Evening Star Newspaper, December 6, 1897, Page 9

HE EVENING STAR, MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1897-18 PAGES. The Foremost Tailoring Emporium in the City. The story and the store always correspond here. There are, as part of the<Mertz and Mertz policy, safeguards that this statement is true. In advertising, as in the rest of this storekeeping, we are singular. Tailors far and wide copy our store news by chunks as big as they choose; the story becomes a misfit, and the appropriation becomes its own boomerang. Our “New Era” Methods seem best protected by being free from all apprgpriators. New Departure. Tomorrow morning we introduce our new Be- spoke Department---what is destined to prove a boon to men who have always used the best of everything---they will be the ones to appreciate this advanced step of ours. In this department we will only use goods from the best known British looms. All garments will be lined with the best Silk, and the very best workmanship---of cutting =--will be our claims for your patronage. In fact, ideal tailoring would be the proper expression to describe the kind of garments we will make in this department. The only difference between the gar- ments we will turn out in this department and those of the highest-priced tailors will be a sav- ing to you of from Ten to Fifteen Dollars. The Full Dress. Attire Will now claim the attention of all men who would be in the social swim. Dress Suit making has assumed such large proportions with us that it is unnecessary we should add any increase in prices because of the new tariff. All our Dress Suits are made of Imported Cloths—of course. Our _ Special attraction is the Suit which we make to measure for 2.5 Let us capitulate—this Suit is made of English Dress Refine — Worsteds — lined with Silk, with or without Silk facing, as you prefer—Silk back in Waistcoat—the fit—the fashion—the finish—will be sure to make you one of our EXTPA sqez For Today, : Tuesday, Suits Wednesday, Thursday We will give you unheard-of values. The selling will last four days—it would last longer, if the goods held out—bar- gains like these are not to be had every day—even in a bar- gain-getting store like ours. Some tailors will wonder how much we lose—never mind—when you see the stuffs you'll appreciate how much you'll save. You will find Black and Jolebtelelolelebtelelebtelet otebotote otobelot permanent patrons, heb bilelelelelet lelelellelelolollelelellelefelelelele! consideration of this is a worthy one. ac Blue Thibets—Fancy, Mixed, and Plaid Cheviots. Mertz and Mertz, “New Era” Tailors, 906 F Street Northwest. THE MESSAGE (Continued from Seventh Page.) American. It is believed that by a careful exere: of the powers conferred by that Act some grievances of our own and of other countries in cur mutual trade rela- tions may be either removed, or largeiy Slileviated, and that the volume of our commercial exchanges may be enlarged, with advantage to beth contracting parties. Most desirable from every standpoint of rational interest and patriotism is the ef- fert to extend our foreign commerce. To this end our merchant marine should be improved and enlarged. We should do our full share of the carrying trade of the World. We do not do it now. We should be the laggard no longer. The inferiority of eur merchart marine is justly humiliating to the national prid.. The Government by every proper constitutional means should uid in making our ships familiar visitors at every commercial port of the world, thus cpening up new and valuable markets to the surplus products of the farm and the factory. TO PROTECT SEALS. The efforts which nad been made during the two previous years by my predezessor to secure better protection to the fur seals in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, w renewed at an early date by this Ad- ministration and have been pursued with earnestness. Upon my invitation the Gov- ernments of Japan and Russia sent dele- Bar to Washington and an international conference was held during the months of « rand vember last, wherein it was unanimously agreed that under the exist- ing regulations this speeies of useful ani- mals was threatened with extinction and that an international agreement of all the interested powers was necessary for tneir adequate protection. The Government of Great Britain did not see prever to be represented at’ this con- ference, but subsequently sent to Wash- ington, as delegates, the expert commis- sioners of Great Britain and Canada who had during the past two years visited the Pribilof Islands, and who met in confer- ence similar commissioners on the part of the United States. The result of this con-} ference was an agreement on impcrtant facts connected with the condition of the seal herd, heretofere in dispute, which suould place beyond controversy the duty of the Governments concerned tv adopt measures without delay for the preserva- tion and restoration of the herd. Negotia- tions to this end are now in progress) the result of which I hope to be able to report to Congress at an early day. INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION. | exhibit almost unprecedented interest in the pro- pesed Exposition, and the information thus acquired enabled him to justify an applica- tion for a much larger allotment of space for the American section than had ceen reserved by the Exposition authorities. The result was particularly gratifying in view of the fact that the United States wus ore of the last countries to accept the invitation of France. The reception accorded our Special Com- | missioner was most cordial and he was given every reasonable assurance that the United States would receive a consideration commensurate with the proportions of our The report of the Special Commis- sioner as to the magnitude and importance of the coming Exposition and the great de- mand for space by American exhibitors supphes new arguments for a liberal and judicious apfropriation by Congress to the end that an exhibit fairly representative of the industries and resources of our conntry may be made in an Exposition which will illustrate the Wgrld’s progress during the nineteenth century. That Exposition is in- tended to be the mest important and com- prehensive of the long series of interna- tional exhibitions, of which our own at Chicago was a brilliant example, and it is desirable that the United States should make a worthy exhibit of American genius and skill and their unrivaled achievements in every branch of industry. NAVY'S EFFECTIVE FORCE. The present immediately effective force of the Navy consists of four battleships of the first class, two of the second, and forty-eight other vessels, ranging from armored cruisers to torpedo boats. There are under construction five battleships of the first class, sixteen torpedo boats and onz submarine boat. No provision has yet been made for the armor of three of the five battleships, as it has been-impossible to obtain it at the price fixed by Congress. It is of great importance that Congress provide this armor, as until then the ships are of no fighting value. The present naval force, especially in view of its increase by the ships now under construction, while not as large as that of a few other powers, is a formidable forze; its vessels are the very best of each type: and with the increase that should be made to it from time to time in the future, and careful attention to keeping it in a high state of efficiency and repair, it is well adapted to the necessities of the country. The great increase of the Navy which has®®akeo place in recent years was Justi- fied by the requirements for national de- fense, and has received public approbatioa. The time has now arrived, however, whea this increasé, to which the country is com- mitted, should, for a time, take the form of increased facilities commensurate with the increase of our naval vessels. It is an International arbitration can not be omit-| unfortunate fact that there is only one ted from the list of subjects claiming our | dock on the Pacific Coast capable of dock- ccneideration Events have only served to| ing our largest ships, and only one on the strengthen the general views on this ques- | Atlantic Coast, and that the latter has for tion expressed in my inaugural address.|the last six or seven months been under The best sentiment of the civilized world is | Tepair and the-efore incapable of use. Im- moving toward the settlement of differ-| Mediate steps should be taken to provide ences between nations without resorting to| three or four docks of this capacity on the the horrors of war. Treaties embodying | Atlantic Coast, at least one on the Pacific these humane principles on broad lines | Coast, and a floating dock in the Gulf. without in any way imperiling our interests | This is the recommendation of a very com- or our honor shell have my constant en-| Petent Board, appointed to investigate the couragement. subject. There should also be ample pro- FRENCH EXPOSITION. vision made for powder and projectiles, and other munitions of war, and for an The acceptance by this Government of increased number” of officers and enlisted the invitation of the Republic of France to| men. Some additions are also necessary to participate in the Universal Exposition of | our navy-yards, for the repair and care of 1990 at Paris was immediately followed by hs the securing of space for an adequate ex- mendstion of “he Secretary of the Navy for bibit on behalf of the United States. an appropriation authorizing the construc- mission and one under construction, while can exhibitors. His inquiries developed an on the Atlantic Coast there are three in commission and four under construction; and also that several torpedo boats be au- thorized in ‘connection with our general system of coast defense. ATTENTION TO ALASKA. The Territory of Alaska requires the Prompt and early attention of Congress. The conditions now existing demand ma- terial changes in the laws relating to the Territory. The great influx of population during the past summer and fall and the prospect of a still larger immigration in the spring will not permit us to longer neglect the extension of civil authority within the Territory or postpone the establishment of @ more thorough government. A general system of public surveys has not yet been extended to Alaska and all entries thus far made in that district are upon special surveys. The act of Congress extending to Alaska the mining laws of the United States contained the reservation that it should not be construed to put in force the general land laws of the country. By_act approved March 3, 1891, authority was given for entry of lands for town-site purposes ard also for the purchase of not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres then or thereafter occupied for purposes of trade and manvfacture. The purpose of Congress as thus far expressed has been that only such rights should apply to that Territory as should be specifically named. It will be seen how much remains to be done for that vast and remote and yet Promising portion of our country. Special authority was given to the President by the Act of Congress approved July 24, 1897, to divide that Territory into two land dis- tricts and to designate the boundaries thereof and to appoint registers and sur- veyors of said land offices, and the Presi- dent was also authorized to appoint a sur- veyor-general for the entire district. Pur- suant to this authority, a surveyor-general and receiver have been appointed, with offices at Sitka. If in the ensuing year the conditions justify it, the additional land district authorized by law will be estab- lisned, with an office at some point in the Yukon Valley. No appropriation, however, was made for this purpose, and that is now necessary to be done for the two land dis- tricts into which the Territory is to be divided. I concur with the Secretary of War in Ris suggestions as to the necessity for a military force in the Territory of Alaska for the protection of persons and property. Already a small furce, consisting of twen- ty-five men, with two officers, under com- mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Randall, of the Eighth Infantry, has been sent to St. Michael to estab! a military post. As it ts to the interest of the Government to encourage the development and settle- ment of the country and its duty to follow up its citizens there with the benefits of legal machinery, I earnestly urge upon Congress the establishment of a system of government with such flexibility as will enable it to adjust itself to the future areas of greatest population. The startli.g though possibly exaggerated reports from the Yukon River country, of the probable shortage of food for the large number of people who are wintering there without the means of leaving the country are confirmed in such meesure as to justify bringing the matter to the attention of Congress. Access to that country in winter can be had only by the passes from Dyea end vicinity, which is a most difficult and Perhaps an impossible task. However, should these reports of the suffering of our fellow-citizens be further verified, every effort at any cost should be made to carry ibem relief. . THE NATION'S WARDS. For’a number of years past it has been a ders, have undergone so complete a change as to render the continuance of the system thus inaugurated practically impossible. The total number of the Five Civilized Tribes, as snown by the last census, is 45 404, and this number has not materially in- creased; while the white population is esti- mated at from 200,000 to 250,000, which by permission of the Indian Government has settled in the Territory. The present area of the Indian Territory contains 25,694,564 acres, much of which is very fertile land. The United States citizens residing in the Territory, most of whom have gone there by invitation or with the consent of the tribal authorities, have made permanent homes for themselves. Numerous towns bave been built in which from 500 to 5,000 white people now reside. Valuable resi- dences and business houses have been erec- ted in many of them. Large business en- terprises are carried on in which vast sums of money are employed, and yet these peo- ple, whe have invested their capital-in the development of the productive resources of the country, are without title to the land they occupy and have no voice whatever in the government either of the Nations or Tribes. Thousands of their children who were Lorn in the Territory are of school age, but the doors of the schools of the Nations are shut against them and what education they get is by private contribu- tion. No provision for the protection of the life or property of these white citizens is made by, the Tribal Governmerts, and Courts. The Secretary of the Interior reports that leading Indians have absorbed great tracts of land to the exclusion of the common people, and government by an Indian aris- teeracy has been practically established, to the detriment of the people. It has been found in-possible for the United States to keep its citizens out of the Territory and the executory conditions contained in the treaties with these Nations have for the most part become impossible of execution. Nor has it been possible for the Tribal Governments to secure to each individual Indian his full enjoyment in common with other Indians of the edimmon property of the Nations. Friends of the Indians have lcng believed that the best interests of the Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes would be found in American citizenship, with all the rights and privileges which belong to that cerdition. By section 16 of the Act of March 3, 1893, the President was authorized to appoint’ three commissioners to enter into negotia- tions with the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chicka- saw, Muscogee (or Creek) and Seminole Nations, commonly known as the Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory. Briefly, the purposes of the negotiations were to be: The extinguishment of Tribal title@ to any lands within that Territory now held by any and ail such Nations or Tribes, either by cession of the same or seme part thereof to the United States, or by allotment and division of the same in severalty among the Indians of such Na- tions or Tribes respectively as may be enti- tled to the same, or by such other method as may be agreed upon between the several Nations and Tribes aforesaid, or each of them with the United States, with a view said Nations, the agreement with the latter Nation could have no effect without. the consent of the former. On April 23, 1897, the Commission effected an agreement with beth tribes—the Choctaws and Chickasaws. This agreement, it is understood, has been ratified by the constituted authorities of the respective Tribes or Nations parties thereto, and only requires ratid-ation by Congress to mcke it binding. On the 27th of September, 1897, an agree- ment was effected with the Creek Nation, but it ts understood that the National Council of said Nation has refused to ratify the same. Negotiations are yet to be had with the Cherokees, the most populous of the Five Civilized Tribes, and with the Seminoles, the smallest in point of numbers and territory. ‘The provision of the Indian Appropriation Act, approved June 10, 1896, makes it the duty of the Commission to investigate and determine the rights of applicants for citi- zenship in the Five Civilized Tribes, and to make complete census rolls of the citizens of said Tribes. The Commission is at pres- ent engaged in this work among the Creeks and has made appointments for taking the census of these people up to and including the 30th of the present month. Should the agreement between the Choc- taws and Chickasaws be ratified by Con- gress and should the other tribes fail to make an agreement with the Commission, then it will be necessary that some legis- Jation shall be had by Congress, which, while just and honorable to the Indians, shall be equitable to the white people who have settled upon these lands by invitation of the Tribal Nations. Hon. Henry L. Dawes, Chairman of the Commission, in a letter to the Secretary of the Interior, under date of October 11, 1897, Says: “Individual ownership is in their (the Commission's) opinion absolutely es- sential to any permanent improvement in present conditions, and the lack of it is the root of nearly all the evils which 80 grievously afflict these People. Allot- ment by agreement is the only possible method, unless the United States Courts are clothed with the authority to appor- tion the lands among the citizen Indians for whose use it was originally granted.” I concur with the Secretary of the Inte- rior that there can be no cure for the evils engendered by the perversion of these great trusts excepting by their resumption by the government which created them. MARINE HOSPITAL. The recent prevalence of yellow fever in a number of cities and towns through- out the South has resulted in much dis- turbance of commerce and demonstrated the necessity of such amendments to our quarantine laws as will make the regula- tions of the national quarantine authorities Army and one from the medical officers of the Navy. PACIFIC RAILWAYs. The Union Pacific Railway, Main Line, was sold under the decree of the United States Court for the District of Nebraska on the Ist and 2d of Novembéf of this year. The amount due the Government consisted of the principal of the subsidy bonds, $27,- 236,512, and the accrued interest thereon, $31,211,711.75, making -the total indebted ness $58,448,223.75. The bid at the sale cov- ered the first mortgage lien and the entire mortgage claim of the government, prin- cipal and interest. The sale of the subsidized portion of the Kansas Pacific Line, upon which the Gov- ernment holds a second mortgage lien, has been postponed at the instance of the Gov- ernment to December 16, 1897. “The debt of this division of the Union Pacific Rail- Way to the Government on November 1, 1897, was the principal of the subsidy bonds, $6,303,000, and the unpaid and ac- crued interest thereon, $6,626,690.33, mak- ing a total of $12,929,690.33. The sale of this road was originally ad- vertised for November 4, but for the pur- pose of securing the utmost public notice of the event it was postponed until De- cember 16 and a second advertisement of the sale was made. By the decree of the Court the upset price on the sale of the Kansas Pacific will yield to the Govern- ment the sum of $2,500,000 over all prior liens, costs and charges. If no other or better bid is made this sum is all that the Government will receive on its claim of nearly $13,000,000. The Government has no information as to whether there will be other bidders or a better bid than the minimum amount herein stated. The ques- tion presented therefore is: Whether the Government shall under the authority given it by the Act of March 3, 1887, pur- chase or redeem the road in the event that a bid is not made by private parties cover- ing the entire Government claim. To quali- fy the Government to bid at the sales will require a deposit of $900,000, as follows: In the Government cause $500,000 and in each of the first mortgage causes $200,000, and in the latter the deposit must be in cash. Payments at the sale are as follows: Upon the acceptance of the bid a sum which with the amount already deposited shall equal fifteen per cent of the bid; the bal- ance in installments of twenty-five per cent thirty, forty and fifty days after the confirmation of the sale. The lien on the Kansas Pacific prior to that of the Gov- ernment on the 30th July, 1897, principal and interest, amounted to $7,281,048.11. The Government, therefore, should it become the highest bidder, will have to pay the amount of the first mortgage lien. I believe that under the act of 1887 it has the authority to do this and in absence of any action by Congress I shall direct the Secretary of the Treasury to make the necessary deposit as required by the Court's decree to qualify as a bidder and to bid at the sale a sum which will at least equal the principal of the debt due to the Gov- In so important a matter as the Govern- ment becoming the possible owner of rail- road property which it perforce must con- duct and operate, I feel constrained to lay Congress these facts for its consid- Hl act of Congress approved April 15, 1886, has been completed and opened to the pub- lic. It should be a matter of congratula- tion that through the foresight and munifi- cence of Congress the nation possesses this noble treasure-house of knowledge. It 1s ; earnestly to be hoped that having done so | much towards the cause of education, Con- gress will continue to develop the Library | in every phase of research to the end that it may be not only one of the most mag- nificent but among the richest and most useful libraries in the world. CIVIL SERVICE Law. The important branch of our Government known as the Civil Service, the practical improvement of which has long been a subject of earnest discussion, has of late years received increased legislative and Executive approval. During the past few months the service has been placed upen a still firmer basis of business methods and personal merit. While the right of our veteran soldiers to reinstatement in de- serving cases has been asserted, dismissals for merely political reasons have been care- fully guarded against, the examinations for admittance to the service enlarged and at the same time rendered less technical and more practical; and a distinct advance has been made by giving a hearing before dis- missal upon all cases where incompetency is charged or demand made for the re- moval of officials in any of the Depart- ments. This order has been made to give to the accused his right to be heard but without in any way impairing the power of removal, which should always be exer- clsed in cases of inefficiency and incom- petency, and which is one of the vital safe- guards of the civil service reform system, preventing stagnation and deadwood and keeping every employee keenly alive to the fact that the security of his tenure de- pends not on favor but on his own tested and carefully watched record of service. Much of course still remains to be ac- complished before the system can be made reasonably perfect for our needs. There are places now in the classified service which ought to be"exempted and others not classified may properly be included. I shall not hesitate to exempt cases which I think have been improperly included in the classi- fled service or include those which in my judgment will best promote the public serv- ice. The system has the approval of the people and it will be my endeavor to up- hold and extend it. I am forced by the length of this Mes- sage to omit many important references to affairs of the Government with which Con- gress will have to deal at the present ses- sion. They are fully discussed in the de- partmental reports, to all of which I in- vite your earnest attention. ‘The estimates of the expenses of the Gov- ernment by the several Departments will, I am sure, have your careful scrutiny. While the Congress may not find it an easy task to reduce the expenses of the Govern- ment, it should not encourage their tn- &