Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 2.djvu/186

166 have power to remove the officer at pleasure, without assigning or proving a cause. It will thus be seen that no distinct and privileged class of Government officers, no bureaucracy is to be created, but the elasticity of the present system is to be preserved—improved, however, by a method of selection, which will secure a better class of officers, and by a longer and more secure tenure, which will remove the partisan character and raise the moral standard of the service.

The fifth section of the bill is intended to encourage honesty and efficiency in the service and to give the public servant an honorable record in the form of a testimonial. The Secretary will please read it.

The Chief Clerk read as follows:

5. And be it further enacted, That whenever any officer in the civil service of the United States shall vacate his office, either at the expiration of his term, or by resignation, or otherwise, the head of the Department under which such officer served shall issue to him a testimonial stating the manner in which such officer performed the duties of his office; and that copies of such testimonials shall be kept on record in the Departments from which they issued respectively; and that whenever any such person, after having vacated such office, shall make application or be presented as a candidate for the same, or any other office in the civil service, such testimonial shall be produced before the civil service board and shall form part of the report of said board on the case of such person. And whenever any officer in the civil service shall, before the expiration of his term of office, make application for continuance in the same office for another term, or for any other office in the civil service, then the head of the Department under which such officer serves shall likewise issue such testimonial, which shall then be produced before the civil service board and form part of the report of said board as aforesaid: Provided, however, That whenever the President shall see fit to reappoint an officer at the expiration of his term