394 



ILLINOIS. 



the corporations and individuals to whom they be- 

 lono 1 to demand compensation for their use, and then 

 only to the extent to which they may be used. The 

 fundamental doctrine of the State constitution is, 

 that railways are highways, and that, considered 

 alone in that character, they belong to the public, 

 subject to the control and regulation of the State. 



It will be observed that the theory of the consti- 

 tution, thus presented, concedes to the owners of 

 railroads the right to compensation for the use of 

 their roads, to the full extent that its use may be 

 required or taken, and it will be easy for the General 

 Assembly to prescribe rules under which carriers w ill 

 be authorized to place upon any of the railroads of 

 the State a definite number of engines and carriages 

 to make stated trips from and to certain points, to 

 move at an established rate of speed, to use the ap- 

 purtenances of the road, and the fixed facilities pro- 

 vided 'by the corporation, or the right to provide 

 facilities at different and convenient points along the 

 line, all to be governed by ^ such equal arid proper 

 regulations as may be prescribed by the corporation. 

 But the exclusive right of railroad corporations to 

 carry on the business of common carriers on their 

 lines is not supported by any just view of the law. 

 They may, notwithstanding the fact that other car- 

 riers engage in business on their lines, continue to 

 prosecute the same business, but upon the highway 

 of commerce in which they are interested as owners, 

 they, while employed in the office and duty of car- 

 riers, have no superior rights to others. 



In the conclusion of this view of the important 

 subject, it is due to myself that I should say that 

 the interests of the country demand that the power 

 claimed by private persons and corporations to con- 

 trol all the great lines of intercourse between the 

 remotest points on the continent, and the great cen- 

 tres of commerce and trade, cannot be longer en- 

 dured. 



In the infancy of the system, when railroads were 

 merely subordinates to the natural lines of transpor- 

 tation, and their only competitors for business were 

 the wagons of the pioneers, rights and powers were 

 then conceded to the corporations that controlled 

 them, that are utterly inconsistent with the relations 

 they now bear to the commerce of the country. They 

 have superseded the rivers and the lakes, and, like 

 them, must be made free, subject to no other burdens 

 than such as are necessary to compensate those that 

 own them ; and no system of regulations which Con- 

 cedes the unfounded claim of railroad corporations, 

 that are also engaged in business as common carriers, 

 to the exclusive use of their lines for their own busi- 

 ness, will, or can be effectual to prevent the abuses, 

 unjust discriminations, and extortions, under which 

 the people have suffered so much, and of which they 

 so justly complain. 



Governor Palmer in his message also alluded 

 to the popular belief that crime and disorder, 

 especially in large cities, were on the increase, 

 and said that important changes in the admin- 

 istration of justice had heen suggested as a 

 remedy for this state of things. He says: 

 " The changes most frequently insisted upon 

 may he stated to he: 1. The abolition of the 

 grand-jury system, and the substitution, for an 

 indictment, of an accusation to be preferred by 

 the law officers of the State. 2. To take from 

 parties charged with crimes the right to a 

 change of venue. 3. To disallow challenges 

 to persons upon the ground of an opinion 

 formed upon information obtained from printed 

 publications, or, as some propose, without 

 regard to tbe source whence the informa- 

 tion is acquired, if the proposed juror will 



swear that, notwithstanding any opinion he 

 may entertain, he can try the case impartially. 

 4. To establish additional restrictions upon the 

 right of accused persons to demand contin- 

 uances. 5. To make death the penalty of mur- 

 der; and, 6. Abolish, or greatly restrict, the 

 Executive authority to grant pardons, and 

 wholly take from that department the power 

 to commute the death-penalty to imprisonment 

 for the life of the person convicted, or for any 

 other term." He deprecates nny such sweep- 

 ing changes in the existing order of things. 



Governor Oglesby was inaugurated on the 

 13th of January, 1873, but a few days later 

 was elected to the United States Senate and 

 resigned, Lieutenant-Governor Beveridge suc- 

 ceeding to the Executive chair. 



According to the census of 1870, there were 

 10,329,952 acres of improved land, 5,061,578 

 of woodland, and 1,491,331 of other unim- 

 proved land. The cash value of farms was 

 $920,506,346; of farming implements and ma- 

 chinery, $34,576,587 ; total amount of wages 

 paid during the year, including value of board, 

 $22,338,767 ; total estimated value of all farm 

 productions, including betterments and addi- 

 tions to stock, $210,860,585 ; orchard prod- 

 ucts, $3,571,789 ; produce of market-gardens, 

 $765,992; forest products, $1,087,144; home 

 manufactures, $1,408,015 ; animals slaughtered 

 or sold for slaughter, $56,718,944 ; value of all 

 live-stock, $149,756,698. ' There were 853,738 

 horses, 85,075 mules and asses, 640,321 milch- 

 cows, 19,766 working-oxen, 1,055,499 other 

 cattle, 1,568.286 sheep, and 2,703,343 swine. 

 The chief productions were : 10,133,207 bushels 

 of spring, and 19,995,198 of winter wheat; 

 2,456,578 of rye ; 129,921,395 of Indian-corn ; 

 42,780,851 of oats; 2,480,400 of barley ; 168,862 

 of buckwheat; 115,854 of peas and beans; 

 10,944,790 Irish, and 322,641 of sweet potatoes ; 

 10,486 ibs. of clover-seed ; 153,464 of grass-seed ; 

 280,043 of flax seed ; 2,747,339 tons of haj 

 5,249,274 pounds of tobacco; 5,739,249 

 wool; 36,083,405 of butter; 1,161,103 of cheese; 

 104,032 of hops; 2,204,606 of flax ; 136,873 of 

 maple sugar; 1,547,178 of honey; 46,262 of 

 wax ; 1,960,473 gallons of sorghum, and 10,378 

 of maple molasses, and 9,258,545 gallons of 

 milk sold. 



The total number of manufacturing estab- 

 lishments was 12,597, employing 2,330 steam- 

 engines of 73,091 horse-power, and 528 water- 

 wheels of 12,593 horse-power, and 82,979 

 hands, of whom 73,045 were males above 

 16; 6,717 females above 15, and 3,217 youth. 

 The capital invested amounted to $94,368,05' 

 wages paid during the year, $31,100,244; 

 value of materials, $127,600,077; products, 

 $205,620,672. 



There were 505 newspapers and periodicals, 

 with an aggregate circulation of 1,722,541, and 

 issuing 113,140,492 copies annually. Thf-re 

 were 39 daily, circulation 166,400; 10 tri- 

 weekly, circulation 40,570 ; 4 semi- weekly, cir- 

 culation 2,950 ; 364 weekly, circulation 890,- 



