Group 4 -- Speech of Senator Hoar, December 14, 1882

But the evil which in my experience we have encountered most frequently has been the cruel, hasty, unjust, sudden removal of men or women in office to make way for some person who has been pressed on the attention of the Department from elsewhere. I have known even under the administration of President Hayes, undoubtedly without the knowledge of the President or the heads of his Departments, abuses in removals of old, faithful, and meritorious public servants which if committed by any head of a manufacturing establishment or any manager of a railroad would compel him to hide his head from the scorn and indignation of his neighbors, undoubtedly the head of the Department being unaware of the circumstances under which these removals were made. And I hold it among the chief merits of this bill that while wisely refraining from dealing directly with the matter and encountering the constitutional difficulty which would be necessary if there were any direct provision on this subject, yet it will not only remove the civil service from politics, but without fixing any tenure of office by law, without impairing or infringing upon the authority of the appointing power, which will make it necessary sometimes to make removals for the discipline of the service, it substantially cures this other evil of unjust and improper removals.

From The Congressional Record. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1882. 275.