Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-12-14

reducing the fees for money orders not exceed
ing five dollars from ten cents to five cents and
making the maximum 800 in place of $50.
Legislation for the disposition of unclaimed
money orders in the possession of the postoffice
| department is recommended in view of the fact
! that their total value exceeds one million dol
| lars.
The attention of congress is again pointed to
the subject OF establishing system of savings
| repositories in connection with the postofice
| department. The statistics of mail transDorta-
ton show that during the past year railroad
routes have been increased in length 6249
miles and in cost 81, $780, while steamboat
routes have been decreased in length 2,182
miles and in cost $134, 054. The so-ealied Star
routes have been decreased in length 3.949
miles and in cost 1864, IA. Nearly all of them
are expensive routes and have been superseded
| by railroad service. The cost of the Star
| route service must therefore rapidly decrease
| IN the western states and territories
The receipts from postage and other ordin-
airy sources during the past fiscal year were
| 1886, 489, 816 The receipts from the money
order business were 1926, SCI, making total of
| 1886, 1885, 97 The expenditure for the fiscal
year were 800, PSI, 1856. The deficit supplied
out of the general treasury was 1924, 81 293 or
63 per cent. of the amount. The receipts we're
| So, 1859, 918 in excess of those of the previous
year and So, STE, 1897 in excess of the estimate
| made two years ago before the present period of
| business prosperity had faily begun.
The postmaster general, however calls atten-
| ton to the constantly increasing cost of the
railway mail service as serious difficulty in the
| way of making the department self-sustaining
Our postal intercourse with foreign countries
has kept pace with the growth of the domestic
service. Within the past year several countries
and colonies have declared their adhesion to
the postal union. It now includes all those
which have an organized postal service, except
Bolivia, Costa RIGA, New Zealand and the Brit
ish Colonies in Australia. AS has been already
clio cd H.
made in the expense of the Star route service.
STAR ROUTE FRAUDS.
The investigation Of the department of JUS
tice and the postoffice department have resulted
in the presentation of indictments against per-
SONS formerly connected with that service, &C
cusing them of offenses against the United
States. have enjoined upon the officials, who
are charged with the conduct of the cases on
the part of the government and upon the emf
nent counsel, who before my secession to the
Presidency, were called to their assistance the
duty of prosecuting with the utmost vigor of
the law all persons who may be found charge
able with frauds upon the postal service.
"Cow-BeYs."
The acting encouragement also calls atten-
ton to the disturbance Of the public tranquility
during the past year in the territory of Arizona.
band of armed desperadoes, known as "cow-
boys, probably numbering from 80 to 100 men,
have been engaged for months in committing
acts of lawlessness and brutality which the local
authorities have been unable to repreSs. The
depredat1ons of these outlaws have also been
| extended into Mexico, which the marauders
reach from the Arizona frontier. With every
disposition to meet the exigencies of the case
I am embarrassed by lack of authority to deal
| with them effectually. The punishment of
| crimes committed within Arizona should ordi-
| narily of course be left to the territorial au-
| thorities, but it is worthy of consideration
whether acts which necessarily tend to embrol
| the United States with neighboring govern
ments should not be declared crimes against
| the United States. Some of the '' incursions "
alluded to may perhaps be within the
scope of the law, (revised statutes. Sec
ton 1926, forbidding military expeditions
| or enterprises against friendly states,)
| but in view of the speedy assembling of your
| body have preferred to await such legisla-
| ton as in your wisdom tne occasion may seem
| to demand. It may perhaps be thought proper
| to provide that the setting foot within our
| own territory of brigandage and armed ma
rauding expeditions against friendly nations
and their citizens shall be punishable as an Of
| Tense against the United States. will add
| that IN the event Of request from the terri
| torial government for protection by the United
| States against domestic violence, this govern
| ment would be powerless to render assistance.
| The act of 1895, chapter Sc, passed at time
when territorial governments received little at
| tentiOn from congress, enforced this duty of
| the United States only as to state governments,
| but the act of 1907, chapter SO, applied also to
| territories. This law seems to have remained
force until the revision of the statute, when
the provision for the territories was dropped.
! / am not advised as to whether this alteration
| was intentional or accidental, but as it seems
to me that the territories should be offered the
protection which is accorded to the states by the
| constitution, l suggest legislation to that end.
| 1t seems to me that whatever view NAV pre-
vail as to the policy of recent legislation by
which the army has ceased to be part of the
| posse cOnlltdtLS, an exception might we'll be
made fer permitting the military to assist the
| civil territorial authorities to enforce the laws
| of the United States. This use of the army
would not seem to be the alleged evil against
| which that legislation was aimed. From the
| sparseness of population and other circum-
stances it is quite lmprachcablet to summons civil
posse in places where officers of justice require
assistance and where military force is within
easy reach.
| UNITED STATES COURTS.
| The acting attorney general calls attention to
| the necessity of modifying the present system
of the courts of the United States, necessity
due to the large increase of business, especially
in the supreme court. Litigation in our fed
| eral tribunals became greatly expanded after
| the close of the late war. So long as that ex-
panse might be attributable to the abnormal
condition in which the community found itself
Immediately after thereturn of peace, prudence
required that no change should be made in
| the constitution of our judicial tribunals;
but it has now become apparent that an I'M
mense increase of litigation has resulted from
the wonderful growth and development of the
country. There is no ground for belief that
the business of the United States courts will
ever be less in volume than at present; indeed
that it is likely to be much greater is generally
recognized by the bench and bar, and in view of
the fact that congress has already given much
consideration to this subject I make no sug-
| gestion as to detail but express the hope that
| your declarations may result in such legislation
as will give early relief to our overburdened
courts.
INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
| The report Of the secretary of the interior,
with accompanying documents, presents an
elaborate account Of the business of that de-
partment. summary of it would be too ex-
| tended for this place, but ask your careful at
tention to the report itself. Prominent among
the matters which challenge the attention of
congress at its present session is the manage
ment of our Indian affairs. While this ques-
ton has been cause of trouble and embar-
rassment from the infancy of the government,
it is but recently that any effort has been