he state militia. He supervised the equipping of more than 220,000 volunteers before 1863, when he resigned after a Democrat was elected governor.After his return to private life, Arthur resumed his law practice in New York City and remained active in politics, making himself indispensable to the state Republican political machine run by U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling. Political machines organized voters for the support of a candidate, and under what was called the spoils system, the most dedicated, loyal workers expected to be awarded government jobs in return for their services to the machine. In 1868 Conkling and his lieutenants supported General Ulysses S. Grant as the Republican candidate for president, and in 1871, Conkling persuaded President Grant to appoint Arthur collector of customs for the port of New York.The New York Customhouse was a great political appointment. It handled about two-thirds of all U.S. customs receipts and had more than 1000 employees, each of whom owed his job to his allegiance to the Republican Party. While Arthur was the customs collector, the customhouse became a "fueling station" for Conkling's machine, and Arthur became the undisputed political leader of New York City. Although Arthur was personally honest, he overstaffed the customhouse with members of the Republican Party who worked diligently for the election of Republicans but were seldom seen at the customhouse itself.In 1877 Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes, who had pledged civil service reform during his election campaign, ordered an investigation of the customhouse by an independent commission. Arthur and two aides were asked to resign ". for having regarded their offices as of subordinate importance to their partisan work." Assured of Conkling's support in the Senate, Arthur and his associates refused. Hayes waited until the Congress of the United States adjourned in the summer of 1878 and then fired Arthur, giving the customs job to someone else who was later approved by the Senate.