The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-12-19
TWO CABINET ANNUALS.'
REPORTS OF SECRETARIES
SMITH AND MORTON.

Review Of the Operations Of the In
terror Department-The Pension
Statistlcs-The Work Of the De-
partment Of Agricufture-Sugges-
tions by the Secretary.
Secretary Hoke Smith has transmitted to
the President his annual report on the oper-
atoms Of the Interior Department. The
Secretary reviews the problem OF effective
work for the advancement Of the Indians.
He discusses tho subject OF education
aud OF allotments OF lands IN severalty,
and urges that the education OF the
Indians should be for the purpose OF fitting
them to perform the particular responsible.
ties most likely to fall to their after lot. BE
presents the possibilities Of the reservation
as land to be improved and developed, to
which the Indians should be taught to apply
those modes OF agriculture recognized In
civilized life. Their education should III
them for this work. and they should
be led on with the assurance that the Gov.
ernmcnt, IN dealing with this land, will
treat the Indians with perfect honesty and
make no further effort to trade them out
Of It for the benefit Of those who wish
to settle upon II. In urging q lib
eral appropriation for field matrons for,
the Indian Service the Secretary has
"no doubt that 900 spent In this way
would accomplish more than any $4,000
spent in any school that we support" The
secretary calls attention to the duty which
rests upon the United States to pre-
the Indian Territory, where at pres,
emit a state Of lawlessnesa prevails.
The Secretary condemns In strong terms the
establishment OF saloons Upon the line OF
Indian reservations. The report shows that
the public lands disposed Of during the past
fiscal year aggregate 10, At, ,224. "a acres and
approximatas the vacant lands remaining
at eos, ,040, ,S1S. II acres. exclusive OF Alaska,
which contains 100000, 900 acres and
military and other reservations.
Twenty-nine million acres In round num-
bers are embraced In the lists Of selections;
by railroad and wagon road companies
awaiting examination and settlement at the
close of the fiscal year. The aggregate se-
lection OF swamp lands since the.passaRe Of
the act of1s40 Is So.556. 1881 acres. Dur
Ing the past year 1873, 159.47 acres were patJ
ented under this head. The great import
ance Of the special service division
OF the General Land ONCE Is urged.
CONGRESS Is asked to make sufficient sppro-
priations to employ at least one Supertnten-
dent on each reserve, and upon the larger
reserves to provide sufficient force OF as
yistants to prevent public property from be-
Ing wantonly destroyed. Under the head
Of pensions the report shows that the entire
number OF pensioners upon the rolls on
June 80, 1894, was s69,544 The total
amount expended for pensions during the
fiscal year was S139, ,SO4. .46L05. leaving 81
balance from the appropriation in the Treas
ury Of S25, ,205, ,712.65. The estimate for the;
fiscal year 1895 is S140. 900 900. Thenumber
Of pensioners added to the roll during the
year was 99,0S5, while the total number
dropped was 37,951. The greater part OF
the cases now pending In the bureau are old
cases. Many Of them have been pending for
years, and had been examined one or
more times prior to this Administration.
Upon examination It had been found in
to sustain q pension. The attention OF the
applicants having been called to the de-
feet in some cases, efforts had been made
to supply the needed testimony. The
great discrepancy between the number OF
cases now being allowed and the number
allowed two or more years ago grows
out of the fact that the pending cases consti-
tute remnant of an immense number OF
claims, of which those we'll established have
been adjudicated. The number Of appeals,
motions, etc., filed from April 49, 1893, toI
November 1, 1894, was 5847. The number of
motions, appeals, etc.. that have been acted
upon by the Board or Pensions and Assistant
Secretary from April Is, 1893, to November
1, 1894, was 0,714. This volume OF work, ac-
complished In eighteen and half months,
is unprecedented In the history OF the de-
partment, and the Secretary says is more
than twice the number Of cases disposed OIL
in a like period by the prior Administra-
tion. There were 22,546 patents grant,
ed, including reissues and designs,
and 1855 trade marks registered
during the past year. The number of
patents which expired was 13.167. The total
expenditures Of the Patent Office amounted
to 81, ,053, 1852. The receipts exceeded the
expenditures Sl29,580. The total dis
bursements to dare for the Eleventh Gem
sus amount to S10,865,678. In the last
annual report 1t was stated that something
less than $500. 900 would be ample to finish
the census. It is now apparent that $685.
900 will complete the work. A large por-
tion of the force of the Census Office has
been discharged. By January l the
force will be reduced to about 400,
and by March It will be disbanded,
with the exception Of small number
who WILDE retained to supervise proof read
Ing and actual publication. The Secretary
closes his report with recommendation for
an additional building for the Interior De-
partment, as s352, ,8s9 was paid out for rental
Of buildings In which several branches Of
the department have their offices.