The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1907-01-10

~~>~~.~s
Evidence of the use the general pub
lie is making of the great Library of
Congress Is to be found i'm the record of
visitors to the building during the last
fiscal year. The visitors numbered
age Of 2,243 in the 362 days on which
the library was open to the public. The
only days ON which the great bronze
doors were closed throughout the twen-
ty-four hours were July 5, the funeral
day Of John Hay, July and Christ
mas. Almost double force is required
for the building, which is open virtual
ly day and evening the year around.
The largest number Of visitors in any
one day was 5,2S4, in April and the
smallest Al, on one of the hottest days
ih July. An idea of the size of this IL
brary may be obtained from the statis-
tics for last year, which showed a gain
in the number of volumes of 34,626,
bringing the number of books on the
racks up to 1,379244. This total of
books, pamphlets, maps and charts and
pieces Of music added last year was
a 1886.
Some Of the postal improvements ad-
vocated in Cortelyou's annual report
are the parcels post, postal savings
bank, postal telegraph and telephone,
abolition of railway speed subsidies,
additional subsidies ID South American
and Australian steamers, low-rate pos
tai notes and the creation of a new
office, that of deputy postmaster gen.
eral, with permanent tenure, who
would act as a sort of business man.
ager for the entire service, besides GER
tain reforms in salaries and accounts
The Postmaster General takes the high
ground that postmasters should not be
appointed as rewards for political ac-
tivity. AS to the deficit, he says he is
less concerned about that than about
efficiency of administration and thinks
ii unreasonable to charge any one
branch of the service with responsible
ity for the deficit.
-
A plan for holding and developing
coal lands in the Indian Territory be-
longing to the government has been
made public by Secretary Hitchcock. A
large corporation is to be formed, in
which the Indian tribes and the gov
ernment are to control the stock, the
mines to be operated by employees or
leased on royalty. 1t will be the first
becomes a stockholder in a private cor
poration. The life Of the company is
to be twenty-five years, with option of
continuance or sale at the end of that
period, the directors to be the Presi-
dent of the United States, Secretaries
of the Interior, Treasury and Com
merce and Labor, Commissioner of In
dian Affairs and a member Of each of
the ChOctaw and Chickasaw tribes
-
Senator Hale of Maine made the
declaration that two-thirds Of the rev.
enues OF the government are now de-
voted to the payment of inheritances
from past wars and expenditures for
future wars. He called attention to
the arguments of the army promoters
that it was no use to have an army
unless you have guns and Notifications,
and now that $100,0O0,O00 had been
appropriated for sea coast fortifica-
tiOns, the argument was, what is the
use Of having guns and Notifications
unless you have men?" Thus, he said,
ii was the constant pressure of the
army TO agsrandize itself first for men,
then for guns and then guns and then
men. On account of this vast expense,
Senator Hale said it was impossible to
get appropriations for the marine, for
river and Larbor improvements and for
public buildings.
-
Secretary OF War Taft in his report
on the Philippines asks Congress to
support an agricultural bank by author
izing the Philippine government to
guarantee a dividend Of per cent on
$10,000,0O0, this being the plan which
pToFeu 30 succesoi III unuel Soiu SToLneT
in Egypt. He says the business condi-
tions In the islands. especially in the
sugar and tobacco industrials, continue,
and that the storm of last year de-
stroyed $4,000.000 worth of the hemp
crop. Work is proceeding on system
of water supply for Maaila and on the
sewerage system. The complete paci-
fication OF the Island of Luzon is re-
ported with the capture or surrender
of the ladrone leaders. the only disor.