If the terms of a treaty call for the payment of money by the United States, the necessary amount can be appropriated only by an Act of Congress.  The House of Representatives may refuse to give its sanction to such an appropriation, and may thus prevent the treaty going into effect.

Power of Appointment.—­When it is considered that the President has the nominal power of appointing over 150,000 persons to office, we can readily see that this comprises one of his chief powers.  His right to select office-holders is granted in Section 2, Clause 2. He shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

Vacancies.—­Section 2, Clause 3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

Presidential Appointments.—­It would be quite impossible for the President, personally, to oversee all of these appointments, and so a large percentage of them is made by officials in the different departments.  There are, besides the ambassadors, consuls, and judges of the Supreme Court, some 7000 so-called Presidential officers, whose appointments must receive the sanction of the Senate.  More than one-half of these are postmasters of the first class[47].  Among the most important of these officers are the Cabinet, interstate commerce commissioners, district attorneys, and all military and naval officers whose appointment is not otherwise ordered by law.

[Footnote 47:  Those who receive an annual salary of $1000 and above.]

Official Patronage.—­In making his appointments the President is largely dependent upon the advice of the head of that department under whose direction the officer will come, or upon the recommendation of the representatives and senators of his party from the State in which the office is located.  This official patronage, through which political assistants in a State may be rewarded with a Federal office, has become so burdensome that many Congressmen complain of it and desire to be freed from its exactions.

Senatorial Courtesy.—­There has grown up an almost invariable custom, known as senatorial courtesy.  This demands that if the office to be filled is located in a State, the appointment be not confirmed unless it receives the sanction of one or both of the senators of the State concerned, provided they are members of the same political party as the President.