#The War Department.#—The War Department was established August 7, 1789. There is one assistant secretary. The chiefs of the bureaus into which the department is divided, are officers of the United States Army, and a part of the military establishment. Their titles and duties are as follows. The Adjutant General of the Army, who has under him a large force of clerks, has the duty of issuing orders, conducting the correspondence of the department, and keeping the record. The Inspector-General inspects and reports upon the condition of the army at all points, and the accounts of the disbursing officers. The Quartermaster-General has charge of the clothing, quarters, and supplies, except food supplies, which form the province of the Commissary-General. The Surgeon-General has charge of the medical department, of the Army Medical Museum, and a special library. The Chief of Engineers has charge of the construction of fortifications, etc. The Judge-Advocate-General reviews the proceedings of courts-martial, and advises the Secretary on points of law. There are also a Paymaster-General, a Chief of Ordnance, and a Chief Signal Officer. The Chief Signal Officer has charge of the system of communicating with distant points by means of various systems of signals, the most noteworthy of which is that of the heliograph, by which information is conveyed by the use of sun-reflecting mirrors. Communication has been established between points 125 miles distant by means of a heliograph with a reflecting surface of but twenty square inches.
The War Department answers more nearly than any other to the Department of Public Works found in other governments. All public improvements, the construction of docks, bridges, and the improvement of rivers and harbors, are under the supervision of army engineers. All arctic explorations and the explorations of our western territory, have been conducted by army officers under the direction of the Secretary of War.
The publication of war records is being made by a special board in the War Department. Thirty-five volumes have been published. It is estimated that there will be one hundred and nineteen volumes when the work is completed. The Secretary of War also has charge of the Military Academy at West Point, of certain national parks, and homes for disabled soldiers.
The army is commanded by a lieutenant-general under whom are three major-generals and six brigadier-generals. It consists of about 26,000 men distributed in the three divisions of the Missouri, the Atlantic, and the Pacific, of which the first contains four departments, the second, one, and the third, three. Congress appropriates and expends through the War Department $400,000 yearly on the National Guard for its armament and equipment. The aggregate of this reserve army regularly organized and uniformed is 106,500 men. The Secretary also details army officers to furnish military instruction at various colleges.
The principal questions to-day concerning the War Department are the advisability of strengthening our coast defences, and the lessening of the desertions in the army, which amount yearly to from ten to fifteen per cent, of the total strength of the army.
#The Navy Department.#—The Navy Department was established April 30, 1798. There is one assistant secretary. The routine work of the department is distributed among eight bureaus: (1) of Yards and Docks, (2) of Equipment and Recruiting, (3) of Navigation, (4) of Ordinance, (5) of Construction and Repair, (6) of Steam Engineering, (7) of Provisions and Clothing, (8) of Medicine and Surgery. The chiefs of the bureaus are officers of the United States Navy. There is a hydrographic office attached to the bureau of navigation, which prepares maps, charts and nautical books relating to navigation, and makes investigations concerning marine meteorology. This Department has charge of the Naval Observatory for which a new set of buildings is now being built at Washington. The Department publishes yearly, for the guidance of seamen, the nautical almanac, the preparation of which is intrusted to a separate bureau. The department also compiles and publishes naval records of the recent war, and has charge of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. The Officers of the Navy upon the active list include one admiral, one vice-admiral, six rear-admirals, and ten commodores. The naval force includes 10,000 officers and men, together with 2,000 marines. The number of vessels of the United States Navy when all the ships now authorized are completed, excluding those which by the process of decay and the operation of law will by that date have been condemned, will comprise 11 armored and 31 unarmored vessels. The five stations maintained are the Asiatic, European, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Pacific. The chief matter of present public interest concerning this department is the creation of a new navy by the construction of modern steel vessels. This new policy was begun in 1882.
#The Interior Department.#—The Interior Department was created in 1849, to take charge of various duties not properly belonging to any of the existing departments. There are two assistant secretaries. The chiefs of the bureaus into which this department is divided, and their respective duties are as follows: The Commissioner of the General Land Office has charge of all the public land of the government, its care, supervision, and sale or distribution. In another chapter we give further details concerning the operations of this important bureau.
The Commissioner of Pensions has charge of the granting of pensions to old soldiers and sailors. He has a large force at Washington. There are eighteen pension agencies in different parts of the country. In 1808 the United States assumed all the state pension obligations. The act of 1818 gave pensions to all who had served nine months in the Revolutionary War; other wars were afterwards included. The acts of the period beginning 1862 have enormously increased the amount paid. The report of the Commissioner for 1890 shows that at the close of the fiscal year of 1889 the number of pensioners was 537,944, and the annual expenditures for pensions $105,528,180.38.
The disability pension law passed June 27,1890, will greatly lengthen the pension list and increase the annual expenditures. The present Commissioner says in his last report that "it is believed that there are probably over one hundred thousand claims in this office which can be properly allowed under the provisions of these regulations. The act of June 27, 1890, is the first disability pension law in the history of the world which grants to soldiers and sailors pensions for disabilities which are not proven to have been incurred in the service and in line of duty." Speaker Reed of the House characterized it as "the most generous piece of pension legislation ever passed by any nation on earth."
The Commissioner of Patents has charge of the granting of patents. Up to 1793 the granting of letters-patent was given to a board consisting of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War and the Attorney General, the records and models being kept in the Department of State. In 1793 the granting of patents was given exclusively to the Secretary of State. In 1821 the clerk of the State Department who examined applications for patents received the title of Superintendent of the Patent Office, and on July 4, 1836, the Patent Office was created as a separate bureau and a Commissioner of Patents created.