868 



WISCONSIN. 



WYOMING. 



To prevent the smoking of opium. 



Assenting to the act of Congress approved Aug. 30, 

 1890, appropriating money for the more complete en- 

 dowment and support of colleges of agriculture and 

 the mechanic arts in the several States. 



Making 4i per cent, the minimum rate of interest 

 on State trust funds. 



Empowering married female lawyers to act as as- 

 signees, receivers, and court commissioners. 



Permitting female lawyers to act as court commis- 

 sioners. 



Providing that when a man dies leaving no widow 

 or minor children his homestead shall be subject to 

 the payment of debts. 



Authorizing a loan of $150,000 to the State Agri- 

 cultural Society with which to purchase fair grounds 

 in Milwaukee. 



Providing for the establishment of a sixth normal 

 school. 



Education. The State University is one of the 

 most successful institutions of its class in the 

 United States. Its corps of instruction includes 

 63 professors and teachers, and its students dur- 

 ing the year ending in 1891 numbered 1,097, di- 

 vided among the several departments as follow : 

 College of Letters and Science, 558 ; College of 

 Mechanics and Engineering, 137 ; College of Ag- 

 riculture, 67 ; College of Law, 118; School of 

 Pharmacy, 56 ; Summer School, 131. 



Charities. The following figures show the 

 number of insane in the asylums of the State on 

 March 31 : State Hospital, 513 ; Northern Hos- 

 pital, 627; Milwaukee Hospital, 259; Brown 

 County Asylum, 90; Columbia, 54; Dane, 101; 

 Dodge, 104; Fond du Lac, 98; Grant, 103; 

 Green, 84 ; Iowa, 103 ; Jefferson, 100 ; La Crosse, 

 106; Manitowoc, 99; Milwaukee, 120; Outa- 

 gamie, 95 ; Racine, 102 ; Rock, 74 ; Sank, 57 : 

 Sheboygan, 84; Vernon, 101; Walworth, 66; 

 Winnebago, 70. 



On the same date there were 184 pupils at the 

 School for the Deaf, and 83 at the School for the 

 Blind. 



The number of inmates on Oct. 31 at the State 

 Hospital was 523 ; at the Northern Hospital, 

 637; at the School for the Deaf, 176 ; and at the 

 School for the Blind, 80. 



Prisons. On March 31 there were 536 con- 

 victs in the State Prison, 388 boys at the State 

 Industrial School, and 273 children at the State 

 Public School, at Sparta. On Oct. 31 the popula- 

 tion at the State Prison was 530; at the Indus- 

 trial School, 343 ; and at the State Public School. 

 283. 



State Banks. The following table presents 

 a summary of the condition of the State banks 

 on July 6, 1891, and Jan. 4, 1892 : 



The number of banks on the former date was 

 91, and on the latter date 104. 



Agriculture, According to the report of the 

 Board of Agriculture there were raised in the 

 State during the year 1891 13.543,000 bushels of 

 wheat, on 9(56.128 acres, the value of the crop be- 

 ing about $10,955,892. The corn crop was 29,- 

 718,000 bushels, raised on 1,113,842 acres, and 



valued at $13,076,017. The oat crop is reported 

 at 49,348,000 bushels, raised on 1,481,419 acres, 

 and valued at $13,817,413. 



Suits against ex-Treasurers, For many 

 years it has been the practice for each State 

 Treasurer to deposit balances in his hands in cer- 

 tain banks, and to collect for his own use the in- 

 terest thereon. This had been done by both 

 "Democratic and Republican Treasurers up to the 

 present year, it being argued that, as the deposit 

 was made at the Treasurer's own risk and not at 

 the risk of the State, the person who took the 

 risk, and not the State, ought to receive the bene- 

 fit of the interest. In the political canvass of 

 1890 this question was considerably discussed, 

 and it was generally agreed that the law should 

 be so changed as to authorize and protect the 

 Treasurer in ^depositing balances in his hands, 

 and that the State should receive the accruing 

 interest. The Democrats claimed that under the 

 existing law the State had a right to the inter- 

 est, and that former Treasurers had illegally 

 converted it to their own use. Accordingly, 

 after the election of November, 1890, the Demo- 

 cratic Attorney-General-elect announced that 

 he should test the matter before the courts by 

 entering suits against the living ex-Treasurers 

 for a return of the interest. The first suit was 

 begun against ex-Treasurer E. C. McFetridge, in 

 February, 1891, and was soon followed by a suit 

 against ex-Treasurer Henry B. Harshaw. In 

 August similar suits were begun against ex- 

 Treasurers Henry Baetz and Ferdinand Keuhn. 

 The cases against MeFetridge and Harshaw 

 came to trial on Nov. 17 in the circuit court of 

 Dane County, where the hearings occupied about 

 two weeks. On Jan. 18, 1892, a decision was ren- 

 dered in favor of the State, requiring the de- 

 fendants to account for and pay over the inter- 

 est received by them. An appeal was then taken 

 to the State Supreme Court. 



Political. On April 7 a State election was 

 held for a Justice of the Supreme Court to suc- 

 ceed Chief-Justice Orsamus Cole, who declined 

 a re-election. Party lines were not drawn. 

 There were two candidates, both Democrats, S. 

 U. Pinney, who was nominated by a convention 

 of lawyers, and E. S. Ellis, who was put forward 

 by Democratic politicians, though not formally 

 nominated. The people elected S. U. Pinney by 

 a vote of 96,564 to 76,691 for E. S. Ellis. 



WYOMING, a Northwestern State, admitted 

 to the Union July 10, 1890; area, 97,890 square 

 miles; population in 1890, 60,705. Capital, 

 Cheyenne. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year : Governor, Amos VV. 

 Barber (acting) ; Secretary of State, Amos W. 

 Barber; Treasurer, Otto Gramm ; Auditor, 

 Charles W. Burdick ; Attorney-General, Charles 

 N. Potter; Superintendent of Public Instruc- 

 tion, Stephen T. Farwell; Chief Justice of the 

 Supreme Court, Herman V. S. Groesbeck ; Asso- 

 ciate Justices, A. B. Conaway, Homer Merrill 

 all Republicans. 



State Legislature. The Senate consists of 

 12 Republicans and 3 Democrats ; the House, of 

 25 Republicans and 7 Democrats. 



Legislative Session. An important act of 

 the session was the one providing for the super- 

 vision and use of the waters of the State. It di- 



