18 



ARKANSAS. 



Marcus A. Smith for Delegate to Congress. 

 Thomas Norris was selected as Councilman-at- 

 Large. At the November election the Demo- 

 cratic ticket was successful by a majority of 899. 



ARKANSAS, a Southern State, admitted to 

 the Union June 15, 1836 ; area, 53,850 square 

 miles. The population, according to each de- 

 cennial census since admission, was 97,574 in 

 1840; 209,897 in 1850; 435,450 in 1860; 484,471 

 in 1870; 802,525 in 1880; and 1,128,179 in 1890. 

 Capital, Little Rock. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year : Governor, James P. 

 Eagle, Democrat ; Secretary of State, B. B. Chism ; 

 Auditor, W. S. Dunlop; Treasurer, Richard B. 

 Morrow ; Attorney-General, William E. Atkin- 

 son ; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jo- 

 siah H. Shinn ; Commissioner of Mines, Manu- 

 factures, and Agriculture, M. F. Locke ; State 

 Land Commissioner, Charles B. Myers ; Chief 

 Justice of the Supreme Court, Sterling R. Cock- 

 rill ; Associate Justices, Burrill B. Battle, Simon 

 P. Hughes, William E. Hemingway, and W. W. 

 Mansfield. Prom Aug. 11 to Oct. 16 Gov. Eagle 

 was absent from the State, being compelled to 

 seek medical treatment in Kentucky for a seri- 

 ous disease which attacked him early in June. 

 During his absence Christopher C. Hamby, Presi- 

 dent of the State Senate, was the acting Governor. 



Finances. The State Treasurer reports the 

 following balances on hand, July 1, 1892, the 

 figures covering all the State f uhds : 



In United States currency $241.&<*6 67 



In State scrip 180,426 87 



In bond scrip 56,258 38 



In county scrip 20,890 99 



In city scrip 105 67 



8ix-per-cent. funded bonds 585,000 00 



Bix-per-cent. funded coupons 388,580 00 



Six-per-cent. funded interest 1,21490 



Loii!jhborouh bonds. 18T5 1,571.000 00 



R. M. Morrow notes 50,842 85 



Treasury swamp-land scrip 558 25 



Auditor's swamp-bind warrants 70 00 



Refunding certificates 76615 



Total $8,092,845 28 



The Woodruff Defalcation. The first trial 

 of ex-State Treasurer William E. Woodruff for 

 embezzlement of State funds during his official 

 term having resulted, in October, 1891, in a disa- 

 greement of the jury, he was put upon trial a sec- 

 ond time on April 5, 1892. After a hearing that 

 lasted over a week the jury found the prisoner 

 not guilty, and he was released. When the short- 

 age in his accounts was discovered in January, 

 1891, his bondsmen at once made up an acknowl- 

 edged cash deficiency of $63,740.57; but subse- 

 quent investigation showed that a further defi- 

 ciency existed by reason of a large amount of 

 State securities which were missing. In order to 

 fix the responsibility for the loss of these, a suit 

 was begun on Feb. 25, 1892, in the Pulaski Chan- 

 cery Court, against the sureties on his several 

 bonds as Treasurer. The complaint alleged the 

 following amounts to be due the State : State 

 scrip, $122,286.58 ; uncanceled interest-bearing 

 State scrip, $12,966.41 : 6-per-cent. funding 

 bonds, principal, $43.53 ; 6-per-cent. funding 

 bonds, coupons, $11.132.53; Arkansas City scrip, 

 $10 ; excess due various counties, $2,244.82 ; to- 

 tal. $148,863.87. This suit was pending at the 

 close of the year. 



Penitentiary. On May 1, 1892, there were 

 about 740 prisoners in the State Penitentiary, an 

 increase of about 50 since Jan. 1, 1891. The 

 present convict lease, which has yielded the State 

 about $30,000 annually in the past nine yours, 

 will expire in 1893. The lessees refuse to make 

 any bid for its renewal, and the State will prob- 

 ably be obliged to provide employment for its 

 convicts on public works. 



Arkansas River. Up to June 30, 1891, the 

 total appropriations for the improvement of Ar- 

 kansas river had reached the sum of $485,251.37, 

 nearly all of which had been expended. With 

 this money several surveys of the river have been 

 completed and boats have been employed in re- 

 moving snags, thereby rendering navigation year- 

 ly less and less dangerous. One iron-hulled snag 

 boat and one wooden light-draft snag boat are 

 now employed upon the river. The removal of 

 snags is the only work that can be profitably pur- 

 sued until by some permanent improvement the 

 banks are protected from caving and the annual 

 supply of snags is no longer furnished. 



About the middle of May, on account of heavy 

 rains, the river began to rise, and in a few days 

 had reached a point far above the usual flood 

 mark. The surrounding country was overflowed, 

 growing crops were destroyed, and people were 

 driven from their homes and reduced to destitu- 

 tion. In Little Rock and other cities of the State 

 relief funds were raised by popular subscription. 

 From Little Rock a vessel was dispatched down, 

 the river, laden with provisions and supplies of 

 seed corn, cotton, oats, wheat, etc., for those who 

 were unable to buy for replanting. Early in June 

 the river began to recede and the overflowed lands 

 were soon restored to cultivation. 



State Road Convention. At the call of 

 State Commissioner of Agriculture M. F. Locke, 

 a convention of delegates from the several coun- 

 ties met at Little Rock on Oct. 20 to discuss the 

 question of improving the public roads of the 

 State. After considerable discussion, the opin- 

 ion of the convention was embodied in the fol- 

 lowing resolutions : 



That the General Assembly be requested to submit 

 an amendment to the Constitution of the State allow- 

 ing each or any county in the State to levy an addi- 

 tional tax upon the property of said counties not to 

 exceed three mills on the dollar for building and im- 

 proving the public highways. 



That a committee of seven be appointed, to be 

 known as the committee on road legislation and agi- 

 tation, to urge and secure the enactment of such laws 

 as may be proper and necessary for the improvement 

 of our roads and highways. 



That this convention favors a State equalization of 

 assessment of taxes relatively between the counties, 

 if the same may legally be done by legislative enact- 

 ment. 



That it is the sense of this convention that the 

 State of Arkansas should connect each city of the 

 first class, together with the county Seat of each 

 county in the State, with a State road, and that to 

 this end the State should, by and through competent 

 engineers, locate, construct. and maintain such roads; 

 that in the construction and maintenance of said State 

 roads the State should provide the means and use to 

 the best advantage the convict labor of the State. 



After the appointment of the committee the 

 convention adjourned subject to the call of the 

 chairman. 



