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The Commoner.
NOVBMBBR 15, 1912
--JV
Cabinet Making in American History
Writing In the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal,
Frederick J. Haskin says: Almost the first prob
lem that confronts a president-elect is tho choos
ing of the nine men who shall become his offi
cial advisers and act as the heads of the nine
executive departments of the government. It Is
a task which calls for much thought, for upon
it the success or failure of many administrations
has depended. To find capable advisers and
chief lieutenants and at the same time to meet
the exigencies of politics has tested the resource
fulness of more than one president-elect. Tho
pressure that is brought upon him in behalf of
this or that person for a cabinet position often
taxes his patience. President-elect Garfield
wrote that he was so overwhelmed with such
pressure that he had about reached that frame of
mind where a multitude of indorsements was his
best reason for turning down the candidate pos
sessing them.
The day was when geographical considerations
weighed strongly in tho selection of cabinet offi
cials. New England was considered as being
entitled to one member. New York and Pennsyl
vania to one each, tho south to one or more, tho
Mississippi valley to one or two and the far west
to one. But, since the first administration
of Cleveland, presidents have felt more and more
free to ignore geographical considerations. In
a number of instances they have drawn several
members from a single state, as in the caso of
Root and Straus and Cortelyou, of New York;
Wilson and Shaw, of Iowa, and Taft and Gar
field,' of Ohio, in tho Roosevelt administration.
In the Taft administration Illinois has two cabi
net officers, MacVeagh and Fisher; Massachu
setts two, Hitchcock and Meyer, and New York
two, Stimson and Wickersham. These two ad
ministrations seem to be the only ones in cabi
net history in which threo states have had two
thirds of the members of the cabinet.
A number of presidents have had small groups
of personal advisers known as "kitchen cabi
nets," the name originating from the story that
Jackson admitted these advisers at tho back
door of the White House. Tyler had a "school
master's cabinet," made up largely of Virginia
educators. Roosevelt's group of favorites was
christened the "tennis cabinet," from their
fondness of that game.
GENERALLY SELECTED AS ADVISERS
But, in the making of their cabinets, a large
majority of the presidents have selected men
who could play the role of both personal and
official advisers. Some of them have frequently
appointed personal friends to important cabinet
positions. McKinley first appointed his law
partner, William R. Day, assistant secretary of
state, and later elevated him to the premiership
of his cabinet. It was charged at tho time
that he wanted to make a vacancy from Ohio in
the senate so that he could place Mark Hanna
there, so he appointed John Sherman secretary
of state, in a sort of emeritus way, with Day as
his understudy and heir apparent.
President Cleveland, in his second adminis
tration, surprised the country by appointing as
his secretary of state a man who had lately
been a republican and who had voted the
democratic ticket for the first time that year
Walter Q. Gresham, of Indiana. There was con
siderable criticism of the appointment by demo
crats. It was hot the first time that Cleveland
had appointed a secretary of state which called
forth a protest. When, in his first administra
tion, he appointed Thomas F. Bayard, of Dela
ware, a senator from Virginia held up the ap
pointment for a day, stating that Bayard was a
better friend of England than he was of the
United States.
AN EXTRA LEGAL BODY
The cabinet, as a body of official advisers who
meet together with the president, has no con
stitutional existence, and scarcely any legal exis
tence. It meets as such a body only because the
president desires it, and sometimes, when its
members are not in harmony, the president has
seen them individually and not collectively, pre
ferring thus to keep peace rather than to re
construct his cabinet.
As such a body it did not always consist of
the heads of the departments. In 1790 Wash
ington wrote Lafayette; "Many of your old
acquaintances are associated with me in the ad
ministration of the government. By having Mr.
Jefferson at the head of the department of state;
Mr. Jay, of the judiciary; Hamilton, of the treas
ury, and Knox, of war, I find myself well sup
ported by abfe coadjutors who harmonize ex
tremely well together."
When tho British, in 1790, wanted to march
Canadian troops across Unitod States soil, from
Detroit to the Mississippi, Washington obtained
his advice from his threo secretaries, tho chiof
justice and tho vice president, but did not con
sult tho attorney general. Tho first cabinot
meeting held was when foreign complications
arose In the 90s. Madison, Jefferson and Ran
dolph called tho heads of tho departments "tho
cabinet," but Washington did not. Hamilton
called them "ministers.' Tho first tinio they
were officially designated "tho cabinot" was In a
resolution In the house in the days of Andrew
Jackson's quarrel with congress. Tho first time
the word appears in tho statutes is in 1907.
Hamilton, as secretary of tho treasury,
meddled in tho affairs of the departments of
state and war. Ho and Jefferson differed so
greatly that Washington pleaded with them to
exercise "mutual forbearance" and "temporiz
ing yieldings" for tho sake of peace. Jefferson
wrote that he and Hamilton were "daily pitted
in the cabinet like two cocks," but when ho
talked of resigning Washington told him ho
was needed to presorvo tho necessary check upon
himself and Hamilton, and thus to keop things
in their proper channel.
During the administration of tho elder Adams
ho complained that his cabinet was more under
the influence of Hamilton than of the president.
He said Hamilton was "a physician who under
took to prescribe for a president, senate and
house of representatives, all admittedly des
perately sick, without being called." Ho and
Washington quarreled over tho appointment of
threo major generals, and Washington threat
ened to resign his commission as lieutenant
general If Adams didn't do as he wished. Adams'
cabinet sided with Washington.
Jefferson would not hold cabinet meetings,
although he was importuned by members of his
official family to do so. When Andrew Jack
son camo. into power the question was raised by
Attorney General Wirt, of the old administra
tion, whether or riot tho old cabinet ought to
resign. Ho wrote to ex-Presidont Monroe about
it and that gentleman thought the cabinet ought
to remain. But when Jackson came In tho cabi
net went out In a hurry. Jackson followed tho
example of Jefferson in having no cabinet meet
ings, and the quarrels in his official family, both
personal and political, were responsible for many
changes.
Van Buren tendered the navy portfolio to
Washington Irving, and Polk had George Ban
croft, the historian, as his secretary of the navy
for awhile. Bancroft afterward was one of
President Johnson's closest advisors and wrote
his messages, thus giving tho least educated of
all the presidents some of the finest state papers
the White House has ever turned out.
In Tyler's administration the president and
congress had a great quarrel and congress sought
to take the right of appointing the secretary of
the treasury out of the president's hands, and
also to limit his veto power. When Polk made
his cabinet he notified all the appointees that
if any one of them should hear the buzzing of
tho presidential bee in his bonnet, that minute
his resignation would bo welcomed by the presi
dent. When Lincoln made up his cabinet it had
seven members. Four of the positions were
filled by democrats and three by republicans..
Seward complained of this and said it would
give the democratic secretary of the'treasury an
advantage over the republican secretary of state.
Ho told Lincoln he thought that under the cir
cumstances he would withdraw. Lincoln as
much as told him to withdraw if he wanted to,
saying that when that slate broke It would break
at the top, and that at any rate he considered
himself and three cabinet members a majority.
Seward prepared a memorandum for Lincoln
in which he said he thought a premier was
needed, a cabinet official who could have super
vision over all executive matters. Lincoln re
plied that he wished and supposed that he was
entitled to tho advice of all the members of the
cabinet, and could look after the premier busi
ness himself.
When Johnson came into power his quarrel
with congress resulted in a law being passed
which took away from him tho right to choose
his own cabinet, and his impeachment was based
upon his ignoring this law in the case of Sec
retary Stanton. He claimed that the law was
unconstitutional, and that even if it were not it
did not apply to Stanton.
When Grant nominated A. T. Stewart, tho
merchant prince, for secretary of tho treasury,
tho sonato ratiftod tho nomination without dis
covering that Stewart was Inollgiblo becauso of
hla business connections with tho government.
Ho wanted to transfer his property and Grant
wanted to aniond tho law, but neither was dono
anil Stewart resigned. This caso was In ninny
rospects like the Knox case, when Knox was con
firmed as secretary of stato without tho scnato's
discovering he wos Inollgiblo because ho had
helped pass the law raising tho salary of cabinot
officers. A newspaper correspondent made tho
discovory, so Secretary Knox receives less pay
than tho other mombers of tho cnblnet. Whon
Grant sent tho nomination of Adolph 13. Boric as
Bocrotary of tho navy, only one senator had over
heard of him.
Garfield broko with Conkllng over the appoint
ment of Blaine as secretary of stato. Garfield
wanted a southern republican for tho cabinet,
but had trouble finding one. Ilo wroto to Blalno:
"The southern member still eludes mo as Cro
usa's Imago eluded Aeneas. Ono by ono tho
southorn rosos fndo. Do you know of a magnolia
blossom that will stand our northern climate?"
A DEMOCRATIC SIXTV-TIIIKI) COXGIIKSH
Tho sixty-third congress will ho democratic In
both branches: Tho Washington correspondent
for tho ABSocIatod Press nays: Control of tho
senato In tho sixty-third congress is now prac
tically assured to tho democrats. Conceding to
tho republicans tho legislatures of all states
still In tho doubtful column, tho demo
crats will have a vote of forty-eight or just ono
half of the entire membership of tho senate, with
a democratic vice president In tho chair to cast
tho deciding ballot in enso of a tio. Sovon states
are yet to bo hoard from definitely. A senator
from one of those would glvo tho democrats a
clear majority, and it Is possible that their
strength will bo even greater by winning In
several.
Kansas has been added to the democratlo
column in tho last twenty-four hours. The states
in which the complexion of tho legislatures is yet
to bo decided are: Illinois, Michigan, Now
Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee
and Wyoming.
Ordinarily Tennessee could bo rolled upon to
help tho democratic party, but tho factional fight
there may prevent in this crisis.
In Illinois there are complications growing
out of tho multiplicity of parties, rendering it
uncertain whether there will bo a senatorial
election. In that state there should bo elected
a successor to tho deposed Lorlmor, as well as
Senator Cullom, whoso torm expires on tho
fourth of next March. If there should bo no
election, tho effect would favor tho democrats by
reducing tho membership of the sonato to nlnoty
four of which number tho forty-eight already
choson democrats would bo a working majority.
In Now Hampshire, the dispatches indlcato a
possible combination of democrats and republi
cans and In that event predictions as to tho
courso of the man selected would bo mere guess
work. ' Whatever tho outcome In any of the states
mentioned, there can be no doubt as to demo
cratic control of tho senate. In addition to the
aid of the vice president, in an emergency, thoy
-will find willing co-operation among the pro
gressive senators. Threo or four of tho pro
gressives are almost as liberal in their tariff
views and on other questions as tho democrats
themselves. Senators Clapp, La Follette, Cum
mins, Gronna, Bristow and Polndexter aro all
avowed tariff reformers. They also favor ad
vanced legislation on other subjects.
Senator Works announced his Intention of vot
ing for the democratic presidential candidate
some time before the election. This determina
tion Was due, however, to a peculiar combina
tion of circumstances and the California sena
tor would not wish to have it construed as bind
ing him to a democratic legislative policy. He
is classed as a protectionist.
Of tho thirty-ono hold-over republicans eight
have been classed as progressives In tho past.
They are Senators Bristow of Kansas, Crawford
of South Dakota, Cummins of Iowa, Gronna of
North Dakota, Clapp of Minnesota, La Follette of
Wisconsin, Polndexter of Washington and Works
of California.
Mr. Norrls, probable senator-elect from Ne
braska, has been one of the leaders of the pro
gressive element in tho house and will continue
to co-operate with the element in the senate, as
it is expected Senator Kenyon of Iowa will, and
possibly Senator Borah of Idaho, in such meas
ures as may appeal to them.
Much Interest is manifested in the political
affiliation of the progressives. Heretofore they
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