In the judgment of not a few who have given study and reflection to this
matter, the nation has outgrown the provisions which the Constitution
has established for filling the minor offices in the public service.
But whatever may be thought of the wisdom or expediency of changing the
fundamental law in this regard, it is certain that much relief may be
afforded, not only to the President and to the heads of the Departments,
but to Senators and Representatives in Congress, by discreet
legislation. They would be protected in a great measure by the bill now
pending before the Senate, or by any other which should embody its
important features, from the pressure of personal importunity and from
the labor of examining conflicting claims and pretensions of candidates.
I trust that before the close of the present session some decisive
action may be taken for the correction of the evils which inhere
in the present methods of appointment, and I assure you of my hearty
cooperation in any measures which are likely to conduce to that end.
As to the most appropriate term and tenure of the official life of the
subordinate employees of the Government, it seems to be generally agreed
that, whatever their extent or character, the one should be definite and
the other stable, and that neither should be regulated by zeal in the
service of party or fidelity to the fortunes of an individual.
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