784 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



of Christendom, has been persistently and contempt- 

 uously violated ever since its enactment. Indeed, in 

 spite of commendable ett'orts on the part of the au- 

 thorities who represent the United States in that Ter- 

 ritory, the law has in very rare instances been en- 

 forced, and, for a cause to which reference will pres- 

 ently be made, is practically a dead letter. 



The fact that adherents of the Mormon church, 

 which rests upon pplygainv as its corner-stone, have 

 recently been peoplingin lar^e numbers Idaho, Ari- 

 zona, and other of our Western Territories, is well 

 calculated to excite the liveliest interest and apprehen- 

 sion. It imposes upon Congress and the Executive the 

 duty of arraying against tins 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 le- 

 gal 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 

 neen 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 po- 

 lygamy very difficult ; and the propriety is suggested 

 of modifying the law of evidence which now makes a 

 wife incompetent to testily against her husband. 



This suggestion ia approved. I recommend also the 

 passage ot an act providing that in the Territories ot 

 the United States the fact that a woman has been 

 married to a person charged with bigamv shall not 

 disqualify her as a witness upon his tnal for that of- 

 fense. I further recommend legislation by which any 

 person solemnizing a marriage in any of the Territo- 

 ries 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 co-operate 

 with you in any lawful and discreet measures which 

 may be proposed to that end. 



Although our system of government does not con- 

 template 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 in- 

 difference by Congress or the Executive. 



A large portion of the public domain has been, 

 from time to time, devoted to the promotion of edu- 

 cation. 



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 suf- 

 frage are unable to read the ballot which they cast. 

 Upon many who had just emerged from a condition 

 of slavery were suddenly devolved the responsibili- 

 ties 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 consti- 

 tutionally afforded by the 'national Government. 



I would suggest that if any fund be dedicated to 

 this purpose if may be wisely distributed in the differ- 

 ent 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 Apiculture ex- 

 hibits 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 con- 

 sequent addition to the number of those engaging in 

 the pursuit of husbandry are giving to this depart- 

 ment a growing dignity and importance. The Com- 

 missioner's siiirirestions touching its capacity for great- 

 er 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 abandonee!, being 13 + per cent, of 

 the whole number of claims settled. 



There are now pending for settlement 265.575 origi- 

 nal pension claims, 227,040 of which were filed prior 

 to July 1, 1880. These ? when allowed, will involve 

 the pavment of arrears trom the date of discharge in 

 case of an invalid, and from date of death or termina- 

 tion of a prior right in all other cases. 



From all the data obtainable, it is estimated that 

 fifteen 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 ahout 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 ; ana, taking Jan- 

 uary 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, ior the first 

 payment upon it, the sum of $1,350. Multiply ing this 

 amount by the whole number of probable admissions 

 gives $250,000,000 as the sum required for first pay- 

 ments. 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, leav- 

 ing $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 pend- 

 ing, 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 eighty -six 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 adjudicat- 

 ing 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 fullv one third 

 of the clerical force of the office is now wholly occu- 

 pied 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 admoni- 

 tion 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 ob- 

 tained upon each application is $1,300, leads me to 

 suggest the propriety of making some special appro- 

 priation for the prevention of fraud. 



I advise appropriations for such internal improve- 

 ments as the wisdom of Congress may deem to be of 

 public importance. The necessity of improving the 



