The Attorney-General.—­The Attorney-General is the legal adviser of the President and of the heads of the departments.  He supervises the work of all the United States district attorneys and marshals, and is assisted by the Solicitor-General.  Unless otherwise directed, all cases before the Supreme Court and the Court of Claims in which the United States is a party are argued by the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General.

THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT.

The Postmaster-General.—­The Postmaster-General is at the head of this department.  He appoints all of the officers of the department with the exception of the four assistant postmasters-general and postmasters of the first class, whose appointments are made by the President with the consent of the Senate.  The Postmaster-General may, with the consent of the President, let contracts and make postal treaties with foreign governments.

The Postal Union.—­Since 1891 the United States has been a member of the Universal Postal Union.  By this union over fifty distinct powers became parties to an agreement by which uniform rates of postage were agreed upon and every facility for carrying mails in each country was extended to all the others.

THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.

The Secretary of the Interior.—­The Interior Department, under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, is one of the most complex and important of the departments.  There are two assistant secretaries in the department, while at the head of the other offices are six commissioners and two directors.

The Commissioner of the General Land Office.—­The Commissioner of the General Land Office has charge of all the public lands of the government, and supervises the surveys, sales, and issuing of titles to this property.

The Commissioner of Education.—­The Commissioner of Education is the chief of the Bureau of Education.  This bureau has charge of the collection of facts and statistics relating to the educational systems and to progress along educational lines in the several States and Territories, and also in foreign countries.  The reports issued by the bureau are of great value to those interested in education.  The commissioner has advisory power only, except in Alaska.  Here he directs the management of the schools.

The Commissioner of Pensions.—­The Commissioner of Pensions supervises the examination and adjustment of all claims arising under the laws of Congress granting bounty land or pensions on account of services in the army or navy during the time of war.  That our government has not been ungrateful may be gathered from the report of the commissioner for 1913.  There were in that year 921,000 pensioners, to whom were paid approximately $180,000,000, or an amount equal to about one-fifth of the total revenues of the