520 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



of expenditures, $65,463.74. The Governor 

 says upon this topic : 



The only difficulty in the practical working of the 

 law governing prison labor is that of establishing in- 

 dustries. It is provided by section 5 of chapter 447 of 

 the acts of the year 1887 that " no new machinery to 

 be propelled by other than hand or foot power shall 

 l)e used in any institution." This provision prevents 

 the maintenance of the varied and improved condi- 

 tions of employment which the future advantage, if 

 not the present well-being, of the prisoners would 

 seem to require. The law should be so amended that 

 the prisoners may have the advantage of employment 

 with such improved machinery as the nature of the 

 business in wnich they are engaged may demand. 

 Satisfactory pecuniary returns are not to b"e expected 

 from prison labor, but the "public-account" plan 

 gives to the prison officials more complete control of 

 those who are committed to their charge, and in this 

 way it is to the community a decided gain. 



At the State Primary School at Monson there 

 were 316 inmates on Oct. 1, 1887, and 314 at 

 the same date this year. The total number in 

 the school during the year was 538. The West- 

 borough Keform School contained 118 boys at 

 the beginning of the fiscal year, and 142 at its 

 close. The Industrial School for Girls at Lan- 

 caster cared for 157 girls during the year, of 

 whom 58 were in the school at the beginning 

 of the year, and 63 at its close. 



Savings-Banks. Tn the saving-banks and in- 

 stitutions for savings there were, in deposits, 

 at the end of their fiscal year, $315,185,070.57, 

 an increase for the year of $12,236,446.49, the 

 number of open accounts being 983,202. 



The Pnblic-S?hooI Controversy and Woman Suf- 

 frage. Early in May, the Rev. Father Metcalf, 

 of Boston, in a public letter, complained that 

 a teacher of history in the city high-school, 

 Charles B. Travis, was misrepresenting in his 

 instruction the position of the Catholic Church 

 with reference to the sale of indulgences, and 

 that William Swinton's history, the text-book 

 used in the schools, unfairly stated the facts of 

 history in this regard, inasmuch as it did not 

 give the whole truth. After consideration of 

 this complaint, the school board, which was 

 largely composed of Catholics, voted, on June 

 19, to dispense with the obnoxious text-book, 

 &nd, after censuring Mr. Travis, transferred him 

 to another department of history in the same 

 school. This proceeding was looked upon by 

 many Protestants as an attempt of the Catho- 

 lics to control the public schools in the interest 

 of -their Church. They argued that the objec- 

 tions to the book were unfounded, that the 

 history was truthful, even if the facts stated 

 were unpleasant, and they considered such in- 

 terference of the Church in temporal affairs as 

 unjustifiable. A large indignation meeting was 

 held in Faneuil Hall, on July 18, at which the 

 action of the school committeewas denounced in 

 strong terms, stirring resolutions were adopted, 

 and a committee was appointed to protect the 

 interests of the public schools. The whole sub- 

 ject of the attitude of the Catholic Church to- 

 ward the State and of parochial schools vs. pub- 

 lic schools was a matter of earnest discussion 

 throughout the summer and autumn, during 



which efforts were undertaken to defeat all re- 

 tiring members of the school board who had 

 voted in favor of the Catholics. For this pur- 

 pose the aid of a law passed a few years before, 

 permitting women to be assessed and to vote 

 for members of the school committee, was in- 

 voked by the Protestants. Hitherto only a 

 handful of women had exercised their right 

 under the law, but, so great was the feeling 

 aroused by this question, that in Boston not 

 far from 23,000 women applied for assessment, 

 while in the adjacent cities, to which the dis- 

 cussion had found its way, there was a female 

 registration of from 1,000 to 2,000 or more, 

 Catholics as well as Protestants being among 

 the applicants. The result was that in Boston, 

 at the December municipal election, every can- 

 didate suspected of favoring the Catholic side 

 of the controversy was defeated, and in the 

 adjacent cities the same result was reached. 

 It is estimated that in Boston nearly 17,000 

 women went to the polls, of whom the major- 

 ity were Protestants. 



Political. The Stat-e Democratic Convention 

 met at Springfield on September 5, and nomi- 

 nated without a contest the following ticket : 

 For Governor, William E. Russell ; Lieuteuant- 

 Governor, John W. Corcoran ; Secretary of 

 State, William N. Osgood ; Treasurer and Re- 

 ceiver General, Henry C. Thatcher; Attorney- 

 General, Samuel O. Lamb; Auditor, William 

 A. Williams. The platform adopted ratified 

 the nominations of the St. Louis Convention, 

 commended the national Administration, and 

 contained also the following : 



Believing that all unnecessary taxation is simply 

 robbery from the people under the forms of law, we 

 desire and demand the reduction of the present war 

 rates of taxation to such a point as will leave in the 

 pockets of the people over $100,000,000 per year that 

 is now being taken therefrom without reason or jus- 

 tice and locked up in idleness in the Treasury vaults 

 at Washington. 



We cordially approve the provisions of the Mills 

 Bill as well adapted to promote industry, to protect 

 labor, and particularly benefit the manul'acturing in- 

 terests of this commonwealth. The placing of wool 

 on the free list will unquestionably give a valuable 

 stimulus to the woolen-mills of this State, and, by re- 

 ducing the cost of materials, will enable the woolen- 

 manufacturer to compete with all foreign rivals for the 

 trade of the world, and thus give more work and bet- 

 ter wages to woolen-workers. 



Believing that taxes should be lifted first from the 

 common articles of necessary consumption, and last 

 from the articles of luxury, we indorse and commend 

 President Cleveland's proposition to take the duty off 

 wool, salt, lumber, and such staples as, being thus 

 made cheaper, will make lighter the task of every 

 workingman who has a family to provide for ; and we 

 denounce the policy proposed by the Republican par- 

 ty of abolishing the internal-revenue taxes which bear 

 on liquors and tobacco, thus offering the people cheap 

 whisky instead of cheaper necessaries of life. 



Believing that trusts, those creatures of the exorbi- 

 tant war tariff, are iniquitous combinations, hostile 

 alike to the legitimately employed capital and the hon- 

 est labor of the countrv, we demand such tariff legis- 

 lation by Congress and such other legislation, by the 

 General Court of this State, as will eifectually curb 

 the power and arrest the growth of these dangerous 

 monopolies. 





