I see no
substitute for such a system, except in placing all the Indians on large
reservations, as rapidly as it can be done, and giving them absolute
protection there. As soon as they are fitted for it they should be
induced to take their lands in severalty and to set up Territorial
governments for their own protection. For full details on this subject
I call your special attention to the reports of the Secretary of the
Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
The report of the Secretary of War shows the expenditures of the War
Department for the year ending June 30, 1869, to be $80,644,042, of
which $23,882,310 was disbursed in the payment of debts contracted
during the war, and is not chargeable to current army expenses. His
estimate of $34,531,031 for the expenses of the Army for the next fiscal
year is as low as it is believed can be relied on. The estimates of
bureau officers have been carefully scrutinized, and reduced wherever it
has been deemed practicable. If, however, the condition of the country
should be such by the beginning of the next fiscal year as to admit of a
greater concentration of troops, the appropriation asked for will not be
expended.
The appropriations estimated for river and harbor improvements and for
fortifications are submitted separately.
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