present
Commissioner says in his last report that "it is believed that there are
probably over one hundred thousand claims in this office which can be
properly allowed under the provisions of these regulations. The act of
June 27, 1890, is the first disability pension law in the history of the
world which grants to soldiers and sailors pensions for disabilities
which are not proven to have been incurred in the service and in line of
duty." Speaker Reed of the House characterized it as "the most generous
piece of pension legislation ever passed by any nation on earth."

_The Commissioner of Patents_ has charge of the granting of patents. Up
to 1793 the granting of letters-patent was given to a board consisting
of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War and the Attorney General,
the records and models being kept in the Department of State. In 1793
the granting of patents was given exclusively to the Secretary of State.
In 1821 the clerk of the State Department who examined applications for
patents received the title of Superintendent of the Patent Office, and
on July 4, 1836, the Patent Office was created as a separate bureau and
a Commissioner of Patents created.

About 24,000 patents are issued annually. There is an Assistant
Commissioner-in-chief, an Examiner of Interferences, three
Examiners-in-chief, thirty-eight Principal Examiners, and a large force
of assistant examiners for different branches. Patents run for seventeen
years. The annual receipts of the bureau from fees more than equal the
expenditures, and the office now has a surplus of several millions to
its credit in the Treasury.

_The Commissioner of Indian Affairs_ has charge of all matters
concerning the Indians, their education, government and support. There
are 239 Indian schools supported by appropriations made by Congress, 147
of which are controlled directly by the Indian Bureau. The average
attendance of pupils at these schools is between eleven and twelve
thousand. The number of Indians in our country (not counting those of
Alaska) is about 250,000. They occupy or have control of about
116,630,106 acres.

_The Bureau of Education_ was originally established as an independent
Department by act of Congress, approved by the President March 2, 1867.
By an act of Congress which took effect July 1, 1869, this Department
was changed to an Office or Bureau in the Interior Department. The
duties of this Bureau are to collect and diffuse information re