The Dickinson press., 1897-12-11
Th. Iadiaa Territory D,a,,al.y.

The message deals at some length with
the unsatisfaotory condition Of affairs in
the Indian Territory. The large white
element is said to be without pffoteotion
and without Rshools or other rishta az
citizens; leading Indians have ebeorbed
great tracts Of lands and created an M.
tocracy and the friends Of the Indians be.
ueve that the best interests Of the Fve
Civilized Tribes would be found in Amer.
loan citizenship. Reference is made to
the failure 80 far Of the Dawes commits.
sion to secure the consent Of the tribes TO
an extinguishment Of the tribal titles and
q division of the lands It 10 eaid that
should the tribes still fail to ratify the
agreement then some legislation should
be had BY congress.
Kansas Pacific Sale.
Speaking Of the pending sale Of the
Kansas Pacific railroad 1t IL said that II
no better bid is received than the upset
price fixed by the court the governments
would receive only q, ,to0,0 900 on its claim
OF nearly e1a. 600 ,000 He believes that
the government has the authority to bid
on the road and has directed the SECRETARY
Of the treasury to make tho deposit Of
seo9ooo required to quality a. . bidder
sssAse w
to the principal Of the debt to the soveen.
ment. He suggests, however, that In q
matter 20 Important ~ the government
becoming a possible owner Of the railroad.
congress should enact some leeislation to
define Its views. It is clear to him, how.
ever, that the government should not
permit the property to be sold at a price
less than one-half the principal Of ita
debt and less than one-flfth Of it, entire
debt, principal and interest
The Civil Service. -.
The president devotes the last chapter
OF his message to the civil service, the
practical Improvement Of which, he says,
has long been subject Of earnest discus.
sion, and which has of late years received
increased legislative and executive ap.
proval. During the past few months the
service has been placed upon . still flrmer
basis Of business methods and personal
merit. While the right Of deserving vet.
eran soldiers to reinstatement has been
asserted, dismissals for merely political
reasons have been carefully guarded
against; the examinations improved and
madc practical, and distinct advance
has been made by giving hearing before
dismissal upon all cases where incompe.
tency Is charged or demand made for the
removal Of officials. This last has been
done without impairing the power Of re.
moval, one of the vital safeguards of the
system. Much remains to be done before
the system can BIO perfected, and the pres.
ident says that he shall not hesitate to
exempt cases which he thinks have been
properly included In the classified service
on includc those which in his judgments
will best promote the public service. The
system has the approval Of the people and
1t will be his endeavor to uphold and u.
tend It,
Department. Rsports.
Concluding the message, the president
says:
lam forced by the length of this mes.
sage to omit many important rekerences
to affairs Of the government with which
congress will have to deal at the present
session. They are fully discussed In the
departmental reports, to oil Of which I In.
vito your earnest attention.
The estimates Of the expense Of the
government by the several departments
will, I am sure, have your careful
scrutiny. While the congress may
not find 1t IN easy taSk to re.
duce the expense Of the government,
1t should not encourage their increase.
These expenses will, in my Judgment, ad-
init of decrease In many branches Of the
government without injury to the public
service. 1t is commanding duty to keep
the appropriations within the receipts Of
the government and thus avoid deficit.