CHAPTER 277. RELATING TO PAWNEE ROCK-WOMAN'S KANSAS DAY CLUB. House concurrent resolution No.15. WHEREAS, At the instance of the Woman's Kansas Day Club Benjamin P. Unruh offered to donate to the state the ground on which Pawnee Rock stands, and to sell sufficient ground for a roadway from that place to the town of Pawnee Rock; and WHEREAS, The Woman's Kansas Day Club has raised the means to purchase the roadway and preserve the place as a public memorial of the incidents which give it historic interest, and have obtained from Benjamin P. Unruh a deed conveying the said land and roadway to the state of Kansas; and WHEREAS, The Legislature, at the special session of 1908, passed joint resolution No. 4, authorizing the Governor to accept for the state of Kansas a deed of the ground on which Pawnee Rock stands whenever the same is tendered without expense to the state of Kansas; and WHEREAS, The Woman's Kansas Day Club are now prepared to comply with the terms of the joint resolution and to present the deed to the state of Kansas: Therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein, That the members of the House and Senate shall meet in joint session at 11:15 A. M. on January 29, 1909, for the formal presentation of said deed by the president of the Woman's Kansas Day Club, and the acceptance of the same by the Governor and the Legislature of the state of Kansas. Approved January 29, 1909. CHAPTER 278. RELATING TO IMPROVEMENT OF WATERWAYS OF THE UNITED STATES. House concurrent resolution No. 16. By the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas, the Senate concurring therein: WHEREAS, The subject of improvement of the Federal Government internal waterways of the United States for the purpose of navigation, and the promotion of commerce thereby, is a vital issue before the whole people; and WHEREAS, The policy of such improvement and promotion is not confined to any political party but is one which has been emphatically indorsed by most if not all political parties, and by the statesmen and representatives of said parties; and WHEREAS, Said policy arose out of necessity for larger facilities for prompt, universal and cheapened carriage of the subjects of commerce, which policy demands, to those ends, the greatly enlarged use of natural waterways as well as the building of artificial waterways in various localities; and WHEREAS, Such improvement of waterways is for the benefit of the people everywhere, and to inland towns as well as those located on waterways; and WHEREAS, There exist in the more westerly sections of the country and elsewhere various organizations created and in active operation for the purpose of promoting the above-stated ends, one of which organizations, more particularly devoted to bringing about the systematic improvement of the Missouri river on both its upper and lower reaches for the purpose of navigation and greatly increasing the facilities of operating boats thereon in trade and commerce, is the Missouri River Navigation Congress, and the purposes of said organization are of great interest and benefit to the people of the Missouri valley at large, including the state of Kansas: Therefore, be it Resolved, That the state of Kansas vitally interested in, and hereby through her Legislature heartily indorses the issue and the policy of improvement of internal waterways throughout the United States, including the Missouri river and its navigable tributaries, the building of the deep-waterways canal from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico, and the deepening of the channel of the lower Missouri river and the Mississippi to render such canal more practicable and useful for large lines of commerce of the West and South, and the systematic improvement of the upper Missouri as part of the general process, thereby bringing the seaboards east and south practically much nearer the Missouri valley and to Kansas producers, merchants and consumers, which improvements will result in materially cheapening and accelerating the carriage of commodities in this state and the northwest at large, and of increasing the value of our products in the markets of the world; and Resolved, That the state of Kansas and her citizens will encourage in all proper ways the work of the Missouri River Navigation Congress, and will heartily aid in making the first annual convention of said organization, to be held at Yankton in June, 1909, a success; and Resolved, That Kansas, as one of the Missouri Valley states among the seven states represented by said Missouri Naviga tion Congress, sends greeting to each and all of the other states represented in said organization and asks their cooperation in common with Kansas, whose coöperation is hereby pledged, in the promotion of the purposes of said organization and of the affiliated organizations in the West and South; and Resolved, That we favor an intelligent and comprehensive plan of improvement of the Missouri river and other commercial waterways, and a faithful and economical expenditure of moneys by the Federal Government to those ends and pursuant to such plans; and Resolved, That we urgently request the Kansas delegation in Congress to coöperate in bringing about, by the present and the next Congress, such reasonable appropriations for internal waterways improvement for purposes of navigation, including the Missouri river and her navigable tributaries, as will be adequate to effectuate substantial progress in such improvements as soon in the future as proper plans for such outlay can be adopted. Approved February 9, 1909. CHAPTER 279. RELATING TO EX-UNION OFFICERS OF CIVIL WAR. WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States, some forty years after the Revolutionary War, with a desire of expressing in a measure their gratitude to the surviving officers who had conducted that long, perilous but successful war, enacted a law placing the old patriots on the retired list, thereby enabling them to spend a few years freed from the cares and labor of providing the necessities of life; and WHEREAS, The same course was pursued with the survivors of the War of 1812, thus showing to the world that Republics are not ungrateful but on the contrary are ever mindful of the interests of their most humble citizens, and regards with the most tender care its aged and decrepit patriots; and WHEREAS, Nearly forty-four years has passed since the surrender of Appomattox, and the numbers of these veterans of cherished memories is being rapidly reduced: Therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate, the House concurring, That we instruct our Senators and earnestly request our Representatives in Congress to give all assistance in their power to the enactment of a law that will place the surviving officers of the War of the Rebellion on an equal footing in regard to the retired list as are officers of the regular army; and Resolved, That certified copies of these resolutions be forwarded to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress. Approved February 9, 1909. CHAPTER 280. RELATING TO MEMORIAL-EIGHTEENTH KANSAS VOLUN TEER CAVALRY. House concurrent resolution No. 17. WHEREAS, The Eighteenth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, under the command of Col. H. L. Moore, consisting of 358 officers and enlisted men, was, on the 15th day of July, 1867, mustered into the United States service and served until the 15th day of November, 1867, and during said time was actually engaged in suppressing Indian hostilities and lost in killed and wounded about ten per cent. of the number of men enlisted, and during said time marched 2200 miles and endured all of the hardships. incident to Indian warfare along the frontier, and was highly commended for bravery and efficiency by Generals Sheridan and Custer; and WHEREAS, During the summer of 1868 the western part of Kansas and portions of Colorado and Texas were raided by hostile bands of plains Indians and 158 men were murdered, exclusive of casualties incident to military operations, 17 of whom were captured and burned, 14 women were outraged, 4 women and 24 children were carried into captivity, and of the children 14 perished. To punish these Indians and protect the frontier from further depredations the War Department decided upon a winter campaign, and called upon Kansas for a regiment of volunteer cavalry. Thereupon, the Nineteenth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, consisting of 1200 men under the command of Samuel J. Crawford, then Governor, was, on the 20th day of October, 1868, mustered into the United States service, and marched from Topeka, Kan., through the Indian Territory and a portion of Texas, over an unknown and trackless prairie, in a starving condition in the dead of winter, and, under command of General Custer, compelled the surrender of the entire hostile bands of Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas and Comanches, establishing Fort Sill and recovering the captured women, and forever pledging these tribes to peace; and WHEREAS, After marching to Fort Hays, Kan., they were, on the 18th day of April, 1869, mustered out of the United States service; and WHEREAS, From the time they were mustered in until they were mustered out this regiment endured all the hardships and suffering incident to Indian warfare in an unsettled country, and almost perished for want of food and clothing; and WHEREAS, General Sheridan describes their march as without parallel in the history of any army, considering the time of year and existing conditions; and WHEREAS, The officers and men of said Eighteenth and Nineteenth Kansas Volunteer Cavalry are not eligible to be entered on the pension-rolls under any of the existing laws of the United States: Therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas, the Senate concurring therein, That the Legislature of the state of Kansas memorialize the Congress of the United States to pass a law extending to said officers and men who served for ninety days or more the same rights and privileges granted to the officers and men who served in the War of 18611865; and, be it further Resolved, That this Legislature instruct our Senators and request our members of the House of Representatives in the Congress of the United States to prepare and to introduce in both branches of the National Legislature, and to use all their influence to secure the passage of a bill embodying the prayer of this memorial; and, be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of this House be instructed to forward copies of these resolutions to each of our Representatives in the Congress of the United States. Approved March 2, 1909. CHAPTER 281. RELATING TO VISIT TO KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. House concurrent resolution No. 18. WHEREAS, The students of the Kansas State Agricultural College have, by subscription, raised a fund sufficient to pay the traveling expenses by special car and entertainment on the trip, all for the purpose of acquainting the House and Senate with the work done at the Kansas State Agricultural College in training the young men and women of this state in manual labor in connection with intellectual studies; and |