Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. III.djvu/249

 CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR 205 canvass that ensued, Messrs. Arthur and Cornell made greater exertions to carry New York for the republicans than they had ever made in any other campaign ; and subsequently Gen. Arthur s activity in connection with the contested countings in the southern states was of vital importance. Never theless, President Hayes, in making up his cabinet, selected Mr. Evarts as his secretary of state, and determined to remove Messrs. Arthur and Cornell, and to transfer the power and patronage of their offices to the use of a minority faction in the repub lican party. The president had, however, in his inaugural of March 5, 1877, declared in favor of civil service reform &quot;a change in the system of appointment itself ; a reform that shall be thorough, radical, and complete; tha,t the officer should be secure in his tenure so long as his personal character remained untarnished, and the performance of his duties sat isfactory.&quot; In his letter of acceptance of July 8, 1876, he had used the same words, and added: &quot;If elected, I shall conduct the administration of the government upon these principles, and all constitu tional powers vested in the executive will be em ployed to establish this reform.&quot; It became neces sary, therefore, before removing Arthur and Cor nell, that some foundation should be laid for a claim that the custom-house was not well adminis tered. A series of investigations was thereupon