The Alaska daily empire., 1915-06-24
THE HEAD OF THE CABINET

The appointment of Robert Lansing as Secretary of State recalls suggestion made by President Cleveland that the Constitution should provide for the appointment by Che President of Assistant Presi dent to be the right hand the President mem ber of the Cabinet without portfolio and to occupy the place at ,he head the Cabinet table. that custom with the sanction of law. has placed upon the Seere tary of State.
 Mr. Lansing is an ideal head for the foreign affairs department Of the United States. An able lawyer an expert on international law. experienced in diplomacy afabie scholarly and patriotic. Yet he does not meas ure up to the premier idea that custom has attached Co the position of Secretary of State He does not ht the thought for instance. that President Wilson had in mind when be named William J. Bryan to be Secre tary of State Mir Bryan not selected on account of speea knowledge of international affairs but to be the Presidents chief advisor and the head of his Cab inet-a sort of prime minister. The appointment was one that followed the custom os Presidents in the past Co name as Secretary of State party leader and states man of the first magnitude without reference to special qualifications in matters of foreign affairs
 1t Is true that often in the past statesmen selected for Secretary Of State have also developed special n ness as diplomats Seward for instance and Buchanan who was far greater success as Secretary of State AADoAANtttf
 thought behind the selections
 The same rule only in slightly lesser degree has been behind the selection of all Cabinet officers They have been chosen not with special reference to their abilities for the management of the details of the par teuar portfolio for which they selected. but be- cause of their general knowledge of the people and country and political and other that they might be capable advisors of the President and they have usually consisted the great leaders of the part L coln for instance appointed of his principal com petitors for the Presidential nomination to Cabinet po sitions-seward Chase Cameron and Bates Cieve- lands first Cabinet contained Bayard. his chief rival for the Presidential nomination. Lamar. Garland Whit ney and vlas-au powerful leaders of thought and ae ,on in politics and satecraft And there have been many other similar Cabinets.
 However if we are not to have Assistant Pres dent as Cleveland suggested and t the custom should be changed so as to have trained international law yer at the head of the State Department without ref erenle to his standing as alround leader possessing yell<nown qualifications the Presidents chief ad- visor the President should be permitted to designate any Cabinet member. without regard to the portfolio which he might hold. as head of the Cabinet Yet l1 nirht be that N the position of Secretary or state shall cease to carry this assistant leadership with It, v reason of the selection of Secretary of State on ao count of his special fitness Tor foreign a1'als' 0o' will take care of the other feature also In fact there have been precedents when other Cabinet members than the Secretary of State have been regarded as the real Cabinet leader Mckinley. it is claimed selected Elhu Root for Secretary of War that he might lean upon him as leader. Roosevelt bequeathed his man He 10 Taft who was Secretary of War. In the second Cleveland administration Carlisle was regarded as the Cabinet leader rather than Gresham Adams. senior listened more attentvely Marshall his war secretary than to Pickering but later game Marshall the state Department Walker divided honors with Buchanan. under Polk. and Hamilton with Jefferson under Wash iugton.
 This line of precedents is likely to be added to in the second half of the first Wilson administration for when the foreign affairs of the Nation became o less relative importance than attaches to them the peo pe generally will not consent to give Lansing prece dent over Lane and likely that the President will consult his great Secretary of the Interior on more and
 more of the general affairs of che government and 'ne policies of the administration time proceeds