XIX THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS The Cabinet. The operations of the executive department of the federal government affect the welfare of nearly a hundred millions of people and involve the annual expenditure of more than half a billion of dollars. Responsibility for the smooth and efficient working of the great federal machine rests wholly on the President, but in the supervision of the executive business there must, of course, be division of labor. To assist him in governing, the President summons to his aid assistants known as secretaries. Washington began his administration with three secretaries, a Secretary of State, a Secretary of the Treasury and a Secretary of War. As the business of govern ment increased the work of the administration was further divided and new secretaries were brought in. The chief assistants of the President now number nine and are as follows: 1. The Secretary of State. 2. The Secretary of the Treasury. 3. The Secretary of War. 4. The Attorney-general. 6. The Secretary of the Navy. 7. The Secretary of the Interior. 8. The Secretary of Agriculture. 9. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Each of these secretaries is appointed by the President and is responsible to him for the management of one of the great departments of executive business. At stated times the secretaries meet the President for consultation. This executive council is known as the cabinet. The cabinet as a body has no legal functions and is unknown to the Constitution, although its existence is foreshadowed in the words, "the President may require the opinion in writing of the principal officers in each of the executive departments upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices" (93). Washington, following the letter of the Constitution, communicated with his secretaries individually and required the opinion of each in writing, but his successors soon established the custom of calling the secretaries together around a council board when important matters of administration are to be settled. It is said of Jefferson: "When a question occurred of sufficient magnitude to require the opinion of all the heads of departments he called them together, had the subject discussed and a vote taken in which he counted himself as but one." From out of these early meetings of the President and his secretaries has grown the cabinet meeting of to-day. The cabinet meets at the White House at the call of the President. No records of its meetings are kept, and the public does not know what takes place at them. The President is not bound to act according to the wishes of the Cabinet, nor does he always do so. The function of the cabinet is to discuss and advise; it is for the President to decide and act. The Work of the Departments. It is through his cabinet officers as heads of departments (98) that the President governs. The names of these departments and a brief description of the work done by each will now be given: The Department of State under the management of the Secretary of State attends to foreign affairs. It conducts the negotiations which lead up to the making of treaties (p. 261), instructs our foreign ministers and consuls in their duties, extends official courtesies to the ministers from other countries, gives passports to those in tending to travel abroad, protects American citizens in other lands, and transacts all other business arising between our government and other governments. The Secretary of State is regarded as first in rank among the members of the cabinet. II. The Department of the Treasury under the Secretary of the Treasury manages the financial business of the country. It collects the internal revenue raised from whisky and tobacco (p. 276), and the custom duties levied on foreign goods (p. 275); it attends to the expenditure of money appropriated by Congress; it manages the public debt; it organizes and inspects national banks; it controls the mints and supervises the making of paper money. In addition to its purely financial duties this department controls the life-saving service maintained for the rescue of persons from shipwreck, supervises the construction of public buildings, and manages the marine hospitals maintained for disabled soldiers. III. The Department of War under the Secretary of War has charge of the land forces. It purchases supplies for the soldiers, controls the transportation of troops, directs the improvements of rivers and harbors, superintends the signal service and controls the Military Academy at West Point (p. 357). IV. The Department of Justice under the Attorneygeneral is the law department of the national government. When the President or a member of the cabinet desires legal advice it is furnished by this department. When the government of the United States is interested in a case in court, the Attorney-general defends or prosecutes the suit. V. The Post-office Department under the Postmastergeneral, in addition to collecting, carrying and distributing the mail, establishes and discontinues post-offices, provides the public with stamps and postal cards, and conducts a money postal-order system by which money may be safely transmitted to all parts of the world (p. 341). There are more than one hundred thousand people employed in this department. VI. The Department of the Navy under the Secretary of the Navy purchases naval supplies, provides for the construction and equipment of vessels, supervises the navy yards and docks, and controls the Naval Academy at Annapolis.1 VII. The Department of the Interior under the Secretary of the Interior has charge of national affairs that are of a purely domestic nature. It examines pension claims and grants pensions, controls Indian affairs, directs the sale of public lands, issues patents and copyrights, superintends such educational interests as are of a national concern (p. 357), and directs the work of the geological survey. VIII. The Department of Agriculture under the Secretary of Agriculture diffuses among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture in the most general and comprehensive sense of that term, and procures, propagates and distributes among the people new and valuable seeds and plants. IX. The Department of Commerce and Labor under the Secretary of Commerce and Labor "fosters, promotes and develops the foreign and domestic commerce, the mining, manufacturing, shipping and fishing industries, the labor interests and the transportation facilities of the United States." This department (created in 1903) has charge of the census, statistics, immigration, steamboat inspection, the coast and geodetic survey and lighthouses. The Organization of a Department. Each of the nine departments has the control of a vast amount of executive business, and it is necessary to subdivide the work of a department and place an officer at the head of each subdivision. A subdivision of a department is usually called 1 For the duties of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy in times of actual war, see p. 252. a bureau, and the head of a bureau is called a director or commissioner or superintendent. For example, in the recently organized department of Commerce and Labor there is a Bureau of Corporations, a Bureau of Labor, a Bureau of the Census, a Bureau of Statistics, a Bureau of Fisheries, A Bureau of Navigation, a Bureau of Immigration, and a Bureau of Standards. When the work of the secretary of a department becomes too heavy for one man he is provided with as many assistant secretaries as may be needful. For example, in the Department of State there are three assistant secretaries. list Executive Work Outside the Departments. A few items of executive business have not been assigned to any one \ of the nine great departments. The work of the Interstate Commerce Commission (p. 339) is performed by five commissioners who act independently of any department. The Civil Service Commission, whose duty is to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States, consists of three commissioners who are responsible directly to the President. The Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution are also outside of departmental control. The chief officers in all these cases of extra-departmental activity are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, just as other principal officers are. The National Civil Service. There are nearly three hundred thousand persons employed in the executive civil service of the federal government, and every person on the list, from the secretary of a department down, receives his position directly or indirectly from the President. Congress creates positions, but it cannot name the persons who are to fill them. It may vest the appointment of inferior officers elsewhere than in the President (98), but it cannot place the appointing power beyond the President's reach. Through his secretaries the President's |