34 THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



executive departments, and unlike the corresponding institu- 

 tions in the various States, is a smaller hierarchy within a 

 larger one, with the Secretary of Agriculture at its head. 

 It is true that there are a few of the subordinates of the 

 .Secretary- in whose appointment he does not share, and who 

 are therefore not subject to his power of removal. He is, 

 however, responsible to the President for the work of all of 

 his subordinates and of the department as a whole. 



All of the officials of the Department of Agriculture, 

 except the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, the Chief of 

 the Weather Bureau, and the Solicitor are in the classified 

 civil service. Perhaps no other department of the Govern- 

 ment is so nearly free from the evils of political appoint- 

 ments. The expert scientific and technical knowledge which 

 bureau chiefs and other important officials must have for 

 the proper performance of their duties, and the added value 

 which long and certain tenure of office gives to their ser\'- 

 ices, have operated to remove these positions almost entirely 

 from the domain of politics. Both Congress and the suc- 

 cessive Secretaries have very wisely allowed these men to 

 remain undisturbed irrespective of party allegiance. The 

 great majority of the appointments to office are regularly 

 made from the registers of the Civil Service Commission. 

 Even the relatively large number of technical and scientific 

 experts who, in accordance with special legislation, might 

 have been appointed outside the classified civil service, have 

 been almost invariably selected with reference to their quali- 

 fications for the work expected of them, after an examina- 

 tion prepared by representatives of the Department and 

 conducted by the Civil Service Commission. 



That the elevation of the Department to the first rank of 

 governmental establishments, and its consequently close re- 

 lationship with the presidential office and with practical 

 politics, have not resulted in a departure from non-partisan 

 and scientific ideals in its work should be encouraging to all 

 who are interested in the improvement of the civil service. 



The President's Cabinet, and the great executive depart- 



