Compared with the previous year, there was an increase of $66,738,688
in the value of exports of merchandise and a decrease of $25,290,118
in the value of imports. The annual average of the excess of imports
of merchandise over exports thereof for ten years previous to June
30, 1873, was $104,706,922, but for the last six years there has
been an excess of exports over imports of merchandise amounting to
$1,180,668,105, an annual average of $196,778,017. The specie value
of the exports of domestic merchandise was $376,616,473 in 1870 and
$883,925,947 in 1881, an increase of $507,309,474, or 135 per cent.
The value of imports was $435,958,408 in 1870 and $642,664,628 in 1881,
an increase of $206,706,220, or 47 per cent.
During each year from 1862 to 1879, inclusive, the exports of specie
exceeded the imports. The largest excess of such exports over imports
was reached during the year 1864, when it amounted to $92,280,929. But
during the year ended June 30, 1880, the imports of coin and bullion
exceeded the exports by $75,891,391, and during the last fiscal year
the excess of imports over exports was $91,168,650.
In the last annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury the attention
of Congress was called to the fact that $469,651,050 in 5 per cent bonds
and $203,573,750 in 6 per cent bonds would become redeemable during the
year, and Congress was asked to authorize the refunding of these bonds
at a lower rate of interest. The bill for such refunding having failed
to become a law, the Secretary of the Treasury in April last notified
the holders of the $195,690,400 6 per cent bonds then outstanding that
the bonds would be paid at par on the 1st day of July following, or that
they might be "continued" at the pleasure of the Government, to bear
interest at the rate of 3-1/2 per cent per annum.
Under this notice $178,055,150 of the 6 per cent bonds were continued at
the lower rate and $17,635,250 were redeemed.
In the month of May a like notice was given respecting the redemption
or continuance of the $439,841,350 of 5 per cent bonds then outstanding,
and of these $401,504,900 were continued at 3-1/3 per cent per annum and
$38,336,450 redeemed.
The 6 per cent bonds of the loan of February 8, 1861, and of the Oregon
war debt, amounting together to $14,125,800, having matured during the
year, the Secretary of the Treasury gave notice of his intention to
redeem the same, and such as have been presented have been paid from the
surplus revenues. There have also been redeemed at par $16,179,100 of
the 3-1/2 per cent "continued" bonds, making a total of bonds redeemed
or which have ceased to bear interest during the year of $123,969,650.
The reduction of the annual interest on the public debt through these
transactions is as follows:
By reduction of interest to 3-1/2 per cent. $10,473,952.25
By redemption of bonds 6,352,340.00
_____________
Total 16,826,292.25
The 3-1/2 per cent bonds, being payable at the pleasure of the
Government, are available for the investment of surplus revenues without
the payment of premiums.
Unless these bonds can be funded at a much lower rate of interest than
they now bear, I agree with the Secretary of the Treasury that no
legislation respecting them is desirable.
It is a matter for congratulation that the business of the country
has been so prosperous during the past year as to yield by taxation
a large surplus of income to the Government. If the revenue laws remain
unchanged, this surplus must year by year increase, on account of the
reduction of the public debt and its burden of interest and because
of the rapid increase of our population. In 1860, just prior to the
institution of our internal-revenue system, our population but slightly
exceeded 30,000,000; by the census of 1880 it is now found to exceed
50,000,000. It is estimated that even if the annual receipts and
expenditures should continue as at present the entire debt could be
paid in ten years.
In view, however, of the heavy load of taxation which our people have
already borne, we may well consider whether it is not the part of wisdom
to reduce the revenues, even if we delay a little the payment of the
debt.
It seems to me that the time has arrived when the people may justly
demand some relief from their present onerous burden, and that by due
economy in the various branches of the public service this may readily
be afforded.
I therefore concur with the Secretary in recommending the abolition
of all internal-revenue taxes except those upon tobacco in its various
forms and upon distilled spirits and fermented liquors, and except also
the special tax upon the manufacturers of and dealers in such articles.
The retention of the latter tax is desirable as affording the officers
of the Government a proper supervision of these articles for the
prevention of fraud. I agree with the Secretary of the Treasury that the
law imposing a stamp tax upon matches, proprietary articles, playing
cards, checks, and drafts may with propriety be repealed, and the law
also by which banks and bankers are assessed upon their capital and
deposits. There seems to be a general sentiment in favor of this course.
In the present condition of our revenues the tax upon deposits is
especially unjust. It was never imposed in this country until it was
demanded by the necessities of war, and was never exacted, I believe, in
any other country even in its greatest exigencies. Banks are required to
secure their circulation by pledging with the Treasurer of the United
States bonds of the General Government. The interest upon these bonds,
which at the time when the tax was imposed was 6 per cent, is now in
most instances 3-1/2 per cent. Besides, the entire circulation was
originally limited by law and no increase was allowable. When the
existing banks had practically a monopoly of the business, there was
force in the suggestion that for the franchise to the favored grantees
the Government might very properly exact a tax on circulation; but for
years the system has been free and the amount of circulation regulated
by the public demand.
The retention of this tax has been suggested as a means of reimbursing
the Government for the expense of printing and furnishing the
circulating notes. If the tax should be repealed, it would certainly
seem proper to require the national banks to pay the amount of such
expense to the Comptroller of the Currency.
It is perhaps doubtful whether the immediate reduction of the rate of
taxation upon liquors and tobacco is advisable, especially in view of
the drain upon the Treasury which must attend the payment of arrears of
pensions. A comparison, however, of the amount of taxes collected under
the varying rates of taxation which have at different times prevailed
suggests the intimation that some reduction may soon be made without
material diminution of the revenue.
The tariff laws also need revision; but, that a due regard may be paid
to the conflicting interests of our citizens, important changes should
be made with caution. If a careful revision can not be made at this
session, a commission such as was lately approved by the Senate and is
now recommended by the Secretary of the Treasury would doubtless lighten
the labors of Congress whenever this subject shall be brought to its
consideration.
The accompanying report of the Secretary of War will make known to you
the operations of that Department for the past year.
He suggests measures for promoting the efficiency of the Army without
adding to the number of its officers, and recommends the legislation
necessary to increase the number of enlisted men to 30,000, the maximum
allowed by law.
This he deems necessary to maintain quietude on our ever-shifting
frontier; to preserve peace and suppress disorder and marauding in new
settlements; to protect settlers and their property against Indians, and
Indians against the encroachments of intruders; and to enable peaceable
immigrants to establish homes in the most remote parts of our country.
The Army is now necessarily scattered over such a vast extent of
territory that whenever an outbreak occurs reenforcements must be
hurried from many quarters, over great distances, and always at heavy
cost for transportation of men, horses, wagons, and supplies.
I concur in the recommendations of the Secretary for increasing the Army
to the strength of 30,000 enlisted men.
It appears by the Secretary's report that in the absence of disturbances
on the frontier the troops have been actively employed in collecting the
Indians hitherto hostile and locating them on their proper reservations;
that Sitting Bull and his adherents are now prisoners at Fort Randall;
that the Utes have been moved to their new reservation in Utah; that
during the recent outbreak of the Apaches it was necessary to reenforce
the garrisons in Arizona by troops withdrawn from New Mexico; and that
some of the Apaches are now held prisoners for trial, while some have
escaped, and the majority of the tribe are now on their reservation.
There is need of legislation to prevent intrusion upon the lands set
apart for the Indians. A large military force, at great expense, is
now required to patrol the boundary line between Kansas and the Indian
Territory. The only punishment that can at present be inflicted is the
forcible removal of the intruder and the imposition of a pecuniary fine,
which in most cases it is impossible to collect. There should be a
penalty by imprisonment in such cases.
The separate organization of the Signal Service is urged by the
Secretary of War, and a full statement of the advantages of such
permanent organization is presented in the report of the Chief Signal
Officer. A detailed account of the useful work performed by the Signal
Corps and the Weather Bureau is also given in that report.
I ask attention to the statements of the Secretary of War regarding the
requisitions frequently made by the Indian Bureau upon the Subsistence
Department of the Army for the casual support of bands and tribes of
Indians whose appropriations are exhausted. The War Department should
not be left, by reason of inadequate provision for the Indian Bureau,
to contribute for the maintenance of Indians.
The report of the Chief of Engineers furnishes a detailed account of the
operations for the improvement of rivers and harbors.
I commend to your attention the suggestions contained in this report in
regard to the condition of our fortifications, especially our coast
defenses, and recommend an increase of the strength of the Engineer
Battalion, by which the efficiency of our torpedo system would be
improved.
I also call your attention to the remarks upon the improvement of the
South Pass of the Mississippi River, the proposed free bridge over the
Potomac River at Georgetown, the importance of completing at an early
day the north wing of the War Department building, and other
recommendations of the Secretary of War which appear in his report.
The actual expenditures of that Department for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1881, were $42,122,201.39. The appropriations for the year 1882
were $44,889,725.42. The estimates for 1883 are $44,541,276.91.
The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits the condition of
that branch of the service and presents valuable suggestions for its
improvement. I call your especial attention also to the appended report
of the Advisory Board which he convened to devise suitable measures for
increasing the efficiency of the Navy, and particularly to report as to
the character and number of vessels necessary to place it upon a footing
commensurate with the necessities of the Government.
I can not too strongly urge upon you my conviction that every
consideration of national safety, economy, and honor imperatively
demands a thorough rehabilitation of our Navy.
With a full appreciation of the fact that compliance with the
suggestions of the head of that Department and of the Advisory Board
must involve a large expenditure of the public moneys, I earnestly
recommend such appropriations as will accomplish an end which seems to
me so desirable.
Nothing can be more inconsistent with true public economy than
withholding the means necessary to accomplish the objects intrusted by
the Constitution to the National Legislature. One of those objects, and
one which is of paramount importance, is declared by our fundamental law
to be the provision for the "common defense." Surely nothing is more
essential to the defense of the United States and of all our people
than the efficiency of our Navy.
We have for many years maintained with foreign governments the relations
of honorable peace, and that such relations may be permanent is desired
by every patriotic citizen of the Republic. But if we heed the teachings
of history we shall not forget that in the life of every nation
emergencies may arise when a resort to arms can alone save it from
dishonor.
No danger from abroad now threatens this people, nor have we any cause
to distrust the friendly professions of other governments. But for
avoiding as well as for repelling dangers that may threaten us in the
future we must be prepared to enforce any policy which we think wise to
adopt.
We must be ready to defend our harbors against aggression; to protect,
by the distribution of our ships of war over the highways of commerce,
the varied interests of our foreign trade and the persons and property
of our citizens abroad; to maintain everywhere the honor of our flag and
the distinguished position which we may rightfully claim among the
nations of the world.
The report of the Postmaster-General is a gratifying exhibit of the
growth and efficiency of the postal service.
The receipts from postage and other ordinary sources during the past
fiscal year were $36,489,816.58. The receipts from the money-order
business were $295,581.39, making a total of $36,785,397.97. The
expenditure for the fiscal year was $39,251,736.46. The deficit supplied
out of the general Treasury was $2,481,129.35, or 6.3 per cent of the
amount expended. The receipts were $3,469,918.63 in excess of those of
the previous year, and $4,575,397.97 in excess of the estimate made two
years ago, before the present period of business prosperity had fairly
begun.
The whole number of letters mailed in this country in the last fiscal
year exceeded 1,000,000,000.
The registry system is reported to be in excellent condition, having
been remodeled during the past four years with good results. The amount
of registration fees collected during the last fiscal year was
$712,882.20, an increase over the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, of
$345,443.40.
The entire number of letters and packages registered during the year was
8,338,919, of which only 2,061 were lost or destroyed in transit.
The operations of the money-order system are multiplying yearly under
the impulse of immigration, of the rapid development of the newer States
and Territories, and the consequent demand for additional means of
intercommunication and exchange.
During the past year 338 additional money-order offices have been
established, making a total of 5,499 in operation at the date of this
report.
During the year the domestic money orders aggregated in value
$105,075,769.35
A modification of the system is suggested, reducing the fees for money
orders not exceeding $5 from 10 cents to 5 cents and making the maximum
limit $100 in place of $50.
Legislation for the disposition of unclaimed money orders in the
possession of the Post-Office Department is recommended, in view of the
fact that their total value now exceeds $1,000,000.
The attention of Congress is again invited to the subject of
establishing a system of savings depositories in connection with the
Post-Office Department.
The statistics of mail transportation show that during the past year
railroad routes have been increased in length 6,249 miles and in cost
$1,114,382, while steamboat routes have been decreased in length 2,182
miles and in cost $134,054. The so-called star routes have been
decreased in length 3,949 miles and in cost $364,144.
Nearly all of the more expensive routes have been superseded by railroad
service. The cost of the star service must therefore rapidly decrease in
the Western States and Territories.
The Postmaster-General, however, calls attention to the constantly
increasing cost of the railway mail service as a serious difficulty in
the way of making the Department self-sustaining.
Our postal intercourse with foreign countries has kept pace with the
growth of the domestic service. Within the past year several countries
and colonies have declared their adhesion to the Postal Union. It now
includes all those which have an organized postal service except
Bolivia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and the British colonies in Australia.
As has been already stated, great reductions have recently been made
in the expense of the star-route service. The investigations of the
Department of Justice and the Post-Office Department have resulted in
the presentation of indictments against persons formerly connected with
that service, accusing them of offenses against the United States. I
have enjoined upon the officials who are charged with the conduct of the
cases on the part of the Government, and upon the eminent counsel who
before my accession to the Presidency were called to their assistance,
the duty of prosecuting with the utmost vigor of the law all persons who
may be found chargeable with frauds upon the postal service.
The Acting Attorney-General calls attention to the necessity of
modifying the present system of the courts of the United States--a
necessity due to the large increase of business, especially in the
Supreme Court. Litigation in our Federal tribunals became greatly
expanded after the close of the late war. So long as that expansion
might be attributable to the abnormal condition in which the community
found itself immediately after the return of peace, prudence required
that no change be made in the constitution of our judicial tribunals.
But it has now become apparent that an immense increase of litigation
has directly resulted from the wonderful growth and development of the
country. There is no ground for belief that the business of the United
States courts will ever be less in volume than at present. Indeed, that
it is likely to be much greater is generally recognized by the bench and
bar.
In view of the fact that Congress has already given much consideration
to this subject, I make no suggestion as to detail, but express the hope
that your deliberations may result in such legislation as will give
early relief to our overburdened courts.
The Acting Attorney-General also calls attention to the disturbance
of the public tranquillity during the past year in the Territory of
Arizona. A band of armed desperadoes known as "Cowboys," probably
numbering from fifty to one hundred men, have been engaged for months in
committing acts of lawlessness and brutality which the local authorities
have been unable to repress. The depredations of these "Cowboys" have
also extended into Mexico, which the marauders reach from the Arizona
frontier. With every disposition to meet the exigencies of the case,
I am embarrassed by lack of authority to deal with them effectually.
The punishment of crimes committed within Arizona should ordinarily,
of course, be left to the Territorial authorities; but it is worthy
consideration whether acts which necessarily tend to embroil the United
States with neighboring governments should not be declared crimes
against the United States. Some of the incursions alluded to may perhaps
be within the scope of the law (U.S. Revised Statutes, sec. 5286)
forbidding "military expeditions or enterprises" against friendly
states; but in view of the speedy assembling of your body I have
preferred to await such legislation as in your wisdom the occasion may
seem to demand.
It may perhaps be thought proper to provide that the setting on foot
within our own territory of brigandage and armed marauding expeditions
against friendly nations and their citizens shall be punishable as an
offense against the United States.
I will add that in the event of a request from the Territorial
government for protection by the United States against "domestic
violence" this Government would be powerless to render assistance.
The act of 1795, chapter 36, passed at a time when Territorial
governments received little attention from Congress, enforced this duty
of the United States only as to the State governments. But the act of
1807, chapter 39, applied also to Territories. This law seems to have
remained in force until the revision of the statutes, when the provision
for the Territories was dropped. I am not advised whether this
alteration was intentional or accidental; but as it seems to me that the
Territories should be offered the protection which is accorded to the
States by the Constitution, I suggest legislation to that end.
It seems to me, too, that whatever views may prevail as to the policy
of recent legislation by which the Army has ceased to be a part of the
_posse comitatus_, an exception might well be made for permitting
the military to assist the civil Territorial authorities in enforcing
the laws of the United States. This use of the Army would not seem to
be within the alleged evil against which that legislation was aimed.
From sparseness of population and other circumstances it is often quite
impracticable to summon a civil posse in places where officers of
justice require assistance and where a military force is within easy
reach.
The report of the Secretary of the Interior, with accompanying
documents, presents an elaborate account of the business of that
Department. A summary of it would be too extended for this place. I ask
your careful attention to the report itself.
Prominent among the matters which challenge the attention of Congress at
its present session is the management of our Indian affairs. While this
question has been a cause of trouble and embarrassment from the infancy
of the Government, it is but recently that any effort has been made for
its solution at once serious, determined, consistent, and promising
success.
It has been easier to resort to convenient makeshifts for tiding over
temporary difficulties than to grapple with the great permanent problem,
and accordingly the easier course has almost invariably been pursued.
It was natural, at a time when the national territory seemed almost
illimitable and contained many millions of acres far outside the bounds
of civilized settlements, that a policy should have been initiated which
more than aught else has been the fruitful source of our Indian
complications.
I refer, of course, to the policy of dealing with the various Indian
tribes as separate nationalities, of relegating them by treaty
stipulations to the occupancy of immense reservations in the West, and
of encouraging them to live a savage life, undisturbed by any earnest
and well-directed efforts to bring them under the influences of
civilization.
The unsatisfactory results which have sprung from this policy are
becoming apparent to all.
As the white settlements have crowded the borders of the reservations,
the Indians, sometimes contentedly and sometimes against their will,
have been transferred to other hunting grounds, from which they have
again been dislodged whenever their new-found homes have Keen desired
by the adventurous settlers.
These removals and the frontier collisions by which they have often been
preceded have led to frequent and disastrous conflicts between the
races.
It is profitless to discuss here which of them has been chiefly
responsible for the disturbances whose recital occupies so large a space
upon the pages of our history.
We have to deal with the appalling fact that though thousands of lives
have been sacrificed and hundreds of millions of dollars expended in the
attempt to solve the Indian problem, it has until within the past few
years seemed scarcely nearer a solution than it was half a century ago.
But the Government has of late been cautiously but steadily feeling its
way to the adoption of a policy which has already produced gratifying
results, and which, in my judgment, is likely, if Congress and the
Executive accord in its support, to relieve us ere long from the
difficulties which have hitherto beset us.
For the success of the efforts now making to introduce among the Indians
the customs and pursuits of civilized life and gradually to absorb them
into the mass of our citizens, sharing their rights and holden to their
responsibilities, there is imperative need for legislative action.
My suggestions in that regard will be chiefly such as have been already
called to the attention of Congress and have received to some extent its
consideration.
First. I recommend the passage of an act making the laws of the various
States and Territories applicable to the Indian reservations within
their borders and extending the laws of the State of Arkansas to the
portion of the Indian Territory not occupied by the Five Civilized
Tribes.
The Indian should receive the protection of the law. He should be
allowed to maintain in court his rights of person and property. He has
repeatedly begged for this privilege. Its exercise would be very
valuable to him in his progress toward civilization.
Second. Of even greater importance is a measure which has been
frequently recommended by my predecessors in office, and in furtherance
of which several bills have been from time to time introduced in both
Houses of Congress. The enactment of a general law permitting the
allotment in severalty, to such Indians, at least, as desire it, of a
reasonable quantity of land secured to them by patent, and for their own
protection made inalienable for twenty or twenty-five years, is demanded
for their present welfare and their permanent advancement.
In return for such considerate action on the part of the Government,
there is reason to believe that the Indians in large numbers would be
persuaded to sever they tribal relations and to engage at once in
agricultural pursuits. Many of them realize the fact that their hunting
days are over and that it is now for their best interests to conform
their manner of life to the new order of things. By no greater
inducement than the assurance of permanent title to the soil can they
be led to engage in the occupation of tilling it.
The well-attested reports of their increasing interest in husbandry
justify the hope and belief that the enactment of such a statute as I
recommend would be at once attended with gratifying results. A resort
to the allotment system would have a direct and powerful influence in
dissolving the tribal bond, which is so prominent a feature of savage
life, and which tends so strongly to perpetuate it.
Third. I advise a liberal appropriation for the support of Indian
schools, because of my confident belief that such a course is consistent
with the wisest economy.
Even among the most uncultivated Indian tribes there is reported to be
a general and urgent desire on the part of the chiefs and older members
for the education of their children. It is unfortunate, in view of this
fact, that during the past year the means which have been at the command
of the Interior Department for the purpose of Indian instruction have
proved to be utterly inadequate.
The success of the schools which are in operation at Hampton, Carlisle,
and Forest Grove should not only encourage a more generous provision for
the support of those institutions, but should prompt the establishment
of others of a similar character.
They are doubtless much more potent for good than the day schools upon
the reservation, as the pupils are altogether separated from the
surroundings of savage life and brought into constant contact with
civilization.
There are many other phases of this subject which are of great interest,
but which can not be included within the becoming limits of this
communication. They are discussed ably in the reports of the Secretary
of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
For many years the Executive, in his annual message to Congress, has
urged the necessity of stringent legislation for the suppression of
polygamy in the Territories, and especially in the Territory of Utah.
The existing statute for the punishment of this odious crime, so
revolting to the moral and religious sense of Christendom, has been
persistently and contemptuously violated ever since its enactment.
Indeed, in spite of commendable efforts on the part of the authorities
who represent the United States in that Territory, the law has in very
rare instances been enforced, and, for a cause to which reference will
presently be made, is practically a dead letter.
The fact that adherents of the Mormon Church, which rests upon polygamy
as its corner stone, have recently been peopling in large numbers Idaho,
Arizona, and other of our Western Territories is well calculated to
excite the liveliest interest and apprehension. It imposes upon Congress
and the Executive the duty of arraying against this barbarous system all
the power which under the Constitution and the law they can wield for
its destruction.
Reference has been already made to the obstacles which the United States
officers have encountered in their efforts to punish violations of law.
Prominent among these obstacles is the difficulty of procuring legal
evidence sufficient to warrant a conviction even in the case of the most
notorious offenders.
Your attention is called to a recent opinion of the Supreme Court of the
United States, explaining its judgment of reversal in the case of Miles,
who had been convicted of bigamy in Utah. The court refers to the fact
that the secrecy attending the celebration of marriages in that
Territory makes the proof of polygamy very difficult, and the propriety
is suggested of modifying the law of evidence which now makes a wife
incompetent to testify against her husband.
This suggestion is approved. I recommend also the passage of an act
providing that in the Territories of the United States the fact that
a woman has been married to a person charged with bigamy shall not
disqualify her as a witness upon his trial for that offense. I further
recommend legislation by which any person solemnizing a marriage in any
of the Territories shall be required, under stringent penalties for
neglect or refusal, to file a certificate of such marriage in the
supreme court of the Territory.
Doubtless Congress may devise other practicable measures for obviating
the difficulties which have hitherto attended the efforts to suppress
this iniquity. I assure you of my determined purpose to cooperate with
you in any lawful and discreet measures which may be proposed to that
end.
Although our system of government does not contemplate that the nation
should provide or support a system for the education of our people, no
measures calculated to promote that general intelligence and virtue upon
which the perpetuity of our institutions so greatly depends have ever
been regarded with indifference by Congress or the Executive.
A large portion of the public domain has been from time to time devoted
to the promotion of education.
There is now a special reason why, by setting apart the proceeds of its
sales of public lands or by some other course, the Government should aid
the work of education. Many who now exercise the right of suffrage are
unable to read the ballot which they cast. Upon many who had just
emerged from a condition of slavery were suddenly devolved the
responsibilities of citizenship in that portion of the country most
impoverished by war. I have been pleased to learn from the report of the
Commissioner of Education that there has lately been a commendable
increase of interest and effort for their instruction; but all that can
be done by local legislation and private generosity should be
supplemented by such aid as can be constitutionally afforded by the
National Government.
I would suggest that if any fund be dedicated to this purpose it may be
wisely distributed in the different States according to the ratio of
illiteracy, as by this means those localities which are most in need of
such assistance will reap its special benefits.
The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture exhibits the results of
the experiments in which that Department has been engaged during the
past year and makes important suggestions in reference to the
agricultural development of the country.
The steady increase of our population and the consequent addition to
the number of those engaging in the pursuit of husbandry are giving
to this Department a growing dignity and importance. The Commissioner's
suggestions touching its capacity for greater usefulness deserve
attention, as it more and more commends itself to the interests which
it was created to promote.
It appears from the report of the Commissioner of Pensions that since
1860 789,063 original pension claims have been filed; 450,949 of these
have been allowed and inscribed on the pension roll; 72,539 have been
rejected and abandoned, being 13+ per cent of the whole number of claims
settled.
There are now pending for settlement 265,575 original pension claims,
227,040 of which were filed prior to July 1, 1880. These, when allowed,
will involve the payment of arrears from the date of discharge in case
of an invalid and from date of death or termination of a prior right in
all other cases.
From all the data obtainable it is estimated that 15 per cent of the
number of claims now pending will be rejected or abandoned. This would
show the probable rejection of 34,040 cases and the probable admission
of about 193,000 claims, all of which involve the payment of arrears of
pension.
With the present force employed, the number of adjudications remaining
the same and no new business intervening, this number of claims
(193,000) could be acted upon in a period of six years; and taking
January 1, 1884, as a near period from which to estimate in each case
an average amount of arrears, it is found that every case allowed would
require for the first payment upon it the sum of $1,350. Multiplying
this amount by the whole number of probable admissions gives
$250,000,000 as the sum required for first payment. This represents the
sum which must be paid upon claims which were filed before July 1, 1880,
and are now pending and entitled to the benefits of the arrears act.
From this amount ($250,000,000) may be deducted from ten to fifteen
millions for cases where, the claimant dying, there is no person who
under the law would be entitled to succeed to the pension, leaving
$235,000,000 as the probable amount to be paid.
In these estimates no account has been taken of the 38,500 cases filed
since June 30, 1880, and now pending, which must receive attention as
current business, but which do not involve the payment of any arrears
beyond the date of filing the claim. Of this number it is estimated that
86 per cent will be allowed.
As has been stated, with the present force of the Pension Bureau (675
clerks) it is estimated that it will take six years to dispose of the
claims now pending.
It is stated by the Commissioner of Pensions that by an addition of 250
clerks (increasing the adjudicating force rather than the mechanical)
double the amount of work could be accomplished, so that these cases
could be acted upon within three years.
Aside from the considerations of justice which, may be urged for a
speedy settlement of the claims now on the files of the Pension Office,
it is no less important on the score of economy, inasmuch as fully
one-third of the clerical force of the office is now wholly occupied in
giving attention to correspondence with the thousands of claimants whose
cases have been on the files for the past eighteen years. The fact that
a sum so enormous must be expended by the Government to meet demands for
arrears of pensions is an admonition to Congress and the Executive to
give cautious consideration to any similar project in the future. The
great temptation to the presentation of fictitious claims afforded by
the fact that the average sum obtained upon each application is $1,300
leads me to suggest the propriety of making some special appropriation
for the prevention of fraud.
I advise appropriations for such internal improvements as the wisdom of
Congress may deem to be of public importance. The necessity of improving
the navigation of the Mississippi River justifies a special allusion to
that subject. I suggest the adoption of some measure for the removal of
obstructions which now impede the navigation of that great channel of
commerce.
In my letter accepting the nomination for the Vice-Presidency I stated
that in my judgment--
No man should be the incumbent of an office the duties of which he is
for any cause unfit to perform; who is lacking in the ability, fidelity,
or integrity which a proper administration of such office demands. This
sentiment would doubtless meet with general acquiescence, but opinion
has been widely divided upon the wisdom and practicability of the
various reformatory schemes which have been suggested and of certain
proposed regulations governing appointments to public office.
The efficiency of such regulations has been distrusted mainly because
they have seemed to exalt mere educational and abstract tests above
general business capacity and even special fitness for the particular
work in hand. It seems to me that the rules which should be applied to
the management of the public service may properly conform in the main
to such as regulate the conduct of successful private business:
Original appointments should be based upon ascertained fitness.
The tenure of office should be stable.
Positions of responsibility should, so far as practicable, be filled by
the promotion of worthy and efficient officers.
The investigation of all complaints and the punishment of all official
misconduct should be prompt and thorough.
The views expressed in the foregoing letter are those which will govern
my administration of the executive office. They are doubtless shared by
all intelligent and patriotic citizens, however divergent in their
opinions as to the best methods of putting them into practical
operation.
For example, the assertion that "original appointments should be based
upon ascertained fitness" is not open to dispute.
But the question how in practice such fitness can be most effectually
ascertained is one which has for years excited interest and discussion.
The measure which, with slight variations in its details, has lately
been urged upon the attention of Congress and the Executive has as
its principal feature the scheme of competitive examination. Save for
certain exceptions, which need not here be specified, this plan would
allow admission to the service only in its lowest grade, and would
accordingly demand that all vacancies in higher positions should be
filled by promotion alone. In these particulars it is in conformity
with the existing civil-service system of Great Britain; and indeed the
success which has attended that system in the country of its birth is
the strongest argument which has been urged for its adoption here.
The fact should not, however, be overlooked that there are certain
features of the English system which have not generally been received
with favor in this country, even among the foremost advocates of
civil-service reform.
Among them are: