Part 78 (2/2)

General supervision over all Federal district attorneys and marshals is exercised by the Attorney-General. This officer likewise examines the t.i.tles of lands which the government intends to purchase. The Attorney-General has a supervisory charge of the penal and reformatory inst.i.tutions which are Federal in character. Applications for pardons by the President are investigated by the Attorney-General. Still another of his duties is to superintend the codification of the Federal criminal laws.

In these various duties the Attorney-General is a.s.sisted by an under- officer known as the solicitor-general.

528. THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.--This Department, headed by the Postmaster-General, has general charge of the postal service. The Postmaster-General awards contracts for the transportation of the mails, and directs the management of the domestic and foreign mail service. The handling of money orders, the parcels post system, and the postal savings banks come under the control of the Postmaster- General. Of great importance is the power of this officer to bar from the mails publications which are fraudulent or otherwise obnoxious.

Working under the Postmaster-General are four a.s.sistant postmasters- general, each in general charge of a group of services within the department.

529. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.--Aided by two a.s.sistant secretaries, the Secretary of the Interior performs a number of important functions. He has charge of all public lands, including national parks. The handling of Indian affairs const.i.tutes one of his duties.

The territories of Alaska and Hawaii come under the direct supervision of this department.

Many miscellaneous functions are performed by the various bureaus within the department. Patents, pensions, and the geological survey come within the purview of the department. The Secretary of the Interior has charge of the distribution of government appropriations to various educational inst.i.tutions. A general supervision over a number of charitable inst.i.tutions within the District of Columbia is also exercised by this officer.

530. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.--All matters pertaining to agriculture in the widest sense are the concern of the Department of Agriculture.

Under the direction of the Secretary the Department issues a large number of scientific and technical publications, including the Agricultural Yearbook, the series of Farmers' Bulletins, the Monthly Weather Review, and the Crop Reporter. Quarantine stations for imported cattle, and the inspection of domestic meats and imported food products are concerns of the various bureaus within the Department. Of great importance is the work of the weather bureau in sending out storm, flood, frost, and drought warnings.

An increasingly important phase of the Department's work is the Forest Service, the work of which has been described in Chapter x.x.x. An important bureau is the bureau of animal industry, which combats animal diseases and gives advice concerning the best breeds of poultry and cattle. The bureau of plant industry ransacks the world for new crops suitable for our soils, and gives fruit-growers and farmers advice concerning plant parasites. Insect pests are the concern of the entomology division. Additional functions of the Department of Agriculture may be indicated by an enumeration of some of the more important of its remaining bureaus and divisions. These include the bureau of chemistry, the bureau of soils, the bureau of statistics, the bureau of crop estimates, the office of public roads and rural engineering, the Federal horticultural board, and the bureau of markets.

531. THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.--In 1913 what for ten years had been known as the Department of Commerce and Labor was divided into two separate departments, a Department of Commerce and a Department of Labor.

The chief duty of the Department of Commerce is to foster the foreign and domestic commerce of the United States. To promote our mining, manufacturing and fis.h.i.+ng industries, and to develop our transportation facilities are, therefore, among the aims of this department. The census, the coast survey and lighthouses, and steamboat inspection are concerns of the Department of Commerce. The scope of the Department, which is increasing rapidly, may be indicated by an enumeration of the more important bureaus grouped within it.

These include the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, the bureau of census, the bureau of lighthouses, the bureau of coast and geodetic survey, the steamboat inspection service, the bureau of navigation, the bureau of standards, and the bureau of fisheries.

532. THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.--Though at present the functions of the Department of Labor are fewer than those of the other Departments, they are being rapidly expanded by the extension of government interest in industry. The Department is concerned with practically all matters which affect labor conditions in the United States.

The Department of Labor collects and publishes information upon all subjects connected with labor and capital, the hours and wages of labor, and methods of improving the condition of the working cla.s.ses.

It seeks to encourage industrial good will, and to adjust labor disputes peaceably. An important bureau within the Department is the bureau of immigration, which, under the direction of the commissioner- general of immigration, is concerned with the administration of our immigration laws. The bureau of naturalization keeps a record of immigrants, and supervises their naturalization. Of growing importance is the children's bureau, which investigates matters having to do with child labor, infant mortality, orphanage, and the work of the juvenile courts.

533. MISCELLANEOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.--In addition to the executive departments which have been briefly discussed, the Federal administration includes many independent boards, bureaus, and commissions which perform duties not a.s.signed to any of the ten departments. These agencies have been established from time to time under the authority of Congressional statutes. The chiefs of the bureaus and the members of the boards and commissions are appointed by the President and the Senate, most of them for a term ranging between six and twelve years. These officials are largely experts, who happily are sufficiently exempt from the spoils system to stand a fair chance of surviving a change of administration.

Among the more important of these boards and commissions are the following: The Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Farm Loan Board, the Federal Board for Vocational Education, the Federal Trade Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the United States Tariff Commission, and the Civil Service Commission. The nature and functions of most of these administrative agencies have been discussed elsewhere in the text, and need not be gone into here.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. Trace briefly the development of the Federal executive departments.

2. What is the nature of the President's Cabinet?

3. Contrast the American with the European cabinet.

4. What function do the heads of departments perform individually?

5. What are the chief functions of the Secretary of State?

6. Enumerate the more important officers working under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury.

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