Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-12-15
lected and which but give an insignificant re-


and must be paid for by the consumers. The
duties not only come from the consumers at
home, but acI as protection to foreign man.
ufactures OF the same completed article in our
own and distant markets. 3A1 =
: Will suggest or mention another subject
the Secretary of the Treasury to accumulate
balances: It is to devise some better method
of verifying claims against the government
.han at present exists thl oughout the Count
Of Claims, especially through claims growing
out of the late war. Nothing is more certain
than that large percentage of the amounts
passed and paid are Fart, or wholly fraudu-
lent, aud are far in excess of the real losses
sustained. The large amount of losses proven,
on good ties timony, according to existing laws,
by affidavits of fictitious or INSCRIPTIONS per-
sons, to have been sustained on small farms
and plantations, are not only far beyond the
possible yield of those places for any one
year, but as every one knows who has expert
ence in tilling the soil and who has visited the
scenes of those spoliations, are in many in
stances more than the individuals claim or
were ever worth including their personal and
eral, which will be submitted to Congess at
an early day, will contain a detailed history
of awards made and of claims pertaining tc
the clsss here referred to. -
THE WAR DEPARTMENT..
The report of the Secretary of War, &C.
c0mpanying this message, gives q detailed
account of the army operations for the year
just passed tho expenses for the maintenance,
ETC., with recommendations for legislatio to
which respectfully Invii 9 your attention. To
some of these suggestions l invite special
consideration, first tie necessity OF making
$500, 900 of appropriation fer the subsistence
department. available before the beginning
of the next fiscal year. Without this pro-
vision the troops at points distant from SUBJ
foifh Will fH,r7
or existing laws must be violated. It is not.
attended with cost to the Treasury. Cd. His
recommendation for the enactment OF q nYe-t
tenn of annuities for the families of deceased
officers, by voluntary deduction from the
monthly pay of officers This again is not
attende with burden upan the Treasury. and
would for the future relieve much distress
which every old army officer has witnessed in
the past, of officers. dying suddenly, or being
killed, leaving families without even the
means of reaching their friends, if for
tunate enough to have friends to
aid them. 3d. The repeal OF the law abol-
fishing mileage, aud the return to the old
system. 4th. TIE trial with torpedoes, under
the corps OF engineers, and appropriations for
the same. Should war occur between the
United States aud any maritime power. torpe-
does will be aalong, If not the most effective
and cheapest auxiliary for the defen Sc of har-
bors, AMI also IN aggressive operations that
we can have. Hence 1t IS advisable to learn
BY experiment. their best construction and
application, well as effect. 9Th. A perma-
nent organization for the Signal Service Corps.
This service has now become a necessity of
peace as we'll as war under advancement
made by the present able management. 9Th.
A renewal of appropriation for compiling the
official records OF the war.
THE NAVY.
The condition Of our navy at this time is
subject of satisfaction. 1t does not contain,
~
which make 20 N Ech of the maritime strength
of some other nation 3, but neither our CONT
mental situation nor our foreign policy require
that We should have large number OF ships
of this character while this situation and the
nature of our ports continue to make those of
other nations little dangerous to us under any
circumstances. Our navy does contain, how
ever, considerable number of iron-clsds of
the monitor class, which. though not properly
cruisers, are powerful and effective, for harbOr
defense, and for operations near our own
shores. OF these, all are of the single-tu1ret
style. Our ships for fighting purpos es are
also in hand, undergoing complete repairs,
and could be ready for sea in periods varying
from four to slx months. With these COM
pleted, according to the present design, and
our two iron torpedo boats now ready, our
ron-clad feet will be, for the purposes of de-
Tense at least equal 10 any force that can be
readily brought against 1t.
Our wooden navy, also cruisers OF various
sizes, to the number Of about forty, including
those now In commission, are in the Atlantic,
and could be ready for outy as fast as men
could be enlisted for those not already in
commission. OF these three ere In effect new
ships. and though same of the remainderheed
considerable repairs to their boilers and ma
chinery, they arc or can readily be effective.
This constitutes 8 feet of more than fifty
war ships, of which fifteen are iron clads
now on hand On the Atlantic coast. The
navy has been brought to this condition by
judicious and practical application Of what
could be spared from the current appropria-
tions of the last few years and from
that made to meet the possible emergency OF
two years ago. 1t has been done quietly. with
put proclamation or display. It has necessari.
~ straitened the department in extraordinary
expend iture, aud, as far as lron-cla0s are con-
cerned, has added nothing to the cruising
force of the navy; yet the result is none the
less satisfactory because 1t g to be found Ia
great increase of real rather than apparent
force. The expenses incurred in the mainten-
ance ef an effective naval force, in all its
branches. a<e necessarily large. but such force
is essential to orr position, relations and char
acters, and affects seriously the weight of our
principles and policy. throughout the whole
sphere Of naval responsibilities.
The estimates for the regular support of this
branch of the service for the next year amount
to a little less in The aggregate than those
made for the current year, but some addition
al APPROPRIATIONS dT0 dSheu ZOE lu0 OUl0CtS UOb
inclu ded In the ordinary maintenance of tn
navy, but believed to be of pressing import
ancesat this time. It would, in nv opinion
be wise at once to afford sufficient means for
the immediate completion of the. five double
turreted monitors now undergoing repairs.
which must otherwise advance slowly and
only as money can be spared from current ex-
penses. Supplemented by these our navy.
armed with the destructive weapons OF mod
ern warfare. manned by our seaman. and III
charge OF our instructed officers, will present
q force powerful for the home purposes OF
responsible though peaceful nation.
THE PosroFFIcE DEPARTMENT.
The report of the Postmaster General, here
with transmitted, gives full history of the
workings OF the department. for the year just
past It Will be observed that the deficiency
to be supplied from tie General Treasury has
increased over the amount refunded Tor the
precedi wear. In country so vast in area
IS tho United Statds, with ia-ge portions
sparsedy settled. it must be expected that this
importa ut service will be more or less a bur-
den upon the treastuy for many years to
come, ont there is 20 branch of the public