The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1883-12-07

THE MORMONs.
Tho Utah Commission has submitted Ia
The secretary of the interior It's second an.
Hnal report as a result OF its labors i'm si,.
| tory, pursuant to the act of March % 1882.
" anpears hat the persons Ivy that act dis
qua N &. 10 tie runher OF about l., 90.
were excluded from the polls. This fact,
however, affords little cause for cOngratrI-
| liz ion. and fear that il is far from indi-
/ eating any raal and substantial progress
| toward tie extirpatOn OF pnlvganly. All
| of the members or the legislature are Nor
mons. There is grave reason 70 believe
tnat they are IN sympathy with the prac-
! tees that this government is seeking to
suppress, and that its efforts in that regard
VIII b. more likely 10 enc Dunter their op-
! position than receive their encDura cement
and snpp0ri. Even II this view should
1 happily be erroneous, the law under wiich
! the COmmiSSOn nave been ac, lag, should
he made more effective by the ncorpora-
ton Vf some sach stringent measures as
! tney rec mmeud, as Were included Oil bill
| No. obs on he calend ar of the seNote, Mt
! It's last session. I'm convinced, however,
! That 20 ygamy his become so strongly in .
! lrenched in the territory of Utah, that it
is rofitless to attack it with any but the
| strongest weapons which constitutional
legislation can fashion favor, therefore,
! the repeal OF the act unOn which the eX-
isting government depends, the assumption
p lltical control of the territory and the
establishment OF q commission with such
powers and duties as shall be delegated To
IL by law.
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
The Dep p.ment of Agricul, ure il ac-
compli hing mcn in the directi n of the
agrlcui, ural development OF the country,
and the report of the cOmmiS sioner, giving
the results OF his inveSti atiOns and eX-
periments, will be found interesting nd
valuable. AT his instance, convention
of those interested in the cattle Industry
Of the country was lately held al Chicago
The prevalence OF pleur0- pneumonia and
other contagious diseases OF animals was
one of the chief topics OF discussion, and a
committee the convention will invite
your cooperation, In investigating the
causes of these diseases, and providing
methods for their prevention and cure.
ALASKA.
trust that congress will cot fail, at its
present session, to put AlaSH.a under the
protection of law. It's people have repeat
eddy demonstrated against our neglect to
afford them the maintenance and prOtec-
ton expressly guaranteed by the terms of
the treaty, whereby that territory was ced-
ed to the United States. F'r sixteen years
they have pleaded in vain for that which
they should have received without the
asking. They have no law for collection
OF debts, the, support OF education, the
of estates or the enforcement of con-
tracts, nor, indeed, for the punishment of
criminals, except such as is afforded against
certain customs, commerce and navigation
acts. The resources of Alaska, especially
in fur, mines and lumber are considerable
in extent and capable Of large deve-
opmen.,. while In It's geographical situation
is one of political and commercial import
ance. The prompting. OF interest, there
fore, as we'll as considerations of honor
nd fntt .li,Nn
tab lShment of evil government in that
country.
INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
Complaints have lately been numerous
and urgent that certain corporations CON
trolling, in whole or in part, the facilities
for the Interstate carriage of persons and
merchandise over the great railroads of the
country, have resOrted, in their dealings
with the public, to divers measures unjust
and oppressive in their character. In some
instances the State governments have at
tackled and suppressed these evils, but in
others they have been unable to afford ade-
quate relief, because Of the iurisdictiOnal
limitations which are imposed upon them
by the Federal constitution. The question
how far the National Government may law
fully interfere in the premises, and what If
any, supervision or control it ought to exer-
else, is one which merits your careful con-
sideration. While we cannot fail to recog-
niZe the importance OF the vast railway SyS-
tenn of the country, and their great and
beneficial influence upon the development of
our material wealth, we should, on the other
hand, remember that no individual and no
corporation ought to be invested with abso-
lutte power over the interest of other citizen
or class of citizens. The right of these rail-
way corporations to award any profitable re-
turn upon their investments, and to reasona-
BILE freedom in their regulations, must be
recognized. But it seems only just that so
far as its constitutional authority will per-
nit, Congress should protect the people at
large, in their Interstate traffic against acts
of injustice, which the State Governments
are pOwerless to prevent.
THE NATIONS FORESTS.
In my last annual message called atten-
ton to the necessity of protecting by suitar
BILE legislation the forests situated upon the
public domain. In many portions of the
West the pursuit OF general agriculture is
only made practicable by resort to irriga
ton, while successful irrigation would be
impossible without the aid afforded by
forests in contributing to the regularity and
constancy Of the supply of water. During
the past year severe suffering and great loss
of property have been occasioned by profuse
floods, followed by periods OF unusually low
country. These irregularities were in great
measure caused by the removal from about
the sources of the streams in question of the
timber by which the water supply had been
n0urished and protected. The preservation
Of such portions of the forests on the ma
tional domain as essentially contribute to
the equable flow of important water courses
is Of the highest consequence. Important
tributaries Of the Missouri, the Columbia
and the Saskatchewan rise In the mountains |
of Montana, near the northern boundary of |
the United States, between the Blackfeet |
and Flat Head Indian reservations. This |
region is unsuitable for settlement, but upon |
the rivers which flow from It depends |
the future agricultural development of |
vast tract of country. The attention of |
Congress Is called to the necessity of with
drawing from public sale this part of the |
public domain, and establishing there a
forest preserve.
INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS.
The Industrial exhibitions which have |
been held in the United States during the
present year attracted attention In many
foreign countries, where the announcement |
of those enterprises have been made public
through the foreign agencies of this govern
ment.
The industrial Exhibition at Boston and
the Southern Exposition at Louisville were
largely attended by the exhibitors of foreign
a. ~