CONGRESS. (PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.) 



193 



new need. Congress passed an act empowering 

 the Postmaster-General to establish offices or 

 branches at every military camp or station, and 

 under this authority the postal machinery was 

 speedily put into effective operation. 



Under the same authority, when our forces 

 moved upon Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philip- 

 pines they were attended and followed by the 

 postal service. Though the act of Congress au- 

 thorized the appointment of postmasters where 

 necessary, it was early determined that the pub- 

 lic interests would best be subserved not by new 

 designations, but by the detail of experienced 

 men familiar with every branch of the service, 

 and this policy was steadily followed. When the 

 territory which was the theater of conflict came 

 into our possession, it became necessary to re- 

 establish mail facilities for the resident popula- 

 tion as well as to provide them for our forces 

 of occupation, and the former requirement was 

 met through the extension and application of the 

 latter obligation. I gave the requisite authority, 

 and the same general principle was applied to 

 this as to other branches of civil administration 

 under military occupation. The details are more 

 particularly given in the report of the Postmaster- 

 General, and, while the work is only just begun, 

 it is pleasing to be able to say that the service 

 in the territory which has come under our con- 

 trol is already materially improved. 



The following recommendations of the Secre- 

 tary of the Navy relative to the increase of the 

 navy have my earnest approval: 



1. Three seagoing sheathed and coppered battle 

 ships of about 13,500 tons trial displacement, 

 carrying the heaviest armor and most powerful 

 ordnance for vessels of their class, and to have 

 the highest practicable speed and great radius 

 of action. Estimated cost, exclusive of armor 

 and armament, $3,600,000 each. 



2. Three sheathed and coppered armored cruis- 

 ers of about 12,000 tons trial displacement, carry- 

 ing the heaviest armor and most powerful ord- 

 nance for vessels of their class, and to have the 

 highest practicable speed and great radius of 

 action. Estimated cost, exclusive of armor and 

 .armament, $4,000,000 each. 



3. Three sheathed and coppered protected cruis- 

 ers of about 6,000 tons trial displacement; to 

 have the highest practicable speed and great 

 radius of action, and to carry the most powerful 

 ordnance suitable for vessels of their class. Esti- 

 mated cost, exclusive of armor and armament, 

 $2,150,000 each. 



4. Six sheathed and coppered cruisers of about 

 2,500 tons trial displacement; to have the high- 

 est speed compatible with good cruising qualities, 

 great radius of action, and to carry the most 

 powerful ordnance suited to vessels of their class. 

 Estimated cost, exclusive of armament, $1,141,800 

 each. 



I join with the Secretary of the Navy in recom- 

 mending that the grades of admiral and vice- 

 admiral be temporarily revived, to be filled by 

 officers who have specially distinguished them- 

 selves in the war with Spain. 



I earnestly urge upon Congress the importance 

 of early legislation providing for the taking of 

 the twelfth census. This is necessary in view of 

 the large amount of work which must be per- 

 formed in the preparation of the schedules pre- 

 paratory to the enumeration of the population. 



There were on the pension rolls on June 30, 

 1898, 993,714 names, an increase of nearly 18,000 

 over the number on the rolls on the same day of 

 the preceding year. The amount appropriated 

 by the act of Dec. 22, 1896, for the payment of 

 VOL. xxxix. 13 A 



pensions for the fiscal year of 1898 was $140,- 

 000,000. Eight million seventy thousand eight 

 hundred and seventy-two dollars and forty-six 

 cents was appropriated by the act of March 31, 

 1898, to cover deficiencies in army pensions, and 

 repayments in the sum of $12,020.33, making a 

 total of $148,082,892.79 available for the payment 

 of pensions during the fiscal year 1898. The 

 amount disbursed from that sum was $144,051,- 

 879.80, leaving a balance of $3,431,012.99 unex- 

 pended on the 30th of June, 1898, which was cov- 

 ered into the Treasury. There were 389 names 

 added to the rolls during the year by special 

 acts passed at the second session of the Fifty- 

 fifth Congress, making a total of 6,486 pensioners 

 by congressional enactments since 1861. 



The total receipts of the Patent Office during 

 the past year were $1,253,948.44. The expendi- 

 tures were $1,081,633.79, leaving a surplus of 

 $172,314.65. 



The public lands disposed of by the Govern- 

 ment during the year reached 8,453,896.92 acres, 

 an increase of 614,780.26 acres over the previous 

 year. The total receipts from public lands dur- 

 ing the fiscal year amounted to $2,277,995.18, an 

 increase of $190,063.90 over the preceding year. 

 The lands embraced in the 11 forest reservations, 

 which were suspended by the act of June 4, 1897, 

 again became subject to the operations of the 

 proclamations of Feb. 22, 1897, creating them, 

 which added an estimated amount of 19,951,360 

 acres to the area embraced in the reserves pre- 

 viously created. In addition thereto two new re- 

 serves were created during the year the Pine 

 Mountain and Zaca Lake Reserve in California, 

 embracing 1,644,594 acres, and the Prescott Re- 

 serve in Arizona, embracing 10,240 acres; while 

 the Pecos River Reserve in New Mexico has been 

 changed and enlarged to include 120,000 addi- 

 tional acres. 



At the close of the year 30 forest reservations, 

 not including those of the Afognac Forest and the 

 Fish-culture Reserve in Alaska, had been created 

 by Executive proclamations under section 24 of 

 the act of March 3, 1891, embracing an estimated 

 area of 40,719,474 acres. 



The Department of the Interior has inaugu- 

 rated a forest system, made possible by the act 

 of July, 1898, for a graded force of officers in 

 control of the reserves. This system has only 

 been in full operation since August, but good 

 results have already been secured in many sec- 

 tions. The reports received indicate that the sys- 

 tem of patrol has not only prevented destructive 

 fires from gaining headway, but has diminished 

 the number of fires. 



The special attention of the Congress is called 

 to that part of the report of the Secretary of the 

 Interior in relation to the Five Civilized Tribes. 

 It is noteworthy that the general condition of 

 the Indians shows marked progress. But one 

 outbreak of a serious character occurred during 

 the year, and that among the Chippewa Indians 

 of Minnesota, which happily has been suppressed. 



While it has not yet been practicable to en- 

 force all the provisions of the act of June 28, 

 1898, " for the protection of the people of the 

 Indian Territory, and for other purposes," it is 

 having a salutary effect upon the nations com- 

 posing the Five Tribes. The Dawes Commission 

 reports that the most gratifying results and 

 greater advance toward the attainment of the 

 objects of the Government have been secured in 

 the past year than in any previous year. I can 

 not too strongly indorse the recommendation of 

 the commission and of the Secretary of the In- 

 terior for the necessity of providing for the edu- 



