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INDIANAPOLIS - The life of President Benjamin Harrison was honored during a wreath laying ceremony at his memorial site at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Aug. 15.
The event was attended by local dignitaries, the Crossroads of America Scout Band, the Indiana Sons of the American Revolution and relatives of the President.
Attending the ceremony on behalf of the 88th Regional Support Command was Brig. Gen. R.A. Bassford, deputy commanding general, who along with Capt. Andrew Ramey, chaplain, 801st Combat Support Hospital, laid a wreath on behalf of President Barack Obama.
During his speech Bassford said as 23rd president of the United States from 1889-1893, Harrison professionalized the federal civil service, making it a more equitable and fair system.
“When Benjamin Harrison spoke at his inauguration, he promised to base his selection of federal appointees on merit and on character,” Bassford said. “Political party affiliation was not going to be the sole basis for hiring.”
Bassford said Harrison lived up to his promise and did exactly what he said he intended to.
“Rather than go along with the party bosses who had seen him elected and put into position their hand-picked loyalists, he rejected their pre-prepared lists of friends and relatives that were presented to him.
He interviewed candidates himself and did his best to select candidates who he thought would do the work of the United States with character and competence.
As you might imagine, this did not make President Harrison many friends within his own party.”
This stance caused Harrison to lose support within the Republican Party and by 1892 he failed to win reelection, but he left behind a legacy not tainted by infractions, Bassford continued.
“One thing is certain, when President Harrison left office he had endured no major scandals, his appointees did not become embarrassments, something few presidents of the era could say,” he continued.
“President Harrison was a man who showed us what it meant to act with integrity, how to do what was right for the people and the nation, despite great pressure to do otherwise from his peers and from the system.
And most importantly, from his own personal self-interest.”
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2015 10:41 |
| Story ID: | 173395 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 108 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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