eld possible.... We have not attempted to
'dictate,' nor have we asked the nomination of one person to any office
in the State."

Except in the case of their remonstrance against the Robertson
appointment, they had "never even expressed an opinion to the President
in any case unless questioned in regard to it." Along with this
statement the New York Senators transmitted their resignations, saying
"we hold it respectful and becoming to make room for those who may
correct all the errors we have made, and interpret aright all the duties
we have misconceived."

The New York Legislature was then in session. Conkling and Platt offered
themselves as candidates for reelection, and a protracted factional
struggle ensued; in the course of which, the nation was shocked by the
news that President Garfield had been assassinated by a disappointed
once seeker in a Washington railway station on July 2, 1881. The
President died from the effects of the wound on the 19th of September.
Meanwhile, the contest in the New York Legislature continued until
the 22d of July when the deadlock was broken by the election of Warner
Miller and Elbridge G. Lapham to fill the vacancies.

The deep disgust with which the nation regarded this factional war, and
the horror inspired by the assassination of President Garfield, produced
a revulsion of public opinion in favor of civil service reform so
energetic as to overcome congressional antipathy. Senator Pendleton's
bill to introduce the merit system, which had been pending for nearly
two years, was passed by the Senate on December 27, 1882, and by
the House on January 4, 1883. The importance of the act lay in its
recognition of the principles of the reform and in its provision of
means by which the President could apply those principles. A Civil
Service Commission was created, and the President was authorized to
classify the Civil Service and to provide selection by competitive
examination for all appointments to the service thus classified. The
law was essentially an enabling act, and its practical efficacy was
contingent upon executive discretion.

CHAPTER II. POLITICAL GROPING AND PARTY FLUCTUATION

President Garfield's career was cut short so soon after his accession
to office, that he had no opportunity of showing whether he had the will
and the power to obtain action for the redress of public grievances,
which the congressional factions were disposed to ignore. His experience
and his attai