The encouragement that has been extended to the militia of the States, generally and most appropriately designated the “National Guard,” should be continued and enlarged.  These military organizations constitute in a large sense the Army of the United States, while about five-sixths of the annual cost of their maintenance is defrayed by the States.

The report of the Attorney-General is under the law submitted directly to Congress, but as the Department of Justice is one of the Executive Departments some reference to the work done is appropriate here.

A vigorous and in the main an effective effort has been made to bring to trial and punishment all violators of the law, but at the same time care has been taken that frivolous and technical offenses should not be used to swell the fees of officers or to harass well-disposed citizens.  Especial attention is called to the facts connected with the prosecution of violations of the election laws and of offenses against United States officers.  The number of convictions secured, very many of them upon pleas of guilty, will, it is hoped, have a salutary restraining influence.  There have been several cases where postmasters appointed by me have been subjected to violent interference in the discharge of their official duties and to persecutions and personal violence of the most extreme character.  Some of these cases have been dealt with through the Department of Justice, and in some cases the post-offices have been abolished or suspended.  I have directed the Postmaster-General to pursue this course in all cases where other efforts failed to secure for any postmaster not himself in fault an opportunity peacefully to exercise the duties of his office.  But such action will not supplant the efforts of the Department of Justice to bring the particular offenders to punishment.

The vacation by judicial decrees of fraudulent certificates of naturalization, upon bills in equity filed by the Attorney-General in the circuit court of the United States, is a new application of a familiar equity jurisdiction.  Nearly one hundred such decrees have been taken during the year, the evidence disclosing that a very large number of fraudulent certificates of naturalization have been issued.  And in this connection I beg to renew my recommendation that the laws be so amended as to require a more full and searching inquiry into all the facts necessary to naturalization before any certificates are granted.  It certainly is not too much to require that an application for American citizenship shall be heard with as much care and recorded with as much formality as are given to cases involving the pettiest property right.

At the last session I returned without my approval a bill entitled “An act to prohibit bookmaking and pool selling in the District of Columbia,” and stated my objection to be that it did not prohibit but in fact licensed what it purported to prohibit.  An effort will be made under existing laws to suppress this evil, though it is not certain that they will be found adequate.