# Report of the Secretary of the Interior/1876

ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
ON THE
OPERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT
FOR THE
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1876.
WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1876.
REPORT
OF
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.
Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C, October 31, 1876.
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of this Department during the past year, with such suggestions and recommendations as in my judgment would promote the efficiency of the public service:
INDIANS.
I beg to call your attention to the accompanying report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, which, together with the reports of the superintendent and agents, shows progress and steady improvement, giving most satisfactory evidence of the gradual advancement of the Indian in the habits of industry and development of agricultural ability and disposition. Each year adds greatly to the total number of acres cultivated by Indian labor and most gratifying results in the increasing number of laborers and amount of products. Personal industry, with its practical lessons of the benefits and increased comforts it secures, and a growing taste and desire for education, must be relied upon as the great elements in working out the problem of Indian civilization.
The evidence conveyed by a careful perusal of the reports of the different agents is most gratifying, as showing what steady advancement is being made in this direction.
Relying upon the sincerity of purpose and integrity of the officers in charge of the agencies, I think that it is a matter for congratulation that, in view of the sacrifice of home comforts and advantages which the agents must make, enduring the hardships and surroundings of a frontier-life for the very inadequate salaries allowed, so intelligent and capable men have been secured. For this result we are indebted to the various Christian organizations of the country, upon whose recommendation of fitness the appointments have been made.
The self-sacrificing spirit of the missionary has to be united to practical business ability, and, when secured in the slow and often disheartening task of Indian education, should be properly acknowledged and compensated. The Commissioner makes some earnest recommendations upon this subject which I most heartily commend; especially, ​that an appropriation be made, to be distributed as additional compensation to those having in charge the most important and difficult agencies.
No matter what particular policy may be pursued in regard to the Indian, I believe that the one feature of educating him and making him self-supporting, or as nearly so as possible, must always be steadily adhered to. The alternative cannot fail to be gradual extinction of the race. If he is to be taught, the success must depend upon the teacher, and the best material attainable should be secured, and paid accordingly. The sooner he is taught to provide for his own support, the earlier the Government will be relieved therefrom.
With the exception of the troubles in Dakota, with the hostile Sioux, we may say that, practically, all of the Indians are upon reservations entirely under the control of the Department, and making commendable improvement. It is believed that by spring the trouble in Dakota will be ended and all liability of Indian wars in the future removed. Trouble with the non-treaty Indians, consisting principally of renegades from various tribes under the leadership of Sitting Bull, had been foreseen for a long time, and the services of the Army were finally invoked to put a stop to the pillaging and outrages perpetrated by them upon the white settlers and friendly Indians in their vicinity.
Reports had been received showing that 60 white men had been killed and half a million dollars' worth of property destroyed by them, and their depredations had become simply unbearable.
The unchecked course of this band was one of the greatest drawbacks to the success of our agents among the remaining Sioux and other bands in Dakota and Montana, and it became necessary to turn them over to the War Department to be brought in upon the reservations. This is being rapidly done, and, but for the disastrous and sad fate of General Custer and his brave command, would have been consummated, in all probability, with slight loss to our forces. The similar trouble with bands in the Southwest, a few years since, was successfully removed, and to-day the Kiowas, Comanches, and Apaches are fully under control, and realize their better condition sufficiently to make it entirely improbable that any future difficulty will arise which cannot readily be disposed of by our civil officers.
To what extent the difficulties in the North were increased by the tardy passage by Congress of the annual appropriations, and the consequent dissatisfaction and suspicion of many of those Indians, before friendly, inducing them to join the hostiles, it would be difficult to determine but that the effect was to materially strengthen Sitting Bull's band is undoubtedly true.
The Indian Bureau deserves great credit for its efforts to prevent dissatisfaction and discontent among the Indians at the reservations, and did all that could be done to prevent the recent troubles. It may be hoped that the results of the visit of the present commission to the Red ​Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies and the agencies on the Missouri River will aid most materially in solving the Sioux problem. They have certainly secured the removal of the Sioux in Northern Nebraska to either the Indian Territory or the Missouri River, with full relinquishment of any claims to the Black Hills or rights in Montana, and the establishment of roads across the reduced reservation from the Missouri River to the Black Hills. The northern line of the reservation is to be changed from the forty-sixth parallel, which is a boundary-line unintelligible to the Indian, to the natural boundary of the South Fork of and main Gannon Ball River. The commission will not complete its labor and make a report for some time to come; but when their report is received, it will be transmitted to you, with such further views upon the Sioux question as may be suggested thereby.
I desire to express my warm appreciation of the hearty co-operation of the War Department and its aid and assistance at the various Sioux and other agencies in Dakota, at all of which quiet and order have been maintained.
For the general government of the Indians the Commissioner recommends three principles of policy, which he supports by able and convincing arguments and in which 1 most heartily concur: The concentration of all the Indians upon a few reservations, acceptance by them of lands in severalty, and the extension over them of the United States law and jurisdiction of United States courts, and consequent dissolution of tribal organization.
For several years the number of agencies has been decreased, as it has been found that their occupants could be removed and consolidated with other tribes upon one reserve or could be settled in the Indian Territory. Within the last four years one superintendency and twenty-two agencies have been abolished, with a corresponding reduction of agents and employes, and an annual saving in salaries and wages amounting to over $60,000.
As a matter of economy, the greatest saving could be made by uniting all the Indians upon a few reservations; the fewer the better. A much less number of employes would be required at correspondingly less expense, but a greater saving would result from the reduction of transportation. Many of the agencies are almost inaccessible during certain months of the year for the purpose of reaching them with provisions, and it can only be done at very great expense. To reach some few of them the transportation equals, if not exceeds, the first cost of the provisions.
Were there but five or six large reservations, easy of access, the annual saving in transportation alone would be over $100,000.
The good example of those successfully started in agricultural pursuits stimulates the desire of the more ignorant who may be brought upon the same reserve. Teaching is rendered far easier and more successful. Good results have invariably attended the ​concentration of Indians friendly to each other, and while the plan is not free from difficulty, and may take a long time before all can be brought together in the Indian Territory or upon some three or four large reserves, yet it has been demonstrated that every step taken in that direction is beneficial, and I do not doubt the feasibility of the plan. If, as the Commissioner recommends, the President were authorized by law to remove, whenever in his judgment it might be deemed practicable, any tribe or band, or a portion of a tribe or band, to the Indian Territory, or to either of two prominent reservations—and he names the White Earth in Minnesota and the Yakama in the southern part of Washington Territory—and suitable appropriation placed at his disposal to enable him to do so, there is no doubt that the success of such removals would be apparent within the next two or three years. Many of the present reservations are entirely unfit for cultivation, and the disappearance of game, which is rapidly growing scarce, leaves their occupants solely dependent upon the care of the Government for their support; and this condition cannot be improved till they are located upon soil suitable for agriculture and stock-raising.
Some few of the reservations located on mineral lands are or will be subject to the same conditions with which we have lately had to contend in the case of the Black Hills. In the past the inevitable result of the discovery of rich mineral deposits has been the possession by the miners of the locality hi which it is found. If upon Indian ground, great trouble must ensue unless the Indians are powerless to resist the aggression and protect their rights, which in any event are lost sight of.
Briefly, the arguments are all in favor of the consolidation; expensive agencies would be abolished, the Indians themselves can be more easily watched over and controlled, evil-designing men be the better kept away from them, and illicit trade and barter in arms, ammunition, and whisky prevented; goods could be supplied at a great saving; the military service relieved; the Indians better taught, and friendly rivalry established among them, those most civilized hastening the progress of those below them, and most of the land now occupied as reserves, reverting to the General Government, would be open to entry and sale.
As soon as the Indian is taught to toil for his daily bread and realize the sense of proprietorship in the results of his labor, it cannot but be further to his advantage to be able to appreciate that his labor is expended upon his individual possessions aud for his personal benefit. As long as the land is cultivated and the products owned in common, the homely truth that what is every man's business is no one's, will generally prevail, and the agent with his employes do the most of the farming. The Indian must be made to see the practical advantage to himself of his work, and feel that he reaps the full benefit of it. Everything should teach him that he has a home, not only in common with his tribe, but a hearth-stone of his own around which he can gather his family, and in its possession be entirely secure and independent.
​The Commissioner's recommendations for the allotments of lands to Indians in severalty—such allotments to be inalienable for a term of years—must ultimately be adopted, and I warmly favor its consideration.
In my annual, report last year I took occasion to quote from the report of the commission appointed during that year to visit the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies, in regard to the urgent necessity of laws for the protection and punishment of Indians. In previous reports of the Department the same subject has been repeatedly alluded to, and the absence of any proper means for the administration of justice over Indian Territory presented. The present law is entirely inadequate to punish an Indian for a crime committed against another, either without the limits of his reservation or upon it. The only punishment which can be inflicted upon a white man for a crime against an Indian is to force him off the reservation. This immunity for crime is most unfortunate, and loudly calls for correction. Were the jurisdiction of the United States courts extended over the reservations, and the Indian taught that he must suffer the same penalty for his crime as a white man, and at the same time be protected in like manner, the labors of the Department would be made much easier.
A few years ago the first thing considered necessary of accomplishment was to gain oversight and control of the Indians by inducing them to give up their roving habits and gather them upon a reservation, where, by feeding them and rendering unnecessary a ceaseless chase for game, an opportunity could be obtained of watching and teaching them.This has practically been accomplished.
The next important thing was to teach them the way to cultivate and produce their own food, and so be able to supply their own wants when restricted to a limited .territory, and educate in them a taste for such pursuits and a relinquishment of the natural desire to roam. This is being accomplished, and we have every reason to be satisfied with the progress attained.
To concentrate them and induce them to cultivate each for himself an individual farm, belonging wholly and completely to himself, is the next great step to be taken; but how can we expect the Indian himself to succeed if we do not surround him with the protection and guarantee of law? If it is so essentially required for the punishment and restraint of the bad, it is still more for the protection of the well-inclined. Though the plan of uniting all the Indians upon a few reservations and allowing them lands in severalty may meet opposition, and must necessarily, if favorably considered, be a work of time, yet the enactment of suitable laws for the government of Indians should be delayed no longer. I beg that you will call this especially to the attention of Congress.
The necessity of devising some simple and satisfactory form of government for the Indian Territory is yearly growing more urgent, and ​must, ere long, be met. At present the eastern and richest portion, agriculturally, is occupied by the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, numbering something over 55,000 souls, with atotal of 20,784,890 acres, or an average of 375 acres for each man, woman, and child among them. So long as this greatly disproportionate allowance of land to the individual continues, the greater portion of it must lie idle and unproductive and be the object of desire to the white settler. The easiest way to secure that Territory to its present occupants and protect it from the encroachments of white settlement, is to people it by other Indians, and, giving them all in severalty sufficient land for each to cultivate and take care of, prohibit any transfer to a white man, and only from one Indian to another under great restriction. There is no doubt but the portion of the Territory lying between the 98th meridian and its eastern boundary is sufficiently large for the occupation of all the Indians that can be removed there. Were it possible to get them all there there would be an average of 75 acres for each of the 275,000 Indian men, women, and children in the country.
Within those limits is embraced a section of territory about the size of the State of Ohio, unexcelled in fertility of soil, and a climate unsurpassed in the United States. By requiring its present occupants to accept liberal allotments in severalty their further claims may be adjusted by awarding proper compensation for the land they do not need and cannot occupy; and while no injustice to those Indians now there should be permitted, I believe such allotments and purchase of the remaininglands would subserve their best and truest interests.
The sooner the idea of considering and treating the various tribes in the Indian Territory as possessing a sort of independent power and nationality is done away with, the earlier will we reach some practical solution of the embarrassments which now surround the question of their government. The most of these people have made great advancement in civilization, and many are fit to embrace the full advantages of citizenship. They are under the care of the Government as much as any other portion of its people, and it is as responsible and in some respects more responsible for their welfare. There is no reason why the laws and jurisdiction of the courts should not be extended over them and they be treated the same as any other like portion of our population, and some form of territorial government devised which shall secure for them, as guaranteed, the exclusive occupancy of their territory by Indians, and, while protecting them from the encroachments of the whites, provide the necessary means for the protection and government of themselves.
Among the general recommendations of the Commissioner, I beg to call your attention to that for a further appropriation for the removal to, and establishment in the Indian Territory of the Poncas. Congress appropriated $25,000 for this purpose at its last session, which is not sufficient for their removal, and the purchase from other tribes of the land ​upon which to locate them. The early settlement of this tribe in theIndian Territory is desirable.
Legislation by Congress is recommended authorizing the allotment to the La Pointe band of Chippewa Indians of some twenty-two sections of land known as the Red Cliff reservation, in order.to carry out the terms of the treaty made with them September 30, 1854.
A large portion of the Quapaws are living with the Osages in the Indian Territory and are desirous of consolidating with them. Their lands are desirable for the Poncas, of whose removal to the Territory I have spoken, and authority is asked to negotiate the sale of this reservation to the Poncas and the settlement of all the Quapaws with the Osages.
Stringent legislation is required to prohibit the sale of liquor to Indians off of their reservations, and it is recommended that it be made a penal offense to sell liquor to an Indian any where.
I would call attention to the claim of the Sioux for $25,000, for which they accepted the pledge of the Secreta ry of the Interior at the time of their visit here in May, 1875, that should they consent to the cession of their right to hunt in Nebraska, and such rights as they possessed in Nebraska south of the divide of the Niobrara River, which by the treaty of 1868 was to remain Indian territory, he would urge that such an appropriation be made for them. This pledge was looked upon by them as equivalent to a promise of the money, and the failure last session to provide it has been a source of embarrassment to the commission now engaged in securing the moving of portions of the Sioux to the Indian Territory. It has been regarded by the Indians as a breach of faith. The Commissioner recommends the favorable consideration ofthis claim.
I can report that the lands of the Eastern Cherokees of North Carolina,lately in litigation, have been secured to them, and they are now in a condition of comparative independence. It has been attempted to erect a quasi-tribal organization there, which is not only unnecessary but mischievous, and I recommend legislation dissolving any tribal organization and providing for a division of the land.
I have also to report the successful removal to the San Carlos reserve of the Apaches from the Chiricahua reservation, and its abolishment. The close proximity of these Indians to the Mexican border gave opportunity for frequent excursions into Sonora, and was a ceaseless source of trouble. The extremely broken, mountainous character of the country rendered it impossible to follow and punish these marauding parties; and, as the Indians had not been disarmed, and could so readily elude any force sent to compel their removal, the Indian Department may be congratulated upon its successful accomplishment.
The removal of the Pawnees from Kansas to the Indian Territory has been completed, and this tribe is now upon a valuable reservation ceded by the Cherokees. Three hundred and fifty acres have been put under cultivation, 28 buildings have been erected, and two schools established. ​In accordance with the provisions of the act of April 10,1876, appraisers have been appointed to appraise the land belonging to the Pawnees in Kansas which they have vacated.
The report of the present condition of the Oheyennes and Arapahoes, and the Kiowas and Comanches, who, so lately as last year, were dismounted and disarmed, and who were at that time classed as equally intractable and violent as the Sioux, is remarkable for the progress it shows they have made iu peaceful pursuits and the desire evinced for the education of their children. So great is this desire that, had we greater facilities for taking care of and teaching them, a much larger number of children could be gathered in the schools.
I have lately named a commission, consisting of three civilians and two Army officers, to examine certain questions of disagreement between the Nez Perce Indians, in Idaho, and the settlers in their neighborhood, and also to report upon the subject of reducing the number of reservations in Oregon and Washington and Idaho Territories. Sufficient time has not elapsed to receive any report of their action.
The Osages, numbering some 3,000, are in a condition of great destitution. They have been great sufferers by a flood which carried away their fences and the greater part of their crops. They have been in the habit of supplying their wants in great part from the chase of the buffalo; but during the last season this has been a failure. They have abundant funds in the hands of the Government to supply all their requirements in the way of food, clothing, and necessary farming-implements, and ask that in their most pressing need they be allowed to use it. The time of payment by the settlers upon their lands in Kansas was extended by the Government, or the interest would now supply their wants. respectfully recommend that you urge upon Congress its early consideration of this matter at its coming session.
In accordance with the requirements of the act of June 10, 1876, within the time prescribed, all stocks, bonds, and other securities held in trust for Indian tribes were transferred to the custody of the Treasurer of the United States. In this connection I would renew my recommendation that as such bonds, and stocks mature and are paid, instead of being required to re-invest in new bonds, which have to be purchased at a premium, thus reducing the principal, the money be allowed to remain in the Treasury and the Government pay thereon a just and equitable rate of interest.,
PUBLIC LANDS.
During the year ending June 30, 1876, public lands were disposed of as follows:
| | Acres. |
| Cash sales | 640,691.87 |
| Military-warrant locations | 137,640. 00 |
| Homestead entries | 2,875,909. 67 |
| Timber culture entries | 607,984.87 |
| Agricultural-college-scrip locations | 2,320.00 ​ |
| Approved to States as swamps | 1,008,005.52 |
| Certified to railroads | 1,001,778.03 |
| Certified for agricultural colleges | 42,000.09 |
| Certified for common schools | 127, 036.15 |
| Certified for universities | 4,460.44 |
| Certified for public buildings | 3,118.84 |
| Approved to States for internal improvements | 52,331.56 |
| Sioux half-breed-scrip locations | 1,568.74 |
| Chippewa half-breed-scrip locations | 19.480.27 |
| Total | 6,524,326.36 |
a quantity less by 545,944.93 acres than that disposed of the preceding year.
The cash receipts were $1,747,215.85; a sum less by $32,400.42 than that received the previous year.
During the year 21,806,517.25 acres were surveyed, mating, with the quantity previously surveyed, 702,059,611.47 acres, and leaving yet to be surveyed 1,132,665,244.53 acres.
The quantity of land taken up under the homestead and timber culture acts is 661,966.68 acres greater than that reported last year. As these entries are generally by actual settlers, the increase is at once gratifying and encouraging.
The Commissioner, in his report, ably discusses various questions relating to subjects placed by law under his control. I would especially commend to the consideration of Congress his views, which were those of his immediate predecessor, as to the disposal of lands west of the one hundredth meridian of longitude; of pine and other timber lands; as to the consolidation of the pre-emption and homestead laws; the correction of errors in the Revised Statutes; the publication of maps; the furnishing his office with a law library; as to the land offices at Chillicothe, Ohio, Indianapolis, Ind., and Springfield, Ill.; the Osage ceded lands; and the clerical force in his office.
RAILWAYS.
The facts and figures herein set forth are compiled from the annual reports of the companies.
Stock of the Union Pacific Railroad Company to the amount of $36,783,000, has been subscribed, of which $36,762,300 has been paid. The receipts for the year ending June 30, 1876, were, from transportation of passengers, $4,201,807.89; of freight, $6,923,614.85; and from miscellaneous sources, $988,567.95; total, $12,113,990.69. These figures include "the amounts earned from, but withheld by, the United States, for transportation of its passengers, freight, and mails." The expense of operating the road for the year was $5,447,819.27, leaving net earnings $6,666,171.42. The cost of the road has been $114,465,652. The Omaha bridge cost $2,866,463.72. The total bonded indebtedness of the company is $79,072,312, of which $27,236,512 is due to the United States.
The amount of stock subscribed in the Central Pacific Railroad ​Company of California is $62,608,800, of which $54,275,500 has been paid. The receipts for the year ending June 30, 1876, from transportation of passengers were $5,448,769.04, and of freight, $9,161,631.15; total, $14,610,400.19. The operating expenses of the road for the year were $6,889,945.58, leaving net earnings to the amount of $7,720,454.61. At the close of said year the indebtedness of the company amounted to $89,061,508.43, of which $27,855,680 is due to the United States. This company embraces, by consolidation, (besides the original Central Pacific Company,) the Western Pacific, the California and Oregon, the San Francisco, Oakland and Alameda, and the San Joaquin Valley Companies.
Stock of the Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad Company to the amount of $1,000,000 has been subscribed, of which $980,600 has been paid. The receipts for the year ending June 30, 1876, were, from transportation of passengers, $34,946.28, and of freight, $79,467.84; total, $114,414.12. The amount expended in said year for running expenses and repairs was $131,500.67. The road and fixtures have cost $3,763,700. The company's indebtedness, in addition to the Government loan, and first mortgage of $1,600,000 and interest unpaid, is $148,739.94.
The amount of stock of the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company allowed by law is $10,000,000. Of this $9,992,500 has been subscribed, and $9,689,950 paid. The receipts for the year ending June 30,1876, were, from transportation of passengers, $1,085,199.70; of freight, $2,120,009.17; miscellaneous, $29,945.67; total, $3,235,154.54. Total expenses of the year, $1,827,980.40; leaving net earnings, $1,407,174.14. The funded debt of the company is $27,247,100, of which $6,303,000 is due to the United States. There are other liabilities to the amount of $3,554,525.13, making the entire debt of the company $30,801,625.13.
Stock of the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Company' to the amount of $4,478,500 has been subscribed, of which $1,791,400 has been paid. The receipts for the year ending June 30,1876, from transportation of passengers, were $80,779.39; of freight, $200,987.30; from express, $2,657.83, and from miscellaneous sources, $8,064.62; total, $292,489.14. The expenses of the road and fixtures during said year were $264,194.83,. leaving net earnings $28,294.31. The bonded indebtedness of the company is $3,256,320, of which $1,628,320 is due to the United States. The floating debt is $70,395.78.
Stock of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company of California to the amount of $28,585,300 has been subscribed, of which $27,227,200 has been paid. The amount received from transportation of passengers in the year ending June 30,1876, was $949,945.42; of freight, $1,186,673.30; total, $2,136,618.72. The expenses of the road and fixtures for said year were $1,140,329.63, leaving net earnings $996,289.09. The bonded indebtedness of the company is $19,984,000.
On the 16th June last you accepted the seventh section (of 20 miles each) of the main line of this road, and, on the 21st July last, the third ​section (of 50 miles each) of its branch line, authorized by the twenty-third section of the act of March 3, 1871.
The Northern Pacific Railroad Company has been re-organized, and provision made for the conversion of the outstanding bonds of the company into "preferred stock," and of its stock into "common stock." Up to June 30, 1870, of preferred stock there had been issued to bondholders, who had surrendered their bonds for conversion, 333,459 shares, of $100 each, and scrip for fractions of shares amounting to $198,234. No "common stock" has yet been issued.
The amount received from transportation of passengers for the year ending June 30, 1876, was $193,923.77; of freight, $424,061.96; from miscellaneous sources, $75,946.46; total, $693,932.19. The operating expenses for the year were $491,869.88; leaving net earnings, $202,062.31.
The company reports itself free from debt, both bond and floating.
Stock of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company to the amount of $19,760,300 has been subscribed and paid. The receipts from transportation of passengers for the year ending June 30, 1876, were $338,674.06; of freight, $1,006,506.32; total, $1,345,180.38. The operating expenses for said year were $719,614.52, leaving net earnings $625,565.86. The entire cost of the road and fixtures has been $37,368,789.64. The total indebtedness of the company is $17,348,400.
On the 9th February last you accepted twenty miles of the road constructed by the California and Oregon Railroad Compauy, (now by consolidation part of the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California,) extending from near Vina to near Red Bluff, Cal.
On the 23d June last I accepted a section of the Oregon Central Railroaf extending from the 20th mile-post to the Yamhill River, a distance of 27½ miles.
Stock of the Texas and Pacific Railway Company to the amount of $50,000,000 is authorized by law, of which $6,073,000 has been issued. The receipts for the year ending June 30, 1876, were, from transportation of passengers, $402,518.65; of freight, $1,137,900.17; from express service, $12,592.99; mail, $30,794.74; telegraph, $8,491.11; total, $1,595,156.10. The expenses for said year were, for conducting transportation, $308,011.33; motive-power, $231,015.18; maintenance of way, $219,085.65; maintenance of cars, $91,259.11; general expenses, $45,323.17; total, $894,694.44; leaving net earnings, $700,461.66. The entire indebtedness of the company is $18,127,427.81.
Denver Pacific Railroad stock to the amount of $4,000,000 has been subscribed and paid, being the total amount authorized by law. The receipts for the year ending June 30, 1876, were, from transportation of passengers, $167,812.78; of freight, $139,343.98; miscellaneous earnings, $6,392.99; total, $313,549.75. Expenses for said year were $129,848.87, leaving net earnings, $183,700.88. The cost of construction and equipment of the road has been $6,495,350. The indebtedness of the company is $2,524,091.73.
PATENT-OFFICE.
The work of the Patent-Office shows a gratifying increase in receipts and a decrease in expenditures, with a slight increase in the amount of labor performed.
From October 1, 1875, to September 30, 1876, the total receipts from all sources were $787,586.75, an increase over the previous year of $55,300.88. During the same period the expenditures were $661,637.76, or $47,236.59 less than those for the previous year. The number of applications for patents was 22,408, an increase over the former year of 919. The number of patents issued, including re-issues and designs, was 15,911, an increase over former year of 1,681. During the year two applications were filed for the extension of patents, and two were extended; 2,943 caveats were filed; 3,613 patents were allowed but not issued because of failure to pay the final fee; 1,037 applications were received for registration of trade-marks, and 1,029 trade-marks were registered; 644 applications were filed for registering of labels, and 499 labels were registered.
The work performed by the Patent-Office is highly satisfactory, and is due largely to the excellent clerical force employed, and to the fidelity of those officials charged with the supervision of its responsible duties.
As the Commissioner of Patents is required to make an annual report to Congress of the operations of his office, the brief abstract of the work of the year as above presented is deemed sufficient in this connection to show the condition of this important branch of the service.
PENSIONS.
The pension-roll has been diminished during the year by a greater number than during any year since 1873, when the maximum was reached; the number of pensioners on the 30th of June, 1875, being 2,684 more than at the close of the last fiscal year. The number of invalid pensioners on the 30th of June, 1876, was greater by 2,919 than at the close of the same month in the preceding year, while the roll of widows, dependent relatives, and survivors and widows of those who served in the war of 1812, contained 5,603 names less than it did on the 30th of June, 1875. In consequence of the large number of minors' pensions that will expire, and from other causes, it is anticipated that during the present year a still greater diminution will occur in this class of pensioners, while, on the other hand, it is reasonable to expect that the number of invalid claims allowed will exceed the number disposed of during any year since 1871. This presumption arises from the fact that the number of invalid claims filed during the last fiscal year far exceeds that of any year since 1866.
The whole number of names borne upon the pension-roll on the 30th of June, 1876, was 232,137. Of this number, 110,033 were pensioned as invalids, and 102,911 as widows and dependent relatives; 19,193 were pensioners of the war of 1812, 14,206 of whom were survivors, and 4,987 widows. There remained on the roll 6 widows of those who ​served in the war of the Revolution who were married prior to January 1, 1800, and 314 who married subsequent to that date.
During the last fiscal year the following amounts were paid for pensions: To Army invalids, $11,864,031.69; to Army widows, &c., $14,456,286.76; to Navy invalids, $182,788.96; to Navy widows, &c., $313,682.15; to survivors of the war of 1812, $1,089,037.18; to widows of those who served in said war, $445,772.95; making a total amount of $28,351,599.69, which includes cost of disbursement, and is $1,331,516.94 less than was expended for the same purpose during the preceding year.
There were examined and allowed during the year ending June 30, 1876, 16,880 Army pension-claims, of which 5,225 were for invalid pensions, 6,828 for increased pension to invalids, 4,292 for pension to widows, dependent relatives, &c., 535 for increased pension to widows, &c.; 330 Navy pension claims, of which 135 were for pension to invalids, 81 for increased pension to invalids, 84 for pension to widows, 30 for increased pension to widows, and 241 claims for survivors and widows of those who served in the war of 1812, 73 of which were for pensions to survivors, and 168 to widows; making in all 17,451 claims which were examined and admitted during the year.
The annual charge to the Government involved by the allowance of said claims is as follows: For Army invalids, $324,407; increased pension to invalids, $309,938; widows, &c, $543,250; increased pension to widows, $32,968; for Navy invalids, $14,007; increased pension to invalids, $6,330; widows, &c, $16,222; increased pension to widows, $2,576; and for survivors of the war of 1812, $7,008; and widows of those who served in said war, $16,128; making an aggregate annual rate of $1,272,834, or $846,335.07 less than the annual value of the claims admitted during the year ending June 30, 1875.
There were on file on the 30th of June last 88,973 unadjudicated pension claims, 54,190 of which were for invalid pension, 34,053 for pension to widows, &c, 341 of survivors of the war of 1812, and 389 of widows of those who served in said war. At the close of the year ending June 30, 1875, there were on file 71,509 unadjudicated pension claims, or 17,404 less than at the end of the last fiscal year. There were received during the year 42,877 claims for pension, while during the same time 17,451 claims were admitted and 10,132 rejected; making in all 27,583 claims disposed of, or about 64 per cent, of the number filed. The claims for invalid pensions filed during the year were about 50 per cent, greater in number than those filed during the preceding year, and exceeded Largely the number received during any year since 1866. The office has been greatly embarrassed in its labors by the delay in obtaining answers to calls upon the Surgeon-General for the medical history of claimants during their military or naval service, without which it is impossible, with few exceptions, to properly adjudicate their claims. There are at present 13,000 unanswered calls upon the Surgeon-General for the hospital-record of claimants, and, in consequence of the paucity of clerks in ​his office, this number is being constantly augmented instead of diminished.
During the year, 852 applications for bounty-land were received; 124 warrants were issued, aggregating 16,769 acres of land, which was 44,800 less than the number of acres issued for the preceding year; 351 applications were rejected, 98 of which were without title, and the remainder, 253, were denied on account of warrants having been previously issued for the same service.
The number of cases investigated by special agents of the office was 2,633, and the amount of money thereby saved to the Government was $136,981.54, or over three times the cost of investigation. Twenty-seven persons have been prosecuted for violations of the pension laws; 17 were convicted, 12 of whom are awaiting sentence; 6 were acquitted, and in 4 cases a nolle prosequi was entered. Forty cases are still in the hands of various United States attorneys, undisposed of and awaiting action.
It is estimated that the sum of $28,533,000 will be necessary for the pension-service during the ensuing fiscal year.
In my last annual report I referred to the unsuitableness of the Seaton building for the use of the Pension Office, and to its insecurity as a place of deposit for the valuable records and files of the office. My immediate predecessor had embodied like views in his annual reports, and on several occasions the attention of Congress had been called to the necessity of making some provision for the better protection of the valuable papers belonging to the Pension Office and for the personal safety of those engaged in the public service.
Congress, at its last session, recognized the necessity of affording the security asked for, and authorized the Secretary of the Interior to procure a fire proof building of suitable accommodations, provided the same could be rented for a sum not exceeding the amount appropriated for the rent of the buildings occupied by the Pension Office and Bureau of Education, to wit, $14,000. It was further provided in the same act, August 15, 1876, that "the lease of the present buildings shall be continued if the said buildings shall be made fire-proof by the owners thereof, to the satisfaction of the said Secretary, within six months from the passage of this act, without disturbing the use of the said building."
Immediately after the passage of this act I requested the Commissioner of Pensions to have a thorough survey made of the buildings, to determine whether the conditions on which the lease was to be continued were possible, and to report the result to the Department. The Commissioner called in the services of a competent architect, and a thorough examination was made. The result of this examination, as embodied in a report made to me, was, that the buildings could be made fire-proof only by a complete rebuilding of the interior of the structures in question, including partition-walls, stairways, &c., and that this could not be done without disturbing the use of the buildings, and probably compelling their entire vacation.
​With this knowledge before me, and with a sense of the responsibility resting upon me for the care and protection of life and public property, already too long imperiled, I caused a notice to be served upon the proprietors of the Seaton building of intention to vacate on 15th of September, 1876, and leased the substantial structure located on the corner of Twelfth street and Pennsylvania avenue, known as the Shepherd building, a building of superior accommodations, and fire proof from the cellar to the roof. The rent to be paid is not in excess of the amount appropriated, $14,000, and is designed to accommodate the Bureau of Education as soou as the lease of the building now occupied by that office can be legally terminated.
In making this change, I have endeavored to act in strict accordance with the law, and for the benefit, solely, of the public service.
In my last report I suggested a change in the present cumbersome system of medical examinations. The experience of the past year confirms the belief I then entertained, that a simplification of the system should b>e made so as to better protect the interests of the Government, and at the same time facilitate the prompt settlement of deserving claims.
The Commissioner of Pensions, in a supplemental report, has clearly indicated his views in relation to the necessity which exists for a departure from the present system, which requires the services ot upward of 1,500 examining surgeons. The plan he proposes is, in brief, to divide the country into districts not exceeding sixty, giving to each a competent surgeon and an experienced clerk. Their duties would be to personally examine the claimants and their witnesses, and transmit the result to the Pension-Office, and thus do away with much of the ex-parte testimony, which, under the present system, involves the necessity of extended and uncertain correspondence.
The Commissioner believes that under the plan proposed the clerical force of his office could be largely reduced, and the necessity for special agents obviated, and estimates that the cost to the Government would be less than at present, aside from the security which the system would afford against the payment of fraudulent claims.
The magnitude of the interests iuvolved renders the subject one of great importance, aud I earnestly commend the views of the Commissioner to the attention of Congress as worthy of special consideration.
EDUCATION.
The report of the Commissioner of Education for 1876 contains the abstract of the reports of the several State and city superintendents and other official educational publications, showing for each State and Territory the school population aud the enrollment aud attendance in the public schools, the number of teachers in the schools, with rate of compensation, the public-school iucome aud expenditure, and the constitutional and legislative provisions in each State touching public instruction, with more or less full intormation for each State respecting ​kindergarten and other private schools; also,detailed statements for each State respecting instruction in normal schools, academies, high schools, collegiate preparatory schools, business-colleges, colleges for women, scientific and agricultural schools, colleges and universities, schools of theology, law, and medicine, institutions for the deaf and dumb and blind, and other special schools, together with unusually complete tables of statistics of schools of all classes, compiled from replies to especial inquiries addressed by the Commissioner to the several State and city superintendents and to educational institutions throughout the country.
Much interesting information is also given respecting the history of the administration of education, besides a detailed account of the educational exhibits made by several of the States and by foreign governments at the Centennial International Exhibition. An increased interest in all that pertains to the history and present condition of education in this country has everywhere been awakened by the centennial commemoration, and calls upon the office for educational information have been greater than at any former period, especially from foreign officials and those authorized by foreign governments to make reports upon education in the United States.
In the regular discharge of its duties, the office has sent out some 7,500 reports and 33,000 pamphlets, published by it.
The labors of the statistical division have been greatly increased during the year by assiduous efforts to present with greater fullness and accuracy the statistics of the several classes of institutions embraced in the report as well as by the numerous calls by investigators at home and abroad for statistical information respecting special classes of schools or special subjects of instruction. The inquiries sent out by the division during the year numbered more than 7,000, to most of which replies were returned. These have been carefully collated and the results tabulated for the annual report.
The Centennial brought a manifold tax upon the office. Inquirers turned to it from all quarters, asking how an educational exhibit could be made.
The office offered the only national agency for harmonizing the diverse plans of the various systems and institutions.
In the furtherance of this object, experts were employed on various subjects, and over 80,000 printed documents and letters were sent out, in addition to an extended correspondence.
The special report on public libraries in the United States, which was announced in my last report as in preparation, was completed in October last, and is now through the press. The report traces the history and development of the several classes of public and semi-public libraries in the country, and presents important contributions by prominent librarians and experts on the leading questions connected with library economy and management, besides detailed statistics of nearly 3,700 public libraries, containing, in the aggregate, 12,276,964 volumes.
​Considerable space is given to an account of the libraries of the General Government and of the past and present relations of the General Government to the State, territorial, and other public libraries of the country, together with a statement of the aggregate Government expenditure for libraries and sundry publications from 1800 to 1874, and an historical outline of the laws and regulations respecting the distribution and exchange of public documents, copyrights, duties on imported books, &c.
Notwithstanding the liberal provisions of the Government in respect to furnishing its publications to public libraries, it appears that there is not at present in any public depository in the United States, not even at the National Library, a complete series of Government publications. It is hoped that the specific information presented in the report respecting the method of obtaining these important publications will lead to a more systematic collection and careful preservation of them by the leading libraries of the country.
It is proper to add that in the preparation of this report the office has received the cordial co-operation of librarians, college professors, officers of historical, scientific, and other learned societies, school officials, and others interested in enhancing the usefulness of existing libraries or in establishing these important means of education and culture in communities now destitute of them.
The other special reports, including that on drawing and art education, that on colleges, on medical instruction, academies, and the growth of text-books, and that on the illiteracy of the country as reported in the several censuses, have been pushed forward as fast as means will permit.
Several foreign governments are offering to the United States the articles composing their educational exhibits at Philadelphia for a National Educational Museum. The Commissioner hopes that it may be the occasion when this great desideratum in American education can be supplied.
In view of the embarrassed condition of large sections of the country, he earnestly renews his recommendations that some way be devised by the General Government to make available for immediate educational purposes at least a portion of the income from the sale of public lands, and the devotion of the remainder to the creation of a permanent educational fund.
CENSUS OFFICE.
During the past fiscal year the work of the Census Office has been confined to answering inquiries relating to the census of 1870 and those of previous years, and to the stating and restating, in some instances, of the accounts of the United States marshals and assistant marshals connected with the taking of the census, whose accounts have hitherto been unsettled or lost. This work, together with the preservation and classification of the material collected, has been satisfactorily performed by the chief clerk of the Census Office.
GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY.
FIRST DIVISION.
The United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, under the direction of Professor Hayden, during the brief season of 1876, continued its work in Colorado, completing the western and northwestern portions, including a considerable portion of Eastern Utah, embracing an area of about 10,000 square miles.
The areas of exploration were much farther from the base of supplies than heretofore, being located in the remote interior of the continent, and at times infested with roving bands of hostile Indians. On this account the difficulties were much increased, causing great loss of time in traveling to and from the fields of labor.
The survey the present season was divided into five parties, four of them for topographical and geological work, and a fifth for making collections in natural history.
The topographical as well as the geological structure of the areas surveyed the present season was of the highest interest. It has been called the plateau region, and all the drainage extends westward into the Colorado River, and the streams, with their numerous branches, have worn deep gorges or canons into the crust of the earth four thousand feet or more in depth. Continuous sections of strata were thus exposed nearly a vertical mile in thickness, rendering the geology simple and expressive.
Six sheets of the physical atlas have now been completed in accordance with previous instructions from the Department of the Interior, and the engraving is nearly done, and that portion of the physical atlas embracing Colorado and parts of the adjacent Territories will be ready for distribution early in the spring. Each of the sheets embraces an area of over 11,500 square miles, with a total area of about 70,000 square miles. They are prepared on a scale of four miles to one inch, with contours of two hundred feet, and on these charts will be represented, by means of colors, the geological formations, as well as a great amount of valuable information of a practical character to the country in regard to the areas of grass, timber, and mineral lauds, and all those portions susceptible of cultivation by means of irrigation. Much information was also secured in regard to the ancient ruins of Southern Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, and large collections of minerals, fossils, and other specimens of natural history. None of the parties were disturbed by hostile Indians, and the results of the season's labor are very satisfactory.
SECOND DIVISION.
The work of the geographical and geological survey of the Rocky Mountain region, under the direction of Prof. J. W. Powell, during the past year, will, it is believed, show practical and important results. On the arrival of the parties from the field late in the fall of 1875 work in the office was promptly organized and pushed with all possible vigor through the winter, spring, and early summer, until the ​appropriations for the fiscal year of 1876-'77 were available for the continuation of field operations. Daring the time thus indicated a "report on the geology of the Uinta Mountains and a region of country adjacent thereto" was completed, which was accompanied by an atlas, embracing a map of the district, exhibiting the local distribution of geological formations; another, showing, by appropriate colors, the distribution of irrigable lands, timber-lands, grass-lauds, and mineral-lauds, and four sheets devoted to the proper exhibit of the structural geology of the region.
In addition to this work, the necessary computations for the construction of the maps of the region previously surveyed were finished, the projections made, and the drawiugs completed ready for the engraver. In the mean time preliminary maps of the region were prepared and photolithographed.
After completing the report on the Uinta Mountains above mentioned, Professor Powell's time was chiefly occupied in the study of the ethnographic and linguistic materials collected in previous years. As soon as the appropriations for 1876-77 could be used the surveying corps took the field, and five parties were organized—one to continue the triangulation, two topographic parties, and two geological parties—These parties are still in the field. The region surveyed during the present season has been chiefly in the Territory of Utah, but a small part in the northern part of Arizona. The Rocky Mountain region of the United States, (not including Alaska,) or that portion west of the meridian of 99° 30', was by a former Secretary of the Interior divided into districts for surveying and mapping purposes, and these districts numbered; the area of each district is 2½ degrees in longitude, and 1¼ degrees in latitude. The region of country surveyed by the parties under the direction of Professor Powell is embraced in districts numbered 75, 85, 86, 95, 96,104, and 105; the first five lying directly west of the region in which Dr. Hayden is engaged, while districts 104 and 105 lie immediately south of the other districts in which he himself has been at work? During the earlier part of his work, before these districts were established by this Department, Professor Powell's work extended in an oblique direction from northeast to southwest along the general course of the Colorado River through the districts above designated, but the work was in such a condition that no one district was complete. During the present season his parties have been engaged in extending the survey over the unsurveyed fractional districts, so that final and complete maps of each may be constructed.
In addition to the determination of geodetic positions and general geographic features, the system of classifying the lands inaugurated in former years has been continued during the present; the object of this classification being to determine the extent and position of the irrigable lands, timber-lands, grass-lands, mineral-lands, and waste lands, the latter being composed of rugged mountains and desert plains.
​In the region embraced in this survey a very small portion of the country cau be redeemed by irrigation for agriculture, and no part of it can be cultivated without irrigation. It appears from the reports that less than one per cent, can thus be made available. Especial care has been given to the determination of the extent of such lands so as to exhibit their position on the maps.
Having in view economy and convenience in the linear surveys of this district, the geodetic points of the general geographic survey under the direction of Professor Powell have been carefully marked that they may- hereafter be used as datum-points by the officers of the General Land-Office.
Extensive coal-fields exist in the region surveyed, but, as in many-other parts of the world, these coal-fields are of practical value at comparatively few places. The general characteristics of these coal-fields have been the subject of much investigation, and some very interesting and valuable results have been reached. These will appear in the final reports. The quantity of available coal is practically inexhaustible, and the mines that can be economically worked are of great number.
In the Uinta Mountains silver and copper mines have been discovered and worked by private parties. The extent of these silver and copper bearing rocks has been determined, but their value can be established only by extensive working.
Under instructions from this Department, Professor Powell and his parties have also been engaged in general ethnographic work in the Bocky Mountain region. One of the special items in these instructions was the classification of the Indian tribes, such classification being not only of scientific interest but of importance in the administration of Indian affairs. For the eastern portion of the United States this work had been accomplished, first by the unofficial labors of Hon. Albert Gallatin, and subsequently continued by Hon. Henry R. Schoolcraft as an officer of the Government; and some additions had been made to this work by various persons for scientific purposes. This work has been renewed by Professor Powell, and has been pushed with all the energy possible with the funds at his command, and a large amount of material has been collected by himself and by members of his corps and by residents in and travelers through the country. In addition to this, a large amount has been collected by the Smithsonian Institution through various channels—materials as yet unpublished. The officers of that Institution have placed all this matter in the hands of Professor Powell, to be combined with his own collections. The first volume of the reports on this subject will soon be issued. It treats of the tribes of Alaska, the western half of Washington, and Northwestern Oregon, and is accompanied by maps exhibiting the geographic distribution of the tribes of these regions. A second volume, on the tribes of California, has also been sent to the Government Printer, which will be succeeded by others as rapidly as they can be prepared.
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS.
ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE.
During the year ending June 30, 1876, 931 patients were under treatment in the Government Hospital for the Insane, being an increase over the previous year of 19. Of this number 84 were discharged recovered, 36 improved, 1 unimproved, and 66 died, making a total by discharge and death of 187. Of this number 142 were males and 45 females. The total number remaining in hospital June 30, 1876, was 744: 576 males and 168 females.
The number of patients admitted during the year ending June 30, 1876, was 213; 166 were males and 47 females; 81 were from the Army, 14 from the Navy, and 118 from civil life. There were 10 re-admissions and one transfer from the private to the indigent list during the year. Of the 744 patients under treatment on the 30th of June, 1876,400 were from the Army, 49 from the Navy, and 295 from civil life. The recoveries during the year were 70- per cent, of the discharges—45 per cent, of the discharges and deaths together, 39+ per cent, of the admissions, and 9+ per cent, of the whole number under treatment.
The death-rate of males was 67–; of females, 84+; and the average of both sexes 79–; in a thousand. The general health of the institution has been good, and no disease of a hospital or local origin has existed. Although the wards of the hospital are crowded beyond their intended limits, care has been taken to secure ample ventilation, and to this, together with good management in the treatment of patients, the satisfactory sanitary condition of the hospital may be attributed.
Since January, 1855, when the hospital was opened, to June 30,1876, 4,104 cases have been treated. Of this number 83 were re-admissions, making the total number of persons treated 4,021.
The board of visitors report the resumption of chapel-services, which were temporarily suspended last year on account of repairs, and the introduction of more interesting and useful week-day evening-entertainments for the benefit of the household.
The whole number of pay-patients treated during the year was 54, 33 being males and 21 females. The number remaining June 30, 1876, was 29: 17 males and 12 females.
The wholesale market-value of the products of the farm and garden during the season of 1875, as estimated by a practical gardener and dairy-man, was $23,502.82. The hay, corn, rye, mangel-wurzel, grass, and other forage-crops, amounting to $6,750.50 in estimated market-value, are not included in valuing the products of the year, having been credited to the farm in milk, meats, and the keeping of horses for hospital uses.
The estimated value of the live stock, farm and garden implements, and other personal property of the hospital used mostly for agricultural purposes on the 30th of June, 1876, was $20,003.84.
​The expenditures for the support of the hospital, including needful repairs and improvements, amounted to $167,773.42. The receipts during the year were:
| From Treasurer of the United States | $150,171 00 |
| From private patients for board,&c | 11,348 45 |
| From sundry receipts, including sale of pigs, hides, rags, &c | 6,257 76 |
| | 167, 777 21 |
Of the $28,748 appropriated at the second session of the Forty-third Congress for general repairs and improvements all but $3,960 have been expended as originally designed. This latter sum, intended for bringing the water across the river, was fouud to be insufficient for the purchase and laying of pipe of proper size, and was therefore not drawn from the Treasury. In addition to the reservoir, pump-house, and other improvements connected with the water-supply, an extensive filter has been constructed and the pumping reservoir filled from the river. The board of visitors, in their report, in referring to these improvements, say:
The institution possesses, in duplicate, the most substantial, durable, and reliable facilities for raising to the tanks in the attics of the main edifice an ample supply of pure water, that is essential to the economies, health, and safety of every hour of hospital life.
The board of visitors submit the following estimates for the year ending June 30, 1877:
For the support, clothing, and medical and moral treatment of the insane of the Army and Navy, Marine Corps, and Revenue-Cutter Service, and of all persons who have become insane since their entrance into the military or naval service of the United States, and who are indigents, and of the indigent insane of the District of Columbia, in the Government Hospital for the Insane, one hundred and sixty thousand four hundred and twenty-six dollars, ($160,426.) This estimate is based upon the support of 710 non-paying patients, or an estimated average cost per week of each patient of $4.33⅓
If the requirements of the last appropriation act, that "one-half of the expense of the indigent persons who may be hereafter admitted from the District of Columbia shall be paid from the treasury of said District," shall be continued, it is estimated that at least $5,843 will be derived from this source, leaving the amount necessary to be appropriated by Congress $154,583.
For enlarging and improving the gas-works, slaughter-house, drainage, and laundry of the hospital, and for the erection, furnishing, and fitting up of an enlarged and improved bake-house and oven, including store-room for flour and lodging for bakers, fifteen thousand dollars, ($15,000.)
For general repairs and improvements, ten thousand dollars, ($10,000.)
​For the erection and fitting up of a separate building for the accommodation and treatment of female patients, three hundred and ninety-five thousand dollars, ($395,000,) one-half of which is asked for expenditure in the year 1877-'78.
The board of visitors earnestly represent the necessity of these additional facilities.
In view of the fact that the present building and apparatus for providing meats, bread, washing, and baking were designed for an institution accommodating 350 patients and the requisite number of officers and employes for that number, it would appear necessary that greater accommodation should be provided for the present force, which is nearly double that for which provision was made. I therefore recommend the improvements suggested by the board as worthy the favorable consideration of Congress.
In my last report I favored the recommendations of the board of visitors in relation to the erection of a separate building for the care and treatment of female patients. Aside from the propriety of separating the sexes, so as to allow greater freedom to each, the overcrowded condition of the present building renders additional accommodations necessary, and as the proposed extension is urgently recommended by the board of visitors and superintendent, not only for the proper accommodation of the patients, but for the better treatment of both sexes, I renew my former recommendation, and ask for the proposed improvement the favorable consideration of Congress.
There has been no change in the resident officers in the course of the year. They have been diligent and faithful in the discharge of their delicate and responsible duties. As a rule, the attendants have been kind to the patients and have performed their duties in a satisfactory manner. The general management of the institution has been good, and its results commend it to the continued confidence and support of the Government.
DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM.
During the year ending June 30,1876, 100 pupils—85 males and 15 females—received instruction in the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. Of this number 53 were in the collegiate and 47 in the primary department.
The general health of the institution has been good, only one death having occurred during the year.
The receipts during the year, including a balance of $3,991.81 on hand at the beginning of the year, were $56,813.76, and the disbursements $54,676.75, leaving an unexpended balance of $2,137.01.
For the extension and fitting up of buildings during the year ending June 30, 1876, the sum of $40,070.96 has been expended.
The estimates submitted for the next fiscal year are as follows: For the support of the institution, including salaries and incidental expenses, and $500 for books and illustrative apparatus, $51,000.
​For the completion of the work on the erection, furnishing, and fitting up of the buildings of the institution in accordance with plans heretofore submitted to Congress, $69,524.62.
For the inclosure, improvement, and care of the grounds of the institution, $10,000.
The board of directors present in their report certain valuable suggestions in relation to the higher education of the deaf and dumb of the several States, and the propriety of inviting the States to make provisions for the support of students here. Under its present management the institution has demonstrated the feasibility of imparting a collegiate education to certain of the deaf and dumb of the country, and this should encourage the belief that a greater degree of usefulness would be attainable if the facilities afforded were enjoyed by the more proficient among the deaf and dumb of the several States who are now shut out because of the inability on the part of the institution to support them. The board suggests that the subject of State support to worthy students be brought to the attention of the governors of the several States in some formal manner, so that the necessary steps may be taken to secure the requisite legislation.
FREEDMEN'S HOSPITAL
During the year ending June 30, 1876, 596 persons were treated in Freedmen's Hospital, of which number 331 were admitted during the year; of this number 203 were males and 113 females. During the year 7 males were born in the hospital and 18 females. Of the total number of patients, 214 were discharged as cured, 30 as relieved, and 89 died; total discharged and died, 333. Eemaining in hospital June 30,1876, 263.
In the dispensary attached to the hospital 1,466 patients have been prescribed for and furnished with medicine.
The orphan asylum, containing about 110 children and attendants, has been furnished with medicines and medical attendance during the year, and subsistence has been furnished to 25 of these orphans.
COLUMBIA HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN.
During the year ending June 30,1876, 330 patients were under treatment in the Columbia Hospital for Women and Lying-in Asylum; 222 were admitted during the year. There were 80 births during the same time. There were 131 cases cured; 59 relieved; 2 died; 18 incurable; 5 sent to other institutions, and 21 cases the results of which are unknown.
The character of cases treated and the nature of operations performed embrace all the variety of diseases to which women are peculiarly liable, and for the treatment of which this institution was established.
The general health of the hospital has been remarkably good, not a single death occurring among the patients admitted during the year. ​The two deaths reported were cases admitted daring the preceding year. These pleasing results are due to the excellent management of the institution and the wise sanitary measures adopted.
PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL.
Congress having appropriated $15,000, or so much thereof as might be necessary, for "the care, support, and medical treatment of 75 transient paupers, medical and surgical patients, in some proper medical institution in the city of Washington or in the District of Columbia, under a contract to be formed with such institution, a contract for this purpose was entered into with the sister superior of Providence Hospital for the year ending June 30,1876.
On the 1st of July, 1875, 117 patients, admitted under a previous contract, remained in the hospital. During the year 561 patients were admitted, of which number 449 were males and 112 females. During the year 539 were discharged and 49 died. The total number treated was 678; 538 being males and 140 females. The number remaining in the hospital July 1, 1876, was 90; 69 males and 21 females.
Under act of Congress, approved July 31, 1876, like provisions were made for the medical treatment of transient paupers in Providence Hospital, and the direction of the same transferred to the Surgeon-General of the Army.
CAPITOL EXTENSION.
The architect reports that the Capitol Building has been kept in good repair, and many improvements made to it during the past year. These improvements have been of a substantial character, and include important changes in the method of introducing fresh air in the halls of legislation.
He also reports that the vases, the large lamps, and the balustrades at the eastern grounds have been completed, and that the western grounds are now being improved by planting and by paving roadways and foot-walks. He recommends sufficient appropriation to complete the paving of the various roadways, foot-walks, and for the completion of the fountains. The fire engine-house, the construction of which was authorized by the act approved June 23, 1874, has been completed, and is now being used by the District government.
THE NEW JAIL.
In the early part of December, 1875, the new jail was so far completed as to admit of its occupation by prisoners. Since that time the entire building, with a few minor exceptions, has been completed. The Supervising Architect reports the heating, laundry, and kitchen apparatus in excellent working condition. The sewer has been extended to the river, much of the work necessary for the purpose having been performed by the prisoners, under the supervision of the warden.
The architect estimates the following as necessary to complete the ​building and its surroundings: Finishing inside of cupola and painting ceiling over guard-room, $1,500; coal-vaults, $5,000; stable and straw-house, $3,000; four hand-power elevators, $2,000; inclosing wall, (about 1,900 feet,) $60,000.
The estimate contemplates the employment of prison-labor wherever possible.
The architect, in closing his report to the jail commissioners, says: “The character of the work is excellent, and the building being well adapted for a penitentiary as well as a jail, I would call attention to the suggestion contained in the Supervising Architect's report for 1873, and if authority is obtained from Congress for converting it into a penitentiary, an appropriation should be asked for erecting the necessary work-shops.”
THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBIT.
The Department, through its several bureaus and offices, has been well represented at the International Exposition held at Philadelphia, Pa. The collections furnished by the Patent, Land, Indian, Educational, and Census Offices, together with the offerings of the Geological Surveys under Messrs. Hayden and Powell, attracted marked attention among the Government exhibits, and in their arrangement and selection reflected credit on those having them in charge. The general management of the Department display was under the direction of Commissioner John Eaton, jr., appointed by the President to represent the Department at the Centennial, and to his efforts, characterized by energy and fidelity, the success of the Interior exhibit is largely due.
PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.
There were received at the Department for distribution during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, twenty-eight thousand eight hundred and seventy-four bound volumes and seventeen thousand two hundred and eighty-five pamphlets.
I am persuaded that the laws relating to the publication and distribution of public documents should be carefully revised and simplified.
In my judgment, provision should be made for supplying gratuitously all the important public libraries of the country with copies of every valuable publication issued by the Government, while individuals should be required to pay cost-price for the same, exception being made of persons in official position, who should be provided with such documents as are essential to the proper discharge of the duties of their office.
The custody and distribution of such documents should be confined to a single agency, so that there might be one source from which the publications of the Government, or accurate information concerning them, could readily be obtained.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Z. CHANDLER, Secretary of the Interior.
    The President.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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