Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-12-08
THE INTERIOR.
Synopsis of the Annual Report OF
Secretary Francis.
FACTS ABOUT THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
At Present Rate of Settlement There Will
Be Few Lands Left After Thirteen
Years-Pensionsa and the Bond Aided
Railroads-Many Suggestions.


RailrOads-Many Suggestions.
Washington. Dec. 5.-Secretary of the
Interior David r. Francis has submitted
his annual report to the president The APP
preparation for the last fiscal year amount
ed to $157,l79,656. The estimates for the
present fiscal year are about $1,000, 900 more
than was appropriated last year.
The Public Domain.
The actual public domain is now 1,S49, o72,-
ISL acres. The public lands still vacant
amount to over 60O, 100000 acres, not includ-
ing Alaska. About S5,729,75l acres have
been patented to railroads. and there are
yet due railroads and wagon roads under
their grants an aggregate of 114.7S6,GSS
acres. The total acreage segregated from
the public domain was 946,219160 acres
The secretary deems it desirable that our
waste acreage should be taken up by actual
settlers, who should be given every en-
couragement, and says If the rate of set
Element continues in the future as in the
past but little vacant land Will be left III
1S years time.
He urges legislation for the preservation
of the forests and states that a report will
be submitted to congress by the forestry
commission, which has lately returned from
tour Of inspection.
The Des MoineS river land grant matter
has been adjusted. About $183, S54 In awards
was agreed upon, of which $l17,632 have
been paid. and the remainder will be paid
at the end of this year.
Reclamation of Arid Lands.
Secretary Francis calls the attention OF
congress to the necessity of legislation look
ing to the reclaiming of arid lands, and says
that of the 5U0,O00,0o0 acres of arid lands
100000 900 acres might be reclaimed by the
conservative use of water, but 1t Is 1mpos-
eible under the laws In operation 10 control
the reclamation of the arid regions SO as to
preyent the improvident use of water, over
which the general government has no con-
troll This should be done by system
which constitutes the reclamation OF the
entire territories from common source OF
supply and the utilization of that supply
or by the adoption of the suggestion of the
commissioner of the general land office
would be good one That is, place the
lands in the direct control OF the states 1or
reclamation.
In speaking of the decision of his prede-
cessors that the eastern terminus of the
Northern Pacific Railroad company has
been fixed at Duluth, he states that the ef-
feet Of this decision was to exclude from
the land grant of the company all lands
living east of that city. Prior to the de-
cision referred to lands lying east OF Du-
luth had been appropriated by settlers ana
maid for at the double minimum rate OF $250
per acre upon the assumption that they Ieli
within the limits of the railroad grant ana
therefore within the operation OF Section
o252 of the revised statutes. After the
RECONCILIATION Of these decisions numerous
nnnlications We're made by persons VINO
had paid the double minimum price 1or
lands to have the excess OIL Sl.Io per acre
refunded, pursuant to the provisions " .i =,
MT of June 16, 1850. 1nasmuch as the rali-
road company had never acqu1esced IN the
decision Of the department, all such ap-
nlications have been suspended 10 await
sba final and authoritative location OF the
90 stern terminus of the road by court OF
1jNftn
fc;allv Informed through counsel or the
comnany that suit will in a short time be
brought for that purpose IN the mean
time. willie he has not questioned the pro-
briefly of the ruling of the department ne
deems it the safer course to direct the
large disbursements involved in COM
Dl:ance with the request of the settlers.
Opening of Indian Lands.
No stems have been taken to make al
,ntmcnts to the Wichita Indians, as Tho
not Of congress left this to the discretlot
of the department. Regarding the opelii'ii
~ what is known as the leased district o
ti,e Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, which
ia now before the court of claims, he say
that If the allotments We're maze ana III
balance Of the land thrown open before
decision is rendered upon the claim OF TN
Choctaws and ChickasaWs, the govern
ment would be placing the Indians upo
land under an agreement which involve
the transfer of a good title ana would ais
be throwing open the land to settlemef
when in point of fact it did not have
clear title thereto. He recommends tina
all the Oklahoma townsite boards be abo
ished, Secretary Francis is of the orif
ion that the free use Of timber on publ
lands for commercial purposes should
discontinued.
Pensions.
Un the pension question he says ths
about 970,67S persons are drawing abol
S140, 900, 900 per annum in pensions, and Tn
branch of the service should be conducte
with great care and discretion. He give
q table which shows that the total amour
paid out by the government In pension
and the cost of disbursing the same dl
Ing the last 81 years was $2,OS4,Sl7,1 G
which lacks only $346, 1885 of being equ
to the high water mark of the intereS
bearing public debt He suggests nun
Der of amendments of the pension law
some of which have already been mac
public (notably those in regard to pension
ers resident in Germany one hundre
and forty million dollars is thought to
sufficient for the payment of pensions du
Ing the next fiscal year, unless pension
are increased by further legislation. I'll
secretary recommends that an increa
from eight to twelve dollars per month
granted to all survivors Of the Mexico
war who are wholly disabled and destitut
Indians Should BE Protected.
The Indians. he says, now occupy abo,
R5,0OO,OOO acres of land and they shou
be protected from the sinister machin
lions Of inscriptions men. He recon
mends that the Indian bureau should
conducted by commission of three mer
bers, two to be civilians of different p
litical parties. and one an army officer.
Bond-AlGed Railroads.
Concerning the bond-aided railroads, Il
secretary summarizes the recommend
tions of his predecessors and the result
the litigation. He calls attention to t
fact that the tables he presents clear
show that the Central Pacific railroad is
default to the government, or unquestion
bly, will be on January next, when 81, 1922
additionalofi Its Indebtedness, together wi
30 years. interest thereon, will fall due
must be redeemed by the government.
January /, 1897, $6,64O,OU0 additional bon
of Union Pacific will mature: interest
same-Sl1 1852 OO0-will be then due, and
not paid the Union Pacific will unquestio
ably be in default. He has therefore q
clined to patent lands to the Union Paci
railroad or the Central Pacific railroad c
cept in cases where 1t can be shown TIL
the lands for which patents are ask
The Central Pacific railroad was, on Ju
30, 1896, in default to the government to |
extent of $2SS, 1886 on its bond and int
est" and Its sinking fund" account.
Nicaraguan Canal
He refers to the fact that the act chi
terlng the Nicaragua Canal company
auires the company to make report
the first Monday in December each W
to the secretary of the interior, to be We
hed on oath by its president and secreta
preliminary statement has been subn
ted by the canal company showing that
work has been done on the canal sil