They meant that the officer should be secure in his tenure
as long as his personal character remained untarnished and the
performance of his duties satisfactory. They held that appointments to
office were not to be made nor expected merely as rewards for partisan
services, nor merely on the nomination of members of Congress, as being
entitled in any respect to the control of such appointments.
The fact that both the great political parties of the country, in
declaring their principles prior to the election, gave a prominent place
to the subject of reform of our civil service, recognizing and strongly
urging its necessity, in terms almost identical in their specific import
with those I have here employed, must be accepted as a conclusive
argument in behalf of these measures. It must be regarded as the
expression of the united voice and will of the whole country upon this
subject, and both political parties are virtually pledged to give it
their unreserved support.
The President of the United States of necessity owes his election to
office to the suffrage and zealous labors of a political party, the
members of which cherish with ardor and regard as of essential
importance the principles of their party organization; but he should
strive to be always mindful of the fact that he serves his party best
who serves the country best.
In furtherance of the reform we seek, and in other important respects a
change of great importance, I recommend an amendment to the Constitution
prescribing a term of six years for the Presidential office and
forbidding a reelection.
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