The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1881-12-09

eessors in Office, and in furtherance of
which several bills have been from time |
t time introduced in both houses of Con-
gle 5. The enactment of general law per- |
hitting the allotment In severalty, to such |
Indians at least as deserve it, of a reasonable |
quantity OF land, secured to to them by patent, |
snffor theirown protection made male nable for |
twenty or twenty-five years; Is demanded for /
tLeir present welfare and their permanent ad- |
vancement. InTeiurn forsrich considerate action |
on the part OF the Government, there is reason /
to believe that the Indians in large numbers |
would be persuaded to sever their tribal re- |
lations; and to engage at once in agricultural |
pursuits, and that it is now for their best |
interests to conform their manner of life |
to tie new order of things. By no greater |
inducement than the insurance of permanent |
title to the soil can they be led to engage in |
the occupation of filling. The well-attested |
reports OF Their increasing interest in husband
nv Justify the hope and belief that the enact |
ment of such statute as recommend would
be at once attended with gratifying results. A
resort to the allotment system would have
direct and powerful influence in dissolving the
| tribal bond, which is prominent feature of
savage life. and which tends SO strongly to
perpetuate it there:
advise a liberal appropriation for the sup
port of Indian schools, because Of my confident
belief that such a course is consistent with the
wiSest economy even among the most uncul-
tured Indian tribes. There Is reported to be q
general and urgent desire on the part of the
chiefs and the older members for the educa-
ton of their children: 1t is unfortunate
| in view of this fact, that during the
past year the means which have been at
| the command of the Interior Depart
! ment, for the purpose of Indian instruction,
| have proved to be utterly inadequate The
| success of the schools which are III operation
| at Hampton, Carlisle and Forest Grove
should not only encourage more generous
| provision for the support of these lnstitu
| tons, bat should prompt the establishment
| of others of a similar character. They are
! doubtless more potent for good than the
! day schools upon the reservation, as the
| pupils are altogether separated from the
| surroundings of savage life and brought
! into constant contact with civilization. There
| are many other phases of this subject which
/ are of great interest but which cannot be in-
| Guided within the becoming limits of this COM
munication. They are discussed ably in the
reports of the Secretary of the Interior and of
| the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
For many years the Executive, in his annua
| message to Congress, has urged the necessity
for stringent legislation for
| THE SUPPRESSION OF PoLYGkNIY
in the Territories, especially in Utah. The ex-
listing statute for the punishment of this odious
crime, so revolving to the moral and religious
sense of Christianity, has been persistently
and CONTEMPORARY violated ever since its en-
actment. Indeed, in spite of commendable
| efforts on the part of the authorities who
represent the United States i'll that Terri
tory, the law has, in very rare in
stances, been enforced, and, for a cause to
| which reference will presently be made, is
| practically dead letter. The fact that ad-
herents of the Mormon church. which rests
upon polygamy as its cornerstone, have re-
Gently been peopling in large numbers Idaho,
| Arizona, and other of our Western Territories,
is we'll calculated to excite
THE LIyELIEsT INTEREST AND APPREHENSION.
| Il imposes upon Congress ana the Executive
| the duty of opposing to this barbsrOus system
| all the power which under the constitution and
| law they can WELD for its destruction. Refer
ence has been already made to the distractions
! which the United States officers have encoun-
tered in their efforts to punish the violations of
J the law. Prominent among the obstacles is
tie difficulty of procuring legal evidence sufh-
| Gent to warrant a conviction, even in the case
of the most notorious Offenders. ..
Your attention is called to the opinion of the
| Supreme Court of the United States explain
ing its Judgment of reversal in the case OF
Ml3s, who had been convicted of bigamy in
| Utah. The court refers to the fact that the
| secrecy attending the celebration of marriages
IN ihaJ Territory makes the suppression of that
part of polygamy very difficult, and the prOprie-
| ty is s. ggested Of modifying that law of evil
dsa CO which now makes wife incompetent to
| testify against Ter husband THIS sug-
5estion is appror d. I recommend also the
| passage of an act yroviding that in the Terrific
lis of these United States the fact that woman
Gas been married to person charged with big
| amy shall not disquallfy her as witness upon
his trial for that Off ne. further recommend
legislation by which any person soiemnizing
mlrri3ge in any of the Terrt ores shall
be required, under stringent penalties for
no lagt fT1So 10 10 Of G1I6lt
marriage in the Supreme Court OF the Ter
ri 0v, unless Congress shell make or devise
eth practicable measures for obyiating the
d n utSsb lIth have hsCileTtj 8 teaded the
=: ortS to suppress this iniquity, l assure you
! 0. my determined purpose to cooperate with
| you in any lawful aud discreet measures which
my be proposed to that end. Although cur
| s 7s.em Of government does not contemplate
that the nation should provide or support a
sy5.cm for the education of our people, no
measures calculated to provide that gen, RAJ
Intelligence and virtue upon which the ptrpetu-
ny Of our institutions SO greatly depend nave
eSer been regarded with indifference by
iher Congress or tie Executive
very large portion of the pul 10
do main has been, ION time to time, devoted
., The promotion of th; c.uSo of education.
T. ere now special reason why, by setting
apart the proceeds of the sales of public lands,
| or BY some other meal 9, the Cove nGent
shoild aid the work OF education. Msny
VINO now exercise the right OF suffrage are
unable to read the ballot which they cat.
Upon many who had just emerged from q
condition of slavery We're suddenly devOlveai
DE responsibilities of citizenship in that pOr-
ton of the country most impoverished by
W.T. l have been pleased to learn FRO the
report of the Commissioner Of Education this:
taere has been lately eommsndabe Increase
o. interest and effort for their instruction, but
all that Gun be done by local legislation and
| private generosity should be supplemented by
| su.h cid as can be cOnstitutionally afforded by
the National Government. / would suggest
that If any fund be dedicated to this purpose,
i may be wisely distr bIted in the different
States according to the ratio of ill1eracY, as by
Gl:s means those locations which are most IL
need of such assistance will reap the especial
-enefts.
TIE REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRI-
CULTURE
exhibits results of experiments IN which that
| department has been engaged during the past
4r and makes impor ant suggestions in RET
creme to the agrieultu development of tie
| country. The steady increase OF our popula-
ton, and the consequent addition to the num-
Der of those engaged in the pursuit of hus-
bandrv, are giving to this department growing
dgnity and Importance. The Commissioners
suggestions touching it's capacity for greater
usefulness deserve attention, as it more and
| more comments itSelt 10 Inc INTEREST WHICH IL
was create to promote.
1t appears from
t IE REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF PENSIONS
that since 1860 789,0G3 original pension claims
h.. been fled 400, $40 of these have been al
lowed and insci bed on the pension ron, 1889
| have been II jected and abandoned, being ID
per cent. of the whole number of claims SCI
tfcd. There are now pending for settlement
265, SIS original pension Claims %, 704 of which
we're fled prior to July !, 1880. These, when
allowed, VIII involve the payment OF arrears
from the dste of the discharge in the case Of
auiryaiid, and from the date of death or termina-
ton OF D prior right in all other cases. From
all the data ootainable it is estimated that ID
per cent. of the claims now pending viii be re-
| Iectei or abandoned. This would show the
probable rejection of 34,049 cases, ard the
probable admission Of about 1873, 600 claims all
of which involve the payment of arrears OF
pensions. With the present force employed,
the number of adjudicaions remaining the
same, and no new business Intervening this
number of claims Q93, 000) could be acted upon
in
PERIOD OF SIX YEARS,
and, taking Jan. /, 1864, as near period from
which to estimate in each case an average
amount Of arrears. 1t is found that every case
allowed would require for the first payment
upon it the sum of 81 $50 Multiplying this
L "a Ii nd