Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-12-09

the secretary of the treasury would
doubtless tighten the labOrs of congress when
this subject is brought to its consideration.
The accompanying report of the Secretary OF War
will give the Opera1lOns of that department for
the past year.
THE ARMY.
He suggests measures for promoting the
efficiency Of the army by adding to it no
more officers an recommends legislation neces-
say to increase the number Of enlisted men to
80 600, the maximum allowed by law This he
deems necessary to preserve peace on
the frontier 10 suppress disorders and ma
rauding in new sett ements, 70 protect settlers
and their property against Indians and the ell
crefehments of lRtruders, and to enable peace
able immigrants TO establish homes In the most
remote parts of our country The armv Is now
necessarily scattered over such vast exte,t of
territory that whenever an outbreak occurs re-
Inducements must be hurried from many quar-
ters over great distance and at a heavy cost for
transportation for men, horses, wagons and sup
plies. 1 in the recommendation
of the secretary for increasing the
army to the strength of 30 600 enlisted men. Il
appears by the Secretarys report that IN the alb
sence Of distui Dances the frontier, the troops
have been actively employed in collecting 1ndi-
| ans, hitherto hostile, and locating them on their
proper reservations; aud that Sitting Bull and his
adherents are now prisoners at Fl. Randall; that
the Utes have been moved TO their new reservation
in Utah; that at the recent outbreak OF the
Apachees II was necessary 10 reinforce the garrl-
sons in Arizona by troops withdrawn from Mex
CO. and some Apachees are now held prisoners for
trial while some have escaped and the majority of
these tribes now on their reservation. There
Is need of legislation TO prevent intrusion upon
the lands set apart for the Indians. \ large
military force at great expense is now required
TO patrol the boundary line between Kansas and
the Indian territory The ante-panishmt MT
as at present inflicted Is the forcible removal Of
the intruder, and the imposition of a
fine which in most it Is impossible to collect.
There should he a penalty oy imprisonment IN
| signal service is used by the sec
rotary of war, and full statement
| of the advantage of such permanent
organization presented in the report OF the chief
signal service officer in detail, Of the usual work
performed by the signal corps and the weather
| bureau is given in that report.
| | ask attention TO the statements of the secre-
tary of war regarding the requisition frequently
made by the Indian bureau upon the subsistence
department OF the army, for the casual support OF
/ bands tribes of Indians. for which the aopro-
| rriations are exhausted. The war department
! h u!d not be left. by reason OF inadequate pro
vision for the Indian bureau, TO contribute for
/ the maintenance Of Indians.
RIVERS AND HARBoRs.
/ The report Of the Chief IF engineers furnishes u
| detailed account of the operations for the inn
! provement OF rivers and harbors. | commend te
! your attention the suggestions contained in Thu;
report III regard to the condition Of our fortltca-
i tons especially our coast defences, and recon-
mend increased strength of the engineer battalion
1 by which the efficiency of our torpedo system
would be improved. | also ca your attention &c
| his remarks the imps vernent of the South
Pass OF the Mississippi river In an allusion
/ TO that subject | suggest the adoption Of sont
| measure for the removal Of obstnction'
which impede navigation OF that great
channel OF commerce. The proposed IRE,
/ bridge the Potomac river at George
/ town: the importance of completing
az early day the north wing Of the department.
/ buildin and other recommendations to the secre
! tary of war which appear in his report. I re
| port OF TIE actual expenditures of this depart
lnent tor the fiscal year ending June 30 1881 aTt
] 81, I22 20l.3y the appropriations for the yeal
! 1882 were SI4 $50 125 II; and the estimates fol
| 1888 are S44 81 ,2T6 81.
THE NAVY.
The report Of .he seer, tary of the navy exhib
is the condition OF that branch OF the service
/ and presents valuable suggestions.
| ca!l your special attention, also, to the repor
| Of the advisory board which viii be convened t,
devise suitable measures for increasing the efhti
ency of the navy. and particua ly to report a' Il
| the character and number of vessels necessary Il
! put it on a footing common urate with the neees
| iies Of the government. | cannot too strongly
! urge upon you my conviction that every conSid
| Grafton oil national safety, economy and homo
| lmperatiyclS demand thorough -habllitatiOn Q
cur navy. vi h full appreciation Of the fac
| that a compliance with the suggestions Of tn
heads al the department and of the advisory boart
In view Of the large expenditure OF the pub
lie moneys | ca rcstly recommend such appropri
ations rs will accomplish the end which seems t
| be desirable. Nothing can be more lncnnslsten
with true public economy than withholding tn
| means necessary to accomplish the objects en-
| trusted hv tn. constitution to the national legiS
/ # Ni4 IN. A nnp mol IL a
paramount :lpnrtauee, is declared by our funda
mental law to be the provision Tor : the commu
deiense' Surely nothing is more essential to III
Ge'enst IL the United States and OF ali our peopl
chan The efficiency OF our navy
We have for many years maintained with foreig
governments the re.dti MS oi honorable peace
and that such relations may be permanent IS dc
sired by every patriotic citizen of the republic
But If we read the teachings of history, we sha
not forget that in the life of every nation emeI
geneies may arise when a resort tS arms ca
alone save il from destruction No danger frol
abroad now threatens this people, nor have "
any cause to distrust the friendly professions
other governments.
But Tor avoiding rs well as for repelling dar
gers that may threaten us i'll future must |
ready to force any policy which we think wise,
To adopt. We must be ready TO defend our hai
bors against aggression to protect by the dstr
button Of our ships OF war over the highway
commerce varied interests Of our foreign trad
and the persons a:,d property of our either
abr, al to maintain every honor of our flag an
the distinguished position which may right
fully claim among the nations " the world.
THE POSTAL SERVICE.
The report of the postmaster general is a graf
flying exhibit of the growth and efficiency of tn
postal srevice. The receipts from postage an
other ordinary sources during the past fiscal yea
were !, SO 1879 SIG IS. The receipts from I'll
money orier business were 1925 5Sl39. making
total of S36,1S5, 1919 The expenditures fc
the fiscal year were S69 psi 1876 The defic
supplied out Of the general treasury was - 1871
1885. or 81 per cent. IF amount. The receipt
were 81 400 .63 in excess Of those OF the prev
Gus wear, and - ). ) 391 81 in of the est
mate made years ago, before the present perio
of business prosperity had iairlv begun.
The whole number of letters mailed in thi
country in tn. last fiscal year exceeded on
thousand millions The registry system i re
ported to be in excellent condition having becl
remodeled during the past four years with goo
results. The amount of registration fees collect
ed during q e last fiscal year was S7l2 $50 20 Al
increase over the fiscal year epding june 80, 1871
u S3f5 1870. The entire number Of letters an
packages registered during the year was s
S3S, gl9 of which only , COL were destroyed or lus
in transit The operations of the money orde
system are multiplying yearly.
nder the impulse Of immigration and TIL
rapid DEVELOPMENT 81 the newer states ana terri
tories and the consequent demand for additions
means OF inter communication and exchange dur
ins the past yea. 3Sl additional money order of
fees have been established making tota
81 aig9 in operation at the date u tbi
report. During the year the domestic none
orders Aggregated in value SO 50T ,596 935
\ modification of the system suggested reducis,
the f, es for money orters not to exceed So iron
ten cents To five cents, and making the maximum
d 500 in place Of 500 The legislation for tn
disposition Of unclaimed money ofders III the pos
mended in view of the fat that their total valu
exceeds million dollars The attention of congress
| IS again p5int d to the subject of establishing
i system q 4 savings depositary in connection
with the postoiiee depat tnent.
The statistics Of mail transportation show tina
| during the past year railroad routes have beef
increased in length g. 49 miles. and in cost 81
! H. .3S2 while steamboat routes have been de
creased in length 2iS2 miles anu in cost 1854 0oi
The called star routes have been decreased ii
| length 3.949 miles, and in cost S36i HI. Nearl
all these expensive routes have been supersede,
by railroad service The cost of star route ser
| VICE must therefore rapidly decrease in tn
! western states and territories.
The postmaster general however calls atten
tlnn 70 the constantly increasing cost Of the rail
road mail service rs a serious difficulty in tn
| way Of making the departm Mt selt-Su>taining
! Our postal intercourse with foreign countries h;s
! Kept pace with the growth of the domestic ser
vice. Within the past year several countries an,
colonies ha declared their adhesion to the po>ta
! union Ii now includes all th1se which have AZ
| organized postal service, except Bolivia, Cost,
| Rica, NV Zealand ami the British colo