als of the public documents, the great seal,
and the public records, is called the secretary of state. He is to the
United States somewhat as the clerk is to the district or town, or the
auditor to the county. But in addition, he is the one who has charge of
our relations with foreign countries. He is the one to whom you would
apply for a passport, if you were going to travel in foreign lands. He has
an assistant and many subordinate officers. In this department are three
bureaus, as they are called--the diplomatic, the consular, and the
domestic. (For further information, see pages 321, 349, 350.)

The officer who has general charge of the receiving and paying out of
money is called the secretary of the treasury. He has two assistants and
thousands of subordinates, some in Washington and others throughout the
country. Under his direction money is coined, "greenbacks" and other
tokens of indebtedness are issued and redeemed. He also has general charge
of all government provisions for making navigation safe along the coast,
such as lighthouses, etc.

All that pertains to executive control of the army is in charge of the
secretary of war. The chiefs of bureaus in this department are army
officers. The secretary may or may not be. The military academy at West
Point is also, as we might expect, in charge of this department. (See p.
311.)

The control of the navy is exercised by the secretary of the navy. The
chiefs of bureaus here are navy officers. The secretary may or may not be.
This department has charge of the construction of war ships and the
equipment of them; and, as we would expect it has charge of the naval
academy at Annapolis (p. 311).

The department which has the greatest diversity of duties is that of the
interior. This department has charge of patents and trade-marks, of
pensions, of United States lands, of the Indians, of the census, and of
education. Its chief officer is called the secretary of the interior. The
chiefs of bureaus in this department, except that of the census, are
called commissioners.

The chief officer of the postoffice department is called the postmaster
general. Here there are five bureaus, in charge respectively of
appointments, contracts, finances, money orders, and foreign mail.

The officer who has charge of prosecution or defense of suits for or
against the United States is called the attorney general. He is to the
United States what the county attorney is to the county. He h