MASSACHUSETTS. 



601 





fifth of ono por cent, of the products of the 

 I' nil od States. 



An act was passed "to preserve the purity 

 of elections," which provides that in future 

 onlv pliiiii white paper similar to the ordinary 

 printing paper may be used for tickets. The 

 Imllots must bo uniform in size, each one bear- 

 ing the names of more than throe candidates 

 to bo four and a half inches in width, or with- 

 in a quarter of an inch of it, and twelve inches 

 long, or within half an inch of that length. 

 No distinguishing marks or devices are allow- 

 able, but the head of the ticket, with the names 

 of the candidates for the several offices, must 

 be printed in plain typo with black ink. The 

 names are required to be of uniform size, or so 

 nearly so that no one name shall be in letters 

 less than one half the size of those in which 

 the majority of the names are printed. The 

 printing or writing for distribution, or the dis- 

 tribution at the polls, of any ballot printed or 

 written contrary to these provisions, is punish- 

 able by a fine not exceeding $100, and by im- 

 prisonment in the county jail for a term not 

 exceeding sixty days. The act does not forbid 

 the erasure, correction, or insertion of any name 

 by pencil-mark or otherwise upon the face of 

 the printed ballot, nor authorize the rejection 

 of any ballot, after it has been received into 

 the ballot-box, for any want of conformity with 

 the provisions above specified. But in the 

 counting of the ballots, all names printed in 

 type less than half the size of those generally 

 used on the ticket will be passed over and not 

 counted, each ballot being otherwise good. 



The efforts to prevent cruelty to animals are 

 well organized in the State. A society was 

 formed eleven years ago. At that time there 

 were three societies for the prevention of cru- 

 elty to animals on the continent ; now there 

 are ninety-three in the United States and three 

 in the British Provinces. The Massachusetts 

 Society had then a single prosecuting agent in 

 Boston and about twenty others throughout 

 the State. It now e:nploys three prosecuting 

 agents constantly in and about Boston, and has 

 465 others representing its interests throughout 

 the State. Its officers had then prosecuted a 

 few violators of the law, and investigated some- 

 thing over 100 cases of cruelty. They have 

 now prosecuted 2,073 persons, and investigated 

 and, so far as possible, remedied 21,756 cases 

 of cruelty. Drinking-fountains are placed in the 

 streets ; birds and deer on the Common ; check- 

 rein signs at the foot of the hills ; thousands of 

 the horses driven without check-reins or blind- 

 ers ; extra horses to aid in drawing the horse- 

 oars; horse-car horses worked only six days 

 in the week, where they used to be worked 

 seven. The great dog-fighter of the State has 

 been driven out, ono of his principal survivors 

 fined $250, and others smaller amounts, and 

 dog-fighting and cock-fighting have been sub- 

 stantially stopped in the State. Men are now 

 employed to kill the old and disabled animals 

 in a merciful manner, and prizes have been dis- 



tributed by the Governor to pupils of tho pub- 

 lic schools who had written the best composi- 

 tions on kindness to animals. There are now 

 five papers published which are devoted to the 

 protection of animals. The humane literature 

 published by the Society is to be found in Ore- 

 gon and California; France, Spain, Germany, 

 and other European countries ; also in Algiers, 

 Calcutta, and Australia. The annual expendi- 

 ture has been only one half of one per cent, of 

 tho amount annually expended by the organ- 

 ized charitable societies of the State ; that is, 

 9'JJ per cent, is paid directly for the benefit of 

 human beings, and about ono half of one per 

 cent, for the welfare of animals. 



The Board of Railroad Commissioners, 

 which has been in existence for ten years, is 

 stated to be the only one of all that have been 

 established in the various States that has 

 proved in any great degree a success. The 

 duties of the Board are, first, those of a super- 

 visory character as respects the railroads them- 

 selves; second, those which are both super- 

 visory and judicial as between the railroads 

 and the public; and, third, judicial duties as 

 between the different railroad corporations. 

 Tho supervisory duties include the care of ac- 

 counts and responsibility for returns, the ex- 

 amination of tracks, bridges, and appliances, 

 and the investigation of accidents ; the super- 

 vising and judicial duties, so far as the public 

 is concerned, are most extensive in everything 

 relative to the formation, construction, and 

 operation of the roads, and the whole general 

 State legislation of the last ten years is built 

 up on the Board as a foundation. The juris- 

 diction of the Board between the railroad cor- 

 porations is both largo and final. It is com- 

 pelled to receive all complaints against the 

 railroads, to investigate them, and find out a 

 remedy. It has no power except to recom- 

 mend and report, but in practical experience 

 the recommendations of the Board have sel- 

 dom been disregarded, and they have covered 

 almost all sorts of questions. It is thought 

 that this principle may be developed so as to 

 work a solution of the railroad problem. At 

 present it is an experiment. No small portion 

 of credit is ascribed to the Board for the 

 marked improvement in tho tone and charac- 

 ter of the railroad management. The mate- 

 rial interest which the Board supervises is the 

 largest in the State. It is the interest upon 

 which the whole industrial system hinges, and 

 the tolls and charges the corporations annually 

 levy amount to more than the entire taxation, 

 State, county, and municipal. During the ten 

 years this Board has been in existence its en- 

 tire cost has in round numbers been $162,000. 

 During the same time the gross receipts of the 

 corporations have amounted to $322,000,000. 

 The cost of supervision, therefore, has been 

 almost exactly the twentieth part of one per 

 cent, of the gross receipts. The Commission- 

 ers have brought about a uniform system of 

 keeping the accounts of the railroads, which 



