entitled to the favorable attention of Congress. The Reform School needs
additional buildings and teachers. Appropriations which will place all of
these institutions in a condition to become models of usefulness and
beneficence will be regarded by the country as liberality wisely bestowed.
The Commissioners, with evident justice, request attention to the
discrimination made by Congress against the District in the donation of
land for the support of the public schools, and ask that the same
liberality that has been shown to the inhabitants of the various States and
Territories of the United States may be extended to the District of
Columbia.
The Commissioners also invite attention to the damage inflicted upon public
and private interests by the present location of the depots and switching
tracks of the several railroads entering the city, and ask for legislation
looking to their removal. The recommendations and suggestions contained in
the report will, I trust, receive the careful consideration of Congress.
Sufficient time has, perhaps, not elapsed since the reorganization of the
government of the District under the recent legislation of Congress for the
expression of a confident opinion as to its successful operation, but the
practical results already attained are so satisfactory that the friends of
the new government may well urge upon Congress the wisdom of its
continuance, without essential modification, until by actual experience its
advantages and defects may be more fully ascertained.
R. B. HAYES
***
State of the Union Address
Rutherford B. Hayes
December 1, 1879
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:
The members of the Forty-sixth Congress have assembled in their first
regular session under circumstances calling for mutual congratulation and
grateful acknowledgment to the Giver of All Good for the large and unusual
measure of national prosperity which we now enjoy.
The most interesting events which have occurred in our public affairs since
my last annual message to Congress are connected with the financial
operations of the Government, directly affecting the business interests of
the country. I congratulate Congress on the successful execution of the
resumption act. At the time fixed, and in the manner contemplated by law,
United States notes began to be redeemed in coin. Since the 1st of January
last they have been promptly redeemed on presentation, and in all business
transactions, public and private, in all parts of the country, they are
received and paid out as the equivalent of coin. The demand upon the
Treasury for gold and silver in exchange for United States notes has been
comparatively small, and the voluntary deposit of coin and bullion in
exchange for notes has been very large. The excess of the precious metals
deposited or exchanged for United States notes over the amount of United
States notes redeemed is about $40,000,000.
The resumption of specie payments has been followed by a very great revival
of business. With a currency equivalent in value to the money of the
commercial world, we are enabled to enter upon an equal competition with
other nations in trade and production. The increasing foreign demand for
our manufactures and agricultural products has caused a large balance of
trade in our favor, which has been paid in gold, from the 1st of July last
to November 15, to the amount of about $59,000,000. Since the resumption of
specie payments there has also been a marked and gratifying improvement of
the public credit. The bonds of the Government bearing only 4 per cent
interest have been sold at or above par, sufficient in amount to pay off
all of the national debt which was redeemable under present laws. The
amount of interest saved annually by the process of refunding the debt
since March 1, 1877, is $14,297,177. The bonds sold were largely in small
sums, and the number of our citizens now holding the public securities is
much greater than ever before. The amount of the national debt which
matures within less than two years is $792,121,700, of which $500,000,000
bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent, and the balance is in bonds
bearing 6 per cent interest. It is believed that this part of the public
debt can be refunded by the issue of 4 per cent bonds, and, by the
reduction of interest which will thus be effected, about $11,000,000 can be
annually saved to the Treasury. To secure this important reduction of
interest to be paid by the United States further legislation is required,
which it is hoped will be provided by Congress during its present session.
The coinage of gold by the mints of the United States during the last
fiscal year was $40,986,912. The coinage of silver dollars since the
passage of the act for that purpose up to November 1, 1879, was
$45,000,850, of which $12,700,344 have been issued from the Treasury and
are now in circulation, and $32,300,506 are still in the possession of the
Government.
The pendency of the proposition for unity of action between the United
States and the principal commercial nations of Europe to effect a permanent
system for the equality of gold and silver in the recognized money of the
world leads me to recommend that Congress refrain from new legislation on
the general subject. The great revival of trade, internal and foreign, will
supply during the coming year its own instructions, which may well be
awaited before attempting further experimental measures with the coinage. I
would, however, strongly urge upon Congress the importance of authorizing
the Secretary of the Treasury to suspend the coinage of silver dollars upon
the present legal ratio. The market value of the silver dollar being
uniformly and largely less than the market value of the gold dollar, it is
obviously impracticable to maintain them at par with each other if both are
coined without limit. If the cheaper coin is forced into circulation, it
will, if coined without limit, soon become the sole standard of value, and
thus defeat the desired object, which is a currency of both gold and silver
which shall be of equivalent value, dollar for dollar, with the universally
recognized money of the world.
The retirement from circulation of United States notes with the capacity of
legal tender in private contracts is a step to be taken in our progress
toward a safe and stable currency which should be accepted as the policy
and duty of the Government and the interest and security of the people. It
is my firm conviction that the issue of legal-tender paper money based
wholly upon the authority and credit of the Government, except in extreme
emergency, is without warrant in the Constitution and a violation of sound
financial principles. The issue of United States notes during the late
civil war with the capacity of legal tender between private individuals was
not authorized except as a means of rescuing the country from imminent
peril. The circulation of these notes as paper money for any protracted
period of time after the accomplishment of this purpose was not
contemplated by the framers of the law under which they were issued. They
anticipated the redemption and withdrawal of these notes at the earliest
practicable period consistent with the attainment of the object for which
they were provided.
The policy of the United States, steadily adhered to from the adoption of
the Constitution, has been to avoid the creation of a national debt; and
when, from necessity in time of war, debts have been created, they have
been paid off, on the return of peace, as rapidly as possible. With this
view, and for this purpose, it is recommended that the existing laws for
the accumulation of a sinking fund sufficient to extinguish the public debt
within a limited period be maintained. If any change of the objects or
rates of taxation is deemed necessary by Congress, it is suggested that
experience has shown that a duty can be placed on tea and coffee which will
not enhance the price of those articles to the consumer, and which will add
several millions of dollars annually to the Treasury.
The continued deliberate violation by a large number of the prominent and
influential citizens of the Territory of Utah of the laws of the United
States for the prosecution and punishment of polygamy demands the attention
of every department of the Government. This Territory has a population
sufficient to entitle it to admission as a State, and the general interests
of the nation, as well as the welfare of the citizens of the Territory,
require its advance from the Territorial form of government to the
responsibilities and privileges of a State. This important change will not,
however, be approved by the country while the citizens of Utah in very
considerable number uphold a practice which is condemned as a crime by the
laws of all civilized communities throughout the world.
The law for the suppression of this offense was enacted with great
unanimity by Congress more than seventeen years ago, but has remained until
recently a dead letter in the Territory of Utah, because of the peculiar
difficulties attending its enforcement. The opinion widely prevailed among
the citizens of Utah that the law was in contravention of the
constitutional guaranty of religious freedom. This objection is now
removed. The Supreme Court of the United States has decided the law to be
within the legislative power of Congress and binding as a rule of action
for all who reside within the Territories. There is no longer any reason
for delay or hesitation in its enforcement. It should be firmly and
effectively executed. If not sufficiently stringent in its provisions, it
should be amended; and in aid of the purpose in view I recommend that more
comprehensive and more searching methods for preventing as well as
punishing this crime be provided. If necessary to secure obedience to the
law, the enjoyment and exercise of the rights and privileges of citizenship
in the Territories of the United States may be withheld or withdrawn from
those who violate or oppose the enforcement of the law on this subject.
The elections of the past year, though occupied only with State officers,
have not failed to elicit in the political discussions which attended them
all over the country new and decisive evidence of the deep interest which
the great body of citizens take in the progress of the country toward a
more general and complete establishment, at whatever cost, of universal
security and freedom in the exercise of the elective franchise. While many
topics of political concern demand great attention from our people, both in
the sphere of national and State authority, I find no reason to qualify the
opinion I expressed in my last annual message, that no temporary or
administrative interests of government, however urgent or weighty, will
ever displace the zeal of our people in defense of the primary rights of
citizenship, and that the power of public opinion will override all
political prejudices, and all sectional and State attachments in demanding
that all over our wide territory the name and character of citizen of the
United States shall mean one and the same thing and carry with them
unchallenged security and respect. I earnestly appeal to the intelligence
and patriotism of all good citizens of every part of the country, however
much they maybe divided in opinions on other political subjects, to unite
in compelling obedience to existing laws aimed at the protection of the
right of suffrage. I respectfully urge upon Congress to supply any defects
in these laws which experience has shown and which it is within its power
to remedy. I again invoke the cooperation of the executive and legislative
authorities of the States in this great purpose. I am fully convinced that
if the public mind can be set at rest on this paramount question of popular
rights no serious obstacle will thwart or delay the complete pacification
of the country or retard the general diffusion of prosperity.
In a former message I invited the attention of Congress to the subject of
the reformation of the civil service of the Government, and expressed the
intention of transmitting to Congress as early as practicable a report upon
this subject by the chairman of the Civil Service Commission.
In view of the facts that during a considerable period the Government of
Great Britain has been dealing with administrative problems and abuses in
various particulars analogous to those presented in this country, and that
in recent years the measures adopted were understood to have been effective
and in every respect highly satisfactory, I thought it desirable to have
fuller information upon the subject, and accordingly requested the chairman
of the Civil Service Commission to make a thorough investigation for this
purpose. The result has been an elaborate and comprehensive report.
The report sets forth the history of the partisan spoils system in Great
Britain, and of the rise and fall of the parliamentary patronage, and of
official interference with the freedom of elections. It shows that after
long trials of various kinds of examinations those which are competitive
and open on equal terms to all, and which are carried on under the
superintendence of a single commission, have, with great advantage, been
established as conditions of admission to almost every official place in
the subordinate administration of that country and of British India. The
completion of the report, owing to the extent of the labor involved in its
preparation and the omission of Congress to make any provision either for
the compensation or the expenses of the Commission, has been postponed
until the present time. It is herewith transmitted to Congress.
While the reform measures of another government are of no authority for us,
they are entitled to influence to the extent to which their intrinsic
wisdom and their adaptation to our institutions and social life may commend
them to our consideration. The views I have heretofore expressed concerning
the defects and abuses in our civil administration remain unchanged, except
in so far as an enlarged experience has deepened my sense of the duty both
of officers and of the people themselves to cooperate for their removal.
The grave evils and perils of a partisan spoils system of appointment to
office and of office tenure are now generally recognized. In the
resolutions of the great parties, in the reports of Departments, in the
debates and proceedings of Congress, in the messages of Executives, the
gravity of these evils has been pointed out and the need of their reform
has been admitted.
To command the necessary support, every measure of reform must be based on
common right and justice, and must be compatible with the healthy existence
of great parties, which are inevitable and essential in a free state.
When the people have approved a policy at a national election, confidence
on the part of the officers they have selected and of the advisers who, in
accordance with our political institutions, should be consulted in the
policy which it is their duty to carry into effect is indispensable. It is
eminently proper that they should explain it before the people, as well as
illustrate its spirit in the performance of their official duties.
Very different considerations apply to the greater number of those who fill
the subordinate places in the civil service. Their responsibility is to
their superiors in official position. It is their duty to obey the legal
instructions of those upon whom that authority is devolved, and their best
public service consists in the discharge of their functions irrespective of
partisan politics. Their duties are the same whatever party is in power and
whatever policy prevails. As a consequence it follows that their tenure of
office should not depend on the prevalence of any policy or the supremacy
of any party, but should be determined by their capacity to serve the
people most usefully quite irrespective of partisan interests. The same
considerations that should govern the tenure should also prevail in the
appointment, discipline, and removal of these subordinates. The authority
of appointment and removal is not a perquisite, which may be used to aid a
friend or reward a partisan, but is a trust, to be exercised in the public
interest under all the sanctions which attend the obligation to apply the
public funds only for public purposes.
Every citizen has an equal right to the honor and profit of entering the
public service of his country. The only just ground of discrimination is
the measure of character and capacity he has to make that service most
useful to the people. Except in cases where, upon just and recognized
principles--as upon the theory of pensions--offices and promotions are
bestowed as rewards for past services, their bestowal upon any theory which
disregards personal merit is an act of injustice to the citizen, as well as
a breach of that trust subject to which the appointing power is held.
In the light of these principles it becomes of great importance to provide
just and adequate means, especially for every Department and large
administrative office, where personal discrimination on the part of its
head is not practicable, for ascertaining those qualifications to which
appointments and removals should have reference. To fail to provide such
means is not only to deny the opportunity of ascertaining the facts upon
which the most righteous claim to office depends, but of necessity to
discourage all worthy aspirants by handing over appointments and removals
to mere influence and favoritism. If it is the right of the worthiest
claimant to gain the appointment and the interest of the people to bestow
it upon him, it would seem clear that a wise and just method of
ascertaining personal fitness for office must be an important and permanent
function of every just and wise government. It has long since become
impossible in the great offices for those having the duty of nomination and
appointment to personally examine into the individual qualifications of
more than a small proportion of those seeking office, and with the
enlargement of the civil service that proportion must continue to become
less.
In the earlier years of the Government the subordinate offices were so few
in number that it was quite easy for those making appointments and
promotions to personally ascertain the merits of candidates. Party managers
and methods had not then become powerful agencies of coercion, hostile to
the free and just exercise of the appointing power.
A large and responsible part of the duty of restoring the civil service to
the desired purity and efficiency rests upon the President, and it is my
purpose to do what is within my power to advance such prudent and gradual
measures of reform as will most surely and rapidly bring about that radical
change of system essential to make our administrative methods satisfactory
to a free and intelligent people. By a proper exercise of authority it is
in the power of the Executive to do much to promote such a reform. But it
can not be too clearly understood that nothing adequate can be accomplished
without cooperation on the part of Congress and considerate and intelligent
support among the people. Reforms which challenge the generally accepted
theories of parties and demand changes in the methods of Departments are
not the work of a day. Their permanent foundations must be laid in sound
principles and in an experience which demonstrates their wisdom and exposes
the errors of their adversaries. Every worthy officer desires to make his
official action a gain and an honor to his country; but the people
themselves, far more than their officers in public station, are interested
in a pure, economical, and vigorous administration.
By laws enacted in 1853 and 1855, and now in substance incorporated in the
Revised Statutes, the practice of arbitrary appointments to the several
subordinate grades in the great Departments was condemned, and examinations
as to capacity, to be conducted by departmental boards of examiners, were
provided for and made conditions of admission to the public service. These
statutes are a decision by Congress that examinations of some sort as to
attainments and capacity are essential to the well-being of the public
service. The important questions since the enactment of these laws have
been as to the character of these examinations, and whether official favor
and partisan influence or common right and merit were to control the access
to the examinations. In practice these examinations have not always been
open to worthy persons generally who might wish to be examined. Official
favoritism and partisan influence, as a rule, appear to have designated
those who alone were permitted to go before the examining boards,
subjecting even the examiners to a pressure from the friends of the
candidates very difficult to resist. As a consequence the standard of
admission fell below that which the public interest demanded. It was also
almost inevitable that a system which provided for various separate boards
of examiners, with no common supervision or uniform method of procedure,
should result in confusion, inconsistency, and inadequate tests of
capacity, highly detrimental to the public interest. A further and more
radical change was obviously required.
In the annual message of December, 1870, my predecessor declared that--
There is no duty which so much embarrasses the Executive and heads of
Departments as that of appointments, nor is there any such arduous and
thankless labor imposed on Senators and Representatives as that of finding
places for constituents. The present system does not secure the best men,
and often not even fit men, for public place. The elevation and
purification of the civil service of the Government will be hailed with
approval by the whole people of the United States. Congress accordingly
passed the act approved March 3, 1871, "to regulate the civil service of
the United States and promote the efficiency thereof," giving the necessary
authority to the Executive to inaugurate a civil-service reform.
Acting under this statute, which was interpreted as intended to secure a
system of just and effectual examinations under uniform supervision, a
number of eminently competent persons were selected for the purpose, who
entered with zeal upon the discharge of their duties, prepared with an
intelligent appreciation of the requirements of the service the regulations
contemplated, and took charge of the examinations, and who in their
capacity as a board have been known as the "Civil Service Commission."
Congress for two years appropriated the money needed for the compensation
and for the expense of carrying on the work of the Commission.
It appears from the report of the Commission submitted to the President in
April, 1874, that examinations had been held in various sections of the
country, and that an appropriation of about $25,000 would be required to
meet the annual expenses, including salaries, involved in discharging the
duties of the Commission. The report was transmitted to Congress by special
message of April 18, 1874, with the following favorable comment upon the
labors of the Commission: If sustained by Congress, I have no doubt the
rules can, after the experience gained, be so improved and enforced as to
still more materially benefit the public service and relieve the Executive,
members of Congress, and the heads of Departments from influences
prejudicial to good administration. The rules, as they have hitherto been
enforced, have resulted beneficially, as is shown by the opinions of the
members of the Cabinet and their subordinates in the Departments, and in
that opinion I concur. And in the annual message of December of the same
year similar views are expressed and an appropriation for continuing the
work of the Commission again advised.