Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-12-10
THE MESSAGE.
Ecsanaa.d no. - pas.-l

who have hxd business Win sfat orpa1t-
/ rnert under his charge In the atuinistrar
| tioo of army Affairs some especially good
work has been accomplished The EFFORTS
| Of the secretary 10 reduce tho percentage Of
| dssertions By removing the causes thai
| promoted il hare been 50 successful a. 10
| enable him 70 report for the last year q
| lower percentage Of dssertion than has
been before reached in the history Of the
| army. The resulting money saving is coz
| siderable, bet the improvement in the NOR
| ais Of the enlisted men Is the most yalEI-
| able incident of the REFORMS which have
| brought about this result
| Oar Harbsr Def~nses-
The work Of securing sites for shore bat
| teriss for haxbor defense and the manu-
f,esure II mortars and guns Of high power
TO equip them have made good progress
| during the wear. The preliminary work of
| tests and plans. which so long delayed a
| start, is now out Of the way. some guns
| have been completed, and with an ELI
| larced shop and a more complete equip
| unsnt at Waterviiet the army viii soon be
| abreast OF the navy in gun construction
Pensions and Records.
The great work done ia the record and pen
1 sion division Of the depa Hm-nt by Major
! Ainsworth Of the medical corfs.Snd the cieEks
under him. is entitled TO honorable mention.
| Taking up the work with nearly &l.op cases
| behind, he closed the last fscal year without
| single case left over, though the new cases had
l Increased a2 pex cent. in number over the
| previous year by reason Of tho pension iegisla
| lAtion u the last congress.
The president coDeurs in the recon-
| mendarion of the attorney general that
the right in felony cases TO review by
| the supreme court be limited
The Chinese Exclusion Act.
The enforcement by the treasury depart
| rnsnt Of the Law prohibiting the coming OF the
| Chinese TO the United States has been efec-
| tive a. to such as seek TO land from vessels en-
| tering.our ports. The result has been to di-
| vert the travel 10 vessels entering the ports OF
| British Columbia, whence passage into the
| United States at obscure points along the
| Dominion boundary is easy. very consider
| able number al Chinese laborers have, during
| the past year. entered the United States from
! Canada and Mexico The officers OF the treas
| ury department and OF the department Of
Justice have used every means at their com
| rnand to intercept this immigration: but the
| impossibility Of perfectly guarding our ex'
tended frontier IS apparent The Dominion
| government collects head tax o< SO from
| every Chinaman entering Canada. and thus
| derives a considerable revenue from those who
only use It's ports 10 reach position OF adYan-
| tags 10 evade cur exclusion laws.
More Effective Laws Urged.
There seems to be satisfactory evidence that
| the business Of passing Cinnamon through
| Canada is organized and quite active. The
| department OF Justice has construed the laws
| TO require the return of any Chinamsn found
| TO be unlaufully In this country to China az
the country from which he came, notwith-
sandlng the fact that he came to the United
| States by way OF Canada. but several Of the
district courts have, in cases brought before
them oyerruled this view OF the law and de
rided that such persons must be returned TO
Canada This construction was the law OF all
effectiveness even If the decree could he ex-
ecuted, for the men returned can the next day
re-cross our borders But the only appropria-
ton made is for sending them back to China
ind the Canadian officials refuse TO allow
them 10 re-enter Canada without the payment
If the SO head tax | recommend such Iegis-
ktion IS will remedy these defects in the law.
Free Postal Delivery.
An appropriation was given by the last con-
gress for the purpose Of making some expert
ments in free delivery in the smaller cities
and towns, The results Of these experiments
have been so satisfactory that the postmaster
general recommends, and concur In his rec
concentration that III. free delivery system
be extended to towns NJ 200 population. His
discussion ofthe Inadequate facilities extended
under our present system 20 rural communi-
ties and his sugg 'st,ons with view to give
| these rcommunitje, fuller participation in
the benefits OF the postal service, are worthy
OF your careful consideration. 1t IS not Just
that the farmer. " ho receives his mail at a
neighboring town should not only be COM
PEELED 10 send n tho poetufce for II, but to
pay n considerable rant for a box In which to
place it, or wait bis tuan az a general delivery
window, while the az resident has his mail
! brought to his door.
| In the Interest Of Law and Order.
The president calls he attention OF con
gress to the necessity ~ so extending the
United States courts as TO make triahle
therein any felony committed while in the
act of violating a Jaw Of the United States.
These courtg cannot have that independ-
ence and effectiveness which the ronstitu-
ton oontemplates - long rs the felonious
killing of court officers, jurors and wit
nesses in the discharge of their duties. or
by reason of their acts as such, is only
eognisable in the state courts. The work
done by the attorney general and the Off
GERS OF his department even under the
present Inadequate legislation, has pro-
duced some notable results in the interest
of law and order,
Modified Use OF Telegraph.
II Is stated that over A,co neiehborhoods
are, under the present system, receiving mail
| AT H'GfIlCRS NUtTF itttNfN fTUtEs ana i'9iNl
notes are not issued. The extension of this
system to these communities is especially
desirable as the patrons Of such offices not
possessed Of the other facilities offered in more
populous communities for the transportation
Of small sums NJ money have. in a message
to the preceding congress expressed my views
as to a modified use of the telegraph in con-
meet ton with The postal service
Bureau Of Indian Affairs.
The report Of the secretary of the in
| terror shows THAT a very gratifying pro-
gress has betn made in all Of the bureaus
which make M that complex and difficult
department The work in the bureau Of
Indian affairs was perhaps never so large
as now, by reason Of the numerous nego-
tiations which have been proceeding with
the tribes for a reduction OF the reserva-
tons. with the incidents Of labor making
allotments, and was never more carefully
conducted. The provision of adequate
| school facilities for Indian children and
the locating of adult Indians upon farms,
| involves the solution of the Indian ques-
tom
Our Navy Of the Future.
The report of the secretary Of the nnvv
shows a gratifying increase OF new naval
vessels in commission. The Newark, Con-
cord, Bennington and Miantonomah have
been added during the year, with sn ag-
gregate of something more than 1l,000
| tons Twenty-four war ships Of all classes
are now under construction in the navy
yards and private shops but, while the
work upon them is going forward salts
factorily. the completion of the more i'm
portant vessels will yet require about a
years time. Some of the vessels under
| construction, II is believed, will be tri-
umphs of naval engineering. When it is
recollected that the work Of buildin1 a
model navy was emily initiated in the year
| 1889. that our naval constructors and ship
| builders are practically without expert
enee In the construction of large iron or
| steel ships, that our engine shops were un-
| familiar with great marine engines, and
4 that the manufacture of steel forgings for
guns and plates was almost wholly q
| foreign industry, the progress that has
| been made is not only highly satisfactory,
but furnishes the assurance that the
| United States will before long attain sU-
premacy.
| A Problem to Solve.
| With regard to the late Indian troubles
on the Sioux reservation the president
| says that the relation of the five civilized
| tribes now occupying the Indian Territory
| to the United States is not calculated TO
| promote the highest advancement of these
| Indians. That there should be within our
| borders five independent states, having no
relation, except those growing out of
I Il