Omaha daily bee., 1898-08-14

of congress, etc." and this latter bill pro-
vided that the Department Of Foreign At
fairs should be known as the Department
Of State, and it greatly increased it's i'm
portance. The governors of the states had
been informed, July 5, of the formation of
the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Sep
TENDER q they were informed of its expan-
sion into the Department of State. A few
day, later Jay was nominated to be chief
ustice and Thomas Jefferson to be the first
secretary Of state. Jay continued in the
office for some time and Jefferson did not
finally accept the office until the next Feb
ruary.
AS secretary of state Jefferson had a
salary of $500 a year, his chief clerk got
$500 and the other clerks $500 a year or less.
Roger Alden was the first chief clerk. From
the beginning the Department of State was
more closely connected with the president
than any other executive department.
Washington not only referred to it all
official letters bearing upon its business,
but made it the repository of the drafts
of most of his letters. The department was
the medium of correspondence between the
president and the foreign governments and
also the state governments. At one time
the department had charge of the patent
business and the first patent issued bore
VIC oiShdLuit VI NdSullBlOu, JelleISOu anu
Randolph. The department was made the
repository for copyrighted articles, but it
appears not to have had the power to grant
copyrights. The department superintendent
the census work until the interior depart
ment was formed, and the territories were
governed by the department also. The
pardon business was in the department be-
fore it was put in charge of the attorney
general.
Machinery of the Department.
The salary of the secretary of state was
raised in 1899 to $1,000, in 1919 to sc, 900,
in 1853 to SIS, 900 and in 1873 to $40, 900, but
reduced to $4,000 a year later. At first the
chief clerk assumed charge in the absence
of the secretary, but in 1853 an assistant
secretary Of state was provided by law and
since then provision has been made for two
other assistants. From time to time clerks
were added to the department and chiefs of
divisions designated. Secretary Forsyth in
1884 designated the duties of the clerks.
The chief clerk was to exercise immediate
superintendent over the several bureaus
and report to the secretary all acts of
negligence or misconduct. Correspondence
with the American ministers abroad was to
come through the diplomatic bureau and
here all treaties were to be framed. The
oIDuIdl DulGbu uui NJ &c VI lDt tOnSuiuI
correspondence. The home bureau was
divided into four sections, one having control
of the returns of passengers from foreign
ports and miscellaneous and domestic cor
respondence, another having custody of the
seals of the department and the United
States, a third having charge Of presi-
dental pardons and passports and the
other filing and preserving copyrights and
reports. Then there was a keeper of the
archives, a translator and librarian, a dis
bursting agent and clerks in the patent office,
Daniel Webster originated the Statistical
Office when he was secretary, and this later
became the Bureau of Statistics, and under
Secretary Sherman Bureau of Foreign Com
merce. The diplomatic and consular bureaus
have continued substantially unchanged,
though for a time they were each divided
into two parts.
The secretary of state became at the be-
ginning the custodian Of the seal of the
United States, and thus 1t becomes neces-
sary in all cases where an attest of the sig
nature of the president is neces-
sary for the secretary of state to
take action. The device for the
seal was adopted in 1882, and a description
of it in the language of heraldry contains
no hint as to what 1t looks like. The seal
is affixed to practically all papers that pass
through the hands or the president. Ihe
recording Of commissions is done now as II
was in 1889, the commission being made
out in the department, and after ii has re-
ceived the signature of the president 1t IL
returned to the department and the secre.
tary affixes his signature and the seal, As
this seal must be affixed TO acquisitions fol
criminals, that matter is under the Contro
OF the federal government. In former years
state governments issued acquisitions or
foreign governments and delivered up fugi-
tives, but now this is always done by the
general government, except in the case Of
dealing with Mexico, when state governments
have power to act independently of the fed
eral government.
The business of the Department Of State
is largely taken up with the diplomatic ant
consular service. The rules and practic'