IOWA. 



415 



ment has paid to the State $952,741.27 for ex- 

 penses incurred in raising troops during the 

 recent war, and claims remain, not yet allowed, 

 amounting to $116,874.89. The amounts asked 

 for by the various public institutions, for the 

 two years ending November 2, 1873, are : 



Hospital for the Insane, at Independence $200,000 



Hospital for the Insane, at Mount Pleasant, im- 



p ro vements and contingencies 27,000 



New capi to! 300,000 



Asylum for the Blind, addition to building 100,000 



Institution of Deaf and Dumb. , 10,000 



Institution of Deaf and Dumb, wing to building. 100,000 



Penitentiary improvements 12,000 



Penitentiary enlargement 44,000 



Agricultural College buildings and improve- 

 ments 100,000 



Soldiers' Orphans' Home, buildings and re- 

 pairs T. 15,000 



Soldiers' Orphans' Home, libraries 700 



Reform School 75,000 



Board of Immigration 20,000 



State Historical Society (5,000 



Total $1,009,700 



The Insane Asylum at Independence is not 

 yet completed, and it will be some time before 

 it is ready for the reception of patients. The 

 outlay upon the buildings, since the report of 

 1869, has been $231,551.44. The asylum at 

 Mount Pleasant had 510 patients under treat- 

 ment on the 4th of November, 1871. The cur- 

 rent expenses of the institution, during the pre- 

 ceding two years, were $217,679.32, and $40,- 

 275.62 had been expended in additional grounds 

 and improvements. The Institution for the Ed- 

 ucation of the Blind, at Vinton, had 120 pupils 

 in its charge during this term of two years, and 

 its expenses were $49,007.37. The Institution 

 for the Deaf and Dumb first occupied its new 

 building at Council Bluffs in December, 1870, 

 and had at that time 91 pupils. The whole 

 number for the term of two years was 119, 

 and the expenses amounted to $12,914.13. 

 The State Penitentiary, at Fort Madison, had 

 273 inmates on the first of November, an in- 

 crease of 61 in two years. The cost of main- 

 taining the institution during the two years 

 was $64,139.77, but only $2,127.59 of this was 

 drawn from the State Treasury, the rest being 

 derived from the proceeds of the labor of the 

 prisoners. The Penitentiary will have to be en- 

 larged, or a new one built in the course of the 

 next two years. There were 85 inmates in the 

 Reform School on the 1st of November, an in- 

 crease of 45 in two years. The expenses of 

 the school, including payment of a note given 

 in the previous term, were $28,112.20. The 

 trustees of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home have 

 under their charge three institutions : one at 

 Davenport, one at Cedar Falls, and one at 

 Glenwood. During the two years 1,128 chil- 

 dren enjoyed the benefit of these homes, and 

 at the close of the term there were 718 under 

 their charge. The State contributes $10 per 

 month for each orphan actually supported, and 

 during the last fiscal term this charge upon the 

 Treasury amounted to $183,400. The entire 

 expense of the institution was $211,324.67. 



The common-school system of the State is 

 quite complete and efficient. There are 1,594 



school districts and 7,841 schools, an increase 

 of 132 districts and 841 schools in two years. 

 There are 461,258 youths in the State, of 

 school age, of whom 342,440, or 74^ per cent., 

 were enrolled in the schools, the average at- 

 tendance being 211,726. The value of school- 

 houses and apparatus is $6,916,490.15, which 

 shows an increase of $1,541,947.66, or about 

 29 per cent., since the last preceding reports. 

 The school-fund amounts to $3,161,483.01, 

 from which an income of $464,467.38 was de- 

 rived during the two years. 



The State University, at Iowa City, is in a 

 flourishing condition. The Agricultural Col- 

 lege graduates its first senior class, numbering 

 30, in 1872. The whole number of students 

 in 1871 was 200, which filled the entire capa- 

 city of the institution with its present build- 

 ing, but extensions are in progress which will 

 furnish accommodations for fifty more. The 

 income of the institution, which is derived 

 mainly from the endowment made in public 

 lands by Congress, amounts to about $35,000 

 per annum. The farm on which the college 

 is located comprises 730 acres. The necessary 

 expenses of each student amount to about 

 $160 a year, while some of them earn from 

 $100 to $120 by their work on the farm. The 

 course of study includes mental and moral phi- 

 losophy, mathematics, physics, and mechanics, 

 chemistry, botany, engineering, and military 

 tactics, and practical agriculture and horticul- 

 ture. 



The corner-stone of a new capital building 

 was laid at Des Moines on the 22d of Novem- 

 ber, and considerable progress has been made 

 in laying the foundation. An appropriation of 

 $150,000 was made for this work by the last 

 Legislature, of which nearly $120,000 have 

 been already expended. 



Great progress has been made in the con- 

 struction of railroads in the last three years. 

 At the beginning of 1869 there were 1,448 

 miles in the State, and now there are over 3,000 

 miles in operation. The value of railroad prop- 

 erty is estimated at $80,000,000, or about one- 

 eleventh of the value of all the property in the 

 State. The entire line of railroad from Du- 

 buque to Sioux City, and of its Tete des Morts 

 branch, has been completed, as well as the Mc- 

 Gregor and Missouri River Railway to Algona, 

 and the Des Moines Valley road to Fort Dodge. 

 In addition to these, the Burlington, Cedar 

 Rapids & Minnesota Railroad is now in oper- 

 ation from Burlington to Nora Springs, in 

 Floyd County. The Central Railroad of Iowa 

 has been extended on the south to Albia, and 

 on the north to Northwood, "Worth County. 

 The St. Louis & Cedar Rapids Railroad is 

 completed to Ottumwa, making a direct route 

 from that city to St. Louis. The Burlington 

 & Southwestern Company has built a line 

 from Fort Madison to Bloomfield, connecting 

 at the former place with Burlington, and at 

 the latter with Moulton. The Chicago, Rock 

 Island & Pacific Company has extended its 



