Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-06
First Report Of Attorney General
McKenna.
A new GOVERNMENT PRISON NEEDED
Recommendations Regarding Loca
Institutions.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA

| months prior to that.
| The Attorney General devotes consider
| able space to the relations of the Pacific
railroads to the government, and gives a
| report of the sale Of the Union Pacific, and
preparations for the sale, next week, of
| the Kansas Pacific
In the part relating to Pacific railroads
| Is the fourth annual report of Ex-Governor
| George Hoadley, special assistant to the
! Attorney General in the matter Of the
| Union Pacific. He details the events lead
| ing up to a guarantee to bid by the reor-
| ganization committee of the Union Pacific.
In the Supreme Court.
The Attorney General reviews the i'm
| portant decisions Of the Supreme Court, in
which the government was a party, among
| others being the Chapman and Dunlop
CO ses
| The number Of cases remaining undis-
posed of on the appellate docket of the
| Supreme Cour. at the October term was
SS3 the smallest number in seven years.
| In 1886 the number at the same time was
| until Low.
Court of Claims.
| The report of Assistant Attorney General
Pradt is referred to giving very full and
precise information concerning the business
| of the Court of Claims during the past
year.
! The assistant attorney general recon-
| mends, did hi, predecessor, the abolition
| of the claims jurisdiction of circuit and
| district courts. SO that but one court will
determine the law concerning claims
against the government. He points out
| that the me st contradictory decisions are
| rendered in like cases in different districts,
and that uniformity can only be obtained
| at present by appeals to the Supreme Court.
| More serious embarrassments arise from
| the fact that many of the claims were pre-
| 1erred by officials of the government con-
nected with the courts themselves. and,
| while the partial charge TO the salary sys-
TEN has to a great extent remedied this,
| the Attorney General concurs in the recon-
| mendation of the assistant attorney gen.
eral.
Favorable attention is called 20 the
| recommendation. which was Intellectually
] repeated year after year. that the salaries
| of the assistant attorneys in this depart
| ment should be equalized and made $4,000
per annum. The ordinarily temporary char
acter of such employment does not well
justify an attorney who has an increasing
practice paying him half that amount 20
abandol it for temporary employment, dis
tant from his home at $4,000. 1t would
seem to be the reverse of economical and
wise to employ lawyers to defend suits
, involving many millions of dollars at COM
pensatfon less than private corporations
would under the circumstances expect to
| pay.
The La Abra claim, growing out of claims
and awards against Mexico, has been de-
clared fraudulent by the Court of Claims
and an appeal taken to the Supreme Court
| The similar case of the United States vs.
Ala Well is still pending in the former
court.
| Indian Depreciation Claims.
| The report of Assistant Attorney General
| Thompson, in charge of the defense of In
| dian depreciation claims is referred to for
| detailed account of that business. The
| amount originally claimed in those cases.
| s4a.315, 1.66, suffices to show the important
interest of the government in their proper
| defense.
An important question as to the liability
| Oh an Indian tribe to have its annuties
| taken to pay claimants where individuals
| OF the tribe stole property and the tribe
| was never appealed to for satisfaction, as
required by treaties and statutes has been
| advanced for early hearing in the Supreme
Court. The decision will determine many
| cases. and, If favorable to the government
and Indian tribes, will considerably reduce
the total amount to be paid on account of
this class of claims.
Solicitor of the Treasury,
The business of the Office of the solicitor
| of the treasury during the last fiscal year
| is shown by his report.
| Among the numerous interesting facts
/
were commenced; that lbs were decided
| in favor of the United States, 50 adversely.
46o settled and dismissed, leaving !, 139 still
pending; that the number of suits decided
| or otherwise disposed of during the year
was 4,511; that the whole amount for which
judgment was obtained, exclusive of de-
crees in rem, was s54S, 10, and the en-
tire amount collected from all sources was
sASA,UJz The number of opinions rem
| dered was III.
Attention is called to the recommends
ton of the solicitor that an appropriation
be made to enable him to complete the
set of state reports for his library, he hav-
| ing no reports of Idaho, South Dakota
North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah.
Washington, Wyoming or any of the ter
ritories; and to his recommendation that
the two fonrth-elass clerks who keep the
| principal dockets in his Office, and the
fourtn-class clerk performing the duties
OF law clerk. have their salaries raised to
$1,000 per annum. The necessity for a
conpiete library Tor the solicitors office
would seem to need no argument in view
OF the multiplicity and Importance of the
| legal business there transacted.
Circuit Courts of Appeals.
The Attorney General says: The state of
business in these courts is shown The
cases docketed during the past fiscal year
were rs. being decrease of 40 from the
preceding year;-729 cases were disposed of,
being decrease Of IS. leaving 547 cases
pending at the close of the fiscal year, be-
Ing an increase of 40. One hundred and
fcrty-three cases have been argued and
await decision, as against 2O4, and 81 have
been taken to the Supreme Court of the
United States. as against SO In the preceding
year. l think 1t is generally conceded that
these courts have justified their creation
by accomplishing what was expected Of
them
The necessity for additional circuit
| judges was brought to the attention of
Congress by my predecessor in the report
| for 1894, and the Congress has provided an
additional judge each for the seventh
eighth. and ninth circuits. 1 beg to repent
the recommendation in the last report,
that the same may be done at the Ginning
session for the fifth and sixth circuits
The sixth was one of the circuits mention
ed by my predecessor. invite specal at
tentiop to the table showing the amount
OF business brought and disposed of in the
various circuits. The district judges are
as rule. more busily occupied in the sixth
and fifth circuits than I'm many of the 9TH
ers. which affords an additional reason for
giving those two circuits. but especially the
siAth, an additional circuit judge
MY attention has been repeatedly called
| to the unnecessary expenses Imposed on
lit.gants in this court which should be
| avoided by an amendment OF the act Of