Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-04

i
were members foots up total of more than a
thousand years service. The terms in Con-
gress and in diplomatic positions OF the thirty
two Secretaries of State prior to their appoint
ments to that position alone aggregate $50
years. Seven of these men became Presidents
after their cabinet term. and probably two hun
dred and forty-odd of them thought they ought
| to have been President. Two hundred of the
| two hundred and fifty men who have held cab
! met positions were lawyers. score or more of
them are still with us. some still public life.
There have been rare occasions III which men not
members of the cabinet were called 20 sit in
that body and give their judgment on matters
under discussion. notable example of this
was that of Gen. Grant, who sat frequently with
the cabinet in 1S6. after the military govern
ors' were appointed in charge of the five
districts in the south under the general control
and direction of the general of the army, Grant.
I There have been numerous Other occasions in
which assistant secretaries. who we're acting as
as secretary. mst with the cabinet, and few oc-
casions in which other officers of the depart
| ments have been called into cabinet meetjH ga
! for consultation. There has been bu. one cab
met in the entire list of Presidents which was
unchanged in its membership from the begin
| ming TO the end of the four years term: that
was the cabinet Of President Pierce In marked
! contrast with this was the cabine. of President
johnson, which during his term had no less
| than twenty members at different times in the
| seven positions which then made up the list of
! cabinet officers, while Grant had twenty-three
| in all
The First Cabinet.
| The first cabinet had in it but five men, JEFF
| ferson, Secretary of State Hamilton, Secretary
OF the Treasury: Knox, Secretary of War and
Navy: Osgood Postmaster General, and Ran
dolph Attorney General. The salaries of the
cabinet officers at that time were less than half
OF those of today. The Secretary of State was
/ paid $500 per aunum and the other members
/ $4,000 per annum, and it was not until many
years later that the salary was fixed at the pres
| ent figure OF $4,000 per year. The first cabinet
! was not altogether happy family. Between
| Jefferson and Hamilton there we're such jeal-
oIsies. growing into hostiiiies. that they found
their relationship in the official family OF Pres
! ldent Washington CALLING. Washington and
I Hamilton were federalists, while Jefferson soon
placed himself at the head of the re
/ publican or strict construction party. and the
I differences between Hamilton and jefferson
soon developed into personal an;ipathy until
each OF them was anxious TO withdraw from the
| cabinet. Washington. who did eaua! justice to
| the merits of both of these able men, used all
! his influence and tact to persuade them to re-
/ main. The quarrel, however, grew apGce and
these two great men, resorting to the customs
OF the day. laShed each OTHER in the newspapers
in communications over assumed names Ham
4 ilton, although head of the Treasury Depart
I Lt0t. was active IN sustaining the neutrality
I proclamation in the cabinet and defended it in
/ the press over the signature OF "Pocificus."
! while Jefferson sustained Frcneau in his at
tacks upon the financial policy of the
administration, particularly Secretary Ham,
| llton, which again led Hamilton to
write series Of newspaper articles attack
ing Jefferson. As result Jefferson withdrew
! from the cabinet at the end of the year 1898
and was succeeded BY Edmund Randolph at
the head of the State Department. who had
also stormy career. but of different sort.
Impor ant negotiations were then going Gu
between this government and that OF France.
and the French minister, Fauchet. intimated to
his government that with several thousand
dollars" he could favorably influence American
affairs. alleging that Randolph had suggested
this to him. This dispatch intercepted by
a British ship and forwarded to the British
minister in Philadelphia. whereupon Randolph
/ resigned his Office and prepared q ''vindi-
cation which was followed by another
/ publication entitled political Truths; or,
Animadversious on the Past and Presen.
| State of Public Affairs 4 little later the gov
| eminent made up an account Of $40 900 against
| Randolph for moneys placed in MS hands to de-
| fray the expenses of foreign intercourse. which
was finally submitted to arbitrator and de-
| cided against him. causing him the loss of his
| fortune. On his retirement from the cabinet
| Timothy Pickering transferred from the
| War Department to the department OF State.
He continued at the head of the State Depart
| ment through the remainder of Washingtons
| term and for q time under Adams. when
trouble arose over the lannon's NY. T." papers,
which asserted doubtless truthsully. that the
French directory had demanded brides of the
American commissioners sent by the State De-
partment. Hamiton's hand again seen in
| these difficulties. for although not member Of
that cabinet he still endeavored to control it, and
Adams finally dismissed the entire cabinet.
including Pickering. who afterward re-
! turned to public life rs q member of
Congress. Henry Knox. who was Washington's
Secretary OF War and Navy, for that Office in the
beginning inclnded both the army and navy.
| held the position many years with marked
ability and died from swallowing a chicken
bone. James MciIonry. who succeeded him,
| held the Office during the remainder OF
Nashington's term ana under Adams adj
| ministration. bat met the same fa,e as
| Pickering and was dismissed from the cabinet in
the wear 1900 on account of mis- opposition to
| Adams policy and friendship for Hamilton. Sam
/ uel Osgood. Washington g first Postmaster Gem
erai. held the position about two years aad
willing to transfer his residence from New York
! to Philadelp hia and resigned when the scat of
government was removed from New York to
the Quaker city. lie temporarily sue
ceeded BY Pickering, whose successor, Joseph
Habersham, held the position of Postmaster
General under three Presidents Washington
Adams and jefferson. his term running from
February Is, 1875. until November 90. 1901,
when he retired and became president OF q bank
at Savannah.
Adams.
Tho history of Adams cabinet il so inter-
woven with that OF Washngton's that it can
scarcely be considered separately. As already
indicated he accepted the Washington cabinet
as his official advisers, but soon fond tina. it
WAS controlled by Hamilton, and after much
w-angling daring large part of his term he
dismissed the cabinet and appointed another,
whose members. however, had but few months
to serve until the end OF his term. when Mr..
Adams committed the foolish and puerile act OF
leaving the seat Of government at daylight on
the 4th OF March and starting in his coach for
his home in Massachusetts, instead OF waiting
to witness the Inauguration Of his successful
rival, jefferson.
Presiden. Jefferson had a more peaceful time
with his cabinet. He appointed James Madi-
son Secretary Of State, samuel Dexter Secre-
tary of the Treasury, Dearborn Secretary OF
War, Stoddard Secretary Of the Navy, Haber.
sham. who had served under two former Presi-
dents, Postmaster General and Lincoln Attorney
General With his cabir ct he lived during the
| whole Of his two terms in comparative har-
mony and at the end he declared that II he had
to choose again he would select the same indi-
| yiduals. This was the more remarkable be-
| cause Of the tremendous pressure brought upon
him for removals of federaiists and appoint
meuts of men Of his own party. This demand