At the public meeting of the Political Club, held last evening in the New Lecture Hall, Mr. James R. Garfield, head of the Bureau of Corporations of the Department of Commerce and Labor, spoke on "The Civil Service of the United States," and General William Crozier, Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance of the War Department, on "War Preparations in Time of Peace." Dean Hurlbut presided.

Mr. Garfield said in part: The success of any activity depends upon the character of the individuals who undertake it; if the body politic is to be strong the individuals composing it must be correspondingly strong. The requisites for the successful discharge of the duty of citizenship are four--intelligence, common sense, honesty, and courage,--and a man who possesses all of these is certain to be a factor for good in the community, rather than for evil. The same qualifications make the successful officeholder, for he is simply a trustee for the individuals who have elected him. Every man in public life must enter upon his official career with the sole purpose of doing the duties imposed upon him by his constituents.

General Crozier devoted the first part of his address to a description of the various kinds of ordnance used by the United States, both for coast defense and for the use of mobile armies, illustrating his explanations by stereopticon views. This was followed by an account of the equipment and personnel of the standing army as well as the militia, towards which, General Crozier said, the attitude of the government is more of encouragement than of control.