The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-12-13
Offices to be Filled by Mr.. Cleveland.

FSQuI INS NCD L OFh sun
What offices can the new President fill
How far is his power limited by the Civil Ser
vice act? These are the questions which now
agitate the minds of all politicians
To begin with, the President makes all i'm
portant appointments with the advice and
consent Of the Senate. He appoints the Off
GERS of his own household private secre-
tary an assistant secretary, two executive
clerks, steward and a messenger. The
Presidents private secretary receives only
So, 500 a year; but from its nearHess TO the
Chief Executive the office is considered post
of some importance. Under the present Adj
minstration its functions have brenasFeealIly
I discharged by Mr.. Fred Phillips.
The seven Cabinet officers or heads of de-
partment are the most important offices in
the gift of the President. The Assistant Sec
retaries and the heads of various bureaus in
the departments are also appointed by HIM.
Such heads of bureaus are, for instance, III
the Treasury Department, the Treasurer OF
the United States, the Commissioner of Gus
toms, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
the Register of the Treasury; and in the De-
partment of the Interior, the Commissioner
of the General Land Office, the Commissioner
of Indian Affairs, the Commissioner of
Pensions, the Commissioner of Patents,
and the Commissioner of Education. The
President appoints the First and Second
Controllers and the six Auditors in the
Treasury Department; and in the Department
of Justice, besides its head-the Attorney
General-he appoints Solicitor General,
three Assistant Attorney Generals, four other
| Solicitors and an Examiner of Claims.
The Department Of Agriculture is of com
paratively recent creation, and its head,
| Commissioner, is appointed by the President;
| but he has no seat IN the Cabinet.
4 4 / No.
are impeached, hold office for life. 1t, there
fore, may fall to the lot of President to APP
point many or few, as vacancies may chance
! to occur. In the Supreme Court of the
United States, during the course of Mr..
! Cleveland's Administration, three or four of
the Justices will become eligible to retirement
! should they so desire; but there is no enforced
superannuation in that court. The District
Attorneys and Marshals for the various Fed
eral districts into which the Union is divided
are appointed by the President. A United
States District Attorney is appointed for four
years. or until the Senate shall approve his
successor.
In the diplomatic and consular service
there will, in all probability, be complete
change, for all such appointments, from en-
VOWS extraordinary to cOnsulS and lnterpre
tiers, are in the gift of the incoming Execu-
tive. Some offices of importance connected
with the public lands will be filled by Mr..
Cleveland. Thus, he can appoint Surveyor
| General each for Louisiana, Florida, Mime
sofa, Kansas, California, Nevada, Oregon,
Nebraska and Iowa, Dakota. Colorado, New
Mexico, Idaho, Washington, Montana, Utah,
Wyoming, Arizona, and also a register OF the
Land Office for each land district such dis
tr;cts only existing where one hundred thous-
and acres of Government land remains unsold.
N,lgWra Il In
| departments at Washington, but the great
mass of Federal officials are employed either
in the collection of customs duties or in the
postal service. 1t is said that there are some
| fifty thousand Postmasters in the United
States, and that about as many individuals
are officers of the customs or the internal
revenue The PostmasterS in our cities, the
Collectors, Naval Officers, Surveyors and APP
praisers in our great ports of entry hold places
of remunerative salary, which are eagerly
sought at the beginning of every new Admin
istration. All Postmasters, except those of
the fourth and fifth class, all Collectors of the
customs and of internal revenue, and all the
other principal officers of customs are APP
pointed by the President. The Civil Service
act has nothing to do with them.
And now that we have seen what offices
! Mr. Cleveland can fill, let us consider how
he is restricted by the Civil Service act. 1t
provides for the classification of certain clerks
employed in the departments, in the customs,
or in the postoffces, and for the examination
of applicants for such offices. 1t is claimed
that under its existing interpretations about
fourteen thousand clerks-the most important
of whom receive 81, 800 per annum-are Sc
cure in their tenure of office, and canno. be
affected by change of Administration. Ac-
cepting this statement as correct the fact re-
mains that the great army of ofhceholders
now intrenched throughout the United States
can be turned out next March, and their
places can be filled either by the President
himself or by those who will owe their own
Offices to him. There are about fourteen
thousand ofliceholders whom the Civil Service
act makes independent of the Presidents
power; but about ninety thousand still remain
! subject to it.