590 



NEVADA. 



hospital doctor made the discovery that the 

 soldiers were able to simulate the disease very 

 perfectly in order to be transferred and thus 

 escape the real sickness. In the budget for 

 1888-'89 a sum is appropriated for a body of 

 troops composed of the soldiers who are sent 

 back to Holland on account of tempora- 

 ry sickness, and who will serve as cadres 

 of instruction for the new troops that are 

 raised for India. The Government is now 

 attempting to bribe the Acheenese chiefs into 

 submission. In the Indian budget the sum of 

 45,000 guilders is set down for pensions to 

 those who have ceased their hostilities. The 

 plan of restoring the Sultanate, evacuating 

 Acheen and retiring to Oleh-leh is contem- 

 plated by the present Government. 



NEVADA. State Government. The following 

 were the State officers during the year : Gov- 

 ernor, Christopher 0. Stevenson, Republican ; 

 Lieutenant- Governor, Henry C. Davis; Secre- 

 tary of State, John M. Dormer ; Treasurer, 

 George Tufly ; Comptroller, J. F. Ilallock ; 

 Attorney-General, John F. Alexander ; Super- 

 intendent of Public Instruction, W. C. Dovey; 

 Chief-Justice, of the Supreme Court, Orville 

 R. Leonard; Associate Justices, Charles H. 

 Belknap, Thomas P. Howley. 



Finances. The total State expenditures fr 

 1887 were $523,412.84, of which $130,980 

 represents interchanges between the various 

 State funds, leaving the actual State expenses 

 $392,532.84. These expenditures exceeded the 

 income for ths year by about $50,000. Of the 

 above amount $41,498.07 was expended for 

 the support of the State Prison, $50,933.44 for 

 the State Insane Asylum, $13,022.90 for the 

 Orphan's Home, $13.164.25 for compk-tion 

 and improvements of the State University, and 

 $11,112.55 for its support. The legislative 

 session cost $52,487.84, and $53,682.37 was 

 paid for the support of schools. 



Concerning the State debt, the Comptroller 

 says in his report at the close of 1888 : " The 

 reduction of the rate of taxation in 1879, from 

 ninety cents to fifty-five cents on each $100 of 

 property valuation and the net proceeds of 

 mines, resulted in a loss of revenue of about 

 $240,000 for the years 1879-'80. and was the 

 means of creating a bonded debt for general 

 expenses, the interest on which has already 

 amounted to $39,688,55, and will probably 

 nine Hint to much more before the debt can be 

 di-posed of, as $106,000 of the principal is still 

 unpaid, and the necessities of this year will 

 probably increase this amount by $80,000 or 

 more. In view of these facts, and with the 

 knowledge that the revenue ha* fallen off'in 

 the last two years in the sum of about $16,000 

 a year, through loss of the drummer tax and 

 the reduction of poll taxes ; that the State is 

 now almost entirely dependent upon the tax 

 on property, for revenue ; and of the strong 

 probability that appropriations from the gen- 

 eral fund, largely in excess of those for past 

 years, will be found necessary for the ensuing 



two years for exigencies that have arisen; it is 

 hoped that the Legislature at this session will 

 not make the mistake of reducing the tax rate, 

 without discovering some compensating source 

 or sources of revenue." 



In addition to the debt above mentioned, 

 the State holds in the school fund an irredeem- 

 able bond for $380 000, on which it pays 5 per 

 cent, interest annually. 



Education. The number of children of school 

 age in the State for the school year 1887-'88 

 was 9,716, a decrease of 112 from the previous 

 year. The amount apportioned by the State 

 from its school funds to the public schools was 

 about $63,000. 



The second year of the State University since 

 its removal to Reno has proved prosperous. 

 At its opening in the autumn of 1687, after 

 being closed six months for extensive repairs, 

 the number of students in attendance was only 

 36; but before the close of 1888 there were 

 115 on the rolls, outside of the normal course. 

 An agricultural experiment station is estab- 

 lished in connection with the University, which 

 receives annually $15,000 from the General 

 Government for its support. A school of 

 mines, a school of agriculture, a school of lib- 

 eral arts, a business department, and a normal 

 school are all organized under the university. 



The Insane. By an act of 1887 the Governor, 

 Comptroller, and Treasurer were created a 

 board of commissioners for the care of the 

 indigent insane. The board at once took con- 

 trol of the State asylum, and made a thorough 

 examination of its condition. Grave charges 

 having been made against the superintendent, 

 the board in May instituted an investigation, 

 which resulted in theexoneration of that official. 

 An attempt to provide a supply of water for 

 the asylum from Truckee river, has led the 

 board into an expensive litigation, not. yet 

 ended. The number of inmates during the 

 year has averaged 162. 



Mining. The bullion-product of Nevada for 

 1888 amounted to about $12,305,603; for 

 1887 it was $10,232,453; for 1886, $9,169.920. 



Silver Coinage. The Governor says in his 

 annual message : " This question is one of the 

 most important to the people of Nevada, and 

 it may be said to be paramount, to all others. 

 The difference in the price paid for silver by 

 the Government and the price at which it pays 

 it out would make a good profit for the miner. 

 For the past year the price paid for silver has 

 averaged about ninty-three cents a fine ounce, 

 while it is paid out at $1.2928. Thus the Gov- 

 ernment makes in seigniorage about thirty -six 

 cents on every ounce of silver purchased, and 

 this is taken from the comparatively small 

 number of miners in the United States, com- 

 pared with the entire population interested in 

 silver money. The low price paid by the Gov- 

 ernment for silver has closed down hundreds 

 of mines that would to-day be in active opera- 

 tion, giving employment to thousands of men, 

 if silver were on the same footing in regard to 



