CHAPTER VIII.

THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE ELECTED STATE OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES APPOINTED STATE OFFICERS OUR ELECTORAL SYSTEM - REGISTRATION AND CAUCUS LAWS.

THE philosophy or plan of our system of government, State and national, is to devolve the executive office upon a single person. This is doubtless the best way, as it avoids divided councils, and tends to unity and concentration of action. There should be one mind and one will in the last resort. But the details of the executive office in such a country as ours, and in such times as these, are too many and various for one mind to grasp or one man's labor to compass, and so our system contemplates that while the power and responsibility of ultimate decision should rest in the single will of president or governor, the vast mass of details should be attended to by subordinate officers, responsible to him and acting under his direction and authority. So, as we have seen, the president of the United States is provided with a cabinet, composed of officers who are the heads of the several great departments under the government. In the same way, and for the same reason, the governor of Michigan is assisted in his duties by State officers at the heads of the several departments corresponding, as nearly as may be, to those of the federal government. A part of these those first constituted and named in the Consti

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tution are elected by the people. The others, which have been added since, are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate, as the president's cabinet is appointed by him and confirmed by the United States Senate.

ELECTED STATE OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES.

At the general State election which occurs every two years, there are elected on the same ticket with the governor and lieutenant-governor, a secretary of state, a superintendent of public instruction, a State treasurer, a commissioner of the land office, an auditor-general, and an attorney-general. These officers are elected for a term of two years, and keep their offices at Lansing, the seat of government. Their salaries are as follows, yearly: State treasurer, $1,000; superintendent of public instruction, $1,000; secretary of state, $800; commissioner of the land office, $800; attorney-general, $800; auditor-general, $3,000. It will be seen that these salaries are very unequal, and some of them manifestly inadequate. That has come about in this way: When the salaries of the circuit judges were raised, the office of auditor-general was included in the amendment, and his present salary has been fixed by the Legislature. The others and smaller ones remain as they were in the Constitution of 1850. The people have obstinately and foolishly voted down all attempts to remedy this inequality and injustice. The reader will probably remember the great scandal which followed the discovery that the last of these attempts had really failed, when supposed to have succeeded, and how the future of two or three bright and rising public men has been eclipsed by their alleged complicity in fraudulent efforts to overthrow the will of the people.

In the compass of this work I can only speak very briefly of the duties of these elected State officers. The secretary of state is the keeper of its great seal and of all its laws and records. Every commission and proclamation of the governor is countersigned by him. He publishes the laws and the legislative manual, and makes the annual reports relating to agriculture and vital statistics. These latter are now frequently given to the people through the press. He supervises the tenth yearly census, issues patents for State lands, gives notice of State elections, and the submission of amendments. The State treasurer is the financial officer of the State, and has charge of the State funds. He has no original power to institute measures of finance, like the secretary of the treasury at Washington, as his duties are fixed by statutes and he can only pay out money as authorized by law. He gives bonds in the sum of $150,000 and is required to make an annual report to the governor. The auditor-general is the account keeper of the State. He keeps the account between the State and the State treasurer, and no moneys can be paid out of the treasury except upon his warrant, and he countersigns all receipts of the treasurer. It is his duty to apportion the State tax among the counties and settle accounts with the county treasurers for money due to the State. He passes upon all claims against the State, and allows only those that are just and lawful. It will readily be seen that the office of auditor-general is one of much importance and responsibility.

The commissioner of the State land office is the officer having charge of all the land belonging to the State, that is, of lands where the title is in the State.

He

prosecutes all trespassers on these lands, issues licenses to homestead settlers, and, in a word, sees to the sale, leasing, and general disposition of all State lands. The superintendent of public instruction is a very important and busy officer in these times when our population has so greatly increased and our common-school system become so widely extended. He has the general supervision of all the public schools and State educational institutions; sees to the collection of and tabulates the school statistics of the State; apportions the primary school fund to the counties; counsels schools officers in relation to their duties, and prepares blanks for the use of school officers; organizes and visits teachers' institutes; compiles and publishes the school laws; appoints visitors to the State university and to other chartered State institutions. He also prepares all questions used in the examination of teachers throughout the State. The attorney-general is the law officer of the State, and has charge of its legal business. He appears for the people in any court or tribunal where any case, civil or criminal, is pending, in which the State, or any department of the State government, is interested. He gives opinions on law when required by the Legislature, the governor, or any State officer. He also frequently assists prosecuting attorneys in important criminal trials before juries.

APPOINTED STATE OFFICERS.

Besides our State officers who are elected by the people, there are a number of others of nearly equal importance who are appointed by the governor. These are the commissioner of insurance, the commissioner of railroads, the commissioner of labor, and the commissioner of State banking. The titles suggest the duties

of these various offices. They have all been created in comparatively recent years, and their duties are very important. There being no constitutional prohibition in the way, they are paid very respectable salaries -commissioner of insurance, $2,000; railroads, $2,500; labor, $2,000; State banking, $2,500. In addition to these are the lesser offices of State librarian, State inspectors of oils and salt, game and fish warden, and commissioner of mineral statistics.

OUR STATE ELECTORAL SYSTEM.

This is a very important branch of our government, and one that lies at the very foundation of the State. Michigan, like most of the older Northern States of the Union, was built upon what is called manhood suffrage, although it was not until after the war that the negro was allowed to vote. He acquired his right to the suffrage through the same bloody ordeal which gave to his race at the South the right to their freedom. So we now have in our State the broadest kind of suffrage for men, without qualification of property or intelligence. Only in school questions, where taxes are to be raised, are women permitted to vote, and here only is a slight property qualification of taxpaying required for both men and women. An attempt to confer general municipal suffrage upon women, as our readers will remember, has only recently miscarried.

As to our native born population the only requirement for suffrage is that the voter shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and have resided in this State six months, and in the township or ward in which he offers to vote twenty days next preceding the election. Men born in other countries must be nat