WISCONSIN. 



757 



ment, 07,500 ; iu favor of ratification, 48,804 ; 

 against ratification, 18,000 ; majority for rati- 

 fication, 80,288. The Legislature is Republi- 

 can in both branches. 



The finances of the State are in a Bound 

 condition. The reports of the Secretary of 

 State and State Treasurer show that the bal- 

 ance in the Treasury belonging to the various 

 funds at the close of the fiscal year, Septem- 

 ber 30, 1870, was $183,027.11. The receipts 

 and disbursements of the general fund during 

 the year were as follows : 



RECEIPTS. 



SUte tax and tax on salts $533,151 30 



Railroad companies, taxes 247.2UO 72 



Insurance companies, taxes and fees 88,950 81 



From plank-roade, banks, pedlers, and other 

 sources 17,297 89 



Total : $880,696 12 



DISBCnaEMENTS. 



Permanent appropriations $77,836 05 



Legislative expenses session of 1870 95,838 94 



Penal and charitable institutions 838,906 86 



To complete the State capitol 45,238 90 



Interest on State debt 159,952 28 



Miscellaneous 198,565 05 



Total $900,32958 



Of the above disbursements the sum of 

 310,330.31 was for the ordinary current ex- 

 penses of the State the same expenses for 

 1809 having amounted to $314,405.86. The 

 amount of the State debt has not been changed 

 during the year, and consists of 



State bonds outstanding $03,200 00 



Certificates of indebtedness to the trust 



funds of the State 2,183,800 00 



Currency certificates outstanding 57 00 



Total $2,252,057 00 



The total productive educational funds now 

 amount to $3,325,042.24, there having been 

 an increase the present year of $100,001.41. 

 The system of loaning the trust funds to 

 school districts for the erection of school- 

 buildings has been adopted by the Legislature. 

 During the last fiscal year the State sold 

 175,410 acres of public land, and still holds 

 for sale 380,504 acres of school land at an 

 average of $1.13 per acre, 10,440 acres of uni- 

 versity land at an average of $2.00 per acre, 

 and 105,879 acres of agricultural college land 

 at an average of $1.25 per acre. The Governor 

 complains that these lands have been sold at 

 prices below their value, and recommends that 

 they "be immediately withdrawn from mar- 

 ket, and that they bo carefully appraised be- 

 fore any further sales are made." 



The total amount of the war claims held by 

 the State against the United States was ori- 

 ginally $1,742,202.98, of which the United 

 States has paid $1,302,811.20, leaving still un- 

 paid the sum of $379,391.72, in which is in- 

 cluded an unsettled balance of $180,400.58. 

 It is believed that this latter sum will soon be 

 adjusted and allowed by the General Govern- 

 ment. The value of the taxable property of 

 the State, as fixed by the State Board of As- 

 sessment, is $455,900,800. The State tax 

 levied the present year amounted to $720,- 



823.24, being 1.58 cents on the dollar. Of 

 this sum $175,000 is to bo expended in the 

 construction of buildings for State institu- 

 tions. The attention of the Legislature has 

 been called to the unequal assessment of prop- 

 !: v for taxation in different sections of the 

 State. The Secretary of State asks, "Why 

 should horses be valued at $92.19 in Bayfield, 

 and only $8.85 in Kewannee? or $76.26 in 

 Clark, $75.58 in Dunn, $03.14 in Rock, and 

 $05.95 in Wai worth, and only $16.75 in Man- 

 itowoc, and $27.88 in Brown ? " The same 

 disparity is stated to exist in the values of 

 other classes of taxable property. The amount 

 and value of taxable property, as assessed in 

 the years 1809 and 1870, are shown in the fol- 

 lowing statement : 



The various charitable institutions of the 

 State are reported to be in excellent condition, 

 while the results attained during the year by 

 wise management will compare favorably with 

 those of the best institutions in the country. 

 During the past year, 144 pupils received in- 

 struction at the Institution for the Deaf and 

 Dumb, of whom 122 were inmates at the close 

 of the year, being an excess of 24 over the 

 highest number at any previous time. The 

 total expenditures for the year, including all 

 repairs and improvements, amounted to $28,- 

 834.93; while the estimated expenses for 1871, 

 including extensive repairs and permanent 

 improvements, are stated at $38,804. $19,- 

 722.40 have been expended for the sup- 

 port of the Institute for the Education of the 

 Blind during the post year, and $22,158.45 for 

 the completion of the new building, making 

 the total cost of the whole structure about 

 $155,055. The number of pupils receiving 

 instruction during the year was 04. Excellent 

 results have attended the management of the 

 Soldiers' Orphans' Home School. The chil- 

 dren are making the most of their opportuni- 

 ties, and \\ill bring no discredit npon the 

 State when they shall have gone forth into 

 the world to care for themselves. The whole 

 number of pupils in attendance during the year 

 was 83J, for the support of whom the sum of 

 $41,877.40 was expended. 



The subject of the treatment of the insane 

 has received the most careful consideration, 

 and the management of the hospital has been 



