Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, January 9, 1897, Page 7

Che Herald. BY E. C. KILEY. GEAND RAPIDS. - MINNESOTA Juan Fernandez may have been de- stroyed by volcanic action, but the island of Robinson Crusoe’ imaginary exploits will live so long as boys con- tinue to be born into the world. The grandson of Nathaniel Haw- thorne, who is working for a Bostor publisher, is probably making more money than his grandfather did in the earlier part of his literary work. The Southern harbors should be pre- vided with proper defenses, even if we never have a war; and the same is true of all the other harbors of the country. ‘A Spanish paper says that Americans call the troops of that country bloody tigers. This is clearly a mistransla- tion, and slanders a brave animal that will fight in the open. The word must have been hyenas. Great Britain and the United States agree upon a permanent arbitration treaty. Verezuela accepts the arbitra- tion arrangement, effected through the good oflices of this government. Cer- tainly there is no deficiency in the di- plemacy of the present administration. Gruesome stories of the ravages of famine come from India. Government efforts to mitigate the evil are said to. have broken down, and deaths from starvation are occurring by the thou- sands in the afflicted Central prov- inces. The fact that some 300 or 400 Cana- dians will have to be brought home from Brazil at the expense of their government does not prove that Brazil is not a good point for emigration. It is desirable for an emigrant to take some money along, however. A train was robbed in Missouri in the “historic” Blue Cut, where Jesse James aud his gang used to operate. If Missouri had learned the lesson of the James business she would have hanged a few train robbers by way of example. Bloodhounds are to be used in Indi- ana to track escaped criminals, This sounds like a return to barbarism; but as a matter of fact, a muzzled blood- hound is a humane ort of detective, and considerably more reliable than the human variety. Train wreckers caused a passenger train to fall from a trestle a hundred feet to the rocks below in Alabama, Then the cars burned, and the few passengers who survived are all terri- bly injured. It is not very difficult to forecast the fate of those wreckers in| case of their capture. Yerkes, the Chicago cable car king, has cempleted the erection of a $2,000,- | 000 residence in New York city, and is going to remove his family there be- ease they were denied social recogni- tion in Chicago. Is New York less par- ticular in thee respects than the West- ern metropolis? The oat crop of Ontario this year was 83,000,000 bushels, or about 19,000,000,- 000 bushels more than the average of the past fifteen years. The crop of corn was 24,071,000 bushels, an in- crease of 6,000,000 bushels over that of the past five years, and there was also a considerable increase in rye and buckwheat. William Waldorf Astor has re- nounced his allegiance to the United States and become a naturalized Brit- ish citizen. It is understood that he has given orders to dispose of his New York real estate as rapidly as possible without sacrificing it, and thus about $50,000,000 of American wealth will be transferred across the water. A planned early-morning elopement in Maryland was delayed because the girl, after tumbling her clothes out of the window, went to bed, fell asleep, and slept until the next day. It is not surprising to learn that when the pair did get off in a buggy and the irate father overtook them on horseback, the lover wanted to run away across the fields. His nerves were unstrung with waiting. The new archbishop of Canterbury has written a letter of protest against the royal buckhounds. There are no stags running wild in England now, but on many estates there are deer that have been born and bred there, and some of them are trained to be nunted by the hounds. This, to some Englishmen, constitutes sport, and they argue that it is an uncommon thing for a stag to be kilied in one of these hunts. All the same, there does not seem to be much delight in follow- ing a poor animal that, by its tame- ness, does not know how to elude its pursuers. Probably the advocates of this kind of hunting use an argument similar to that of the fishwife, who, on being reproached for skinning e>s ahve, replied: “Bless your hear, they’re used to it; we do it every day.” |TO THE LAWMAKERS | Permanent school fund. , that for the past two ye | same. GOV. CLOUGH DELIVERS HIS BIEN- NIAL MESSAGE, The Chief Executive Reviews the Condition of the State and Sug- gests Legislation Which, in His Opinion Will Be to the Renefit of the Comonwealth—A Voluminous Document, St. Paul, Minn., Jan. 6.—The following is Gov. Clough’s message to the legislature: Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: You have assembled here as representatives of the people in the leg islative branch of their government. You meet at a time when the citizens of Min- nesota, in common with those of other states, have for over three years been suf- fering from financial depression and indus- trial stagnation. The markets for the pro- ducts of our farms, factories and mines have been circumscribed and, as a result, their prices have greatly depreciated, Auspiclous skles, conspiring with the won- derful fertility of our soil and improving methods of agriculture, have, however, re- duced the farmers’ suffering and loss to a minimum. The yast deposits of valuable iron ores within our borders, more cheaply mined than are like deposits in anv other quarter of the globe, have, by their in- creasing output, fostered our industrial progress. In these and in other respects no state in our nation has been favored during the past three years to such an ex- tent as Minnesota. From 1890 to 1895 our population increased from 1,301,820 to 1,574,619. Our resources have increased even faster than our population, and the at- titude of our people in days of adversity has strengthéned our credit at home and abroad. At the present time, in those parts of the state that have adopted a wisely di- yersified system of farming, prosperity pre- vails and the outloo% is most encouraging. In no section have crop failures, the plague of insects, blight, frost and kindred agents, either with or without the influence of hard times, brought a want or suffering that calls for any special state aid at the hands of your honorable bodies. In obedience to a constitutional require- ment I hereby submit for your considera- tion suggestions relative to the affairs and conditions of the state. STATE ANCES. On the 30th d: ovember, 1896, the state treasury had to the credit of the sev- eral funds the following sums, to-wit: Revenue fund..... Soldiers’ relief fund. Funding tax fund. yeneral school. fund Permanent university fund... General university fund. .. Internal improvement fund. Internal improvement land fund Internal improvement land fund interest State institutions fund. School text book fund. Swamp land fund. Reform school fund. Grain inspection fund = - $850,114.29 Statements in detail showing the esti- mated receipts and disbursements of the revenue fund for the next two years are elsewhere presented. It is from ‘this fund that the ordinary expeuses of the state are paid. The estimated receipts are based upon a tax levy of 1% mills, the same as rs. The esti- mated receipts from state taxes are $100,000 less than two years ago. This reduction arises from the fact that the equalized as- sessed value of the real and personal prop- erty of the state is about $75,000,000 less than it was at that time. Estimates tor Buildings, Equipment ond Repairs for State Institutions. In past years estimates have been made to the legislature of the cost of erecting new buildings for various state institutions and appropriations have been made on the busis.of those estimates. Later, when the authorities have proceeded to construct the structures authorized by law, the appro- priations are found barely sufficient to erect the buildings. but not properly to equip the The equipment must then await the action of the next session of the legislature or be pald for out of the fund for current expenses, thus seriously interfering with the operation of the institution as contemplated by the law making power. This opens the ‘ay for suspicion of bad faith or poor management. Possibly this condition can not always be prevented, but in the interest of sound business management it should be guarded against as fully as practical. To this end I recommend that state insti- tutions asking for appropriations for Total " buildings be required to submit detailed” timates for the same, always includ proper equipments. In estimates for ¢ rent expenses and appropriations for same, the cost of needed repairs and new equipments of a permanent charac should be stated as a separate item, a a more rigid system of accounting insis: upon. Such a system should limit the 1 of funds appropriated by the legislavare current expenses from being applied tm repairs and equipments that can be fo seen and brought to the attention of 1 law making power. School and University Funds. My predecessor, two years ago, called tention to the defective constitutional « statutory provisions regulating the inve ment of school and university and ot) funds under the control of the ture. He recommended that a constitutional amend- ment be prepared and submitted to the peo- ple, authorizing the investment of those funds in the bonds of the various munici- palities of our state. Such an amendment was prepared and was adopted at the last election. Appropriate legislation is now needed to make the new constitutional pro- vision effective. Detective Titles of State to Real Es- tate of State Institutions. In his report State Treasurer Koerner calls attention to the facts discovered by him of the defective titles of the state to several valuable pieces of property upon which state institutions are located. He recommends the appropriation of money to clear these titles. This recommendation is a most timely one, and I’ trust will receive proper consideration at your hands. Public Examiner. The duties of the public examiner have, with the passage of years, grown in extent and importance. That office now has super- vision of the treasury of the state, of six- teen state institutions, eighty-one counties, one city, 154 state banks, thir- teen savings banks, nine loan and trust companies, twelye national and forty-seven local building and loan associ- ations and fire companies, or a total of 334 distinct interests. In his report he makes a number of recommendations, of which I call your attention especially to the following: The law regulating the management of county moneys, shoul] be so amended as to secure better supervision of the officers in control of the funds and the use of more and better records of its disbursement. The law should require all receipts issued by the treasurer to be presented to the auditor for signature and registration before de- livery, and treasurers should be required to deposit daily all moneys received by them and make all payments by checks, and those checks should state upon their face the number of the order or warrant for which they are issued. The law now authorizing the expenditure of small sums of money, less than $300, by town officers on roads should be so amended as to forbid the county commissioners to expend such moneys, except in cases where the town officers fail properly to qualify as required by statute. Financial Institutions. The public examiner makes a number 6f wise recommendations concerning the laws regulating the manig ment of our financial institutions. I call your attention to the following: The banking law should be so amended as to require all private banks to indicate by their names that they are not incorpo- rated, and also provide for periodical pub- lication of their condition. The importance of this recommeadation can be seen from the fact that these banks in Minnesota number 206, and have deposits of over $5,000,000. aue iaws governing loan and trust com- panies should be so amended as to limit the lability which such companies may assume as indorser or guarantor. The perm to issue debenture honds should be res ed to the security of such mortgages as the company may have in excess of those in the guaranty fund. The law regulating national building and Joan associations should be so amended as to permit the stock of borrowing members to have dividends credited to the sume to the extent that would accrue, if computed at the rate which the member is paying in interest and premiums. This would icave the earnings of the non-borrowing member to be charged witb the expense of adminis- tration, which would not be inequitable, when it is considered that the borrowers pay all profits which the non-borrowers re- ceive. The change is recommended to assist in securing greater economy of manage- ment, as well as a greater equity to the borrowing or debtor class of members. ‘The affairs of four of the national build- ing associations are being wound up through the courts. Owing to the nature of the business, so much delay and expense is met with in the process as to make the situation a serious one for all concerned. It is hoped that some scheme may be evolved and em- bodied in law by your honorable bodies by which liquidation of such concerns may be permitted in an equitable manner and also avoid the present expense and serious delay in final settlement. Difficulties somewhat similar have devel- oped in connection wita local building and loan associations in the hands of receivers. As with the nationals, I can commend the subject to your consideration, trusting that some method may be developed for securing justice to all the many small depositors without involving undue expense or delay. Railroad and Warehouse Commis- sion. The railroad and warehouse commission submitted a report of the work accom- plished under its direction during the past two years. It renews a number of recom- mendations of various kinds made in past years, to which I beg to invite your con- sideration. Among the recommendations of the commission to which I will especially invite your attention is the proposed amend- ment of law requiring reports from common carriers to be filed each year with the com- mission on or before Sept. 30, and exacting a penalty for neglect or refusal to comply with this provision of statute. Grain Inspection. Of the many and varied indrstries of the state, none equal in importance that of agriculture, and of the objects to which the tillers of the soil in Minnesota have hereto- fore directed their attentions, the raising of grain has been and is pre-eminently the most important. From the first no subject has enlisted wider interest and engaged more earnestly the attention of the legislature than the question of how to protect the interests and promote the welfare of the farmer, and es) ally how to so regulate the hand- ling, marketing and transportation of the cereals and to conserve the interests and rights of their producers. For many years previous to the enactment of the warehouse and grain law the pro- ducers of the state had alleged that they had been the victims of great injustice by reason of a system of handling the grain crops which was instituted and con- trolled by the boards of trade composed largely of the buyers of grain. The measure referred to was the result of this feeling of dissatisfaction, and since its enactment in 1885, the inspection, weighing and regis- tration system at the terminal points, Min- neapolis, Duluth, St. Paul and St. Cloud, has been under state control and has proved of incalculable benefit to the producers and shippers of the state in securing an in- telligent and impartial inspection of grain, on fair, uniform standards and a correct, reliable system of state weights. At the session of 1893 additional legisla- tion was secured for the purpose of streng- thening and supplementing the terminal inspection law. The most important was the “Country Warehouse Law,” its object being to extend the jurisdiction of the rail- road and warehouse commission to the local markets of the state, for the purpose of correcting the general evils that might exist, and furnish the farmers with an im- partial tribunal before which to bring com- plaints of injustice and oppression, with a view to their proper consideration and ad- ‘Three years’ justment. under its experience located on lands adjacent to such right of way. It is conceded by those who have careful- ly observed the development, operation and result of these various measures, that equal- ly meritorious laws, looking to the protec- tion of the producers and grain interests in their various aspects, have at no time been enacted. They were prepared with great care and forethought and inspired by the desire to cover as far asistent and practical the problem of handling grain at the interior and terminal markets and to afford, without stint, the facilities and pro- tection which has so long been demanded by the people of the state. From this brief review of the grain laws, the vast importance of the work of the railroad and rehouse commission and the departments under its control may be ap- preciated. The increase in ‘he business at the terminal points may be best understood by quoting from the last report of the state grain inspector, which sets forth that the annual receipts of grain at the four ter- minal points have increased from 97,653 car loads in 1885 to 250,805 car loads in 1896. ‘The annual earnings of the department have increased from $63,471 to $241,943, while the number of: persons required to discharge the duties has grown from fifty- four in 1885 to 145 in 1896. By careful methods and wise management, although the scope of its duties has been widely ex- tended, the cost to the owner of grain for the combined service of inspection and weighing has decreased from one and one- third to two-thirds of a mill per bushel. This branch of state administration is in no sense a tax upon the general public, but strictly self-supporting, being maintained from fees collected exclusively from the owners of the grain. Business Methods Applied to State Administration. Of subjects relating to state administra- tion, with the exception of taxation, none is of greater public interest than the move- ment for securing thorough application of business methods to the conduct of all state and municipal affairs. This movement is usually referred to under the designation of civil service reform. It.has many phases. Minnesota, years ago, by the wise action of its chief executive and its legislature, in creating and appointing non-partisan boards for the regulation and control of our penal, charitable and educational institutions, ap- plied strict business principles to a greater Telative portion of its civil service than wa. at the time attained in any other state in the Union, or than is yet attained in more than two or three states. The success of the application of business methods in such a large relative portion of the employes un- der state control early led to a general de- sire for its application in still other depart- ments of state. The board of railroad and warehouse commissioners four years after the establishment of our system of grain in- spection became convinced that proper ful- fillment and the efficient discharge of the exacting duties imposed upon them in that system necessitated in the same a classifi- cation and training of its employes. Acting upon that conviction, such a classification was put into operation in 1889 by the board, and with such gratifying results that Min- nesota grain inspection stands pre-eminent throughout the world for the honesty and uniformity of its grades and the business methods of its administration. This scheme of classified service was indorsed and rati- fied by my predecessor, as was that busi- ness management of all our state institu- tions previously begun, and has at all times received my hearty approval. Education. The educational interests of the state have materially advanced during the past two years, notwithstanding the prevailing stagnation of business. In every county there is shown an increase in school en- rollment, average attendance and expendi- ture for school purposes. The total value of buildings and sites for public schools, including normal schools and the state uni- versity, has increased from $14,049,704 in 1894 to $16,232,839 in 1896. The pupils en- rolled have increased from 341,478 to 359,- 1s9, and the gain in average attendance was from 121,496 to 135,702. The school enrollment has increased faster than popu- lation, and the average attendance and value of school property nearly, if not quite, twice as fast. The increase in aver- age attendance is the most hopeful sign, showing that the object for which our people tax themselves to support schools is being attained to an increasing extent. The superintendent of public instruction reports that one of the main agenc' Jead- ing to this great relative increase in aver- age attendance is the use of free text books. He, therefore, joins with the county superintendents and other school officials in recommending that the free text book sys- tem, row optional with each district, be made compulsory. In this recommendation I most heartily concur. The superintendent also recommends that a Minnesota day for our public schools be established—a day which shall be specially devoted to teaching the history of the early discovery and settlement of the state, the heroic deeds of the sons of Minnesota on the frontier and on the field of war, and also to impart a knowledge of the re- sources of the state and a respect and love for its institutions. I concur in this recom- mendation, and add a further suggestion that the legislature appropriate annually a small sum of money, $100 or $200, to be expended under the joint authority of the superintendent of public instruction and state historical society for prizes to be dis- tributed among the students of our high schools for essays upon topics of Minnesota interest. Among the other recommendations of the superintendent of public instruction in which I heartily concur is the following: A small sum should be annually granted to a limited number of schools in each county, on condition that they maintain a high standard. The rural schools labor under many and great disadvantages which are not met with in the schools of cities and villages. The state should employ all practical measures for encouraging an in- terest in these schools. The measure here recommended seeks to do for the rural schools what is now accomplished for tue town schools by means of the present high school law. The superintendent further recommends additional appropriation to meet the ex- pense of issuing state professional certifi- cates, an increase in the aid to state graded schools and to state high schools. These and the other recommendations and suggestions of the superintendent of public instruction, including the proposed amend- ment of the law for normal instruction in high schools, I commend to your most thoughtful consideration. Normal Schools. The normal schools of the state are very important factors In fostering and develop- ing cur common schools, whose great ad- vancement in the past two years has just been noted. The older of these schools call for moderate appropriations to maintain their high standard of usefulness and ef+ ficiency and to keep the buildings in a prop- er state of repair. The school established at Duluth by the last legislatare will need liberal appropriations, if the same is to be early made an effective part »f our educa- tional system. State University. The steady growth of this institution may be noted by the following fact. In 1895 it conferred 285 degrees upoa its graduates, and in 1896, 387 degrees. The legislature of 1895 bestowed liberal appropriations upon the university, but its growth has, in many respects, been greater than was foreseen, and hence there are many pressing calls for the appropriation of money for this institu- tion at your hands. The departments of botany, animal biology, drawing, miuing and metallurgy, together with the museum and the collection of geological and natural history survey, are all accommodated, so fav as may be, in a single building. ‘The proper development of the work of a great university, such as we have in our state institution, calls for more extensive accom- modations for these departments. The au- therities of this institution recommend that appropriations be made for a new building, to be devoted to the department of botany, and also for properly equipping the medical laboratory building, for the purchase of books for the library ard for various other purposes. The institution, as a whole, de- serves the most liberal appropriations at your hands that are consistent with any in- come of the state that can be secured by any proper tax levy. Department of Agriculture. The people of Minnesota are but begin- ning to awake to the great economic and social importance of the work done by the department of agriculture in our state uni- versity, through its school and college of agriculture and its experimental stations. The work is justly attracting the attention of agriculturists in our own and other states. It is leading the way to a more in- telligent and bence a more profitable sys- tem of farming in Minnesota. It is thus rapidly becoming a factor in checking that unwise movement from the farm to the city which all publicists have of late deplored. Tilling of the soil is the most important in- dustry of the state, and appropriations tend- ing to aid in developing it and making it more profitable to the producer should ever receive the first attention of the law-making power. The school of agriculture needs, for the proper prosecution of its work, appro- priations for the ‘ollowing purposes: For an electrical and heating plant for the school, for a new horticultural building, a new veterinary building and small appro- priations for repairs and for the library. No appropriations will be made that will so widely justify themsewes by adding to the wealth of the state as will such as are asked for by the school of agriculture. Animal Diseases. The swine plague for over two years has caused a considerable financial loss to the farmers of Minnesota, although, owing to the action of the state and local boards of health, this loss has been small when com- pared with the corresponding loss in some of the adjoining states. The United States Bureau of animal Industry and the Minue- sota State board of health agree that for this disease, as for that of hog cholera, there is no reliable curative remedy known. Both authorities, however, claim that by the slaughter of such animals, and the proper disposition of their bodies, with the isola- tion and disinfection of suspected aniuals, their pens, and of the clothing of persons in charge of them, these two diseases can | readily be stamped out. To thus stamp them out calls for no new legislation or appropriation, but for the more active co- operation of local breeders and shippers with the health. authorities. Most of the trouble now had in Minnesota with these diseases arises from the importation of dis- eased animals from other states. A joint resolution of the legislature, asking for co- operation on the part of the authorities of the nation and adjoining states, wight greatly assist the state board of health in this very important duty of eradicating these diseases in Minnesota. Tuberculosis is prevalent to a marked degree among cattle in this state, and there is urgent necessity for a rigid inspection of dairy herds in the interest of the own- ers, as well as of the general pubic. The state board of health furnishes tuberculin free of charge to all applicants end every- thing possible is being done ‘o encourage its use. Beet Sugar. Including the gifts to the agricultural school for building and equipneats, the total appropriations in Minnesota for agri- culture average less than $60,000 annual- ly. The corresponding appropriations in New York are approximately $300,000, and yet the actual importance of farming is not three times as great in New York as in Minnesota, and the prospective impor- tance in Minnesota is larger than the Em- pire State. Minnesota has, however, in the past, I believe, expended its money more wisely than most of its sister states, and hence the results accomplished do not show such disparity as the foregoing figures. I | refer to these figures to emphasize my con- viction that this state can wisely expend more money for the development of its ag- ricultural interests, for the establishment of new branches of farm industry, and thus | for fostering a more diversified agriculture. As a whole, the United States, as the greatest and most advanced agricultural na- tion on the globe, is an exporter of the products of the soil. There is one marked exception. As a nation we import a quan- tity of sugar. such that its value is equal almost to that realized by the farmers of the nation for that portion of any one of the great staples of the farm that are ex- } no justification for The sugar beet ported by us. There this condition of affair: can be grown more readily and more cheap- ly in Minnesot than in Germany or France. It ¢: here to greater relative perfection, i been demonstrated by experime: Under this condition I ask you to consider the advisability of v« ting a small but decreasing bounty upon si gar from beets produced in Minnesota, to foster the establishment us oranch cf agri- culture in our midst. If bount are granted, they should be on a sliding scale and with the purpose of dispensing \ ith the same so soon as the industry is made self- sustaining, or it is demonstrated tiat the same can be maintained without state aid. Dairy and Food Commission. The report of the dairy and food commis- sioner shows that the design of the state in creating that office has been realized to a very tisfactory degree. The commis- sioner recon mends several minor amend- ments to the governing his department, amendments our people freer from adulteration and im- purities, and to protect and foster the growing y interests of our state. The subject is one of great interest to our peo- ple, and I believe will receive all needed consideration at your hands, State Fair. the state fair has been a factor in stimulating pro- gress and development in the many depart- ments of agriculture in Minnesot: The continued success of the fair in fostering that progress calls for some appropriation at your hands. The managers recommend appropriations for some new buildings and additions to old ones, and also for furnish- ing an adequate water supply. In case of a serious conflagration, under present condi- tions, nearly all, if not all, the buildings upon the grounds would be at the mercy of the flames. Attention is called to these requirements, believing that no wise and needed appropriation will be withheld. Board of Game and Fish Commis- sioners. The board of game and fish commissioners recommend some amendments to the law under which they discharge their duties. They ask that the sale of game be forbid- den, because as long as there is a market for game, men will kill it in wanton ce- In the past yery influential structiveness. The state has vast finance il interests, present and prospective, in 1:3 fish and game. The value of these interests the commissioners estimate at not less tian fifteen million dollars. Other well informed people estimate that value at a sum cen greater. These interests should, therefo-e, be conserved and fostered by law. The c..m- missioners ask for an appropriation to pur- chase the land on which the state fish hatchery is now located. They further re- commend that the present state park be enlarged. They urge this by reason of the value of that park as a breeding and feeding ground for game. A Forest Reserve Area. Allied to this proposition presented by the board of game and tish commissioners for an enlargement of the state park is one that will be brought before you for con- sideration, calling for the creation of a forest reserve area, to be under the contro! and supervision of the state. The reasons urged for this proposed law are substan tially the same as those which led two years ago to the enactment of the law for the preservation of forests and the preven- tion of forest and prairie fires. This law, enacted April 16, 1895, seems to have been framed with wisdom and to accomplish its desired results in a fairly satisfactory man- ner. The great interests which Minnesota has in its forests and the relation of tim- ber reserves to climate, and the preserva- tion of game and fish, should bespeak for this subject of legislation relating to forest reserve, the state park and allied topics, the most careful consideration and the en- actment of such amendments to the existing law, or the passage of new statutes, as may be found most practicable for accom- plishing the desired ends. Good Roads, During the past few years many factors have conspired in all parts of the United States to develop a great popular interest in the subject of good roads. Everywhere there is an appreciation of the need for and value of such roads. Men of all classes perceive that the continued prosperity of the state, and especially of the agricultural sections, demands the eariy adoption of efficient measures for improving the condi- tion of our highways. The main question before us for settlement at this time in- volves the choice of the best methods for advancing this desirable end. I would rec- ommend the adoption of some system of country roads with limited state aid. Small road districts, leaving the expenditure of moneys in the control of the people who contribute the same, have always led to hon- esty and economy of administration. State built roads are too far from the people, and always have been and always will be con- structed on too extravagant a scale and with no economy of administration. The old-fashioned small road district cannot, however, command the services of skilled engineers and road makers, and so is waste- ful in results, even though honestly ex- pending moneys. The state built roads fail on the opposite side. The country road sys- tem seems to offer the golden mean of se- curing the advantage and escaping the evils of the largest and the smallest unit of management—the state and the old-fash- ioned road district. It ts suggested, there- fore, that the legislature establish what, for want of a better designation, may be called a county road system with limited state aid. The legislature, in furtherance of this plan, could pass a general law, pre- scribing certain kinds of improved highways and outlining the methods of raising and expending the necessary moneys and author- izing any county, upon the application of a majority of the tax payers along the line of the proposed road, and by a vote of the county commissioners, to avail themselves of the provisions of the statute. The adop- tion of the above outlined scheme of good roads, or some other practical plan, I most heartily recommend. Correctional Institutions. The training school at Red Wing had within its custody in the last fiscal year an average of 366 youths. The correctional work performed by this institution offers greater promise of accomplishing reforma- seeking to keep the food of | tion than that of any of the others, since It deals with offenders in the earlier stages of life, when the mind is most easily trained In right directions and the good training of a few years 1s most potent for cotrecting past errors of judgment or disposition. This fact should give weight to the recom- mendation of the board of managers fgy the appropriation of money for a new Aboot pbuilding and a new cottage, to assist In fur- nishing the youths In the care of the insti- tution the education and treatment that may be required to enable them to rise to @ useful and honorable career in life. The state reformatory at St. Cloud deals with a class of offenders intermediate be- tween those confined at the training schoo! at Red Wing and the state prison at Still- water. Dealing with a class of prisoners less amenable to reformation, it has noue®y the less accomplished most desirable re- 4 sults. Out of a total of seventy-six persons released in the past two years, only ten have broken the terms of their parole. Most of those keeping their parole may be counted as returned permanently to the ranks of good and law-abiding citizens, and a part even of those who once break paroles will so benefit from the discipline of this institution as to rise ultimately to honest and honorable careers in life. This large relative success of the reformatory feature of this institution is a just subject of con- gratulation for all the citizens of our state. It demonstrates that reformatory methods are the most economical in dealing with erime, especially for those not advanced in sears. The institution asks for considerable ‘ppropriations for the construction of a cell wing and also a building for dining room and school purposes and other objects. The managers of the reformatory also ask for the appropriation of $25,000 for the eree- | tion of a woman’s building. There is need, | lepties. either at that institution or elsewhere, for additional provision by this state for the eare and custody of female offenders. A few women guilty of heinous crimes, such as murder, are confined at the Stillwater prison, and a large number are, for minor offenses, confined in our workhouses, which offer no opportunities and no inducements for reformation. On the contrary, the work- house, as now managed, seems to have been specially devised for securing, not the re- formation, but the further degradation of the women whose feet have been by mis- deeds brought to its door. This condition of affairs is a disgrace to our civilization and should no longer be tolerated in a com- munity with its boasted regard for morals and good order. Minnesota can take well merited pride in its training school at Red Wing, the re- formatory at St. Cloud, and also, and more especially in the prison at Stillwater, as these institutions are at present managed. It cannot as yet take any pride in the man- agement of its female offenders. It should at once adopt measures to correct this shortcoming. Instead of the construction of a woman’s building at St. Cloud, I most earnestly recommend the establishment of e prison fos women, to be under the care and direction of a board of women managers, similar to the prison for women now in operation in Massachusetts. Expe- rience demonstrates that the expense of caring for female offenders in such an insti- tution can be reduced to a aller sum than in the present institution, and the state can, through it, accomplish more of reformation, which is the surest and best way of lessening and preveating crime. The managers of the prison at Stillwater present an exhibit of the work of that in- stitution that in. two particulars, at least, deserves more than a passing. mention. The earnings of the institution are larger than ever before, and this increased income has been obtained in connection with a dis- cipline that has attained the reformation of a larger number of convicts than ever be- fore. In fact, it is doubted if any similar institution in existence can present a better record in these respects than that at Still- water. This fact should be sufficient war- rant for preventing the adoption of any ill- considered legislation that will in the least peril the good results now obtained by the prison discipline of onr oldest penal institu- tion. All experiments and changes in the laws and regulations concerning prisons should be those that promise an extension and not a rstriction of these factors for reformation. The application by law of the principle of reformatory sentences and the Introduction on parole by the prison board has greatly lessened the occasion for pardons. Pardons are exceptional acts of public officials and should be reduced to a minimum. This is best done by so framing the statutes as to lessen the occasion for the same. At pres- ent the larger share of applications for executive clemency in connection with per- sons convicted of grand larceny, where the penalty established by law is heavier than the judge and jury believe should be in- flicted. The judge gives the minimum sentence of the law, but after a lapse of such a period of time as he deems sufficient to satisfy the ends of justice, he joins with others in asking for executive clemency. I earnestly call your attention to this phase of the subject, and ask you to consider whether the ends of justice cannot best be secured by vesting greater option with the judiciary in fixing the period of sentence of offenders and thus relieve the pardoning power of many of the cases now coming before it. In this connection, I call your attention to the fact that there is need of some suitable legislation, to make valid the constitutional provision adopted at the last election creating a board of pardons. At present no pardon can be granted by any one until a statute law mekes valid the provision of the constitution. ‘The law for capital punishment provides for the execution ofthe same at the county seat of the several counties. I respectfully urge you to consider the proposition to remove all persons un- der sentence of death to the state prison at Still- water, and have all executions take place in. that institution. Desertion of Children. My attention has been called to the alarming number of cases of desertion of children by their parents. During the year 1895, 348 such children were cared for by the institutions of Minnesota, and there were doubtless many more. The laws of Minnesota have ,roved inadequate to check this evil. ‘The State of Ohio has a law which has proved more effective and has been substantially adopted by Illinois and Colorado, Your attention is respectfully called to this important matter. Institute for Defective: For many years the management of the various schools classed under the general title of ‘“in- stitute for defectives,” has in Minnesota beem doing excellent work. In addition to the appropri- ation for their many expenses. the directors and officers ask for additional means to make needed repairs and improvements upon the present build- ings. ‘They also ask for money to erect an addi- tional building for the school for the feeble-mind- ed, the same to be used for the benefit of epi- At present the school is crowded to its utmost capacity, and there are 180 applicants. Some of thesse applications for admission are most pathetic and distressing in thelr nature. An additional building would not only enable the in- stitution to care for most of those dependent ones for which it was created, but would also make it possible to properly classify the inmates by sep- arating the epileptics from the other feeble-mind- ed. The school could then do far better work for those under its care than now. I commend this request for the school for the feeble-minded, as well as the other requests of the directors of the institute for defectives, to your most careful consideration. Hospital for Insane. The increase in the number of those to the care of our hospitals for the insane has, in the past two years, been greater tham the or A responding inerease in’ the facilities for minister ing to this class of unfortunate people within our borders. Increased facilities will have to be provided, and this calls for special appropriations at your hands for the means of constructing the fourth hospital at Anoka, as well as for maintaing the three older institutions on the high plane of usefulness and efficiency to which their present wise management and the generosity of the state have elevated them. The continued increase in the number of those consigned to the care of our hospitals for the insane during the past ten years or more in excess of the relative increase of our population, calls up the question in the minds of many thoughtful people whether some change should not be made in our laws governing the reception of inmates at these institutions. With~ out offering any specific recommendation of new legislation relating to this branch of the subject, I bespeak for it your most thouchtful consideration. The Soldiers’ Home. ‘The ninth annual report of the board of trustees of the Minnesota soldiers’ home contains a full statement of the administration of that meritori- ous state institution. The population of the home has steadily increased from 76 in 1888 418 in 1896, There are nearly 20,000 surviving sol- a ‘ + »