ILLINOIS. 



have ocen made to me by the authorities and citi- 

 zens of Jolietj Lockport, and other towns, that I have 

 caused investigation to be made by the Canal Commis- 

 sioners and by the State Board of Health, whose re- 

 ports on these questions will be placed before you, 

 with suggestions as to the best means of remedying 

 the evils complained of. It is represented to be per- 

 fectly feasible to so increase the flow of water through 

 the present canal as to make its bed and borders 

 healthful and pure. The subject should receive your 

 immediate and careful consideration. There can be no 

 discussion as to the duty of the State to see that its 

 own property is not maintained or operated in such a 

 condition as puts in peril the health and lives of its 

 citizens ; and that such is the present condition, in 

 winter, at least, of the Illinois and Michigan Canal 

 seems to be clearly established. 



In the latter part of June a destructive inun- 

 dation occurred along the margin of the Missis- 

 sippi. The river rose over seventeen feet above 

 low-water mark at Quincy, and still higher at 

 some points farther up, subsiding in the be- 

 ginning of July. Although not so high as the 

 flood of 1876, when the water gauge at Quincy 

 stood at nineteen feet above low water, or that 

 of 1851, when it marked 22*8 feet, it was suf- 

 ficient to break through the Warsaw Levee, 

 which protects 18,000 acres, and the great 

 Sny Levee, which redeemed 100,000 acres of 

 rich bottom alluvium ; and, opening wide cre- 

 vasses, overflowed hundreds of square miles of 

 most valuable farming-lands of the State, de- 

 stroying the standing corn and great quantities 

 of the wheat, which had just been harvested. 

 The Sny Levee is fifty-two miles in length, be- 

 ginning at a point between Quincy and Han- 

 nibal, and ending near Alton. A crevasse oc- 

 curred at a point about fifteen miles below 

 Hannibal, on the 30th of June, and three other 

 breaks were made later. A new levee, in pro- 

 cess of construction above Quincy, was nearly 

 ruined. Much injury was done to railway prop- 

 erty, and traffic was arrested. The Sny Levee 

 was commenced in 1873, and completed in 

 187o, at a coet of $650,000. It starts in Adams 

 County and extends through Pike and into Cal- 

 houn County. The land reclaimed by it was oc- 

 cupied by renters almost exclusively. About 

 one half the area was planted to corn and wheat 

 at the time of the inundation. The soil is ex- 

 ceedingly fertile, the average wheat-crop being 

 twenty-five to thirty bushels to the acre. This 

 levee was built under the drainage act of 1871, 

 which has been pronounced unconstitutional 

 by the Supreme Court. This decision made 

 the bonds which were issued for the construc- 

 tion of the levee void. The heaviest holder 

 commenced a suit in the United States Court 

 against the property-owners, seeking to make 

 the bonds an equitable lien on the lands bene- 

 fited. 



A decision of the Supreme Court has estab- 

 lished the constitutionality of the militia law 

 of May 28, 1879. The power of Congress to 

 provide for the organization and discipline of 

 the militia, it was decided, is not exclusive. 

 The act in question is not repugnant to the na- 

 tional militia law. The State has the right to 

 organize such portion of its militia as may be 



deemed necessary for the execution of its laws 

 and the preservation of the peace. Such or- 

 ganization is not keeping troops in time of 

 peace in the sense of the prohibitory clause 

 of the Federal Constitution. The requirement 

 of an oath of obedience to the Comrnander-in- 

 Chief, and the provision that no militia com- 

 pany shall leave the State with arms without the 

 consent of the Commander-in -Chief, the Govei 

 nor, have reference to the service of the State, 

 and do not apply when the militia are in the 

 service of the United States. The adoption of 

 the discipline of the United States regular army 

 would not render the law invalid. The ex- 

 emption of an active member of a company 

 from jury service is constitutional. With re- 

 gard to the provision in the law prohibiting 

 armed men not of the militia from parading, 

 the head-notes of the decision run as follows: 



The provision of the militia law making it unlawful 

 for any body of men, other than the regularly organ- 

 ized volunteer militia of this State and the troops of 

 the United States, with an exception in favor of stu- 

 dents in educational institutions where militia service 

 is taught, to associate themselves together as a military 

 company or organization, or to drill or parade with 

 arms in any city or town in this State without the 

 license of the Governor, is not inconsistent with any 

 paramount law of the United States, and is a binding 

 law. 



It is a matter within the regulation, and subject to 

 the ^police power of the State, to determine whether 

 bodies of men with military organizations or otherwise, 

 under no discipline or command by the United States, 

 or of this State, shall be permitted to parade with arms 

 in populous communities and in public places. 



In matters pertaining to the internal peace and well- 

 being of the State, its police powers are inalienable. 

 It is a power coextensive with self-protection. Every- 

 thing necessary for the protection, safety, and best in- 

 terests of the people of the State maybe done under 

 this power. Persons and property may be subjected 

 to all reasonable restraints ana burdens for the com- 

 mon good. 



Where mere property interests are involved, this 

 power, like other powers of government, is subject to 

 constitutional limitations ; but where the internal peace 

 and health of the people are concerned, the only limi- 

 tations imposed are that such "regulations must have 

 reference to the comfort, safety, and welfare of soci- 

 ety." What will endanger the public security must, 

 as* a general rule, be left to the wisdom of the 'legisla- 

 tive department. 



The question of reading the Bible in the pub- 

 lic schools came up in the Supreme Court on 

 appeal. A boy named McCormick, acting un 

 der the orders of his father, a Catholic, had 

 refused to refrain from studying during the 

 fifteen minutes devoted to the reading of the 

 Bible, thus disobeying an order of the direc- 

 tors, and was expelled. The father brought an 

 action against the teacher and the directors, 

 and the case was decided in their favor by 

 Judge Pillsbury, in Livingston County, whose 

 decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court. 



In the case of McKee vs. the Germania In- 

 surance Company, it was ruled by Judge Zane, 

 of Springfield, that when it is agreed by the 

 parties to a number of cases that they will abide 

 by the decision of one of the cases, and when 

 but one case is tried, witness-fees and similar 

 costs shall not be taxed more than once. 



