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 institutions 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 classes 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 Canal.