642 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



firmed my opinion in favor of this system of selection. 

 All are subjected to the same tests, and the result is 

 free from prejudice by personal favor or partisan influ- 

 ence. It secures for the position applied for the best 

 qualifications attainable among the competing appli- 

 cants. It is an effectual protection from the pressure 

 of importunity which, under any other course pursued, 

 largely exacts the time and attention of appqinting 

 officers, to their great detriment in the discharge of 

 other official duties, preventing the abuse of the ser- 

 vice for the mere furtherance of private or party pur- 

 poses, and leaving the employee of the Government, 

 freed from the obligations imposed by patronage, to 

 depend solely upon merit for retention and advance- 

 ment, and with this constant incentive to exertion and 

 improvement. 



These invaluable results have been attained in a 

 high degree in the offices where the rules for appoint- 

 ment by competitive examination have been applied. 



A method which has so approved itself by experi- 

 mental tests, at points where such tests may be fairly 

 considered conclusive, should be extended to all sub- 

 ordinate positions under the Government. I believe 

 that a strong and growing public sentiment demands 

 immediate measures for securing and enforcing the 

 highest possible efficiency in the Civil Service and its 

 protection from recognized abuses, and that the expe- 

 rience referred to has demonstrated the feasibility of 

 such measures. 



The examinations in the custom-houses and post- 

 offices have been held under many embarrassments 

 and without provision for compensation for the extra 

 labor performed by the officers who have conducted 

 them, and whose commendable interest in the im- 

 provement of the public service has induced this de- 

 votion of time and labor without pecuniary reward. 

 A continuance of these labors gratuitously ought not 

 to be expected, and, without an appropriation by Con- 

 gress for compensation, it is not practicable to extend 

 the system of examinations generally throughout the 

 civil service. It is also highly important that all such 

 examinations should be conducted upon a uniform 

 system and under general supervision. Section 1753 

 of the Eeviscd Statutes authorizes the President to 

 prescribe the regulations for admission to the Civil Ser- 

 vice of the United States, and for this purpose to em- 

 ploy suitable persons to conduct the requisite inquiries 

 with reference to " the fitness of each candidate, in 

 respect to age, health, character, knowledge, and aoil- 

 ity for the branch of service into which he seeks to 

 enter," but the law is practically inoperative for want 

 of the requisite appropriation. 



I therefore recommend an appropriation of $25,000 

 per annum to meet the expenses of a commission, to 

 be appointed by the President in accordance with the 

 terms of this section, whose duty it shall be to devise 

 a just, uniform, and efficient system of competitive 

 examinations, and to supervise tne application of the 

 same throughout the entire Civil Service of the Govern- 

 ment. I am persuaded that the facilities which such 

 a commission will afford for testing the fitness of those 

 who apply for office will not only be as welcome a re- 

 lief to members of Congress as it will be to the Presi- 

 dent and heads of departments, but that it will also 

 greatly tend to remove the causes of embarrassment 

 which now inevitably and constantly attend the con- 

 flicting claims of patronage between the legislative 

 and Executive departments. The most effectual check 

 upon the pernicious competition of influence and offi- 

 cial favoritism, in the bestowal of office, will be the 

 substitution or an open competition of merit between 

 the applicants, in which every one can make his own 

 record with the assurance that his success will depend 

 upon this alone. 



I also recommend such legislation as, while leaving 

 every officer as free as any other citizen to express his 

 political opinions and to use his means for their ad- 

 vancement, shall also enable him to feel as safe as any 

 private citizen in refusing all demands upon his salary 

 for political purposes. A law which should thus 

 guarantee true liberty and justice to all who are en- 



gaged in the public service, and likewise contain strin- 

 gent provisions against the use of official authority to 

 coerce the political action of private citizens or of official 

 subordinates, is greatly to be desired. 



The most serious obstacle, however, to an improve- 

 ment of the Civil Service, and especially to a reform 

 in the method of appointment and removal, has been 

 found to be the practice under what is known as the 

 spoils system, by which the appointing power has 

 been so "largely encroached upon by-members of Con- 

 gress. The first step in the reform of the Civil Service 

 must be a complete divorce between Congress and the 

 Executive in the matter of appointments. The cor- 

 rupting doctrine that " to the victors belong the spoils " 

 is inseparable from Congressional patronage as the 

 established rule and practice of parties in power. It 

 comes to be understood by applicants for office, and 

 by the people generally, that Eepresentatives and 

 Senators are entitled to disburse the patronage of their 

 respective districts and States. It is not necessary to 

 recite at length the evils resulting from this invasion 

 of the Executive functions. The true principles of 

 government on the subject of appointments to office, 

 as stated in the national conventions of the leading 

 parties of the country ^ have again and again been ap- 

 proved by the American people, and have not been 

 called in question in any quarter. These authentic 

 expressions of public opinion upon this all-important 

 subject are the statement of principles that belong to 

 the constitutional structure of the Government. 



tinder the Constitution the President and heads of depart- 

 ments are to make nominations for office. The Senate is to 

 advise and consent to appointments, and the House of Eep- 

 resentatives is to accuse and prosecute faithless officers. The 

 best interest of the public service demands that these dis- 

 tinctions be respected; that Senators and Representatives, 

 who maybe judges and accusers, should not dictate appoint- 

 ments to office. 



To this end the cooperation of the Legislative de- 

 partment of the Government is required, alike by the 

 necessities of the case and by public opinion. Mem- 

 bers of Congress will not be relieved from the demands 

 made upon them with reference to appointments to 

 office until, by legislative enactment, tne pernicious 

 practice is condemned and forbidden. 



It is, therefore, recommended that an act be passed 

 defining the relations of members of Congress with 

 respect to appointment to office by the President, and 

 I also recommend that the provisions of Section 1767, 

 and of the sections following, of the Kevised Statutes, 

 comprising the Tenure-of-Omce act of March 2, 1807, 

 be repealed. 



Believing that to reform the system and methods 

 of the Civil Service in our country is one of the highest 

 and most imperative duties of statesmanship, and that 

 it can be permanently done only by the cooperation 

 of the Legislative and Executive departments of the 

 Government, I again commend the whole subject to 

 your considerate attention. 



It is the recognized duty and purpose of the people 

 of the United States to suppress polygamy where it 

 now exists in our Territories, and to prevent its ex- 

 tension. Faithful and zealous efforts have been made 

 by the United States authorities in Utah to enforce 

 the laws against it. Experience has shown that the 

 legislation upon this subject, to be effective, requires 

 extensive modification and amendment. _The longer 

 action is delayed, the more difficult it will be to ac- 

 complish what is desired. Prompt and decided meas- 

 ures are necessary. The Mormon sectarian organiza- 

 tion which uphol'ds polygamy has the -\yhole power of 

 making and executing tne local legislation of the Ter- 

 ritory. By its control of the grand and petit juries, it 

 possesses large influence over the administration of 

 justice. Exercising, as the heads of this sect do, the 

 local political power of the Territory, they are able to 

 make effective their hostility to the law of Congress on 

 the subject of polygamy, and, in fact, do prevent its 

 enforcement. Polygamy will not be abolished if the 

 enforcement of the law depends on those who practice 

 and uphold the crime. It can only be suppressed by 



