Specifications For The Next President

Ex-Attornev General Wayne MacVeairh coiitribiites to the Murch Century :i striking paper on "The Next Presideney," in which he says in part: "There is at tliis tiinegrcat and noble work awaiting a President able and willing to do it. It goes without saying tbat he must be absolntely untrammeled wlien he takes his soletnn oath of office to defend the conj stitution and to execute tlie laws. He must not have sought the noinination, nor must he have shown after his nomination what President Woolsey so aptly called 'a most uncommon anxiety' ior his clection, for he must be without f'riends to reward, and without enemies to puuish. In the present state of aflairs at Washington, he must not only be au honest man, but he must be a cause of honesty n others. He must reall}' bate every fnrm of thievery and must be able to dedícate himself to the solemn work of reforming not onlv the administrative service of the National Government, but the very atmosphere itself of the national capital. Four yeais of administmtion of the National Government by such a man would transforrn the public life of America. He would recognize the jut limitations of tiue civil service reform, and kuow tbat all political officers in the Executive Department, all such officers representing in any degree the political action of the Government, ought to be in harmony with it, iniJ (bat his Cabinet- his official household - ought to be composed of men possessed of his entire politieal and personal confidence, and in earnest sympathy with hiui in the work he proposed to iccomplUh. His Secretary of State would take care not to vex foreign nationg with requests which he knew ought not to be granted, and which, jf maüe to us under precisely similar circumstances, would be indignantly repelled; but while avoiding such requests, he would keep vigilant watch over the rlghti of every American citlzen in the world, and malntain not ouly the dignity and honor, but the interests of the country, in every quarter of tlie globe. Our foreign missions would be regarded is politica! offices, but tliey would be filled so as to reflect only credit upon the country; while our consuls would be regarded as commercial officers only, and be selected not because of their friendship with politicians, or with the President himself, but because of their knowledge of th(í people with wliom they were to live, and of their ability to advance the interests of American cotninerce. His Secretary of the Treasury would be able to devote all his time to the great flscal problcms which concern that depailment, and would not be obliged to waste it upon Senators and Congressmeu, or deputations of local political magnates, in üstening to their appeals for the appointmeut of a pensioncr upon the Treasury. In giving to his subordinates the assuiance of a permanent tenuro wliile they diacharged their duties effeetively, he would inspire them with new zeal for the public service, and secure a larger measure of fidelity to the interests cornmitted to their charge. His Secretary of War would be able to secure punishment for the men who are now in such numbers tarnishing the fair mime of their noble service, and thus bring the army back to its earlier and better state, wlien conduct bocoming an officer and a gentleman was uot supposed to include what, in the language of the capital, is by a delicate eupheniism called ' üuplication of accounts,' but elsewhere is called swindling. His Secretary of the Xavy would cleanse that department of its rottenness in contracts and in navy yards as well as in ships, and the country would gladly accord him whatevcr moneys were necessary to place the American uavy upon a footing creditable alike to the gallant and illustrious service it represents and the great country whose Üag it carries in the waters of the world. His Secretary of the Interior would so administer that vast depurtinent as to cleanse it of the agents of the Indian ring, the Pension ring, and the Land ring; and it would then be possible only for honest contractors to iurnish the Indian supplles, honest agents to represent clairnants for pension, and honest settlers to obtain tules to public lands. Congresa would then possibly no longer hesitate to vote the mouey necessary for the proper treatment of the Indians, as the wards of a rich, civilized and Ckristian nation. His Postmaster-general would place the entire postal service upon a basis of absolute honesty and economy. Defaulting postmasters would not only be dismissed, but punishedj and men convicted by the country of robbing the department would not be allowed to secure new contracts while they were being proeecuted for fraud in old ones. His Attorney-general would be able to secure the selection of judges, marshals, and commissioners upon the ground of their fitness by character and ability to represent the administration of justice in their several communities; and the country would no longer be scandalized by the prosecution of unworthy offiriali who ouglit never to have been appointed to the places they have dlshonored. Of course, it is not iutended to suggest that many of the incumbents of these offices havo not illustrared the qualities uientioned, but only that such a President, surrounded by such a Cabinet, would be able to do more to purify and elévate the public service in a term of four years than can possibly be done in aii3' other way in the life-time of a generation.1' Giles B. Stebbina, author of the "American protectionisfs manual," recently deliyered a lecture on protection before the students of Adrián college, in which he showed tliut nations with diversilied industries attain to the greatest degrce of prosperity. The Adrián Times, in a brief report of bis lecture, says: " One strong point which he niade la favor of protection, and one well worthy the attention of our Michigan farmers, for tticir honie market is largely among the lumbermen, minen, and in the Boano&etarlag eitiee, is that corn and wheat decrpase in valué as we go away from the manufactiiring districts; you canuot have the best farmIng until you have the best manufacturing beside the farm. The average cash value of the principal crops per acre in the six New England states is f 16.52; in Ohio, $16.60; Indiana, $13 82; Michigan, $16.96 Iow.i, $!).34; Kansas, $7.98; while in Pennsylvania it is $17.33. Slr. Stebbing closed by telling the story of a witty Irishman in this country, who was telling how cheap goods were In his own home, and how much he could buy there for a sixpence. 'Why did you come liere, then?' he was asked. 'And sure where could I get the sixpence at home?' was his quick reply. He buret the bubble of ' cheapest market.' Free trade fails to put the sixpence into the people's pockets." Mr. títebbins will deliver a series of lectures before the students of the
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Ann Arbor Courier
Old News