Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-12-12

upon its W territory, and 30 to provide the
ornaments demanded by considerations of
National safety and hontC.
THE NEW STEEL CRUISERS.
The report of the secretary>Qf the Navy ex-
hibits the progress which has been made on
the new stee! cruisers %authorizeS by the acts
OF 3, 1882, and March 3, Ing. OF the
d4nr s Xes sse under contract, one, the Chicago,
Atlanta, 5000 tons, has been successfully
launched, and her machinery is now fitting:
the Boston, also Of 5000 tons, is ready for
er Of 1850 tons, is ready for delivery.
I, The machinery of the dou%ble-turfeted mon.
itors puritan, -Terres and Amphitlite, con
tracted Tor under the act of March 3, 1881, is
zone during the past year on their armor, for
JACK OF the necessary appropriations. A
fourth nraia1 1n9an i the M%onadnock, still remains
nnnnlshed at the Navy Yard in California. 1t
is that early steps be taken to
complete these vessels, and to provide also an
armament 1or the monitor M~iantonomah.
THE GnEELY EXPEDITION.
Ihe story. OF the rescue Of Lieutenant
Greely and his congress is referred to, and
the message says the organization and con-
Duct OF this relief expedition reflect great
credltaupon all who contributed to it's success.
The NAVY.
In this, the last of the State messages that
l shall have the honor TO transmit to the
Congress OF the United States, | can not too
strongly stn urge on its attention the duty OF
the high state of efficiency Which formerly
G1aracterized it. AS the long peace that has
luled US into a sense of fnncied security may
at noa any q Lfln st,a De disturbed, it is plain that the
Ice lis dictated by considerations of use and
economy; Of Just regard. for our future tran
guilty, and OF true appreciation of the digni-
ty and honor of the Republic.
POSTAL sEv1CE.
The report of the Postmaster-G General
acqualnts you with the. present condition
and ID needs of the postal service. 1t dis
of revenue from the reduction of the
rate in letter postage, as recommended
IN nroa my message Of DECEMBER, 1852, and
has been much less than was generally anti,
cipated. My recommendation Of this reduc-
ton was based upon the belief that the actual
year Immediately succeeding the Change of
rate would be So 100000 1t has proved to be
only , s2 =
enue will soon be restored to its former vol
ume by the natural increase of sealed CORE
sPondencc. I confidently repeat, therefore,
enc CON ~ommendat of my last annual mes
ters be reduced to one cent wherever pay
ment OF two cents is now required by
lay; The hgho double pie rate is only exacted at
alton, and it appears that at these
offices the increase in the tax upon local let
te1s defrays the cost not only Of their own
COLLECTION and delivery, but of the collection
and delivery OF all other mail matter. This is
an inequality, that auaht no longer to exist.
l approve the recommendations of the Post
master General that the unit of weight in the
rating of frstclass matter should be one
ounce instead of one-half ounce, as it now is.
The President also expresses his coin
Postlnaster-General with reference to the eX-
tension of the free-de]ivery service, and the
adoption Of means whereby exceptional dis
offices may be secured by the payment OF eX-
traordinaly postage. This scheme might be
made effective by the employment of a
mensurate with the expense OF the extra
service.
H INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
Special attention is called to the
dations OF the Secretary of the Interior re-
and Ti~mber-culture Acts, the failure of rail
road companies to take title to lands granted
6y the Government, and the operations OF
the Pension Office, the Patent Office, the
Census Bureau and the Bureau of Education.
II INDIANS.
The President is glad to find a justification
for the policy of the Government in dealing
with the Indian question. and n confirmation
his first communication to the Forty-seventh
Congress-, The Secretary urges anew the
enactment Of statute fer the
indian Reservations, and recommends
the passage of the bill now pending
in the House Of Representatives. for the pur-
Sioux reservation. Both of these measures
are worthy Of approval. I concur with him
also in advising the repeal of the Presumption
present legal complications, touching lapsed
grants to railroad companies, and the funding
of the debt of the several Pacific railroads UNI
der such guaranty as shall etfectually insure
its ultimate payment.
MoRMONIsM N PoLYGAMY.
be read with interest: It d~iscloses the re-
suits Of recent legislation looking to the
prevention and punishment OF %polygany in
ahas TeGb1IItory yroc I Stl,l c beliey be- that san if that
by law. it can only. be by the most
radical legislation consistent with restraints
Of the CONSTITUTION. l again recommend,
therefore, that Congress assume absolute po-
litical control OF the Territory of Utah. and
provide for the appointment of a commission
with such governmental powers rs in its judg-
hands.
MORE ABOUT FOREIGN TRADE.
In the course of this communication refer
has more than once been made to the
tension of our foreign trade. It seems proper
to declare the general principles that should,
in ny opinion, underlie our national efforts
in this direction. The main conditions of
the problem may be thus stated: We are
n people engaged in mechanical pursuits and
fertile in invention. We cover vast extent of
territory rich in agricultural products and in
nearly all the raw materials necessary for
successful manufacture. We have a sys-
tenn of productive establishments moro than
sufficient to supply our own demands; the
a of labor are nowhere else so great;
the scale of living of our artisan classes is
such as tends to secure their personal com
fort and the development of those higher
morals and the intellectual qualities that go to
the making of a good citizen; our system of
tax and tariff legislation is yielding a revenue
which is in excess of the present needs OF the
Government.
These are elements from which it is sought
to dcvise q scheme by which, without unfavor-
ubly changing the condition Of the working
men, our merchant marine shall be raised
from its cnfeebled condition and new markets
provided for the sale beyond our borders OF
the manifold fruits of our industrial enter
prises. The problem is complex and can
be solved by no single measure of
of the American Continent and the
adjacent islands are for the United States the
natural market Of supply and demand 1t is
from them we should obtain what we DO not
produce, or do not produce in sufiicicncy, and
It is to them that the surplus productions of
our fields, our mills and our workshops should
flow, under conditions that will equaliZe or
favor them in comparison with foreign COM