commissioners, three of whom shall be detailed from the Army, to be charged
with the duty of a careful inspection from time to time of all the Indians
upon our reservations or subject to the care and control of the Government,
with a view of discovering their exact condition and needs and determining
what steps shall be taken on behalf of the Government to improve their
situation in the direction of their self-support and complete civilization;
that they ascertain from such inspection what, if any, of the reservations
may be reduced in area, and in such cases what part not needed for Indian
occupation may be purchased by the Government from the Indians and disposed
of for their benefit; what, if any, Indians may, with their consent, be
removed to other reservations, with a view of their concentration and the
sale on their behalf of their abandoned reservations; what Indian lands now
held in common should be allotted in severalty; in what manner and to what
extent the Indians upon the reservations can be placed under the protection
of our laws and subjected to their penalties, and which, if any, Indians
should be invested with the right of citizenship. The powers and functions
of the commissioners in regard to these subjects should be clearly defined,
though they should, in conjunction with the Secretary of the Interior, be
given all the authority to deal definitely with the questions presented
deemed safe and consistent.
They should be also charged with the duty of ascertaining the Indians who
might properly be furnished with implements of agriculture, and of what
kind; in what cases the support of the Government should be withdrawn;
where the present plan of distributing Indian supplies should be changed;
where schools may be established and where discontinued; the conduct,
methods, and fitness of agents in charge of reservations; the extent to
which such reservations are occupied or intruded upon by unauthorized
persons, and generally all matters related to the welfare and improvement
of the Indian.
They should advise with the Secretary of the Interior concerning these
matters of detail in management, and he should be given power to deal with
them fully, if he is not now invested with such power.
This plan contemplates the selection of persons for commissioners who are
interested in the Indian question and who have practical ideas upon the
subject of their treatment.
The expense of the Indian Bureau during the last fiscal year was more than
six and a halt million dollars. I believe much of this expenditure might be
saved under the plan proposed; that its economical effects would be
increased with its continuance; that the safety of our frontier settlers
would be subserved under its operation, and that the nation would be saved
through its results from the imputation of inhumanity, injustice, and
mismanagement.
In order to carry out the policy of allotment of Indian lands in severalty,
when deemed expedient, it will be necessary to have surveys completed of
the reservations, and, I hope that provision will be made for the
prosecution of this work.
In May of the present year a small portion of the Chiricahua Apaches on the
White Mountain Reservation, in Arizona, left the reservation and committed
a number of murders and depredations upon settlers in that neighborhood.
Though prompt and energetic action was taken by the military, the renegades
eluded capture and escaped into Mexico. The formation of the country
through which these Indians passed, their thorough acquaintance with the
same, the speed of their escape, and the manner in which they scattered and
concealed themselves among the mountains near the scene of their outrages
put our soldiers at a great disadvantage in their efforts to capture them,
though the expectation is still entertained that they will be ultimately
taken and punished for their crimes.
The threatening and disorderly conduct of the Cheyennes in the Indian
Territory early last summer caused considerable alarm and uneasiness.
Investigation proved that their threatening attitude was due in a great
measure to the occupation of the land of their reservation by immense herds
of cattle, which their owners claimed were rightfully there under certain
leases made by the Indians. Such occupation appearing upon examination to
be unlawful notwithstanding these leases, the intruders were ordered to
remove with their cattle from the lands of the Indians by Executive
proclamation. The enforcement of this proclamation had the effect of
restoring peace and order among the Indians, and they are now quiet and
well behaved.
By an Executive order issued on February 27, 1885, by my predecessor, a
portion of the tract of country in the territory known as the Old Winnebago
and Crow Creek reservations was directed to be restored to the public
domain and opened to settlement under the land laws of the United States,
and a large number of persons entered upon those lands. This action alarmed
the Sioux Indians, who claimed the territory as belonging to their
reservation under the treaty of 1868. This claim was determined, after
careful investigation, to be well rounded, and consequently the Executive
order referred to was by proclamation of April 17, 1885, declared to be
inoperative and of no effect, and all persons upon the land were warned to
leave. This warning has been substantially complied with.
The public domain had its origin in cessions of land by the States to the
General Government. The first cession was made by the State of New York,
and the largest, which in area exceeded all the others, by the State of
Virginia. The territory the proprietorship of which became thus vested in
the General Government extended from the western line of Pennsylvania to
the Mississippi River. These patriotic donations of the States were
encumbered with no condition except that they should the held and used "for
the common benefit of the United States." By purchase with the common fund
of all the people additions were made to this domain until it extended to
the northern line of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean, and the Polar Sea. The
original trust, "for the common benefit of the United States," attached to
all. In the execution of that trust the policy of many homes, rather than
large estates, was adopted by the Government. That these might be easily
obtained, and be the abode of security and contentment, the laws for their
acquisition were few, easily understood, and general in their character.
But the pressure of local interests, combined with a speculative spirit,
have in many instances procured the passage of laws which marred the
harmony of the general plan and encumbered the system with a multitude of
general and special enactments which render the land laws complicated,
subject the titles to uncertainty, and the purchasers often to oppression
and wrong. Laws which were intended for the "common benefit" have been
perverted so that large quantities of land are vesting in single
ownerships. From the multitude and character of the laws, this consequence
seems incapable of correction by mere administration.
It is not for the "common benefit of the United States" that a large area
of the public lands should be acquired, directly or through fraud, in the
hands of a single individual. The nation's strength is in the people. The
nation's prosperity is in their prosperity. The nation's glory is in the
equality of her justice. The nation's perpetuity is in the patriotism of
all her people. Hence, as far as practicable, the plan adopted in the
disposal of the public lands should have in view the original policy, which
encouraged many purchases of these lands for homes and discouraged the
massing of large areas. Exclusive of Alaska, about three-fifths of the
national domain has been sold or subjected to contract or grant. Of the
remaining two-fifths a considerable portion is either mountain or desert. A
rapidly increasing population creates a growing demand for homes, and the
accumulation of wealth inspires an eager competition to obtain the public
land for speculative purposes. In the future this collision of interests
will be more marked than in the past, and the execution of the nation's
trust in behalf of our settlers will be more difficult. I therefore commend
to your attention the recommendations contained in the report of the
Secretary of the Interior with reference to the repeal and modification of
certain of our land laws.
The nation has made princely grants and subsidies to a system of railroads
projected as great national highways to connect the Pacific States with the
East. It has been charged that these donations from the people have been
diverted to private gain and corrupt uses, and thus public indignation has
been aroused and suspicion engendered. Our great nation does not begrudge
its generosity, but it abhors speculation and fraud; and the favorable
regard of our people for the great corporations to which these grants were
made can only be revived by a restoration of confidence, to be secured by
their constant, unequivocal, and clearly manifested integrity. A faithful
application of the undiminished proceeds of the grants to the construction
and perfecting of their roads, an honest discharge of their obligations,
and entire justice to all the people in the enjoyment of their rights on
these highways of travel are all the public asks, and it will be content
with no less. To secure these things should be the common purpose of the
officers of the Government, as well as of the corporations. With this
accomplishment prosperity would be permanently secured to the roads, and
national pride would take the place of national complaint.
It appears from the report of the Commissioner of Pensions that there were
on the 1st day of July, 1885, 345,125 persons borne upon the pension rolls,
who were classified as follows: Army invalids, 241,456; widows, minor
children, and dependent relatives of deceased soldiers, 78,841; navy
invalids, 2,745; navy widows, minor children, and dependents, 1,926;
survivors of the War of 1812, 2,945; and widows of those who served in that
war, 17,212. About one man in ten of all those who enlisted in the late war
are reported as receiving pensions, exclusive of the dependents of deceased
soldiers. On the 1st of July, 1875, the number of pensioners was 234,821,
and the increase within the ten years next thereafter was 110,304.
While there is no expenditure of the public funds which the people more
cheerfully approve than that made in recognition of the services of our
soldiers living and dead, the sentiment underlying the subject should not
be vitiated by the introduction of any fraudulent practices. Therefore it
is fully as important that the rolls should be cleansed of all those who by
fraud have secured a place thereon as that meritorious claims should be
speedily examined and adjusted. The reforms in the methods of doing the
business of this Bureau which have lately been inaugurated promise better
results in both these directions.
The operations of the Patent Office demonstrate the activity of the
inventive genius of the country. For the year ended June 30, 1885, the
applications for patents, including reissues, and for the registration of
trade-marks and labels, numbered 35,688. During the same period there were
22,928 patents granted and reissued and 1,429 trade-marks and labels
registered. The number of patents issued in the year 1875 was 14,387. The
receipts during the last fiscal year were $ 1,074,974.35, and the total
expenditures, not including contingent expenses, $934,123.11.
There were 9,788 applications for patents pending on the 1st day of July,
1884, and 5,786 on the same date in the year 1885. There has been
considerable improvement made in the prompt determination of applications
and a consequent relief to expectant inventors.
A number of suggestions and recommendations are contained in the report of
the Commissioner of patents which are well entitled to the consideration of
Congress.
In the Territory of Utah the law of the United States passed for the
Suppression of polygamy has been energetically and faithfully executed
during the past year, with measurably good results. A number of convictions
have been secured for unlawful cohabitation, and in some cases pleas of
guilty have been entered and a slight punishment imposed, upon a promise by
the accused that they would not again offend against the law, nor advise,
counsel, aid, or abet in any way its violation by others.
The Utah commissioners express the opinion, based upon such information as
they are able to obtain, that but few polygamous marriages have taken place
in the Territory during the last year. They further report that while there
can not be found upon the registration lists of voters the name of a man
actually guilty of polygamy, and while none of that class are holding
office, yet at the last election in the Territory all the officers elected,
except in one county, were men who, though not actually living in the
practice of polygamy, subscribe to the doctrine of polygamous marriages as
a divine revelation and a law unto all higher and more binding upon the
conscience than any human law, local or national. Thus is the strange
spectacle presented of a community protected by a republican form of
government, to which they owe allegiance, sustaining by their suffrages a
principle and a belief which set at naught that obligation of absolute
obedience to the law of the land which lies at the foundation of republican
institutions.
The strength, the perpetuity, and the destiny of the nation rest upon our
homes, established by the law of God, guarded by parental care, regulated
by parental authority, and sanctified by parental love.
These are not the homes of polygamy.
The mothers of our land, who rule the nation as they mold the characters
and guide the actions of their sons, live according to God's holy
ordinances, and each, secure and happy in the exclusive love of the father
of her children, sheds the warm light of true womanhood, unperverted and
unpolluted, upon all within her pure and wholesome family circle.
These are not the cheerless, crushed, and unwomanly mothers of polygamy.
The fathers of our families are the best citizens of the Republic. Wife and
children are the sources of patriotism, and conjugal and parental affection
beget devotion to the country. The man who, undefiled with plural marriage,
is surrounded in his single home with his wife and children has a stake in
the country which inspires him with respect for its laws and courage for
its defense.
These are not the fathers of polygamous families.
There is no feature of this practice or the system which sanctions it which
is not opposed to all that is of value in our institutions.
There should be no relaxation in the firm but just execution of the law now
in operation, and I should be glad to approve such further discreet
legislation as will rid the country of this blot upon its fair fame.
Since the people upholding polygamy in our Territories are reenforced by
immigration from other lands, I recommend that a law be passed to prevent
the importation of Mormons into the country.
The agricultural interest of the country demands just recognition and
liberal encouragement. It sustains with certainty and unfailing strength
our nation's prosperity by the products of its steady toil, and bears its
full share of the burden of taxation without complaint. Our agriculturists
have but slight personal representation in the councils of the nation, and
are generally content with the humbler duties of citizenship and willing to
trust to the bounty of nature for a reward of their labor. But the
magnitude and value of this industry are appreciated when the statement is
made that of our total annual exports more than three-fourths are the
products of agriculture, and of our total population nearly one-half are
exclusively engaged in that occupation.
The Department of Agriculture was created for the purpose of acquiring and
diffusing among the people useful information respecting the subjects it
has in charge, and aiding in the cause of intelligent and progressive
farming, by the collection of statistics, by testing the value and
usefulness of new seeds and plants, and distributing such as are found
desirable among agriculturists. This and other powers and duties with which
this Department is invested are of the utmost importance, and if wisely
exercised must be of great benefit to the country. The aim of our
beneficent Government is the improvement of the people in every station and
the amelioration of their condition. Surely our agriculturists should not
be neglected. The instrumentality established in aid of the farmers of the
land should not only be well equipped for the accomplishment of its
purpose, but those for whose benefit it has been adopted should be
encouraged to avail themselves fully of its advantages.
The prohibition of the importation into several countries of certain of our
animals and their products, based upon the suspicion that health is
endangered in their use and consumption, suggests the importance of such
precautions for the protection of our stock of all kinds against disease as
will disarm suspicion of danger and cause the removal of such an injurious
prohibition.
If the laws now in operation are insufficient to accomplish this
protection, I recommend their amendment to meet the necessities of the
situation; and I commend to the consideration of Congress the suggestions
contained in the report of the Commissioner of Agriculture calculated to
increase the value and efficiency of this Department.
The report of the Civil Service Commission, which will be submitted,
contains an account of the manner in which the civil-service law has been
executed during the last year and much valuable information on this
important subject.
I am inclined to think that there is no sentiment more general in the minds
of the people of our country than a conviction of the correctness of the
principle upon which the law enforcing civil-service reform is based. In
its present condition the law regulates only a part of the subordinate
public positions throughout the country. It applies the test of fitness to
applicants for these places by means of a competitive examination, and
gives large discretion to the Commissioners as to the character of the
examination and many other matters connected with its execution. Thus the
rules and regulations adopted by the Commission have much to do with the
practical usefulness of the statute and with the results of its
application.
The people may well trust the Commission to execute the law with perfect
fairness and with as little irritation as is possible. But of course no
relaxation of the principle which underlies it and no weakening of the
safeguards which surround it can be expected. Experience in its
administration will probably suggest amendment of the methods of its
execution, but I venture to hope that we shall never again be remitted to
the system which distributes public positions purely as rewards for
partisan service. Doubts may well be entertained whether our Government
could survive the strain of a continuance of this system, which upon every
change of Administration inspires an immense army of claimants for office
to lay siege to the patronage of Government, engrossing the time of public
officers with their importunities, spreading abroad the contagion of their
disappointment, and filling the air with the tumult of their discontent.
The allurements of an immense number of offices and places exhibited to the
voters of the land, and the promise of their bestowal in recognition of
partisan activity; debauch the suffrage and rob political action of its
thoughtful and deliberative character. The evil would increase with the
multiplication of offices consequent upon our extension, and the mania for
office holding, growing from its indulgence, would pervade our population
so generally that patriotic purpose, the support of principle, the desire
for the public good, and solicitude for the nation's welfare would be
nearly banished from the activity of our party contests and cause them to
degenerate into ignoble, selfish, and disgraceful struggles for the
possession of office and public place.
Civil-service reform enforced by law came none too soon to check the
progress of demoralization.
One of its effects, not enough regarded, is the freedom it brings to the
political action of those conservative and sober men who, in fear of the
confusion and risk attending an arbitrary and sudden change in all the
public offices with a change of party rule, cast their ballots against such
a chance.
Parties seem to be necessary, and will long continue to exist; nor can it
be now denied that there are legitimate advantages, not disconnected with
office holding, which follow party supremacy. While partisanship continues
bitter and pronounced and supplies so much of motive to sentiment and
action, it is not fair to hold public officials in charge of important
trusts responsible for the best results in the performance of their duties,
and yet insist that they shall rely in confidential and important places
upon the work of those not only opposed to them in political affiliation,
but so steeped in partisan prejudice and rancor that they have no loyalty
to their chiefs and no desire for their success. Civil-service reform does
not exact this, nor does it require that those in subordinate positions who
fail in yielding their best service or who are incompetent should be
retained simply because they are in place. The whining of a clerk
discharged for indolence or incompetency, who, though he gained his place
by the worst possible operation of the spoils system, suddenly discovers
that he is entitled to protection under the sanction of civil-service
reform, represents an idea no less absurd than the clamor of the applicant
who claims the vacant position as his compensation for the most
questionable party work.
The civil-service law does not prevent the discharge of the indolent or
incompetent clerk, but it does prevent supplying his place with the unfit
party worker. Thus in both these phases is seen benefit to the public
service. And the people who desire good government, having secured this
statute, will not relinquish its benefits without protest. Nor are they
unmindful of the fact that its full advantages can only be gained through
the complete good faith of those having its execution in charge. And this
they will insist upon.
I recommend that the salaries of the Civil Service Commissioners be
increased to a sum more nearly commensurate to their important duties.
It is a source of considerable and not unnatural discontent that no
adequate provision has yet been made for accommodating the principal
library of the Government. Of the vast collection of books and pamphlets
gathered at the Capitol, numbering some 700,000, exclusive of manuscripts,
maps, and the products of the graphic arts, also of great volume and value,
only about 300,000 volumes, or less than half the collection, are provided
with shelf room. The others, which are increasing at the rate of from
twenty-five to thirty thousand volumes a year, are not only inaccessible to
the public, but are subject to serious damage and deterioration from other
causes in their present situation.
A consideration of the facts that the library of the Capitol has twice been
destroyed or damaged by fire, its daily increasing value, and its
importance as a place of deposit of books under the law relating to
copyright makes manifest the necessity of prompt action to insure its
proper accommodation and protection.
My attention has been called to a controversy which has arisen from the
condition of the law relating to railroad facilities in the city of
Washington, which has involved the Commissioners of the District in much
annoyance and trouble. I hope this difficulty will be promptly settled by
appropriate legislation.
The Commissioners represent that enough of the revenues of the District are
now on deposit in the Treasury of the United States to repay the sum
advanced by the Government for sewer improvements under the act of June 30,
1884. They desire now an advance of the share which ultimately should be
borne by the District of the cost of extensive improvements to the streets
of the city. The total expense of these contemplated improvements is
estimated at $1,000,000, and they are of the opinion that a considerable
sum could be saved if they had all the money in hand, so that contracts for
the whole work could be made at the same time. They express confidence that
if the advance asked for should be made the Government would be reimbursed
the same within a reasonable time. I have no doubt that these improvements
could be made much cheaper if undertaken together and prosecuted according
to a general plan.