Part 66 (1/2)

The DEPARTMENT OF WAR is directed by the Secretary of War, who, under the President, controls the military establishment and superintends the national defense. He also administers river and harbor improvements, the prevention of obstruction to navigation, and the building of bridges over navigable rivers when authorized by Congress. He also has direction of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, which supervises the government of Porto Rico and the Philippines.

The DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE has at its head the Attorney General, who is the chief law officer of the government, and represents it in all matters of a legal nature. He is the legal adviser of the President and of the several executive departments, and supervises all United States attorneys and marshals in the judicial districts into which the country is divided.

The POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT is administered by the Postmaster General.

The DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, under the Secretary of the Navy, has charge of the ”construction, manning, equipment, and employment of vessels of war.”

The DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR was created to relieve the Department of State of work relating to internal affairs, and now embraces a wide variety of duties. At its head is the Secretary of the Interior. Through many bureaus and divisions it administers the public lands, the national parks, the giving of patents for inventions, the pensioning of soldiers, Indian affairs, education, the reclamation service, the geological survey, the improvement of mining methods for the safety of miners, certain matters pertaining to the territories of the United States, and certain inst.i.tutions in the District of Columbia.

The DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE is directed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Its work is described in Chapter XII.

The DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, under the Secretary of Commerce, promotes the commercial interests of the country in many ways. It includes in its organization the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, the Bureau of Corporations, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Lighthouses, the Bureau of Navigation, the Bureau of Fisheries, and the Bureau of Standards.

The DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, under the Secretary of Labor, has for its purpose ”fostering, promoting, and developing the welfare of the wage earners of the United States, improving their working conditions, and advancing their opportunities for profitable employment.” Among its important bureaus are those of Immigration and of Naturalization, and the Children's Bureau, which investigates and reports upon ”all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all cla.s.ses of our people.”

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES

In addition to these great administrative departments with their numerous bureaus and subdivisions, there are various boards, commissions and establishments that are independent of the departments.

Some of the most important of these are the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Civil Service Commission (see below), the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Trade Commission, the United States Tariff Commission, the Board of Mediation and Conciliation, the United States Bureau of Efficiency, the Federal Board of Vocational Education, the Panama Ca.n.a.l.

Of another kind are the Library of Congress which includes the Copyright Office; the Government Printing Office; the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution, including the National Museum and the National Zoological Park.

There are many others. During the recent war a great variety of new administrative commissions and boards were created for the emergency. Most of these have been, or are to be, discontinued, though some of them may survive. Such were the Council of National Defense, the Committee on Public Information, the Food Administration, the Fuel Administration, the United States s.h.i.+pping Board, the War Trade Board, the Director General of Railroads.

THE CIVIL SERVICE

The detailed work of this vast service organization is carried on by about 400,000 employees (not counting the army and the navy).

These const.i.tute the CIVIL SERVICE. The quality of service depends largely upon the efficiency of these employees. The task of filling all these places is a large one. In Andrew Jackson's administration (1829-1837) the ”spoils system” was introduced, which means that government positions were treated by the victorious party as ”the spoils of victory,” to be given to members of the victorious party as rewards for party service without much regard to fitness for the work to be done. Whenever the administration pa.s.sed from one party to another, the army of civil service employees was displaced by another of new employees.

Not only did this result in inefficient service, but the time of the President and the heads of the departments was largely consumed in considering the claims of those seeking appointment.

Moreover, since appointments could be made only ”with the advice and consent” of the Senate, senators were besieged by applicants for positions and their friends. The President, overwhelmed by the mult.i.tude of appointments to be made, came to rely almost wholly upon the advice of the senators, and even of members of the House of Representatives, for appointments in their states and districts. Thus, in effect, appointments were made by members of Congress rather than by the President who was really responsible.

No system could have been devised more wasteful of the time of the executive and legislative branches of the government, or more conducive to inefficiency.

REFORM OF THE CIVIL SERVICE

The spoils system became a great offense to the nation, but it was not until President Garfield was murdered by a disappointed office seeker that Congress, in 1883, pa.s.sed a law for the reform of the civil service. Candidates for many positions in the civil service were required to pa.s.s an examination designed to prove their fitness for the work to be done, and a CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION was created to administer the law and to conduct the examinations, which are held at stated intervals in different parts of the country. Those appointed under this system cannot be removed except for cause. Even at the present time, however, only about half of the civil service is subject to this MERIT SYSTEM. From the above description of the work of the several executive departments select topics for special investigation and report; such as:

The work of United States Consuls. Coining money; the United States Bureau of Engraving.

The life-saving service of the United States.

The United States Army in war and peace.

The United States Army as an organization to save life, especially in its work of sanitation in territories occupied.

Representatives of the United States Department of Justice in your community, and examples of their work.

Building a battles.h.i.+p. Training for the navy.