placed upon a still firmer basis of business methods and personal merit.
While the right of our veteran soldiers to reinstatement in deserving
cases has been asserted, dismissals for merely political reasons have
been carefully guarded against, the examinations for admittance to the
service enlarged and at the same time rendered less technical and more
practical; and a distinct advance has been made by giving a hearing
before dismissal upon all cases where incompetency is charged or demand
made for the removal of officials in any of the Departments. This order
has been made to give to the accused his right to be heard but without
in any way impairing the power of removal, which should always be
exercised in cases of inefficiency and incompetency, and which is one
of the vital safeguards of the civil service reform system, preventing
stagnation and deadwood and keeping every employee keenly alive to the
fact that the security of his tenure depends not on favor but on his
own tested and carefully watched record of service.

Much of course still remains to be accomplished before the system can
be made reasonably perfect for our needs. There are places now in the
classified service which ought to be exempted and others not classified
may properly be included. I shall not hesitate to exempt cases which I
think have been improperly included in the classified service or include
those which in my judgment will best promote the public service. The
system has the approval of the people and it will be my endeavor to
uphold and extend it.

I am forced by the length of this Message to omit many important
references to affairs of the Government with which Congress will
have to deal at the present session. They are fully discussed in the
departmental reports, to all of which I invite your earnest attention.