MISSOURI. 



c:;9 



Whereat. Tho burdens of taxation are greatly duo to 

 our bonded indobu-dno**, which known no shrinkage 

 and must bo provided for by law; and as tho amount 

 of our annual taxation U greatly in disproportion to 

 the valuo of all agricultural, mauuiacturing, and other 

 products of labor; and, 



Whereat, Corning Irtish from tho people as we do, to 

 whom wo pledged ourselves to bo in favor of and aid 

 in all I.'u'Mation that will tend to lessen tho burden.* 

 ^ition; therefore, be it 



Jfaolced, That this House ia in favor of such re- 

 trenchment in all tho departments of government as 

 will reduce tho burdens of taxation, and in all our legis- 

 lation wo will ever keep before our minds the inter- 

 ests of tho great laboring classes of our State. 



An election of Senators in Congress took 

 place on January 21st. For the short terra, 

 expiring on March 4th, the vote in tho Senate 

 was : for General James Shields, Democrat, 

 26 ; Charles G. Burton, Republican, 5 ; T. Z. 0. 

 Fogg, National, 2. In the House the vote was : 

 Shu-Ids, 102; Fogg, 22; Burton, 12. For the 

 full term ensuing, the vote in the Senate was : 

 for George G. Vest, Democrat, 26; Gustavus 

 A. Finkelnburg, Republican, 6 ; Henry Esh-' 

 baugh, National, 2. In the House the voto 

 was: Vest, 99; Eshbaugh, 25; Finkelnburg, 

 12. 



On January 25th the State Lunatic Asylum, 

 located at St. Joseph, was burned. The fire 

 commenced in the afternoon in the extreme 

 eastern portion of the building, and, the wind 

 being from the east, the flames spread rapidly to 

 tho main building, and in half an hour the en- 

 tire structure was hopelessly destroyed. There 

 were 218 patients in the asylum, and the efforts 

 of tho superintendent and officers were imme- 

 diately directed to the removal of the inmates. 

 Fortunately, their work in this respect was 

 speedily and effectually done. Not a life was 

 lost. An appropriation of $75,000 was passed 

 at this session to rebuild the asylum. 



A constitutional amendment to remove tho 

 State capital from Jefferson City to Sedalia was 

 rejected. The Legislature concluded that, with 

 an annually recurring deficiency in the reve- 

 nues and a serious difficulty in meeting it, it 

 was no time for removals that would call for 

 large extra expenditures. 



A bill providing for a trial of the bell-punch 

 in Missouri passed the Houso by a vote of yeas 

 83, nays 26, but was lost in the Senate by a 

 vote of yeas 8, nays 15. 



An effort was made to repeal the rat-bounty 

 law, but failed. This law, passed in 1877, au- 

 thorized county courts to offer a reward of five 

 cents each for rat-scalps, delivered in round 

 lots of not less than fifty. It was put in prac- 

 tice in a few counties, and found to work too 

 well for the county exchequer. Rat-hunting 

 became a flourishing business, and the revenues 

 of some counties were severely taxed] to pay 

 for the scalps. In Bates County as much as 

 $1,700 has been paid out, and in Andrew $3,- 

 200. These payments show a slaughter of 84,- 

 000 rats in Bates and 68,000 in Andrew ; but, 

 as the member from Bates said, it had " nearly 

 bankrupted the treasury," and, as the mem- 



ber from Andrew stated, " if it bad not been 

 stopped, the treasury would have been com- 

 pletely drained." 



A bill was introduced into the House to make 

 the whipping-post one of the penal institutions 

 of the State. It provided for the use of the 

 lash in cases of petty larceny, wife-beating, and 

 cruelty to children. Mr. Anderson, chairman 

 of the Committee on Retrenchment and Re- 

 form, was in favor of the bill as an economical 

 measure in the matter of criminal costs. Mr. 

 Gwynne said to whip a man was to destroy his 

 manhood. He was opposed to tho bill on prin- 

 ciples of humanity. Mr. Mclntj re of Audrain 

 said the way of the transgressor was hard, and 

 if men didn't want to be flogged they must not 

 violate the law. Mr. Campbell thought the bill 

 would increase rather than diminish criminal 

 costs; hence he opposed it. Mr. Mudd of Lin- 

 coln offered an amendment making the bill ap- 

 ply to embezzlers and those who refuse to re- 

 turn their property to the assessor for purposes 

 of taxation. It was finally lost by a vote of 

 yeas 44, nays 75. 



A compulsory education bill introduced in 

 the Senate required all children between the 

 ages of seven and fifteen years to attend the 

 public schools twelve weeks in each year, ex- 

 cepting in cases where it would be obviously 

 improper to compel such attendance. It how- 

 ever failed to become a law. 



A delegation of women appeared before tho 

 Committee on Constitutional Amendments of 

 the House, to urge upon its members the pro- 

 priety of reporting a constitutional amendment 

 conferring the right of suffrage upon women. 

 Mrs. Hazard said that if women were permit- 

 ted to vote, the political pool would not be as 

 muddy as it is. Mrs. Dickinson said that she 

 believed that some of the opposition came from 

 men who feared that women would seek office. 

 Mrs. Starrett said that by mingling with the 

 world and transacting her own business she had 

 come to believe in woman's rights. She did 

 not believe that physical strength was the basis 

 of government. Mrs. Hazard said that in six 

 States women were allowed to vote on school 

 matters. Mrs. Starrett read a communication 

 from the Speaker of the Wyoming House ot 

 Representatives, referring in glowing terms to 

 the excellent effects of woman's suffrage in that 

 Territory. Mr. Lackland of St. Charles asked, 

 in case of woman's suffrage, if the husband 

 would not control the vote of the wife ? Judge 

 Dryden said that from experience he thought 

 not. Mrs. Hazard said they would be glad to 

 hear the views of the committee, so that they 

 could answer any objections. Judge Dryden 

 said that in behalf of the committee he would be 

 compelled to decline the unequal combat. Tho 

 committee reported the constitutional amend- 

 ment to the House, and that body indefinitely 

 postponed its consideration by a vote of yeas 

 64, nays 61. 



A white earth called " tiff " or baryta is an 

 important product of Missouri. It is found in 



