396 



INDIANA. 



8. That the following amendment to the Consti- 

 tution of the State of Indiana be and. the same is 

 hereby proposed, to wit: Amend section 14 of the 

 second article to read : " Section 14. All general 

 elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after 

 the first Monday in November, but township elec- 

 tions may be held at such times as may be provided 

 by law : "Provided, That the General Assembly may 

 provide by law tor the election of all judges of 

 courts of general and appellate jurisdiction, t>y an 

 election to be held for such officers only, at which 

 time no other officer shall be voted for ; and shall 

 also provide for the registration of all persons en- 

 titled to vote." 



4. Strike the word " white " from sections 4 and 5 

 of article 4. 



5. Amend the fourteenth clause of section 22 of 

 article 4 to read as follows: " In relation to fees or 

 salaries, except that the laws may be so made as to 

 grade the compensation of officers in proportion to 

 the population, and the necessary services required." 



6. Amend section 1 of the seventh article to read : 

 " Section 1. The judicial power of the State shall be 

 vested in a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, and such 

 other courts as the General Assembly may establish." 



7. That the second section of the seventh article 

 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana be amend- 

 ed to read as follows: "Section 2. The Supreme 

 Court shall consist of not less than five nor more 

 than seven judges, a majority of whom shall form 

 a quorum. They shall hold their offices for six years 

 if they shall so long behave well : Provided, That 

 the judges elected at the first election after the taking 

 effect of this amendment shall be divided by lot into 

 three classes, as nearly as may be, the fraction being 

 in the last class, and the seats of the first class shull 

 be vacated at the expiration of two years, those of 

 the second class at the expiration of four years, the 

 third class at the expiration of six years, so that one- 

 third thereof, as nearly as may be, shall be chosen 

 every two years thereafter." 



The Institution for the Education of the 

 Deaf and Dumb contained 302 pupils at the 

 beginning of the year, of whom 185 were 

 males and 117 females. At the end of the 

 year there were 355, a number too large for 

 the accommodations provided. The total ex- 

 penses of the Institution for the year were 

 $65,884.62. 



The number of school children enrolled dur- 

 ing the year was 498,726, the average daily 

 attendance being 298,324. Four hundred and 

 thirteen new school-houses were erected, ma- 

 king the whole number 9,476. The number 

 of teachers employed was 13,635, of whom 

 8,131 were males and 5,504 females. The av- 

 erage daily pay was $2.51 for an average num- 

 ber of 128 school-days. Of the number of 

 children enrolled 6,751 were colored. The 

 total valuation of school property was $11,- 

 376,729.88; revenue for the year, $4,873,- 

 131.04. 



Shortly after the disturbances occasioned by 

 railroad strikes in different parts of the coun- 

 try, a large mass meeting of working-men was 

 held in the grounds of the State House at In- 

 dianapolis. It occurred on August 13th, and 

 the following resolutions were adopted as ex- 

 pressive of its sentiments ant^purposes : 



Whereas, The present deplorable condition of the 

 country is one demanding the most serious consid- 

 eration of all classes ; and 



Whereas, The suffering and destitution of the la- 



bor element of the country are terrible beyond de- 

 scription, and are being daily augmented by the 

 rapid and heartless encroachments of united capi- 

 tal ; and 



Whereas, This condition of affairs is becoming so 

 desperate and alarming as to demand prompt and 

 vigorous action by the industrial classes of our pop- 

 ulation : therefore, be it 



Resolved, By the independent working-men of the 

 city of Indianapolis : 



1. We demand for labor a recognition of those 

 rights and principles upon the statute books of the 

 nation vouchsafed to it by our magna cJiarta, to wit : 

 " That all men are created free and equal ; and alike 

 entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- 

 piness." 



2. That the creators of all values have a right to 

 make an equitable proportion of those values all 

 their own; and that all laws which rob labor of its 

 fruits to enrich and support in luxury idle drones, 

 are antagonistic to all principles of justice, and we 

 demand their immediate repeal. 



3. To this end we demand the repeal of all those 

 special charters and privileges granted to idle cap- 

 ital for the oppression of active capital and later. 



4. That all citizens of the commonwealth should 

 bear their proportion of the public burdens ; there- 

 fore, we demand that property be taxed, bonds net 

 excepted. 



5. We demand the immediate repeal of the re- 

 sumption act. 



6. We demand the retirement of the national bank 

 currency. 



I. Th'e power to issue money and regulate its 

 value is given to the Congress of the United States 

 alone. Therefore, we demand that Congress exercise 

 the prerogative by throwing open the mints of the 

 Government for the free coinage of both gold and 

 silver, and providing for the issue of treasury-notes. 

 Both coin and notes to be alike receivable for all 

 debts, dues, and demands of every kind whatever 

 due to the United States. 



8. And whereas the principal office of gold and 

 silver coin is to adjust balances between govein- 

 ments, by reason whereof it cannot be depended 

 upon as a medium for exchange, or a basis for cur- 

 rency, therefore we demand the issue by the Gov- 

 ernment of treasury-notes, as above described, to 

 the amount of $20 per capita, and that said notes be 

 kept up to that standard. 



9. Whereas, The interests of labor demand a fixed 

 value for all the products of labor, which can only 

 be given by a fixed value of money ; and 



Whereas, Experience has taught us that a specie 

 basis is productive of the wildest inflation and the 

 greatest contraction of money upon business prin- 

 ciples : therefore, 



Resolved, That we, the friends of the laboring 

 classes, are emphatically opposed to a specie basis, 

 or any other financial policy that will result in either 

 inflation or contraction. 



10. That we deprecate the spirit of vandalism in 

 any shape, and hereby pledge each other and the 

 country the preservation of peace and the lives and 

 property of our citizens, and call upon all law-abiding 

 people to aid in the attainment of this end. 



II. Resolved, That there is nothing so detrimental 

 to the interests of labor as a foreign debt, labor pay ing 

 all the interest thereon; therefore, we denounce all 

 laws and regulations providing for the sale of bonds, 

 either municipal, railroad, State, or national, abroad. 



The State Central Committee of the Demo- 

 cratic party held a meeting on December 20th, 

 and issued an address " To the Democratic 

 Voters of Indiana," of which the material por- 

 tion was as follows : 



This is the first occasion upon which the commit- 

 tee has been called upon to address you since the 



