The Elk Mountain pilot., 1899-10-24


tered ships, a number Of auxiliary yes
sells sold, the revenue cutters and light
house vessels turned back into their
old service, and n couple of monitors
On July 1st there were building for the
navy forty-eight new vessels, in addi-
ton to those enumerated.
The General Land Office has mailed
to western land offices a circular pre-
scribing rules for the government of
all persons concerned in proceedings
arising on reports of special agents af
,fecting the validity of claims to public
lands. The object Is to provide for the
serving of notice upon entrymen by
which they will be given an opportuni-
ty to be beard in a case If so desired.
Hereafter when there is filed in the
General Land Office report of spe-
cial agent alleging that certain entry,
filing, location or claim for a specified
tract of land is fraudulent or Illegal,
or that the claimant has failed to
comply with the requirements of law.
and the facts presented are sufficient
to warrant a cancellation of nll entry
or claim, the local land officers will be
authorized to serve notice upon the en-
trymen or claimant. The notice must
define the charges adverse to the
claimants contained in the special
agents report. Thirty days will be al
lowed in which to apply for a hearing,
and failure to reply within the pre-
scribed time will be taken as an admis-
sion of the truth of the charges Here
tOfore the practice has been that up
on n report of n special agent of the
abandonment of n claim or that an en-
try had been made in violation of law,
the entry has been held for canacella-
ton. The new rule is expected to pro-
mote earlier adjustment in those cases.
Twenty thousand pension claims
growing out of the Spanish war have
been presented to the pension bureau
up-to-date. OF this number about 500
have been granted. The Spanish war
claims are being taken up In regular
order. along with those coming from
the Civil, Mexican and Indian wars"
said Pension Commissioner Evans.
We are not pushing any one class
ahead of the other. When all the Span
ish war claims are in, we expect to
throw out a good many. / learn that n
great many We're filed by soldiers who
went to Cuba and who afterward went
to the Philippines. Ii stands to reason
that If these boys We're able to pass
the physical examination required for
enlistment in our Oriental army. they
are not entitled to pensions for disa-
bilities sustained in the Spanish war
for they enlisted n second time. We
viii find hundreds, perhaps thousands.
of these Spanish war claims concocted
by the ever active pension attorneys.
These fellows swarm about every army
post. l have just returned from the
Pacific coast. and while out there Wis
tied the Presidio. The commanding of
ficer told me he has been obliged to
chase these attorneys away from the
cnt linn HIM N Ia
into the army hospitals and work upon
poor sick soldiers; they visit relatives
of the dead and in the honse of grief
make widows and orphans sign papers.
Is 1t any wonder the pension list
growsf'
In regard to the Alaska boundary
agreement an official of the State De
partment says: The United States has
yielded at several points on the line OF
its contention that the line should be
ten marine leagues from tide water.
For instance, the general distance of
the line nearest Lynn canal from tide
water is reduced TO twenty-five miles
instead of ten marine leagues. or thirty
miles. AT another point on the Stikine
river the boundary is only fourteen
miles from tidewater. On the other
hand, Great Britain has consented TO
leave on the American side of the pro-
visional line n section of the Porcupine
district which has always been claimed
by the United States. The only grave
issues rs to the line geographically
considered, We're the fixing of the
marking between White summit and
Chilcoot pass and the point on the
Dalton trail leading TO the Chilkat pass.
The net result is: The mountain
passes are left on the Canadian side of
the line although Chilcoot pass and
White pass are included within the
United States coast survey map rs
printed in 1887. The tidewaters and in
lets up to the heads of canal naviga-
tion are left on the American side OF
the line. The absolute rights and priv
ileges of trade and transportation
through the passes and through the in
lets, rivers and canals remain there
fore, respectively just as they were
when the negotiations We're COM
menced so far as those rights are eff
fected by the provisional boundary
line.
The Industrial commission on Thurs
day heard the testimony of Mr. Fran
els Lynde Stetson of New York, former
law partner of ex-President Cleveland
and Mr.. Elbert II. Gary. president of
the American Steel Company. Mr..
Stetson, speaking on the general ques-
tion of corporation management, advo-
| Gated the fullest freedom of compact
| on the part of corporations and said
| that persons having business with
| them should learn to inquire concern
ing their responsibility just the same
| as they would in dealing with individ-
| uals. He deprecated the tendency to-
wards paternalism in such matters
and said that legislation could not
| make business men of lunatics and
| paupers. Any undue interference of
| law with corporations would iuevita-
bly, have the effect of doing more harm
than good. Still, he believed that all
| stockholders in any company We're en-
| titled TO know who their owners We're.
and for all purely public corporations.