862 



WYOMING. 



The Admission Act. Early in the session of 

 the fifty-first Congress Wyoming presented her 

 claims for Statehood, asking for admission to the 

 Union under the Constitution of September, 

 1889. which was adopted by the people on Nov. 

 5 following (see "Annual Cyclopaedia" for 1889, 

 page 828). The bill for admission passed the 

 House of Representatives on March 27, 1890, 

 passed the Senate on June 27. and received the 

 President's signature on July 10. By its terms 

 Wyoming became a State from and after the 

 date of the President's approval. The bound- 

 aries were defined as follow : Beginning at 

 the intersection of the 27th meridian of longi- 

 tude west from Washington with the 45th de- 

 gree of north latitude and running thence west 

 to the 34th meridian of west longitude ; thence 

 south to the 41st degree of north latitude ; thence 

 east to the 27th meridian of west longitude ; and 

 thence north to the place of beginning. 



Sections 16 and 36 in every township, or lands 

 in lieu thereof, were granted to the new State 

 for the support of common schools, on condition 

 that the proceeds from the sale thereof be set 

 apart as a permanent school fund. This fund 

 is entitled also to receive 5 per cent, of the pro- 

 ceeds of sales of public lands within the State 

 hereafter made by the United States. Seventy- 

 two sections of the public lands are confirmed 

 to the State for university purposes, the pro- 

 ceeds of which shall constitute a permanent uni- 

 versity fund, and 90,000 acres are granted for the 

 support of an agricultural college. Fifty sec- 

 tions are also given to aid in the erection of pub- 

 lic buildings at the State capital. The Peniten- 

 tiary, at Laramie City, and all lands connected 

 therewith, shall become the property of the 

 State. The following grants are also made : 

 For the establishment, maintenance, and sup- 

 port of the insane asylum in Uinta County, 30,- 

 000 acres ; for the penal reformatory or educa- 

 tional institution in course of construction in 

 Carbon County, 30,000 acres: for the Peniten- 

 tiary, in Albany County, 30,000 acres; for the 

 fish hatchery in Albany County, 5,000 acres ; for 

 the deaf, dumb, and blind asylum in Laramie 

 County, 30,000 acres ; for the poor farm in Fre- 

 mont County, 10,000 acres ; for a hospital for min- 

 ers who shall become disabled or incapacitated to 

 labor while working in the mines of the State, 

 30,000 acres ; for public buildings at the capital 

 of the State, in additon to those hereinbefore 

 granted for that purpose, 75,000 acres ; for State 

 charitable, educational, penal, and reformatory 

 institutions, 260,000 acres ; making a total o"f 

 500,000 acres. 



Election. Pursuant to the provisions of the 

 new Constitution and the admission act, Gov. 

 Warren issued his proclamation on July 15, 

 designating Sept. 11 as the date of the first elec- 

 tion for State, county, and precinct officers. 

 Soon thereafter calls were issued by the re- 

 spective State committees for State conventions 

 of the Republican and Democratic parties, to be 



held at Cheyenne on Aug. 11. The Democratic 

 convention nominated George W. Baxter for 

 Governor ; John S. Harper for Secretary of State ; 

 J. C. Miller for Treasurer; George A. Campbell 

 for Auditor; A. V. Quinnfor Superintendent of 

 Public Instruction ; Samuel T. Corn, P. G. Bry- 

 an, and Henry S. Elliott for Justices of the Su- 

 preme Court ; and George F. B. Clark for mem- 

 ber of Congress. Resolutions were adopted de- 

 nouncing the McKinley bill, demanding the free 

 coinage of silver, and favoring a secret ballot and 

 the election of United States Senators by the 

 people. Regarding woman suffrage, the plat- 

 form declares : " We believe that no citizen of 

 the United States, male or female, who is well 

 disposed to the good order and happiness of the 

 country should be denied the right of suffrage." 



The nominees of the Republican State Conven- 

 tion were as follow : Francis E. Warren for 

 Governor ; Amos W. Barber for Secretary of 

 State; Otto Gramm for Treasurer; Charles W. 

 Burdick for Auditor; Stephen T. Farwell for 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction ; Willis 

 Van Devanter, Herman V. S. Groesbeck, and As- 

 bury B. Conaway for Justices of the Supreme 

 Court ; and Clarence D. Clark for member of 

 Congress. The platform strongly approves the 

 protective tariff system, congratulates the people 

 upon the passage by Congress of the law pro- 

 viding for increased silver coinage, demands 

 strict enforcement of the Chinese exclusion act, 

 and commends the action of the new State in 

 enfranchising women. The entire Republican 

 ticket was elected. For Governor the vote was : 

 Warren, 8,879 ; Baxter, 7,153. Members of the 

 first Legislature were elected as follows : Senate, 

 Republicans 14, Democrats 2; House, Republi- 

 cans 27, Democrats 6. Pursuant to the State 

 Constitution, a board of State canvassers met at 

 Cheyenne on Oct. 11 to canvass the returns of 

 this election and to declare the result. The 

 board completed its work on Oct. 14, and de- 

 clared the election of the Republican ticket ; 

 whereupon Gov. Warren and his associates took 

 the oath of office. 



State Legislative Session. Immediately 

 after qualifying under the State Constitution, 

 Gov. Warren issued his proclamation convening 

 the Legislature at Cheyenne on Nov. 13. Its 

 first duty was to elect two United States Sena- 

 tors. On Nov. 15, Joseph M. Carey, Republican, 

 was elected to one of these offices by the follow- 

 ing vote : Senate, Carey 12, George W. Baxter, 

 Democrat, 2 ; House, Carey 27, Baxter 5. For 

 the second Senatorship the Republicans were 

 not united upon any candidate, but on the first 

 ballot in joint convention distributed their votes 

 among eleven aspirants. Seven ballots were 

 taken before a choice was reached, on the last of 

 which, Nov. 18, Gov. Warren, the successful can- 

 didate, received 29 votes, M. C. Brown 7, John 

 McCormick 3, II. R. Mann 1, and Henry A. Cof- 

 feen, Democrat, 9. The work of legislation was 

 unfinished at the close of the year. 



