country generously responded to the calls for aid and the stricken city soon recovered from the calamity.

On March 23, 1888, Chief Justice Waite of the Supreme Court passed away at Washington, and in April, Melville Weston Fuller was appointed by President Cleveland to the vacant office. Justice Fuller's appointment was confirmed July 8, and he took the oath of office on October 8. A new department of the government was established in 1888, when, by an act approved June 13, the Department of Labor was created, the purpose of this branch of the government being "to acquire and diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with labor, in the most general and comprehensive sense of the word, and especially upon its relation to capital, the hours of labor, the earnings of laboring men and women, and the means of promoting their material, social, intellectual, and moral prosperity."

In 1889, four new stars were added to our flag when President Cleveland on February 22, signed a bill enabling Washington, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota to become States. By proclamations of President Harrison, North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted November 2, Montana November 8, and Washington November 11.*

On May 31, 1889, occurred the Johnstown, Pa., flood. There had

* Richardson, Messages and Papers, vol. ix., pp. 20-26.

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been heavy rains for several days causing the waters of an artificial lake thirteen miles above the town to rise to such an extent that on Friday afternoon the dam gave way under the strain, precipitating the entire volume of water into the Conemaugh valley, sweeping everything before it without warning till it reached the doomed town. The town was completely destroyed and about 2,200 people were swept into eternity. Millions of dollars were sent to the relief of the stricken city, not only from this country, but from European countries and even from Australia.

In 1885 and 1886, the Apache Indians caused much trouble in Arizona and New Mexico. These Indians had repeatedly surrendered to the United States authorities and had consented to live on reservations, but their longing for the old life of the plains was too strong to control and as often they broke loose again and ravaged the country for miles around. The last outbreak occurred in 1885 when, led by their chief, Geronimo, they renewed their depredations in these two territories. Captain Marion P. Maus set out in pursuit and succeeded in locating the band. General George Crook also gave chase and on March 25, 1886, forced Geronimo to make a stand at the Cañon de los Embudos. The band being entirely surrounded, Geronimo considered it inadvisable to make further resistance and on the 27th of that month again surrendered. He consented to surrender for two years only and stipulated further that

The subsequent criticism of Crook for being duped by the Indians caused his replacement by General Nelson A. Miles, who gave Geronimo no rest until he had been cornered and the band captured. The surrender occurred August 20, 1886. Captain H. W. Lawton and AssistantSurgeon Leonard Wood, under the direction of Miles, had followed Geronimo over a large section of the country and finally located him at the junction of the San Bernardino and Bavishe rivers, near the Mexican border. They telegraphed the situation to General Miles at Wilcox, Arizona, and he set out to receive the surrender which was effected on September 4.†

But this time it was decided to remove the wily chief to a place so far distant from the scenes of his depredations that it would be almost impossible for him to again start on his murderous career. So Geronimo and his warriors were sent to to Fort Pickens, Florida, and the squaws and pappooses to Fort Marion, Florida. Two years later all the tribe were moved to Alabama, where they re

*Barrett, Geronimo's Story of His Life, pp. 126-138; Miles, Personal Recollections, pp. 445471.

Senate Ex. Docs. Nos. 111-125, 49th Congress, 2d session; Barrett, Geronimo's Story, pp. 140176; Miles. Personal Recollections, pp. 471–526.

mained from May, 1888, to October, 1894. During this time they made repeated efforts to be transferred to their old haunts, but Arizona, having once been rid of them, refused to receive them again and they were finally sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. There they now are to the number of about 300 and there Geronimo remained quietly until his death, February 17,

1909.

In 1890, the Sioux manifested unmistakable signs of an uprising. After Sitting Bull had surrendered to the United States forces (as recorded in a previous chapter) he remained quiet for a number of years. But in December, 1890, he and his band became hostile and troops were sent out to protect the white settlers. On December 15, as an extra precaution, Sitting Bull was made prisoner by the Indian police at Grand River, South Dakota, but his followers attempted to rescue him and in the ensuing struggle Sitting Bull and eleven others were killed. The hostile Indians were now pursued relentlessly and several conflicts took place. In a battle at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, December 29, 30 soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry, including Captain George D. Wallace, were killed and 200 Indians also fell.

The Indians now took refuge in the Bad Lands, and threatened to attack all neighboring agencies. On January 2, 1891, General Miles was placed in command of the government troops and soon brought the Indians to a state of subjection. On January 15, the

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For several years the subject of railway management in its relation to interstate commerce was widely discussed, and in March, 1885, the Senate adopted a resolution appointing a committee to investigate the matter. This committee collected a vast amount of information and submitted its report to Congress on January 18, 1886. It summed up the testimony as follows:

"The complaints against the railroad system of the United States expressed to the committee are based upon the following charges: (1) That local rates are unreasonably high, compared with through rates; (2) that both local and through rates are unreasonably high at noncompeting points, either from absence of competition or in consequence of pooling agreements that restrict its operation; (3) that rates are established without apparent regard to the actual cost of the service performed, and are based largely upon what the traffic will bear; (4) that unjustifiable discriminations are constantly made between individuals in the rates charged for like service under similar circumstances; (5) that improper discriminations are made between articles of freight and branches of business of a like character, and between different quantities of the same class of freight; (6) that unreasonable discriminations are made between localities similarly situated; (7) that the effect of the prevailing policy of railroad management is, by an elaborate system of secret special rates, rebates, drawbacks, and concessions, to foster monopoly, to enrich favored shippers, and to prevent free competition in many lines of trade in which the item of transportation is an important factor; (8) that such favoritism and secrecy introduce an element of uncertainty into legitimate business that greatly retards the development of our industries and commerce; (9) that the secret cutting of rates, and the sudden fluctuations that constantly take place, are demoralizing to all business except that of a purely speculative character, and frequently occasion great injustice and heavy losses; (10) that in the absence of national and uniform legislation the railroads are able, by various devices, to avoid their responsibility as

one road, or from one state to another, and that shippers find great difficulty in recovering damages for the loss of property or for injury thereto; (11) that railroads refuse to be bound by their own contracts, and arbitrarily collect large sums in the shape of over charges, in addition to the rates agreed upon at the time of shipment; (12) that railroads often refuse to recognize or be responsible for the acts of dishonest agents acting under their authority; (13) that the common law fails to afford a remedy for such grievances, and that in case of dispute the shipper is compelled to submit to the decision of the railroad manager or pool commissioner, or run the risk of incurring further losses by greater discriminations; (14) that the differences in the classification in use in various parts of the country, and sometimes for shipment over the same road in different directions, are a fruitful source of misunderstandings, and are often made a means of extortion; (15) that a privileged class is created by the granting of passes, and that the cost of the passenger service is largely increased by the extent of this abuse; (16) that the capitalization and bonded indebtedness of the roads largely exceed the actual cost of their construction or their present value, and that unreasonable rates are charged in the efforts to pay dividends on watered stock and interest on bonds improperly issued; (17) that railroad corporations have improperly engaged in lines of business entirely distinct from that of transportation, and that undue advantages have been afforded to business enterprises in which railroad officials are interested; (18) that the management of the railroad business is extravagant and wasteful, and that a needless tax is imposed upon the shipping and traveling public by the unnecessary expendi ture of large sums in the maintenance of a costly force of agents engaged in a reckless strife for competitive business."*

On the basis of this report Congress enacted a law which was approved on February 4, 1887, during the second session of the Forty-ninth Congress, commonly known as the "Interstate Commerce Act" which became effective on April 3, 1887. This act established an Interstate Commerce Com

Edward A. Moseley, article Interstate Commerce, in Encyclopedia Americana.