To the House of Representatives:
I transmit herewith, for consideration and appropriate action by Congress, a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, in relation to the proposed establishment of naval stations of the United States on the American Isthmus. In this paper the current testimony of prominent officers of this Government for a long series of years, as to the feasibility and necessity of establishing such stations and the great advantage to flow therefrom to the naval and commercial interests of the United States, is clearly set forth, and the considerations adduced can not but commend themselves, I am confident, to the careful attention of Congress. Convinced of the wisdom and propriety of the suggestions thus presented, I recommend to Congress the appropriation of the sum named by the Secretary of the Navy, to be at his disposal at once, for expenditure as soon as suitable arrangements can be made to the proposed end.
R. B. HAYES
Rutherford B. Hayes, Special Message Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204670