Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-06


10 make UP that amount for The fiscal year
| lS.S meets my approval.
The suggestions in the last annual re-
port 10 Congress touching the status of the
school as a reformatory and a charitable
| institution are here repeated.
Inc school is not a charitable instita-
tlcn: and i again suggest that 1t be placed
IN tne District Appropriation bill under the
head of reformatories and prisons. and not
under the head of charities, where II has
always appeared.
Il believe il to he for tho ,nter.s. Of The
school that the appointments made 10y the
board of trustees should ne confirmed OF
| approved by the Attorney General and not
py the Commissioners of the District, as at
present This would avoid delay and
would place the school in the same relation
10 the department as the other reform
school, i can see no reason for any dis
JUNCTION. and It's existence gives rise 10 an
| necessary trouble and inconvenienca.
Reform School, District Of Columbia.
The report OF the board Of trustees OF
the reform school Of the District Of Column
| bia shows that at the beginning Of the last
nscal year there were in the school rs
| boys; there were received curing the year
| l2o, total of 34i. as against 32S for the
previous year. Seventy-siN or th0ss receiv-
ed were committed by the Police Court and
six by the Supreme Court of the District OF
columbia, thirty-one by the United States
courts outside of the District and thirteen
| by the president of the board o. trustees.
There were discharged during the year
! eighty-nine by order of the trustees, twer.-
E-two by expiration of sentence United
states courts), three by order of court
tchange Of sentence) and six escaped and
are still absent. leaving in the school June
| 81, 1897. IA There were 70 deaths during
the year and the general health OF the in
mates has been and is good.
| Il repeat the Recommendation OF last
year that Congress should take action upon
the suggestion of the board OF trustees as
| TO giving IL such control of the boys after
| discharge will enable il to reclaim aud
return to the school any boy whose subse-
quent conduct is bad. Much has bean dcre
at the school during the year in the way
of permanent improvements and the extcn-
sion of the system of instruction in handi-
crafts and manual training. L approve of
the suggestion Of the board as TO tie plac-
| ing of the control of the institution entirely
| VI der the Department Of Justice where. as
government institution. II properly be-
! longs.
| Potomac Flats Litigation.
1.-The department has engaged the serv-
| ices of Mr.. Holmes Conrad. late solicitor
general, special attorney TO conduct the
litigation growing out of the reclamation
of the Potomac flats at Washington. Some
| claimants have appealed, and one of the
cases will be argued and submitted TO the
Supreme Court in January next"
Regarding the government Of Alaska, the
Attorney General says:
Government in Alaska.
Alaska was provided for a few settlements
on islands and on that part of the coas:
which pertains to the comparatively aar-
| row panhandle nearest to California. To
| these settlements practically and lheoretl-
| cSlly to the whole vast territory teleNea
times the size of New York;. the laws OF
| the United States, with some exceptions,
| and the laws of Oregon in force IN 1874,
Were extended by the organic act OF that
| year.
| N-r-apl ar.4l1
| the coast, and Sitka, on an standard else
! where VIXEN the judge thinks proper-and
| five commissioners 1.-TWO at kadiak ana
| UnalasKa, on islands, and the Others at
| Sltka, Wrangell and Juneau, coast town.
| constituted the local judiciary until the act
of June of this year. BY that act four
| additcn nal commissioners, with deputy
marshal for each, were authorized. one
| of these commissioners and one depdty
will be at st. Michaels, on the west coast;
| enc at Unga, on an islanu, and one COM
| missioner with deputy, is at Dyea,
short distance inland, on the southern pam
handle.
| The remaining commissioner and his dep
/ uty have been assigned to Circle CITY, IN
hat is called the klondIke region OF the
| interior \ governor, clerk OF the court
| marshal, ten deputy mans hals and a dis
trict attorney are provided for and the
| functions of secretary and treasurer OF
| the territory, justice of the peace. probate
| judge, notary, register OF the land oince'
| receiver, surveyor general, collector OF Gus
| tens, examining magistrate. register of
| deeds ana wills. &c, are distributed among
| the officers above named. All the ordinary
| legal needs of the community are afforded
! by the laws of Oregon and of the United
| States But, while the nature of the sys-
| TEN may Ne unobjectionable, IL Is obviously
| inadequate in personnel and local extent
| 10 afford protection and control TO the
vast interior of the territory.
| 1T is " ell known that rush OF population
| into a region nearly thousand miles frc m
| of the towns named, except Circle lily
| (where the whole government consists, IN
| fact, of a commissioner and deputy mar
| shah. / as begun and promises, IN the COM
| ing spring. TO attain large proportions.
Just where it will extend, and where IL
will Remain, depends largely upon the fu-
| trre discovery of gold or other valuable
| products of the largely unexplored coua-
| try: but it now seems that the valley of the
| Yukon and White rivers near the BRUSH
| boundary, will be largely filled up with
prospectors, and TO some extent perlna-
| rently settled. Circle Guy, Mitchell, Gin
| ton, &C. have been established near the
| Yukon. and a few weeks of next spring
| may suffice for the establishment OF other
| towns some of which may be abandoned
| for more promising sites
| LAS il is to the interest of the govern
| ment to encourage the development and
| settlement of the country, and its duty ID
| follow up its citizens there with the bene-
! fits of legal machinery, i earnestly urge
| upon Congress the suggestion that a dupli-
| cate of the present system of government
| De PROVIDED, WIN SuCn ntAlDlllls VIII
| enable IL to adjust itself to the future
areas of greatest population for part of the
| region of interior country north of the
| sixtieth parallel of latitude and near the
British boundary, or that regular terri
| torial governments be provided for bota
parts of Alaska. the wisdom of Con-
gress may determine.
| Attorneys for the Government.
THE attention of Congress is called TO
| Revised Statutes 5i9S. prohibiting any per-
| sen holding any place of trust profit or
discharging any official function from act
| ing as agent OF attorney for prosecuting
| any claim against the government, in so
| far as IL concerns attorneys employed by
| this department under Revised Statutes
| 1863 and 1856 to assist the Attorney General
| or district attorneys.
while the general purpose of section
| 543S il excellent, it creates much embar-
| rassment to the department and TO MEM
| bers of the bar, particularly in the neigh
borhood of Washington city. The depart
ment is deprived of free choice of lawyers
! especially well qualified and lawyers pre-
vented from accepting employment or.
when they happen to be employed by the
department in some one case of long stand
| ing. compelled to sacrifice many chances