530 



MISSOURI. 



except by druggists on the written prescription 

 of a regular practising physician in good stand- 

 ing. The office of State Entomologist was 

 abolished. 



The Southern Hotel, in the city of St. Louis, 

 was destroyed by fire, on the morning of the 

 llth of April, and a number of the guests lost 

 their lives, while many more were injured. 

 The establishment was one of the largest and 

 most expensive in the country. An inquest was 

 held on 11 bodies, occupying 10 days, and in- 

 volving an inquiry into the causes of the fire, 

 and the means of preventing such disasters. 

 The following suggestions were made in the 

 verdict of the coroner's jury : 



1. We should recommend that no hotel, or other 

 public building, be unprovided with means for 

 promptly extinguishing tire. 



NfiW COUBT HOUSE, ST. LOUIS. 



2. That a sufficient number ol watchmen be em- 

 ployed to detect fire in its incipient stage, and drilled 

 in the use of the means for extinguishing it. 



3. That in all large hotels gongs or bells of suffi- 

 cient power be placed in such positions as, when 

 sounded, to be heard in every room in the house, 

 and, on the first notice of fire, to be continuously 

 used until every gueat and employe's safety is as- 

 sured. 



4. That stairways and elevators be placed as far 

 apart as possible, and that the latter be closed on 

 every floor, either automatically, as the platform goes 

 up and down, or at least every night after the ele- 

 vator ceases running, and that said hatches be made, 

 when practicable, of i ron. Had the baggage elevator 

 of the Southern Hotel been so provided, there is no 

 question but that the fire would have been confined 

 to the basement. 



5. That the store-rooms, wine-rooms, laundries, 

 carpenter-shops, and other rooms containing inflam- 

 mable materials, when placed in the basement or 

 first stories of such buildings, shall be rendered as 

 nearly as possible fire-proof, and be closely watched 



by men especially detailed for the purpose, night and 

 day. 



6. That no gas-meter be allowed inside of such 

 buildings, and that none of such size as the large one 

 destroyed at the Southern Hotel be permitted. Each 

 meter should supply a set of burners, extending from 

 top to bottom of the building, so that, should it be- 

 come necessary to turn off the gas from any point 

 then endangered, the balance of the house would not 

 be left in darkness. 



*l. That, in all large cities, the building-inspectors' 

 duties should include the regular inspection of all 

 appliances for extinguishing fires, and that the men 

 employed in their management are efficiently drilled, 

 and be empowered to enforce the laws adopted for 

 the protection of life and property from fire. 



The general strike of railroad workmen in 

 July extended to the city of St. Louis, and was 

 the occasion of considerable disorder. On the 

 24th of that month, the mayor of the city issued 

 a proclamation, warn- 

 ing all persons against 

 the "commission of acts 

 calculated to excite dis- 

 turbances and violate 

 the public peace," and 

 inviting " the cooper- 

 ation of all good citi- 

 zens in the maintenance 

 of law and order." A 

 Committee of Public 

 Safety was appointed, 

 and a special force or- 

 ganized for police-duty. 

 Meetings of working- 

 men were held, and 

 violent demonstrations 

 made in the streets dur- 

 ing the two following 

 days, but vigorous meas- 

 ures and a display of 

 armed police and mili- 

 tary forces led to a sup- 

 pression of the disor- 

 ders, and the arrest of 

 the leaders on the 27th 

 of July, after which 

 there was no further 

 disturbance. 



The decision of the Supreme Court of the 

 United States in regard to the issne of town- 

 ship bonds under the act of 1868, made in 1876, 

 in what was known as the Bates County case, 

 was virtually reversed this year by the same 

 tribunal in the Oass County case. The consti- 

 tution of the State in 1868 contained the fol- 

 lowing section : 



ABTICLK XL SEC. 14. The General Assembly 

 shall not authorize any county, city, or town, to be- 

 come a stockholder in or to loan its credit to any 

 company, association, or corporation, unless two- 

 thiras of the qualified voters of such county, city, or 

 town, at a regular or special election, to be held 

 therein, shall assent thereto. 



The act of that year, authorizing townships 

 to loan their credit in aid of railroads, required 

 the approval of two-thirds of the qualified 

 voters "voting on the proposition," and not 



