OHIO. 



731 



Dayton, 801, $163.24; Longview, 932, $140.43; 

 Toledo, 103, $165.69 ; Deaf and Dumb Asylum, 

 447, $181.09; Blind Asylum, 263, $249.64; 

 Institution for Feeble-minded Youths, 788, 

 $154.76 ; Soldiers and Sailors' Orphans' Home, 

 650, $118.56; Ohio Penitentiary, 2,308, $142 20; 

 Reform School for Boys, 833, $90.21 ; Girls' In- 

 dustrial Home, 335, $119.19. In audition to the 

 insane and otherwise unfortunate in the State 

 benevolent institutions, the county auditors' 

 reports show the following statistics: Deaf 

 and dumb, 1,243; blind, 1,106; insane, 1,948; 

 idiotic, 1,284. 



Liquor-Selling. Under the provisions of the 

 so-called Dow law taxing the liquor-traffic, 

 passed in the spring of this year, the county 

 auditors made returns of the number of places 

 selling liquor, and tax assessed. The number 

 of saloons taxed $200 each was 8,941 ; of saloons 

 taxed $100 each, 2,989 ; total amount of assess- 

 ment, including penalties, $2,144,129.71. 



Refunding the State Debt. More than half the 

 State funded debt fell due at the end of the year. 

 To provide for this, an act was passed in 1885, 

 authorizing the Commissioners of the Sinking 

 Fund to refund that portion of the debt. In 

 accordance with the provi^ons of the act, a con- 

 tract was made March 24, 1886, with Albert 

 Netter, of Cincinnati, by which Netter agreed 

 to deliver the whole amount of the $2,240,000 

 6-per-cent. bonds, and take for them an equal 

 amount of new 3-per-cents., payable annually, 

 in sums of $250,000 from July 1, 1891, and also 

 to pay a premium of $21.35 for each $1,000. 



Public Works. The report of the Board of 

 Public Works shows the rents and tolls from 

 the canals to have aggregated $124,030.25, and 

 the disbursements $238,091.78, there being an 

 increase of receipts and decrease of expendi- 

 tures to the net amount of $30,559.73. 



The Legislature. The sixty-seventh General 

 Assembly met January 4. The members hold- 

 ing certificates of election were : Senate, 20 

 Democrats and 17 Republicans; House, 58 Re- 

 publicans and 52 Democrats. The seats of four 

 senators and ten representatives from Hamil- 

 ton County were in dispute, the certificates of 

 the Democratic sitting members having been 

 issued on the face of the returns, which, it was 

 claimed by the contesting candidates, were 

 based on frauds. The credentials of the sitting 

 members in the House were reported on ad- 

 versely by a committee, and their seats were 

 given to the Republican claimants, the mem- 

 bership then standing 68 Republicans and 42 

 Democrats. In the Senate, proceedings were 

 instituted to oust the four Democrats from Ham- 

 ilton County, and occupied the greater part of 

 the session. The point turned on the question 

 whether the proceedings should be against the 

 members individually or as a body. In the 

 former case the Democrats claimed that each 

 three could vote on the case of the fourth. If 

 the question was made strictly partisan, there 

 would then be 1 9 Democrats to 17 Republicans. 

 If the other plan was adopted, there would 



be 17 Republicans and 16 Democrats voting. 

 A committee of six, equally divided between 

 the two parties, was made by agreement, to in- 

 vestigate the charges of fraud. The commit- 

 tee was at work from February 4 to April 29. 

 On the latter date two conflicting reports were 

 presented to the Senate, and May 5 was set 

 for considering them. Lieutenant-Governor 

 Kennedy's rulings during the discussion were 

 protested against by the Democrats, and they 

 refused to vote. Fourteen of them absented 

 themselves, and left the State, to avoid the Ser- 

 geant-at-Arms. In their absence, the Republi- 

 cans remaining unseated the four Hamilton 

 County Democrats and seated the Republican 

 contestants, thus making a Republican major- 

 ity in the full Senate. The roll was not called. 

 The case was carried to the Supreme Court, on 

 the ground that a minority only of the full 

 Senate had voted. The court "held that it 

 must accept the record of the Senate as final 

 evidence, and as that did not show the number 

 voting, there was no proof that the vote was 

 invalid. The absentee Senators did not return 

 to their seats before the Senate adjourned for 

 the annual recess. 



Hon. John Sherman was re-elected U. S. 

 Senator in the early part of the session. 



Laws Passed. The disputed organization pre- 

 vented much legislation except for local pur- 

 poses until the session was well advanced. In 

 addition to those specially treated below, the fol- 

 lowing were among the laws passed of a general 

 nature: Establishing a State Board of Health; 

 reorganizing the Ohio National Guard ; creat- 

 ing the office of Dairy and Food Commissioner ; 

 authorizing the Governor to proclaim conta- 

 gious or infectious diseases in animals; to pre- 

 vent adulteration and deception in the sale of 

 dairy products; amending the game laws and 

 providing for the appointment of Fish and 

 Game Commissioners; providing for registra- 

 tion and regulating elections in Cincinnati and 

 Cleveland. 



Redistricting the State. Immediately after the 

 ousting of the four Democrats from the Senate, 

 the Legislature passed a law redistricting the 

 State for congressional purposes. Under the 

 previous apportionment, made by a Democratic 

 Legislature, the membership stood Democrats 

 11, Republicans 10. Under the new appor- 

 tionment the election in November returned 

 15 Republicans and 6 Democrats. 



Liquor-Traffic Legislation. Several attempts 

 were made by previous Legislatures to tax the 

 liquor-traffic without conflicting with the con- 

 stitutional prohibition of liquor-licensing. The 

 so-called Pond law and Scott law were suc- 

 cessively passed, enforced, and then annulled 

 by the Supreme Court, as being in the nature 

 of a license law. In the present Legislature 

 another attempt was made in the so-called Dow 

 law. Under this law the business of " traffick- 

 ing in spirituous, vinous, malt, or any intoxi- 

 cating liquors," was taxed $200 yearly, and 

 "malt or vinous liquors, or both, 1 ' $100. Mu- 



