Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-01


| cases where other efforts failed TO secure fol
any postmaster, not himself in fault, an CD
Portunlty peacefully to exercise the duties o.
,h ts Once: but such action will not supplan
| ,ue enOrts OF the Department Of Justice Il
orIng the particular offenders to punishment
me vacation BY judicial DEGREES Of fraudu
| rent certlncates Of naturalization, upon bills il
equity hled by the Attorney General in the
circuit court Of the United States, il a new
application Of familiar equity jurisdiction
Nearly 100 such DEGREES have been taken dur
ing the year. the evidence disclosing that
very large number Of fraudulent certificates Of
naturalization have been issued. And in THU
sonneeoon beg to renew my recommends
ion that the laws be so amended as to require
= more fuu and searching inquiry into all the
lacts necessary to naturalization before any
| cernncates are granted. II certainly Is not toe
] much TO require that an application for Amer
| ican citizenship shall be heard with as much
| care and recorded with a. much formality al
are given to cases involving the pettiest
property right.
| FOOL SELLING IN THE pIsTRIcr.
At the Last session returned, without my
approval. bill entitled IAN act to prohibi,
! book making and pool selling in the District Of
columbia, and stated my objection to be that
II did not prohibit, but in fact licensed what IL
purported to prohibit An effort will be made
under existing laws to suppress this evil,
though 1t il not certain that they will be found
adequate.
THE o. q. MAIL.
The report Of the Postmaster-G General shows
the most gratifying progress in the important
work committed to his direction. The business
methods have been greatly improved. A large
economy In expenditures and an increase Of
four and three quarter millions in receipts have
been realized. The deficiency this year is IS, =
800 as against 80 $50 fSS last year, notwith-
standing the great enlargement Of the service.
Mail routes have been extended and quickened,
and greater accuracy and dispatch in distribu-
ton and delivery have been attained. The re-
port viii be found to be full of interest and
suggestion, not only to Congress, but to those
thoughtful citizens who may be interested to
know what business methods can do for that
department Of public administration which
most nearly touches all our people.
The passage Of the act to amend certain Sec
lions OF the Revised Statutes relating to lot
teries, approved September 10, 1880, has been
received with great and deserved popular favor
The Post Office Department and the Depart
ment OF Justice at once entered upon the en-
forcement Of the law with sympathetic vigor,
and already the public mails have been largely
appeals and literature emanating from the lot
terry companies
THE NEW NAVY
The construction and equipment Of the new
ships for the Navy have made very satisfactory
progress. Since March 4, 1889, nine new YES
sells have been put in commission. and during
this winter four more, including one monitor,
will be added. The construction of the other
vessels authorized is being pushed. both in the
government and private yards, with energy and
watched with the most scrupulous care.
The experiments conducted during the year
to test the relative resisting power of armor
plates have been so valuable as TO attract great
attention in Europe. The only part OF the
work upon the new ships that is threatened by
unusual delay is the armor plating, and every
effort is being made to reduce that to the mini
mum. 1t Is source of cOngratulatiOn that
the anticipated influence of these modern YES
sells upon the esprit de corps Of the officers and
seamen has been fully realized. Confidence and
pride in the ship among the crew are equiv
alent to secondary battery. Your favorable
consideration is invited to the recommenda-
tons Of the Secretary.
THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
The report Of the Secretary of the Interior
exhibits with great fullness and clearness the
vast work Of that great department and the
satisfactory results attained. The suggestions
made by him are earnestly commended to the
consideration of Congress, though they cannot
all be given particular mention here.
The several acts Of Congress looking to the
reduction Of the larger Indian reservations, to
the more rapid settlement of the Indians upon
individual allOttments. and the restoration to
the public domain of lands in excess of their
needs, have been largely carried into effect, so
far as the work was confded to the Executive
Agreements have been concluded since March
4. 1889. involving the cession to the United
States of about IA, TBS 900 acres Of land. These
contracts have ~ required by law. been sub
mitted to Congress for ratification and for the
appropriations necessary to carry them into ef-
feet. Those with the Sisseton and Wahpeton,
Sac and Fox. Iowa, Pottswatomies and Absentee
Shawnees and Ceur dAlene tribes have not
yet received the sanction Of Congress. Atten-
ton is also cal Jed to the fact that the apprOpri-
ations made in the case Of the Sioux Indians
have not covered all the stipulated payments
This should be promptly corrected II an
agreement is confirmed, ali of its terms should
be complied with without delay, and full appro-
priations should be made.
The policy outlined in my last annual mes.
sage in relation to the patenting Of lands to
settlers upon the public domain has been car
ried out in the administration of the Land
Office. No general suspicion or imputation of
fraud has been allowed to delay the hearing
and adjudication of individual cases upon their
merits. The purpose has been to perfect the
titles Of honest settlers with such promptness
swallowed up by the expense and extortions to
which delay subjected the claimant. The
average monthly issue Of agricultural patents
has been increased about six thousand.
THE PENSION LAWS.
The disability pension act, which was ap-
proved on the 9th of Jun, last, has been put
into operation as rapidly az was practicable.
The increased clerical force provided was re-
lected and assigned to work, and consider
able part Of the force engaged in examinations
in the field was recalled and added to the work.
ing force Of the Office. The examination and
adjudication Of claims have. by reason of i'm
proved methods, been more rapid than ever
before. There is no economy to the Govern
ment in delay, while there il much hardship
and injustice to the soldier. The anticipated
expenditure, while very large, will not, it is
believed, be in excess OF the estimates made
before the enactment Of the law. This liberal
enlargement Of the general law should suggest
more careful scrutiny of bills for special re-
lief. both to the cases where relief Is granted
and a. to the amount allowed.
THE MORMON QUESTION.
The Increasing numbers and influence of the
on-Mormon population in Utah are observed
with satisfaction. The recent letter of wilford
Woodruff. president Of the Mormon Church,
in which he advised his people ito refrain from
contracting any marriage forbidden by the laws
1t il hoped that its influence will be highly
beneficial in restraining attractions Of the laws
Of the United States. But the fact should not
be overlooked that the doctrine or belief Of the
church that polygamous marriages are right
full and supported by Divine revelation re-
mains unchanged. President Woodruff does
not renounce the doctrine, but refrains from
teaching 1t. and advises against the practice
OF u because the Law Ia against It. Now, il il
quite true that the law should not attempt to
deal with the faith or belief Of any one; but il
Is quite another thing, and the only safe thing,
so to deal with the Territory of Utah as that
those who believe polvoamv IN he r;0hxful