KANSAS. 



KENTUCKY. 



40T 



mills for teachers' wages and other school ex- 

 penses. 



The political disabilities of ex-Confederate sol- 

 diers were removed. Inmates of the Soldiers' 

 Home will be permitted to vote at Dodge City. 



The completion of the statehouse was provided 

 for, and the office of statehouse custodian was 

 created. 



Canal or irrigation companies are to have the 

 same right as railroad companies to take land by 

 condemnation. 



The office of commissioner of fisheries was abol- 

 ished, and that of fish warden was created. 



Townships in counties of fewer than 5,000 in- 

 habitants may maintain fire guards to prevent 

 spread of prairie fires. The poll tax may be paid 

 by work on the guards. 



A new law was made for oil inspection.. The 

 chief inspector is to be appointed as before by 

 the Governor, and to receive $1,500. He may have 

 not more than six assistants at $50 a month and 

 expenses. The fire test of burning fluids is to 

 be not less than 110 F. 



It was provided that a commission should be 

 appointed to establish traveling libraries after 

 the plan of New York and other States. 



A dairy school is to be established at the Agri- 

 cultural College; $25,000 was appropriated for 

 the building and $9,000 for the equipment and a 

 small dairy herd. 



The State University was authorized to make 

 geological surveys of such portions of the State 

 ;as have deposits of commercial importance. 



A general law for corporations was enacted. 

 Dealing in futures was prohibited and the opera- 

 tion of bucket shops. 



One of the new laws provided that a tax of 10 

 per cent, of the premium should be collected from 

 holders of fire-insurance policies issued by com- 

 panies not incorporated under Kansas laws and 

 not authorized to do business in the State. It 

 gave the Insurance Commissioner the right to 

 demand the privilege of inspecting the policies 

 held under such organizations. In case the policy 

 holder refused to allow such inspection, he .ren- 

 dered himself liable to arrest and a fine of $100. 

 Three fifths of the tax was to go to the State 

 and two fifths to the city fire department. On 

 a test case the Supreme Court declared the law 

 invalid, as it did not impose a license or privi- 

 lege or franchise fee, but a tax, and as such vio- 

 lated the constitutional requirement of a " uni- 

 form and equal rate of taxation." 



The appropriations made by the Legislature are 

 noted under the head of Finances. 

 Other measures were: 



Providing that a deed made by a sheriff under 

 order of court shall be sufficient evidence of legal- 

 ity of sale until the contrary is proved. 



Providing for the leasing of unoccupied school 

 lands. 



Authorizing county commissioners to pay boun- 

 ties for scalps of wolves and coyotes. 



Providing that a guardian under the laws of 

 any other State or country may sue or be sued 

 in Kansas. 



Providing that wills may be probated without 

 testimony of witnesses in case they are insane, 

 dead, or removed to parts unknown. 



Making it larceny for a mortgagor of personal 

 property to injure it or sell it without the con- 

 sent of the mortgagee. 



There was a contest in regard to the election 

 of judge in the Twenty-second Judicial District 

 James Falloon, the fusion candidate, charging 

 that W. I. Stuart, the Republican nominee, was 

 elected by fraud. The contest came to the Sen- 



ate, but was not taken up in the regular session. 

 An appropriation of $15,000 was asked for a spe- 

 cial session, and the item was placed in the mis- 

 cellaneous appropriation bill, from which it was 

 afterward withdrawn and attached as a rider 

 to the executive and judicial appropriation bill. 

 After a deadlock of two days between the Senate 

 and the House, a compromise was effected and 

 an act was passed appropriating $10,000 for the 

 purpose. The Governor vetoed the bill on the 

 ground that the Senate- had had sufficient time 

 and leisure to settle the contest at the regular 

 session. But the extra session was held, the Sen- 

 ate sitting as a contest court with three more 

 than a quorum in attendance, though no Repub- 

 lican members were present. Witnesses were ex- 

 amined and a verdict was rendered against Stuart 

 on the ground that bribery had been used in the 

 election. The office of judge of the Twenty-second 

 District was declared vacant. - Mr. Falloon was 

 nominated for it in September, but the Secretary 

 of State refused to file the nomination, and was 

 upheld by the Supreme Court. 



Political. At the county elections in Novem- 

 ber the Republicans elected 404 of their candi- 

 dates for county offices, the fusionists 215, the 

 Democrats 5, and 2 independent candidates were 

 elected. Of the 8 district judges elected, 4 were 

 Republicans and 4 fusionists. The general Re- 

 publican majority was 15,858. 



KENTUCKY, a Southern State, admitted to 

 the Union June 1, 1792; area, 44,400 square miles. 

 The population, according to each decennial cen- 

 sus since admission, was 220,955 in 1800; 406,511 

 in 1810; 564,135 in 1820; 687,917 in 1830; 779,828 

 in 1840; 982,405 in 1850; 1,155,684 in 1860; 1,321,- 

 011 in 1870; 1,648,690 in 1880; and 1,858,635 in 

 1890. Capital, Frankfort. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, William O. 

 Bradley; Lieutenant Governor, W. J. Worthing- 

 ton; Secretary of State, Charles Finley; Treas- 

 urer, G. W. Long; Auditor, Samuel H. Stone; 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction, W. J. Dav- 

 idson; Commissioner of Agriculture, Lucas 

 Moore; Attorney-General, William S. Taylor; 

 Adjutant General, D. R. Collier all Republicans ; 

 Election Commissioners, William T. Ellis, W. S. 

 Pryor, and Charles B. Poyntz; Prison Commis- 

 sioners, Henry George and Messrs. Fennell and 

 Richardson; Librarian, Pauline Hardin; Mine 

 Inspector, George W. Stone; Chief Justice of the 

 Court of Appeals, James H. Hazelrigg, Democrat; 

 Associate Justices, J. D. White, T. H. Paynter, 

 and J. P. Hobson, Democrats, and B. L. D. Guffy, 

 George Du Relle, and A. Rollins Burnam, Re- 

 publicans; Clerk, S. J. Shackelford, Democrat. 



Finances. At the close of the year the cash 

 in the treasury amounted to $1,060,425, and in 

 addition was $100,000 turnpike stock to the 

 credit of the sinking fund. 



The bonded indebtedness amounted to $3,483,- 

 991. Of this $6,394 is in old issues supposed to 

 be lost, and $2,477,597 is in educational and nor- 

 mal-school bonds, leaving $1,000,000 that is pay- 

 able in 1905 and 1907. Of the floating indebt- 

 edness of $1,572,126 remaining in March, 1898, 

 only $23,276 remains. 



A decision in the Court of Appeals in February 

 was in favor of the State against the Kentucky 

 Chair Company, and involved $60,000. 



Education. The Auditor's report shows $1,- 

 984,122.35 to the credit of the school fund for 

 the present year. There are 719,654 pupil chil- 

 dren as shown by the reports of the school offi- 

 cers, and at $2.70 each there will be apportioned 

 $1,943,065.80. The amount to be distributed to 



