Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-12-15

nue. cutters Amer the proposals had been issued
and oide received, which were rejected under u
did not require vessels Of large size those fol
which the proposals had been issncd. / appointed
comnlission By letter dated December IL, 1859
Coast Survey. Captain Douglas Ottinger. and Cap
tain J. II. Merryman, Of the revenue marine, and
instructed them to consider and report upon fhs
character OF vessels best adapted to the service
Final action In reference to the construction Of the
vessels authorized was delayed for the report o.
the commission That report was made on the ls
Senate, second session present Congressl. upor
the completion Of the work Of the commission
proposals were again issued for the construction o.
four vessels authorized by law. Satisfactory bids
were received, and on the ed day Of July and 22d
Of August last contracts were made. The
construction given by the Comptroller to
priations for legislative, executive and Judi
cial expenditures Of the government foi
the year ending June 30, 1871, rendered the appro
sary to notify the parties 70 the contracts that they
must be considered as null and void. One OF the
parties has asked to have his contract formally an
nulIed. which has been DONE. recommend a re-
newal of the appropriation of $4,000 for the con
structon Of steam revenue cutters. without limifa.
OF vessels to be built. The report OF the commits
sion shows that the thirteen vessels now in use
either old or not adapted for the service.
use are larger than the nature OF the service re-
quired IL confirmed by the report OF the commits
sion. They recommend that the number De re-
duced to thirtyctwo and the aggregate tonnage re-,
that 1t will be practicable upon the proposed OASIS
to reduce the total number Of officers. pilots,
petty officers and men from iS6S the nnmDer linen
tanning the system. not including appropriations for
the construction of new vessels. from s1,446, 4W TO
making aSs sa " O. i the
suit OF . careful and comprehensive examination
Of the subject by competent men, and while u 10
the present purpose of the department 10 ACT upon
II, am of opinion that it should receive the legis-
lative sanction.
On the 9th Of July, 1869, I convened Board Of
who were aged oesps Of tse
Revenue Marine. The board is composed OF Cap
tains Faunce and Slicer, Of the Revenue Marine,
and Captain Patterson, OF the Coast Survey. me
examination has not yet been completed, as only
a small number of officers could be detailed for
examination at the same time. One hundred and
ten Leutenants have been examined. Ten First
Lieutenants, nine Second Leutenants and elk
Third Neutenants were reported for removal and
have been removed. The vacancies thus made in
the first and second grades were filled by promo,
tons, and the vacancies in the lowest grades will
be filed by qualified persons selected at large
The examination of the remaining officers Will be
continued.
The condition of the Marine hospitals has been
improved during the past year. This result is
largely due to DR.. j. s. Billings, of the Surgeon
Generals Office, who has visited nearly all Of them
have been made. No appointment has yet been
made Of superintendent, under the act OF the last
session. The authority therein granted to appoint
Superintendent Is desirable although the salary
does not appear to be sufficient. I, however. rec
ommend such alteration OF the law az will perm
the President to detail a surgeon of the army or
navy to perform the duty of Superintendent with
out any addition to his pay. other than his neces-
sary travelling expenses. With such authority the
department could have the benefit OF the services
Of Dr. Billings, or some other competent surgeon,
with less expense than would be involved in
larger appointment, even with the present salary.
Five OF the principal ports of the country, New
Philadelphia, are without hospital accommoda-
tons. and provision Is made for the patients by
contrpct with hospitals or private parties The De-
pitai at New Orleans, known as the sedgwick Hos
pital, and earnestly recommend the passage OF
act by which the building may be transferred to
the Treasury Department. for marine hospital, ana
the land on which 1t stands At the last session. the
attention OF Congress was called to the subject OF
transferring David's Island, at New York, from the
War Department to the Treasury Department for
the establishment OF Marine Hospital This rec
ommendation is now respectfully renewed.
THE ALASKA SEAL FISHERIES.
In compliance with the act of July 1. 1870, In ref
erence to the seal fisheries, proposals were issued
and bids received for the exclusive right to the fish
cries for the term of twenty years. The phraseol-
ogy employed in the act warranted the interpreta-
ton that the contract should be awarded to the
Alaska Commercial Company, II their proposition
was as favorable to the government as that of any
other party, and upon that basis the contract was
awarded to that company. A copy OF the contract
and Of the papers connected Herewith, vii! be
transmitted to Congress. About 81, 900 seal skins
year 1869, on which the owners have paid one del.
lar each, as required by the sixth section OF said
act sELE
consider it my duty to call the attention OF
Congress to the inadeguacy and inequality of the
salaries of the officers In the Treasury Department,
as fixed by law. The Offices recently established
BY salaries bt I'm the
ton Of the government are insufficient. AS q tenn
porary means Of alternating the admitted evil, Con-
gress has from time to time, and for many years an
nualy made an appropriation to be used at the dis
creton Of the Secretary for additions to salaries OF
officers in the department. In the nature OF the
case this is disagreeable duty the Secretary to
perform. 1t Is usually unsatisfactory to the par
ties interested and the result has not the sanction
and support incident to system OF specified sala-
ries established by law At the present time the ;
discretion. After a careful examination of the
subject find that an additional appropriation not
exceeding $4,000 year will be sufficient to pro-
vide adequate salaries for the officers Of the Treas
ury Department.
EXAMINATION OF CLERKS.
The act of 1852 in regard to the examination Of
with beneficial results II is worthy of con
sideration, however, whether 1t would not be
wise to provide by law for an examining board,
officers of the department to which the clerk Is
to be assigned in case of appointment and ap-
proval. This system should also be extended to
the principal custom houses and revenue offices of
the country. BY such an arrangement definite
security would be taken for the
character and qualifications Of clerks, az
far as they can be ascertained tested
without actual service in the discharge of official
duty. II y well understood, however, that no
examination can furnish security that tie person
exumfned will prove satisfactory upon trial,
and there should always be speedy and
easy method of removing such persons from
Office. l do not therefore accept The idea that
the tenure of Office for the clerks and employees
In this department should be changed. Indeed,
believe that the present tenure of Office fur
nshes the most security which the people Of the
country can have, that the business of
the government will be efficiently and
properly performed. The work Of the
Treasury Department does not differ essentially
from the business done In the banking houses
and the merchants counting rooms, and there Is
no reason why the tenure Of ONCE should
be permanent in one case that does not apply with
equal force In the others. II does happen, prac-
tcally, that there are in the Treasury Department
and In every bureau and Office OF IT, men who have
been connected with the service for several years.
and who possess all the knowledge derived from
experience and tradition that Is essential to the
performance of their duties
TREASURY DEPARTMENT FORCE.
Excluding the employees Of the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing, and Ne messengers and la
borers, there We're 2.143 officers and clerks con-