428 



ILLINOIS. 



3,701 ; at the Institution for the Education of the 

 Deaf and Dumb, 364 ; at the Institution for the 

 Education of the Blind, 121 ; at the Asylum for 

 the Feeble-Minded, 410 ; at the Eye and Ear In- 

 firmary, 139; and at the Reform School, 359. Some 

 of these institutions are overcrowded, and ad- 

 mission is refused to many for want of room. 



The net average cost of each beneficiary for the 

 year was $160.84, the highest being $312.15, at 

 the Institution for the Blind, and the lowest being 

 $138.90, at the Eastern Hospital for the Insane. 



Militia. The strength of the Illinois National 

 Guard is nearly 4,000, which is the limit allowed 

 by law. The "force is organized into two bri- 

 gades, each comprising three infantry regiments 

 of twelve companies each and a battery of light 

 artillery. At the close of the last encampment, 

 in the summer of 1889, it had reached a high 

 state of discipline, and its general condition was 

 perhaps never better than at that time. The 

 thirty-sixth General Assembly greatly reduced 

 the appropriation, and for this reason it was 

 found impossible to hold the regular annual en- 

 campment for 1890. 



State Banks. On April 22 the 42 State 

 banks, making report to the State Auditor, showed 

 a total of $42,348,489 in loans and discounts, 

 $6,013,485 in cash on hand, and total resources 

 of $60,881,680. Their capital stock paid in 

 amounted to $9,396,500, undivided profits to 

 $1,342,654, surplus fund to $3,163,610, individual 

 profits to $24,578,053, and total liabilities, ex- 

 cluding individual profits and surplus fund, to 

 $56,385,416. 



Illinois and Michigan Canal. This canal, 

 in connection with Illinois river, constitutes a 

 system of water communication through the 

 State, and largely reduces freight rates along its 

 line. Its total earnings for the fiscal years 1889 

 and 1890 amounted to $183,654.17, and the total 

 cost of maintenance was $170,146.27. Expen- 

 sive and necessary improvements recently made 

 have reduced the earnings for the period below 

 the usual figures. The balance in the hands of 

 the canal commissioners on Dec. 1 to the credit 

 of the canal was $76,333.03. 



Railroads. The annual report of the State 

 railroad commissioners for 1890 presents the fol- 

 lowing statistics : Total mileage, 10,163 miles ; 

 total capital stock, $847,488,296.90; bonds. $920,- 

 683,061.73 ; equipment trust obligations, $1,449,- 

 505.41 ; total value, $1,769,620,864.04. These fig- 

 ures show an increase of capital compared with 

 the previous year of $198.144,498.08. The gross 

 earnings were $262,091,753.14 ; operating ex- 

 penses, $170,399,077.53; income from operation, 

 $91,697,726.74; income from other sources, $6,- 

 363,641.57 ; total income, $98,081,368.31 ; deduc- 

 tions from income, $69,865,907.44 ; net income 

 (41 roads), $29,591,581.86 ; net deficit (21 roads), 

 $1,384,172.13. During the year there was carried 

 a total of 50,796,636 tons 'of freight, of which 

 11,006,271 tons were agricultural products and 

 14,944,966 tons the products of mines. The pre- 

 vious year the total tonnage carried was 46,939,- 

 129. Reports for the year show the total num- 

 ber of railroad employes in the State to be 57,435, 

 with an aggregate yearly compensation of $33,- 

 991,986.16? 



Live Stock. For years the much-dreaded 

 Texas fever, of which but little is known save that 



native cattle exposed to the fresh trail of South- 

 ern cattle are condemned to almost certain death, 

 has annually depleted the herds of Illinois. As 

 a result of investigations and experiments made 

 by the State Board of Live Stock Commissioners, 

 rules and regulations have been by them for- 

 mulated and adopted for the safe* conduct of 

 the traffic in Texas and Southern cattle into or 

 through the State during the seasons when dan- 

 ger is to be apprehended, which rules the Thirty- 

 sixth General Assembly enacted into law. A 

 rigid and successful enforcement of these rules 

 during the year kept the State practically free 

 from the ravages of the disease. The board pro- 

 tected the herds from other contagious diseases, 

 and it is believed also that the health of the 

 people has in many instances been preserved by 

 them. Within two years this board has con- 

 demned, slaughtered, and destroyed 2,548 head 

 of cattle infected with actinomycosis, or lumpy 

 jaw, a contagious disease which is capable of be- 

 ing communicated to other animals and to man. 



Political. A State convention of the Pro- 

 hibition party met at Bloomington, on May 27, 

 and nominated R. R. Link for State Treasurer, 

 and Carl Johann for Superintendent of Public 

 Instruction. Trustees of the State University 

 were also nominated. The platform declares the 

 legalized traffic in intoxicating liquor to be the 

 most enormous and dangerous political outrage 

 of the age. The enforcement of the scientific 

 temperance law and its strengthening by the ad- 

 dition of adequate penalties by the next Legisla- 

 ture is advocated. The following measures are 

 also favored : A tariff for revenue only ; free and 

 unlimited coinage of silver; a service pension, 

 the minimum monthly pension to be five dol- 

 lars ; the limitation of individual as well as cor- 

 porate ownership of land ; the speedy adoption 

 of the Australian ballot system ; the election of 

 United States Senators by the people ; Govern- 

 ment control of railroads and telegraphs; sup- 

 pression of " trusts " ; reduction of the legal rate 

 of interest to 6 per cent. ; and enactment of a 

 Sabbath law and its enforcement. 



On June 4 the Democratic State Convention 

 assembled at Springfield. It nominated Edward 

 S. Wilson for State Treasurer, Henry Raab for 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction, and three 

 candidates for trustees of the State University. 

 A resolution was adopted nominating General 

 John M. Palmer for United States Senator, and 

 instructing the Democratic members of the next 

 Legislature to vote for him. The platform treats 

 of State issues at length as follows : 



"We denounce the Republican party of Illinois for 

 its broken promises, in not so equalizing the taxes as 

 to compel the large corporations and trusts to pay 

 their equal proportion of our State, county, and mu- 

 nicipal taxes. The imposition of over 75 per cent, of 

 the taxes upon the lands of the State is a wrong 

 which calls loudly for redress. 



We demand the enactment of a law abolishing for- 

 ever the system of truck stores ; the enactment of a 

 law for the examination of mine bosses ; the enact- 

 ment of a law providing for the examination of sta- 

 tionary engineers ; tbe enactment of a law providing 

 for the weighing of coal before screening ; the 

 amendment of the mining laws so as to provide for 

 the inspectors of the respective inspection districts, 

 or some other competent person to act as sealer of 

 weights and measures for the adjustment of scales 

 upon which coal is weighed at the' mines. 



