KANSAS. 



353 



.575; 2,766,071 swine, $12,447,320; total value of 

 live stock, $113,227,933. From tables showing the 

 values of farm products in the State for the twenty 

 years ending with 1897, it appears that the total 

 amounts to $2,481,061,751. 



The first station established by the Government 

 for the production of sorghum sugar was at Fort 

 Scott. After the bounty on sugar was discontinued 

 the industry declined, and in February the last 

 piece of sugar machinery was sold to be sent to 

 Nebraska. It is said that the total amount spent 

 -on the experiment was nearly $250,000. 



The value of coal for 1897 is given as $3,931,707; 

 for the whole period of production since the min- 

 ing of it began, $51,335,808. Zinc closely approaches 

 it with a value for 1897 of $2,795,683.28. The grand 

 total of zinc mined since its production began is es- 

 timated at $35,000,000. The other minerals rank 

 in point of value of output for 1897 as follow : 

 Lead ore, $914,963.89 ; salt, $417,629.94; clay goods, 

 $265,320.27; gypsum, $252,811; limestone, $173,- 

 000; natural gas, $155,500; lime, $65,000; hy- 

 draulic cement, $64,000 ; petroleum, $54,000 ; sand, 

 $45,000 : sandstone, $23,180. 



Labor. From the Labor Commissioner's sum- 

 mary of statistics are taken the averages given be- 

 low : In 9 occupations, and in 175 instances, the 

 hour is the basis of the wage rate, the average being 

 20.5 cents an hour, ranging from the minimum 

 average of 13.5 cents for the 12 barbers reporting 

 to the maximum average of 28.9 cents for the 10 

 railroad blacksmiths reporting. With 807 report- 

 ing, comparisons with 1896, the wage rate is re- 

 ported increased in 211, decreased in 128. 



In a separate summary of reports on labor of 

 women, it appears that in 5 occupations and in 71 

 instances, the week is the basis of the wage rate, the 

 ' -average wage being $5.01 a week, ranging from the 

 minimum average of $2.09 for those engaged in 

 domestic service to the maximum average of $6.88 

 for those engaged in occupations classified as mis- 

 cellaneous, in which it is found that in the occupa- 

 tions of milliners, tailoresses, and salt workers the 

 highest wage rate is paid. 



Mob Violence. At Great Bend, June 12, a man 

 who had been brought from Hutchinson for a pre- 

 liminary examination on a charge of murder was 

 taken from the sheriff and hanged in the public 

 square. His crime was the murder of a girl of fif- 

 teen because she refused to marry him. 



Destructive Storm. A tornado almost entirely 

 destroyed Cunningham, a small town 60 miles west 

 of Wichita, May 18. Damage was reported also at 

 Peabody, Newton. Halstead, and Lawrence. 



State Laws. The Governor made a proclama- 

 tion, June 17, suspending the operation of the met- 

 ropolitan police law, to take effect July 1, and re- 

 voking the appointments of the boards of police 

 commissioners in all cities of the first class in the 

 State. 



The United States Supreme Court, March 14, af- 

 firmed the constitutionality and validity of the 

 State laws of Kansas prohibiting transportation into 

 the State of cattle affected with Texas fever, and 

 providing for a civil action for damages in case of 

 infraction of the law. These laws were attacked 

 on the ground that they were repugnant to the 

 Constitution of the United States, and also on the 

 ground that domestic cattle were sufficiently pro- 

 tected by Federal laws and by regulations of the 

 Agricultural Department. 



In the district court at Garnett, June 21, a deci- 

 sion was rendered upholding the validity of the 

 valued policy law, which provides for full payment 

 of policy where loss on real estate is total. It was 

 also held that section three of the same act, which 

 provides for taxation of attorneys' fees against the 

 VOL. xxxviir. 23 A 



company, is unconstitutional in that it discriminates 

 against a class of litigants. 



"The Court of Appeals decided in August that the 

 "scrip law," prohibiting the issuing of scrip to 

 miners in payment of wages, is valid. It was at- 

 tacked on the ground that it interfered with the 

 right of private contract. 



The same court decided against the city poll-tax 

 law at Fort Scott. 



Political. Municipal elections were held April 

 5 in first- and second-class cities. A light vote was 

 polled in Topeka, where the Republicans elected all 

 their candidates, except 2 councilmen, who were de- 

 feated by their Democratic opponents ; and there 

 was a like result in Wichita. In the following cities 

 the Republican tickets were successful : Yates Cen- 

 ter, Eldorado, Girard, Hutchinson, McPherson, 

 Lawrence, Independence, Garnett, Fort Scott, Hia- 

 watha, and Abilene. In Leavenworth the Repub- 

 licans elected 4 out of 6 councilmen. The women's 

 vote was light in Leavenworth. In the village of 

 Uniontown the women put up a full ticket against 

 the men, and were beaten 3 to 1. At Great Bend 

 and several other towns the issue was license or 

 prohibition, and the advocates of license elected 

 their candidates for peace officers. 



State officers were to be chosen in November, and 

 four tickets were in the field : Republican, Fusion 

 (silver), Prohibition, and Socialist-Labor. 



The Republican convention was held at Hutchin- 

 son, June 8. The resolutions approved the national 

 administration " in peace and in war," demanded 

 the immediate strengthening of the navy, the build- 

 ing of the Nicaragua Canal, and the annexation of 

 Hawaii. They favored a liberal construction of the 

 pension laws and the preference of veterans in civil 

 appointments ; called upon the Governor and Secre- 

 tary of State to afford facilities to the soldiers in 

 the volunteer service for voting in the November 

 election ; called attention of the coal-miners to the 

 fact that the Populists had not kept the pledges 

 made in their platform of 1896 that convict-mined 

 coal should not be offered in the open market, and 

 that the last Republican administration had kept 

 similar promises which had been made in the plat- 

 form on which it was nominated ; and said further : 

 " In contrast with faithful performance of promises 

 by the Republican party in the nation, we place the 

 broken pledges of the Populist party in the State. 

 Intrusted with power and given absolute control 

 of every branch of the government, they repudiated 

 the pledges by which they gained success at the 

 polls. Their record of inconsistency is rounded 

 out with incompetency and supplemented by cor- 

 ruption, proved by their own partisans in an inves- 

 tigation they made themselves." 



Following were the candidates: For Governor, 

 W. E. Stanley; Lieutenant Governor, Harry E. 

 Richter : Secretary of State, George A. Clark ; Treas- 

 urer, Frank Grimes ; Auditor, George E. Cole ; At- 

 torney-General, A. A. Godard ; State Superintend- 

 ent, Frank Nelson; Associate Justice, William R. 

 Smith ; Congressman at Large, W. J. Bailey. 



The Populist convention was called for June 15 

 at Topeka, and at the same time the Democratic 

 convention met at Atchison. A conference com- 

 mittee from each convention was appointed to 

 arrange the division of offices in case of fusion. 

 The Populist platform commended the State ad- 

 ministration and the acts of the Legislature, also the 

 course of the Representatives in Congress who op- 

 posed the issuing of interest-bearing bonds and the 

 " encroachments of corporate power upon the rights 

 of the people." Other demands and recommenda- 

 tions were : A constitutional convention for the 

 purpose of introducing into the State constitution 

 the principle of initiative and referendum ; public 



