CONNECTICUT. 



COSTA RICA. 



217 



tariff for revenue only, favors the removal of 

 ii ruw material, and contains the following 



deelarat ion* : 



While legislation Bhould not be for combines and 

 trusts, cur emnniereiiil and agricultural inter, 

 well as tho.-r ..four deserving industries, should l>n 



tilVoral'U considered \vllell necessary legislation is 



adopted. ( 'iiiineetieiil tanners are compelled to OOm- 



ith the rich prairie farms of the \\i-.-t.an.l their 



ivMrietcd. They are entitled to all the 



le legislation which has been or may be 



adopted, whether it refers to the tobacco leaf or to 



their "I her products. 



\s favor the enactment of stringent laws to pro- 

 tect the dairy interests of the State against impure 

 ton. I ]>ri>ii' 



In scornfully trampling upon the decision of the 

 <t' Connecticut, the Republican 1 louse of Repre- 

 sentatives violated the mandate of the Constitution to 

 seeure iii otHce for a term of two years their party ad- 

 herents who had been overwhelmingly defeated at 

 the polls, or had not been voted for at all. Fitting 

 an hardly be found to express righteous con- 

 demnation of this outrage. Unless the people express 

 their condemnation of it at the polls next November, 

 ii precedent will be set, involving future deadlocks 

 and broils over election results, which the plainest 

 provisions of the Constitution, if sustained oy the 

 people, would prevent. 



County commissioners, whose powers are great, and 

 whose duties are delicate, should be elected by the 

 popular vote : and there should be minority represen- 

 tation in each, board, as in the boards of selectmen, 

 assessors, of relief, and school visitors. The public 

 interests are not well served by packed partisan 

 boards, appointed for the special benefit of a party. 



We demand a safe currency, redeemable m gold, 

 the standard money of the world ; and protest against 

 iin\ issue of bank bills for circulation unless they are 

 as safely secured as are the national-bank bills. 



We uphold our secret-ballot law. It protects the 

 dependent voter, and it is to a great extent a bar 

 against corruption. 



A plurality of votes should elect over five State 

 officers, as it elects over TOO other representatives and 

 municipal officers of this State. 



We declare for a constitutional convention initiated 

 by an act of the General Assembly, first submitting to 

 the electors the question whether a convention should 

 lie held or should not be held, and finally again sub- 

 mitting to the electors for their approval or disap- 

 proval the form of a constitution prepared by the 

 (invention; and we pledge ourselves to revise the 

 state Constitution to provide for the election of State 

 otlieers by the greatest number of votes cast : for the 

 election of county commissioners by the people ; for a 

 just ssstem of n -pivsc -ntation in the General Assem- 

 bly, and for such further reforms as will restore self- 

 government to Connecticut. 



On Sept. 24, representatives of the People's 

 party met at Meriden, and nominated presiden- 

 tial electors and the following State ticket : K<-r 

 Governor, E. M. Ripley; for Lieutenant-Gov- 

 ernor, Peter Lynch; for Secretary of State, C. 

 F. Raymond : for Treasurer, G. W. Saunders : for 

 Comptroller, Paul A. G. Schultz. 



The platform approves the national ticket and plat- 

 form of the People's party ; invites the co-operation of 

 ull eiti/ens of ('onneetieiit. irre.-peetive of sex; con- 

 lemns the massing of wealth in the hand* of a tew : 

 denounces the burdening of the people with taxation 

 which fosters monopolies; demands its abolition on 

 the comforts and necessaries of life; declares for the 

 single tax; demands State ownership of railroads 

 of all kinds; protection for State dairy interest* 

 impure food products; declares for shorter 

 hours of labor; demands the abolishment of the 

 saloon, and declares for woman sutt'rage. 



At the election in November the Democratic 

 State ticket was successful by a plurality of C. I > I . 

 The vote for presidential electors was: Cleve- 

 land, 88,380; Harrison, 77,0i:i ; Hidwell, 8,999. 



COSTA RICA, a republic in < Vntral America. 

 The executive power is vested in a President 

 elected for four years and not re-elidible, for tin- 

 next succeeding term. The members of tin- 

 House of Representatives are elected, like tin- 

 President, by an electoral assembly. The fran- 

 chise is restricted to citizens who arc able to liv<> 

 respectably. In 1889 there were 540 electors. 

 There are 26 representatives elected for four 

 years, one half every two years. The President 

 is Jose Joaquin Rodriguez, who was elected on 

 May H, 1890. The standing army numbers only 

 600 men, but for war 31,824 can be called out. 



Area and Population. The area is 23,233 

 square miles. In 1892 a census was taken which 

 showed the population to be 243,205. San 

 the capital, has 25,000 inhabitants. The Roman 

 Catholic Church receives a subsidy of $15,540 

 for worship and $12,000 for education. All 

 creeds are tolerated, and the concordat with the 

 Holy See was abrogated by Congress in 1884. 

 Education is obligatory for children of both 

 sexes. In 1890 there were 300 schools, with 15,- 

 000 pupils, besides 90 private schools, with 2,500 

 pupils. In 1886 normal and model schools were 

 established. The sum appropriated for public 

 instruction in 1891 was 495,224 pesos. The 

 number of marriages in 1889 were 1,228 ; of 

 births, 9,151 : of deaths, 5,238 ; excess of births, 

 3,913. In that year 6,330 persons arrived in the 

 country and 3,706 went away. 



Finances. The revenue for 1890-'91 was 

 5,100,929 pesos, and the expenditure 5,483,430 

 pesos. The receipts from customs were 2,154,- 

 308 pesos, and from spirits and tobacco 2,143,- 

 088 pesos. The chief items of expenditure were 

 as follow: Public works, 590.250 pesos; educa- 

 tion, 495,224 pesos; interior, 876,853 pesos; 

 finance and trade, 364,747 pesos ; army, 475,729 

 pesos : police, 214,662 pesos. 



A loan of the nominal amount of 1,000,000, 

 bearing 6 per cent, interest, was raised in 1871, 

 and one of 2,400,000, paying 7 per cent, was 

 issued in 1882. The whole amount outstanding 

 was 2,119,512 in 1887, when by arrangement 

 with the creditors it was converted into a 5-per- 

 cent, loan of 2,000,000, which was assumed by 

 the Costa Rican Railroad Company. The exter- 

 nal debt in 1891 amounted to lS.'S(il..VH pesos, 

 and the total debt to 21,774,649 pesos. 



Commerce and Production. The chief 

 products are coffee and bananas for export, and 

 corn, rice, sugar-cane, beans, wheat, and pota- 

 toes for domestic consumption. The value of 

 the agricultural products in 1888 was 16.52:1,014 

 pesos. Gold iincl silver are mined to a small ex- 

 tent. The total value of the imports in 1890 

 was 6,337,500 pesos, and of the exports 10.290,760 

 pesos. Of coffee, 334,666 quintals were exerted. 

 of the value of 9,196,202 pesos. The exjtort of 

 bananas was valued at 622,671 pesos : of hides 

 and skins. 95,188 pesos; of wood. 77.572 pesos; 

 of coin and bullion, 256.726 pesos: of rubber. 

 8,644 pesos; of cacao, \'.\:2^~ para. Of the cof- 

 fee, one fifth went to the United States and three 

 fifths to Great Britain. Of the total imports, 

 2,255,138 pesos came from the United btates, 



