Savannah morning news., 1885-02-25
FACTS ABOUT THE CABINET.
Officers Without Much Infuence-De
partments That are Hard to ManaVa

OAhOeAs "lihout mucn lnnuence-De-
partments That are Hard to Manage.
The Importance of Cabinet officers. saws
the New York Mail and Express, is great
ly exaggerated. One of the reasons for
| this lies in the fact that there is so much
space given to the discussion of these
officers prior to the formation of an ad-
ministratiOn. There is great public curl
Osity concerning the make up of any new
Presidents Cabinet. This curiosity, in one
sense, is not personal. 1t desires TO know
the makeup of a Cabinet simply because
1t is generally regarded as a test of the
ability of the President, and to a certain
extent gives an accurate gauge of his tu-
ture policy. The small man in the
Presidential office is always indicated
by his fear of being overshadOwed
by his surroundings. 1t is only a great
man who can afford to surround himself
by the great. But when Cabinet is
once formed the Cabinet members lose
much OF their Importance. Aside from
the patronage which they dispense in
their departments, they are overburdened
with simple routine drudgery which can
not be evaded or put upon anyone else,
Unless they have unusual opportunities,
through fortunate circumstances, of hav-
ing some public question pressed upon
lie
their terms of office DONG the work OF
high-class clerks, and being in every
sense of the word Secretaries 10 the Presi-
dent.
OF all the Cabinet offices the State De-
partment is perhaps the easiest, although
1T is ranked first. There is less drudgery
connected with this division. Except in
cases Of international questions, where a
high order of ability is called into play in
n taha ho,r 10 lr,3
little to do. An hour a day is enough for
the Secretary of State to 90 through his
mail and do all of what you might call the
routine work of his place. The Secretary
OF the Treasury has an enormous amount
of drudgery. He is obliged for three hours
at least every day to sit and merely write
his name. he has to hear arguments in
appeal cases from his various bureaus,
and to receive delegation after
delegation representing commercial in
terests. The customs regulations
of the country seem TO be made for the
purpose of harassing and annoying i'm
porters to the last degree. They are con-
stantly making appeals. The Secretary
of the Treasury must hear them. In this
way he is burdened with great amount
of work. The War Department is an
easy place. Everything there is arranged
TO run by machinery, through the fact
that the department is chiefly Otiicered by
men holding commissions in the army.
Their positions being permanent, they are
very little disturbed by changes of Secre-
taries. The Navy Department is practi-
cally the same as to the ease of the place
and the arrangement of its work. Some
years ago Congress created the offices of
Assistant Secretary of the Navy aud OF
War. These places have never been
hIled. Their salaries have been covered
into the treasury regularly every year;
probably the only instance on record IN
the history of the government where two
good places have been pro-
vided by Congress without their
being promptly filled by the executive.
The Post Office Department is very busy
place. But for labor which is absolutely
endless the Interior Department should |
be commended. This department has
grown to such a great extent that no
Secretary, by working twenty-four hours
IN the day, could do all the work which |
he IS required to do as the head of the de-
partment. Practically the Secretary of
the Interior has more work than the Su-
preme Court in the hearing of appeal |
cases alone. The Pension Bureau has |
practically become an independent de- |
partment through the physical incapacity |
OF any Secretary to supervise it and |
attend to the work under his nose every |
day. The Department of Justice, the |
last in line, is comparatively easy. The !
duties are so light that they would be a |
mere pleasure to any good lawyer. The |
Attorney General is only called upon for |
occasional decisions. The real work of
the place would not occupy him over two
or three hours day.