686 Presidential Addresses 



control of the Congress the needed safety and uni- 

 formity must be secured by national legislation. 



No other class of our citizens deserves so well of 

 the Nation as those to whom the Nation owes its 

 very being, the veterans of the Civil War. Special 

 attention is asked to the excellent work of the Pen- 

 sion Bureau in expediting and disposing of pension 

 claims. During the fiscal year ending July i, 1903, 

 the Bureau settled 251,982 claims, an average of 825 

 claims for each working day of the year. The num- 

 ber of settlements since July i, 1903, has been in 

 excess of last year's average, approaching 1,000 

 claims for each working day, and it is believed that 

 the work of the Bureau will be current at the close 

 of the present fiscal year. 



During the year ended June 30 last 25,566 persons 

 were appointed through competitive examinations 

 under the civil-service rules. This was 12,672 more 

 than during the preceding year, and 40 per cent of 

 those who passed the examinations. This abnormal 

 growth was largely occasioned by the extension of 

 classification to the rural free-delivery service and 

 the appointment last year of over 9,000 rural car- 

 riers. 



A revision of the civil-service rules took effect 

 on April 15 last, which has greatly improved their 

 operation. The completion of the reform of the 

 civil service is recognized by good citizens every- 

 where as a matter of the highest public importance, 



