The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-12-19

system to rural comm snities and his sugges.
ttons with q view to give these communities
fuller participation in the benefits OF the post
oil service are worthy OF your careful consider
alton.
over $1,000 neighborhoods are, under tho pres.
ent system, receiving mail ut post offices where
money orders and postal notes arc not issued.
The extension OF this system TO those oommu
mites Is especially desirable, as the patrons of
such omces are not possessed OF the other facil
tiles offered In more populous communities for
the transmission OF small sums of money.
have, in message to the preceding congress,
expressed my Views as to q modified use OF the
telegraph in connection with the postal service.
THE NAVY.
The report OF the secretary OF the navy shows
n gratifying increase OF new naval vessels In
commission The Newark Concord, Bennng
ton and Miantonomoh, have been added during
the year, with an aggregate of something more
than il,OO0 tons. TweNty four war ships OF all
classes are now under construction in the navy
yards and private shops. but while the work
completion OF the more important vessels will
yet require about years time. Some Of the
vessels now under construction, It is believed,
will be triumphs OF naval engineering.
We have now at Washington a gun shop, or.
gunized and conducted by naval officers, that
in It's system, economy and product is unex-
celled Experiments with armor plate have
been conducted during the year with most i'm.
portant results. It Is now believed that plate
of higher resisting, power than any in use has
strated that cheaper methods OF manufacture
than those heretofore thought necessary can
be used
| The report Of the secretary OF the interior
shows that very gratifying progress has been
| made in all of the bureaus which make up that
department. The work in the bureau Of Indian
affairs was perhaps never so large as now by
reason of the numerous negotiations which
| have been proceeding with the tribes
| for a reduction of the reservations with
| the incident labor of making allotments,
and was never moro carefully conducted.
N pf tn oh n
| for Indian children and the locating of
adult Indians upon farms involve the solution
| OF the Indian question. Everything else-ra
| tions, annuities and tribal negotiations wi h
the agents. inspectors and commissioners who
Distribute and instruct them-must pass away
when the Indian becomes citizen secure in
| the individual ownership OF a farm from which
| he derives his subsistence by his own labor,
protected by and subordinate to the laws whicn
| govern the white man and provided by the gen
eral government or by the local communities in
which he lives with the means OF educating his
children. When an Indian becomes q citizen
| in an organized state or territory his relation
| to the general government ceases to be that of
| ward, but the general government ought not
at once to put upon the state or territory
the burden Of the education OF his children
1t has been my thought that the government
schools and school buildings upon the reserva-
| tions would be absorbed by the school systems
OF the states and terrtories but, as it has
been found necessary to protect the Indian
against the compulsory alienation of his land
by eXempting him from taxation for period OF
| twenty-five years, 1t would seem to be right
that the general government, certainly where
there are tribal funds in It's possession, should
pay to the school fund of the state what would
be equivalent to the local school tax upon the
property of the Indian.
The outbreak among the Sioux, which oc.
| CURED in December last, Is as to its causes
and incidents fully reported upon by the in.
terror and war departments. That these In
diuns had some Just complaint, especially in
the matter of the reduction Of the appropria-
tion for rations and in the delays attending the
enactment of laws to enable the department to
rF1r,,. NIa nnf5 ft,fx h
them, is probably true but the Sioux tribes are
naturally warlike and turbulent, and their
warriors were excited by their medi.
cine men and chiefs, who preached the
coming OF IN Indian Messiah who was to give
.em power to destroy their enemy. In view
of the alarm that prevailed among the white
| settlers near tho reservation and of the fatal
consequences that would have resulted from an
Indian incursion, placed at the disposal OF
Gen. Miles. commanding the division of the
Missouri, all such forces rs were thought by
him to be required. He is entitled to the credit
of having given thorough protection to the set
tiers and of bringing the hostilcs into subjec-
ito with the least possible loss of life.
The appropriation OF S2, 9Sl. $50 for the Choc.
taws and Chickasaws, contained in the general
Indian appropriation bill OF March & 1891 has
not been expended for the reason that / have
not yet approved release to the government
of the Indian claim to the lands mentioned.
This matter will be made the subject of o spe-
cial message, placing before congress all the
facts which have come TO my knowlege.
The good work of reducing the larger Indian
reservations by allotments in Severalty to the
Indians and the cesson of the remaining lands
to the United States for disposition under the
homestead law hls been prosecuted during the
year with energy and success. In September
last, 1t was enabled to open to settlement in
Oklahoma 0JO,OOO acres OF land, all Of which
was taken up by settlers in single day.
The negotiation for the release by the Chero
KEGS OF their claim to the Cherokee Strip has
made no substantial progress, but 1t is still
hoped that the cession of this large and valu
able tract may be secured The price which the
commission was authorized to oTer-sl.25 pei
J acre-is in my judgment, II fair and adequate
one and should have been accepted by the In
: dians Since March 4, 1882 about 23,OOO, ,00(
! acres have been separated from Indian reserva
tions and added to the public domain. for the
use OF those who desired to secure free homes
under our b6neicent laws.
CoUE. OF PRIVATE LAND CLAIMS.
) Your attention is called to the difloulty pre-
sented by the secretary of the interior as to ad
! ministration of the law establishing u court o
private land claims The small holdings in
l tended to be protected by the law are estimated
. to be more than 5000 in number. The claim
! ants are a most deserving class and their tite
are supported by the strongest equities. Tht
, difficulty grows out OF the fact that the land
have been largely surveyed according to ou
, method, while the holdings were cut in marrow
strips q few yards wide upon streams running
back to the b lis for pasture and tim Oer. Pro
) vision should be made for numbering these
THE PENSION BUREAU.
The administration of the pension bureau has
, been characterized during the year by great
diligence. The total number OF pensioners
|
} O76l6O There were allowed during the isca
year ending Mt that time $50. 800 cases. or this
: number, l05 ,337 were allowed under the law Of
] June 81, 1870 The issuing OF certificates has
, been proceeding at the rate of about 30 OJO pei
! month about 75 per cent OF these being cases
under the new law. The commissioner says
l he Will be able TO carefully adludicate and al
low $50 900 claims during the present tisca
| year The appropriation for the payment o.
pensions for the fiscal year lSgO.gl WIS Sl2I6s5
79S, and the amount expended BIB $50 $40, leav
ing an unexpended surplus of S9,i53l4i.
D The commissioner is quite confident tha
appropriation Notwithstanding the rapidty
with which the work Is being pushed The mis-
take which has been made by many in their cX
. nsgerated estimates of the cost OF pensions Il
) in not taking account of the diminished valu,
9 OF first payments under the recent legislation
These payments, under the general law, have
been for many years very large, MS the pensions
when allowed dated from the time OF filing tn,
I claim, and most OF these claims had been pend
. ing for years. The first payments under thu
law of June, 1890, are relatively small and u!
the per cent. OF the cases increase and that o
the old cases dminishes, the annual aggregate
OF first payments is largely reduced,
During the last four months ll3 l7j certifi
5 Gates were issued The average first paymen
. during these four months was Sl3lS5 while
the average first payment upon each allowe(
2 during the year ending June 30 1891 was $3.50
! 49, being reduction in the average tirst pay
ments during these four months OF rl07 49,
D The estimate for pension expenditures 70
the fiscal year ending June 30 Is -, Is Sl4i g56,
! O00, which after u careful examination of tbs
subject, the commissioner is OF the opinion viii
; be sufficient. While these disbursements Il
; the disabled soldiers OF the civil war are
, large they do not realize the exaggerated esti
mates Of those who oppose this benehcen
> legislation. The secretary of the interior show
J with great fulness the care that Is taken to OK
| clude fraudulent claims and also the gratifying
: fact that the persons to whom these pensions
are going are men who rendered, not slight, bu