September 27

"It ought to be known whether the President is the registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States."

James A. Garfield, 20th President, 1881- Statement made after the appointment of Garfield's choice for Collector of the New York Custom's House, 1881. Garfield took office on March 4, 1881 and was President for less than a year, but was a seasoned veteran in Congressional maneuvering, having served as a representative from Ohio for 18 years. Before the enactment of any Civil Service acts, Presidents, for the most part, appointed party allies to various positions. The process was very political and had evolved to the point where the President nominated those who the senators from each state had chosen. Garfield believed such a practice was corrupt and nominated his own choice, William H. Robertson, for the position of Collector for the Port of New York. Robertson was the rival of New York Senator, Roscoe Conkling, who was considered the "dispenser" of patronage in New York. Conkling tried to defeat the nomination by several measures. First, he attempted to persuade the senate to vote on all nominations except for that of the port commissioner. Garfield countered by withdrawing all nominations except for that office, leaving Congress with the pivotal choice of deciding between Conkling's now one single selection or following Garfield's desire to bring more control to the Office of the President. Such a move would have denied positions to even more of Conkling's underlings. Conkling then mis-calculated and countered by resigning his position, thinking the Senate would re-appointment him. Instead, it approved Garfield's choice and appointed someone else to the Senate seat from New York. Garfield had won the battle. Victorious, he stated, "This...will settle the question whether the President is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States.... shall the principal port of entry ... be under the control of the administration or under the local control of a factional senator." Several weeks later, on July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot by an rejected office seeker, who had been judged to be unqualified for the diplomatic position he had tried to obtain. Garfield died mainly from infection on September 19. In an attempt to find and remove the bullet lodged in Garfield's body, Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, tried to locate the bullet with the aid of a metal detector he developed. In 1883, under Garfield's successor, Chester A. Arthur, Congress passed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.