It may be well to mention here the embarrassment possible to arise from
leaving on the statute books the so-called "tenure-of-office acts," and
to earnestly recommend their total repeal. It could not have been the
intention of the framers of the Constitution, when providing that
appointments made by the President should receive the consent of the
Senate, that the latter should have the power to retain in office
persons placed there by Federal appointment against the will of the
President. The law is inconsistent with a faithful and efficient
administration of the Government. What faith can an Executive put in
officials forced upon him, and those, too, whom he has suspended for
reason? How will such officials be likely to serve an Administration
which they know does not trust them?
For the second requisite to our growth and prosperity time and a firm
but humane administration of existing laws (amended from time to time as
they may prove ineffective or prove harsh and unnecessary) are probably
all that are required.
The third can not be attained by special legislation, but must be
regarded as fixed by the Constitution itself and gradually acquiesced in
by force of public opinion.
From the foundation of the Government to the present the management
of the original inhabitants of this continent--the Indians--has been
a subject of embarrassment and expense, and has been attended with
continuous robberies, murders, and wars.
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