Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-01-20
ON CABINET MAKING.
THE DIFFICULTIES PRESENTED TO 4
 PRESIDENT ELECT


 some Cabinets h the Past.
 It is ever to be regretted that the founders of the republic did not in some way arrange that cabinet places should be more attractive to the class of men who can best fill them. Every cabinet officer is in one sense one eighth of the presidency of the United States. The executive duties and responsibilities with which the chief magistrate IS charged are divided into eight parts, and for practical purposes the head of department is president of the United States concerning that eighth of the country's interests The presidents ap- proval and consent is more or less per functory, depending largely upon the degree of confidence he comes to have iii his various official advisers In this light it is strange that set of offices so important and with the presidential succession falling to them should go B. begging to the extent that is usual with cabinet places. Few men nowadays will leave the senate to enter cabinet Sen ator Allison has at least twice before been offered a portfolio and declined it. Secretary Proctor left the cabinet of Harrison to become a senator from Yer. mont Nathan Golf of West Virginia is said to desire a cabinet position now, that he may get into line for the senate to take the place of Mir Faulkner, whose term will expire in two years.
 Illustrations might be multiplied in- definitely to show that place in the senate is more coveted than one in the cabinet 4 senator. in going into cab met, must bury the individuality of his political ambition As long as the pres. ident is a candidate for reelection his cabinet confidants must stand by him and with him, while no such responsi- bility is entailed upon his supporters at the other end of tho avenue If an ad- ministration prove failure, it carries down with it the reputation substantial ly of all who have been part of it. Again, the duties of q cabinet officer are arduous and continuous. Instead of an average six months in year, he must reside here censtructively the whole 13 and have constantly in mind the work of a great business establish ment Half of his first year is consumed ill picking out his chief subordinates and in explaining to the go disappoint- ed applicants for each position how it happened that their names were passed over. He must, moreover, maintain social establishment of considerable dig nifty and consequently of considerable expense.
 The relative undesirability of cabinet
 positions is only one, however, of the difficulties of Q president elect iii 1ffeaakk- ing suitable selections for them. He
 must, of course, choose eight men who
 are not only congenial to him, but con.
 genial to each other. They must be ca-
 pablo administrators as well as students l of the affairs of their several depart
 ments. Geographical considerations,
 too, always constitute 8 troublesome
 factor. When Major Mckinley started
 out on the task of cabinet building he
 probably realized that one of the eight places must go to New England, anoth.
 or to New York, one to the new tier of
 Republican states on the southern bor- 1 der, one to the northwest and two to the Ohio valley and middle vest region,
 and that perhaps the Pacific coast should
 be remembered, the middle Atlantic
 states and also the extreme south. New
 England almost always has cabinet 1 position. In the two Cleveland adminis- trations Mir. Endicott and MT. Olney,
 both of Massachusetts, have been the New England representatives. Senator Proctor of Vermont was Harrison's man, and William E. Chandler of New Hampshire President Arthur's. The Garfield cabinet, which was ln existencs so short time, had no New England member. Mir Hayes selected General Devens of Massachusetts. In the Grant cabinets, where changes were pretty frequent, New England was represented by Boutwell, and Richardson of Massa- chusetts and Morrill, of Maine in the treasury. Marshall Jewell of Connecti- cut was postmaster general, and E. R. Hoar of Massachusetts served as attor- ney general.
 New York, which has not far from one-eighth of the population of the Union and proportion larger than that in the matter of distinguished men, gets place in every cabinet with Q like regularity. Mir. Cleveland, in the con struction of each of his cabinets, has selected two New Workers, Manning and Whitney sitting in the first one and Lamont and Bissell in the second. On the death of MT. Manning, MT. Fair child, also of New York, succeeded. Secretary Tracy was President Harri- sons New York appointment to the na " portfolio. Judge Folger was Presi- dent Arthur's secretary of the treasury. and Thomas L. James was postmaster general under President Garfield. Will liam Nj. Eyarts was secretary of state under Hayes. Under Grant, Hamilton Fish held the same office, and Edwards Pierrepont was for time attorney gen eral.
 If Major McKinley's experience is like that of other presidents. he will { find the task of cabinet making 80 great that the real make up is likely to be squeezed into the last few weeks before inauguration. Four years ago the first selection made was that of MT Carlisle for the treasury portfolio. This waa practically decided as seen .: Mr. Cleye- land was elected During his first ad- I ministration MT. Carlisle nad been ! speaker of the house, and his relations E with the president had been most cor ! dial and helpful When Mr Cleveland