Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-12-16

ern and southern states. The subject is
/ commended To the careful consideration
/ of congress.
| The Secretary OF the Interior asks at
tention to the want of room in the public
buildings Of the capital, now existing and
in progress of construction, for the
accommodation of the clerical force en-
ployed, and of the public records. Ne
| cessity has compelled the renting. of
private buildings in different parts or the
city for the location OF public offices, for
which a large amount of rent is annually
paid while the separation of offices be-
longing to the same departments lmpedes
the transaction of current business The
Secretary suggests that the blocks sur
rounding Lafayette Square, on the east,
north and west be purchased as the sites
for new editices, for the accommodation
of the Government offices, leaving the
square itself intact; and that, if such
buildings were constructed upon har-
monious plan of architecture, they would
add much TO the beauty OF the national
capital, and would, together with the
Treasury and the new State Navy, and
| War Department building, form one of
the most imposing groups of public edi-
fees in the world.
The Commissioner of Agriculture ex-
| presses the confident belief that his efforts
in behalf of the production of our own
sugar and tea have been encOuragingly
rewarded The Importance of the results
attained have attracted marked attention
at home, and have received the special
consideration of foreign nations The
successful cultivation of our own tea, and
the manufacture OF our own sugar, would
make a difference of many millions of
dollars annually in the wealth of the ma
ton.
The report Of the Commissioner asks
attention particularly to the continued
prevalence of an infectious and cOnta-
gious cattle disease, known and dreaded
in Europe and Asia as cattle plague, or
pleuro pneumonia. A mild type Of this
disease, in certain sections of our coun-
try, is the occasion of great loss to our
farmers, and of serious disturbance to our
trade with Great Britain, which furnishes
q market for most of our live stock and
dressed meats. The value of neat cattle
exported from the United States for the
eight months ended August 81, 1880, was
more than twelve million dollars, and
nearly double the value for the same pc
Rod in 1879, an uneXampled increase of
export trade. Your early attention is So
licited to this important matter
The Commissioner of Education re-
ports a continued increase of public in
terest in educational affairs, and that the
public schools generally throughout the
country are well sustained Industrial
training is attracting deserved attention,
and colleges for instruction, theoretical
and practical, in agriculture and the me-
chanic arts, GLIDING the Government
schools recently established for the in
struction of Indian youth, are gaining
steadily in public estimation. The Com
missioner asks special attention to the
depredatiOns committed on the lands re-
served for the future support of public
instruction, and TO the very great need of
help from the nation for schools in the
territories and in the Southern States
The recommendation heretofore made is
repeated and urged that an educational
fund be set apart from the net proceeds
of the sales of the public lands annually,
the income of which, and the remainder
Of the net annual proceeds, to be diStrib
ut d, on some satisfactory plan, to the
states and territories and the District of
Columbia.
The success of the public schools of
the District of Columbia, and the progress
made under the intelligent direction of
the Board of Education and the Superin-
tendent, in supplying the educational re
quiremenls of the district, with thorough
" trained and efficient teachers, is very
gratifying. The acts Of Congress. from
time to time, donating public lands to the
several states and territories in aid of ed
ucational interests, have proved to be wise
measures of public policy, resulting in
great and lasting benefit. 1t would seem
to b. matter of simple justice to extend
the benefits OF this legislation, the wis
dom of which has been so fully vindi-
Gated by experience, to the District of
Columbia.
| again commend the general interests
of the District of Columbia to the favor,
able consideration of Congress. The
affairs of the District, as shown by the
report of the Commissioners, are in u
very satisfactory condition.
La my annual messages heretofore, and
in my special message of December 49,,
1879, | have urged upon the atten-
ton of Congress the necessity of
reclaimng the marshes of the Poto-
mae, adjacent to the capital, and
am constrained by its importance to ad-
vert again to the subject. These flats
embrace an area Of several hundred acres,
1 They are an impairment to the drainage
of the city, and seriously impair its
health. 1t is believed that, with this sub
stantial improvement of its river front,
the capital would be, in all respects, one
of the most attractive cities in the world.
Aside from its permanent population, this