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THE 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 
 
 ITS HISTORY AND FUNCTIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES S. EASBY-SMITH 
 
 W. H. LOWDERMILK & COMPANY, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 1904. 
 
Copyrighted^ 1904, iy 
 James 8. Easby- Smith. 
 
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE; ITS HISTORY AND 
 
 FUNCTIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S OFFICE. 
 
 The Department of Justice was not created and organized 
 until 1870, but the office of Attorney-General was one of the 
 four cabinet offices, so-called, which were created in 1789, 
 and around this office grew up a legal department which was 
 known until 1870 as the Attorney-General's Office. 
 
 The First Congress of the United States met at New York 
 on March 4, 1789, and its first session was devoted entirely 
 to the enactment of laws to provide the machinery for the 
 permanent federal government contemplated by the Con- 
 stitution; the most important of which were a revenue law, 
 a law for registering and clearing vessels and for regulating the 
 coasting trade ; the laws establishing the army and the execu- 
 tive departments ; and the famous Judiciary Act. The Depart- 
 ment of Foreign Affairs, with a Secretary of Foreign Affairs 
 (whichdesignations were, bythe act of September isth of the 
 same year, changed to Department of State and Secretary of 
 State) was created by the act of July 27, 1789; the War 
 Department, with a Secretary,- by the act of August 7th; 
 and the Treasury Department, with a Secretary,, by the act 
 of September 2d of the same year. 
 
 The Third Article of the Constitution provided that: "The 
 judicial power of. the United States shall be vested in one 
 Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress 
 may, from time to time, ordain and establish" — etc. A bill 
 
4 The Department of Justice. 
 
 to carry into effect these constitutional provisions by estab- 
 lishing the judicial courts of the United States was passed by 
 Congress and received the President's approval on September 
 24, 1789. This law, known as the Judiciary Act, provided 
 for a Supreme Court to consist of a Chief Justice and five 
 Associate Justices; divided the United States into thirteen 
 districts and three circuits; created the circuit and district 
 courts and defined and prescribed their jurisdiction and pro- 
 cedure ; provided for the appointment of United States dis- 
 trict attorneys and marshals; and finally created the office 
 of Attorney-General and prescribed his duties in the follow- 
 ing concluding paragraph : 
 
 "And there shall also be appointed a meet person, learned 
 in the law, to act as attorney-general for the United States, 
 who shall be sworn or affirmed to a faithful execution of his 
 office; whose duty it shall be to prosecute and conduct all 
 suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall 
 be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon ques- 
 tions of law when required by the President of the United 
 States, or when requested by the heads of any of the depart- 
 ments, touching any matters that may concern their depart- 
 ments, and shall receive such compensation for his services 
 as shall by law be provided. " 
 
 Thus was the office of Attorney-General created, and thus 
 the duties of the office defined. Among the many defects 
 of the law, which soon became apparent but were not remedied 
 for many years, was the failure to give the Attorney-General 
 any control or supervision of the district attorneys or of suits 
 affecting the United States in the inferior courts. Nor was 
 any sort of an establishment provided for the transaction of 
 his business, either in the way of quarters or clerical assistance. 
 The office was the fourth cabinet office in the order of 
 creation, the offices of Postmaster-General, Secretary of the 
 Navy, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture and 
 Secretary of Commerce and Labor being subsequently created 
 in the order named. But not being at the head of a depart- 
 
Its History and Functions. 5 
 
 ment until the creation of the Department of Justice in 1870 
 the Attorney-General was ranked below all the other cabinet 
 officers until his proper rank as fourth in the Cabinet was 
 restored by the act of January 19, 1886, which provides, in 
 case of the removal, death, resignation or inability both of 
 the President and Vice-President, that the duties of the office 
 of President shall be performed by one or the other of the 
 cabinet officers in the order named in the act. 
 
 Congress had fixed the annual salaries of the heads of the 
 departments as follows: for the Secretaries of State and the 
 Treasury $3,500 each, for the Secretary of War $3,000; but 
 by the act of September 23, 1789, the salary of the Attorney- 
 General was fixed at $1,500. The Senate had provided $2,000, 
 but this was reduced by the House of Representatives. 
 The action of Congress in providing this very small salary 
 was due to the arguments that the duties of the Attorney- 
 General would be very light, that he could and would engage 
 in private practice, and that the prestige of the office would 
 be so great that it would be well worth the while of any law- 
 yer to accept the office with only a nominal compensation. 
 
 On September 26, 1789, the President appointed Edmund 
 Randolph of Virginia Attorney-General. Washington had de- 
 clared that he preferred Randolph as Attorney-General to 
 any person with whom he was acquainted, and it is probable 
 that he was better fitted than any of his contemporaries for 
 the task of organizing the legal department of the new gov- 
 ernment. He had been Attorney-General of Virginia and 
 a member of the Constitutional Convention, and had taken 
 a leading part in that body in the discussions concerning 
 the judiciary provisions of the Constitution. 
 
 Randolph arrived in New York, then the seat of govern- 
 ment, in February, 1790. At its first two sessions there was 
 no business before the Supreme Court, but there was an 
 abundance for the Attorney-General, and from the very be- 
 ginning his duties were arduous and physically laborious. 
 As the first Attorney-General he had to shape his own office. 
 
6 Tlie Department of Justice; 
 
 adapt the constitutional provisions and the Judiciary Act 
 to their work, study out and decide the vexatious questions 
 relating to the line of demarkation between the jurisdiction 
 of the federal and state governments and their respective 
 courts, and constantly give opinions and advice both written 
 and oral to the President and to the heads of the departments, 
 concerning internal affairs ; and to the Secretary of State upon 
 questions of international law- arising out of the unsettled 
 relations with foreign governments following the War of the 
 Revolution. 
 
 In addition to this he was obliged to perform all the physi- 
 cal labor of the office, for Congress had failed to provide for 
 him clerical assistance, and he had not even a single clerk. 
 
 The President formed of the heads of the three departments 
 and the Attorney-General an advisory council, subsequently 
 known as the Cabinet; and during both his administrations 
 sought to divide the cabinet officers equally between the two 
 opposing political parties. 
 
 In December, 1790, the seat of government was removed 
 from New York to Philadelphia where it remained until 1800. 
 The Supreme Court met for the February term 1791 in Phila- 
 delphia, and for ten years held its sessions in the South Cham- 
 ber, upstairs, of the old City Hall; but no office was provided 
 for the Attorney-General. 
 
 In March, 1791, Congress increased the salary of the Attor- 
 ney-General to $1,900 which was maintained until 1797, when 
 it was increased to $2,000. In December of the same year 
 Randolph wrote a long letter addressed to the President, con- 
 taining important recommendations concerning the office of 
 Attorney-General. He advised that the Attorney-General 
 be authorized to represent the Government in the inferior 
 courts as well as in the Supreme Court ; that he be given con- 
 trol and supervision of the district attorneys ; and he pointed 
 out the urgent necessity for a clerk. Washington transmitted 
 this letter to Congress in a special message, and the committee 
 to whom it was referred investigated the questions and re- 
 
Its History and Functions. 7 
 
 ported favorably upon all the recommendations of the At- 
 torney-General. Despite the letter of Randolph, the message 
 of Washington and the favorable report of the committee, 
 Congress took no action. Twenty-seven years elapsed before 
 any allowance was made for clerk hire, and seventy before 
 the Attorney-General was given supervision and control of 
 district attorneys. 
 
 From this time the work of the Supreme Court increased, 
 and the amount of work performed by Randolph was pro- 
 digious, and indeed almost incredible. 
 
 In December, 1793, Jefferson retired as Secretary of State, 
 and Randolph was appointed in his place, assuming the duties 
 of the office on January 2, 1794. 
 
 William Bradford of Pennsylvania was selected by Wash- 
 ington to succeed Randolph, and was commissioned on Jan- 
 uary 27, 1794. Nothing of importance occurred during his 
 administration of the office except the "Whiskey Insurrec- 
 tion" in western Pennsylvania. Bradford was sent by 
 Washington as one of the commissioners to investigate the 
 insurrection. He- reported that the laws could not be en- 
 forced by the civil authorities, and advised that military force 
 be used. His advice was followed and the insurrection was 
 quickly stamped out. 
 
 Bradford died after a very brief illness in August, 1795; 
 and Washington tendered the office to John Marshall, but 
 he declined it because he could not afford to abandon his 
 private law practice. Washington then, on December 10, 
 1795, appointed Charles Lee of Virginia. Lee served to the 
 end of Washington's second administration, and was re- 
 tained by John Adams, serving almost to the end of the latter's 
 administration. During Lee's occupancy of the office the 
 salary was twice increased, to $2,600 in 1797 and to $3,000 in 
 1799. In December, 1800, the seat of government was re- 
 moved from Philadelphia to Washington, but Lee served only 
 a short time after this, retiring to become one of the circuit 
 judges in February, 1801. 
 
8 l^he Department of Justice; 
 
 Theophilus Parsons of Massachusetts was nominated on 
 February 1^, 1801, as Attorney-General in place of Lee, and 
 the nomination was confirmed by the Senate; but no com^ 
 mission was issued, as he declined to accept the office. His 
 name is sometimes erroneously included in the list of the 
 Attorneys-General. 
 
 In Washington the departments were housed in brick and 
 wooden buildings grouped about the President's house on the 
 sites now occupied by the Treasury, State, War and Navy 
 buildings. No quarters were provided for the Attorney- 
 General, and he was expected to furnish his own quarters, 
 fuel, stationery and clerk. For this reason the Attorneys- 
 General after Lee and until 18 14 did not reside permanently 
 in Washington, but remained at their homes and transmitted 
 their advice and opinions by mail, going to Washington only 
 when it became necessary to appear before the Supreme Court. 
 
 When Jefferson became President on March 4, 1801, he 
 appointed Levi Lincoln of Massachusetts Attorney-General, 
 and he served until the end of Jefferson's first administration, 
 when he resigned. 
 
 On March 2, 1805, Jefferson nominated Robert Smith, then 
 Secretary of the Navy, as Attorney-General, and Jacob 
 Crowninshield as Secretary of the Navy. Both nominations 
 were confirmed and commissions were issued, but Crownin- 
 shield refused to accept the office of Secretary of the Navy 
 and Smith continued to occupy that office, never qualifying 
 as Attorney-General nor performing any of the duties of the 
 office. His name is frequently erroneously included in the 
 list of the Attorneys-General. The office remained vacant 
 until August, 1805, when Jefferson appointed John Breckin- 
 ridge of Kentucky, who served until his death in December, 
 
 1806. Cffisar Rodney of Delaware was selected by Jefferson 
 to succeed Breckinridge. He was appointed on January 7, 
 
 1807, and was retained by Madison, serving until December, 
 181 1 . It was during Rodney's term of office that Aaron Burr 
 was prosecuted for treason. Rodney directed all the pre- 
 
Its History and Functions. 9 
 
 liminaries of the prosecution, and appeared in the circuit 
 court at Richmond and personally conducted and argued the 
 cases, being assisted by George Hay, district attorney for 
 Virginia, William Wirt, afterwards Attorney-General, and 
 other counsel. 
 
 Madison selected as Rodney's successor William Pinkney 
 of Maryland, and he was commissioned on December ii, 1811. 
 Pinkney lived in Baltimore, and like his predecessors after 
 Lee declined, in spite of the President's request, to reside 
 permanently in Washington. Finally Madison insisted that 
 he should do so, and Pinkney thereupon resigned in 1814. 
 
 On February 10, 1814, Madison appointed as Pinkney's 
 successor Richard Rush of Pennsylvania, one of the conditions 
 of the appointment being that Rush reside in Washington. 
 President Madison, in his eighth annual message, called the 
 attention of Congress to the condition-of the office of Attorney- 
 General. He related at great length the hardships which re- 
 sulted from-the failure of Congress to provide a suitable salary, 
 office quarters, clerical assistance, and so forth; and called 
 attention to the necessity for a reorganization of the office 
 and the extension of its powers and duties. He earnestly 
 recommended the establishment of a new department, the 
 increase of the Attorney-General's salary, a provision for 
 offices, clerical assistance, and other necessities. But the 
 appeal fell on deaf ears. Congress did nothing. Rush was 
 retained by Monroe until September, 1817, when he made him 
 Minister to England. 
 
 William Wirt of Virginia was appointed Attorney-General 
 by President Monroe on Novem.ber 13, 181 7, and served 
 throughout the administrations of Monroe and John Quincy 
 Adams, retiring on March 3, 1829, after serving more than 
 eleven years, much longer than any Attorney-General before 
 or since. 
 
 Upon the fly-leaf of the earliest record book of the Depart- 
 ment of Justice appears the following interesting entry in 
 Wirt's own handwriting — as clear today as when it was 
 written : 
 
lo The Department of Justice; 
 
 "Attorney-General's Office, 
 
 " 13 Novr. 1817. 
 
 "Finding on my appointment, this day, no book, docu- 
 ments, or papers of any kind to inform me of what has been 
 done by any one of my predecessors, since the establishment 
 of the Federal Government, and feeling very strongly the 
 inconvenience, both to the nation and myself, from this omis- 
 sion, I have determined to remedy it, so far as depends on 
 myself, and to keep a regular record of every official opinion 
 which I 'shall give while I hold this office, for the use of my 
 successor. 
 
 "To make the arrangement as perfect as I can I have pre- 
 vailed on the heads of Departments to furnish me witTa copies 
 of all the documents on which I shall be consulted and which 
 will be found filed and numbered, to correspond with the 
 numbers in the margin prefixed to each opinion. A copious 
 index to this book is also given, with reference, under various 
 heads, to each case, for the greater facility of using the book.. 
 
 "Wm. Wirt." 
 
 This book was faithfully kept by Mr. Wirt in accordance' 
 with his plan, the earlier entries all being in his own hand- 
 writing. 
 
 President Monroe and Mr. Wirt continued to urge upon 
 Congress the necessity for a clerk, and Congress at last, in. 
 1818, provided $1,000 for the employment of one clerk and 
 $500 for office rooms, stationery and other incidental ex- 
 penses. In 1819 the salary of the Attorney-General was 
 raised to $3,500 and at the same time the salaries of the Sec- 
 retaries of State, Treasury, War and Navy were fixed at 
 $6,000 and that of the Postmaster-General at $4,000. 
 
 In 1822 the Attorney-General was furnished with his first 
 official quarters, a room on the second floor of the old War 
 Department building, west of the President's house, which 
 was retained until 1839 when better quarters were provided 
 in the central portion of the Treasury building. Mr. Wirt's 
 
Its History and Functions. ii 
 
 administration covered the so-called era of good feeling, and 
 there was little out of the ordinary that occurred during this 
 time. But he did more to put the office of Atttomey-Gen- 
 eral on a firm business basis than any other of its occupants. 
 
 On March 9, 1829, President Jackson appointed as Wirt's 
 successor John McPherson Berrien of Georgia. In his annual 
 messages to Congress President Jackson repeated the recom- 
 mendations of many of his predecessors concerning the office 
 of Attorney-General. But Congress instead of carrying out 
 the Preside,nt's recommendations and increasing the powers 
 and duties of the Attorney-General, created, in 1830, the 
 office of Solicitor of the Treasury, giving to that officer con- 
 trol of civil suits in which the Government was interested. 
 The law was of advantage to the Attorney-General in one 
 way, for it made him the legal adviser of the Solicitor and 
 gave him for this duty $500 a year, thus increasing his salary 
 to $4,000. 
 
 Berrien resigned July 20, 183 1, and on the same day Jackson 
 appointed as his successor Roger Brooke Taney, at that time 
 Attorney-General of Maryland and afterwards Chief Justice 
 of the United States. Taney was one of Jackson's closest 
 advisers, and took a prominent part in the nullification con- 
 troversy and in the questions concerning the United States 
 Bank. When Jackson removed Secretary Duane of the 
 Treasury for refusing to obey his instructions' in the bank 
 matter Taney very reluctantly retired from the office of At- 
 torney-General and became Secretary of the Treasury in 
 September, 1833. The duties of this office were distasteful 
 to Taney and he soon retired to private practice in Baltimore. 
 
 The office of Attorney-General remained vacant until 
 November 15, 1833, when President Jackson appointed Ben- 
 jamin Franklin Butler of New York. He was retained by 
 President Van Buren and served until September i, 1838, 
 when he resigned and Felix Grundy of Tennessee was appoint- 
 ed. He served until December i, 1839, when he resigned. 
 It was during his term that the office was removed to its 
 
1 2 The Department of Justice; 
 
 second home, in the Treasury building. In August, 1839, 
 the Attorney-General with his clerk, messenger and library, 
 moved into rooms on the second floor of the Fifteenth street 
 front of this building, and remained there for about sixteen 
 years. 
 
 On January 11, 1840, Henry Dilworth Gilpin of Pennsyl- 
 vania was appointed Attorney-General, and served until the 
 end of President Van Buren's administration in 1841. Dur- 
 ing this year he prepared "The Opinions of the Attorneys- 
 General of the United States from the Beginning of the Gov- 
 ernment to 1841," which was transmitted by the President 
 to Congress and printed as a House Document. 
 
 In 1S40 Congress appropriated $1,000 for books for the 
 Attorney-General. The books purchased by Attorney-Gen- 
 eral Gilpin, together with those which had been purchased 
 with $500 appropriated in 1831, formed the nucleus of the 
 present library of the Department of Justice. 
 
 On March 5, 1841, President William Henry Harrison ap- 
 pointed John Jordan Crittenden of Kentucky Attorney-Gen- 
 eral, but he served only a few months, retiring soon after 
 President Harrison's death; and on September 13, 1841, 
 President Tyler appointed Hugh Swinton Legar^ of South 
 Carolina. 
 
 On September 11, 1841, Congress, by a joint resolution, 
 made it the duty of the Attorney-General to examine into 
 the titles of the lands or sites which had been purchased or 
 should thereafter be purchased by the United States for 
 governmental purposes. 
 
 On June 20, 1843, Attorney-General Legare died suddenly, 
 and on July ist following the President appointed John Nel- 
 son of Maryland Attorney-General. He served until the end 
 of Tyler's administration. On March 6, 1845, President Polk 
 appointed John Young Mason of Virginia Attorney-General. 
 
 In his first annual message President Polk strongly urged 
 upon Congress the necessity of creating a legal department 
 with the Attorney-General at its head, and of placing him on 
 
lis History and Functions, 13 
 
 the same footing with the heads of the other executive de- 
 partments. But his recommendations met the fate of the 
 many that had gone before. Congress read them and did 
 nothing. 
 
 On September 9, 1846, Mr. Mason retired from the office of 
 Attorney-General to become Secretary of the Navy, and in 
 his place Nathan Clifford of Maine was appointed on October 
 17, 1846. He served less than eighteen months and was 
 succeeded on June 20, 1848, by Isaac Toucey of Connecticut 
 who served less than nine months, until the close of Presi- 
 dent's Polk administration. On March 8, 1849, President 
 Taylor appointed Reverdy Johnson of Maryland Attorney- 
 General. He resigned on July 20, 1850, shortly after Presi- 
 dent Taylor's death. 
 
 The Act of Congress of February 22, 1849, provided that 
 the Attorney-General should cause to be made and provided 
 for his office a seal "with such device as the President of the 
 United States shall approve." The exact time of the ap- 
 proval by the President and adoption by the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral of a seal is in doubt. For many years a tradition has 
 prevailed in the Department that the seal was devised and the 
 motto chosen by Attorney-General Black, but this is clearly 
 erroneous, for Mr. Black did not become Attorney-General 
 until March 6, 1857, and Attorney-General Cushing in a re- 
 port to the President dated March 8, 1854, said that the At- 
 torney-General's office "has an official seal, and all copies of 
 records authenticated by certificate under this are declared 
 to be evidence equally with the original record or paper. ' 
 It is possible that the tradition is correct to the extent that 
 Mr. Black added the motto to the seal which had been adopted 
 by one of his predecessors. Unfortunately there is no cor- 
 respondence nor other record in the Department files, or else- 
 where so far as has been discovered, showing even the ap- 
 proximate date of the approval by the President and adop- 
 tion by the Attorney-General, of the seal. It is probable that 
 very soon after the passage of the law Attorney-General 
 
14 The Department cf Justice; 
 
 Johnson devised the seal and President Taylor approved it. 
 The seal as adopted and used by the Attorney-General con- 
 sisted of the United States shield, with stars (improperly) 
 on the chief, from it an eagle rising, with outstretched wings, 
 bearing in the right talon an olive branch, in the left arrows, 
 beneath which, in a semi-circle was the motto: Qui Pro Dom- 
 ino Justitia Sequitur, and in an outer circle: Attorney-Gen- 
 eral's Office; being, in fact, identical with the present seal 
 of the Department (adopted in 1872) except that in the latter 
 the words: Department of Justice appear in the outer circle 
 in place of Attorney-General' s Office. It is stated that the 
 motto was suggested to the deviser of the seal by- the follow- 
 ing passage in Coke's Institute, Part 3, folio 79: "And I well 
 remember when the Lord Treasurer Burleigh told Queen 
 Elizabeth, Madam, here is your Attorney-General (I being 
 sent for) qui pro domina regina sequitur, she said she wovild 
 have the records altered; for it should be attornatus generalis 
 qui pro domina veritate sequittt-r. " 
 
 It is supposed that Lord Burleigh quoted the phrase from 
 a Latin legal form then used in making up pleadings in cases 
 conducted by the Attorney-General for the Crown. The 
 deviser of the seal substituted justitia for regina or veritate. 
 Its construction is hopeless: its translation has baffled more 
 tlian one good Latin scholar. In view of its origin it may 
 be rendered, (referring to the Attorney-General): "Who 
 siies for the Lady Justice." Another translation, equally 
 <;orrect, is: "Who follows Justice for mistress. " 
 
Its History and F-iincions. 15 
 
 About 1850 the preliminary and advisory work upon ap- 
 plications for executive clemency, which up to that time had 
 been transacted by the Secretary of State and the Attorney- 
 General jointly (all the papers and records being kept in the 
 Department of State) was transferred by the President's 
 order to the Attorney-General, and since that time this work 
 has been transacted through the Attorney-General's ofhce. 
 
 On July 20, 1850, President Fillmore appointed as Attor- 
 ney-General John Jordan Crittenden of Kentucky, who had 
 held the office under President William Henry Harrison. 
 In 18 5 1 the Attorney-General's salary was increased to $6,000 
 and during the same year was begun the official publication 
 of the opinions of the Attorneys-General. At this time two 
 clerks and one messenger were employed in the Attorney- 
 General's office. In 1853 Congress at last complied with the 
 requests of the several Presidents who had recommended 
 that the Attorney-General be placed on an equal footing with 
 the other cabinet officers, and fixed the compensation of the 
 Attorney-General and the other cabinet officers at $8,000, 
 at which figure it has remained to the present time. 
 
 On March 7, 1853, President Pierce appointed Caleb Cush- 
 ing of Massachusetts Attorney-General. He was the first 
 Attorney-General since Wirt to serve through an entire ad- 
 ministration of four years. The most noteworthy event of 
 his administration affecting the office of Attorney-General 
 and the judiciary was the rendering by him of two important 
 reports — one upon the judiciary and one upon the legal de- 
 partment of the Government. These reports are monumen- 
 tal as historical documents. They were written in 1853 and 
 '54, and transmitted by the President to Congress. The 
 report upon the judiciary consists of a complete history of 
 the judiciary from the adoption of the Constitution, and 
 contains recommendations for the modification and enlarge- 
 ment of the. entire judicial system. It paved the way to the 
 subsequent readjustment of the circuit court, and cont9,itied 
 the first suggestion of the establishment of an interm(94iate 
 
1 6 The Department of Justice; 
 
 appellate court which was carried into effect in 1891 by the 
 creation of the circuit courts of appeals. 
 
 His report on the legal department of the Government was 
 no less important. He reviewed the history of the office of 
 Attorney-General from the beginning, and made recommen- 
 dations, all of which finally — though many not for a long 
 time — were carried into effect. The report was in many 
 respects a repetition of the recommendations of his prede- 
 cessors — from Randolph down — but many of the suggestions 
 were original with Gushing. 
 
 About this time the Treasury building became overcrowded 
 and the office of the Attorney-General was removed to its 
 third home, in the old yellow brick building on the southeast 
 corner of Fifteenth and F streets — the site now occupied by 
 the Corcoran building — and remained there until 1861, when 
 upon the completion of the south wing of the Treasury the 
 Attorney-General was given a suite of rooms on the first floor 
 there. 
 
 In the appropriation act of March 3, 1855, the allowance 
 for the Attorney-General's office was materially increased 
 and the office force was also increased to seven clerks, a mes- 
 senger, and a general superintendent. 
 
 When Buchanan became President he appointed Jeremiah 
 Sullivan Black of Pennsylvania Attorney-General, and he 
 served until December, i860, when he became Secretary of 
 State, and Edwin McMasters Stanton of Ohio was made Attor- 
 ney-General. On March 5, 1861 , Edward Bates of Missouri suc- 
 ceeded Stanton as Attorney-General. In 1859 the office of 
 Assistant Attorney-General was created with a salary of 
 $3,000, and in 1861 Congress finally carried out the recom- 
 mendation which had been made by Randolph seventy years 
 before, and repeated by many of his successors, and gave the 
 Attorney-General control of the district attorneys. During 
 the war there was little legislation affecting the office of At- 
 torney-General, but during the latter sixties the duties and 
 powers of the office were largely increased. 
 
Its History and Functions. 17 
 
 Attorney-General Bates resigned in September, 1864, and 
 for several months Titian J. Coffey, Assistant Attorney-Gen- 
 eral, was acting Attorney-General by special direction of the 
 President. On December i, 1864, the President appointed 
 Joseph Holt of Kentucky Attorney-General, but he declined 
 to accept the office. His name is sometimes erroneously 
 included in the list of the Attorneys-General. 
 
 On December 2, 1864, James Speed of Kentucky was ap- 
 pointed Attorney-General. In 1865 the salary of the Assist- 
 ant Attorney-General was increased to $3,500, and the offices 
 of chief clerk, pardon clerk and opinion clerk were created. 
 Mr. Speed was retained by President Johnson but resigned 
 on July 17, 1866, and was succeeded by Henry Stanbery of 
 Ohio. Mr. Stanbery resigned in March, 1868, in orderto serve 
 as one of President Johnson's counsel in the impeachment 
 proceedings. The President held the office open for Mr. 
 Stanbery, (directing Orville H. Browning, Secretary of the 
 Interior, to act as Attorney-General ad interim), and after 
 his acquittal renominated Stanbery. But the Senate re- 
 jected the nomination and the President then appointed 
 William Maxwell Evarts of New York, who also had been one 
 of his counsel in the impeachment proceedings. 
 
 The act of March 2, 1867, provided that the Attorney- 
 General and the other cabinet officers should hold their re- 
 spective offices for and during the term of the President by 
 whom they were appointed, and for one month thereafter. 
 Until the passage of this law there had been no fixed tenure of 
 office for a cabinet officer. 
 
 In December, 1867, Attorney-General Stanbery made im- 
 portant recommendations concerning the reorganization of 
 his office, some of which were carried into effect almost im- 
 mediately, and others in 1870 when the Department of Justice 
 was established. By the act of June 25, 1868, it was made 
 the duty of the Attorney-General and his assistants to take 
 charge for the United States of cases in the Court of Claims, 
 and two assistants were provided with salaries of $4,000 each. 
 
1 8 The Department of Justice; 
 
 President Grant in March, 1869, appointed Ebenezer Rock- 
 wood Hoar Attorney-General. The plan for the modification 
 of the judiciary suggested by Gushing in 1854 was partially 
 adopted in 1869 when Congress provided for the appointment 
 of a circuit judge in each of the nine circuits. On June 23, 
 1870, Attorney-General Hoar resigned because of his disap- 
 proval of President Grant's policy in regard to the San Do- 
 mingo treaty. He was the last Attorney-General of the old 
 regime, and went out with the old order of things; for the 
 day before his resignation took effect the President approved 
 the act whereby the Attorney-General's office as an execu- 
 tive department ceased to exist and the Department of Justice 
 was established in its place. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. 
 
 The growth of the Office of Attorney-General, both in its 
 functions and in its personnel, had been so great during the 
 first eighty years of the existence of the federal government 
 that at the end of that period it was in reality what it haid 
 always been in theory, one of the executive departments of 
 the Government. There was needed a law to give it organi- 
 zation, a name and a home. The Forty-first Congress, heed- 
 ing in part the recommendations of the many Attofiieys- 
 General and Presidents, gave it organization and a name, but 
 failed to provide a home ; and enacted the law of June 22, 1870, 
 entitled "An Act to Establish the Department of Justice. " 
 
 This law provided that the Attorney-General should be the 
 head of the Department, with duties, salary and tenure of 
 office as already fixed by law. It created the office of So- 
 licitor-General, with salary of $7,500, and provided that he 
 should exercise all the powers of Attorney-General in case of 
 a vacancy in that office, or during the absence or disability 
 of the Attorney-General. It provided for two Assistant 
 Attorneys-General with salaries at the rate of $5,000 per 
 annum. It placed under the supervision of the Attorney- 
 General the law officers of the other departments, such as the 
 Solicitor of the Treasury and the Solicitor of Internal Rev- 
 enue; provided that any questions except those involving 
 construction of the Constitution might be referred by the 
 Attorney-General to his assistants or subordinates, and that 
 their opinions, approved by him, should have the same force 
 and effect as his own ; that the Attorney-General and ' his 
 Department should have control of all criminal prosecutions 
 and civil suits in which the United States are interested ; that 
 the Attorney-General might require the Solicitor-General 
 or any other officer of the Department to conduct and' argue 
 
20 The Department of Justice; 
 
 any case in which the United States might be interested, in 
 the Supreme Court, the Court of Claims, or in any federal or 
 state court. The Attorney-General was given supervision 
 and control of district attorneys and all other counsel em- 
 ployed on behalf of the United States, and of the accounts of 
 district attorneys, marshals, clerks, and other officers of the 
 federal courts. There were many minor provisions concern- 
 ing the organization of the Department. The act was mainly 
 a re-enactment of the various laws already in effect, although 
 some laws were repealed, and some powers which had been 
 lodged in other departments were transferred to the new 
 department. The only office of importance created was that 
 of Solicitor-General. 
 
 Attorney-General Hoar retired on the day this law took 
 effect, and was succeeded by Amos Tappan Akerman of 
 Georgia, who immediately took steps towards organizing the 
 new department. 
 
 At this time the Attorney-General and his immediate staff 
 had quarters in the south wing of the Treasury building, the 
 Solicitor-General and one of the Assistant Attorneys-General 
 with their clerical forces were quartered in the Hooe building 
 on F street near Fourteenth, one Assistant Attorney-General 
 and the Court of Claims occupied rooms in the basement of 
 the Capitol, and the other officers were scattered among the 
 various departments to which they were regularly attached. 
 In the. matter of being housed the Department was in about 
 the same condition it is today. In 187 1 the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral leased for ten years the second, third and fourth floors 
 of the Freedmen's Bank building, on Pennsylvania Avenue 
 opposite the Treasury, and all the Department force was 
 removed to this building except the Assistant Attorney- 
 General in charge of cases before the Court of Claims. He 
 with his office force remained at the Capitol. In 1872 the 
 fifth floor of the bank building was secured; and in 1882, 
 after the ten year lease had expired, Congress passed a law 
 providing for the purchase of the building for the Department 
 of Justice. The building was purchased for $250,000 on 
 
Its History and Functions. 21 
 
 June I, 1882, and the Court of Claims and the Assistant At- 
 torney-General who had been at the Capitol were removed to 
 the Department building. For the first time since the crea- 
 tion of the office of Attorney-General the legal department 
 of the Government had a home of its own. The Department 
 remained in this building until 1899, when Congress passed 
 an act, reciting that "the building now occupied by the De- 
 partment of Justice is too small for its purpose, is unsafe, 
 over-crowded, and dangerously over-loaded, and has been 
 pronounced unsafe after examination by the proper officials 
 of the Treasury Department." One million dollars was 
 appropriated for the erection of a new building. As soon 
 after the approval of this act as quarters could be secured 
 the old building was abandoned and demolished. It was im- 
 possible to secure any one building to accommodate all the 
 officers of the Department. The Attorney-General and his 
 personal staff are in the building on K street between Vermont 
 Avenue and Fifteenth Street formerly known as the Baltic 
 Hotel, the library is half a mile away in the old Corcoran Art 
 Gallery, and the other officers are scattered about in five 
 separate buildings, none of them originally intended for of- 
 fice purposes. In the meantime it was found that a building 
 to accommodate the Department could not be erected for a 
 million dollars, and Congress instead of appropriating more 
 has repealed the original law. Although the Department 
 owns the site for a building there seems little prospect of its 
 having a building of its own for very many years. And all 
 the time the Government is paying an enormous rent bill, 
 and the Attorney-General and his subordinates are handi- 
 capped by lack of proper facilities for the transaction of 
 business and by the separation of the various offices and bu- 
 reaus of the Department. 
 
 The period from 1870 to 1880 was one of great growth for 
 the Department, but was devoid of any event of striking im- 
 portance or interest. The first Solicitor-General, Benjamin 
 Helm Bristow, of Kentucky, was appointed by President 
 
2 3 The Department of Justice; 
 
 Grant, on October ii, 1870. On January 10, 1871, Congress 
 began the long series of enactments, whereby the control and 
 supervision of United States prisons and prisoners has been 
 vested in the Attorney-General. By the Act of February 25, 
 1 87 1, an additional Assistant Attorney-General was provided, 
 and was assigned to the Interior Department ; and. the act 
 of June 8, 1872, provided for the appointment of an Assistant 
 Attorney -General for the Post-Ofifice Department. 
 
 On January 10, 1872, Attorney-General Akerman re- 
 signed, and George Henry Williams, of Oregon, was appointed 
 in his place, and on November 15, 1872, Solicitor-General 
 Bristow resigned and was succeeded by Samuel F. Phillips, 
 of North Carolina. 
 
 In 1873, the famous "Credit Mobilier" suits were tried. 
 On December 4, 1874, Attorney-General Williams issued a 
 temporary order, making the working hours in the Depart- 
 ment of Justice from 9 until 4. Before this time, the hours 
 had been 9 to 3. This order was made permanent on Decem- 
 ber I, 1875, and remained in effect until the executive order 
 of January 8, 1904, by which the working hours in all the 
 Departments were fixed from 9 until 4:30. 
 
 Attorney-General Williams retired on May 15, 1875, and 
 was succeeded by Edwards Pierrepont, of New York. It 
 was during his administration, that the investigation of the 
 notorious "Whiskey Ring" was begun, and the prosecutions 
 conducted. He was 'succeeded in May, 1876, by Alphonso 
 Taft, of Ohio, who served less than ten months. On March 
 12, 1877, President Hayes appointed Charles Devens, of Mass- 
 achusetts, Attorney-General. He was succeeded on March 7, 
 1881, by Wayne MacVeagh, of Pennsylvania, who retired 
 shortly after the death of President Garfield. Under him 
 were begun the prosecutions in the famous "Star Route" 
 cases, and the case against Guiteau, the assassin of President 
 Garfield, which prosecutions were continued by Attorney- 
 General Benjamin Harris Brewster, who succeeded Mr. Mac- 
 Veagh on January 2, 1882. On March 3, 1883, the so-called 
 "Bowman Act" was passed. This law provided for the 
 
Its History and Functions . 2 3 
 
 transfer of certain claims from Congress and the departments 
 to the Court of Claims; and towards the end of Mr. Brewster's 
 term of office, Congress passed an act to provide for the ascer- 
 tainment and payment of claims of American citizens for 
 French spoliations. Both' these laws largely increased the 
 work of the Department. Mr. Brewster was succeeded on 
 March 6, 1885, by Augustus Hill Garland, of Arkansas, and 
 on May i, 1885, John Goode, of Virginia, was appointed 
 Solicitor-General in place of Mr. Phillips. 
 
 The so-called "Tucker Act," of March 3, 1887, giving the 
 circuit and district courts of the United States concurrent 
 jurisdiction with the Court of Claims, greatly increased the 
 work of the Department. 
 
 On July 30, 1886, George Augustus Jenks, of Pennsylvania, 
 succeeded Mr. Goode as Solicitor-General. 
 
 President Benjamin Harrison appointed as Attorney- 
 General on March 5, 1889, William H. H. Miller, of Indiana, 
 and as Solicitor-General, on May 29, 1889, Orlow W. Chap- 
 man, of New York. On February 15, 1890, William H. 
 Taft, of Ohio, succeeded Mr. Chapman as Solicitor-General. 
 On July 2, 1890, the so-called "Sherman Anti-Trust Law " 
 was enacted. On March 3, 1891, the circuit courts of appeals 
 were created, and an act of the same date created a court of 
 private land claims. On the same date was approved the 
 act providing for the adjudication of claims arising from 
 Indian depredations. This provided for an additional As- 
 sistant Attorney-General, and greatly increased the work of 
 the Department. On March 21, 1892, Charles H. Aldrich, of 
 Illinois became Solicitor-General in place of Mr. Taft. 
 
 When Mr. Cleveland became President the second time, 
 he appointed as Attorney-General, Richard Olney, of Mass- 
 achusetts, and Lawrence Maxwell, Jr., of Ohio, Sohcitor- 
 General. The so-called Dockery law of July 31, 1894, pro- 
 vided for the examination in the Department of Justice of 
 the accounts of officers of the United States courts. Under 
 this law the Division of Accounts of the Department of 
 
24 The Department of Justice; 
 
 Justice was organized. This law materially increased the 
 duties and the number of employees of the Department. On 
 February 6, 1895, Holmes Conrad, of Virginia, succeeded Mr. 
 Maxwell as Solicitor-General. The most important event 
 during Mr. Olney's administration of the office, from the 
 standpoint of the enforcement of law and order, was the 
 settlement of the great Pullman strike of 1894. 
 
 On June 7, 1895, Mr. Olney retired from the office of Attor- 
 ney-General to become Secretary of State ; and on the follow- 
 ing day, Judson Harmon, of Ohio, was appointed Attorney- 
 General. He was succeeded on March 5, 1897, by Joseph 
 McKenna, of California, who served less than one year. 
 On July I, 1897, John Kelvey Richards, of Ohio, was appoint- 
 ed Solicitor-General. 
 
 On January 25, 1898, Attorney-General McKenna became 
 an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 
 States, and was succeeded by John William Griggs, of New 
 Jersey. During his three years in the office, Mr. Griggs was 
 largely engaged with the many important and difficult ques- 
 tions arising out of the Spanish War and its results. He also 
 practically concluded the long pending suits with the Pacific 
 railroads. 
 
 By the act of March 2, 1901, a commission was provided 
 to carry into effect the treaty between the United States 
 and Spain. This law provided for another Assistant Attor- 
 ney-General. 
 
 Attorney-General Griggs retired on March 29, 1901, and 
 was succeeded on April 5, 1901, by Philander Chase Knox, 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 The act of February 14, 1902, made an appropriation for 
 defraying the necessary expenses in the conduct of insular 
 and Territorial matters, and the appropriation for this pur- 
 pose has become permanent. Under this appropriation a 
 new and important bureau, known as the Insular and Terri- 
 torial Bureau, was established in the Department. 
 
 The Fifty-!*eventh Congress passed several laws augument- 
 
Its History and Functions. 25 
 
 ing the interstate commerce and anti-trust laws, and during 
 Mr. Knox's administration of the office, many important 
 suits have been won for the Government under these laws, 
 the principal ones being the cases known as the Beef Trust 
 cases, the Grain Rebate cases, and the Northern Securities 
 or Merger case. 
 
 The deficiency appropriation act approved March 3, 1903, 
 created the office of Assistant to the Attorney-General, with 
 compensation at the rate of $7,000 per annum, and also pro- 
 vided for an additional Assistant Attorney-General. On 
 March 17, 1903, William A. Day, of the District of Columbia, 
 was appointed to the ofRce of Assistant to the Attorrley- 
 General, and was placed in charge, under the Attorney- 
 General, of all suits under the interstate commerce and anti- 
 trust laws. On March 16, 1903, Henry Martyn Hoyt, of 
 Pennsylvania, succeeded Mr. Richards as Solicitor-General. 
 
 The latest register of the Department shows that there 
 are now employed in the various offices and bureaus of the 
 Department proper, in Washington, about two hundred and 
 sixty officers and employees, and in the various districts 
 throughout the United States, subject to the jurisdiction of 
 the Department, nearly thirteen hundred field officers and 
 employees. Besides the Attorney-General, Solicitor-General 
 and Assistant to the Attorney-General, there are eight Assist- 
 ant Attorneys-General, and one Special Assistant Attorney- 
 General. 
 
 The enormous volume of business which is now transacted 
 by and through the Department is shown in the annual re- 
 port of the Attorney-General to Congress, dated December 
 
 5. 1903- 
 
 On June 8, 1904, Mr. Knox was appointed United States 
 Senator from Pennsylvania and shortly afterwards announced 
 his intention of retiring from the office of Attorney-General 
 on June 30th, and President Roosevelt selected as his successor 
 William Henry Moody, of Massachusetts, at that time Secre- 
 tary of the Navy. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The functions, the powers and duties of the Attorney- 
 General and of the Department of Justice cannot easily be 
 summarized ; nor can they thoroughly be understood without 
 a knowledge of the history of their creation and development. 
 But in addition to this history a brief description of the man- 
 ner in which these functions are exercised through the several 
 bureaus or divisions of the Department Virill materially assist 
 to an understanding of them. 
 
 With few exceptions these bureaus and divisions were not 
 established by statute, nor suddenly marked out and organ- 
 ized by the Attorney-General; but gradually grew up and 
 became segregated as the several officials were put in charge 
 of certain classes of work; and are best known as the offices 
 of these several officials. 
 
 THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
 
 The duties and powers of the Attorney-General are two- 
 fold: The first executive, as head of the Department of Jus- 
 tice, to prosecute the law business of the Government and to 
 direct and control the subordinate officers provided for this 
 work, not only in the Department of Washington, but also 
 in the eighty-six judicial districts into which the United States 
 and the Territories are divided; the second, quasi-judicial, 
 to interpret the laws for the President and for the heads of the 
 other executive departments. The first he may -perform 
 through his assistants and subordinates. In the performance 
 of the second he may approve and adopt the opinions of his 
 subordinates except upon questions involving construction 
 of the Constitution, but upon such questions he must give his 
 own opinion. 
 
Its History and Functions. 27 
 
 The duties of the Attorney-General as head of the Depart- 
 ment are so exacting, the details of the administration of the 
 business concerning which he must give directions are so 
 numerous, and the necessity of giving verbal advice to the 
 President and to the other cabinet officers is so frequent, that 
 he has no time to prepare pleadings or briefs, or personally 
 conduct or argue any except the most important cases. 
 
 He signs all communications addressed to the President 
 and to the heads of other departments, all instructions to his 
 subordinates, and all important letters. He gives personal 
 directions to the heads of the several bureaus or divisions of 
 the Department, and, after they have been briefed for him, 
 considers all applications for executive clemency and reports 
 them to the President, and all applications for appointment 
 in or under the Department. A considerable portion of his 
 time is taken up in interviews with callers on business under 
 the Department. 
 
 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY. 
 
 The act establishing the Department of Justice provided 
 for a stenographic clerk to the Attorney-General who was in 
 reality the private secretary until the creation of this office 
 by the act of March 15, 1898. He is, as his title indicates, 
 the confidential secretary of the Attorney-General. He 
 receives all visitors having personal business with the Attor- 
 ney-General, ascertains whether or not it is necessary for the 
 Attorney-General to receive them, and in cases of such neces- 
 sity presents them to the Attorney-General or makes appoint- 
 ments for interviews; and conducts the personal and confi- 
 dential correspondence of the Attorney-General. 
 
 THE SOLICITOR-GENERAL. 
 
 The office of Solicitor-General was created by the act of 
 June 22, 1870, establishing the Department. "There shall 
 be in the Department of Justice an officer learned in the law 
 to assist the Attorney-General in the performance of his duties. 
 
2 8 The Department of Justice; 
 
 called the Solicitor-General, who shall be appointed by the 
 President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
 and shall be entitled to a salary of $7,500 a year. In case of 
 a vacancy in the office of Attorney-General, or of his absence 
 or disability, the Solicitor-General shall have power to exer- 
 cise all the duties of that office. " 
 
 The Solicitor-General assists the Attorney-General in the 
 performance of the general executive duties of the Depart- 
 ment, and in the event of a vacancy in the office of Attorney- 
 General, or in his absence, exercises all the duties of that of- 
 fice. He has general charge of all cases of the Government 
 in the Supreme Court. All Supreme Court cases and other 
 appealed cases go to him, and after ascertaining whether or 
 not the Attorney-General wishes to conduct or argue any of 
 them, and after laying aside such as he intends to argue him- 
 self, he assigns the others to the Assistant Attorneys-Gen- 
 eral and assistant attorneys, and in some cases to United 
 States district attorneys, for preparation and argument. 
 When directed by the Attorney-General he conducts cases 
 in which the United States may be interested in any court 
 of the United States or of a State. In the performance of his 
 duties he is assisted by assistant attorneys, law clerks and 
 clerks. 
 
 THE ASSISTANT TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
 
 The office of Assistant to the Attorney-General was created 
 by the deficiency appropriation act approved March 3, 1903, 
 the first incumbent being appointed March 17, 1903. He 
 has special charge of all suits and other matters arising under 
 the federal anti-trust and interstate commerce laws, and 
 assists the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General in the 
 conduct of the general executive work of the Department. 
 
 THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
 
 The office of Assistant Attorney-General was created by 
 the act of March 3, 1859, when a single Assistant Attorney- 
 
Its History and Functions. 29 
 
 General was provided for. Since that time eight other Assist- 
 ant Attorneys-General and one Special Assistant Attorney- 
 General have been provided. 
 
 One of them is assigned to the Interior Department, one to 
 the Post-Office Department, one to the Court of Claims, one 
 to the bureau having charge of Indian depredation cases, 
 and one to the business before the Spanish Treaty Claims 
 Commission. The others are associated closely with the 
 Attorney-General, and assist in the argument of cases in the 
 Supreme Court, in .the preparation of legal opinions and in 
 the executive work of the Department. 
 
 The Assistant Attorney-General assigned to the Interior 
 Department is the chief law officer of that Department. 
 When requested he advises the Secretary and Assistant Sec- 
 retaries upon questions of law arising in the administration 
 of the Department. All appeals from the General Land Of- 
 fice are sent to his office for consideration. He is aided in 
 this and his other work by twenty assistant attorneys. 
 
 The Assistant Attorney-General for the Post-Office Depart- 
 ment is the chief law officer of that Department. He is, not 
 appointed by the President as are the other Assistant Attor- 
 neys-General, but by the Postmaster-General; and he is in 
 reality not an officer of the Department of Justice. His 
 duties are to give opinions on questions of law relating to the 
 work of his department presented to him by the Postmaster- 
 General, his assistants, the superintendents and chiefs of the 
 several bureaus and the postmasters throughout the country. 
 The Assistant Attorney-General assigned to the defense of 
 suits before the Court of Claims has seven assistant attorneys, 
 with a corps of clerks and other employees, and under the 
 supervision of the Attorney-General defends all suits before 
 the Court of Claims except Indian depredation claims. 
 
 The Assistant Attorney-General charged with the defense 
 of suits for Indian depredations, and the Assistant Attorney- 
 General charged with the defense of suits before the Spanish 
 
JO The' Department of Justice; 
 
 Treaty Claims Commission, each has a corps of assistant! at- 
 torneys and clerks. 
 
 The Assistant Attorneys-General associated closely with the 
 Attorney-General assist him and the Solicitor-General in the 
 transaction of the executive business of the Department, in 
 the argument of cases in the various courts, in the prepara- 
 tion of opinions and in the conduct of correspondence. 
 Some of their work follows special lines, one being in charge 
 of customs cases, Chinese exclusion cases and prize cases, 
 while another has general charge of criminal, internal revenue 
 and interstate commerce cases, and so forth. 
 
 The Special Assistant Attorney-General is at the head of 
 the Insular and Territorial Bureau and assists in the routine 
 work of the Department. 
 
 THE SOLICITOR OF THE TREASURY. 
 
 The office of Solicitor of the Treasury was created by 
 the act of May 29, 1830. This act was passed as if in pur- 
 suance of the recommendation of President Jackson in his 
 annual message to Congress of December, 1829, that a super- 
 visory power over suits brought by the public should be 
 vested in a law officer. The President specifically mentioned 
 the Attorney-General as such officer. The act creating the office 
 ga\-e the Solicitor power to instruct district attorneys, mar- 
 shals and clerks of United States circuit and district courts 
 in all matters and proceedings pertaining to suits in which 
 the United States is a party or interested, and it was made 
 the duty of the Attorney-General to advise with and direct 
 the Solicitor as to the manner of conducting sviits. The act 
 of June 22, 1870, establishing the Department of Justice, 
 transferred the office of Solicitor of the Treasury to the De- 
 partment of Justice and made it a part thereof. 
 
 The Solicitor takes cognizance of all frauds or attempted 
 frauds on the customs revenue. He is charged with duties 
 regarding the compromise of debts and with a supervision over 
 suits for the collection of moneys due the United States, ex- 
 
Its History and Functions. 31 
 
 cepting those due under the internal revenue laws. His ap- 
 proval is required of official bonds of United States assistant 
 treasurers, departmental disbursing clerks, collectors of inter- 
 nal revenue and the Secretary and the Chief Clerk of the 
 Department of Agriculture. As the law officer of the Treas- 
 ury Department many matters are referred to him for exami- 
 nation and opinion arising under the customs, navigation, 
 banking and registry laws, and in the administration of the 
 Department. He is also charged with the supervision of 
 suits and proceedings arising out of the provisions of law 
 governing national banking associations in which the United 
 States and any of its officers or agents are parties, and with 
 the release and sale of lands acquired by the United States 
 in payment of debt except those acquired under the internal 
 revenue laws. The Solicitor and his office force are still lo- 
 cated in the Treasury building where they have been housed 
 ever since the creation of the office. 
 
 THE SOLICITOR FOR THE STATE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 This officer was originally designated as Examiner of Claims 
 in the Department of State, but his title was subsequently 
 changed to Solicitor for the Department of State. The of- 
 fice was placed under the jurisdiction of the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral and the Department of Justice by the act establishing 
 the Department. He is the law officer of the State Depart- 
 ment, and investigates questions referred to him by the 
 Secretary and Assistant Secretaries covering matters of both 
 municipal and international law. He has general charge of 
 claims of citizens of the United States against foreign gov- 
 ernments, and represents the United States in suits or arbi- 
 trations before tribunals competent to try them. His office 
 is in the State Department. 
 
 THE SOLICITOR OF INTERNAL REVENUE. 
 
 This office was created by the act of July 13, 1866, and by 
 the act establishing the Department of Justice was placed 
 
32 The Department of Justice; 
 
 under that department. The Solicitor is the law officer and 
 legal adviser of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. His 
 office is in the Treasury Department. 
 
 THE CHIEF CLERK. 
 
 The office of Chief Clerk in the office of the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral was created by the act of March 3, 1865, and re-estab- 
 lished by the act establishing the Department of Justice. He 
 has general charge, under the direction of the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral, of all clerks, messengers, laborers and other employees 
 of the Department, and supervises their duties. He has 
 charge of the receipt, distribution and transmission of all 
 official mail, of the purchase of supplies for the Department, 
 of applications for leave of absence, of requisitions for print- 
 ing and binding, and of all horses, wagons and carriages used 
 in the business of the Department. He has the custody of 
 the general records and files of the Department. 
 
 The earliest records of the Department date from 181 7, 
 when Mr. Wirt became Attorney-General, but the records 
 between that date and the establishment of the Department 
 in 1870 are very meager with the exception of the records and 
 files of certain bureaus and divisions. Since 1870 the records 
 are complete. All letters and other communications relating 
 to the general business under the Department, and not be- 
 longing in the separate files of certain bureaus, are carefully 
 docketed, numbered and indexed in the file room and con- 
 stitute the files of the Department. The records consist of 
 correspondence, of which there are two separate sets, one 
 being the letter-press copy, the other being carbon copies 
 bound into volumes of convenient size. Duplicate copies are 
 also kept of all opinions prepared by the Attorney-General 
 and his subordinates. Carefully prepared cross-indexes of 
 both the files and records are kept. 
 
 The Chief Clerk attends to all requests for information from 
 the files and records and attends to other routine matters con- 
 cerning the administration of the Department's business. 
 
Its History and Functions. 33 
 
 He is ex-officio superintendent of all buildings occupied by 
 the Department and its various bureaus in Washington. In 
 his immediate office he has a force of ten clerks and copyists, 
 a telegrapher and a telephone operator. 
 
 THE GENERAL AGENT. 
 
 This office and its subordinate offices of Examiner and 
 Special Agent are not statutory offices but were established 
 and the official titles designated by the Attorney-General 
 under the authority given by Congress to investigate certain 
 matters under an appropriation for the purpose. Beginning 
 with the act of March 3, 1873, and continuing utitil it has 
 become one of the regular appropriations for the Department 
 of Justice, there has been included in the appropriation acts 
 a sum to be expended under the direction of .the Attorney- 
 General "for the detection and prosecution of crimes. " Un- 
 der this appropriation the Attorney-General employed an 
 officer with several subordinates. He was at first called an 
 agent and a special agent, and later, about 1879, began to be 
 designated General Agent, and finally, on February i, 1882, 
 the officer appointed to the position was officially styled 
 General Agent, and his three subordinates Examiners. 
 
 At first the duties of this officer and his subordinates were 
 not confined to any particular line of work, except to make 
 such investigations as the Attorney-General might direct. 
 In the beginning they included investigations of violations 
 of the election laws, of the " Ku-Klux " outrages, and of other 
 disturbances during the latter days of the reconstruction 
 period. He finally came to be given general supervision, 
 under the Attorney-General, of all matters relating to United 
 States prisons and prisoners, and put in charge of investiga- 
 tions and examinations of the accounts, offices and official 
 conduct of United States attorneys, marshals, clerks of courts 
 and commissioners. 
 
 After the transfer, in 1894, of the examination of accounts 
 rendered by officers of the United States courts, from the 
 3s 
 
34 The Department of Justice; 
 
 First Auditor of the Treasury to the Department of Justice, 
 this work was placed under the direction of the (General Agent. 
 He has charge of all matters relating to the construction and 
 maintenance of United States jails, prisons and peniten- 
 tiaries. He also directs the work of the Examiners and the 
 Special Agent in the examination of the oflhces and accounts 
 of the United States court officials throughout the United 
 States, and in making other investigations. For the per- 
 formance of this work there are one Special Examiner and 
 seven Examiners and one Special Agent. The Special Ex- 
 aminer is detailed to the work of examining into the care and 
 treatment of United States prisoners, and making special 
 investigations. The regular Examiners are employed in the 
 investigation of court ofificials as above mentioned, and from 
 time to time are detailed to make such special investigations 
 into the various matters concerning the conduct of the busi- 
 ness of the Department in the field as the Attorney-General 
 may desire. The Special Agent is employed in investigations 
 of violations of the Indian intercourse acts, his principal work 
 in the field being in the Indian Territory and in the western 
 portion of the country where the principal reservations are 
 located. 
 
 The General Agent also has charge, under the direction of 
 the Attorney-General, of the approval of appointments of 
 assistant district attorneys and deputies marshal, and of the 
 fixing of their compensation. 
 
 THE DIVISION OF ACCOUNTS. 
 
 The Division of Accounts was established in 1894 to carry 
 out the provisions of the so-called Dockery law, approved 
 July 31, 1894, which provided for the examination, under the 
 supervision of the Attorney-General, of the accounts of dis- 
 trict attorneys, assistant district attorneys, marshals, com- 
 missioners, clerks and other officers of the courts of the United 
 States, except consular courts, before their transmission to 
 the Treasury Department. This examining work is per- 
 
Its History and Functions. 35 
 
 formed in the Division of Accounts, which consists of a Chief 
 of the Division and about twenty clerks and bookkeepers, 
 with the necessary messengers and other employees. This 
 division also compiles the estimates for annual appropriations 
 tinder control of the Attorney-General. 
 
 THE ATTORNEY IN CHARGE OP PARDONS. 
 
 The act of March 3, 1865, created the office of Pardon Clerk 
 in the of&ce of the Attorney-General, and it was continued 
 after the establishment of the Department of Justice. For 
 this office there was substituted by act of March 3, 1891, an 
 Attorney in Charge of Pardons. He has charge of all appli- 
 cations for executive clemency except those in army and navy 
 cases, which are referred to the Secretary of War and the 
 Secretary of the Navy, respectively. He secures reports 
 from the district attorney, trial judge and other persons hav- 
 ing official knowledge of the case and conducts all correspon- 
 dence in relation to pardon cases. After the reports of the 
 various officials have been received he prepares a brief for the 
 Attorney-General and the President. The Attorney-General 
 then reviews the case, formulates a report to the President 
 either for or against the application, and all the papers are 
 then sent to the President who endorses on them a note of his 
 action. When the President exercises clemency the formal 
 warrant evidencing his action is prepared by the Pardon At- 
 torney, countersigned by the Attorney-General under the 
 seal of the Department, and transmitted to the President 
 for his signature. After being signed by the President it is 
 forwarded to the applicant or his attorney, or to the chief 
 officer of the prison where he is confined. The formal war- 
 rants in army and navy cases are issued in the same manner 
 on the request of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of 
 the Navy respectively. 
 
 The President has always exclusively exercised the par- 
 doning power except when he temporarily delegated it to the 
 
36 The Department of Justice; 
 
 military governors of conquered territory after the Mexican 
 and Spanish wars. 
 
 Prior to 1850 the preUminary and advisory duties in par- 
 don cases were performed by the Attorney-General and the 
 Secretary of State jointly, all files and records in these cases 
 being retained in the State Department. About 1850 all this 
 preliminary work was transferred to- the office of the Attorney- 
 General, and since that time the Attorney-General has had 
 exclusive charge of it. Until June 16, 1893, formal warrants 
 of pardon continued to be issued through the State Depart- 
 ment, upon the requistion of the Attorney-General; but by 
 an executive order of President Cleveland, bearing the date 
 last mentioned, this work was transferred to the Department 
 of Justice. The records of this office are the most complete 
 of any in the Department, dating from 1850. 
 
 ASSISTANT ATTORNEY IN CHARGE OF DOCKETS. 
 
 This office was created by the legislative, executive and 
 judicial appropriation act approved February 24, 1899. The 
 duties of this officer and his assistants are to keep complete 
 records of all cases, both civil and crirninal (except those of 
 minor importance) in which the United States is interested 
 or is a party, instituted in any court, whether federal or state, 
 and including the Supreme Court of the United States. 
 
 The records are kept in the nature of dockets, from which 
 may be obtained at any time, information concerning the 
 character and object of any case, the court in which it is 
 pending, the course of the pleadings and the action taken 
 therein. Thus the expenditure of time and labor in commu- 
 nicating in each instance with district attorneys and clerks 
 of courts is obviated. The records are based upon weekly 
 reports which all district attorneys are required to make to the 
 Department. 
 
 This officer is the custodian of all term reports rendered 
 by districif attorneys of all cases, civil and criminal, and of 
 the reports made at the commencement of each fiscal year 
 
Its History and Functions. 37 
 
 showing all cases of the classes mentioned pending at that 
 time. 
 
 In addition to the above duties he is charged with keeping 
 a record of the course of all legislation affecting the Depart- 
 ment of Justice or in which it may be interested. Legal work 
 of a miscellaneous character is also assigned to him. 
 
 LAW CLERK AND EXAMINER OF TITLES. 
 
 By a joint resolution approved September 11, 1841, it was 
 made the duty of the Attorney-General to examine into the 
 title to lands or sites which had been purchased, or should 
 thereafter be purchased, by the United States for the pur- 
 pose of erecting thereon armories, arsenals or other public 
 works or buildings of any kind. This was a very material 
 addition to the duties of the Attorney-General which, there- 
 tofore, had practically been limited to giving advice to the 
 President and to the heads of the Departments and represent- 
 ing the United States in the Supreme Court. From the time 
 these new duties were required of the Attorney-General until 
 July 28, 1866, they were performed under the supervision of 
 the Attorney-General by the Assistant Attorney-General and 
 the clerks provided for the office ; but on the date last named 
 Congress authorized the employment of a law clerk at a salary 
 of $2,500 per annum, and this work was assigned to him. 
 Later the office of Law Clerk and Examiner of Titles was 
 created. This officer prepares opinions upon the title to 
 lands belonging to, or sites acquired by, the Government for 
 public purposes, and conducts correspondence in relation to 
 questions of title. The present incumbent of the office has 
 held it since June 10, 1867, being the oldest officer in point of 
 service in the Department. 
 
 THE DISBURSING CLERK. 
 
 Before the establishment of the Department of Justice the 
 law provided that all moneys drawn upon requisition of the 
 Attorney-General should be disbursed by an o.fficer designated 
 
38 The Department of Justice; 
 
 by the Secretary of the Treasury, but the act estabHshing the 
 Department of Justice provided that these moneys should be 
 disbursed by a clerk of the Department of Justice to be des- 
 ignated by the Attorney-General. Until January i, 1897, 
 the duties connected with disbursements and appointments 
 were performed under the supervision of a fourth-class clerk 
 designated by the Attornej^-General ; but on that date the 
 Attorney-General detailed a clerk to take charge of appoint- 
 ment matters, leaving the Disbursing Clerk to his proper 
 duties. Congress finally established the office of Disbursing 
 Clerk by the Act of February 25, 1903, with a salary of $2,750 
 per annum. He disburses from nearly fifty separate appro- 
 priations funds amounting to more than four million dollars 
 per annum, including the salaries of the Justices of the Su- 
 preme Court, judges of the other federal courts throughout 
 the country. United States district attorneys, marshals and 
 other court officers and of the officials and employees of the 
 Department proper; as well as the contingent expenses of 
 the Department and other miscellaneous appropriations. 
 Salaries in the Department of Justice are paid semi-monthly 
 in cash; all other salaries are paid monthly by check. The 
 Disbursing Clerk issues about thirteen hundred checks each 
 month. In the transaction of this large volume of business 
 he has a force of clerks and bookkeepers. He is required to 
 give a bond of $50,000 to the United States. 
 
 THE APPOINTMENT CLERK. 
 
 Until 1850 all applications and papers relating to appoint 
 ments of United States judges, district attorney's, marshals 
 and other officials properly under the jurisdiction of the At- 
 torney-General, were received in the State Department, and 
 all business relating to such appointments was transacted 
 there. About 1850, by an executive order, this work was 
 transferred to the office of the Attorney-General. After the 
 establishment of the Department of Justice in 1870 appoint- 
 ment matters were transacted under the supervision of a clerk 
 
Its History and Functions. 39 
 
 who also had charge of disbursements. On January i, 1897, 
 the Attorney-General segregated the duties, and put the busi- 
 ness relating to applications and appointments under the 
 supervision of a fourth-class clerk. Finally, by the act ap- 
 proved February 25, 1903, Congress created the of&ce of Ap- 
 pointment Clerk. 
 
 He has charge of all matters relating to appointments, ap- 
 plications and recommendations, and the preparation of 
 nominations to the Senate and of commissions not only of the 
 officers and employees of the Department of Justice proper, 
 in Washington, but also of United States judges, district 
 attorneys, marshals and other officers under the Department, 
 including Notaries Public in the District of Columbia, Com- 
 missioners of Deeds in the several States for the District of 
 Columbia, and employees in the penitentiary service. Until 
 the passage of the act of August 8, 1888, commissions of all 
 officers under the Department of Justice appointed by the 
 President were issued through the State Department on the 
 requisition of the Attorney-General. Since the passage of 
 that act such commissions are prepared and issued through 
 the Department of Justice, and after having been signed by 
 the President are countersigned by the Attorney-General and 
 authenticated under the seal of the Department of Justice. 
 
 The records of the Appointment Clerk are separate from 
 the general records of the Department, being filed and dock- 
 eted according to applicants. In case of a vacancy in a place 
 of importance the Appointment Clerk prepares for the Attor- 
 ney-General a brief of all applications and recommendations. 
 He directs the correspondence connected with the work of his 
 office, prepares bonds of United States marshals and notaries 
 public for the District of Columbia, and oaths of office for all 
 officials and employees appointed through his office, makes 
 monthly reports of all changes in the classified service to the 
 Civil Service Commission, certifies changes in appointments 
 and compensation to the Disbursing Clerk, compiles the 
 Register of the Department of Justice, and information as to 
 
40 The Department of Justice; 
 
 the Department for the biennial Register of the United States 
 known as the "Blue Book." 
 
 BUREAU OF INSULAR AND TERRITORIAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 This bureau was estabhshed February 25, 1902, under an 
 appropriation, to be expended under the direction of the At- 
 torney-General, to provide for the transaction of the business 
 of the Department growing out of insular and territorial 
 possessions. 
 
 The Special Assistant Attorney-General is the head of the 
 bureau, which has general charge of all matters relating to 
 the Territories (not including accounting, prison matters, par- 
 dons and appointments), and all matters relating to the in- 
 sular possessions of the United States, the Isthmus of Panama, 
 Cuba, Isle of Pines, Indian reservations, ocean cables, etc. 
 
 The following explanation of the work was furnished to 
 President Palma of Cuba in April, 1902: 
 
 ' ' Under this appropriation the Attorney-General created 
 our bureau, the general plan of which requires the person in 
 charge, with the aid of a number of others, some of whom are 
 lawyers, to make preliminary examinations into such legal 
 questions relating to islands, territories and the like. 
 
 "A digest of laws and decisions of courts pertaining to all 
 these subjects has been made. 
 
 "Newspapers have been subscribed for in Havana, San 
 Juan, Porto Rico, Manila, Honolulu, St. Thomas, Juneau 
 and elsewhere. 
 
 "The assistants are busy, when not engaged on current 
 work, in preparing indexes, digests, and carrying out in- 
 structions of which the following is an example : 
 
 " ' I should like to have you familiarize yourself with legal 
 and other matters relative to the Philippines generally, their 
 relations with Asia and with other nations taking part in 
 Asiatic affairs, also matters concerning Guam, Jolo and the 
 Isle of Pines. ' " 
 
Its History and Functions. 41 
 
 BUREAU OP FRENCH SPOLIATION CLAIMS. 
 
 By the treaty of September 30, 1800, between France and 
 the United States, there was a reciprocal renunciation of 
 claims urged one against the other. The claims renounced 
 by France were national and those renounced by the United 
 States were individual in character, arising out of depreda- 
 tions on American commerce between the years 1790 and 1800. 
 
 It having long been urged that these renunciations consti- 
 tuted a bargain whereby the United States obtained the re- 
 nunciation of the French claims against itself and the relin- 
 quishment of its obligations under the treaty with France of 
 1778, and that said bargain brought these claims within the 
 provision of the Constitution that ' ' private property shall not 
 be taken for public use without just compensation", Con- 
 gress by the act of January 20, 1885, known as the "French 
 Spoliation Act," provided that such citizens of the United 
 States, or their legal representatives, as had valid claims 
 arising out of illegal captures, detentions, seizures, condem- 
 nations and confiscations, prior to the ratification of said 
 treaty might present the same to the Court of Claims by pe- 
 tition within two years from the passage of the said act. The 
 act directed that the court should determine the validity and 
 the amount of said claims according to the rules of law, 
 municipal and international, and the treaties of the United 
 States applicable to the same, and report to Congress all such 
 conclusions of fact and law as in their judgment might affect 
 the liability of the United States therefor. And by the said 
 act of 1885 Congress refused to commit the United States 
 to the payment of such claims. The act made it the duty of 
 the Attorney-General to resist all claims presented thereunder 
 by all proper legal defenses. 
 
 Under this law a bureau was established in the Department, 
 having charge of questions and cases arising out of these 
 claims. 
 
 The Court of Claims reported to Congress conclusions of law 
 
42 The Department of Justice; 
 
 in favor of claimants on the general question of governmental 
 liability, and since this report the individual claims have been 
 actively litigated. After the creation of the bureau and with- 
 in the two years limitation 5,569 cases relating to 2,399 '^^^' 
 sels were filed, the amount claimed therein as shown by the 
 petitions being about $50,000,000. Findings in favor of 
 claimants to November i, 1902, amounted to about $4,850,600 
 of which amount there has been appropriated by Congress 
 about $3,195,700. 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 The library had its beginning in the books purchased by 
 Attorney-General Berrien out of an appropriation of $500 
 for books, included in the appropriation act of March 2, 1831. 
 No further appropriation for the purchase of books was made 
 until 1840, when an appropriation of $1,000 was made for this 
 purpose. The current annual appropriation for books for the 
 library is $2,500. 
 
 It now consists of about 35,000 volumes, almost exclusively 
 legal in character, selected with a view to the special needs 
 of the Department. They are, in the main, such books as 
 would ordinarily be found in a law library. There is a very 
 good collection of English, Irish, Scotch and Canadian reports, 
 embracing practically all of those reports that are in ordinary 
 use. In state reports and digests it is practically cgmplete. 
 The collection of state laws is unusually fine. Many of the^ 
 leading legal periodicals are to be found in the library, but in 
 this respect it is deficient. In the line of history and biog- 
 raphy it is also lacking. The collection of treatises and works 
 on jurisprudence is very good. In federal reports and stat- 
 utes the library is of course quite complete. Its set of the 
 Congressional Document series, from the Nineteenth Congress 
 to date, is, with but few exceptions, complete, the missing 
 volumes being mainly of the earlier Congresses. The col- 
 lection of departmental publications is fairh- good. Among 
 
Its History and Functions. 43 
 
 the foreign books, which consist chiefly of treatises and the 
 codes and laws of France, Germany, Spain and the Latin- 
 American countries, are many rare and valuable books. 
 The larger portion of this collection are books which were 
 seized by the American Army when General Scott entered 
 the City of Mexico. They were brought to Washington by 
 direction of the Secretary of War and placed in the War De- 
 partment and later transferred to the Attorney-General's 
 Office, in 1853 or 1855. This collection was gradually added 
 to by Mr. Gushing, then Attorney-General, and a few books 
 purchased from time to time by later Attorneys-General, but 
 for many years prior to the Spanish-American War this 
 branch of the library was neglected. It is now being grad- 
 ually improved by the addition of recent treatises and codes, 
 especially by the works purchased for the use of the Insular 
 and Territorial Bureau. 
 
 The first catalogue of the library, published in 1863, was 
 prepared by (Edward C.)? Steadman, a clerk in the office. 
 The next appeared in 1873, prepared by Henry A. Klopfer, 
 librarian. In 1894 a subject catalogue was issued, prepared 
 by James A. Finch, librarian, and in 1900 a catalogue of all 
 foreign books in the library, that is, of books printed in lan- 
 guages other than English, was published. 
 
 The office of librarian is not a statutory one, but is filled by 
 a law clerk of the Department assigned to the work by the 
 Attorney-General, in connection with his other duties. He 
 is assisted by a clerk and other necessary employees. The 
 librarian has general charge and supervision of the library, 
 including the purchase of books. He catalogues the books 
 received and prepares catalogues of the library for publica- 
 tion. He is consulted in regard to incomplete or erroneous 
 references ; as to the best works to be used in making certain 
 investigations; and as to whether an investigation has been 
 exhaustive or if some source of information has been over- 
 
44 The Department of Justice; 
 
 looked, etc. In short his duties are in many respects similar 
 to those of every librarian of a law library. 
 
 In addition to his duties as librarian, he is required to look 
 up points of law for the Attorney-General and Solicitor-Gen- 
 eral and at times is assigned brief work. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Lists of the Principal Officers of the Department of Justice 
 From the Dates of the Creation of Their Respective Offices 
 TO 1904. 
 
 ATTORNEY-GENERAL.* 
 (Created by the Act of September 23, 1789.) 
 Name. Appointment. Retirement. 
 
 Edmund Randol'ph 
 William Bradford 
 Charles Lee 
 Levi Lincoln 
 John Breckinridge 
 Caesar A. Rodney- 
 William Pinkney 
 Richard Rush 
 William Wirt 
 John M. Berrien 
 Roger. B. Taney 
 Benjamin F. Butler 
 Felix Grundy 
 Henry D. Gilpin 
 John J. Crittenden 
 Hugh S. Legar6 
 John Nelson 
 John Y. Mason 
 Nathan Chfford 
 Isaac Toucey 
 Reverdy Johnson 
 John J. Crittenden 
 Caleb Gushing 
 Jeremiah S. Black 
 Edwin M. Stanton 
 Edward Bates 
 James Speed 
 Henry Stanbery 
 William M. Evarts 
 Ebenezer R. Hoar 
 Amos T. Akerman 
 George H. Williams 
 Edwards Pierrepont 
 Alphonso Taft 
 
 Sept. 26, 1789. 
 Jan. 27, 1794. 
 Dec. 10, 1795. 
 March 5, 1801. 
 Aug. 7, 1805. 
 Jan. 20, 1807. 
 Dec. 11, 1811. 
 Feb. 10, 1814. 
 Nov. 13, 1817. 
 March 9, 1829. 
 July 20, 1831. 
 Nov. 15, 1833. 
 July 5, 1838.t 
 Jan. 11, 1840. 
 March 5, 1841. 
 Sept. 13, 1841. 
 July 1, 1843. 
 March 6, 1845. 
 Oct. 17, 1846. 
 June 21, 1848. 
 March 8, 1849. 
 July 22, 1850. 
 March 7, 1853. 
 March 6, 1857. 
 Dec. 20, 1860. 
 March 5, 1861. 
 Dec. 2, 1864. 
 July 23, 1866. 
 July 15, 1868. 
 March 5, 1869. 
 June 23, 1870. 
 Dec. 14, 1871.1 
 April 26, 1875.§ 
 Mav22, 1876. 
 
 Jan. 2, 1794 
 Aug. 23, 1795. 
 Feb. 18, 1801. 
 March 3, 1805. 
 Dec. 14, 1806. 
 Dec. 11, 1811. 
 Feb. 10, 1814. 
 Nov. 13, 1817. 
 March 3, 1829. 
 July 20, 1831. 
 Sept. 24, 1833. 
 Sept. 1, 1838. 
 Dec. 1, 1839. 
 March 4, 1841. 
 Sept. 13, 1841. 
 June 20, 1843. 
 March 3, 1845. 
 Sept. 9, 1846. 
 March 17, 1848. 
 March 3, 1849. 
 ,luly 20, 1850. 
 March 3, 1853. 
 March 3, 1857. 
 Dec. 17, 1860. 
 March 3, 1861. 
 Sept. — 1864. 
 July 17, 1866. 
 March 12, 1868. 
 March 3, 1869. 
 June 23, 1870. 
 Jan. 10, 1872. 
 May 15, 1875. 
 May 22, 1876. 
 March 11, 1877. 
 
 Whence 
 Appointed. 
 Virginia. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Virginia. 
 Massachusetts. 
 Kentuck)'. 
 Delaware. 
 Maryland. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Virginia. 
 Georgia. 
 Maryland. 
 New York. 
 Tennessee. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Kentuclcy. 
 South Carolina. 
 Maryland. 
 Virginia. 
 Maine. 
 Connecticut. 
 Maryland. 
 Kentucky. 
 Massachusetts. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Oliio. 
 Missouri. 
 Kentucky. 
 Oliio. 
 
 New York. 
 Massachusetts. 
 Georgia. 
 Oregon. 
 New York. 
 Oliio. 
 
 *For reasons for omission from this list of the names of Theophilus 
 Parsons, Robert Smith, Joseph Holt and Orville H. Browning, see pages 
 8 and 17. ante. 
 
 tGrundy appointed July 5, 1838, to take effect Sept. 1, 1838. 
 
 iWilHanis appointed Dec. 14, 1871, to take effect Jan. 10, 1872. 
 
 §Pierrepont appointed April 2G, 1875, to take effect May 15, 1875. 
 
46 
 
 Appendi.r. 
 
 ATTORNEY-GENERAL (continued.) 
 
 Name. 
 
 Charles Devens 
 Wayne MacVeagh 
 Benjamin H. Brewster 
 Augustus H. Garland 
 William H. H. MiUer 
 Richard Olney 
 Judson Harmon 
 Joseph McKenna 
 John W. Griggs 
 Philander G. Knox 
 Wilham H. Moody 
 
 Appointment. 
 
 March 12, 1877. 
 March 5, 1881. 
 Dec. 19, 1881. t 
 March 6, 1885. 
 March 5, 1889. 
 March 6, 1893. 
 June 8, 1895. 
 March 5, 1897. 
 Jan. 25, 1898. 
 April 5, 1901. 
 July 1, 1904 
 
 Retirement. 
 
 Marcli 5, 1881. 
 Oct. 24, 1881.* 
 March 5, 1885. 
 March 5, 1889. 
 March 6, 1893. 
 June 7, 1895. 
 March 5, 1897. 
 Jan. 25, 1898. 
 March 29, 1901. 
 June 80, 1904. 
 
 Name. 
 
 SOLICrrOR-GENERAL. 
 (Created by the Act of June 22, 1870.) 
 Appointment. Retirement. 
 
 Benjamin H. Bristow 
 Samuel F. Phillips 
 John Goode 
 George A. Jenks 
 Orlow W. Chapman 
 WiUiam H. Taft 
 Charles H. Aldrich 
 Lawrence MaxweU, Jr. 
 Holmes Conrad 
 John K. Richards 
 Henry M. Hoyt 
 
 Oct. 11, 1870. 
 Nov. 15, 1872. 
 May 1, 1885. 
 July 30, 1886. 
 May 29, 1889. 
 Feb. 4, 1890. 
 March 21, 1892. 
 , April 6, 1893. 
 Feb. 6, 1895. 
 July 1, 1897. 
 Feb. 2,'J, 1903. 
 
 Nov. 15, 1872. 
 May. 3, 1885. 
 Aug. 5, 1886. 
 May 29, 1889. 
 Jan. 19, 1890. 
 March 20, 1892. 
 May 28, 1893. 
 Jan. 30, 1895. 
 July 8, 1897. 
 March 16, 1903. 
 
 Whence 
 Appointed. 
 Massachusetts. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Arkansas. 
 Indiana. 
 Massachu.sets. 
 Ohio. 
 California. 
 New Jersey. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Whence 
 Appointed. 
 Kentucky. 
 North Carolina. 
 Virginia. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 New York. 
 Ohio. . 
 Illinois. 
 Ohio. 
 Virginia. 
 Ohio. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 ASSISTANT TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
 (Created by the Act of March 3, 1903.) 
 
 Name. 
 Wilham A. Day 
 
 Appointment. Retirement. 
 March 17, 1903. 
 
 Whence 
 
 Appointed. 
 
 District of Columbia. 
 
 ASSISTANT ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
 
 (Created by the Act of March 3, 1859, and by subsequent acts, there being 
 
 eight Assistant Attorneys-General in 1904.) 
 
 Name. 
 Alfred B. McCalmont 
 Titian J. Coffey 
 J. Hubley Ashton 
 John M. Binckley 
 J. Hubley Ashton 
 T. Lyle Dickey 
 
 Period of Service. 
 1859-1861 
 1861-1864 
 1864-1867 
 1867-1868 
 1868-1869 
 1868-1869 
 
 Whence Appointed. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 District of Columbia. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 lUinois. 
 
 *MacVeagh resigned Sept. 22, 1881, but served to Oct. 24, 1881. 
 fBrewster did not take the oath of office till Jan. 2, 1882. 
 
Appendix. 
 ASSISTANT ATTORNEY-GENERAL (continued.) 
 
 47 
 
 Name. 
 Walbridge A. Field 
 Thomas H. Talbot 
 Qement Hugh Hill 
 Walter H. Smith 
 William McMichael 
 John Goforth 
 Tliomas Simons 
 Edwin B. Smith 
 Augustine S. Gaylord 
 E. M. Marble 
 Joseph K. MoCammon 
 William A. Maury 
 Robert A. Howard 
 Zach. Montgomery 
 John B. Cotton 
 George H. Shields 
 A. X. Parker 
 Leonard W. Colby 
 Edward B. Whitney 
 Holmes Conrad 
 Charles. B Howry 
 Joshua E. Dodge 
 John I. Hall 
 J. M. Dickinson 
 Wilham A. Little 
 Isaac H. Lionberger 
 Willis Van Devanter 
 James Edmund Boyd 
 Henry M. Hoyt 
 James M. Becic 
 John G. Thompson 
 Louis A. Pradt 
 William E, Fuller 
 Frank L. Campbell 
 Milton D. Purdy 
 James C. McReynolds 
 Charles H. Robb 
 
 Assistant Attorney-General for the Post-Office Departjient. 
 
 (Created by the Act of June 8, 1872. Appointed by the Postmaster 
 
 General.) 
 
 Period of Service. 
 
 Whence Appointed. 
 
 1869-1871 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 1869-1870 
 
 Maine. 
 
 1870-1875 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 1S71-1S75 
 
 Oliio. 
 
 1S71-1S73 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 1S73-1875 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 1875-188.5 
 
 N(-^w Yorl<. 
 
 1S7 5-1881 
 
 Maine. 
 
 1875-1877 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 1877-1880 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 1880-1885 
 
 PennsylA'ania. 
 
 1882-1893 
 
 Virginia. 
 
 1885-1889 
 
 Arkansas. 
 
 1885-1889 
 
 CaUfornia. 
 
 1889-1893 
 
 Maine. 
 
 1889-1893 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 1890-1893 
 
 New York. 
 
 1891-1893 
 
 Nebraska. 
 
 1893-1897 
 
 New York. 
 
 1893-1895 
 
 Virginia. 
 
 1893-1897 
 
 Mississippi. 
 
 1893-1897 
 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 1893-1896 
 
 Georgia. 
 
 1895-1897 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
 1896-1896 
 
 Georgia. 
 
 1896-1897 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 1897-1903 
 
 A\'yoming. 
 
 1897-1900 
 
 North Carolina. 
 
 1897-1903 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 1900-1903 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 1897- 
 
 Illinois. 
 
 1897- 
 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 1901- 
 
 Iowa. 
 
 1903- 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 1903- 
 
 Minnesota. 
 
 1903- 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
 1904- 
 
 '\^ermont. 
 
 Name. 
 Thomas A. Spenoe 
 Alfred A. Freeman 
 Edwin E. Bryant 
 James N. Tyner 
 John L. Thomas 
 James N. Tyner 
 Charles H. Robb 
 Russell P. Goodwin 
 
 Period of Service. 
 
 1873-1877 
 , 1877-1885 
 1885-1889 
 1889-1893 
 1893-1897 
 1897-1903 
 1903-1904 
 1904- 
 
 Whence A ppointed. 
 
 Maryland. 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
 A'ermont. 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 Vermont. 
 
 Illinois. 
 
48 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 SPECIAL ASSISTANT ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
 (Established by the Attorney-General, under the Act of Feb. 25, 1902.) 
 Period of Service. Whence Appointed. 
 
 Name. 
 Charles W. Russell 
 
 1902- 
 
 West Virginia. 
 
 SOLICITOR OF THE TREASURY. 
 (Cn.':ited by the Act of May 29, 1830; made an officer of the Depart- 
 ment of Justice by the Act of June 22, 1870.) 
 
 Name. 
 E\erett C. Banfield 
 Bluford Wilson 
 George F. Talbot 
 Kenneth Rayner 
 Henry S. Neal 
 Alexander McCue 
 W. P. Hepburn 
 Felix A. Reeve 
 Maurice 1). O'Connell 
 
 Period of Service. 
 1869-1874 
 1874-1876 
 1876-1877 
 1877-1884 
 1884-1885 
 1885-1891 
 1891-1893 
 1893-1897 
 1897- 
 
 W hence Appointed. 
 New York. 
 Illinois. 
 Maine. 
 Mississippi. 
 Ohio. 
 
 New York. 
 Iowa. 
 Tennessee. 
 Iowa. 
 
 SOLICITOR OF INTERNAL REVENUE. 
 (Crt-atecl by the Act of July 13, 1866; made an officer of the Depart- 
 ment of Justice by the Act of June 22, 1870.) 
 
 Na7ne. 
 ■\^'alter H. Smith 
 WiUiam McMichael 
 Charles Chesley 
 Thomas J. Smith 
 Alplionso Hart 
 Robert T. Hough 
 George M. Thomas 
 Albert ^^'. Wishard 
 A. B. Hayes 
 
 Period of Service. 
 1866-1871 
 1871-1871 
 1871-1888 
 1888-1890 
 1890-1893 
 1893-1897 
 1897-1901 
 1901-1903 
 1903- 
 
 W hence Appointed. 
 Ohio. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 New Hampshire. 
 New Hampshire. 
 Ohio. 
 Ohio. 
 
 Kentucky. 
 Indiana. 
 Utah. 
 
 SOLICITOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 
 (Created by the Act of March 3, 1891.) 
 
 Name. Period of Service Whence Appointed. 
 
 Frank C. Partridge 1891-1893 Vermont. 
 
 Walter D. Dabney 1893-1895 Virginia. 
 
 Walter E. Faison 1895-1897 North Carolina. 
 
 William L. Penfield 1897- Indiana. 
 
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