Evening star., 1936-09-27
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Inc reOrRanlZatlOn OF the admlnlStra-
tive branch of the Government, contem-
plated and spasmodically studied for
more than Is years, and now under in
tensive survey by special committees
representing the President, the Senate
and the House-harkS back to the foun-
dation of the Government nearly $50
years ago. Failure to reorganiZe has
marked sporadic efforts under the ad-
ministrations of Taft and Wilson. Hard
ing and Coolidge, with a congressional
veto on Hoovers plan. There are almost
insurmountable obstacles to q business
like reorganization-"the price of po-
htical freedom" as Donald Richberg,
former chairman Of the National Emer-
gency Council. referred to the enormous
waste Of money and human energy" en-
tailed under the present patchwork
set-up. He was discussing "the checks
and balances Of power necessary to pre-
serve self-government and to prevent
the development of a centralized au-
tocracy."
1t was Alexander Hamilton who in
1889, after adoption Of the Constitution,
laid out the scheme of grouping the
Federal activities of the same general
purpose into executive departments. The
first swas the Department Of Foreign
Affairs. which soon was renamed the
Department of State, with John Jay Of
New York the first Secretary under the
confederation and continuing to act, at
the request of Washington, until Thom-
as Jefferson took Office March a., 1870.
Later in the same year the Treasury and
War Departments were created, Hamil-
ton being the first Secretary Of the
Treasury, September II, 1889, and Henry
Knox of Massachusetts, taking the oath
the following day as Secretary of War.
Attorney General was at first legal
adviser to the President and department
heads, but sat at cabinet meetings Ed
mund Randolph of Virginia was ap-
pointed to this Office on September 26,
1889. and entered upon his duties Feb
ruary 2, 1890.
The Attorney General was at first
legal adviser to the President and de-
partment heads, but sat at cabinet
meetings. Edmund Randolph Of Vir-
ginia was appointed to this Office on
September 26, 1889, and entered upon his
duties February 2, 1790. It was not for
four score years, however, that the De-
partment of Justice was established.
The Postmaster General was also ap-
pointed on September 26, 1789-Samuel
Osgood of Massachusetts,, who was sue
ceeded in August, 1891, by Timothy Pick
ering of Pennsylvania. The Postmaster
General was not given cabinet rank un-
til 1929, and this did not become an ex-
ecutive department until 1872.
Under the administration of Adams in
1893 the fourth executive department
was organized, with Benjamin Stoddert
Of Maryland appointed first Secretary
of the Navy. He entered upon the duties
June 18, 1898. Then for more than 81
years the structural organization OF
the executive branch of the Government
remained substantially unchanged.
Through the administrations of JEFF
ferson, Madison, Monroe, John Quincy
Adams, Andrew jackson, Van Buren,
William Henry Harrison, John Tyler
and Polk the departmental set-up con-
tinued unaltered. Then during the re.
gime of Zachary Taylor the Department
Of the Interior was established, with
Thomas Ewing of Ohio as first Secre-
tary, March 8. 1849. This marked the
first important reorganization. 1t was
given charge of all strictly domestic af-
fairs coming within the scope of the
Federal Government. To 1t we're trans
ferred, from the four original depart
ments, all Government activities affect
ing patents, public buildings, pensions
and accounts relating to the public
lands and the Indians.
The number of executive departments
was increased to six in 1870, with the
creation of the Department Of Justice
headed by the Attorney General, and
in which all Of the Federal Govern
mentS legal work was centralized. The
first head of this department was Amos
r. Ackerman of Georgia. Two years
later the Post ONCE Department, headed
by John A. j. Creswell of Maryland, in
creased the number of departments to
seven. Both OF these were under the
administration of Ulysses s. Grant.
In the meantime-10 years earlier
the importance of agriculture had been
officially recognized by setting up an
Independent Office under a Commis-
sioner of Agriculture. Under the ad-
ministration of Grover Cleveland this
was given the status of an executive de-
partment (the eighth in 1889-which
has since grown so rapidly that it has
80 900 employees in % bureaus and oc-
cupies 1000, 900, 900 square feet Of ONCE
space In Washington. The first Secre-
tary of Agriculture was Norman ]. Col
man a. AAfisGoa1f3.