tatistics of the production
of precious metals.

The titles of the other officers indicate the general duties of each.
The whole department employs about 3,400 persons at Washington.

Some of the more important public questions coming within the province
of the Treasury Department at the present time are (1) the Tariff, which
has been settled for some years by the high tariff act of this Congress;
(2) the silver question involving the gravest questions of finance,
likewise settled for a time by the silver act of this Congress; (3) the
purchase of bonds on the market as a device to reduce the surplus and
prevent the accumulation of money in the Treasury; (4) the national
banking system, whose basis is being removed by the rapid payment of the
public debt; (5) the merits of the Independent Treasury System by which
it is claimed that money is kept out of circulation and a stringency
caused in the money market; and (6) the advisability of transferring the
revenue marine service to the Navy Department.

_#The War Department.#_--The War Department was established August 7,
1789. There is one assistant secretary. The chiefs of the bureaus into
which the department is divided, are officers of the United States Army,
and a part of the military establishment. Their titles and duties are as
follows. The Adjutant General of the Army, who has under him a large
force of clerks, has the duty of issuing orders, conducting the
correspondence of the department, and keeping the record. The
Inspector-General inspects and reports upon the condition of the army at
all points, and the accounts of the disbursing officers. The
Quartermaster-General has charge of the clothing, quarters, and
supplies, except food supplies, which form the province of the
Commissary-General. The Surgeon-General has charge of the medical
department, of the Army Medical Museum, and a special library. The Chief
of Engineers has charge of the construction of fortifications, etc. The
Judge-Advocate-General reviews the proceedings of courts-martial, and
advises the Secretary on points of law. There are also a
Paymaster-General, a Chief of Ordnance, and a Chief Signal Officer. The
Chief Signal Officer has charge of the system of communicating with
distant points by means of various systems of signals, the most
noteworthy of which is that of the heliograph, by which information is
conveyed by the use of sun-reflecting mirrors. Communication has been
established between