These three elements are as important factors of the problem as any of
the others. To eliminate them from the English system would effect a
most radical change in its theory and practice.
The avowed purpose of that system is to induce the educated young men of
the country to devote their lives to public employment by an assurance
that having once entered upon it they need never leave it, and that
after voluntary retirement they shall be the recipients of an annual
pension. That this system as an entirety has proved very successful in
Great Britain seems to be generally conceded even by those who once
opposed its adoption.
To a statute which should incorporate all its essential features I
should feel bound to give my approval; but whether it would be for the
best interests of the public to fix upon an expedient for immediate and
extensive application which embraces certain features of the English
system, but excludes or ignores others of equal importance, may be
seriously doubted, even by those who are impressed, as I am myself, with
the grave importance of correcting the evils which inhere in the present
methods of appointment.
If, for example, the English rule which shuts out persons above the age
of 25 years from a large number of public employments is not to be made
an essential part of our own system, it is questionable whether the
attainment of the highest number of marks at a competitive examination
should be the criterion by which all applications for appointment should
be put to test. And under similar conditions it may also be questioned
whether admission to the service should be strictly limited to its
lowest ranks.
There are very many characteristics which go to make a model civil
servant. Prominent among them are probity, industry, good sense, good
habits, good temper, patience, order, courtesy, tact, self-reliance,
manly deference to superior officers, and manly consideration for
inferiors. The absence of these traits is not supplied by wide knowledge
of books, or by promptitude in answering questions, or by any other
quality likely to be brought to light by competitive examination.
To make success in such a contest, therefore, an indispensable condition
of public employment would very likely result in the practical exclusion
of the older applicants, even though they might possess qualifications
far superior to their younger and more brilliant competitors.
These suggestions must not be regarded as evincing any spirit of
opposition to the competitive plan, which has been to some extent
successfully employed already, and which may hereafter vindicate the
claim of its most earnest supporters; but it ought to be seriously
considered whether the application of the same educational standard to
persons of mature years and to young men fresh from school and college
would not be likely to exalt mere intellectual proficiency above other
qualities of equal or greater importance.
Another feature of the proposed system is the selection by promotion of
all officers of the Government above the lowest grade, except such as
would fairly be regarded as exponents of the policy of the Executive
and the principles of the dominant party.
To afford encouragement to faithful public servants by exciting in their
minds the hope of promotion if they are found to merit it is much to be
desired.
But would it be wise to adopt a rule so rigid as to permit no other mode
of supplying the intermediate walks of the service?
There are many persons who fill subordinate positions with great credit,
but lack those qualities which are requisite for higher posts of duty;
and, besides, the modes of thought and action of one whose service in
a governmental bureau has been long continued are often so cramped by
routine procedure as almost to disqualify him from instituting changes
required by the public interests. An infusion of new blood from time to
time into the middle ranks of the service might be very beneficial in
its results.
The subject under discussion is one of grave importance. The evils which
are complained of can not be eradicated at once; the work must be
gradual.
The present English system is a growth of years, and was not created by
a single stroke of executive or legislative action.
Its beginnings are found in an order in council promulgated in 1855, and
it was after patient and cautious scrutiny of its workings that fifteen
years later it took its present shape.
Five years after the issuance of the order in council, and at a time
when resort had been had to competitive examinations as an experiment
much more extensively than has yet been the case in this country, a
select committee of the House of Commons made a report to that House
which, declaring its approval of the competitive plan, deprecated,
nevertheless, any precipitancy in its general adoption as likely to
endanger its ultimate success.
During this tentative period the results of the two methods of pass
examination and competitive examination were closely watched and
compared. It may be that before we confine ourselves upon this important
question within the stringent bounds of statutory enactment we may
profitably await the result of further inquiry and experiment.
The submission of a portion of the nominations to a central board of
examiners selected solely for testing the qualifications of applicants
may perhaps, without resort to the competitive test, put an end to the
mischiefs which attend the present system of appointment, and it may be
feasible to vest in such a board a wide discretion to ascertain the
characteristics and attainments of candidates in those particulars which
I have already referred to as being no less important than mere
intellectual attainment.
If Congress should deem it advisable at the present session to establish
competitive tests for admission to the service, no doubts such as have
been suggested shall deter me from giving the measure my earnest
support.
And I urgently recommend, should there be a failure to pass any other
act upon this subject, that an appropriation of $25,000 per year may be
made for the enforcement of section 1753 of the Revised Statutes.
With the aid thus afforded me I shall strive to execute the provisions
of that law according to its letter and spirit.
I am unwilling, in justice to the present civil servants of the
Government, to dismiss this subject without declaring my dissent from
the severe and almost indiscriminate censure with which they have been
recently assailed. That they are as a class indolent, inefficient, and
corrupt is a statement which has been often made and widely credited;
but when the extent, variety, delicacy, and importance of their duties
are considered the great majority of the employees of the Government
are, in my judgment, deserving of high commendation.
The continuing decline of the merchant marine of the United States is
greatly to be deplored. In view of the fact that we furnish so large
a proportion of the freights of the commercial world and that our
shipments are steadily and rapidly increasing, it is cause of surprise
that not only is our navigation interest diminishing, but it is less
than when our exports and imports were not half so large as now,
either in bulk or value. There must be some peculiar hindrance to the
development of this interest, or the enterprise and energy of American
mechanics and capitalists would have kept this country at least abreast
of our rivals in the friendly contest for ocean supremacy.
The substitution of iron for wood and of steam for sail have wrought
great revolutions in the carrying trade of the world; but these changes
could not have been adverse to America if we had given to our navigation
interests a portion of the aid and protection which have been so wisely
bestowed upon our manufactures. I commend the whole subject to the
wisdom of Congress, with the suggestion that no question of greater
magnitude or farther reaching importance can engage their attention.
In 1875 the Supreme Court of the United States declared unconstitutional
the statutes of certain States which imposed upon shipowners or
consignees a tax of $1.50 for each passenger arriving from a foreign
country, or in lieu thereof required a bond to indemnify the State and
local authorities against expense for the future relief or support of
such passenger. Since this decision the expense attending the care and
supervision of immigrants has fallen on the States at whose ports they
have landed. As a large majority of such immigrants, immediately upon
their arrival, proceed to the inland States and the Territories to seek
permanent homes, it is manifestly unjust to impose upon the State whose
shores they first reach, the burden which it now bears. For this reason,
and because of the national importance of the subject, I recommend
legislation regarding the supervision and transitory care of immigrants
at the ports of debarkation.
I regret to state that the people of Alaska have reason to complain
that they are as yet unprovided with any form of government by which
life or property can be protected. While the extent of its population
does not justify the application of the costly machinery of Territorial
administration, there is immediate necessity for constituting such a
form of government as will promote the education of the people and
secure the administration of justice.
The Senate at its last session passed a bill providing for the
construction of a building for the Library of Congress, but it failed
to become a law. The provision of suitable protection for this great
collection of books and for the copyright department connected with it
has become a subject of national importance and should receive prompt
attention.
The report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia herewith
transmitted will inform you fully of the condition of the affairs of
the District.
They urge the vital importance of legislation for the reclamation and
improvement of the marshes and for the establishment of the harbor lines
along the Potomac River front.
It is represented that in their present condition these marshes
seriously affect the health of the residents of the adjacent parts of
the city, and that they greatly mar the general aspect of the park in
which stands the Washington Monument. This improvement would add to
that park and to the park south of the Executive Mansion a large area
of valuable land, and would transform what is now believed to be a
dangerous nuisance into an attractive landscape extending to the river
front.
They recommend the removal of the steam railway lines from the surface
of the streets of the city and the location of the necessary depots in
such places as may be convenient for the public accommodation, and they
call attention to the deficiency of the water supply, which seriously
affects the material prosperity of the city and the health and comfort
of its inhabitants.