The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-12-10

proved bY the senate, ana Is now recommends
ed by the Secretary of the Treasury, would
doubtless tighten the labors of Congress
whenever this subject shall be brought to its
consideration.
The accompanying report of the Secretary
of War will make known the operations OF
that department for the public. He suggests
measures for promoting the efficiency of tho
army without adding to the number of its
officers, and recommends legislation neces-
sary to increase the number of enlisted men
to $4,000, the maximum allowed by law. This
he deems necessary TO maintain quietncss on
our ever shifting frontier; TO preserve peace
and suppress disorder and marauding I'm new
settlements; to protect settlers and their
property against Indians, and Indians against
the encrOaChmcnts of iutrudcrs and to ena-
BILE peaceable immigrants to establish homes
in the most remote parts of our country.
The army Il now necessarily scattered over
such vast extent of territory that whenever
an outbreak occurs rCintorcements must
pc hurried from many quarters over great
distances, and always at heavy cost for tho
/ nspOrtation of men, horses, wagons and
| supplies. ! concur in the recommendation OF
| the secretary for increasing the army to tho
strength of 1000 enlisted men. IL appears by
| the Sccrctarys report that in the absence OF
| disturbances on the frontier the troops have
/ been actually employed in the collection OF
| Indians hitherto hostile and locating them on
| their proper reservations; that sitting Bull
/ and his alhcrcnts are now prisoners at Fort
/ Randall; that the Utes have been moved to
| their new reservation in Utah that owing to
| the recent outbreak of the Apaches it was
] necessary to re-ontOrce the garrison in
/ Arizona by troops Withdrawn from
| New Mexico and that some ApaChcs are now
| held as prisoners for trial, while some have
escaped and the majority OF the tribes are
now on their reservations. There is need OF
/ legislation to prevent intrusion upon the
| lands set aside for the Indians large milf
! tnry force, at great expense, is now required
| to patrol the boundary line between Kansas
/ and the Indian Territory. The only punish
/ mont that can be inflicted is the torcible re.
/ mOvnl OF the iutruders and the imposition OF
| a pecunary fine, which in most cases it is i'm
| possible TO collect. There should be Il penalty
/ OF imDTiSOnmpnt in such cases.
nal Service is urged by the secre.
| OF the advantages of such permanent
! organization is presented in the report of the
Chief Signal Officer. \ detailed report of tho
| useful work performed by the Signal Corps
and the Weather Bureau is also given in that
! report. l ask attention to the statementof the
| secretary of War regarding acquisitions fire.
! Quently made by the Indian Bureau upon the
subsistence department of the army tor the
| casual support of bands and tribes of Indians.
! such appropriations are exhausted, and tho
! War Department should not be left, by rca-
son of inadequate provision for the Indian
| bureau, TO contribute for the maintenance of
/ the iutiuuS.
! The report of the Chief of Engineers gives a
! detailed account of operations for the i'm
| proNemcnt OF rivers and harbors. l recon-
! mend to your attention the suggestions con-
tanned in the report in regard to the condition
| of our tOrtitlcations, especially our coast de-
| lenses, and recommend an increase of tho
| strength of the engineer battalion by which
! the efficiency Of our torpedo system would be
/ improved. | also call your attention to the
/ remarks upon the improvement of the South
| Pass of the Mississippi River, the proposed
/ Georgetown, the importance of completing at
/ an early day the north wing of the depart
| mont building, and other recommendations
| OF the secretary OF War, which appear in his
! report. The actual expenditures of this de-
| partment for the fiscal year ending June 30,
/ the year 1852 were 81 ,isS 9G2, 5i2 the estimates
/ for lSSj are 81, lji, l27,60l.
THE NAVY.
The report of the Secretary of the Navy OK
| hibits the condition of that branch of service
| and presents valuable suggestions for its i'm
| provement. l call your especial attention also
! to the appended report OF the Advisory Board
! which he convened to devise suitable meas
| ures for increasing the efficiency of the navy,
| and particularly to report as to the character
and number of vessels necessary to place it
| upon footing commensurate with the ne
ceSsitics of the Government. l can not too
strongly urge on you my conviction that eve-
ry consideration of national safety, economy
and honor imperativcly demands Il thorough
| rehabilitation of our navy With a full appre-
citation OF the fact that compliance with the
suggestions of the head OF that Depart
ment and of the Advisory Board must
| involve large expenditure of the public
moneys, earnestly recommend such appro-
priations as will accomplish the end which
seems to be so desirable. Nothing can be
more inconsistent with true public economy
| tnan withholding the means necessary TO ace
cOmpEish the objects intlusted by the COnsu-
| tuition to the National Legislature. one OF
! these objects. and one which is of paramount
! importance, is declared by our fundamental
law to be the provision for the common de-
Tense" Surely nothing is more essential
to the defense of the United States and of
all our people than the efficiency of
our navy. We have for many years
maintained with foreign governments
and that such relations may
be permanent is desired by every patriotic
citizen of the Republic. But if we heed the
teachings of history we shall not forget, in
the life of every nation, emergencies may
arise when a resort to arms can alone save us
from 0iSlOuOr. No danger from abroad
threatens this people, nor have we any reason
to distust the friendly professions of other
governments; but, for avoiding as well as
repelling dangers that may threaten us in
the future, we must be prepared to enforce
any policy when we think wise to adopt.
We must be ready TO defend our har-
bors against aggression, to protect by
the distribution of our ships of war over the
highways of commerce various interests OF
our foreign trade, and the persons and prop
ertyof our citizens abroad to maintain every
where the honor of our flag and tho distin-
guished position which we may rightfullY
claim among the nations of the world.
PosT.oFFICE DEPARTMENT.
The report of the Postmaster eneral is q
gratifying exhibit of the growth and efficiency
of the postal service. The receipts from post
age and other ordinary sources during the
past fiscal year $36, 4S9, sl65S The receipts
from the money order business were
S2aj ,5Sl.39, making total of S36 1885,
S39s.9I: The expenditure for the fiscal year
was S69 25l 1886. The deficit supplied out OF
the general Treasury was s., 4sl l29.35, or 63 per
cent of the amount. The receipts were So ,i69,-
9lS.63 in excess of those of the previous year.
and 81 SIS 39797i in excess of the estimate made
two years ago, before the present period OF
business prosperity had fairly begun. The
whole number of letters mailed in this coun-
try in the last fiscal year exceeded one thou
sand millions. The registry system is regard
ed to be in excellent condition, having been
rem odeled during the past four years with
good results. The amount of registration fees
collected during the last fiscal year was ST.
2SS 22O, an increase over the fiscal year ending
It1n ia offs a OF N "a