MINNESOTA. 



555 



school support. For the year ending July 31, 

 1890, the disbursements for the same purposes 

 were as follow: Legislative expenses, $222.47; 

 executive expenses, $88,114.69 ; judicial ex- 

 penses, $134,306.72; first insane hospital support, 

 $155,359.09 ; second insane hospital support, 

 $162,838.94; third insane hospital support, $14,- 

 368.28 ; State Reformatory, $28,000 ; State-Pris- 

 on support, $82,755.85 ; Institute for Defectives 

 support, $105,075.77; Reform-School support, 

 $43,649.62 ; Soldiers' Home support, $29,950.04 ; 

 State public-school support, $22,114.80; interest 

 on railroad adjustment bonds, $101,805. 



The general school fund receipts and disburse- 

 ments for the two years were as follow : Balance 

 on Aug. 1, 1888, $564.543.52 ; receipts for the 

 year ensuing, $817,462.29 ; disbursements, $790,- 

 181.97; balance on July 31, 1889, $591,823.84; 

 receipts for the year ensuing, $890,032.76 ; dis- 

 bursements, $793,267.01; balance on July 31, 

 1890, $688,589.59. From this fund the sum of 

 $789,389.12 was apportioned in 1889 to the vari- 

 ous school districts for support of schools, and 

 in 1890 the sum of $791,903.43 was apportioned 

 for the same purpose. 



The State debt consists of but two classes of 

 bonds : Minnesota 4^-per-cent. railroad adjust- 

 ment bonds, $3,965,000; Minnesota 4-per-cent. 

 revenue and building bonds, $400,000; total, 

 $4,365,000. The adjustment bonds bear date 

 July 1, 1881, due in twenty years, and are re- 

 deemable at the option of the State, after ten 

 years. The revenue and building bonds are 

 payable at any time within eight years from date 

 of issue (1889). All of these bonds are held by 

 trust funds of the State, with the exception of 

 $1,686,000. 



County Debts. The total debt of Minnesota 

 counties in 1890 was $3,275,387, an increase of 

 $2,361,591 in ten years. Of this $3,126,438 was 

 a bonded debt and $148,949 a floating debt. 



Education. The general condition of the 

 public schools in 1890 is shown by the following 

 statistics : Number of pupils enrolled in the pub- 

 lic schools entitled to apportionment, 221,186; 

 number of pupils in the public schools not en- 

 titled to apportionment, 59,774; persons in the 

 State between the ages of five and twenty-one, 

 452,345 ; average daily attendance, 127,025 ; aver- 

 age length of school, in months, 6.4 ; number of 

 teachers employed males 2,114, females 6,733; 

 average monthly wages males $42, females 

 $31.09. The attendance at the four State nor- 

 mal schools in 1890 was 827, and at the State 

 University 1,OC2. 



State University. The record of attendance 

 at the State University for 1889-'90 is as fol- 

 lows : University courses, 663 ; law, 134 ; medi- 

 cine and dentistry, 127; School of Agriculture, 

 78 ; total, 1,002. During the past two years the 

 university has made greater progress than ever. 

 Six new buildings have been erected Pillsbury 

 Hall (a stone building of 245 feet front), a phys- 

 ical and chemical laboratory, a brick law build- 

 ing, a heating plant, a building for the School of 

 Agriculture, and a veterinary hospital. A sum- 

 mary of the disbursements is as follows: Gen- 

 eral university, $122,989.67 ; School of Agricult- 

 ure, $25,878.10; veterinary hospital, $1,333.74; 

 Law School, $10,096.89; experiment station, 

 $54.90 ; total, $160,353.30. 



Charities. The State School for the Deaf 

 has an average of nearly 200 pupils, the School 

 for the Blind about 50, and the School for the 

 Feeble-Minded about 250. The following fig- 

 ures show the total expenses of each school and 

 the portion thereof borne by the State : School 

 for the Deaf (1889),- total, $39,580.95; receipts, 

 $2,959.73; cost to State, $36,671.22; (1890) to- 

 tal, $37,612.28; receipts, $2,752.86; cost to State 

 $34,859.42. School for Blind (1889), total, $15,- 

 148.28; receipts, $427.21; cost to State, $14,- 

 721.07; (1890) total, $15,249.03; receipts, $740.- 

 06 ; cost to State, $14,508.97. School for Feeble- 

 Minded (1889), total, $41,418.09 ; receipts, $861.- 

 99; cost, $40,556.10; (1890) total, $50,219.91; 

 receipts, $1,192.70; cost, $49,027.12. 



Prisons. The report of- the managers of the 

 State Prison at Still water for 1890 shows that, 

 after advertising for bids for labor and receiv- 

 ing none, a contract was made with the Minne- 

 sota Thrasher Company whereby about 175 of 

 the convicts were employed. A large number of 

 buildings within the walls of the prison were 

 1 owned by the Thrasher Company, having been 

 the property of its predecessor, and it was 

 necessary in order to make the contract with 

 the Thrasher Company to agree to take these 

 buildings as part payment lor the labor. 



In accordance with a widespread sentiment, 

 an attempt will be made to employ a portion of 

 the prison labor in making binding twine. Ma- 

 chinery for this purpose was purchased by a com- 

 mittee selected for that purpose and a guarantee 

 has been given that the machinery will perform 

 the labor claimed for it. The St. Cloud Reform- 

 atory will soon be self-sustaining. The building 

 is inadequate. 



Grain Inspection. The annual report for 

 1890 of the. State Grain Inspector shows that 

 during the year there were inspected " on ar- 

 rival " at the three terminal points, St. Paul, 

 Minneapolis, and Duluth, 107,979 car-loads of 

 spring wheat and 22,675 car-loads of coarse 

 grain, including flax, or a total of 130,654 car- 

 loads of all kinds of grain. There were in- 

 spected " out of store " during the same period, 

 63,935 car-loads of spring wheat and 9,516 car- 

 loads of coarse grains, or a total of 73,451 car- 

 loads. The number of railroad inspection sta- 

 tions at the three terminal points has increased 

 from 12 in 1885 to 27, and the number of ele- 

 vators from 15 to 30. The number of elevators 

 and mills where weighing is performed is 49. 



Decisions. On March 24, the United States 

 Supreme Court delivered an opinion in two cases 

 involving the constitutionality of the Minnesota 

 law which authorizes the State Railroad Com- 

 missioners to establish and enforce reasonable 

 rates for railroad transportation. In both cases 

 the decision of the State Supreme Court was re- 

 versed and the law declared unconstitutional, 

 on the ground that the railroads are entitled to 

 a judicial determination of the facts whether 

 the rates established are just and reasonable, a 

 right which is denied them under the law. Jus- 

 tices Bradley, Gray, and Lamar dissented from 

 this opinion, holding that the establishment and 

 adjustment of rates was a legislative prerogative, 

 and not a judicial one. 



On May 19, the same court rendered a decision 

 in the case of State vs. Barber, declaring uncon- 



