Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1891-12-17


metalism, with its necessary attendants, the
loss of our gold to Europe and the relief Of
the pressure there for q larger currency.
THE suEPLUs.
The presence OF large cash surplus in the
treasury has for many years been the subject
OF much unfayorabie criticism and has fur
nlsheo an argument to those who have de-
sired to place the tariff upon a purely reve-
nue. basis 1t was agreed By all that the with
drawa! from circulation of so large an
amount OF money was an embarrassment to
the business of the country and made heces4
sary the intervention of the department at
frequent intervals to relieve threatened mon
etarS panics. The surplus on March l, 1889,
| was SloS, ST. 1923. The policy OF applying
this surplus TO the redemption of the interest
bearing securities of the United States was
thought to be preferable to that of deposit
ing It without interest IN selected national
banks. There have been redeemed since the
date last mentioned of interest bearing Sc
curlties S259, $50, resulting in a reduction
/ OF the annual interest charge of Sl1, 6S3.6I5.
Inc money which had been deposited IN
banks without interest has been gradually
withdrawn andS1sed in the redemption of
bonds.
TIE iSTERIoR DEPARTMENT:
The relations of the five civilized tribes
now occupying the Indian territory to the
! United States; believe, is not best calcu-
lated to promote the highest advancement of
these Indians. That there should be within
our borders five independent states, having
! NO relatlOuS except those growing out OF
treaties with the government of the United
States no representation in the the nations
legislature, its people not citizens, is start
ling anomaly. 1t seems to me to be inevlta-
BILE that there shall be before long some or
ganic changes in relation to these people to
the United States. What form these changes
should take ! do net think 1t desirable now
to suggest, even were they well defined in
my own mind.
The good work of reducing the Iarrsc In
dian reservations by alIotments IN seyeraity
to the Indians, ana the cession of the re-
naming lands to the United States for dispo-
sition under the homestead law has been
prosecuted during the year with energy and
success. In September last was enabled to
open to settlement in the territory of Okla
homa 9OO,OO acres of land, all of which was
taken up by settlers in a single day. The
rush for these lands was accompanied by
great deal of excitement, but was, happily,
free from incidents of violence.
1t was a source of great regret that was
not able to open at the same time the sur
plus lands of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
reservations, amounting to about 3,OOO,OOO
acres, by reason of the insufficiency of the
appropriation for making the allotments.
Deserving and impatient settlers are waiting
to occupy these lands, and 1 urgently recon-
mend that special deficiency appropriation
be promptly made Of the small amount
needed, so that the allotments may be COM
pleted and the surplus lands opened in time
to permit the settlers to get upon their home
steads in the early spring.
commission has completed arrangements
with the Wichita, KickaDoo and Tonkawa
tribes whereby, if the agreements are rati-
fed by congress, over 10000 additional
acres will be opened to settlement in Okla
homa.
The negotiations for the release by the
Cherokees of their claims to the Cherokee
strip has made no substantial progress, so
far as the department is officially advised,
but it is still Hoped that the cession of this
large and valuable tract may be secured.
The price which the commission was author
lied to offer-one dollar and a quarter per
acFe-is, in my Judgment, when all the cir
cumstances as to the title and the character
of the lands are considered, fair and ade
quate one and should have been accepted by
the Indians.
TENSIONS.
The administration of the pension bureau
has been characterized during the year by
great diligence. The total number of pen
sioners upon the roll on the 30th day of
during the fiscal year ending at that time,
25O, 565 cases. OF this number 102, 387 were
allowed under the law of June q, 1880. The
issuing OF certificates has been proceeding at
the rate of 10000 per month, about rs per
cent. of these being asked under the new
law. The commissioner expresses the opin-
ion that he will be able to carefully adjudi-
cate and allow $4,000 claims during the
present fiscal year. The appropriation for
the payment of pensions for the fiscal year
1880, '91, was S127, 685, 1888, and the
an unexpended surplus of So, l55, 4.O4. The
commissioner is quite confident that there
will be call this year for deficiency APP
preparation, notwithstanding the rapidity
with which the work is being pushed. The
mistake which has been made by many in
their exaggerated estimates of the cost of
pensions is in not taking account of the di-
minished value of first payments under the
recent legislation. These payments, under
the general laws, have been for many /
years very large, as the pensions, when al
lowed, dated from the time of filing the
claim, and most of these claims had been
pending for years. The first payments I'M
der the law of June, 1880, are relatively
small, and as the per cent. of these cases in
creases and that of the old cases diminishes
the annual aggregate of first payments is
is largely reduced. While these disburse-
ments to the disabled soldiers of the great
civil war are large they do not realize the
exaggerated estimates of those who oppose
this benefcent legislation. The secretary of
the interior shows with great fullness the
care that is taken to exclude fraudulent
claims and also the gratifying fact that the
persons to whom these pensions are going
are men who rendered not slight, but SUBJ
stantlal, war service.
BENJAMIN HARRISON.