Arizona republican., 1901-10-20
STATE DEPARTMENT
Its History Written by Chief
 Clerk Michael
Facts About the Least Known and Most Interesting Branch of the Government With a Resume of Its Achievements.

Washington, Oct. 19.-The depart ment of state is the subject of d briec | monograph by William II. Michael i chief clerk of the department. MT. Mi | chael is one of the best informed off, cials in the public service. He has ! made close study of the department of state and has produced q work that will serve as a historic guide to the i growth and gradual expansion of this 1 branch of the government.
 The department of state is by far the most interesting of the executive de- 1 partments, but il is also the one about ! which the public knows least. This is ! due to the fact that much of its work ! is wrapped around by the veil of dip ] lomatic reserve. What is done by the | navy or the war department. or by the | treasury department. or even by tn" department of justice. is soon made | known. either directly or through it's ] effects. Even the White House." as Mir. Roosevelt officially designates the executive office, does not do things in a corner. to use the good old English phrase.
 But the state department moves in the darkness. lives in darkness. and ,ts acts and designs are revealed only of- ter months. it may be years. Its work may be the handspring of action in all other branches of the govern ment. but it's own movements .re i strictly guarded. for d large measure of secrecy is necessary to the success oc diplomatic plans.
 Tn a republic. however. the people want to know what the administration is doing and planning. and would pry | even into the secretest designs of di- ! Tlomacy. For this reason the branch of government that has to do with for e.gn affairs in the United States must. or necessity. disclose it's plans more , Ie1uentiy and more fully than woui1 be dreamed of in the chancelleries or | Eur ope. and to an extent that would
 bo the despair of the diplomats of R as sIa. Much Of the work of the depart rpent is kept secret. however, and it is cnly occasionally that any really mo- , n'entous question of negotiation is. by -.dbiic curiosity, Nruug from the close reserve of the secretary Of state.
 The state department is also the most interesting branch of the gov ernment. because it has been the tram , ing school of presidents. From the
 time of Thomas Jefferson. the first sec
 retary of state. down to James Bu-
 Chanan, the roll of the secretaries of stare reads almost like roll of presi-
 dents If we include the names Of those great citizens Of the republic
 whose ambitions coveted the highest , hcnor. and who were. perhaps too bril- Hat to be acceptable to their party or To their people. the roll of secretaries is practically q roll of presidents, and
 the list from which presidential candi- dates were chosen
 Jefferson, Madison. Monroe, AdaIGs.
 Van I.uren and Buchanan may be in
 cIudeG in the list of secretaries of
 S.at.- who became presidents. In the other list is a galaxy of still greater
 names-stars of the very first magui-
 tude. but which were, for that yer y I i'ason. denied the foremost rank in . tse ,ciitical Armament. Such I list , woUlI include the potent names and . commemorate the baked ambitions "f
 s;r-h riants as Clay, Calhoun. Webs
 t,:-. B;ainc. Bayard and Gresham Tier ttere is q glittering side to tI,e , d'-lartmeHt of state-the side it pra- . s-ats to the courts of monarci:s. it's . dealinRS with great and tremendously I important affairs, and it's grasp of the , i scales of war and peace. One of its , tlunders might at any time. plunge the
 i.ation into hostilitieS, while loo mach
 ambition in the breast of it's chief
 HIight lead to costly entang!ements ard
 disasters. This, to the public, is i;S
 most interesting side. but it is not it's
 most important side to th-. country. !is |
 irrCNcry. and has littl" of the Eia: a
 a1d LTilliance that are supposed 10
 fJ-TI q halo about the head of the dlp- D lnr.atlC branch of the government, the ' ' Irun vho stands next to ;!Ic pT-s'-i n:
 and represents the country to the ' whole outside world.
 MT. Michael's book is an exceedingly
 useful handbook of the department Q. . state, and it makes no preteps,l n give
 a brilliant eXhauStiVe history of .re
 department of state. It brings to~e. her
 just the kind of informa ton the aver = age student of history of the cour Try D would wish to have at hand. and yet Q could not get in any other way. with =, out hours of plodding through the rec ords of the department.
 o The author recalls that the office of v, sAretary of state was originally kn )wr
 as the office of foreign affans." ana
 that the first seat of the office was Tn
 Carpenters hall. Philadelphia, in 17SI 7, In 17S5. when the general government
 was removed to New York, the office , of foreign affairs was established ir
 Fraunces's tavern (erroneously writ
 ten Faunce's tavern'O. The depart
 ment was organized by Robert R. Liv-
 ingston of New York. in 17S1, under ar
 act of congress. the opening paragraph of which reads:
 That the extent and rising power oi
 these United States entities them to 3
 place among the great potentates oi
 Europe. while our political and com
 mercial interests point out the proprl
 ety of cultivating with them friendly . | correspondence and connection" John Jay was secretary of foreigr
 affairs after Livingston. and these tw,
 were the only secretaries of foreign af y fairs under the old regime
 X The department of foreign affair: V became the department of state in 17S9 g and Thomas Jefferson was the frs $. secretary of state, accepting the offic'