512 



MINNESOTA. 



may be accepted as sufficient sureties on official or 

 other bonds. 



To restrict the ownership of real estate in the State 

 to American citizens and those who have lawfully de- 

 clared their intention to become such, and to limit the 

 quantity of land that corporations may hold or own. 



Providing that women shall retain the same legal 

 existence and personality after as before marriage, and 

 sue or be sued in their own names, and possess the 

 same legal rights as their husbands. 



Appropriating $40,000 additional for the relief of 

 farmers whose crops were lost in 1886 by hail. 



To provide for temporary loans to pay appropria- 

 tions from the revenue. 



To extend the work of the geological and natural- 

 history survey of the State. 



To incorporate the city of South St. Paul. 



To establish a municipal government for the city of 

 Duluth. 



Amending the law of standard weights and meas- 

 ures. 



To enable the owners of lands to drain and reclaim 

 them, when the same can not be done without affect- 

 ing the lands of others, by_ providing that the county 

 commissioners, upon petition, may order a hearing of 

 parties interested, and, if deemed advisable, may con- 

 struct said drain and assess the cost upon the proper- 

 tics benefited thereby. 



To provide for the formation and organization of 

 county drainage-districts for the drainage of large 

 tracts of wet and overflowed lands. 



Enabling the supervisors of towns to construct 

 ditches for drainage purposes. 



The following amendments to the Constitu- 

 tion were proposed to be voted upon in 1888: 



First. Amending Article IV, by adding the follow- 

 ing: Any combination of persons, either as individu- 

 als or members or officers of any corporation to mo- 

 nopolize the markets for food-products in this State, 

 or to interfere with or restrict such markets, is hereby 

 declared to be a criminal conspiracy, and shall be 

 punished in such manner as the Legislature may pro- 

 vido. 



Second. Amending section 12 of Article I, relating 

 to exemption, by adding the following proviso : Pro- 

 vided, however, that all property so exempted shall 

 be liable to seizure and sale for any debts incurred to 

 any person for work done or materials furnished in 

 the construction, repair, or improvement of the same : 

 and provided further that such liability to seizure and 

 sale shall extend to all real property for any debt in- 

 curred to any laborer or servant for labor or service 

 performed. 



Thirl. Amending section 1 of Article IV so as to 

 increase the length of biennial sessions of the Legis- 

 lature from sixty to ninety days, and forbidding the 

 introduction of new bills, except in special cases, dur- 

 ing the last twenty days of the session. 



High License. The new high-license law went 

 into effect on July 1 throughout the State, but, 

 in those places where the licenses previously 

 granted do not expire till January, 1888, its 

 operation can not yet be fully ascertained. 

 Returns received in September from a majority 

 of the license cities and towns, however, indi- 

 cate the general result of the change. It ap- 

 pears that in these places one third of the 

 saloons have closed their business, while the 

 revenue derived from the remainder is 50 per 

 cent, greater than the total revenue under the 

 former law. Of 1,650 saloons that flourished 

 under the old license, 550 have been unable to 

 meet the advance. In Minneapolis the saloons 

 have decreased from 334 to 227, though the 

 change there was from a $500 to a $1,000 li- 



cense; in Duluth from 113 to 64; in Still water 

 from 42 to 32 ; and in Winona from 93 to 23. 

 Education. The number of school-children 

 enrolled this year in the public schools was 

 243,573, against 232,721 in 1885. The total 

 disbursements for school purposes were $4,565,- 

 395, being an increase of $452,832 over last 

 year, and $1,020,468 over 1885. This increase 

 is due to a greater population, increased num- 

 ber of districts, and higher salaries paid teach- 

 ers in consequence of a larger average school 

 year. The following items of expenditure are 

 included in the total disbursements : 



Teachers' wapes $1,778,485 



Wood and school supplies 225,029 



Repairs and improving' grounds. 145,093 



New school houses and site* 620,059 



Bonds and interest , , 424,532 



Railroads. Nine lines of railroad were in 

 course of construction during the year, and 196 

 miles were completed. 



Crops. The following table, compiled from 

 official reports to the Secretary of State, pre- 

 sents the acreage and yield of grain in the 

 State for 1886 and 1887: 



In addition to these staples^ there were pro- 

 duced this year 468,724 bushels of rye upon 

 27,572 acres, and 70,632 bushels of buckwheat 

 upon 5,232 acres. The flour-product of the 

 State was as follows: Minneapolis Mills, 6,209,- 

 980 barrels ; all other places in the State, 8,500,- 

 000 ; total, 9,709,980. The wool-clip amounted 

 to 1,460,672 pounds, from 290,198 sheep. Other 

 products were: potatoes, 7,539,332 bushels; 

 beans, 95,500 bushels; sugar, 3,664 pounds. 



Iron. The disclosures of the past few years 

 in St. Louis County place Minnesota among 

 the metal-producing States, but no coal has 

 been found in convenient proximity to the rich 

 iron deposits in the northeastern part of the 

 State, and a great iron-manufacturing industry 

 will be delayed until a substitute is found in 

 natural gas or petroleum or other substance. 

 The Minnesota iron region has not been fully 

 explored. During this year the Minnesota 

 Iron Company mined over 430,000 tons of ore 

 in this region, and shipped 371,642 tons. The 

 increase of business is indicated by the fact 

 that in 1884 its shipments were 62,124 tons; in 

 1885, 225,484 tons; in 1886, 305,954 tons. The 

 aggregate of shipments of iron-ore from the 

 entire Lake Superior region during this season 

 was over 4,100,000 tons, an increase of 1,000,- 

 000 tons over the aggregate of last year. 



Lumber. The lumber-cut does not equal that 

 of last year by about 200,000,000 feet. Re- 

 turns from the various lumber districts are as 

 follow : 



