380 



INDIANA. 



tiring outstanding State bonds which may fall 

 due, and whenever any temporary loan indebted- 

 ness of the State cau be funded at a lower rate 

 of interest they were authorized to issue bonds 

 at such lower rate in amounts sufficient to retire 

 such indebtedness. 



Legislative Session. The fifty-seventh 

 regular session of the General Assembly began 

 on Jan. 8 and ended on March 9. Early in the 

 session United States Senator Daniel W. Voor- 

 hees, Democrat, was re-elected for the full term 

 of six years over Gov. Alvin P. Hovey, the Re- 

 publican nominee. The most important legisla- 

 tion of the session pertains to State finances, and 

 is considered separately under that topic. The 

 Democrats were again in control of both houses, 

 and proceeded to pass a series of measures, 

 abridging the appointive power of the Governor. 

 As a result of similar measures passed at the 

 session of 1889 and of rulings made by the State 

 Supreme Court thereon, the Governor had al- 

 ready lost the right to appoint the State Geolo- 

 gist, the State Statistician, and the trustees of 

 nearly all the penal and charitable institutions 

 of the State, the two first-named offices being 

 now filled by popular election, and the trustees 

 being elected by the General Assembly. By the 

 legislation at this session the office of State In- 

 spector of Oils, filled by appointment of^ the 

 Governor, was abolished, and the office of State 

 Supervisor of Oil Inspection was created, to be 

 filled by appointment of the Democratic State 

 Geologist : the office of Mine Inspector, filled by 

 appointment of the Governor, was abolished, 

 and the office of Inspector of Mines, to be filled 

 by appointment of the State Geologist, was cre- 

 ated ; the State Board of Agriculture, appointed 

 by the Governor, was abolished, and the State 

 Agricultural and Industrial board was estab- 

 lished, its members being appointed by the Gov- 

 ernor, the Secretary of State, and the State 

 Auditor, or a majority of them (the present Sec- 

 retary and Auditor being Democrats); the 

 Board of Trustees of the Eastern Indiana Hos- 

 pital for the Insane, appointed by the Governor, 

 was abolished, and a new board was created, to 

 be elected by the General Assembly; the office 

 of Natural Gas Supervisor was created, to be 

 filled by appointment of the State Geologist. 

 All these acts were passed over a veto. 



The State was redistricted in the interest of 

 the Democrats, both for members of Congress 

 and for members of the State Legislature, the 

 bills therefor being passed over a veto. The new 

 congressional districts are as follow : 



I. Counties of Posey, Gibson, Vanderburgh, War- 

 rick, Pike, Spencer, and Perry. 



II. Counties of Knox, Greene, Daviess, Martin, Du- 

 bois, Lawrence, Orange, and Crawford. 



III. Counties of Harrison, Washington, Jackson, 

 Jennings, Scott, Jefferson, Clark, and Floyd. 



IV. Counties of Shelby, Kipley, Decatur, Kush, 

 Franklin, Dearborn, Ohio, and Switzerland. 



V. Counties of Owen, Putnam, Hendricks, Morgan, 

 Monroe, Brown, Johnson, and Bartholomew. 



VI. Counties of Henry, Delaware, Kandolph, 

 Wayne, Fayette, and Union. 



VII. Counties of Marion, Madison, and Hancock. 



VIII. Counties of Sullivan, Vigo, Clay, Parke, Ver- 

 million, Fountain, and Montgomery. 



IX. Counties of Boone, Tippecanoe. Clinton, Tip- 

 ton, Hamilton, Howard, Benton, and Warren. 



X. Counties of Carroll, Cass, White, Fulton, Pulas- 

 ki, Newton, Jasper, Lake, and Porter. 



XI. Counties of Grant, Miami, W abash, Hunting- 

 ton, Wells, Adams, Jay, and Blackford. 



XII. Counties of Allen, Whitley, Noble, De Kalb, 

 La Grange, and Steuben. 



XIII. Counties of Starke, Laporte, St. Joseph, Mar- 

 shall, Elkhart, and Kosciusko. 



To relieve the crowded docket of the State Su- 

 preme Court, an appellate court of five judges 

 was created, which has exclusive jurisdiction of 

 all appeals from the lower courts in cases of mis- 

 demeanor, cases originating before a justice of 

 the peace where the amount in controversy ex- 

 ceeds $50 exclusive of costs, all cases for the re- 

 covery of money where the amount does not ex- 

 ceed $1,000, and all cases for the recovery of 

 specific personal property, actions between land- 

 lord and tenant for the recovery of leased prem- 

 ises, and all appeals from orders allowing or dis- 

 allowing claims against decedent's estates. In 

 such cases the decision of the court shall be final. 

 The act is to be in force for six years only. 



The sum of $75,000 was appropriated to secure 

 an exhibit of the resources and development of 

 the State at the World's Columbian Exposition, 

 and its expenditure was intrusted to a board of 

 26 persons to be appointed by the Governor. To 

 complete and furnish the Southern Indiana Hos- 

 pital for the Insane, the sum of $45,000 was ap- 

 propriated, and for improvements at the Sol- 

 diers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home the sum of 

 $55,000. The practice of letting out by contract 

 the labor of pupils at the State benevolent insti- 

 tutions is forbidden, and provision was made for 

 their industrial education under direction of the 

 authorities of these institutions. 



In order to complete the State Soldiers' and 

 Sailors' Monument in Circle Park, Indianapolis, 

 a tax of 5 mills on each $100 was authorized, in 

 addition to other taxes, for each of the years 1891 

 and 1892, the proceeds of such levy up to the sum 

 of $100,000 to be expended upon this work. An 

 immediate appropriation of $30.000 was made 

 from the State treasury for the same purpose. 



Persons or companies engaged in mining or 

 manufacturing were required to pay their em- 

 ployes at least once in two weeks, and were for- 

 bidden to sell, directly or indirectly, to any em- 

 ploye any merchandise or supplies at a higher 

 price than they sell to other persons for cash. 

 The Australian ballot law of 1889 was amended 

 in many of its details. 



The following amendments to the State ('(in- 

 stitution were proposed and referred to the next 

 General Assembly for concurrence: First, pro- 

 viding that corporations may be taxed upon their 

 net or gross earnings ; second, extending the limit 

 of regular legislative sessions to one hundred 

 days ; third, increasing the term of office of the 

 Secretary of State, Auditor, and Treasurer to four 

 years, and making each official ineligible for im- 

 mediate re-election ; fourth, making the term of 

 all county officers four years, and declaring them 

 .ineligible for immediate re-election. 



Other acts of the session were as follow : 

 Making the first Monday of September, known a* 

 Labor Day, a legal holiday. 



Amending the law regulating the descent of prop- 

 Exempting honorably discharged Union soldiers 

 and sailors from work on the public highways. 



