UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (TEXAS.) 



803 



that chapter ccxviii, Tennessee Acts of 1891, and 

 chapter xciv, Tennessee Acts of 1897, on which the 

 suit is predicated, have been repealed ; also, that 

 these repealed laws, which constitute the Tennes- 

 see antitrust legislation, are in contravention of 

 the Federal Constitution and void, because they 

 interfere with commerce between the (States men- 

 tioned. Judge Clark says that had the suit been 

 brought on the Sherman antitrust law, he would 

 have passed upon it. 



The Supreme Court handed down a decision, 

 3 [arch 7, on the test case of Benedict Brothers vs. 

 Davidson County et al., in which suit was in- 

 volved the taxation of sawlogs and lumber made 

 from logs that were the product of the soil of 

 Tennessee. The case was decided in favor of the 

 plaintiffs, with right to recover. The suit in- 

 volved the question of taxation of millions of 

 dollars' worth of property which had heretofore 

 been exempt. The opinion was delivered by Jus- 

 tice Wilkes; Judge Beard offered a dissenting 

 opinion. 



Justice McAllister rendered a decision on Feb. 

 13 in a suit that had an interest for organized 

 labor throughout the State. The State Comp- 

 troller, acting under the advice of the Attorney- 

 General, refused to issue a warrant for the first 

 month's salary of M. J. Noonan, State Shop and 

 Factory Inspector, on the ground that while the 

 amended act of the last General Assembly ap- 

 pointed an inspector at an annual salary of 

 $1,200, payable monthly, instead of fees to be 

 paid by the factories inspected, no provision had 

 been made in the appropriation bill for the pur- 

 pose. The contention of Mr. Noonan was that 

 the act of 1901 placing the inspector on a salary 

 amounted in law to an " appropriation," as this 

 term is used in the Constitution of the State, 

 and that the law that fixed the salary fixed the 

 manner of payment and the time. The Supreme 

 Court affirmed the ruling of the lower court, 

 which had sustained the contention of the in- 

 spector. As the laboring classes regarded the du- 

 ties performed by the inspector as essential to 

 the welfare of those working in shops and fac- 

 tories, they attached much significance to the 

 decision. 



Proposed Constitutional Changes. During 

 the last session of the Legislature several bills 

 and resolutions were passed to amend the State 

 Constitution. These proposed amendments pro- 

 vide for electing the Secretary of State, Treasurer, 

 and Comptroller by the people for four years; 

 for local road, fence, and stock laws; for prevent- 

 ing municipalities from incurring indebtedness 

 exceeding 10 per cent, of the value of taxable 

 property; for special assessments on parts of 

 property for local improvements; for exemption 

 of new industries from taxation for a period of 

 not exceeding ten years; for election of the Gov- 

 ernor for a term of four years instead of two, as 

 at present; and for an increase of the terms of 

 sheriff, trustee, and register to four years, but 

 making them ineligible to a second term imme- 

 diately succeeding the first. 



Political. The Democratic State Convention 

 met on May 29 and nominated James B. Frazier 

 for Governor and J. Neil McKenzie for Railroad 

 Commissioner. The State Judicial Convention 

 on the following day nominated for the Supreme 

 Court John K. Shields. John S. Wilkes. W. K. 

 McAllister, W. D. Beard, M. M. Neil; for Court 

 of Appeals, R. M. Barton, S. F. Wilson, John M. 

 Taylor. 



The platform approved " the principles of the 

 platform adopted by the last national convention 

 of the Democratic party " ; condemned the Re- 



publican policy in the Philippines; declared 

 against an increased standing army, favoring 

 State militia; denounced Republican extrava- 

 gance; supported the construction of the Nica- 

 ragua Canal; expressed sympathy for the Boers; 

 favored liberal commercial relations with Cuba; 

 approved Gov. McMillin's administration; ap- 

 proved the public-school system and the text- 

 book law; called for the establishment of good 

 roads; declared in favor of holding a State fair, 

 and of the Legislature setting apart an adequate 

 sum for the purpose; demanded a revision of the 

 State laws on the inspection of coal-mines and 

 factories to afford better protection for the labor- 

 ing classes. 



The Republican State Convention met in June 

 and nominated Judge H. T. Campbell for Gover- 

 nor and J. J. Elliott for Railroad Commissioner. 

 The platform approved the measures inaugu- 

 rated by the national Republican party, through 

 President McKinley, and being carried out by 

 President Roosevelt, together with the policies, 

 touching both home and foreign relations; at- 

 tacked the Democratic administration of State 

 affairs, and demanded such changes and reforms 

 as would be in harmony with true republican 

 ideas; insisted on fee reform, a revision of the 

 election laws on a plan which it suggested, and 

 on the improvement of the public-school system; 

 declared for extending the operation of the 4-mile 

 law to towns having 5,000 inhabitants; and fa- 

 vored the adoption of several amendments to the 

 Constitution. 



All the Democratic nominees were elected in 

 November. The entire vote in the State was 160,- 

 149, which was 22,235 less than in 1898. The vote 

 for Governor was as follows: J. B. Frazier, 

 Democrat, 98,954; H. T. Campbell, Republican, 

 59,002; R. S. Cheves, Prohibitionist, 2,193. 



TEXAS, a Southern State, admitted to the 

 Union Dec. 29, 1845; area, 265,780 square miles. 

 The population, according to each decennial cen- 

 sus since admission, was 212,592 in 1850; 604,215 

 in 1860; 818,759 in 1870; 1,591,749 in 1880; 2,235,- 

 523 in 1890; and 3,048,710 in 1900. Capital, Aus- 

 tin. 



Government. The following were the officers 

 of the State for the year: Governor, Joseph D. 

 Sayers; Lieutenant-Governor, J. N. Browning; 

 Secretary of State, John G. Tod, appointed by the 

 Governor ; Treasurer, J. W. Robbins ; Comptroller, 

 R. M. Love ; Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

 Arthur Lefevre; Commissioner of Agriculture, 

 Jefferson Johnson ; Railroad Commissioner, L. J. 

 Storey; Adjutant-General, Thomas Scurry; Com- 

 missioner of the General Land Office, Charles Ro- 

 gan; Attorney-General, C. K. Bell; Chief Justice 

 of the Supreme Court, Reuben R. Gaines; Asso- 

 ciate Justices, Thomas J. Brown and F. A. Wil- 

 liams; Clerk, Charles S. Morse all Democrat-. 



The term of State officers is two years. They 

 are elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday 

 in November of the even-numbered years. The 

 Legislature meets biennially on Jan. 2 of the odd- 

 numbered years. The session may continue in- 

 definitely, but the members receive $5 per diem 

 for the 'first sixty days, after that $2 per diem. 

 There are 31 Senators^ elected for four years, and 

 128 members of the House of Assembly, elected for 

 two years. 



Finances. The Legislative Investigating Com- 

 mittee completed the counting of the bonds in the 

 State treasury on April 26. The amount of bonds 

 was found to be $11.119,236.40. classified as fol- 

 lows: To the credit of the permanent school fund, 

 State bonds. $2,187.200: railroad, $1,603.317; 

 county, $5,937,273.35; city, $209,387.55; independ- 



