IX.--FINANCE AND CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.


With the election of 1876 and the inauguration of President Hayes, March
4, 1877, the Period of Reconstruction may be said to have closed. The
last formal act of that period was the withdrawal of the national troops
from the South by President Hayes soon after his inauguration. During
the last two decades the "Southern Question," while it has been
occasionally prominent in political discussions,--especially in
connection with the Lodge Federal Elections Bill, 1889-91, has,
nevertheless, occupied a subordinate place in public interest and
attention. As an issue in serious political discussions and party
divisions the question has disappeared.

In addition to the subject of the Tariff, considered in the previous
section, public attention has been directed chiefly, during the last
quarter of a century, to the two great subjects, Finance and Civil
Service Reform.

The Financial question has been like that of the Tariff,--it has
been almost a constant factor in political controversies since the
organization of the Government.

The financial measures of Hamilton were the chief subject of political
controversy under our first administration, and they formed the basis
of division for the first political parties under the Constitution. The