MASSACHUSETTS. 



539 



were such as to lead them into a condition fa- 

 vorable to crime, and 821 were brought to such 

 a condition through the intemperance of others. 

 Of the total number convicted 1,158 were total 

 abstainers, 1,918 moderate drinkers, and 1,317 

 excessive drinkers. Thus, according to these 

 criteria, 84 per cent of all crime was found to 

 be due to intemperance. 



The screen law, passed in 1880 as an experi- 

 ment for the discouragement of drinking, went 

 into effect in 1881, having been made compul- 

 sory by an act of the Legislature. It requires 

 dealers in alcoholic refreshments to remove all 

 screens and barriers from the front of bars, so 

 that an unobstructed view of the premises and 

 the persons drinking there can be had from 

 the street. "When the act went into force, pro- 

 prietors of drinking-shops in Boston patron- 

 ized by the poorer classes at once discarded 

 all obstacles to the view, but in the saloons of 

 select patronage the compliance was only nom- 

 inal. A sight of the bar could be obtained 

 from the outside by peering intently through 

 the glass doors, which had a single pane of 

 ground glass replaced by a transparent pane, 

 or one of the curtains partly down, or through 

 the half-opened slat-doors, but to passers-by 

 the interior of the saloons, in the day-time at 

 least, was hardly more visible than before. 



In the case of Lelia Robinson, who peti- 

 tioned to the Supreme Court to be admitted as 

 an attorney-at-lavv, the court, on September 

 8th, decided that under the laws of the Com- 

 monwealth a woman is not a citizen entitled 

 to admission to the bar. This decision will 

 necessitate legislation to establish the right of 

 women to serve on public statutory boards. 

 The Governor would have railroad companies 

 subjected to strict limitations of their privi- 

 leges. His suggestions on this subject were as 

 follows : 



I earnestly repeat my conviction that a law which 

 permits private property to be taken for a railroad 

 without the owner's consent, and without the decision 

 first made by some impartial tribunal that such tak- 

 ing is a public necessity, is contrary to the Constitu- 

 tion and to justice. It should be amended at once, 

 unless you hold that there are no private rights left 

 which a corporation is bound to respect. 



It is generally held in this country that common 

 carriers, including railroad companies, are bound to 

 render to all persons equal service upon equal .terms, 

 and that contracts giving to one person lower terms 

 than are given to another for the same service ought 

 not to be permitted on the part of corporations which 

 enjoy their great powers only on the ground of their 

 public usefulness. If the law of Massachusetts differs 

 in this respect from that of other States, as I under- 

 stand is the decision of our courts, it ought to be 

 amended. 



The Massachusetts militia is reported to have 

 attained a degree of efficiency never excelled 

 in the country. The annual cost to the State 

 is about $132,500, that being the amount ex- 

 pended in 1881. It is proposed to organize 

 a regiment of heavy artillery and drill it in the 

 manning of forts and the use of heavy ord- 

 nance, so that it would be of service for the 

 defense of the coast in the event of a foreign 



war. No State has such a body, while the 

 entire regular artillery force of" the United 

 States is not sufficient to garrison the forts of 

 New York Harbor. 



According to the final census returns of 

 1880, the population of the State, by counties?, 

 together with the corresponding figures for 

 1870, was as follows: 



The increase of population between 1875 

 and 1880 was from 1,051,912 to 1,783,085, or 

 131,173, being 63,388 less than the increment 

 between 1870 and 1875, a falling off which is 

 largely attributable to the industrial depres- 

 sion and the stoppage of immigration. The 

 births recorded in 1880 were 44,217, being 

 3,922 more than in 1879; the marriages 15,538, 

 or 1,736 more; and the deaths 35,292, being 

 3,491 more. The excess of births over deaths 

 was 8,925, exceeding that of 1879 by 431. The 

 rates for the year were 24-80 births, 8'71 mar- 

 riages, 19-79 deaths, and 5'01 births in excess 

 of deaths to every 1,000 inhabitants. The 

 birth-rate, though slightly higher than that of 

 the previous two years, is 2-23 per 1,000 lower 

 than the average for thirty years, and lower 

 than any other years except 1863, 1864, 1865, 

 1878, and 1879. The decrease is greatest in 

 the districts in which there is the least immi- 

 gration of foreign laborers. The birth-rate is 

 therefore largest in the large towns, varying 

 from nearly 30 per 1,000 in towns of 50,000 

 population and over, to 16-94 in those of 2,000 

 and under. There were 105-9 births of males 

 to 100 of females, which is also the average for 

 twenty-five years. The ratio of illegitimate 

 births was much higher among the foreign- 

 born population. The marriage rate was the 

 highest of any year since 1874, but 1-68 per 1,000 

 less than the average for thirty years. It is 

 nearly 2 per 1,000 greater in the sixteen large 

 towns than in the rest of the State. The aver- 

 age age of 15,501 men married during the year 

 was 28-9 years, and of 13,121 men married for 

 the first time, 26'5 years; of 15,485 women 

 married, 25'1 years, and of 13,956 women 

 married for the first time, 23'8 years. The 

 number of deaths was considerably greater 

 than in any previous year. The rate was the 

 greatest since 1876, -53 higher than the average 

 for thirty years, '57 more than the last five 

 years preceding, but 1*3 less than the five 



