Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 7).djvu/89

Rh ing with the habits and customs of any of our people which are not offensive to the moral senti- ments of the civilized world, and which are con- sistent with pmd citizenship and the public wel- fare, are unwise and vexatious. The commerce of a nation to a great extent determines its suprem- acy. Cheap and easy transportation should there- fore be liberally fostered. Within the limits of the constitution, the general government should so improve and protect its natural water-ways as will enable the producers of the country to reach a profitable market. ... If I should be called to the chief magistracy of the nation by the suffrages of my fellow-citizens, I will assume the duties of that high office with a solemn determination to dedicate every effort to the country's good, and with a himble reliance upon the favor and sup- port of the Supreme Bemg, who I believe will always bless honest human endeavor in the con- scientious discharge of public duty."

The canvass that followed was more remarkable for the discussion of the personal characters and qualifications of the candidates than for the prominent presentation of political issues. In the election (4 Nov.) four candidates were in the field, viz. : G rover Cleveland, of New York, democratic; James (i, Blaine, of Maine, republican; Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, labor and greenback; John P. St. John, of Kansas, prohibition. The total popular vote was 10,067,010, divided as fol- lows: Cleveland, 4,874.980; Blaine, 4,a')l,«81; Butler, 175,370; St. John, 150,309; blank, de- fective, and scattering, 14,004. Of the 401 electo- ral votes, Cleveland received 319, and Blaine, 182. In December the executive committee of the national civil service reform league addressed a letter to President-elect (.'leveland commending to his care the interest of civil-service reform. In bis replv. dated 2A Dea, he declared that " a prac- tical re/orm in the civil service was demanded "; that to it he was ple<lged by his " conception of true democratic faith and pul)lic duty," as well as by his past utterances. lie added : " There is a class of government positions which are not with- in the letter of the civil-service statute, but which are so disconnected with the policy of an adminis- tration that the removal therefrom of present in- cumbents, in my opinion, should not be made during the terms for which they were appointed, solely on partisan grounds, and for the purpose of putting in their places those who are in political accord with the appointing power. But many now holding such positions have forfeited all just claim to retention, because tbev have used their S laces for party purposes in disregard of their uty to the people, and because, instead of being decent public servants, they have proved them- selves offensive partisans and unscrupulous ma- nipulators of local partv management. The les- sons of the past should be unleamrd, and such officials, as well as their successors, should bo taught that efficiency, fitness, and devotion to public dutv are the conditions of their continu- ance in pudlic place, and that thec^uiet and unol>- irusive exercise of individual political rights is the reasonable measure of their party service. . . . Selections for office not embraced within the civil- gervice rules will be based upon sufficient iiuiulry as to fitness, instituted by those charged with that duty, rather than upon pei-sistent importunity or self-solicited recommendations on behalf of candi- dates for appointment."

When the New York legislature assembled, 6 Jan., 1885, Mr. Cleveland resigned the governor- ship of the state. On 27 Feb. was publbhed a letter of the president-elect in answer to one signed by several members of congress, in which he indicated his opposition to an increased coinage of silver, and suggested a susfiension of the pur- chase and coinage of that metal as a measure of safety, in order to prevent a financial crisis and the ultimate expulsion of gold by silver. His inaugural address was written during the ten days previous to his setting out for Washington. On 4 March he went to the cajiital in company with President Arthur, and after the usual pre- liminaries had been completed he delivered his inaugural address from the eastern steps of the Capitol, in the presence of a vast concourse. At its conclusion the oath of office was administered by Chief-Justice Waite. He then reviewed from the White House the inaugural parade, a proces- sion numbering more than 100,000 men. In the address he urged the people of all parties to lay aside political animosities in order to sustain the government. He declared his approval of the Monroe doctrine as a guide in foreign relations, of strict economy in the a^minist ration of the finances, of the protection of the Indians and their eleva- tion to citizenship, of the security of the freedmen in their rights, and of the laws against Mormon polygamy and the importation of a servile class of foreign lalxjrcrs. In respect to appointments to office, he said that the people demand the aiipli- cation of business principles to public affairs, and also that the people have a ri^ht to protection from the incompetency of public employees, who hold their places solely as a reward for partisan service, and those who worthily seek public em- ployment have a right to insist that merit and competency shall be recognizetl instead of party subserviency or the surrender of honest political belief. On the following day he sent tothc senate the nominations for his cabinet officers as follows: Secretary of State, Thomas P. Bayard, of Dela- ware; secretary of the treasury, Daniel Manning, of New York; secretary of war, William C. Endi- cott, of Massachu-sctts; secretary of the navy, William C. Whitney, of New York; postmaster- general, William F. Vilas, of Wisconsin; attorney- general, Augustus II. Garland, of Arkansas; sec- retary of the interior, Lucius Q. C. I^amar, of Mississippi. The nominations were promptly con- flrme»l. On 13 March, 1885, President Cleveland withdrew from the senate, which met in extra session to take action on ap[)ointments and other business connected with the new administration, the Spanish recipr<x;ity and Nicaragua canal treaties, in order that they might bo considered by the new executive. On 13 March he issued a proclamation announcing the intention of the gov- ernment to remove from the Oklahoma country, in Indian territory, the white intruders who sought to settle there, which was done shortly afterward by a detachment of soldiers. By his refusal at once to remove certain officials for the purjK)se of putting in their place members of his own party, he came into conflict with many influential men, who advocated the speedy removal of republican office-holders and the appointment of deiiiocnits, in order to strengthen the party as a political organization. At the same tune the republicans and some of the civil-service reformers complained of other apfiointments as not b<>ing in accord with the professions of the president. " Offensive partisanship" was declared by the president to be a ground for removal, and numerous republican functionaries were displaced under that rule, while the term became a coniumn phrase in political nomenclature. When disturbances threatened to