By the President:
JAMES G. BLAINE. Secretary of State.
President Arthur soon showed his appreciation of the responsibilities of
his new office. Knowing principles rather than persons, he subordinated
individual preferences and prejudices to a well-defined public policy.
While he was, as he always had been, a Republican, he had no sympathy
for blind devotion to party; he had "no friends to reward, no enemies to
punish;"--and he has been governed by those principles of liberty and
equality which he inherited. His messages to Congress have been
universally commended, and even unfriendly critics have pronounced them
careful and well-matured documents. Their tone is more frank and direct
than is customary in such papers, and their recommendations, extensive
and varied as they have been, show that he has patiently reviewed the
field of labor so sadly and so unexpectedly opened before him, and that
he was not inclined to shirk the constitutional duty of aiding Congress
by his suggestions and advice. An honest man, who believes in his own
principles, who follows his own convictions, and who never hesitates to
avow his sentiments, he has given his views in accordance with his
deliberate ideas of right.
The foreign relations of the United States have been conducted by
Secretary Frelinghuysen, under the President's direction, in a friendly
spirit and when practicable with a view to mutual commercial advantages.
He has taken a conservative view of the management of the public debt,
approving all the important suggestions of the secretary of the
treasury, and recognizing the proper protection of American industry. He
is in favor of the great interests of labor, and opposed to such
tinkering with the tariff as will make vain the toil of the industrious
farmer, paralyze the arm of the sturdy mechanic, strike down the hand of
the hardy laborer, stop the spindle, hush the loom, extinguish the
furnace-fires, and degrade all independent toilers to the level of the
poor in other lands. The architect of his own fortune, he has a strong
and abiding sympathy for those bread-winners who struggle against
poverty.
The reform of the civil service has met with President Arthur's earnest
support, and his messages show that every department of the government
has received his careful administration. Following the example of
Washington, he has personally visited several sections of the United
States, and has especially made himself acquainted with the great
problem of Indian civilization.
President Arthur's administration has been characterized by an elevated
tone at home and abroad. All important questions have been carefully
discussed at the council table, at which the President has displayed
unusual powers of analysis and comprehension. The conflicting claims of
applicants for appointments to offices in his gift, have been carefully
weighed, and no action has been taken until all parties interested have
had a hearing. The President has a remarkable insight into men, promptly
estimating character with an accuracy that makes it a difficult matter
to deceive him, or to win his favor either for visionary schemes,
corrupt attacks upon the treasury, or incompetent place-hunters. He has
shown that he has been guided by a wise experience of the past, and a
sagacious foresight of the future, exhibiting sacrifices of individual
friendship to a sense of public duty.
Possessing moral firmness and a just self-reliance, President Arthur did
not hesitate about vetoing the "Chinese Bill" and the "Bill making
appropriations for rivers and harbors" for reasons which he laid before
Congress in his veto messages. The wisdom and sagacity which he has
displayed in his management of national affairs has been especially
acceptable to the business interests of the country. They have tested
his administration by business principles, and they feel that, so long
as he firmly grasps the helm of the ship of state, she will pursue a
course of peace and prosperity.
In dispensing the hospitalities of the White House, President Arthur has
exhibited the resources of a naturally generous disposition and a
refined taste. His remembrance of persons who call upon him, and whom he
may not have seen for years, is remarkable, and his hearty, genial
temperament enables him to make his visitors at home. His vigorous
vitality of body and mind, his manly figure and expressive face, add to
the dignity of his manner. A ready speaker, he at all times rises to the
level of an emergency, and he invariably charms those who hear him by
his courtesy of expression, which is the outward reflection of a large,
kind heart.
President Arthur's numerous friends contemplate the prominent events of
his eventful life without regret, and with a sincere belief that they
will be sustained by the verdict of impartial history. Utility to the
country has been the rule of his political life, and he has arrived at
that high standard of official excellence which prevailed in the early
days of the Republic, when honesty, firmness, patriotism, and stability
of character were the characteristics of public men. Under his lead, the
Republican party, disorganized and disheartened after the sad death of
General Garfield, has gradually become strengthened and united on the
eve of another presidential victory.
* * * * *