ILLINOIS. 



423 



imnent record by inking the finder lightly and 

 :ig it on paper. Sir William iler.-rlu-l 

 made two such impressions in lM>(i and 1888, 

 in which the portions of the furrows and 

 ridges remain the same, and they are probahly 

 unchanged through life. The thumb has been 

 used as a seal that can not be counterfeited. It 

 has been proposed to use this method for iden- 

 tifying Chinese immigrants, and it has been 

 commonly supposed to be used for a like pur- 

 pose in Chinese courts of justice. A large 

 number of such thumb-impressions, taken dur- 

 ing several generations, would doubtless enable 

 scientists to settle interesting questions regard- 

 ing heredity. 



ILLL>OIS. State Government. The following 

 were the State officers during the year : Gov- 

 ernor, Richard J. Oglesby, Republican ; Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor, John C. Smith; Secretary of 

 State, Henry D. Dement; Auditor, Charles P. 

 Swigert ; Treasurer, John R. Tanner ; Attor- 

 ney-General, George Hunt; Superintendent of 

 Public Instruction, Richard Edwards ; Rail- 

 road and Warehouse Commissioners, John J. 

 Rinaker, B. F. Marsh, and W. T. Johnson ; 

 Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, Alfred M. 

 Craig; Associate Justices, Benjamin M. Magru- 

 der. Simeon P. Shope, David J. Baker, John 

 Scofield, Jacob W. Wilkin, and Joseph M. 

 Bailey. 



Finances. The amount of all funds in the 

 State Treasury, Oct. 1, 1886, was as follows: 

 General revenue fund, $2,663,570.01; State 

 school fund, $218,876.23 ; delinquent land-tax 

 fund, $331.06 ; unknown and minor heirs' 

 fund, $10,776.19: local bond fufld, $558,158.- 

 33 ; total, $3,461,711.82. The receipts from all 

 sources from Oct. 1, 1886, to Sept. 30, 1888, 

 inclusive, were as follow : General revenue 

 fund, $5,693,563.32 ; State school fund, $2,196,- 

 492.36; unknown and minor heirs' fund, $3,- 

 209.80; local bond fund, $2.866,268.45 ; total, 

 8l".759,533.93; grand total, $14,211,245.75. 

 The disbursements from Oct. 1, 1886, to Sept. 

 30, 1888, inclusive, were as follow: General 

 revenue fund, $5,437,843.29 ; State school fund, 

 $2,109,144.16 ; unknown and minor heirs' fund, 

 $153.39; local bond fund, $2,824,887.69; total, 

 $10,372,028.53. Balance of all funds in treas- 

 ury Oct. 1, 1888, $3,839,217.22. The principal 

 of the bonded debt of the State outstanding 

 Oct. 1, 1886, was $23,600. 



Canals. The report of the Canal Commission- 

 ers shows that the revenue derived from tolls 

 and from other sources, during the last year, 

 have been sufficient to keep the canal in good 

 condition, so that it may still be utilized in con- 

 nection with Illinois river. It costs the State 

 nothing; the usual contingent appropriation of 

 $20,000 a year is never touched by the com- 

 missioners. The affairs of the canal have been 

 so wisely managed that the revenues collected 

 have been sufficient, not only to keep up re- 

 pairs, but to complete the system of rip-raps, 

 which will insure the banks from waste by 

 washing and floods. Their report shows a bal- 



ance of $63,325.13 to the credit of the canal 

 for the year ending Nov. 30, 1888, alter the 

 payment* .>f all debts and accounts for main- 

 tenance, repairs, management, and materials 

 and improvements thereon. 



Penitentiaries. The report of the Comnr- 

 ers of the Illinois State Penitentiary, at Joliet, 

 shows a healthy condition of that prison. The 

 number of convicts there on Sept. 30, 1888, 

 was 2:24 fewer than on Sept. 30, 1886. There 

 was a falling off in the earnings at that insti- 

 tution of about $50,000 during the two years, 

 and $35,000 was drawn from the general ap- 

 propriation to make good the deficit. Ae the 

 contract system has been abolished, the Gov- 

 ernor, in his message, says : "I know of no 

 other or better than the State-account plan. 

 To put this into execution, so as to keep the 

 convict employed, and not to bring his labor 

 in conflict with free outside labor of the honest 

 mechanic, artisan, or laboring man, will test 

 the ingenuity of the most skilled legislator. In 

 the mean time, under existing conditions, ap- 

 propriations will be necessary for the peniten- 

 tiaries of the State for the next two years. I 

 recommend at least $100,000 for the one at 

 Joliet." At Chester, the report shows no ma- 

 terial change in the number of convicts con- 

 fined in the prison from the two previous years. 

 Existing contracts for the labor of about 225 

 convicts will expire June 30, 1890 ; other con- 

 tracts for about 150 convicts will not expire, 

 with the existing privilege of renewal, until 

 several years later. The appropriation for or- 

 dinary expenses for 1887 and 1888 was $75,- 

 000 per annum. The commissioners and war- 

 den ask for $65,000 per annum for the next 

 two years for ordinary purposes, and $15,000 

 for other and special purposes. 



Education. The report of the Superintendent 

 shows that the number of children of school 

 age in 1888 was 1,118,472; the number of 

 pupils enrolled was 751,349; the average at- 

 tendance was 518,043 ; the average duration of 

 the schools was 153'3 days; the average num- 

 ber of days of attendance for each pupil was 

 105*7; the average monthly wages of male 

 teachers was s.~.2.'.':; : of female teachers, $43.09. 

 The total expenditures for public schools was 

 $10,661,017.15. Of this amount there was 

 paid for salaries of teachers $6,714,516.98. and 

 the permanent productive school funds for the 

 State, not including the university, was $10,- 

 383,132.99. The University of Illinois, the 

 State and Southern Normal Universities, were 

 reported as in excellent condition. 



Charities. The tenth biennial report of the 

 State Commissioners shows that for 1886 and 

 1887 there was distributed $3,800.250.26 among 

 the institutions under their jurisdiction, as fol- 

 lows : Northern Hospital for the Insane, $349.- 

 347.02 ; Eastern Hospital for the Insane. > 

 511.74; Central Hospital for the Insane. $497,- 

 833.91 : Southern Hospital for the Insane. 

 $350.859.10; Institution for the Deaf and 

 Dumb, $318,281.75 ; Institution for the Blind, 



