Talaya tract, report of the surveyor-general of New Mexico on private Thacher, John M. Report on the subject of the protection of patents. Timber and the preservation of forests, in relation to the cultivation of. Amount expended in aid of the construction of public works in the Officers furnished with official postage-stamps.. Length of time required for the mints to manufacture the amount of Illicit distilleries suppressed within the last six months. In relation to the receiving and disposing of United States revenue- Report of Maj. George H. Elliot upon light-houses in Europe... Letter of the U. Union Pacific Railroad Company for 1872 and 1873, reports of a portion United States revenue-stamps and public moneys. Letter of the Secre- V. Veto. Message of the President of the United States returning the bill W. Wagon-roads, amount expended by the United States to aid in the con- Application of Henry S. Welles for compensation for removing ob- Expediency of dedicating to the public use part of the island of Treatment of patients in the Providence Hospital. Sale of the military reservation at Camp Crittenden and Old Camp Expenditures at the Springfield armory for the year ending June Officers or employés furnished with official postage-stamps. 2 S. Ex. Subject. WAR. LETTERS OF THE SECRETARY OF-Continued. Relating to certain supernumerary officers mustered out of service Relative to the adoption of the Gatling gun.. In relation to the protection of citizens of Deer Lodge and Missoula Estimate of the amount required to complete the Medical and Sur- Presidio reservation in San Francisco.. Welles, Henry S., for compensation for removing obstructions from the Woodworth, John M., on the immigration service. Letter of the Secre- 1st Session. No. 1. LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, COMMUNICATING, In answer to Senate resolution of March 26, 1873, information relative to the pneumatic tube. DECEMBER 2, 1873.-Ordered to lie on the table and be printed. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, D. C. November 29, 1873. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a resolution adopted by the Senate on the 26th day of March, 1873, in the following words: Resolved, That the Secretary of the Interior be directed to report to the Senate, at the next session, the reason why the pneumatic tube, to connect the Capitol with the Government Printing-Office, has not been completed; how much has been expended on the same; and all the circumstances connected therewith. In compliance with the resolution, I have the honor to submit the following report: Pursuant to the act of Congress approved June 10, 1872, (Stats. 17, page 352,) wherein the sum of $15,000 was appropriated for the purpose of constructing a pneumatic tube, operated by hollow spheres, or otherwise, from the Capitol, along North Capitol street, to the Government Printing-Office, for the transmission of books, packages, &c., a contract for the construction of such a tube was, on the 20th of June, 1872, awarded by the architect of the Capitol Extension to Mr. Albert Brisbane, in the sum of $15,000, and said contract was approved by this Department. It was stipulated in the contract that the tube should be completed and ready for use on or before the 30th day of June, 1873, and that 20 per cent. of the amount should be withheld from the contractor until the tube was finished. Upon receipt of the Senate resolution before quoted, I deemed it advisable to appoint a committee of gentlemen who possessed the requisite qualifications for making a scientific as well as a practical investigation into the condition of the work and the circumstances connected with its non-completion, and who should, after making such investigation, furnish me with the necessary information to answer the resolution. This committee was composed of Prof. Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; O. E. Babcock, Superintendent of Public Buildings; and A. M. Clapp, Congressional Printer. A copy of my letter of May 16, 1873, designating Professor Henry as a member of said committee, will be found in the appendix to this report, marked A; similar letters to which were addressed on that day to the other gentlemen named. The committee made a thorough investigation of the matter, and filed their report in this Department on the 31st of May, 1873, (copy appended, marked B.) The report sets forth, in detail, the causes which operated to prevent the completion of the tube, and I therefore invite the attention of the Senate to the appended copy thereof. On the 22d of June, 1873, only eight days prior to the date on which the tube should have been completed in accordance with the terms of the contract, Mr. Brisbane addressed a letter to this Department, (copy appended, marked C,) wherein he proposed, if he should be granted an extension of time, under his contract, within which to complete the tube, that he would do so at his own expense, i. e., within the appropriation of $15,000. From this he had already been paid the sum of $12,000, leaving a balance of $3,000, or 20 per cent. of the whole amount, payable to him only upon the completion of the tube to the satisfaction of the architect aforesaid. I did not feel assured that it was in my power to grant an extension of time under Mr. Brisbane's contract, and therefore submitted his proposition to Hon. W. H. Smith, Assistant AttorneyGeneral, for his opinion thereon. A copy of my letter of July 18, 1873, to that officer, is appended, marked D. Acting upon his advice, I addressed a letter to Mr. Brisbane on the same day, (copy appended, marked E,) informing him that I declined making any change in the contract; that I saw no objection to his proceeding with the work; and that I presumed that he would never be called upon to make good the forfeiture clause in his contract, provided that he would confine the diameter of the tube to the dimensions named in the contract, viz, 24 inches, and that he would complete the work before the convening of the Forty-third Congress. I was without further information upon the subject until the 21st instant, when I received a letter (copy appended, marked F) from the Architect of the Capitol Extension, informing me that Mr. Brisbane was engaged in relaying the tube. On the 24th instant I addressed a letter (copy appended, marked G) to Mr. Brisbane, requesting to be informed of the nature of his operations, and, on the same day, received his reply, (copy appended, marked H,) from which it appears that he is relaying the tube at his own expense; that 500 feet (or about one-sixth of the entire length when completed) has been laid, and that he expects to have the tube finished and ready for use in about thirty workingdays from that date, viz, the 24th instant. It thus appears that the first attempt to lay the tube was a failure; that the contractor has been paid the sum of $12,000; that 20 per cent. of the appropriation, or $3,000, is yet unexpended, and will not be paid to him until the tube shall have been satisfactorily completed; that his operations during the past six or seven months have been conducted at his own expense, and that he expects to complete the tube on or about the 1st day of January next. Should he be allowed to finish the tube no further appropriation will be necessary; but, with regard to the probability of success in his present attempt, I am not able to express an opinion, being without any satisfactory information upon the subject. The utility of such a tube as the act of June 10, 1872, contemplated, and the desirability of its completion, are adverted to by the committee in their report, (hereto appended, marked B ;) and in the same connec tion I have the honor to append a copy (marked I) of a letter, dated May 2, 1873, from the Congressional Printer, expressing his views upon the subject. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. HENRY WILSON, Secretary. Vice-President of the United States and President of the Senate. APPENDIX. A DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, D. C., May 16, 1873. SIR: An act of Congress entitled “An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and for other purposes," approved June 10, 1872, provides that the sum of fifteen thousand dollars be appropriated for the purpose of constructing a pneumatic tube, operated by hollow spheres or otherwise, from the Capitol along North Capitol street to the Government Printing-Office, for the transmission of books, packages, &c., to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, and the work to be done under the supervision of the Architect of the Capitol Extension." Pursuant to the foregoing provision of law this Department authorized the making of a contract for the construction of said pneumatic tube with Mr. Albert Brisbane. Said contract was executed on the 20th day of June, 1872, Mr. Edward Clark, Architect of the Capitol Extension, representing the Government, and was approved by Hon. B. R. Cowen, at the time Acting Secretary of the Interior. By the terms of the contract the work was required to be completed on or before the 1st day of July, 1873, but I am informed that it cannot be finished prior to that date. On the 26th of March last the Senate of the United States passed the following resolation, viz: "Resolved, That the Secretary of the Interior be directed to report to the Senate at the next session the reason why the pneumatic tube, to connect the Capitol with the Government Printing-Office, has not been completed, how much has been expended on the same, and all the circumstances connected therewith." In order that I may be enabled to intelligently answer the above resolution, I have deemed it advisable to appoint a committee for the purpose of investigating into the matter, and I have the honor to designate yourself, Gen. O. E. Babcock, Superintendent of Public Buildings, and A. M. Clapp, esq., Congressional Printer, as such committee. I will thank you to make at your earliest convenience an examination of the work done, and report to me the condition of the same, with such other facts connected therewith as will enable me to make a proper report to the Senate at its next session. I will request General Babcock to call for you on his way to the Government Printing-Office, where you will find Mr. Clapp. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Prof. JOSEPH HENRY, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. C. DELANO, Secretary. B. WASHINGTON, D. C., May 31, 1873. SIR: The committee designated by you on the 16th instant to investigate the circumstances connected with the partial construction of the pneumatic tube, authorized by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872, and designed to connect the Capitol and the Government Printing-Office, have the honor to submit the following report: Pursuant to agreement, the committee met at the office of the Architect of the Capitol Extension, on Saturday, the 24th instant, at 10 o'clock a. m., and, after examining |