Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-01-11

NSSio "CiC tlOSeu the IWel-
Iy-four hours were july ), the funeral
Day of John Hay, July 4 and Christ
mas. Almost a double force is required
lor b building, which is open virtual
~ lay n evening the year around.
IL largest number of visitors in any
n day was 5,2S4, in April, and the
smallest 444, on one of the hottest DAYS
la July. An idea Of the size of this H.
Drary may be obtained from the statis-
tics for last year, which showed Il gain
In the number of volumes of 34,G2G.
bringing the number of books on the
racks up to 1,379,244. This total of
BOOKS, pamphlets, maps and charts and
pieces Of music added last year was
6 1885.
Some of the postal improvements adj
vocated in Cortelyou's annual report
are the parcels post, postal savings
bank, postal telegraph and telephone,
abolition of railway speed subsidies,
additional subsidies to 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 &C
tlVlty. AS to the deficit, he says he is
less concerned about that than about
efficiency of administration and thinks
it unreasonable to charge any one
branch OF the service with responsible
ity for the deficit.
49,
A plan for holding and developing
coal lands in the Indian Territory be-
longing to the government has been
made public by Secretary Hitchcock. \
large corporation is to be formed, il
which the Indian tribes and the gov
eminent are to control the stock, thL
mines to be operated by employees or
leased on a royalty. 1t will be the first
time in our history that the government
becomes a stakeholder in Il private COR
poration. The life of the 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 t%wo-thirds of the rev.
of the government are now de-
voted to the payment of inheritances
from past wars and expenditures for
future war; 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 $1OO,OOO,OOO had been
appropriated for sea coast fortitica-
lions, the argument was, what is the
use Of having guns and Notifications
unless you have men?" Thus, he said,
it was the constant pressure of the
army to aggrandize 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 harbor 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 4 per cent on
$40, 900, 600, this being the plan which
proved so successful under Lord Cromer
in Egypt. He says the business condi-
lions in the islands, especially in the
sugar and tobacco industrials, continue,
and that the storm of last year de-
stroyed $4,OOO,OO0 worth of the hemp
crop. Work is proceeding on a system
of water supply for Manila and on the
sewerage system. The complete paci-
fcation of the Island of Luzon is re-
ported with the capture or surrender
of the ladrone leaders, the only disor-
der now being in Leyte and Samar.
The House adopted a resolution in
dorsed by Miller of Kansas, directing
the bureau of corporations to investi,
gate the causes of the high price Of
lumber, and particularly whether this
is due to the existence of a combina.
tion in the form of a trust or other
wise. The house also called upon the
Secretary Of the Interior to give an ac-
count of all public lands withdrawn or
reserved from entry.
In a recent report Of the bureau Of
navigation it is shown that 90 per cent
of the enlisted men in the navy are
Eative-born Americans, and that dur
ing the year forty-three per cent OF the
men qualified for re-enlistment did re-
enlist. It is highly desirable that the
man behind the gun be a man of ex-
perience. and it is best that the man
who may be called upon to fight should
he born under the flag that floats above
his ship.
Although more than two hundred
thousand applications for pensions
we're received during the past year,
Commissioners Warder reduced the ex-
nense of the Pension Office by about
O 10000. At the same time the number
of pending claims were largely reduced.
rha Interstate Commerce Commits