352 



INDIANA. 



$13,000,000, and the operating expenses only 

 $10,000,000. The following shows the facts in 

 brief : 



The figures as to freight show an upward tend- 

 ency in cost of moving freight. There are 81,- 

 746 railroad men in the State, A decision was 

 handed down by the Supreme Court in the 

 "blackboard" railroad cases, affirming the one 

 made two years ago. The General Assembly 

 passed an act in 1889 making it compulsory for 

 roads operating in the State to post on a black- 

 board, at each station, the time of arrival and 

 departure of trains, and how much they were 

 late, if at all. It assessed a fine of $25 for each 

 violation of it. The railroads generally ignored 

 it, and as the result suits were brought in Shelby 

 and Green Counties to collect the fines attached 

 for these violations. There were 186 counts in 

 the Green County bill, each amounting to $25 

 and nearly a like number in the other. The rail- 

 roads won the suits in the lower courts. The 

 case was appealed to the Supreme Court, and re- 

 sulted in a reversal. The railroads petitioned 

 for a rehearing, and the same judge affirmed the 

 previous decision. 



The railroads doing business in the State took 

 out injunctions to restrain the county treasurers 

 from collecting taxes from them under the new 

 assessments pending decisions by the courts, 

 claiming that in nearly every case the assess- 

 ments were too high. 



Militia. The total expenditures for this de- 

 partment for the fiscal year ending in 1891 were 

 $36,850.12 ; and for 1892, the appropriation being 

 $25,000 instead of $37,000, the expenditures 

 were $24,922.08. The Government aid to Indiana 

 for 1891 was $13,821.45, and for 1892. $13,074. 

 Gen. Ruckle reports 44 organizations in the State's 

 military service. These are divided into 4 regi- 

 ments. Eight new companies, as yet on proba- 

 tion, have been organized ; 7 companies served 

 their three years of enlistment, and were re- 

 organized and mustered in; 7 companies were 

 disbanded. 



Prisons. The Woman's Prison and Reforma- 

 tory for Girls was destroyed by fire on March 1. 

 The loss was $17,301.42, which was covered by 

 insurance. The insurance money was used in 

 rebuilding. It contained 152 girls in the Re- 

 formatory department and about 50 in the prison. 

 The Reformatory keeps its inmates until they 

 reach the age of eighteen years, and then gives 

 them their liberty. The prison contains women 

 sentenced for crime. The per capita cost of 

 maintenance at this institution is $164.82, exclu- 

 sive of clothing. The earnings and receipts were 

 $2,573.37. In the rebuilding of the structure 

 care was taken to provide a more complete sepa- 

 ration of the prisoners and the girls, who now 

 only see each other in the chapel on Sundays. 

 During the year, 48 girls were received, 20 dis- 

 charged, 1 escaped, 4 transferred to the Wom- 

 an's Prison, 9 returned on ticket-of-leave, 2 

 died. There are now 144 in the school. The 



Woman's Prison has received 25 women, dis- 

 charged 22, 1 was pardoned, and there is a total 

 of 54. The total expenditure was $40,000, the 

 full amount of the appropriation. The total 

 earnings of the institution were $2,573.37. 



The report of the Prison South shows that it 

 has been self-sustaining, having earned $69,- 

 438.05, and expended $69,416.89. 



There are 619 prisoners in the Penitentiary, 

 of whom 511 are white and 108 colored, the 

 daily average for the year having been 594. 



The secretary of the Board of Charities re- 

 ported that at the Prison North two new feat- 

 ures have been introduced in the government. 

 One is the " free hour," which means that 

 prisoners, in their cells, may do as they please 

 sing, play instruments, or talk. It is es- 

 teemed a safety valve in prison management. 

 The other innovation is a system of private boxes, 

 one at each door, into which the prisoner may 

 drop a note of any complaints he may have, 

 without fear of interference by the guard. The 

 warden alone has a key to the boxes. The plan 

 is said to be working well. The number of pris- 

 oners reported at this prison was 763, a falling 

 off of 37. The number received during the year 

 was 378, the number discharged was 415. The 

 earnings were $115,271.78, the expenditures, 

 $100,000. 



The semiannual report of the Reform School 

 for Boys, at Plainfield, says the year has been 

 prosperous. The boys have laid up in walks and 

 walls of the new buildings 300,000 brick, and 

 are about completing a kiln of 400,000 more. A 

 printing department has been added for the in- 

 struction of the boys. The number of boys in 

 the school at the beginning of the year was 520. 

 The average time of confinement of those who 

 were discharged in 1891 was a little over two 

 years and a half. Nine of those released were 

 returned for bad conduct. 



Charities. The report of the Superintendent 

 of the Central Hospital for the Insane shows 

 that at the close of the year there were 1,503 

 patients in the institution, a decrease of 38 from 

 the year previous. The number of new patients 

 admitted during the year was 399, of whom 74 

 were recommittal patients. The number dis- 

 charged was 337. The board of trustees report 

 that the value of the real estate is $1,472,500; 

 personal, ' $223,860.83. The total appropriation 

 for the maintenance of the hospital was $260,000, 

 of which all was expended except $8,076.45. 



The report of the Eastern Hospital for the 

 Insane gives the highest number of patients 

 during the year as 452, and the average for 

 three months 446. The number admitted was 

 356; recovered and discharged, 52 ; convalescent 

 and discharged, 19 ; deaths, 58. The hospital is 

 reported to be crowded beyond its capacity. 

 The appropriation of $85,000 for the year was 

 not exhausted. 



At the Southern Hospital for the Insane, im- 

 provements have been made in the grounds as 

 recommended by a landscape gardener. The 

 roads have been macadamized to the extent of 

 2.014 feet. Wells have been dug, providing an 

 abundance of pure water at a depth of 75 feet. 

 A storehouse, a morgue, a motor house, and a 

 railway station had been built. The value of 

 the land and improvements is $463,489.64, and 



