The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-12-08

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/ in encouragement to home products,
affords employment to labor at living
wages in contrast to the pauper labor
of the old world, and also IN the de-
velopement of home resources.
THE WAR DEPARTMENT.
Under the act of Congress of the
18th day of July, 1870, the army has
gradually been reduced, so that on the
1 first of January, 1871, the number of
commissioned officers and men will
not exceed the number contemplated
/ by law. The War Department build
| ing is an old structure, not fire-prOOf
and entirely inadequate in dimen-
siOns to our present wants. Many
/ thousands of dollars are now paid an
/ nuaIly for the rent of private build
/ ings to accommodate the various bu-
| reaus of the department. l recon-
mend an appropriation for new War
/ Department building, suitable to the
! present and growing wants of the.na-
ton. The report of the Secretary of
/ Was shows a very satisfactory reduc-
! ton in the expenses of the army for
! the last fiscal year. For details you
are referred to his accompanying re-
port.
THE NAVY DEPARTMENT.
The expenses of the navy for the
whole of last year, I. G. from Decem-
Der, 1869, the date of the last report,
are less than Sl9,0O0,000, or about
81, ,OOO, 900 less than they were the pre-
vious year. The expenses of the Navy
Department in this fiscal year since
/ July l, show for the five months a de-
crease of over 81. 400, 900 from those of
the corresponding months of last
year. The estimates for the current
year were SOS, ,205, ,67S IS. Those for
next year are so. .6S3, ,3l7, and S95, 100
additional for temporary and perma-
nent imprOv .ments. These estimates
are made cio-ely for the mere main
tenanee of tie naval establishment as
/ il now is, without much in the nature
of permanent improvement. The ap-
prOpriations made for the last and
current years were evidently intend
ed by Congress and are sufficient only
to keep the navy on its present foot
ing, and for the repairing and retit-
/ ting of our old ships. This policy
must Of course gradually but surely
destroy the navy and it is in itself far
from economical, as each year that it
is pursued the necessity fOr>drSfa re-
pairs i'll ships and navy yards will be-
come more imperative and more cost
/ ly, and our current expenses are actu-
ally increased for the mere repair of
ships, many of which must soon be-
come unseawOrthy aud useless. l
hope during the present session of
| Congress to be able to submit to it
plan by which naval vessels can be
built and repairs made with great
saving upon the present cost. 1t can
/ hardly be wise craftsmanship in q
government which represents q coun-
| Try with over five thousand miles of
! coast line on both oceans, exclusive of
Alaska, and containing forty millions
of progressive people, with relations
/ of every nature with almost every
foreign country to rest with such in
| adequate means of enforcing any for
eign policy, either of protection or re-
| dress. Separated by the ocean from
| the nations of the E lstern continent,
our navy is our only means of direct
protection to our citizens abroad, or
for the enforcement of any foreign
policy.
THE POST-OFFICE.
The accompanying report of the
! Postmaster General shows a most sat
| i5factOry working of that department.
/ With the adoption of the recOmmen-
dations contained therein, particular
ly those relating to reform in the
I franking privilege and the adoption
/ of correspondence cards, a self-sus-
! ing postal system may speedily be
! looked for, and at no distant day a
| further reduction of the rate of post
age be attained. ] recommend au-
| thOrization by Congress To the Post
master General and Attorney General
/ to issue all commissions to officials ap-
pointed through their respective de-
I partments At present these COM
missions, where appointments are
made, are issued by the State Depart
ment. The law, in all the depart
ments of the government, except
those in the pOst-Office and of justice,
authorizes each to issue its own COM
missions.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
Always favOring practical reforms, 1
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abuse OfIOng standing, which l would
like to see remedied by this Congress.
It is a reform of the civil service of
the country. would have it go be-
! yOnd the mere fixing of the tenure of
I Office of clerks and employees who do
| not require the advice and consent of
| the Senate to make their appoint
ments, complete. 1 would have it
/ govern not only the tenure, but the
manner of making all appointments.
| There is no duty which SO much en-
! harnesses the executive and heads of
departments as that of appointments,
| nor is there any such arduOus and
| thankless labor imposed on Senators
| and Representatives as that of finding
! places for constituents. The present
/ system does not secure the best men,
/ and often not even tit men for public
place. The elevation and the purifi-
I cation Of the civil service of the gov
-rnment will be hailed with approval
by the whole people of the United
| states.
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
Reform in the management of In
diau affairs has received the special
attention of the administration from
| its Inauguration to the present day.
| The experiment of making it a mis-
siOnary work was tried with q few
! agencies given to the denomination of
! Friends, and has been found to work
most advantageOusly. All agencies
| and superintendencies not so disposed
! Of, were given to officers of the army.
| pne act OF Congress reducing the army
/ renders army officers ineligible for
/ civil positions. Indian agencies be-
/ ing civil offices, determined to give
/ all the agencies to such religious de-
nominations as had heretofore estab-
/ iished missionaries among the In
I dians, and perhaps to some other de-
nominations who would undertake
I the work on the same terms, /. G. as
missionary work.
The societies selected are allowed to
name their own agents, subject to
/ the approvol of the Executive, and are
expected to watch over them and aid
them as missionaries and ehristianiZe
Z OF civilize the Indian and to train him
in the arts of peace. The government
watches over the official acts Of their
agents and requires of them as strict
an accountability as if they were ap-
pointed in any other manner. I en-
tertain the confident hope that the
policy now pursued will, in a few
years, bring all the Indians upon res
eTvatiOns, where they will live in
houses, have schoOl-hOuSes and
churches, and will be pursuing peace
full and self-sustaining avOcations, and
where they may be visited by the
law-abiding white man with the same
impunity that he now visits the civil
/ lied white settlements. 1 call your
special attention to the report Of the
Commissioners of Indian Affairs for
full information on this subject
THE LAND OFFICE.
During the last fiscal year $685.
! 423, 900 acres of public land were dis
posed Of. OF this quantity S06, ,sel, ,OOo