The policy inaugurated toward the Indians at the beginning of the last
Administration has been steadily pursued, and, I believe, with beneficial
results. It will be continued with only such modifications as time and
experience may demonstrate as necessary.
With the encroachment of civilization upon the Indian reservations and
hunting grounds, disturbances have taken place between the Indians and
whites during the past year, and probably will continue to do so until each
race appreciates that the other has rights which must be respected.
The policy has been to collect the Indians as rapidly as possible on
reservations, and as far as practicable within what is known as the Indian
Territory, and to teach them the arts of civilization and self-support.
Where found off their reservations, and endangering the peace and safety of
the whites, they have been punished, and will continue to be for like
offenses.
The Indian Territory south of Kansas and west of Arkansas is sufficient in
area and agricultural resources to support all the Indians east of the
Rocky Mountains. In time, no doubt, all of them, except a few who may elect
to make their homes among white people, will be collected there. As a
preparatory step for this consummation, I am now satisfied that a
Territorial form of government should be given them, which will secure the
treaty rights of the original settlers and protect their homesteads from
alienation for a period of twenty years.
The operations of the Patent Office are growing to such a magnitude and the
accumulation of material is becoming so great that the necessity of more
room is becoming more obvious day by day. I respectfully invite your
attention to the reports of the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner
of Patents on this subject.
The business of the General Land Office exhibits a material increase in all
its branches during the last fiscal year. During that time there were
disposed of out of the public lands 13,030,606 acres, being an amount
greater by 1,165,631 acres than was disposed of during the preceding year.
Of the amount disposed of, 1,626,266 acres were sold for cash, 214,940
acres were located with military land warrants, 3,793,612 acres were taken
for homesteads, 653,446 acres were located with agricultural-college scrip,
6,083,536 acres were certified by railroads, 76,576 acres were granted to
wagon roads, 238,548 acres were approved to States as swamp lands, 138,681
acres were certified for agricultural colleges, common schools,
universities, and seminaries, 190,775 acres were approved to States for
internal improvements, and 14,222 acres were located with Indian scrip. The
cash receipts during the same time were $3,408,515.50, being $190,415.50 in
excess of the receipts of the previous year. During the year 30,488,132
acres of public land were surveyed, an increase over the amount surveyed
the previous year of 1,037,193 acres, and, added to the area previously
surveyed, aggregates 616,554,895 acres which have been surveyed, leaving
1,218,443,505 acres of the public land still unsurveyed.
The increased and steadily increasing facilities for reaching our
unoccupied public domain and for the transportation of surplus products
enlarge the available field for desirable homestead locations, thus
stimulating settlement and extending year by year in a gradually increasing
ratio the area of occupation and cultivation.
The expressed desire of the representatives of a large colony of citizens
of Russia to emigrate to this country, as is understood, with the consent
of their Government, if certain concessions can be made to enable them to
settle in a compact colony, is of great interest, as going to show the
light in which our institutions are regarded by an industrious,
intelligent, and wealthy people, desirous of enjoying civil and religious
liberty; and the acquisition of so large an immigration of citizens of a
superior class would without doubt be of substantial benefit to the
country. I invite attention to the suggestion of the Secretary of the
Interior in this behalf.
There was paid during the last fiscal year for pensions, including the
expense of disbursement, $29,185,289.62, being an amount less by
$984,050.98 than was expended for the same purpose the preceding year.
Although this statement of expenditures would indicate a material reduction
in amount compared with the preceding year, it is believed that the changes
in the pension laws at the last session of Congress will absorb that amount
the current year. At the close of the last fiscal year there were on the
pension rolls 99,804 invalid military pensioners and 112,088 widows,
orphans, and dependent relatives of deceased soldiers, making a total of
that class of 211,892; 18,266 survivors of the War of 1812 and 5,058 widows
of soldiers of that war pensioned under the act of Congress of February 14,
1871, making a total of that class of 23,319; 1,480 invalid navy pensioners
and 1,770 widows, orphans, and dependent relatives of deceased officers,
sailors, and marines of the Navy, making a total of navy pensioners of
3,200, and a grand total of pensioners of 311 classes of 238,411, showing a
net increase during the last fiscal year of 6,182. During the last year the
names of 16,405 pensioners were added to the rolls, and 10,223 names were
dropped therefrom for various causes.
The system adopted for the detection of frauds against the Government in
the matter of pensions has been productive of satisfactory results, but
legislation is needed to provide, if possible, against the perpetration of
such frauds in future.
The evidently increasing interest in the cause of education is a most
encouraging feature in the general progress and prosperity of the country,
and the Bureau of Education is earnest in its efforts to give proper
direction to the new appliances and increased facilities which are being
offered to aid the educators of the country in their great work.
The Ninth Census has been completed, the report thereof published and
distributed, and the working force of the Bureau disbanded. The Secretary
of the Interior renews his recommendation for a census to be taken in 1875,
to which subject the attention of Congress is invited. The original
suggestion in that behalf has met with the general approval of the country;
and even if it be not deemed advisable at present to provide for a regular
quinquennial census, a census taken in 1875, the report of which could be
completed and published before the one hundredth anniversary of our
national independence, would be especially interesting and valuable, as
showing the progress of the country during the first century of our
national existence. It is believed, however, that a regular census every
five years would be of substantial benefit to the country, inasmuch as our
growth hitherto has been so rapid that the results of the decennial census
are necessarily unreliable as a basis of estimates for the latter years of
a decennial period.