Page:Theodore Roosevelt resignation 003.jpg



. Nevertheless, very much has been accomplished. For the first time the Police Force has been administered without regard to politics,and with an honest and resolute purpose to enforce the laws equitably, and show favor to no man. The old system of blackmail and corruption has been almost entirely broken up; we have greatly improved the standard of discipline; we have preserved complete order; and we have warred against crime and vice more effectively than every before. undefined The fact that we have come short in any measure is due simply to the folly of the law which deprives us of the full measure of power over our subordinates which could alone guarantee the best results. We have administered the civil service law in spirit and in letter,so as to show that there is not the slightest excuse for wishing to get rid of it,or for claiming that it does not produce the best possible results when honestly enforced. About two-fifths of the patrolmen have been appointed by us under the operation of the civil service law,and they make the best body of recruits that have ever come into the service.