a statement, under oath, setting forth his or her actual bona fide residence at the time of making the application, as well as how long he or she has been a resident of such place.

Fourth, that there shall be a period of probation before any absolute appointment or employment aforesaid.

Fifth, that no person in the public service is for that reason under any obligations to contribute to any political fund, or to render any political service, and that he will not be removed or otherwise prejudiced for refusing to do so.

Sixth, that no person in said service has any right to use his official authority or influence to coerce the political action of any person or body.

Seventh, there shall be noncompetitive examinations in all proper cases before the Commission, when competent persons do not compete, after notice has been given of the existence of the vacancy, under such rules as may be prescribed by the Commissioners as to the manner of giving notice.

Eighth, that notice shall be given in writing by the appointing power to said Commission of the persons selected for appointment or employment from among those who have been examined, of the place of residence of such persons, of the rejection of any such persons after probation, of transfers, resignations, and removals, and of the date thereof, and a record of the same shall be kept by said Commission.

And any necessary exceptions from said eight fundamental provisions of the rules shall be set forth in connection with such rules, and the reasons therefor shall be stated in the annual reports of the Commission.

Third. Said Commission shall, subject to the rules that may be made by the President, make regulations for, and have control of, such examinations, and, through its members or the examiners, it shall supervise and preserve the records of the same; and said Commission shall keep minutes of its own proceedings.

Fourth. Said Commission may make investigations concerning the facts, and may report upon all matters touching the enforce

ment and effects of said rules and regulations, and concerning the action of any examiner or board of examiners hereinafter provided for, and its own subordinates, and those in the public service, in respect to the execution of this act.

Fifth. Said Commission shall make an annual report to the President for transmission to Congress, showing its own action, the rules and regulations and the exceptions thereto in force, the practical effects thereof, and any suggestions it may approve for the more effectual accomplishment of the purposes of this act.

85. President Cleveland and the Place Hunters

Notwithstanding the removal of a large number of offices from the operations of the spoils system, enough political appointments remained to harass the President. Mr. Cleveland shortly after taking office in 1893 issued the following plea for help.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, May 8, 1893.

of endur

ance reached

It has become apparent after two months' experience that the The limits rules heretofore promulgated regulating interviews with the President have wholly failed in their operation. The time which under these rules was set apart for the reception of Senators and Representatives has been almost entirely spent in listening to applications for office, which have been bewildering in volume, perplexing and exhausting in their iteration, and impossible of remembrance. A due regard for public duty, which must be neglected if present conditions continue, and an observance of the limitations placed upon human endurance oblige me to decline from and after this date all personal interviews with those seeking appointments to office, except as I on my own motion may especially invite them. The same considerations make it impossible for me to receive those who merely desire to pay their respects except on the days and during the hours especially designated for that purpose.

I earnestly request Senators and Representatives to aid me in securing for them uninterrupted interviews by declining to introduce their constituents and friends when visiting the Executive

Mansion during the hours designated for their reception. Appli cants for office will only prejudice their prospects by repeated importunity and by remaining in Washington to await results. GROVER CLEVELAND.

86. Senatorial Courtesy

The President is authorized, under the Constitution, to nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint certain federal officers, but he has by no means a free hand in selecting candidates to propose to the Senate. By a practice known as "senatorial courtesy" the senators from each state who belong to the President's party have the right to select the important local federal officers, and their fellow-senators as a rule will confirm only nominees so selected. An instance of the application of this rule is thus given by Mr. Boutwell in his Reminiscences:

One of my last acts as Secretary was to advise the President to nominate a Mr. Hitchcock for collector of the port of San Diego, California. Hitchcock was a lawyer by profession, a graduate of Harvard and a man of good standing in San Diego. Mr. Houghton, the member for the San Diego district, had recommended a man who was a saloon-keeper and a Democrat in politics, but he had supported Houghton in the canvass. Houghton's request was supported by Senator Sargent. Upon the facts as then understood the President nominated Hitchcock and one of the first questions of interest to me was the action of the Senate upon the nomination of Hitchcock which I supported. Sargent appealed to what was known as the courtesy of the Senate, a rule or custom which required Senators of the same party to follow the lead of Senators in the matter of nominations from the respective States. To this rule I objected. I refused to recognize it, and I said I would never appeal to the "courtesy" of the Senate in any matter concerning the State of Massachusetts. Hitchcock was rejected The President nominated Houghton's candidate.

87. Congressmen and Federal Offices

There are also a large number of minor federal officers who are appointed principally for political considerations, and the distribution of these offices is intrusted to the Representatives of the respective districts in which they are located. The following letter from Mr. Lincoln illustrates the character of a burdensome task which still falls upon Representatives in Congress.

Hon. Secretary of State.

WASHINGTON, March 10, 1849.

SIR: There are several applicants for the office of United States Marshal for the District of Illinois, among the most prominent of whom are Benjamin Bond, Esq., of Carlyle, and Thomas,

Esq., of Galena. Mr. Bond I know to be personally every way worthy of the office; and he is very numerously and most respectably recommended. His papers I send to you; and I solicit for his claims a full and fair consideration.

Having said this much, I add that in my individual judgment the appointment of Mr. Thomas would be the better.

Your obedient servant,

A. LINCOLN.

CHAPTER XII

Preamble

The

House of Representatives.

THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES

88. Provisions of the Federal Constitution Relative to the Organization of Congress

WE, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

ARTICLE I

SECTION I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.

SECTION II. 1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States; and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians