THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IN 1914

This is another article from my 1914 almanac, I hope it's good reading for you.

THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

THE executive power of the Government of the United States of America is vested in the President, who is elected, together with a Vice-President, quadrennially by the electoral college which represents the will of the majority of the people as expressed by ballot. The ratio of representation in the House of Rep­resentatives upon which the numerical strength and apportionment of the electoral college is based is, according to the thirteenth census (1910), one member to 211,877 population,
The President is advised by a cabinet of ten members upon whom he may call for assistance at any time. The members of the cabinet are nomi­nated by the President and confirmed by the Sen­ate, for a term subject to the President's pleasure. The President assumes responsibility for their official acts. As a collective body the cabinet has no constitutional standing, and its decisions are in no wise binding upon the President. Each member of the cabinet is charged with the admin­istration of a department of the government.
The President is vested with the veto power and can reverse the decision of any cabinet officer even in that officer's special department. The President's veto can be overruled only by a ma­jority of over fifteen in the Senate and over sixty-five in the House. The President cannot directly initiate legislation, though he must from time to time send messages to Congress informing that body of the condition of the country and calling its attention to subjects upon which legislation is necessary. All appointive offices of the govern­ment above the civil service grade are filled upon the nomination of the President and the confirma­tion of the Senate.
The enaction of laws is the privilege of Con­gress. Congress is divided into two houses, the upper, the Senate, and the lower, the House of Representatives. Either house has the right to initiate legislation. The members of the House of Representatives have always been elected by the direct vote of the enfranchised citizens. The members of the Senate are now similarly elected.
The Direct Election of Senators
A favorable vote by at least two-thirds of the State assemblies was necessary for the enactment of this final step in democratic republican govern­ment. On May 31, 1913, Secretary of State Bryan formally announced its adoption by thirty-six States and signed the document putting it in force. This is the seventeenth amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
United States Executive Officers
President—Woodrow Wilson, New Jersey. In­augurated March 4, 1913, Salary, $75,000; trav­eling expenses, $35,000. Secretary to the Presi­dent, Joseph Patrick Tumulty. Salary, $7,500.
Vice-President—Thomas R. Marshall, Indiana. Salary, $12,000. He presides over the Senate, with no vote, except in case of a tie.
Secretary of State—William Jennings Bryan, Nebraska. Charged with negotiations relating to foreign affairs.
Secretary of the Treasury—William G. McAdoo, New York. Charged with the management of the, national finances. He prepares plans for im­provement of the revenue and support of the pub­lic credit; superintends collection of revenue; grants warrants for all moneys paid from and into the treasury; controls construction of public buildings; coinage and printing of money; and the administration of the life-saving, revenue cutter, and public health and marine hospital service.
Secretary of War—Lindley M. Garrison, New Jersey. Charged with the supervision of the na­tional defense and the administration of the army.
Secretary of the Navy—Josephus^ Daniels, North Carolina. Charged with the direction of the navy and superintendence of construction, equipment, and employment of vessels of war.
Attorney-General—James C. McReynolds, New York. Charged with the representation of the Federal Government in all legal matters.
Postmaster General—Albert S. Burleson, Texas. Charged with the administration of the national and international postal service of the United States.
Secretary of the Interior—Franklin K. Lane, California. Has charge of patents, pensions, pub­lic lands and parks, education, Indian affairs, geo­logical surveys, mines, and reclamation of arid lands.
Secretary of Agriculture—David F. Houston, Missouri. Charged with supervision over agri-cultural industry, experiment stations, quarantine stations for imported cattle, inspection of foods and drugs, national forest reserves, and interstate game laws.
Secretary of Commerce—William C. Redfield, New York. Charged with promoting commerce, mining, manufacturing, shipping, fisheries, and transportation.
Secretary of Labor—William B. Wilson, Penn­sylvania. First incumbent of new portfolio cre­ated by President Wilson upon his inauguration. Charged with the administration of the interests of the government in all matters pertaining to labor. Also the supervision of alien immigration and naturalization.

The Federal Judiciary
The Federal Judiciary of the United States is composed of one Supreme Court, nine Circuit Courts of Appeals and over seventy District Courts. There are three judicial bodies created for special departments. The Court of Customs Appeals in­terprets the statutes relating to the customs laws of the United States. The Court of Claims passes upon all claims against the Government, and the Commerce Court interprets all laws pertaining to interstate commerce. The Supreme Court, as the head of the American judicial system, is possessed of powers which enable it to pass on the constitu­tionality of the acts of the President, Congress and the States. This court is invested with a su­premacy which makes it independent of changing public opinion. The justices of the Supreme Court receive their appointments from the President upon confirmation by the Senate. But immediately upon ascending the bench they pass beyond the power of either of the agencies of their appoint­ment. Only under a process of impeachment, in grand jury and the Senate as a court of trial, can their right to their positions be questioned. A Justice of the Supreme Court can be removed for no other cause than "high crimes and misde­meanors."
The Justices of the Supreme Court are:
Chief Justice—Edward D. White, Louisiana............*1910
Associate Justices—Joseph R. Lamar, Georgia....... 1910
Joseph McKenna, California...................... 1898
Oliver W. Holmes, Massachusetts...................1902
William B. Day, Ohio ............................... 1903
Horace H. Lurton, Tennessee ....................... 1909
Charles E. Hughes, New York....................... 1910
Willis Van Devanter, Wyoming...................... 1910
Mahlon Pitney, New Jersey........................ . 1912
Clerk—J. H. McKenney, District of Columbia....... 1880
Marshal—J. M. Wright, Kentucky..................... 1888
Reporter—C. H. Butler, New York.................... 1902
Salaries: Chief justice, $13,000; justices, $12,000; clerk, $6,000 ; marshal, $3,500 ; reporter, $4,500.
The Court of Claims is composed of five mem­bers:
Salaries of judges, $6,000 each; chief justice, $6,500. Chief Justice—S. J. Feeble, Indiana.................... 1806
Judges—Fenton W. Booth, Illinois..................... 1905
Samuel S. Barney, Wisconsin ....................... 1906
C. B. Howry, Mississippi ........................... 1897
George W. Atkinson, West Virginia ................ . 1906
The Court of Customs Appeals comprises five members as follows:
Presiding Judge—Eobert M. Montgomery, Michigan ... .1910
Associate Judges—James F. Smith, California ......... 1910
Orion M. Barber, Vermont .......................... 1910
Marion De Vries, California ........................ 1910
George E. Martin, Ohio ............................ 1911
Marshal—Frank H. Briggs, Maine .................... 1911
Clerk—Arthur B. Shelton, District of Columbia ........ 1910
Salaries: Judges, $7,000 each; marshal, $3,000 ; clerk, $3,500.
The membership of the Commerce Court is com­posed of Circuit Court Judges. They are as follows:
Martin A. Knapp, New York ......................... 1910
Robert W. Archbald, Pennsylvania .................... 1911
William H. Hunt, Montana ........................... 1911
John Emmett Garland, South Dakota ................... 1911
Julian W. Mack, Illinois .............................. 1911
Marshal—Frank J. Starek, Ohio ...................... 1911
Clerk—G. F. Snyder, West Virginia ................... 1911
Salaries: Judges of the Commerce Court get $7,000 a year each as Circuit Court Judges and $1,500 additional for ex­penses in Washington, where the court sits. The clerk gets $4,000, and the marshal $3,000 a year.
Independent Bureaus, Departments and Institutions of the Government
The Treasury Department. In addition to col­lecting all taxes levied by Congress and expending the money thus collected upon the order of Con­gress, this department has supervision of a num­ber of outside interests. The Internal Revenue Bureau and the National Banking System come naturally within its province. In connection with the former, it controls the Revenue Cutter Ser­vice. The Secret Service of the government comes under its supervision, and it also administers the Life-saving Service and the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service. The supervising archi­tect of the Treasury Department has charge of the erection and maintenance of public buildings authorized by Congress. In connection with the government mint and the issuing of currency the department controls the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
* Appointed associate justice, 1894.

The Department of the Interior. Under the supervision of this department are the following sub-divisions, each administered by a commis­sioner or director: The General Land Office, the Office of Indian Affairs, the. Pension Bureau, the Patent Office, Bureau of Education, the Geological Survey, the Reclamation Service and the Bu­reau of Mines.
The Department of Agriculture in addition to its regular activities controls and administers the Weather Bureau; the Bureau of Animal Industry, which inspects the nation's meat products; the Bureau of Entomology, which is leading the coun­try-wide fight against insect pests; and the Bu­reau of Chemistry, which has been leader in the pure food and drugs agitation.
' The Department of Commerce exercises control over the Bureau of Corporations, the Bureau of Lighthouses, the Census Bureau, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Steamboat Inspection Ser­vice and Bureau of Navigation, the Bureau of Fisheries, the Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Each of these departments is directly administered by a commissioner or director.
The new Department of Labor has taken charge of the Bureau of Emigration and Naturalization, the newly established Children's Bureau, as well as the Bureau of Labor, which formed the basis for its establishment.
The Civil Service Commission holds the exami­nations and controls the appointments for the approximately 400,000 classified civil service posi­tions in the government employ. Commissioners, J. C. Black, Illinois, chairman, $4,500; J. A. Mcll-henny, Louisiana, $4,000; W. S. Washburn, New York, $4,000; chief examiner George R. Wales, Vermont, $3,000; secretary, John T. Doyle, New York, $2,500.
The Interstate Commerce Commission has con­trol over the affairs of the common carrier corpo­rations of the United States, and is one of the most important of the independent branches of the government service. The commission consists of seven members, each receiving an annual sal­ary of $10,000. Commissioners, Judson C. Clem­ents, chairman; Charles A. Prouty, John H. Mar­ble, Edgar E. Clark, James S. Harlan, Charles C. McChord, Balthasar H. Meyer.
The Isthmian Canal Commission, charged with the construction of the Panama Canal. Chair­man and chief engineer, Colonel G. W. Goethals, assisted by five army officers as commissioners; $15,000, inclusive of army pay. Secretary, Joseph Bucklin Bishop, New York, $5,000.
The Government Printing Office. The government has one of the largest and finest printing offices in the world. It represents an expenditure of over $16,000,000 for construction and equip­ment and an annual expenditure of more than $6,000,000 for maintenance and operation. It is­sues daily and weekly journals, monthly periodi­cals, and a large number of annual publications in addition to the government books and pam­phlets and the variety of circulars, bills and small jobs which comprise its annual output. The Pub­lic Printer is S. B. Donnelly of New York. Sal­ary, $5,500
The Pan-American Union. This independent bureau is a testimonial of the good feeling existing between the United States of America and the twenty other republics of the Western Hemisphere. Its headquarters are in Washington. Its director-general is John Barrett, Oregon; salary, $5,000. The Union was organized for the purpose of promoting commercial intercourse between the American republics, each of which contributes to its maintenance in proportion to the population of the country. The work of the Union has so ex­panded and its activities have so increased that to-day it is one of the leading factors in promot­ing trade and increasing the bonds of friendship among the American republics.
The Smithsonian Institute was founded in 1826 by James Smithson, who bequeathed his fortune to the United States for the "increase and diffu­sion of knowledge among men." Twenty years later a building known as the Smjthsonian Build­ing was erected in Washington by .the use of the accrued income of this bequest. The institution housed in that building is legally an establish­ment, having as its members the President and Vice-President of the United States, the chief justice, and the members of the President's cabi­net. It is governed by a board of regents, and is under the immediate direction of its secretary, Mr. Charles D. Walcott. The institution lends its aid to investigators by making grants for re­search and exploration and by initiating scientific projects. For the dissemination of knowledge it provides lecture courses and publishes scientific papers. It has administrative charge of the na­tional museum, the national art gallery, the national zoological park, the astro-physical observ­atory and the regional bureau for the international catalogue of scientific literature. The original endowment, together with gifts and accu­mulated interest, now yields the institute an an­nual income of slightly over $58,000.
The National Museum is under the same man­agement as the Smithsonian Institute, and is charged with preserving and utilizing objects of art, ethnological collections, geological and mineralogical specimens which are the property of the United States.
The Library of Congress is primarily a refer­ence library composed of numerous collections which have been presented to or purchased by the government. It is the third largest collection in the world. The building which houses the library is the creation of American architects, sculptors and painters exclusively. It is one of the world's most beautiful buildings. Librarian of Congress, Herbert Putnam, Massachusetts. Salary, $6,000.


It would seem that our government has changed over the years. The question is, has it changed for the better?

Sleep tight, sleep safe, His mercies are new every morning.

All is well down on the farm.

The Old Farmer