Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-12-04

is proportinnately as we'll provided as Guthrie
with churches, schools and newspapers. Other
towns and villages, having populations of from
100 to 600, are scattered over the Territory.
In order to secure the peace of this new com
munity, in the absence of civil government. /
directe6 General Merritt, commanding tue De- |
partment of the Missouri, to act in conjunction /
with the Aarshals of the United States to pre-
serve the peace, and upon their requ1slt1on TO !
use the troops to aid them in executing war |
rants and in quieting any riots or breaches
of the peace that might occur. He was further !
directed to use his influence to promote good
order, aud to avoid any conflicts between or |
with the settlers. Believing that the introduc- |
ton and sale of liquor, where no legal restraint
or regulations existed, would endanger the |
public peace, and in view of the fact that such /
liquors must first be introduced into the Indian !
reservations before reaching the white settle |
ments further directed the General command !
ing to enforce the laws relating to the introduce
ton of a dent spirits into the Indian country. |
The presence of the troops has given sense of !
security to the well-dSposed citizens aud has (
tended to e'train the lawless. In one Instance
the officer in immediate command OF the troo pS (
went further than l deemed justihaole in sup !
porting the de facto municipal government OF |
Guthrie, and he was so informed and directed |
TO limit the interference of the military TO the
support of the Marshals on the lines l1dlc.ted |
| II the original order. / very urgently recon- !
meud that Congress at once provide Terrific |
rial Government for these people. Serious |
questions, which may at any time lead to Ylo- |
| lent outbreaks, are awaiting the institution of
Courts for their peaceful adjustment. The |
I
well illustrated in Oklahoma, but it is neither
safe wise to leave these people longer to the
expedients which have temporarily served
| them.
ALASKAN AFFAIRS.
Provision should be made for the acquisition
of titles to town lots in towns now established in
Alaska for Locating town sites. and Tor the es
| tablshment of municipal governments. Only
the mining laws have been extended to that
Territory and no other forms Of title to lands |
can now be obtained. The general land laws
were framed with reference to the disposition of
agricultural lands, and it is doubtful If their OPP
GRAFTON 10 Alaska would be beneficial.
| We have, fortunately, not extended to Alaska
the mistaken policy OF establishing q reserya-
| tiou for the Indian tribes, and can deal with
| them from the beginning as individuals with,
| am sure, better results But any disposition OF
| the public lands. and any regulations regarding
| timber and the fisheries, should have kindly
| regard to their interests
| Having no power 10 levy taxes, the people OF
| Alaska are VIII lily dependent upon the General
Government, to whose revenues the seal fisheries
| make large annual contribution. An appro
priation for reduction should neither be over
| looked nor shirked The smallness of the pop
| ulation and the great distances between the
rettlements offer serious obstacles to the estab
lishment OF the usual territorial form of govern
/ inert. Perhaps the organization of several sub
| districts, with small municipal council of
| limited power for each. would be safe and
| u3eful.
| Attention is called in this connection to the
suggestions of the Secretary OF the Treasury re-
| lating to the establishment of another port of
| entr. in Alaska and of other needed customs, |
| facilities aud regulations.
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
| In the administration of land laws the policy
of facilitating in every proper way the adjust
ment of the honest claims OF Individual settlers
| on public lands has been pursued. The num-
| Der of pending cases heard during the preced- |
| ing administration has been greatly increased
under the operation of the order FOR time sus-
pending final action in a large part of the cases
| originating in the West and northwest, and by
| the subsequent use of unusual methods of ex-
| animation. Only those who are familiar with
| the conditions under which our agricultural
lands have been settled can appreciate the seri
Gus and often fatal consequences to the settler
OF policy that puts his title under suspicion, or
delays the issuance of his patent. While care is
taken to prevent and to expose fraud, 1t should
not be imputed without reason.
| The manifest purpose OF the homestead and
pre- emption laws was to promote the settlement
| OF the public domain by persons having bona
| fide intent to make a hom- on the selected
| lands. Where this intent is well-established,
| and the requirements of the law have been sub
| stautially complied with, the claimant is en-
titled 10 a prompt and friendly consideration OF
his case. But where there is reason to believe
tsat the claimant is the mere agent of another,
| who is seeking TO evdde a law intended to pro-
mote small holdings, and to secure by fraudu-
| lent methods large tracts OF timber and Gther
| lauds both principal and agents should not
| only be thwarted in their frau ulent purpose,
but should be made to feel the full penalties OF
orr criminal statutes. The law should be so
classes and 10 visit penalties Only upon the lat
| ter. The unsettled state or the title to large
| bodies of lands in the territories of New Mex
| leo and Arizona has greatly retarded the devel-
| opment o. these Territories. Provision should
| be made by law for the prompt trial and final
| adjustment before a Judicial tribunal or Com
mission, of all claims based upon Mexican
| grants
1t is not Just to an intelligent and enterpris-
| ing people that their peace should be disturbed
| and their prosper iy retarded by these old CON
|
| ences of opinion rs to the methods may yield
| 10 the urgency Of the case.
| PESsIoNING SOLDIERS.
The law provides a pension for every soldier
| and sailor who was mustered into The service +
\ the United States during the civil war, aud Is
| now suffering from wounds or disease having
an orlgin in the service and in the line of duty
| Two or three necessary facts, viz; muster and
disability, are usually susceptible of easy proof;
but the third, origin of disability in the service,
| is often difficult and many des rving Cases iu-
| possible to establish. That very many Of those
| who endured the harGshlps o; our most bloody
| and arduous campaign are now disabled from
diseases that had real but not traceable origin
| in the service we do not doubt. Besides those
1 there is another class, composed of men many
| of whom served an elistment of the three tut
| years aud of re-enisted veterans who added a
fourth year OF service, who escaped the casual
ties of battle and the assaults OF dis ase, who
| were always ready for any detail who were in
every battle line of their command and were
mustered out in sound health, ami who have
the same indomit ,ble aud INDEPENDENT spirit,
the contests of civil LIE. been overcome by dis
ease or casualty.
| | am not unaware that the pension roll
| already involves a very large annual eXpendi-
| ture, neither am | deferred by that fact from
| recommending that Congress grant ii pension to
| such honorabiy discharged soldiers and sailors
of the civil war as, having rendered substantial
service during the war, are now dependent upon
| their own labor for maintenance and who by
disease or casualty are iacapaettated from earn
/ nt -11n ha mol 1,ad
| in this form Of relief are now dependent on
| public aid, and it does not, IN my Judgment.
| cOmport with the national honor that they
shall continue To suoSlSt upon the i Cal rellet
| given indiscriminately TO paupers, instead of
| upon Il special and generous provision or the
nation they secved SO CALAMITY and unse hshly.
| other people VIII, l nm sure, very generally
approve of such legislation, and [ am equally
sure that the survivors of the Mon army snd
navy will feel a grateful sense of relief when
| this worthy and suffering class of their COM
| rades are fairly cared for There are some man
lies. inequalities in the existing law that should
| he remedied; to some of these the Secretary OF
| the Interior has called attention.
| 1t is gratifying to be able to state that since
| the adoption oi new and better methods III the
| War Department, the calls of the Pension Office
| for information 10 the military and hospital
| records of pension claimants aie now promptly
! answered and the injurious and veXatious de-
| lays that have heretofore occurred are enlrely
avoided. This y i'll greatly facilitate the August
| ment of all pending claims.
| THE NEW STATES.
| The advent of four new States, South Dakota,
| North Dakota Montana ana Washington, into
| the Union under the Constitution in the same
| MONTH and the admission OF their duly chosen
representatives to cur National Congress Mt the
| same session, is an event uneXampied as 1t is
| interesting. The certifcaton of the votes cast
| and of the constitutions adopted in each of the
| States was filed with me as required by the
| eighth lection of the Act of February y, 1889,
by the Governors of said Territories respect
| lively.
| Having after a careful examination. found
that the several constitutions and gov
| ernments were republican in form and
not repugnant to the Constitution of
the United States. and that all the provisions OF
the Act of Congress bad been complied with,
and that majority of the votes cast in each of
said proposed States was in favor OF adopting
the Constitution submitted therein, did so de-
clare by a separate proclamation as to each; as
to North Dakota and South Dakota on Saturday,
| November ID: as TO Montana on Friday, No
vember Sth; as to Washington on Monday, No
vember 18th.
Each of these States has thin 1t resources,
the development OF which will employ the en-
ergies and yield comfortable subsistence to
great population. The smallest of these new
acknowledgements twelfth and the
st-Montana-rhird among the forty-two
States in area 4 he DeOple of these States are