ENCYCLOPEDIC INDEX to the Messages and Papers of the Presidents NOTE. The pages of the MESSAGES AND PAPERS OF THE PRÉSIDENTS are consecutively numbered from Page 1 to the last page of the last message received before going to press, without regard to the division into volumes. The index numbers therefore refer to pages only. The page numbers in each volume are indicated on the back to assure quick and handy reference. When a word or group of words is followed by the symbol (q. v.), (which see), an article under that word or group of words is listed in the Index, and should be consulted. A. B. C. Arbitration.-During the Mexican revolution of 1913-14, citizens of the United States suffered many insults and abuses, as well as loss of life and property, at the hands of the warring factions. Insolent aggression culminated on the 9th of April, 1914, when a paymaster of the U. S. S. Dolphin was arrested at Tampico, and the delivery of United States mail was interfered with. Admiral Mayo, commanding the fleet in the harbor, demanded a salute to the United States flag as partial reparation for the injuries sustained by the Americans. This was refused by President Huerta, and President Wilson backed Admiral Mayo's demand with an order for the occupation of Vera Cruz by American land and naval forces. (Page 8314.) Before these were ready to begin the journey overland to Mexico City Senor Naon, the Argentine minister at Washington, Senhor da Gama, Brazilian ambassador, and Senor Suarez, the Chilean minister, proffered their services as mediators to settle the differences between the two republics. President Wilson accepted the good offices of the diplomats and appointed Justice Joseph R. Lamar, of the Supreme Court, and Frederick W. Lehman, an attorney, of St. Louis, to represent the United States. Huerta also appointed__delegates. The mediators met at Niagara Falls, Canada, May 20, and by June 12, had agreed upon a plan for a provisional government for Mexico to consist of a president and a cabinet of four leading Mexicans, who should have been neutral during the revolu tion. re President Wilson demanded that a Constitutionalist should be chosen as provisional president, but the mediators fused to sanction this. June 22, peace protocols were signed whereby the United States abandoned its claim for a salute to the flag and waived the question of a war indemnity from Mexico, as well as claims for damages due American citizens, with the understanding that these would be taken up and adjusted by the provisional government. Meanwhile the revolutionists were closing in on Mexico City, and Carranza, the Constitutionalist leader, was asked to participate in the arbitration proceedings on condition that he agree to an armistice. This he refused. July 5, a federal election was held in Mexico and Huerta was re-elected President and Senor Blanquet Vice-President. Few of the populace participated in the voting, and ten days later Huerta resigned and boarded the German cruiser Dresden at Vera Cruz and departed for Jamaica. Don Francisco Carbajal, min. Ister of foreign relations, was placed in charge of the government at Mexico City, and invited Carranza to come into the city and form a provisional government granting a general amnesty to those who had supported the Huerta administration. Dur B. Plot.-William H. Crawford, of Georgia, was a prominent Democratic-Republican candidate for the Presidency in 1824. ing the early part of that year a series of letters signed "A, B." appeared in a Washington newspaper charging him with malfeasance in office as Secretary of the Treasury. They were written by Ninian Edwards, of Illinois, who had just been appointed minister to Mexico, and who acknowledged their authorship. Apr. 19, 1824, Edwards presented a memorial to the House of Representatives making specific charges. These he failed to sustain, and Crawford was exonerated. Abaco Island (Bahamas), negotiations for cession of lands on, for erection of light-houses, 845. Abandoned Farms.-The reasons given for farm abandonment are the impoverishment of the soil, through lack of fertilizer and rotation of crops, the meager financial rewards of ordinary farm labor, and the disinclination of country-bred men and women to remain on farms when the conveniences and luxuries of life are to be found in the cities, and enjoyed with great er comfort. The city man who takes his family to the country is usually actuated by two motives-sentiment and the high cost of living in the city. When a man only one generation from the farm finds eggs selling at 60 cents a dozen, broiled chickens at a dollar, and the kind of apples he formerly fed to hogs bringing a cent apiece in city markets he is apt to long for the abundant food of his boyhood days. In his "Altruria," a novel, printed in 1894, William Dean Howells, an American novelist, predicted that soon the railroads would be imploring men to go from the cities and till the soil. Mr. W. C. Brown, President of the New York Central Railroad, in a speech in New York City in 1910, declared that there are 16,000 square miles of practically abandoned farms in New York, New England, the south and middle Southern States, and that there are 2,700 acres of abandoned tillable land within two hours' journey from New York City which can be purchased for $20 an acre. Mr. Brown declared himself willing to head a milliondollar syndicate to buy and reclaim these abandoned farms in a practical effort to decrease the cost of foodstuffs to the con sumer. Many men with city experience and modern industrial and business ideas have made farming profitable where the country-bred farmer with only the conventional methods has failed. The back-to-the-farm movement was given considerable impetus by the development of intensive farming in the West, by irrigation, by the railroads, the Department of Agriculture and the high price of foodstuffs in the cities. President Roosevelt appointed a commission to investigate the conditions of farm life in America, and he discusses the question fully in a special message (page 7253). (See also Country Life Commission.) Abelman vs. Booth.-An important Supreme Court case maintaining the constitutionality of the fugitive-slave law of 1850. Booth was tried before a commissioner appointed by the United States district court of Wisconsin for violation of the fugitiveslave law, and ordered to appear before the district court. Failing to do so, he was imprisoned by Abelman, the United States marshal for the district, but was released by the supreme court of the State on a writ of habeas corpus. Later he was indicted before the United States district court, but was again released by the State supreme court. In 1858 the case came before the United States Supreme Court. Booth had pleaded the unconstitutionality of the law. The court upheld the law and reversed the decision of the State supreme court. Abolition Party.-An anti-slavery party organized in 1839, which later absorbed the Liberty Party (q. v.), and the National Anti-Slavery Society (q. v.). Its mission having been fulfilled by the emancipation of the slaves, the party did not continue in existence after the Civil War. (See Abolitionists.) Abolitionists.-A term applied during and preceding the Civil War to the members of the New England Anti-Slavery Society and those who held with them that "immediate unconditional emancipation without expatriation was the right of every slave and that he could not be withheld by his master an hour without sin." The first society for the abolition of slavery was formed in Pennsylvania in 1774; New York followed in 1785, Rhode Island in 1786, Maryland in 1789, and Connecticut, Virginia and New Jersey before 1792. Among the presidents of the New York society were John Jay and Alexander Hamilton. Jan. 1, 1831, William Lloyd Garrison began the publication in Boston of a paper called The Liberator, which advocated the Immediate liberation of slaves, regardless of all laws or constitutional provisions to the contrary. At the beginning of the following year be organized the above-named society, with the foregoing as its chief doctrine. Near the close of 1833 a similar society was formed in Philadelphia. From this time forward the question became one of national importance. In consequence of his uncompromising utterances Garrison was indicted by grand juries in several Southern States and rewards were offered for his conviction. The New York Weekly Emancipator was another organ of the Abolitionists. Some strong pamphlets on the subject were: "Justice and Expediency; or, Slavery Considered with a View to Its Rightful and Effectual Remedy"; "Abolition," by John G. Whittier, Haverhill, Mass.; "Appeal in Behalf of that Class of Americans Called Africans," by Lydia Maria Child; and "The Sin of Elavery and Its Remedy," by Elizur Wright, a professor in the Western Reserve College. Abolition sentiments were not confined solely to the Northern States. The feeling against the abolitionists ran high and riots were frequent. At Alton, Illinois, in 1837. Elijah P. Lovejoy, an abolition editor, was mobbed and killed, and in 1838. Pennsylvania Hall, in Philadelphia, was burned. In 1838 many of the party desiring to nominate candidates for office, a proceeding to which the "Garrisonians" objected. withdrew. (See Abolition Party and illustrations opposite 1423, 2628.) Aborigines.-A word used to designate the earliest inhabitants of a country. In America the term is applied generally to the Indians found by the early settlers. Abrogation.-In international law, the act of breaking or discontinuing, as the abroga. tion of a treaty. Absentee Shawnee Indians. (See Indian Tribes.) Abyssinia (Ethiopia).—The total area of the Ethiopian Empire is estimated at 350,000 to 400,000 English square miles, with a total population of from 7,000,000 to 8,000,000, of whom about half are Abyssinians, the remainder being Gallas, negro tribes on the west and south frontiers, and Danakils and Somalis on the east. About one-third of the whole area is covered by Abyssinian Somaliland. The boundaries of the empire are defined on the west, north, and northeast, where they touch, in order, the Sudan; the Italian colony of Massowah (Eritrea); the French colony of Djibuti; and the British Somaliland Protectorate. Northwards the boundary is about 15° 30′ N. lat., falling just south of Kassala. Physical Features.-Western Abyssinia is a plateau, with peaks rising to 13,000-15,000 feet; Eastern Abyssinia consists of the Danakil and Somali lowlands. Natural Resources.-Western Abyssinia contains some mineral wealth; iron and coal are not uncommon, and gold is washed in various streams, while salt, saltpetre, and sulphur are also procurable. The lower country and deep valley gorges are very hot; the higher plateaus are well watered, with a genial climate. In the hotter regions, sugar cane, cotton, coffee, rubber, etc., flourish; in the middle zone History. It was visited by the Portu- Government.-Negus Negust or King of Sept. 30, 1916, Lidj, then only 22 years The Judicial System is based upon the ence. Education and Religion.-The Abyssini- Production and Industry.-The principal all It Abyssinia is the home of the coffee plant, some ers, etc., exchanged for manufactured arti Transportation is generally carried on Army. The active army consists of the war. Towns.-The Capital, Adis Ababa, In Foreign Relations.-Great Britain, France Academy, Naval. (See Naval Acad- Academy of Sciences, National, commis- Acapulco, Mexico: Controversies between American con- Imprisonment of American citizens Acapulco, The, seizure and killing of Conduct of commander Reiter regard- Papers regarding, transmitted, 5565. It Accounts and Disbursements, Division of, Agriculture Department.-An important division of the Bureau of Agriculture. It has complete charge and supervision over the fiscal affairs of the Department. audits and pays all accounts and adjusts claims against the Department; decides questions involving the expenditure of public funds; prepares advertisements, schedules and contracts for annual supplies, leases, agreements, letters of authority, and all letters to the Treasury Department and Department of Justice; issues requisitions for the purchase of supplies and requests for transportation; prepares the annual estimates for appropriations, etc. An idea of the work of the division may be had from the statement of its chief that in a recent year there were received, audited and paid 118,921 accounts, amounting to $15,736,198.02. More than 4,200 of these accounts, moreover, were so-called combined accounts. There were also audited and sent to the Treasury for payment 4,368 accounts. In the payment of the 118,921 accounts mentioned above it was necessary to draw 244 requisitions on the Treasury and issue 225,019 checks. To carry on the work of the Department of Agriculture for this year Congress appropriated $13,487.636 for ordinary expenses, in addition to permanent annual appropriations amounting to $6,329,000, and special appropriations of $1,874,614, making a total of $21,691,250. The cost of maintaining the Department of Agriculture has grown from $7,643,688 in 1906 to $29,019,703.98 for 1916. Accounts, Public, system of, should be improved, 1120. Acheen, native Kingdom of North Sumatra, war with Netherlands, neutrality preserved by United States in, 4192. Acknowledgment.-An acknowledgment is the act of declaring the execution of an instrument before an officer authorized to certify to such declaration. The officer certifies to the fact of such declaration, and to his knowledge of the person declaring. Conveyances or deeds of land to be entitled to be recorded must first be acknowledged before a proper officer. Most of the States have forms of acknowledgments, which should be followed, Acknowledgments may be taken in general by notaries public, justices of the peace, Judges or Clerks of Courts of the higher grades, Registers, Masters in Chancery, Court Commissioners, town clerks, Mayor and Clerks of incorporated cities, within their respective jurisdictions. Seals or their equivalent (or whatever is intended as such) are necessary in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minne sota, Missouri, New Hampshire New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. In almost all the States deeds by corporations must be under seal. Forms are prescribed or indicated by the statutes of most of the States except Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana. Separate acknowledgment by wife is required in Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas. One witness to the execution of deeds is required in District of Columbia, Maine (customary), Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey (usual), Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming. Two witnesses to the execution of deeds are required in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin. Acre Right.-The share of a citizen of a New England town in the common lands. The value of the acre right was a fixed quantity in each town, but varied in different towns. A ten-acre lot or right in a certain town was equivalent to 113 acres of upland and twelve acres of meadow, and a certain exact proportion was maintained between the acre right and salable lands. Act of Hostility.-An unfriendly representation calculated to provoke war; or conduct of a war-like nature on the part of one country toward another. When the unfriendly, or war-like act is of such a nature to preclude or make undesirable any attempt at adjustment by arbitration or diplomatic protest and representations, it becomes an overt act (q. v.), and is tantamount to a declaration of war on the part of the offender. as Under Acts of Congress. (See Bills and Acts.) Acts, Public.-Public acts are the laws of a State and of the United States. State records are the registered deeds of property, journals of legislatures, etc. Judicial proceedings are the records of courts. the Constitution each State must give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State (twenty-four). The chief value of this provision is that it prevents endless lawsuits. When a case has been decided in one State, it cannot be opened in the courts of another State. Ad valorem.-Duty on imported goods, based on the value thereof, rather than on their quantity or quality. Adams, John.-1797-1801. Third Administration-Federal. Vice-President-Thomas Jefferson. Timothy Pickering (continued). Oliver Wolcott (continued). James McHenry (continued). Samuel Dexter, from May 13, 1800. Roger Griswold, acting from Feb. 3, 1801. Secretary of the Navy George Cabot appointed. 3, 1798. Declined May Benjamin Stoddert, from May 3, 1798. Attorney-General Charles Lee (continued). Postmaster-General Joseph Habersham (continued). Party Affiliation.-Adams was essentially a Federalist and in common with his party, distrusted the self-governing power of the masses. He believed in strong central government by a class, not hereditary, but fitted by merit. He was democratic to the extent of believing that equality meant that all men should have equal rights in the eyes of the law but that in hereditary rights, capacity, advantages, and position, all men are by no means equal. While vice-president and presiding officer in the Senate he was frequently called upon to decide by his casting vote questions of vital importance in the maintenance of the policy of |