1. if the executive department that has charge of the public moneys is not highest in nominal rank, it certainly does not hold a less important and interesting place in the estimation of the country and of the world than the department of state. every part of the government is dependent on this for its efficiency. it is the heart of the country. the in-and-out-flowing of the tide of money from the central point marks the pulses of the nation’s prosperity. especially has this been the case since the civil war, and the immense developments and changes that followed it. the banking system, making the treasury responsible for the issue of all the hundreds of millions of bank notes used in the business of the country, adds immensely to the importance of the united states treasury.
2. the management of this department is committed to[261] the secretary of the treasury. he is selected for that office by the president, and when his nomination is approved by the senate his appointment takes place. he holds office during a presidential term, unless sooner removed. he is a member of the cabinet and one of the president’s advisers.
3. the financial policy adopted by the country depends very much on his views on that difficult question, and the interests and wealth of millions on the ability and integrity he possesses. he is therefore chosen on account of his real or supposed qualifications on questions of finance.
he is aided in his duties by an assistant secretary, a comptroller and second comptroller, five auditors, a treasurer and his assistant, a register and his assistant, a commissioner of customs, a comptroller of the currency and his deputy, and a solicitor of the treasury. all these have their offices in connection with the treasury department at washington. in several of the large cities are sub-treasuries, each presided over by an assistant treasurer, where public funds are received and disbursed. the treasurers of the mints are also, many of them, assistant treasurers of this department. all these are appointed by the president and senate in the same manner as the chief secretary.
4. the sums of money actually handled, and the accounts of all moneys received and disbursed without passing into the vaults of the treasury, amount to many hundreds of millions annually, and require the constant service of some hundreds of clerks. these all need to have clean hands and pure hearts, which is, unfortunately, more rare among men of all classes than could be wished. yet the whole is reduced to so accurate a system that a loss at any point immediately produces a disturbance in the whole machinery, and a short examination suffices to reveal the point of difficulty and the person responsible for it. accordingly, losses and defalcations are seldom experienced in or near the central point of the department. if they occur, which is sometimes the case, it is usually some officer at a distance who is found to be at fault, whose sphere[262] of operations lies far from the centre and only occasionally passes under scrutiny. each has his separate sphere of duties which no one else interferes with, and assumes his own responsibility; and probably no other institution in the world loses less in proportion to the amount of money involved and the number of persons handling it.
5. every account must be carefully examined and approved by the proper officer before it can be presented for settlement and the money paid out, and whatever moneys may flow in, none can flow out but according to some law of congress definitely appropriating it.
all officers having the handling of public funds are required to give security for the faithful discharge of their duties. this must, by the requirement of the law, be done before they can enter their respective places.
secretaries of the treasury.
alexander hamilton, n. y., sept. 12, 1789.
oliver wolcott, ct., feb. 4, 1795.
samuel dexter, mass., dec. 31, 1800.
albert gallatin, pa., may 14, 1801.
george w. campbell, tenn., feb. 9, 1814.
alexander j. dallas, pa., oct. 6, 1814.
william h. crawford, ga., oct. 22, 1816.
richard rush, pa., mar. 7, 1825.
samuel d. ingham, pa., mar. 6, 1829.
louis mclane, del., aug. 8, 1831.
william j. duane, pa., may 29, 1833.
roger b. taney, md., sept. 23, 1833.
levi woodbury, n.h., june 27, 1834.
thomas ewing, o., mar. 5, 1841.
walter forward, pa., sept. 13, 1841.
john c. spencer, n.y., mar. 3, 1843.
george m. bibb, ky., june 15, 1844.
robert j. walker, miss., mar. 5, 1845.
[263]w. m. meredith, pa., mar. 7, 1849.
thomas corwin, o., june 20, 1850.
james guthrie, ky., mar. 5, 1853.
howell cobb, ga., mar. 6, 1857.
philip f. thomas, md., dec. 10, 1860.
john a. dix, n.y., 1861.
salmon p. chase, o., mar. 5, 1861.
william p. fessenden, me., july, 1864.
hugh mcculloch, ind., 1864.
george s. boutwell, march 11, 1869.
w. a. richardson, march 17, 1873.
b. h. bristow, ky., june 3, 1874.
