Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-10
THE LOS ANGELES THURSDAY
a greater respect for the government
will certainly be promoted.
LAW AND ORDER.

q greater respect for the government
will certainly be promoted.
LAW AND ORDER.
The work done by the attorney-gener
and the officers of his department., even
under the presentinadequate legislation,
has produced some notable results in the
interest of law and order. The attorney
general and also the commissioner of the
District of Columbia cali attention to the
effectiveness of the laws relating to
crimes against chastity in the District of
Columbia. A stringent code upon this
subject has been provided by congress
for Utah, and it is q matter of surprise
that the needs of this district should
have so long been overlooked.
The act of July 8, 1888, provided for
the incorporation and management OF
reform school for girls in the District OF
Columbia, but 1T has remained inoper-
ative for the reason that no appropria-
ton has been made for construction or
maintenance. The need OF such an in
stitution is very urgent. Many girls
could be saved from depraved lives by
the wholesome influences and restraints
of such school. l recommend that the
necessary appropriation be made for
site and for construction.
| concur in the recommendation of
the attorney general that the right in
| felony cases to review by supreme court
be limited. 1t would seem that per-
sona liberty would have safe guaran-
tee of the right of review in cases in
volving only fine and imprisonment if
| limited to the circuit court of appeals,
unless constitutional question should
in any way be involved.
CHINESE EXCLUSION.
The enforcement by the treasury de-
partment of the law prohibiting the
coming of Chinese into the United
States has been effective as to such as
seek to land from vessels entering our
ports. The result has been to divert the
travel to entering the ports of British
Columbia, whence passage to the United
States at obscure points along the do
minion boundary is easy. A very con
siderable number of Chinese have, dur
ing the past year, entered the United
States from Canada and Mexico. The
officers of the treasury department and
of the department of justice have used
every means at their command to inter
cept this immigration, but the impossi-
bility of perfectly guarding our extended
frontiers is apparent. The dominion
government collects head tax of $50
from every Chinaman entering
Canada and thus derives a consid
cradle revenue from those who only use
its ports to reach position of advantage
to evade our exclusion laws. There
seems to be satisfactory evidence that
the business of passing Cinnamon
through Canada to the United States is
1,r,a+lxy Tho 10.
partment OF justice has construed the
laws to require the return of any China
man found to be unlawfully in this
country to China as the country from
which he came, Notwithstanding the
fact that he came by way of Canada
but several judges in the district courts
have, in cases brought before them
overruled this view of the law and de
cided that such persons must be re
turned to Canada. This constr uctior
robs the laws of all effectiveness If the
DEGREES could be executed, fol
the men returned can the mex
day recross our borders. Bu
the only appropriation made is for send
ing them back to China, and the Cana
dian officials refuse to allow them to re
enter Canada without the payment o
the $50 head tax. l recommend
such legislation as will remedy these
defects in the laws.
In a previous message have callee
the attention of congress to the neces
sity of 30 extending the jurisdiction o
the United States courts as to make
triable therein any felony committed
while in the act of violating law ol
the United States. These courts cannot
have that independence and effective.
ness which the constitution contem-
plates 80 long as the heinous killing ol
high court officials, jurors and witnesses
in the discharge OF their duties or by
reason of their acts as such is only rec.
ognizable in the state courts.
PosToFFIcE DEPARTMENT.
In the report of the postmaster-gen-
oral some very gratifying results are ex-
hibited and many betterments of the
service suggested. perusal of the re-
port gives abundant evidence that the
supervision and direction of the postal
system has been characterized by an
intelligent and conscientious desire to
improve the service. The revenue of
the department shows an increase of
500, 0,000000, while the estimate for the
year 1893 shows surplus of receipts
over expenditures. Ocean mail post
offices have been established upon the
steamers of the North German Lloyd
and Hamburg lines, saving by the dis
trlbution on shipboard from two to four
teen hours time in the delivery of mail
at the port of entry, and often much
more than that IN the delivery at in
terror places. So thoroughly has this
system, initiated by Germany and the
United Estates evidenced its usefulness
that it cannot be long before it is in
stalled upon the great ocean mail-carry-
ing steamships.
Eight thousand miles of new postal
service has been established upon rail-
roads, the card distribution to sub-sta-
tions in great cities has been increased
about p per cent, while The percentage
of errors in distribution has during the
past year been reduced over one-half.
An appropriation was given by the last
congress for the purpose of making some
experiments in free delivery in the
smaller cities and towns. The results
of these experiments have been 80 satis-
factory that the postmaster-genera
recommends, and concur in the recon-
meudation, that the free delivery sys-
tenn be extended at once to towns of
5000 population. His discussion of the
inadequate facilities extended under our
present system to rural communities,
and his suggestions with view to give
these communities fuller participation
in the benefits of the postal service,
| ara worthv vour 20 rafI,1 onoiJaro+;or