US Presidency
1865

A tax on travel and merchandise in their transit constitutesone of the worst forms of monopoly, and the evil is increased if coupledwith a denial of the choice of route. When the vast extent of our countryis considered, it is plain that every obstacle to the free circulationof commerce between the States ought to be sternly guarded against by appropriatelegislation within the limits of the Constitution. The report of the Secretary of the Interior explains the condition ofthe public lands, the transactions of the Patent Office and the PensionBureau, the management of our Indian affairs, the progress made in theconstruction of the Pacific Railroad, and furnishes information in referenceto matters of local interest in the District of Columbia. It also presentsevidence of the successful operation of the homestead act, under the provisionsof which 1,160,533 acres of the public lands were entered during the lastfiscal year more than one-fourth of the whole number of acres sold orotherwise disposed of during that period.