. The Department of Agriculture was made a Cabinet position
in 1889. In 1903 the Department of Commerce and Labor was authorized by
an Act of Congress, and in 1913 the Department of Labor was created.
Members of the Cabinet receive an annual salary of $12,000.

The President and His Cabinet.--One of the first official acts of
a President is to send to the Senate, for its approval, the names of the
men whom he desires shall constitute his Cabinet. This is now a mere
formality. The President is himself the one most interested in the
success of his administration and is of right given complete freedom in
selecting his immediate advisers. While the views of the members of the
Cabinet usually have weight with the President, he is not obliged to
take their advice. Indeed, in some instances the President has carried
out a line of action which was against the wishes of the secretary of
the department affected.

THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

The Secretary of State.--The Secretary of State is commonly called
the head of the Cabinet. He is first in rank at the Cabinet table, and
occupies the seat of dignity at the right of the President. Under the
direction of the President he conducts all negotiations relating to the
foreign affairs of the nation; carries on the correspondence with our
representatives in other countries; receives the representatives of
foreign powers accredited to the United States, and presents them to the
President. Through him the President communicates with the executives of
the different States. He has charge of the treaties made with foreign
powers, and negotiates new ones. He has also in his keeping the laws of
the United States and the great seal which he affixes to all executive
proclamations, commissions, and other official papers. During the year
1909 the department was reorganized in such a manner as to create a
division of Latin-American affairs and divisions for Far Eastern, Near
Eastern, and Western European affairs.

The Diplomatic Bureau.--The United States, in common with other
nations, sends representatives to the foreign capitals. They are the
agents through whom the Secretary of State communicates and negotiates
with other powers. Such affairs are conducted through the Diplomatic
Bureau. The United States has now about thirty-five ambassadors and
ministers. Our representatives at the courts of England, France,
Germany, Russia, Italy, Austria, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and Turkey are
known as a