The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-03-25
INCREASE OF DEPARTMENTS.

Can the executive business Of almost
sixty millions be properly done and best
done with cabinet of seven men? This |
question of the increase of the executive
departments Of the government is one
that cannot be much longer postponed. |
It's present discussion can do no harm
and may be productive of practical good.
The relative size of the cabinets or exec
utive councils of other governments viii
throw no little light on this interesting
subject.
The republic Of Switzerland, with a
population of only three millions, has
seven members of It's federal or executive
council. This council elects president,
who with the aid Of his colleagues, has
entire charge Of the administration Of
the government. The restored republic
of France, which has had a prosperous
existence since 1870, embraces in lis ex-
eCutive branch a president or chief Of
state and nine ministers, with nine eXccu
tive departments. France, therefore, with
population of less than forty millions
has two more cabinet ministers than the
United States have with populations of
fifty seven millions. England has slight
ly variable cabinet or ministry whose or>
binary NUMBER is fifteen members. The
prime minister and his council of MINIS
tiers administer the executive business Of
the government in all its branches. If
Great Britain needs fifteen or even twelve
cabinet ministers this country requires
more than seven. Either England has too
many or we have too few.
But our own history is most instructive
in this connection. Under President
Washington, with population of four
millions, there were four members of the
presidents cabinet. These were the secs
rotary of state, secretary of the treasury,
secretary of war and attorney general.
When our population had increased to
five millions the cabinet was increased to
five. Upon the same ratio of in
crease President Cleveland's cabinet
would now number fifty-seven members
instead of seven. But although this
would be clearly improper ration of in
crease it is plainly manifest that an in
crease of but two departments upon an
increase of 52,00O,0 600 in population bears
no sort of relation to the enormous in
crease of the public business. The into
rior and the treasury departments now
embrace executive business, interests and
subjects too vast and complex and di-
verse for any one head to master the deN
tails Of. The patent business and laws,
the pension bureau, the Indian bureau,
the land Office and laws and railway laws,
the bureau of education and census bu
reau constitute but a portion of the lnf>
mite variety of affairs which the secretary
of the interior must direct and control.
The ardurous duties and excessive re-
sponsibilities of the head of the treasury
department are we'll understood.
There would seem to be no adequate
and lasting remedy for this unsatisfactory
state of things except an increase of exc
cutive departments. If two more depart
ments were created, which might be
called the department of agriculture and
commerce and the department of educa,
ton or public instruction, to be followed
by just distribution and reassignmen,
of the public business among the nine de,
partments, the government business could
then be promptly and properly done. The
first of these new departments would EN-.
brace the bureau of agriculture, the Gus
toms business and all that relates TO com
merce. The second might inelade the
present bureau of education and patcnl
office, with all that relates e inventfon'