And State Papers 591 



popular freedom and self-government a gloomy fail- 

 ure. Moreover, they not only left us a united na- 

 tion, 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 pur- 

 pose 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 com- 

 mon school system itself. It simply means that in 

 clerical and other positions where the duties are en- 

 tirely 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 



