of
government consists of the president, the king, or the prime minister;
actually it includes an advisory council or cabinet, which is
responsible to its chief, but shares with him the task of the
management of national affairs. The executive department of the
government stands in relation to the people of the nation as the
business manager of a corporation stands in relation to the
stockholders. He must see that the will of the people, as expressed by
their representatives, is carried into effect; he must appoint the
necessary administrative officials for efficient service; he must keep
his finger upon the pulse of the nation, and use his influence to hold
the legislature to its duty; he must approve or veto laws which are
sent to him to sign; above all, he must represent his nation in all
its foreign relations, appoint the personnel of the diplomatic force,
negotiate treaties, and help to form the international law of the
world. It is the business of the executive to maintain the honor and
dignity of the nation before the world, and to carry out the law of
his own nation if it requires the whole military force available.

338. =Administrative Organization.=--The executive department includes
the advisers of the head, who constitute the cabinet. In Europe the
cabinet is responsible to the sovereign or the parliament, and the
members usually act unitedly. In the United States they are appointed
by the President, and are individually responsible to him alone. In
their capacity as a cabinet they help to formulate national policy,
and their influence in legislation and in moulding public opinion is
considerable, but their chief function is in administering the
departments of which they have charge. It is the custom for the heads
of the chief departments of government to constitute the cabinet, but
their number differs in different states, and titles vary, also. In
general, the department of state or foreign affairs ranks first in
importance, and its secretary is in charge of all correspondence with
the diplomatic representatives of the nation located in the world's
capitals; the department of the treasury or the exchequer is usually
next in importance; others are the departments of the army and navy,
of colonial possessions, of manufacturing and commerce, mining, or
agriculture, of public utilities, of education or religion, and for
judicial business. Each of these has its subordinate bureaus and an
army of civil-service