The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-10-11
u, S. OFFICE TENURE
Relative Length of Terms of
Federal Office Holders.
THEY ARE VERY SHORT
Secretary Wilson Ho ds a Rec
ord Along This Line.

washington. Oct 10.-This month brings
Secretary Hitchcock's term of office up
to that of Columbus Delano of Ohio, and
has heretofore held the long-distance rec
ord among secretaries of the interior, and
vet Mr.. Hitchcock has been il office only
since December, 1898. Few persons realize
how short is the tenure of our cabinet Of
dcers. The interior department, in its
fifty-four years of history, has had TWEEN
ty-three secretaries, each serving on an
average Of two years and four months.
LYMAN ]. Gage is not thought of as a
long-term secretary of the treasury. and
YET no predecessor exceeded his four years
and eleven months of service since Levi
Woodbury., who was appointed by jack
son. William II. Crawford OF Georgia.
Oliver Wolcott of Connecticut Albert
Gauatin of Pennsylvania, and Alexander
Hamilton of the United States, are the
only other secretaries of the treasury
who broke Cages record, and they were
all of the old time Gallatin served near
ly twelve years, the longest period OF any
American cabinet officer.
William II. Taft will make the fifty
second secretary Of war, giving an aver
age term to his fifty-one predecessors OF
two years two months and twenty-four
DAYS. This is a slightly more rapid rate
of change than that of the heads Of any
other department. The attosneys-general,
of the four cabinet offices which started
with Washington, come next with forty
six names; the treasurers follow with
forty-one while of the secretaries OF
state there have been only thirty-six, Civ
ing them an average term of service OF
nearly three years
Something of the brevity of these terms
may be accounted for by the practice OF
transfers within the cabinet But the IN
attractiveness of cabinet places by com
parison with seats in the senate or on the
supreme court largely explains the ire
ouency of change. This practice makes a
marked difference between great posts of
administration under the government and
in private life. 1t would not be unheard of
for one business leader to remain at his
post as Ions as the entire list of secretar-
tes of the interior. Imagine an insurance
company, or railroad. or a college, or
a business house changing its head every
two years and three months, and some no.
ton VIII be gained of the perpetual new
ness at their posts of the cabinet officers.
Still their work is of the first magnitude
The pcstoffice is perhaps the largest trans
portatson enterprise in America. the agri-
cultural department the greatest scientific
Institution while OF diplomacy. with which
the state department deals deliberation is
the great essential. What nervous gov
eminent the rapidity or these cabinet
changes shows us TO have.
Twelve secretaries of the treasury serv-
ed less than year. Jackson, as a'result
of his arbitrary attitude toward the Unit
ed States bank. was compelled to draft
one secretary of the treasury after anoth-
er to do his bidding until his list contain
ed five names. Buchanan, in a single
term. had three secretaries of the trea-
sury. while Tyler, in less than regular
term, had four. Grant had -FOUR secretar-
les of the trea sury-Boutwell Richard
son. Bristow. and Morrill,. President Ar
thur had FoIger, Gresham, and McCul-
loch. The secretaries of war have been
still more tickle. The sedate Washington
had three, Madison four, Jackson five.
Tyler four. and Grant five, of whom VIII
Ham II. Taft's father was one. Well may
il be a good test in keeping up-to-date to
be able to name the cabinet. With a
cabinet Of nine there viii average to be
change once in five months
James Wilson the secretary of agricul-
ture. is the dean of the present cabinet.
He is the only one who began service
with the beginning of the Mckinley ad-
ministration. six years ago last march. OF
President McKinley's other appointees
still in the cabinet Mr.. Hay succeeded Mr..
Day. and Mr.. Day succeeded Mr.. Sher-
man; AR Hitchcock succeeded Mr. Bliss
and Mr.. Knox succeeded Mr.. Griggs II
Mr.. Roosevelt completes his term with
four cabinet officers of his nine, who
were selected by Mr. Mckinley he will
have done better in that respect than any
other man coming to the White House
by reason of the death of 4 predecessor.
In fact, there have been only four cabi-
net officers in the history Of the country
who have served through to the end OF
The term of a successor coming to power
in this way. These four are Robert T.
lincoln. secretary of war under Arthur;
and Seward. McCulloch. and Welles u-i-
der Johnson; but the circumstances re-
gandng the tenure OF office We're then so
peculiar that the case does not make
valid precedent. 1t is true. however that
March 4. 1895. should President Roose-
Welt be reelected. viii show something
OF shake-up in the cabinet 1t is the
intention, af eaxa-al ,,,.s,,,f ,,,-- IL.
ent Official family. including at least two
Of President Roosevelt's own selections
10 lay down the burden of office at that
time. II James Wilson should remain
through the second Roosevelt term as
secretary of agriculture. he would break
Gallatin's record OF length. of service with
a straight twelve years, or three fun
terms.
The geographical requirement adds a
troublesome element in the selection of
cabinet officers. Rhode Island. one Of the
oriS1nal thirteen states. has never had n
cabinet officer. II is not because the state
is small. for little Delaware and a mum
Der of other states no larger in population
than Rhode Island have had several cabi-
net officers. Texas, which has been in
the Inion for more than half centarv
ana IS one OF The largest IN population.
as well as pTeemineut in area. has never
been h0no7ed with a cabinet POSITION
Since the civl war there have been only
two Democratic administrations. ana ma
turaily the south has not been recognized
much in the construction Of cabinets.
Stiil. there was long period before the
war and even since when ii would seem.
that some Texas statesman might have
been found 70 iii cabinet position. Flor
ida Is another CID state tha; has never