Omaha daily bee., 1905-11-27
PLAN TO ABOLISH RECEIVERS
Keep Commission Considers Reform in
Government Land Offices.
LARGE SAVING CAN Be EFFECTED
Commissioner Richards VIII Present
Decisive Views in Annual Report
-ChnnRe Requires Act
of Congress-.
Grom a STAFF Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Nov 26.-CSpecial THE
Keep commission, appointed for the pur-
pose Of looking Into the methods of doing
| business in the various executive depart
ments Of the government at Washington,
have now under udvisemeut matters re-
luting TO the general land office. The COM
mission has had two sttings and 1t is said
that almost the entire time of the COM
mission at each session was given to hear
ing officials and others upon thu sugges-
ton that the business of local land Offices
throughout the country could well be con-
Quoted by the register alone. dispensing
with the services OF the receiver.
To bring about such reform would
require an act OF congress amending the
present law. and no matter what the Keep
commission report there need be no great
fear on the part of the receivers for some
time to come that they will lose their jobs
1t is believed that the forthcoming re-
port Of Commissioner Richards will con-
tain some decisive views upon the propo-
sition to abolish the Office of receiver
Commissioner Richards declines to discuss
his views, merely contenting himself with
stating that he had touched upon this sub
Ject in his annual report, but until that
report has been authoritatively given to
the public by Secretary Hitchcock his lips
must remain sealed.
There were on July !, 1905. ITO local land
offices in the United States, including the
land office at Juneau, Alaska, each pre-
sided over by register and receiver. With
the exception Of Juneau office each register
and receiver receives a salary of $500 per
annum. The salary of land officers at
Juneau is $1,000 and fees not to exceed an
| aggregate of $1,000 per annum. Thus 1t
I Iz.r,a
land office is good the register and receiver
would each receive an annual income Of
5000
If congress should decide to discontinue
the services of the receiver at the 10 local
land Offices scattered throughout the
United States it would mean a saving to
| the government in the salaries alone of
these officials of $4,000 per annum, to say
| nothing of fees. AS matter of fact, the
| country is becoming so rapidly settled that
| there remains but a comparatively small
area of public lands available for agricul-
| tural purposes and the business of a great
majority of the local land offices is falling
/ off greatly. 1t is therefore contended by
| the advocates of retrenchment and reform
that one man, a register. can perform
alone all the necessary duties pertaining
| to a land office.
Qunrtermaster Generals Report.
! Probably no more interesting report has
been made by quartermaster general in
the last decade than the report just is
sued by Brigadier General Charles F.
| Humphrey to his superior officer. the
! secretary Of war. II is particularly inter-
| esting. not only to every soldier. but to
| every person who is concerned with public
| affairs and especially TO those who have
| the best interests of the army at heart.
| Necessar ily much of the report deals with
! the dry details of payments for clothing.
! boots and shoes. purchase OF animals,
| erection of buildings. the army transport
| service, construction of quartcrmastcr s
! steamers, ice plants, pack trains and a
Thousand and one things included within
! tho scope of the quartermaster general $
department But with these routine mat
| tors Quartcrmaster General Humphrey dis
cusscs in his report questions of great
moment. not only to the army but To- the
country as well.
General Humphrey, in the opinion OF
| military experts, has brought to his po-
sition a larger and more comprehensive
| knowledge ~ his duties than any man who
has been ut the head of the quartermas-
! tor generals department in twenty years.
| IIc has been associated with all the great
expeditions against the Indians since the
close Of tho civil war and in charge Of
/ transportation and quartermaster's sup
plies during the panish-American war, the
! Boxer troubles I'm China and saw service
in the Philippines. And when he speaks
upon questions I'm which the uuartermas-
| tcr's department is interested he speaks
las one with authority