that will come before congress for action at this session Is monetary reform. The con­ gress has Itself arranged an early intro­ duction of this great question through the report of its monetary commission. This commission was appointed to rec­ ommend a solution of the banking and Currency problems so long confronting the nation and to furnish the facts and data necessary to enable the congress _ta take action. Ui order to do its work with thorough­ ness and precision this commission has taken some time to make Its report. The country IS, undoubtedly hoping for as prompt action on the report as the con­ veniences of the congress can permit. The recognition of the gross imperfec­ tions and mark&l inadequacy of our banking and currency system even In our most quiet financial periods is .of long standing; and later there has matured a recognition of the fact that our system Is responsible for the extraordinary de­ vastation, waste and business paralysis of our recurring periods of ppnlc. Though the methods of the monetary commission have for a considerable time been work­ ing In the open, and while large numbers of the people have been openly working with them, and while the press has large­ ly noted and discussed this work as it has proceeded, so that the report of the oommlssion promises to represent a na­ tional movement, the details of the re­ port are still being considered. I can not, therefore, do much more at this time than commend the immense Importance of monetary reform, urge prompt consid­ eration and action when the commission's report Is received, and express my satis­ faction that the plan to be proposed promises to embrace main features that, having met the approval of a great pre­ ponderance of the practical and profes- Purnfture Polleh. Many people do not know that lem­ on oil Is the basis of all fine fur­ niture polishes. A small' bottle of polish usually costs 26 cents. Tou can buy a quart of crude lemon oil in bulk at a paint shop for 16 cents. For using on furniture proper, dilute with one-third turpentine, apply with a soft rag, and you will have the fin­ est polish you could buy. It Is fine to use on hard wood, stained or painted floors. A quart of oil will last nearly i two montha. Monat opinion of the eorfBtry, em fflrsly to meet equal approval In congress. " With the present prospects of this lon*- iwaited reform encouraging us. It would be singularly unfortunate if this mone­ tary question should by any chance be­ come a party Issue. And I sincerely hope It will not. The exceeding amount of consideration It has received from the people of the nation has been wholly non­ partisan; and the congress set its non-, partisan seal upon It when thIP monetary commission was appointed. In commend­ ing the question to the favorable con­ sideration of congress^ I speak for, and In the spirit of, the great number of my fellow citizens, who without any thought of party or partisanship feel with re­ markable earnestness that this reform is necessary to the interests of all the peo­ ple. The War Department. There is now before congress a Mil, the purpose of which is to increase the efficiency and decrease the expense oC the army. It contains four principal fea­ tures: First, a consolidation of the gen­ eral staff with the adjutant general'* and the Inspector general's department; second, a consolidation of the quarter­ master's department with the subsistence and pay department; third, the creation of an army service corps, and fourth, an extension of the enlistment period from three to five years. With the establishment of an army service corps, as proposed in the bill, I am thoroughly in accord and am con­ vinced that the establishment of such a corps will result in a material econ­ omy and a very great Increase of effi­ ciency In the army. It has repeatedly been recommended by me and my predecessors. I also believe that a consolidation of the stall corps can be made with a resulting increase In ef­ ficiency and economy, but not along the lines provided Jn the bill under consideration. The army of the United States is in grood^ condition. It shpwed Itself able to meet an emergency in the success­ ful mobilization of an army division of from 16,000 to 20,000 men, which tooic place along the border of Mexico dur­ ing- the recent disturbances In that country. The marvekus freedom from the ordinary camp diseases of typhoid fever and measles is referred to in the report <ft the secretary of war, and shows such an effectiveness in the sanitary regulations and treatment of the medical corps, and in the disci­ pline of the army itself, as to Invoke the highest commendation. The Panama Canal. The very satisfactory progress made on the Panama canal last year has continued, and there Is every reason to believe that the canal will be com­ pleted as early as the 1st of July, 1913, unless something unforeseen occurs. ThlB is abotit 18 months before the time promised by the engineers. We are now near enough the com­ pletion of the canal to make it Im­ peratively necessary that legislation should be enacted to fix the method by which the canal shall be maintained and controlled and the zone governed, the fact is that today there is no stat­ utory law by authority of which the president is maintaining: the govern­ ment of the rone. The implied author­ ity of the president to maintain a civil government in the zone may be de­ rived from the ftianaatory direction given him in the original Spooner act. by which he was commanded to build the canal; but certainly, now that the canal is about to be completed and to be put under a permanent manage­ ment, there ought to be specific statu­ tory authority for its regulation and control and for the government of the zone, which we hold for the chief and main purpose of operating the canal. I fully concur with the secretary of war that the problem is simply the management of a great public work, and not the government of a local re­ public; that every provision must be directed toward the successful main­ tenance of the canal as an avenue of commerce, and that all provisions for the government of those who live within the zone should be subordlnant to the main purpose. I renew my recommendation with re­ spect to the tolls of the canal that with­ in limits, which shall seem wise to con­ gress, the power of fixing tolls be given to the president. In order to arrive at a proper conclusion, there must be some experimenting, and this cannot be done if congress does not delegate the power to one who can act expeditiously. I am very confident that the United States has the power to relieve from the payment of tolls any part of our ship­ ping that congress deems wise. We own the canal. It was our money that built it. We have the right to charge tolls for Its use. Those tolls must be the same to everyone; but when we are dealing with our own ships, the practice of many governnjents of subsidizing their own merchant vessels is so well established in general that a subsidy equal to the tolls, an equivalent remission of tolls, cannot be held to be a discrimination In the use of the canal. The practice in the Suez canal makes this clear. The Philippine Islands. In respect to the Philippines, I urgently join in the recommendation of the secretary of war that the act of February 6, 1905, limiting the indebt­ edness that may be incurred by the Philippine government for the con­ struction of public Works, be In­ creased from $5,000,000 to $15,000,000. The finances of that government are in excellent condition. The maximum sum mentioned is quite low as com­ pared with the amount of indebted- n/ss of other governments with sim­ ilar resources, and the success whloh has attended the expenditure of the $5,000,000 in the useful improvements of the harbors and other places in the Islands Justifies and requires addi­ tional expenditures for like purposes. Rivers and Harbors. The estimates for the river and har­ bor improvements reach $32 000,000 for the coming year. I wish to urge that whenever a project has been adopted by congress as one to be completed, the more money which can be eco­ nomically expended in its construction In each year, the greater the ultimate economy. This has especial applica­ tion to the improvement of the Mis­ sissippi river and its large branches. It seems to me that an increase in the amount of money now being annually expended in the Improvement* of the Ohio river which has been formally adopted by congress would be In the Interest of the public. A similar change ought to be made during the present congress, in the amount to be appropriated for the Missouri river. Waterway From Lakes to the Gulf. The project for a navigable water­ way from I>ake Michigan to tire mouth of the Illinois river, and thence via the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, is" one of national Importance. In view of the work already accomplished by the sanitary district of Chicago, an agency of the state of Illinois, which has constructed the most difficult and costly stretch of this waterway and made it an asset of the nation, and in view of the fact that the people of Illinois have authorized th^ expendi­ ture of $20,000,000 to carry thia water­ way 62 miles farther to Utlca, I feel that it is fitting that this work should be supplemented by the government, and that the expenditures recommend­ ed by the special board of engineers on the waterway from Utlca to the mouth of the Illinois river be made upon lines which while providing a waterway for the nation, should otherwise benefit that state to the fullest extent. The limitation of the liability ot the Some Fence. A New York banker who feels thai the privacy of his town residence has been Invaded by the construction of apartment houses on adjacent proper ty has filed plans with the building de partment of that city for a fence 160 feet high. A nine-story apartment building Is to be built on the lot west of the home of this banker, who is J M. Francollni, and be figures that fence 150 feet high will be required keep Its future occupants from looki down upon hina.--Popular Mechanic master te Ms servant for personal Juries to such aa are occasioned by bii fault ha« been abandoned In moat civ­ ilised countries and provision madi whereby the employe Injured in tb_ course ot his employment is compen*' sated for his loss of working ability1., irrespective ot negligence. The prinw eiple upon which suoh provision pro",- 1 ceeds is that accidental Injuries t$£ workmen In modern industry, with Its?*-" vast complexity and Inherent dangers* arlsinw from complicated machlner# aad the use ot the great foroes o£« *•> steam and electricity, should be re*! i garded as" risks of the industry ant? ' the loss borne in some equitable pro*! portion by those who for their ow«il ' >profit engage therein. In recognitio#" of this the last congress authorize!', the appointment of a commission tf; investigate the subject of employers' liability and workmen's compensation and to report the result of their inves­ tigations, through the president, to congress. This commission was ap­ pointed and has been at work, holding hearings, gathering data and consider­ ing the subject, and It is expected will be able to report by the first of the year, in accordance with the provi­ sions of the law. Measures to Prevent Delay and Un­ necessary Cost of Litigation. In promotion of the movement for the prevention of delay and unneces­ sary cost, in litigation, I am glad to say that the ...Supreme court has taken steps to reform the present equity rules of the Federal courts, and that we may in the near future expect a revision of them which will be a long step In the right direction. v Postal Savings System. On, January 3, 1911, postal savings depositories were established experi­ mentally in W states and territories. After three months' successful opera­ tion the system was extended as rap­ idly as feasible to the 7,500 postoffices of the first, second and third classes constituting the presidential grade. By the end of the year practically all of these will have been designated and then the system will be extended to all fourth-class postofflces^ doing a money-order business. The deposits have kept pace with the extension of «the system. Amount­ ing to only $60,652 at the end of the first month's operation in the experi­ mental offices, they increased to $679,- 310 by July, and now after 11 months of operation have reached a total of $11,000,000. This sum is distributed among 2,710 banks and protected un­ der the law by bonds deposited yrltn the treasurer of the United States. Parcel Poet. Steps should be taken Immediately for the establishment of a rural parcel post. In the estimates of appropria­ tions needed "for the maintenance of the postal servloe for the Ensuing fis­ cal year an item of $150,000 has been Inserted to cover the preliminary ex­ pense of establishing a parcel post on rural mail routes, as well as to cover an Investigation having for its object the final establishment of a. general parcel post on all railway and steam­ boat transportation routes. The de­ partment believes that after the initial expenses of establishing the system are defrayed and the parcel post is in full operation on the rural routes it will not only bring in sufficient rev­ enue to meet Its cost, but also a sur­ plus that can be utilized in paying the expenses of a parcel post in the city delivery service. The suggestion that we have a gen­ eral parcel post has awakened great opposition on the part of some who think that it will have the effect to destroy the business of the country store keeper. Instead of doing this, I think the change will greatly increase business for the benefit of'all. The re­ duction in the cost of living It will brins- about ought to make Its comlnff certain. The Navy Department. On the 2d of November last I re­ viewed the fighting fleet of battleships and other vessels assembled in New York ^arbor, consisting of 24 battle­ ships, 2 armored cruisers, 2 cruisers, 22 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats, 8 sub­ marines, and other attendant vessels, making 98 vessels of all classes, of a tonnage of 576,634 tons. The fleet was deficient In the num­ ber of torpedo destroyers. In cruisers, and in colliers, as well as in large battleship cruisers, which are now be­ coming a very important .feature of foreign* navies, notably the British, German and Japanese. The building plan' for this year con­ templates two battleships and two colliers. Thl« is because the other and smaller vessels can be built much more rapidly in case of emergency than the battleships, and we certainly ought to continue the policy of two battleships a year until after the Panama Canal is finished and until In our first line and in our reserve line we can number 40 available vessels of proper armament and size. Like the Treasury Department and the War Department, the Navy De­ partment has given much attention to economy in administration, and has cut down a number of unnecessary ex­ penses and reduced Its estimates ex­ cept for construction an® the increase that that involves. I urge upon congress the necessity for an Immediate Increase of '2,000 men in the enlisted strength of the navy, provided for in the estimates. Foux. thousand more are now needed to man all the available vessels. Departments of Agriculture and Com- merce and Labor. For the consideration of matters which are pending or have been dis­ posed of in the agricultural depart­ ment and In the department of com­ merce and labor, I refer to the very excellent reports of the secretaries of those departments. I shall not be able to submit to congress until after the Christmas holidays the question of conservation of our resources arising in Alaska end the west and the ques­ tion of the rate for second-class mail matter In the postofflce department. Elimination of All Local Offices From Politics. I wish to renew again my recom­ mendation that all the local offices throughout the country, including col­ lectors ,of internal revenue, collectors of customs, postmasters of all four classes. Immigration commissioners and marshals, should be by law cov­ ered Into the classified service, the necessity for confirmation by the sen­ ate be removed, and tiie president and the others, whose time is now tak­ en up in distributing this patronage under the custom that has prevailed since the beginning of the government In accordance with the recommenda­ tion of the senators and congressmen of the majority party should be re­ lieved from this burden. I am confi­ dent that such a change would greatly reduce the cost of administering the government, and that it would add greatly to Its efficiency. It would take away the power to use the patronage of the government for political pur­ poses. When offlfters are recommended by senators and congressmen from po­ litical motives and for political serv­ ices rendered, it is Impossible to ex­ pect that while In office the appointees will not regard their tenure as more or less dependent upon continued po­ litical service for their patrons, and no regulations, however stiff or rigid, will prevent this, because such regula­ tions, in view of the method and mo­ tive for selection, are plainly Incon­ sistent and deemed hardly worthy ot respect- He Found Out. rn.sn," shouted one of the i lie convention, "I move m mating speeches be 11m- one minute each!" "Sec- auotion!" yelled a dozen storm of protest arose, but irman put the motion. It .was a tote of 47 to 45. "I merely to find out. Mr. Chairmanex- the delegate who had made tion. "how many ambitious ora- re are In this convention, are 47."