Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, December 7, 1910, Page 11

NORWICH BULLETIN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1910 less to enforce and which couid never in any other way he absolutely safe- guarded against a desperate and irre- sponsible enemy. Canal Tolls. Another question which arises for consideration and possible legisiation is the question of tolls in the canal This question is necessarily affected by the probable tonnage which will go through the canal. It is all a matter of estimate, but one of the government commission ju 1900 investigated the question and made a report. He concluded that the total tonnage of the vessels employed in comumerce that could use the isthmian canal in 1914 would amount to 6,843,805 tons net register and that this traffic would increase 25.1 per cent per decade, that it was not probable that all the com- merce inciuded in the totals would at once abandon the routes at present fol- lowed and make use of the new canal and that it might take some fime, per- haps two years, to readjust trade with reference to the new conditions which the canal would establish. He did not Include, moreover, the ton- nage of war vesgels, although it is to be inferred that such vessels would make considerable use of the canal. In the matter of tolls he reached the con- clusion that a- dollar a net ton would not drive business away from the ca- nal, but that a higher rate would do so. In determining what the tolls should be we certalnly ought not to insist that for & good many years to come they should amount to enough to pay the interest om the investment of $400,- 000,000 which the United States has made in the construction of the canal. ‘We ought not to do this, first, because the benefits to be derived by the Unit- od States from this expenditure are not %o be measured solely by a return upon the investment. If it were, then the construction might well have been left to private enterprise. It was because an adeqguate return upon the mumey invested could not be expected immediately or in the near future and because there were pecnl- far political advantages to be derived from the construction of the canal that | | 1t necessarily fell to the government to | advance the money and perform the work. In addition to the benefit to our na- val strength, the canal greatly in- creases the trade facililes of the TUnited Btatea. It will undoubtedly cheapen the vates of transpartation in all freight betweem tho eastern and western seaboard, end it will greatly increase that trade by reason of the reductfon In its cost. Then {1 we are to | have a world canal and if we are anx- jous that the routes of the world's trade shall be through the Panama canal we must recognize that we have an active competitor in the Suez ca- nal. s Then, too, there ere other means of erossing the isthmus—by the Tehaun- tepec railroad and by other railroads and freight routes in Central America to the Atlantic side. In all these cases the question whether the Panama canal is to be used and its tonnage Increasad will be determined mainly by the charge for its use. My own Impression is that the tolls ought not to exceed $1 per net ton. On Jan. 1, 1911, the tolls in the Sues canal are to be 7 francs and 25 centimes for one net ton by Suez | canal measurement, which is a modiA] fication of Danube measurement. | A dollar a ton will secure under the figures above & gross income from the Panama eanal of nearly $7,000,000. { The cost of maintenance and opera- tion is estimated to exceed $3,000.000. | Ultimately, of eourse, with the normal | increase in trade, the income will ap- proximate the Interest cliarges upon the investment, On the whole, I should recommend | that within certain limits the president | be authorized to fix the tolls of the canal and adjust them to what seems to be commerelal necessity. The inquiries siready made of the | chief engineer of the canal show that | the present consideration of this ques- tion is necessary In order that the com- merce of the world may have time to adjust itself to the new conditions re- sulting from the openimg of this new highway. The next question that arices is as to the maintenance, management and | general control of the canal after its | completion. 1t should be premised that it 18 an essential part of our navy es- tablishment to have the eosl, ofl and other ship supplies, a drydock and re- pair shops convenlently located with reference to mnaval vessels passing through the canal Now, if the government for naval purposes {8 to undertake to furnish | these conveniences to the navy, and they are conveniences equally required by commercial vessels, there would meem to be strong reasons why the gov- ernment should take over and inciude in its management the furnishing not only to the navy, but to the pubiic, dry- dock and repalir shop facilities and the sale of coal, cil and other ship sup- plies. The maintenance of a lock canal of this enormous sige in a sparsely popu- lated country and in the tropics, where the danger from disease is always pres- ent, requires a large and complete and ‘well trained organization with full po- Yice powers, exercising the utmost care. The visitor to the canal who is im- pressed with the wonderful freedom from tropical diseases on the isthmus must not be misled as to the constant vigllance that #s needed to preserve this condition. The vast machinery of the locks, the mecessary Aamount of dredging, the | preservation of the baunks of the canal | from slides, the operation and the | maintenance of the equipment of the rallway will all require a force, not, of | course, to be likened in any way to the | present organization for construction, | but a ekilled body of men who can keep in a state of usefulness this great snstrument of commerce. Such an orgauization makes it easy to include within its functions the fur- mishing of drydock, fuel, repairs and supply facilities to the trade of the world. These will be more essential at the isthmus of Panama than they are at Port 8aid or Suez, because there are no depols for coal, supplies and | form of other systews. other commercial necessities within thousands of miles of the isthmus. Another importan{ reason why these ancillary duties may weil be under- taken by the government is the oppor- tunity for discrimination between pa- trons of the canal that is offered where private concessions are granted for the furnishing of these facilities. Nothing would create greater prejudice against the canal than the suspjeion that cer- tain lines of traffic were favored in the furnishing of supplies or that the sup- plies were controlled by any large in- terest that might have a motive for increasing the cost of the use of the canal. I cannot civse this reference to the canal without suggesting as a wise amendment to the Interstate commerce law a provision prohibiting interstate commerce railroads from owning or controlling ships engaged in the trade through the Panama canal. I believe such a provision may be needed to save to the people of the United States the benefits of the competition in trade between ihe esstern and western sea- boards whick this canal was construct- ed to secure. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, President Favors Increasing Pay of Judges to $17,000 a Year. The duties of the department of jus- tice have been greatly increased by leg- islation of congress enacted in the in- terest of the general weifare of the people and extending its activities into avenues plainly within its constitution- al jurisdiction, but which it has hot been thought wise or necessary for the general government heretofore to oc eupy. 1 am glad to say that under the ap propriations made for the departmem ike attorney general has so improvecv its organization that a vast amount o | litigation of a civil and criminal ehar acter has been disposed of during the current year. This will explain the ne cessity for slightly increasing the esti | mates for the expenses of the depart | ment. His report shows the recoveries made | on behalf of the government of duties | fraudulently withheld, public lands im properly patented. fines and penalties for irespass, prosecutions and convie ! tions under the anti-trust law and pros | ecutions under the interstate commerce | law. I invite especial attention to the pros ecutions under the federal law of the 80 called “bucket shops” and of those schemes to defraud in which the use' of the mail is an essential part ot the fraudulent conspiracy, prosecutions which have saved Ignorant and weak members of the public and are saving them hupdreds of millions of dollars. The violations of the anti-trust law present perhaps the most important lit igation before the department, and the number of cases filed shows the activ- ity of the government in enforeing that statute. National Incorporation. In a special message last year l‘i brought to the attention of congress the propriety and wisdom of enacting a general law providing for the in corporation of industrial and other companies engaged in interstate com- merce, and I renew my recommenda. { tion in that behalf. Claime. T invite the attention of congress to! the great number of claims which, at the instance of congress, have been considered by the court of clalms and decided to be valid claims against the zovernment. The delay that occurs in the payment of the money due under | the claims injures the reputation of | the government as an honest debtor, and T earnestly recommend that those | claims which come to congress with! the judgment and approval of the| court of claims should be prompfly‘ paid Judicial Procedure. One great crying need in the United States is cheapening the cost of lti- gation by simplifying judicial pro- cedure uand expediting final judgment. | Under present eonditions the poor man is at a woeful disadvantage in a legal contest with a corporatior. or a rich | opponent. The necessity for the reform exists both in United States courts and in all state courts. In order to bring it about, however, it naturally falls to | the general government by its exam-| ple to furnish a model to all states. A legislative commission appeinted by Joint resclution of congress to revise the procedure in the United States courts has as yet made no report. Under the law the supreme court of | the United States has the power and is given the duty to frame the eguity | rules of procedure which are to obtain in the federal courts of first instance. In view of the heavy burden of press- ing litigation which that court has had 1o carry, with one or two of its mem- | bers incapacitated through ill health, | it has not been able to take up prob- | lems of improving the equity proce- dure, which has practically remained the same since the organization of the court fn 1789. It is reasonable to ex- pect that with all the vacancies upon the court filled it will take up the question of cheapening and simplify- ing the procedure in equity in the courts of the United States. The equi- ty business is much the more impor- tant in the federal courts and, I may add, much more expensive. T am strongly convinced that the best method of improving judicial pro- cedure at law is to empower the su- preme court to do it through the me- dium of the rules of the court, as in equity. This is the way in which it has been done in England, and thor- oughly done. The simplicity and ex- pedition of procedure in the English courts today make a model for the re- Several of the lord chanceliors of England and of the chief justices have left their lasting impress upon the his- | toryof their couniry by their construc- | tive abllity in proposing and securing the passage of remedial legislation ef- fecting law reforms. I cannot con- celve any higher duty that the su- preme court could perform than in | leading the way to & simplification of procedure in the United States courts. Unnecessary Appeals. No man ought to have as a matter of right a review of his case by the sgupreme court. He should be satisfied by one hearing before a court of first instance and oue review by a court of appeals. The proper and chief useful- ness of ithe supreme court, and espe-: cially of the supreme court of the United States, is in the cases which come before it so to expound the law. and especially the fundamental law—the constitution—as to furnish precedents ! for the inferfor courts in future litiga- | tion and for the executive officers in | the constraction of statutes and the performance of their legal duties. i Therefore any provisions for review of cases by the supreme court that cast upon that court the duty of pass- ing on questions of evidence and the construction of particular forms of in- struments, llke indictments or wills or contracts, decisions not of general application or importance, merely clog and burden the court and render more difficult its higher function, which makes it so important a part of the framework of our government. The supreme court is now carrying an un- necessary burden of appeals of this kind, and T earnestly urge that it be removed. The statutes respecting the review by the supreme court of the Uniter States of decisions of the court of appeals of the District of Columbiz ought to be so amended as to place that court in the same position witk respect to the review of its decisions as that of the various United States cireuit courts of appeals. The act of March 2, 1907, authorizing appeals by the government from certain judg ments in criminal cases where the de fendant has not been put in jeopardy within the meaning of the constitution should be amended so that such ap peals should be taken to the circuit courts of appeals Instead of to the su preme court in all cases except those involving the construction of the con stitution or the constitutionality of & statute, with the same power in the su preme court to review on certiorar a8 is now exercised by that court over determinations of the several circuil courts of appeals. Appeals from the TUnited States court in Porto Rice should also run to the circuit courts o1 appeals of the third circuit instead o. to the supreme court. These suggested changes would. 1 am advised, relieve the supreme court of the consideration of about eighty cases annually and would be in har mony with the theory of review which led to the establishment of the circuit courts of appeals and which I have stated above. The Amerfcan Bar association has had before it the question of reduncing the burden of litigation involved in reversals on review and new trials o1 rebearings and in frivolous appeals in habeas corpus and criminal cases Thelr recommendations have been em bodied in bills now pending in con gress. The recommendations are not radical, but they will accomplish muech if adopted into law, and I earnestly recommend tlwe passage of the bills . embodying them. Injunction Bill. I wish to remew my urgent recom mendation made in my last annual message In favo~ of the passage of a law which shall regulate the issuing ot injunctions in equity without notice in sccordance with the best practice now in vogue in the courts of the United States. I regard this of especial importance, first, because it has been promised and, second, because it will deprive those who now complain of certain al- leged abuses in the improper issuing ot injunctions without notice of any real ground for further amendment and will take away all semblance of sup- port for the extremeiy radical legisla tion they propose, which will be most pernicious if adopted, will sap the foundations of judicial power and le galize that cruel social instrument, the secondary boycott. Judicial Salaries. I further recommend to congress the passage of the bill now pending for the increase in the salaries of the fed- eral judges, by which the chief justice of the supreme court shall receive 817 500 and the associate justices $17,000, the circnit judges constituting the cir: cuit court of appeals shall receive $10. 000 and the district judges $9,000. Thkese judges exercise a wide jurisdic tion, and their daties require of them a profound knowledge of the law great ability in the dispatch of busi- ness and care and delicacy in the ex- ercise of their jurisdiction so as to avoid confilet whenever possible be- tween the federal and the state conrts. The positions they occupy ought to be filled by men who have shown the greatest ability in their professional work at the bar, and it is the poorest economy possible for the government to pay salaries so low for judicial serv ice as not to be able to command the best talent of the legal profession in every part of the country. The cost of living is such, especially in the large cities, that even the s aries fixed in the proposed hill will enable the incumbents to aecumulate little if anything to support their fam. ilies after their death. Nothing is so important to the preservation of our country and its beloved institutions as | the maintenance of the independence of the judiciary, and next to the life tenure an adequate salary is the most material contribution to the mainte- nance of independence on the part of our judges. POSTOFFICE DEPARTHENT. Postal Savings Banks—Questicn of Deficit—Franking Abuses. At its last session congress made pro- vision for the establishment of savings banks by the postoffice department of | this government, by which, under the general conirol of trustees consisting- of the postmaster general, the secre- tary of the treasury and the attorney general, the system could be begun in a few cities and towns and enlarged to cover within its operations as many cities and towns and as large a part of the country as seemed wise. The initiation and estabilshment of such a system have required a gveaf deal of study on the part of the experts | in the postoffice and treasury depart- ments, but a system has now been de- ! ing the I vised which is believed to be more eéonomical and simpler in its operation - than any siinilar system abroad. Ar- rangements have been perfected so that savings banks will be ppened in some cities and towns on the 1st of January, and there will be a gradual | the plan | extension of the benefits of to the rest of the country. Wiping Out of Postal Deficit. As I have said, the postoffice depart- ment is a great business department, and I am glad to note the fact that under its present management prin- ! ciplzs of business economy and pfli—; ciency are being applied. For many | years there has been a deficit in the | operations of the postoffice department ' which has been met by appropriation | from the treasury. The appropriation estimated for last year from the treas- ury over and above the receipts of the | department was $17,500.000. * 1 am glad to record the fact that of | that $17,500,000 estimated for $11,500.- 000 were saved and returned to the treasury. The personal efforts of the postmaster general secured the effec- tive co-operation of the thousands of ! postmasters and other postal officers throughout the country in carrying out his plans of reorganization and re- trenchment. The result is that the postmaster general has been able to make his estimate of expenses for the present year =o low as to keep within the amount the postal service is ex- pected to earn. It gratifying to re- port that the reduction in the deficit bas been accomplished without any curtaiiment of postal facilities. On the contrary, the service has been greatly extended during the year in all its branches. A principle which the post- masier general has recommended and sought to have euforced in respect to all appointments has been that those appointees who have rendered good service should be reappointed. This hds greatly strengthened the interest of postmasters throughout the country in maintaining efficiency and economy in their offices, because they believed generally that this would se- | cure for them a further tenure. | Extension of the Classified Service. Upon the recommendation of the postmaster general I have included in the classitied service all tant post- masters, and I believe that this giving a secure tenure to those who are the most important subordinates of post- masters will add much to the efficiency offices and an economical ad- ministration. A large number of the fourth class postmasters are now in the classified service. I think it would be wise to put in the classified service the first, second and third class postmasiers. It is more logical to do this than to classify the fourth class postmaste for the rea- son that the fourth eclass postoffi are invariably small d the postmas- ters are necessarily who must combine some other business with the postmastership, whereas the S ond and third class postmaster paid a sufficient amount to jus requirement that they shall have no | other business and that they shall de- | vote their attention to their postoffice ; i duties. To classify fi , second and third class postmasters would requirve the I age of an act changing the method | of thelr appointment so to take | away the necessity for the advice and consent of the senate. I am aware that this is inviting from the senate a concession in respect to its guasi exec- utive power that is considerable. bhut [ believe it to be in the interest of zood administration and efficigncy of serv- ice. To muke this change would take the postmasters out of politics, would re- lieve congressmen who now are bur- dened with the necessity of making recommendations for these places of a responsibil that must be It me and can create nothing but trouble, and it would result in securing greater attention to business, greater fidelity and consequently greater ecoromy and efiicier in the postoffices which they conduct The Franking Privilege. The unrestricted manner in which the franking privilege is now being used by the several federal services and by congress has laid it open to se- rious abuses, a fact clearly established through investigations recently insti- tuted by the departmeft. While it has been impossible without a better countrol of franking to determine the 't expense to the government of practice, there can be no doubt that it annually reaches into the mil- | Hons. | It is believed that many abuses of the franking system could be prevent- ed and consequently a marked econo- my effected by supplying through the agencies of the postal service special official envelopes and stamps for the free mail of the government, ail such envelopes and stamps to be issued on requisition to the various branches of the federal service requiring them and such records to be kept of all official stamp supplies as will enable the post- office department to maintain a prop- | er postage account covering the entire | volume of free government mail. 1 As the firgt step in the direction of this reform special stamps and stamp- ed envelopes have been provided for use instead of franks in the free trans- mission of the official mail resulting from the business of the new postal savings system. By properly record- suance of such stamps and envelopes accurate records can be kept of the cost to the government of han- dling the postal savings mail, which is certain to become an important item of expense and one that should be sep- arately determined. In keeping with this plan it is hoped that congress will authorize the sub- stitution of special official stamps and stamped envelopes for the various forms of franks now used to carry free of postage the vast volume of de- partmental and congressiopal mail matter. During the past year methods of accounting similar to those employ- ed in the most progressive of our busi- ness establishments have been intro- duced in the postal gervice, and noth- ing has so impeded the department’s plang in this regard as the impossibil- ity of determining with any exactness how far the varieus expenses of the postal service are increased by the ! present unrestricted use of the frank- ing privilege. It is believed that the ' proprintions for the seme purpose last -—M& adoption of a more exact’ method of year, and mcluded n this is The Puts- dealing with thiz problem as proposed will prove to be of tremendous ad~ Ing program of the same amount as that submitted for your consideration vantage In the work of placing the last year. It is merely carrying out pastal service on a strictly business- | the plan of building two battieships a like basis. ! vear, with a few needed auxiliary ves- Second Class Mail Matter. ! sels. I earmestly hope that this pro- Tu my last annual message I jnvited &ram will be adopted. the attention of congress to the inad- Abolition of Navy Yards. equacy of the postal rate imposed upon A The secretary of the'nnvy has given ccond class wail matter in so far as pergonal examination to every navy that includes magazines and showed by yard and has studied the uses of the figures prepared by experts of the payy yards with reference to the ne- postofiice department that the ZOVern: | cegsities of our fleet, With a fleet coii- ment was rendering a service to the giderably less tham half the size of magazines. costing many miillons 0 that of the British navy, we have excess of the compensation paid. | shipyards more than double the nuus- An answer was attempted to this by | o, “and there are several of these the representatives of fhe magazines, | shipyards, expensively equipped with and a reply was filed to this answer .o qo.n machinery, which after inves- by the postoffice department. The ut- | fisntion ths secrat;u-y GEne e ter inadequacy of the answer, consid | j;.000 15 pe entirely useless for naval ered in the light of the reply of the purposes. He asks authority to aban- Postoffice department, 1 think must| g, ortain of them and to move their appeal to any fair minded person. E ‘Whether the answer was all that could | machinery to:other: places where it PR .. can be made of use. }\);m;:le(: :;':wl;:::::‘f of,;the mazazines S| In making these recommendations LR | the secretary {is following directly 1 agree that the question is ome of| 2 3 fact, but T insist that if the fact iy 2100 Progressive lines which bhave | been adopted in our great commercial as the experts of the postoffice depart. | ment show, that we are furnishing to the owners of magazines a service worth millions more than they pay for it, then justice requires that the rate should be rcreased. The increase i the receipts of the department result- ing from this change may be devoted to increasing the usefulness of the de- partment in establishing a parcels post and in reducing the cost of first class postage to 1 cent. It has been said by the postmaster general that a fair adjustment might be made under which the advertising part of the magazine should be charged for at a different and higher rate from that of the reading matter. Thiz would relieve many useful magazines that are not circulated at a profit and would not shut them out from the use of the mails by a prohibitory rate. Parcels Post. Wiih respect to the parcels post T respectfully recommend its adoption ' on all rural delivery routes and that eleven pounds, the international limit, be made the limit of carriage in such post. The same argument is made against the parcels post that was made against the postal savings bank—that it is introducing the government into a business which ought to be conduct- ed by private persons and is paternal- ism. The postoffice department has a great plant and a great organization, reach- ing into the most remote hamlet of the United States, and with this machineny it is able to do a great many things economically that if a new organiza- tion were necessary it would be im- possible to do without extravagant ex- penditure. That is the reason why the postal savings bank can be carried on at a small additional cost and why it is possible to incorporate at a very inconsiderable expense a parcels post in the rural delivery system. THE NAVY DEPARTMENT. | Wants Naval Station at Guantana- mo—Honors For Peary. | Tn the last anuual report of the sec- retary of the navy and in my aunual message attention was called to the new detail of officers in the navy de- partment by which officers of flag rank were assigned to duty as aids to the gsecretary In respect to naval opera- tins, personmel, inspection and mate- rial. This change was a substantial compliance wgh the recommendation of the commiusion on naval reorgan- jzation, headed by Mr. Justice Moody, and submitted to President Roosevelt on Feb. 26, 1909. Through the advice of this commit- tee of line officers the secretary is able to bring about a proper co-ordination all the branches of the naval de- partinent with greater military efii- | ciency. The secretary of the navy 1 ommends that this new organization of | be recognized by legislation and thus made permanent. 1 concur in the rec- ommendation. The secretary, in view of the conclu- sions of a recent court of inguiry on certain phases of marine corps admih- Istration, recommends that the major general commandant of the marine corps be appointed for a four year term and that officers of the adjutant and inspector's department be detailed from the line. He also asks for legislation to im- prove the conditions now existing in the personnel of officers of the navy, particularly with regard to the age and experience of flag officers and cap- tains, and points out that it is essen- tial to the highest efficiency of the navy that the age of our ofticers be re- duced and that flag officers particular- 1y should gain proper experience as flag officers in order to enable them to properly command fleets. 1 concur in the secretary’s recommendations. Covering of Naval Supply Fund Inte Treasury. I commend to your attention the re- port of the secretary on the change in the system of cost accounting in navy yards and also to the history of the «naval supply fund and the pres- ent conditions existing in regard to that matter. TUnder previous practice and what now seems to have been an erroneous coustruction of the law the supply fund of the navy was increased from $2,700.000 to something over $14.- 000,000, and a system of accounting was introduced which prevented the striking of a proper balance and a knowledge of the exact cost of main- taining the naval establishment. The system has now been abandoned and a naval supply account establish- ed by law July 1, 1810. The naval ' supply fund of £2,700,000 is now on de- posit in the treasury to the credit of the department. The secretary recom- | mends that the naval supply account be made permanent by law and that the $2,700,000 of the naval supply fund be eovered into the treasury as unnec- evsary, and I ask for legislative au- thority to do this. This sum when covered into the treasury will be real- 1y a rednction in recorded naval cost ior this year. The estimates of the navy depart- ent are $5,000,000 less than the Jap- cun no part. secretary is based upon the judgment of impartial naval officers entirely um- influenced by any geographical or see- tional considerations. and manufacturing consolidations in this country—that is, of dismantling unnecessary and inadequate plants and disconfinuing their existence where it has been demonstrated that it is unprofitable to continue thetr maintenance at an expense not com- mensurate to their product. The secretary points out that the most important naval base in the West Indies is Guantanamo. in the south- eastern part of Cuba. Its geographical sftuation i« admirably adapted to pre- tect the commercial paths to the Pan- ama canal, and he shows that hy the expenditure of less than half a million dollars. with the machinery which he shall take from other navy yards, he can create a naval station at Guanta- namo of sufficient size and equipment to serve the purpose of an emergency naval base. | ommendation that he be given the au- T earnestly join in the rec- thority which he asks. T am quite awsare that such action i Jikely to arouse local opposition, but T conceive it to be axiomatic that in leg- islating in the interest of the navy and for the general protaction of the conn- the navy mere local pride or pe- interest in the establishment vard or station ought to play The recommendation of the of a nav I unite with the secretary in the ree- ommendation that an appropriation be made to construct a suitable crypt at Annapolis for the custody of the re- mains of John Paul Jones. Peary. The complete success of our country in arctie exploration should not remain unnoticed. For centuries there has been friendly rivalry in this fleld of , effort between the foremost nations and between the bravest and most ac- complished men. Expeditions to the unknown north have been encouraged by enlightened governments, and de- : served honors have been granted to the daring men who have conducted ; them. The unparalleled achievement of Peary in reaching the north pole April 6, 1909, approved by eritical exami- nation of the most expert sclentists, has added to the distinction of our navy, to which be belongs, and reflects credit upen his coumtry. His unique success has recelved generous ac- knowledgment from scientific bodies and institutions of learning in Europe and America. 1 recommend fitting recognition by congress of the great achievement of Robert Edwin Peary. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Appeals to Court In Land Cases. Conservation and Reclamation. The secretury of the interior recom- mends a change of the law in respect to the procedure in adjudicating claims for lands by which appeals can be taken from the decisions of the depart- ment to the court of appeals of the District of Columbia for a judicial con- sideration of the rights of the claime ant. This change finds complete anals ogy in the present provision for ap- peals from the decisions of the come missioner ¢f patents. The judgments of the court in such cases would be of decisive value to lund claimants gen- erally and to the department of the in- terior In the administration of the law, would enable claimants to bring inte court the final consideration of issues as to the title to government land and would, I think, obviate a good deal of the subsequent litigation that now arises in our western courts. The bill is pending, I believe, in the house, having been favorably reported from the committee on public lands, and I recommend its enactment. One of the difficuities in the interior #cpartment and in the land office has been the delays attendant upon the consideration by the land office and the secretary of the interior of claims for patents of public lands to individnals. 1 am giad to say that under the recent appropriations of the congress and the earnest efforts of the secrstarr and his subordinates these arrears have beenm disposed of and the work of the de- partment has been brought more near- iy up to date in respect to the pending business than ever before in its his- tory. Hconomies have been effected where possible without legislative as- gistance, and these are shown in the reduced estimates for the expenses of the department during the current fis- cal year and during the year to come. Conservation, The subject of the comservation of the public domain has commanded the attention of the peoples within the last two or three years. Agricuitural Lands. There is need for radicai reformy fn the mefidl of disposing of what mwre really agricultural lands. 'Tvo present laws have worked well. The enlarged homestead law has encour- aged the muccessful farming of luuds in ths semiarid regions. Reclamation. The total sum already aceumulated