Evening star., 1937-01-17
PRESIDENT TO KEEP
PRESENT CABINET.
Law Requires Action on
Postmaster GeneraI-0th-
ers Stay Automatically.
By G, GOULD LINCOLN.


President Roosevelt will begin his
second term of Office Wednesday with
out change in his cabinet, it is now
expected.
1t is considered probable that the |
President will not send to the Senate |
any new appointment of these cabinet !
officers, with the exception of the
Postmaster General. Under the law,
definite provision is made that the
term OF the Postmaster General shall |
be co-extensive with the term of the
President appointing him, and for one
month thereafter.
Postmaster General James A. Farley /,
will be reappointed by the President, |
unless Mr.. Farley for reasons of his |
own should asked 10 be relieved. There |
has been no indication from Mr.. Far
ley that he intends to make such a |
request
The law relating 10 the appoint |
ment of the Postmaster General is as
follows:
There shall be at the seat of Gov |
ernment an executive department to |
be known as the Post Office Depart |
ment, and Postmaster General, who |
shall be the head thereof, ard who |
shall be appointed by the President, !
by and with the advice and consent Of |
the Senate, and who may be removed |
in the same manner; and the term of
the Postmaster General shall be for
and during the term Of the President
by whom he is appointed, and for one
thpVno II-0lNSS
moved"
Farley Reappointed.
The President, may, under the law,
therefore, Immediately reappoint Mr..
Farley as Postmaster General or send
in his appointment during the month
following. When the late President
woodrow Wilson began his second
term of Office in March, 1917, he re-
tanned his cabinet. but did not send in
reappointments for any Of them.
Albert Sidney Burleson Of Texas was
his Postmaster General. About year
later, the question Of the law relating
tn appointment Of Postmaster Gen.
eral was raised in the Senate and
attention called TO the fact that Bur-
leson was holding over without having
been reappointed. So President wilson
then sent to the Senate reappoint-
ment of his Postmaster General and
1t was confirmed.
1t has been the practice in recent
years, when a President has begun
o second term, not to reappoint mem
bers of the cabinet whom he wished
to continue in Office except in the
case of the Postmaster General. Their
commissions state that their appoint
ments and their service are at the
pleasure of the President. The late
President Calvin Coolidge, who be-
came President on the death of War
rem G. Harding in August, 1928, after
his election and inauguration sent to
the Senate only two cabinet appoint
ments. They were those OF Harry s.
New for second term as Postmaster
General and of Charles Warren OF
Michigan to be Attorney General.
News nomination was confirmed, but
that of Warren rejected-on a tie
vote. Former Vice President Charles
G. Dawes, who had been taking
nap at his hotel, rushed to the Senate
too late to save Warren.
Mellon Held Over.
When Herbert Hoover succeeded
Coolidge as President, he sent to the
Senate an entire new cabinet. with
the exception Of the Secretary OF the
Treasury. Andrew w. Mellon, and the
Secretary OF Labor, James J. Davis.
now Senator from Pennsylvania. Both
Mellon and Davis had served first IN
the Harding and then in the Coolidge
cabinets. The right Of Mr.. Mellon to
serve as Secretary of the Treasury
had been challenged in the Senate by
Senator Mcclellan of Tennessee, on the
ground that Melons stockholdings
barred him under the law from that
office. It was well understood that
If MELONS name were sent in again
to the Senate, there would be con-
test over his confirmation and con-
siderable debate. The debate came
anyway, Mcclellan presented a reso-
luton which was referred to the
judiciary Committee. declaring that
Mellon should have been reappointed
and that he was ineligible because
of his business holdings. The Judici- |
ary Committee reported that the Sec
retary of the Treasury did not have |
to be reappointed-that only the Post
master General had to be reappointed |
when beginning second or third term !
of Office and that Mellon was not de- |
barred
If President Roosevelt follows the !
course of his immediate predecessors. |
he will not submit new nominations OF
his cabinet officers. If, on the other |
hand, he desires to do 50 there seems |
no doubt he can have quick confirma-
ton of the appointments at the hands
Of the Senate.
The fact that Postmaster General |
Farley has continued on as chairman !
of the Democratic National Committee |
has been irksome to few of the
Senators, particularly to Senator |
Norris of Nebraska Whether the Ne |
braska Senator will feel so strongly
about the matter as to raise his voice
in the Senate if and when Mr.. Farley's
reappointment is received, remains to
be seen. Norris, who deserted the
Republican Party first to support
President Roosevelt and then to run
himself as an independent for re-
election to the Senate. had the support
of the President and his Postmaster
General for reelection last November.
No designations Submitted.
So far As is known, none Of the
members of the cabinet have sub
mitted their designations to the Presi-
dent In fact. it is reported that some
of the cabinet officers have asked the
President whether they should take
such action and that the President
answered mo" This seems to confirm
the belief that the President does not
at this time intend to make any
changes in the personnel of his official
family.