THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
1870-1893
SUmotsi Centennial ^ublícationsí
Published by Authority
of the
ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ILLINOIS
CLARENCE WALWORTH ALVORD
Editor-in-Chief
Volume IV
ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Otto Leopold Schmidt^ Chairman
Jessie Palmer Weber, Secretary
Edward Bowe Evarts Boutell Greene
John Joseph Brown George Pasfield, Jr.
John W. Bunn William Nelson Pelouze
William Butterworth Andrew Jackson Poorman, Jr.
Leonard Allan Colp Thomas F. Scully
Royal Wesley Ennis Frederic Siedenburg
Edmund Janes James
COMMITTEE ON CENTENNIAL PUBLICATIONS
Evarts Boutell Greene, Chairman
Royal Wesley Ennis Otto Leopold Schmidt
Edmund Janes James Frederic Siedenburg
VIEW OF WORLD'S FAIR, CHICAGO, 1893
THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ILLINOIS
VOLUME FOUR
THE
INDUSTRIAL STATE
1870-1893
BY
ERNEST LUDLOW BOGART
AND
CHARLES MANFRED THOMPSON
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
0^^0 124
PUBLISHED BY THE
ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
SPRINGFIELD, 1920
Copyright, 1920
by the
ILLINOIS CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
page
The Constitutional Convention, 1869-
1870 C.M.T. i
Some Aspects of Social Life in Illinois,
1870-1876 C.M.T. 28
Liberal Republicanism, 1870-1872 . . C.M.T. 54
The Farmers' Movement, 1872-1875 . C.M.T. 82
Greenbackism and Democratic Reor¬
ganization C.M.T. 107
Republicanism at the Wheel, 1876-
1880 C.M.T. 123
The Political Machine in Operation C.M.T. 142
New Forces Astir . . Agnes Wright Dennis 162
Development of Arts and Letters
Henry B. Fuller 188
Corn is King E.L.B. 217
Animal Products of Illinois Farms . E.L.B. 246
Expansion of Business, 1870-1878 . . E.L.B. 264
Financial Problems, 1878-1893 . . . E.L.B. 293
Railroad Transportation, 1870-1893 . E.L.B. 315
Waterways and Roads, 1870-1893 , . E.L.B. 340
Trade and Commerce, 1870-1893 . . E.L.B. 363
Manufactures in Illinois, 1870-1890 . E.L.B. 381
Development of Mineral Wealth
Nellie O. Barrett 411
Labor Organization E.L.B. 438
Organized Labor's Protest .... E.L.B. 459
Appendix 481
Bibliography 517
Index 533
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
page
View of World's Fair, Chicago, 1893 Frontispiece
Population of Illinois in 1890 34
Foreign Born Population, 1890 52
John M. Palmer 66
R. J. Oglesby 144
John A. Logan 158
John P. Altgeld 182
C. H. McCormick 224
Distribution of Corn Crop, 1894 236
Increase of State Receipts, Expenditures, and Taxes, 1871-
1892 302
Gross Value of Products of Manufactures, 1870 . . . 392
Coincident Development of Main Track Mileage and
Production of Coal 422
PREFACE
The period between 1870 and 1893 has probably been
equaled by no other period of equal length in our history
for the magnitude and far-reaching importance of the economic
changes that occurred within its span. Until this time Illinois
had ranked as an agricultural state, standing high among the
states of the union in almost every branch of farming. Its
expansion along these lines still went on apace. But in addition
to agriculture the state began now to develop concurrently
other lines of industry. The coal fields of southern Illinois
began to be tapped and the mining industry began to be de¬
veloped. At the same time manufactures were built up along
lines for which the state was peculiarly suited by reason of the
presence of the necessary raw materials. Industry was thus
diversified, cities were established, and the interests of the peo¬
ple of Illinois expanded and broadened. Important social and
political results accompanied these economic changes.
Partly result and partly cause of these movements was the
enlargement and transformation of the transportation system.
This period saw a vast extension of the railway and a corre¬
sponding decline of water transportation. Traffic now passed
from west to east and no longer from north to south. The
diversion of freight from the Mississippi river and its
tributaries to the railroads was definitely consummated. The
mechanism of credit and exchange also underwent the same
expansion as did the machinery of transportation, and was
fitted to the needs of a growing industrial state rather than of
one purely agricultural.
Not only in Illinois, but throughout the United States as a
whole, this period was one of extraordinary economic expan¬
sion, of exploitation of natural resources, and of unbridled
competition. It offered rich rewards to the energetic, the
daring, and the far-sighted business man. In spite of a tem-
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
porary interruption of prosperity as a result of the panic of
1873, the period was marked by notable material achieve¬
ments. But to the laborer it did not always promise equal
advantages. Trade-unionism was striving to establish itself
and in this era of struggle made large use of the strike and
similar methods incident to the early stages of the labor move¬
ment. Uncertain as to its objective, the movement was some¬
times diverted into political channels, as by the greenback party,
or became discredited by the excesses of the extreme radicals,
as in the case of the anarchist aberration. Of labor legislation
there was as yet practically nothing. Opposed by men of
capital, the labor movement seemed at times to have become
real industrial warfare. All in all, however, the period was
one of solid and enduring progress.
The authors desire to express their appreciation of valuable
assistance which has been rendered in the preparation of this
volume. The writer of the chapters on economic development
wishes to note the aid given by the following research assistants
in the preparation of preliminary studies and reports on special
phases of the subject. These were Yetta Scheftel, manufac¬
tures; George H. Newlove, agriculture; Clare E. Griffin,
railroad transportation; Walter Prichard, road and water
transportation; E. B. Mittelman, labor. For the use of this
material, however, and for any errors of fact or judgment
the author alone should be held responsible. Because of the
author's entrance into war service. Miss Nellie Barrett of
the Illinois State Geological Survey staff was engaged to write
chapter eighteen on mining.
The author of the political chapters was called to the work
much later than were the other authors of the Centennial His¬
tory and has, therefore, been forced to lean for support on
others. During the period of research he was ably assisted
by Miss Anita Libman and received courteous help from Mrs.
John A. Logan and others; but to Mrs. Agnes Wright Dennis
must be given the credit for the final form of the chapters, for
the author, caught in the meshes of war work, was compelled
to place in her charge the complete revision of the manuscript.
The author's acknowledgments to this brilliant young woman
PREFACE
have become a sad duty. On July 13, 1919, she and her hus¬
band were drowned in the Cedar river, Iowa. With the cordial
indorsement of the editor-in-chief the name of Agnes Wright
Dennis is placed as author of chapter eight, for her thorough
revision made it her own.
In closing, both authors desire to express their sense of
indebtedness to the editor-in-chief of the Centennial History,
on whose shoulders has fallen unavoidably much more respon¬
sibility for this volume than he had reason to expect. We
fear that we have added unduly to his many perplexities and
anxieties.
Ernest Ludlow Bogart,
Charles Manfred Thompson.
Urbana, September i, 1919.
I. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION,
1869-1870
HE quarter century following the year 1870 saw radical
changes in the life of the people of Illinois. A period
of industrial expansion began on a scale hitherto unknown
in this country: manufacturers enlarged and combined their
plants ; railroad companies extended their lines in every direc¬
tion through building and consolidation; cities grew as if by
magic. Here were the real beginnings of modern industry
with its enormous capital, its monopolistic features, and its
widespread economic influence. Politically, the period saw a
deep-seated unrest, which manifested itself in the organiza¬
tion of new parties; greenbackers, liberal republicans, and
other types of independents divided with the older political
parties the attention of the people. Time and again the repub¬
licans met the bitter attacks of their opponents, yet not until
the very close of this period were they forced to hand-over
the state administration to their old enemy, the democrats.
One of the most significant events of this period was the
making of the constitution of 1870, which, with slight altera¬
tions, has served for almost fifty years as the organic law of
the state. Demands for alterations and changes, and even for
a thoroughgoing revision of the constitution of 1848, were
almost as old as the constitution itself. No sooner had that
instrument been adopted than it was seen that several of its
provisions were inadequate and even pernicious; during the
next two decades its shortcomings became more and more
apparent. The greatest specific evil under the constitution of
1848 grew out of the authority conferred on the legislature to
X
2
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
enact private laws. Every session of the general assembly
saw the legislative calendar crowded with bills designed to
favor individuals or localities with little or no regard for the
welfare of the state as a whole; the time and attention of
the lawmakers were consumed by duties which should have
been performed by administrative officers acting under general
laws. Moreover, the practice not only permitted but it
invited corruption on the part of the members of the legisla¬
ture and instilled in the minds of the people a suspicion that
state laws and bribery were intimately associated if not insep¬
arable.^
In general the constitution was too inelastic for the needs
of a growing commonwealth; its designers, in attempting to
meet the needs arising from rural conditions, had not pre¬
pared for urban problems relating to the judiciary, to police
and fire protection, to sanitation, and to government. More¬
over, the inadequacy of the constitution was demonstrated in
many other ways. Salaries, for example, were so low that in
the case of the governor the legislature usually voted " expense
money" for maintaining the executive mansion and grounds;
to otlier state officials additional sums were voted, usually, as
in the case of the judiciary, for additional services rendered
the state in some unimportant or even trivial capacity. What¬
ever the justification for violating the letter of the constitution,
the practice was a dangerous precedent, bound to create
dissatisfaction and distrust in the minds of the people.
The first response to the insistent demand for a constitution
better adapted to the needs of the new era in midwestern
American life was the constitutional convention of 1862; its
labors, however, owing to the complexity of the political situa¬
tion, to the unsettled condition of the times, and to several
obnoxious provisions contained in the proposed constitution,
^Illinois Statt Register, April 15, 1870.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 3
were abortive.^ During the next few years the republican
press of the state kept the subject of another constitutional
convention constantly before the people; and in 1869, after
the submission of the question to the voters, the legislature
ordered an election of delegates to a new constitutional
convention.®
In December of that year, eighty-five delegates assembled
in convention in the old statehouse at Springfield "to revise,
alter, or amend the Constitution of the State of Illinois." *
These men varied greatly in nativity, in educational training,
and in distribution among professions and occupations. Only
eleven of the entire body were native Illinoisians, only five
were naturalized foreign born, while the great majority were
natives of the older states lying to the east and to the south.®
Some of the members had enjoyed scarcely any school training,
while others were graduates of the best colleges and academies
of the east or of leading professional schools of the country.
The widest variety of occupations was represented ; along with
two blacksmiths, one minister, and one editor were six doctors,
2 See Centennial History of Illinois, 3 : 267-272.
® Chicago Tribune, January i, 7, 16, 1867; Illinois State Journal, January 3,
1867; Aurora Beacon, January 17, 1867; Canton Weekly Register, January 18,
1867; Carthage Republican, January 24, 1867, December 3, r868; Belleville
Democrat, February 2t, 1867, December 3, 1868; Rockford Gazette, June 25,
November 12, 1868; Oitavaa Republican, October 29, 1868; Rushville Times,
November 26, 1868; Joliet Signal, December 8, 1868.
^During the period of the convention four delegates died and one resigned;
three places were filled by special election; thus the total number of delegates
that sat in the convention was eighty-eight. For list of names of delegates see
Blue Book of Illinois; Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention,
volume r.
® Of the foreign born elements the absence of both German and Irish, so
powerful numerically in the state, is to be noted; of the five foreign horn mem¬
bers, two were from England, two from Scotland, and one, Joseph Medill, from
Canada. Sixteen states were represented. Twenty-one members were natives
of New York; nine of Kentucky; nine of Ohio; five of Maine; four of Penn¬
sylvania; four of Vermont; four of Tennessee; three of Massachusetts; three of
Virginia; two of New Hampshire; two of Maryland; two of Indiana; and one
each from New Jersey, Connecticut, Missouri, and Rhode Island. New England¬
ers and New Yorkers came chiefly from the northern counties, and the Kentuckians
and Tennesseeans from the southern and central section.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
four merchants, three bankers, two manufacturers, and, out¬
numbering all others almost two to one, were fifty-six law¬
yers.®
Although a correct political classification of the members
appears difficult, since several of them insisted that they were
independent in politics and as such had been elected to the
convention, yet in the practical outcome they divided along the
lines of their old party affiliations. As a result, only one dele¬
gate, Elijah M. Haines, may be considered a real independent;
and of the eighty-eight members, forty-four may be classed as
democrats and forty-three as republicans. The entire delega¬
tion from southern Illinois, with the exception of Charles F.
Springer of Edwardsville and William H. Underwood of Belle¬
ville, was democratic, as were also the members from the Mili¬
tary Tract; the republicans came from the northern and central
counties and from the counties along the Indiana state line.
Thus the sectionalism that had characterized Illinois politics
for years persisted in the selection of members for the con¬
stitutional convention: the southern and western counties in
one political camp; the eastern, central, and northern in the
other.'^
® An interesting correlation between age and occupation is here apparent.
Of the twenty-three members fifty years of age or over, only eleven were law¬
yers ; but of the thirty who were forty or less all but five were lawyers. Thus
the convention was not only dominated by lawyers, but, more important, by
young lawyers. Of the seven members from Cook county only three were
lawyers, while two were bankers, one was a manufacturer, one was an editor.
An entirely different situation existed in the southern counties, which sent, with
the exception of two farmers, a blacksmith, and a miller, an entire delegation
of lawyers. No doubt such differences may be accounted for on the ground
that ambition for political preferment and interest in legislative and constitu¬
tional development was confined in the latter section more exclusively to the
legal profession than was the case in urban communities, such as Chicago and
other places in the north. This entire analysis is based on Moses, Illinois,
2; 787-790; Bateman and Selby, Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois; various news¬
papers for the period of December i to 15, 1869; county histories; questionnaires
sent out to county clerks, relatives and friends of the delegates; but more
especially on an autograph album kindly loaned by William K. Fox (son of
Jesse C. Fox, delegate to the convention, 1869-1870).
''Illinois State Register, May 10, 1870.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 5
When the hour for organizing the convention arrived, John
Dement of Fayette county, well known for his services as state
treasurer and receiver of public moneys, was, after a sharp
skirmish, elected temporary president. Then began a long-
drawn-out wrangle over the wording of the oath which the
members of the convention should take before a permanent
organization could be effected; the republicans contended that
they should swear to support the state constitution, and the
democrats that it was the height of absurdity to swear to sup¬
port that which they had come together to destroy. For three
days the debate raged with ill-feeling on both sides. When the
republicans charged the democrats with a desire to usurp too
much authority — drawing an odious comparison between their
attitude and the attitude of those southern secession conventions
which had given the people no chance to express themselves in
the matter of disunion — the discussion at once became sec¬
tional as well as political. Fortunately, some of the more
influential members recognized that the convention, if it con¬
tinued to dispute over such nonessentials as the definition of
words, would soon be discredited in the minds of the people ;
and late on the third day of the convention the delegates
adopted by a vote of forty-four to forty a compromise reso¬
lution offered by Orville H. Browning of Adams which pro¬
vided that the members should swear to support the constitution
of the United States and the constitution of Illinois so far as
its provisions were compatible with and applicable to each one's
position as delegate.®
This resolution did not, however, settle the oath question.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the majority, some of the
members at the opening of the session on the fourth morning
proposed that each delegate be permitted to frame the oath
® Controversy over the content of the oath is found in Debates and Proceed¬
ings of the Constitutional Convention, i : 7-49.
6 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
which he himself should take. To this proposition the conven¬
tion refused to agree. Judge Samuel H. Treat of the United
States district court then administered "to such of the dele¬
gates as appeared at the bar of the Convention" the oath
agreed on by the majority. After more wrangling, in which
at least one member withdrew in anger from the floor of the
convention,® it was voted to allow as many delegates as desired
to subscribe to the oath which the legislature had stipulated
in the act authorizing the election of delegates — practically
the oath for which the republicans had been contending; there¬
upon those members who deemed it their duty to swear to
support the state constitution were sworn by Judge Treat; and
the convention was finally ready for permanent organization.
Before the nominations for president could be made, it
became apparent that the delegates were divided into two
camps. Practically all the republican members favored a plan
to organize the convention along political lines. The demo¬
crats, however, on account of the independent tendencies of
some of their number, could not hope effectively to organize
their majority in this manner. Along with a few independent
republicans, therefore, they opposed the drawing of party lines
in the organization. Consequently, the independents, who
were largely from Cook county, held the balance of power.
One of their number, William F. Coolbaugh, secured the floor
and, speaking for the independent nonpolitical faction, nomi¬
nated one of his colleagues, Charles Hitchcock, a republican,
for president. Immediately Laurence S. Church of McHenry,
as spokesman for a party candidate, arose and nominated the
well-known newspaper man, Joseph Medill, another repub¬
lican, for the same office; in doing so, he attempted to placate
the opposing faction by pointing out that since Medill had
received the unanimous indorsement of the voters of his dis-
• E. M. Haines of Lake county.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
trict irrespective of political affiliations, he now stood not as
the candidate of any one party but as the representative of
all parties.
The issue was not to be thus clouded; it was quite clear
that the republicans were pushing Medill as a party candidate,
and in this they were opposed by a few of their own number
as well as by the democrats. The few " willful " republicans
agreed with Samuel S. Hayes of Cook, who declared that he
felt it to be the wish of his constituents that he vote " for the
'independent' candidate — and republican — the gentleman
from Cook [Hitchcock]."^" When the vote was cast every
member in the convention participated; with two exceptions
the entire Cook county delegation supported the candidacy of
Hitchcock, who also received the support of all the downstate
democrats; as a result Hitchcock received forty-five votes to
forty for Medill. The election was therefore a victory for
Chicago, for the democrats, and for the independents. Victory
for the so-called nonpartisan combination — they further suc¬
ceeded in electing an equal number of democrats and repub¬
licans for the remaining permanent officers of the convention —
rested on the fact that since the convention was not organ¬
ized politically it was under the domination of no political
organization.
With the election of permanent officers out of the way, the
convention was ready to settle down to a serious consideration
of the state's needs and of the best and most efficient ways of
meeting them in the new constitution. Yet, despite the intelli¬
gence and integrity of the members, much time was wasted in
airing sectional animosities and in quibbling over details too
trivial for the consideration of men selected to draw up an
organic law for the government of one of the most important
commonwealths in the American republic. As the convention
^0 Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, i : 50.
8
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
proceeded with its deliberations the delegates, subjected to
long sessions, heavy committee work, and bitter discussions,
became exhausted and easily irritated; consequently, day by
day the practice of squandering valuable time in debating trivial
questions increased — the matter of providing postage stamps
and stationery was a prolific source of contentious debating in
which hours and even days were wasted. Frivolous proposi¬
tions over which the convention had no control received
extended attention. One such proposition, which came up
again and again, had to do with the removal of the federal
capital from Washington City to Illinois. Nauvoo and
Warsaw, both in Hancock county, each desired to be the seat
of the new capital, while the supervisors of Whiteside county
offered to " cede to the federal government all authority of
law held or exercised by said board of supervisors in or over
said county. . . . Provided, said federal government
locate said federal capitol within said county."The most
senseless debate during the entire sitting of the convention
was on the question of asking the state geologist, Amos H.
Worthen, to publish in his next annual report an essay entitled,
" Origin of the Prairies, " written by Judge John D. Caton.
The practice of debating resolutions introduced primarily
for the purpose of embarrassing state officials also consumed
a great deal of time. The secretary of state, Edward Rummel,
came in for criticism on numerous occasions, as did Newton
Bateman, superintendent of public instruction, who was charged
with being interested in the publication and sale of schoolbooks
and with having illegally accepted money from the various
state educational institutions for performing duties that clearly
fell within his own office; nothing came from these veiled
accusations of dishonesty except the loss of valuable time and
of cordiality among some of the members.
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, i;i8o.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 9
The animosity toward Chicago was displayed on numerous
occasions by many of the downstate delegates; some, under
the p>retense of saving a principle, condemned every proposi¬
tion advanced in the interest of Cook county. They professed
to believe that Chicago was a hotbed of political corruption
and hence a standing menace to democracy. The most passion¬
ate expressions in this respect came from delegates who repre¬
sented the eastern side of the state and the tier of counties
along the Wisconsin line, two sections that had felt the weight
of competition from Chicago industry.
The chief source of dissension in the convention was
political, yet political discussion as such occupied surprisingly
little time, considering the bitter feelings of the time over
reconstruction and the fifteenth amendment. Apparently the
leaders among the delegates recalled the result of dragging
political animosities into constitution making, for it had been
that very factor which caused the convention of 1862 to be
discredited and its labor to be rejected by the people. So care¬
ful were they in this respect that Governor Palmer's name
appears never to have been mentioned on the convention floor,
while President Lincoln was referred to but once; and then
his name was coupled with that of Stephen A. Douglas in a
resolution expressing the pleasure of the convention in seeing
the portraits of the two illustrious men hanging on the walls
of the convention hall. Now and then, however, the hot-heads
on either side broke away from restraint; on these occasions
the republicans usually twitted their political opponents about
the defects of the old constitution, while the democrats retal¬
iated by criticizing the extravagances of state administrations
since i860. Once only did the discussion take a more serious
turn, when Elijah M. Haines of Lake, the staunch independ¬
ent and " antimonopolist," held President Grant up to rid¬
icule.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Despite these many digressions which caused the people
over the state to suspect the honesty of the delegates and to
fear that the constitution was a product of intrigue and cor¬
ruption, the convention did give itself to a serious examination
of the needs of the state, as the instrument they framed bears
witness. The delegates spent long hours in open debate after
having considered carefully every measure in its appropriate
committee. Of these measures six have had, and continue to
have, an important bearing on the history of the state. The first
related to the purchase and lease of the Illinois-Michigan canal;
a second to the franchise, in which the whole question of suffrage
in its relation to aliens, Negroes, and women was discussed;
another to minority representation, which, it was hoped by its
sponsors, would break down political sectionalism within the
state; a fourth to the regulation of railroads in general, with
special reference to the power of the state over the Illinois
Central railroad; a fifth to the judiciary of the state, but
more especially to the kinds, number, and jurisdiction of the
courts in Cook county; while a sixth related to education and
religion.
One of the first proposals which the convention took up
seriously related to the Illinois-Michigan canal, which had
been opened to navigation in 1848. Not only in revenue from
tolls but also in opening up to settlement the sections of the
state in which it was located, the canal, alone of all the vast
system of internal improvements undertaken in the thirties,
had been a fair success.'^ For that very reason, however, in
the minds of many people the canal was no longer a state enter¬
prise, operated for the benefit of all, but rather a local one
benefiting only those living in its vicinity. Hence the sections
of the state remotely removed from the route of the canal
either manifested little interest in its success or came out boldly
See Centennial History of Illinois, 2:194 fiE.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION ii
against it, denouncing it as a sectional enterprise. Previous
legislation, uncertain as to the canal's ultimate success as a
highway of commerce and unwilling to formulate policies that
might be unpopular, had followed a halting policy in dealing
with the canal. It is little wonder then that although the dele¬
gates felt the necessity of making some definite provision for
the canal's future, yet in formulating these provisions a spirit
of sectionalism should arise among them.
On January 19, 1870, the standing committee on canals
and canal lands reported its first constitutional section, which
provided that the canal and "any addition or extension"
which might " be made thereto " should " never be sold, leased
or otherwise disposed of, to any person or corporation what¬
ever," but should " remain forever the property of this State
and under its management and control."^® An identical sec¬
tion was offered by the standing committee on internal improve¬
ments, and the two were considered as one. A week's debate
ensued,^^ downstate members referring to the canal as a
"running sore;" they objected to turning the Chicago river
into the canal — to making "the State . . . the scav¬
enger of Chicago." The animus of the opposition was aggra¬
vated by the desire of certain downstate members to embarrass
Chicago in its efforts to secure adequate constitutional provi¬
sions for governing a rapidly growing urban community. The
"shrieks of locality" filled the air: the distribution of the
state school fund, the number of Cook county criminals in the
penitentiary, the treatment accorded downstate visitors by
Chicago hotel keepers, the wealth of Chicagoans both indi¬
vidually and as a group — all were ramifications of the canal
debates.^®
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 1:210.
Illinois State Register, January 26, z8, 1870.
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 1: 397.
12 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
When on January 27, 1870, the article was finally taken
up in the committee of the whole the opposition used three
main points of attack. Silas L. Bryan of Marion county
asserted that the canal expenditures up to that time had been
a poor investment and hence that the legislature should not be
prohibited by the constitution from leasing or selling the canal,
should it ever be advisable to do so; James C. Allen of Craw¬
ford contended that the management of all such state enter¬
prises was lamentably weak and especially so in Illinois; a
third somewhat indirect argument asserted that if the state
as such desired to engage in transportation it should build
railroads, for it had already been conclusively demonstrated
that as routes of travel and transportation they were far
superior to canals.^®
Friends of the proposal, in addition to denying the validity
of the argument that all state controlled enterprises, such as
canals, were poor investments and invariably managed at a loss,
took the high ground not only that the state should maintain
the canal but also that it should enlarge it and by operating it
check, if possible, the tendencies of railroad rates to increase;
the state should never allow the railroads themselves to gain
control of the canal — as rumor had it about the convention
they meant to do — with the idea primarily of abandoning it.
Medill, in support of the proposed article, made a distinction
between leasing and selling; while he was willing to grant to
the legislature the authority to lease it, he was unwilling to
grant a similar authority as to its sale. At once southern
members charged Chicago with a desire to maintain its hold
on the canal, which in their opinion would be easier to accom¬
plish provided the legislature had no power to sell it; fur¬
thermore, they charged that the prohibition relating to lease
would not affect the arrangement between Chicago and the
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 1:310-320.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 13
state, which had been entered into under the old constitu¬
tions."
For days the debate went on. Substitute after substitute
and amendment after amendment were offered in an effort to
change the meaning of the original article submitted by the
two committees. On account of the uncertainty of the outcome
no group demanded a vote, and no group manifested any
willingness to postpone debate. Finally, on February 4,
Browning of Adams county offered an entirely new article,
which in a simple and common sense way provided that the
canal should " never be sold or leased until the specific propo¬
sition for the sale or lease thereof" should first have been
submitted " to a vote of the people of the State at a general
election, and have been approved by a majority of all the votes
polled at such election." The committee of the whole
indorsed the Browning amendment and accordingly reported
it to the convention, recommending that it be made a part of
the constitution. The convention adopted it by a vote of forty-
nine to eleven, the Cook county delegation, with the exception
of one member, refusing to vote.^®
Fully as bitter as the debates over the canal were those in
which the franchise question was the issue at stake. The
fifteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States
was then up for discussion; the women of the state were active
in demanding the right to vote ; Illinois was rapidly becoming
a center of a foreign born population. Four groups of inhabit¬
ants, therefore, demanded serious consideration: native white
males, foreign born white males, women, and Negroes. Re¬
garding the limits to which the franchise should be extended
In 1865 Chicago had leased the canal, the state agreeing, if the canal
should revert to the state, to reimburse Chicago for any expenditures that might
be made on it. In 1871 the state took over the canal. Andreas, History of
Chicago, 2\i2i.
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 1:478.
Illinois State Journal, January 31, February 2, 3, 4, 6, 1870.
14 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
by the constitution there existed obviously a wide difference of
opinion; a storm of debate was precipitated when the com¬
mittee on the right of suffrage, unable to agree among them¬
selves, offered one majority and two minority reports to the
convention.^" Though these reports differed in several respects,
that of chief interest concerned qualifications for voting. The
majority report recommended that " every person who was an
elector in this State on the first day of April, A. D. 1848, and
every male citizen of the United States above the age of
twenty-one years, who shall have resided in the State one year
and in the election district sixty days next preceding any elec¬
tion," should be entitled to vote at such election.^^
Six of the nine members of the committee signed the
majority report, but of the six, four offered a supplementary
report which provided that the voters of the state should be
permitted to express themselves on the question of extending
the election franchise to women. The minority report proper,
which was signed by three committee members, all of whom
were from the southern part of the state,^^ proposed to restrict
the franchise to white males, though willing that the voters of
the state should decide whether or not the franchise should be
withheld from Negroes. The issue then was not only the
matter of franchise but also the question of permitting legally
qualified voters of the state to decide what limitations, if any,
should be placed on the privilege of both women and Negroes
to vote.'^®
In the debate that followed, the fifteenth amendment was
condemned, its supporters were criticized, and the question of
the place of the Negro in American society and government
^"Illinois State Journal, February 26, 1870.
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 1:856.
James M. Sharp of Wabash, William G. Bowman of Gallatin, and
Charles E. McDowell of White county.
Illinois State Register consistently opposed Negro suffrage. See issue of
April 15, 1870.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 15
was thoroughly discussed.^^ Medill, however, took the position
that the members of the constitutional convention had " nothing
to do with the right of the colored man to vote," since he had
"the same right to the suffrage as the white man," and it did
not lie within " the power of this Convention to take it away
from him."
Woman's suffrage received even more serious consideration,
though its enemies in the convention vainly tried to stop debate
on the ground that a mere discussion of the right of women to
vote was degrading to womanhood. Then they resorted to
ridicule; they charged that the woman's suffrage question was
the product of unbalanced minds and that its adherents were
chiefly " long haired men and short haired women."
The political status of unnaturalized adult males was also
a source of prolonged debate. Under the constitution of 1848
a residence of one year within the state was the only require¬
ment for voting, and the members of the convention generally
desired to impose more stringent requirements on foreign born
voters. They found it difficult, however, to agree on the nature
and extent of these requirements ; though some took the ground
that it was highly inconsistent and indefensible to grant the
franchise to Negroes and to withhold it from foreign born
whites who had not yet been naturalized, the majority sub¬
scribed to a different view. Dement favored restricting the
voting of unnaturalized inhabitants on the ground that any
other course would give them privileges in directing the
government without imposing on them corresponding obliga¬
tions and duties. Referring to the experiences of the Civil
War, he declared " that these foreign-born citizens [voters in
Illinois] that had not naturalized under the laws of the country
Illinois State Register, February 7, 24, March 17, 24,'April 9, 1870.
25 Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2:1290.
^"Illinois State Register, March 10, 1870.
i6 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
came in when there was danger of a draft and plead the pro¬
tection of their sovereign, their allegiance to whom they had
never renounced. . . . While the naturalized citizens and
our native citizens were putting down the rebellion they were
basking at home, protected by their allegiance to the sovereign
of a foreign government. " Dement concluded that: " If we
enfranchise them, and should be so unfortunate as to engage
in another war, it is doubtful whether we could draft these
enfranchised foreigners into our ranks to fight for this govern¬
ment, that was so kind and liberal to them as to give them the
right of suffrage and the right to elect the officers of our
government. " Medill, in further support of this view, held
that no state or nation was justified in extending the right of
voting, nor could it safely do so to any one who still held
allegiance to a foreign power. Their opponents, however,
though evading the question of the inseparableness of rights
and duties, contended that inasmuch as the unnaturalized for¬
eigners, as a class, were men of intelligence and many had
proved their loyalty to the union by enlisting in the northern
army, reliance should be placed on their good will to support
the government in times of stress, and they should therefore
be permitted to participate in the direction of government.^®
The result of this long-drawn-out debate was that the
franchise was restricted to citizens of the United States, to
all electors in the state in 1848, and to all foreigners who had
" obtained a certificate of naturalization, before any Court of
record" in Illinois prior to January i, 1870.^®
The committee of the whole adopted the majority report
which gave the ballot to Negroes and withheld it from women;
but because one portion of the minority favored one minority
^''Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, z'.izte.
Ibid., 1285, 1290.
Ibid., 1293; Illinois State Journal, April i6, 1870.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 17
report and another portion favored the other, it was impossible
to say how many of^the total negative votes of eighteen were
influenced by the woman question and how many by the Negro
question. The friends of woman's suffrage, therefore, follow¬
ing the report of the committee of the whole, forced the direct
issue by offering a substitute for the committee report; in the
final vote, with twenty-seven members not voting, they mustered
twelve supporters.®"
Another phase of the franchise question had to do with
minority representation in the state legislature. Its advocates
had in mind to decrease, if not to destroy, the intense sectional¬
ism that had characterized Illinois politics since the settlement
of the northern counties. Before the war southern Illinois,
democratic in politics and southern in sympathies and extraction,
was arrayed against northern Illinois, composed largely of
New Englanders and New Yorkers with whig tendencies, while
the central counties were divided both in politics and in sym¬
pathy. The war itself tended in a way to create a better
understanding; yet in 1870 practically every legislative dis¬
trict in southern and western Illinois was democratic; while in
the eastern and northern sections, though not to the same
degree, the republicans predominated. As a result the legis¬
lators from each section held a political as well as a sectional
bias; and much of the legislation was colored by national
politics. Already methods for breaking down this sectionalism
had been discussed both in the newspapers and on the stump,
and it was the generally accepted opinion throughout the
state that the constitutional convention would examine the
matter.®^
The first move came on December 17, 1869, when Robert P.
^''Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2;i3Si;
Illinois State Register, April i6, 1870.
Ibid., January 4, 1870.
i8 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Hanna of Wayne offered a resolution which provided that the
proper committee should consider the advisability of recom¬
mending to the convention some plan whereby the number of
representatives in a district should be greater than the total
number of votes allowed to each elector, thereby giving the
minority party in each district a chance to elect its own candi¬
date. Though creating little comment at the time, this sugges¬
tion was finally incorporated in the report of the committee on
electoral reform^^ and after some modification was pushed to
the vote. The provision met the opposition of only the few
members opposed to the principle of minority representation
itself, so that when the previous question was moved and a
vote taken the measure was adopted by a vote of forty-six to
seventeen. This plan of cumulative voting, whereby " each
qualified voter may cast as many votes for one candidate as
there are representatives to be elected, or may distribute the
same, or equal parts thereof, among the candidates," was so
novel that it was decided to submit it to the voters of the state
as a separate section.®^
Even more revolutionary than the adoption of minority
representation was the stand taken by the delegates regarding
the regulation of railroads by legislation. At the outset, when¬
ever the question of railroad regulation arose, the opinion was
freely expressed that the only regulative principle possible was
competition. "Build competing lines," said Hanna; "hold
out liberal inducements for capitalists to come from every
portion of the country and invest their capital and compete
with them. When you have done this, the problem is solved,
and the true and only relief furnished." In this connection
Delates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, i : 72 ; Illinois
State Register, February 17, March 31, 1870.
ää See letters of William M. Springer and Joseph Medill, ibid., Septem¬
ber 21, 1870; Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2:1878.
For a further discussion, see Centennial History of Illinois, 5:2949.
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 1: 577.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 19
Medill pointed out: " It is easy for gentlemen in their wrath
to declare that railroad extortion must be stopped by law.
. . . They must be governed by the same common and
general laws, under which we all live and hold our possessions,
and enjoy our rights. ... I am not able, with what
investigation I have given this subject for years, and with all
the light I have been able to extract from able and astute
lawyers, to conceive of any adequate and sufficient means of
checking railroad overcharges and rapacity, by statute law of
this State."
This was the opinion held by a large majority of the dele¬
gates until the last few days of the convention, when Reuben M.
Benjamin of Bloomington, an authority on constitutional law,
began to advance arguments which took entirely different
ground. Railroad corporations, he held, had been created
for the public good; and inasmuch as they had been given
power of eminent domain they were under control of the
legislature ; the lawmaking body had as much right to regulate
rates on railroads as to regulate bridge and ferry tolls; fur¬
ther, the rights of private corporations ought not and could not
stand in the way of public rights, despite any action of the
legislature in creating corporations or in issuing charters. His
arguments were so well supported, both in law and in fact,
and he was so well able to substantiate them with case after
case and opinion after opinion, that his contention began to
effect a radical change in the attitude of the convention.®®
Consequently, when on May 3 the committee on railroad
corporations brought in a report, which provided that the
legislature might fix railroad rates, the weight of argument in
the most scholarly debate of the session swung to the other side.
Not only did the lawyer members feel safe in the niceties of a
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 1:325.
Ibid,, 2:1641-1643.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
constitutional question, but the old guard had already suc¬
cumbed to Benjamin's logic and with a right-about face were
now advancing his arguments. When Medill spoke carefully
and with good effect on the right of the constitution to authorize
the legislature to control railroads, his reasoning was a com«
plete reversal of that which he had used a few months pre«
viously. Then he had denied the existence of such a right; now
he held to the exact opposite. His " investigation " extending
over a series of years and the "light" he had "extracted"
from numerous lawyers was lost. Speaking as a "layman,"
Medill set aside without serious consideration whatever claim
of vested interests the railroads or their friends might make
and took the position that any power the legislature might have
conferred on the railroads to charge extortionate rates was
clearly void and could be legally set aside. " I believe
there is no remedy to be obtained in competing lines. . . .
The real remedy is for the people, through this Conven¬
tion and the State Legislature, to assert their sovereignty
and supremacy over all the creatures of the Legislature,
and declare what the law shall be in this regard. ... It
is within my recollection, sir, that decisions of the highest
courts have been overruled and overturned by the uprising of
the people—by the ground swell of the masses."®^ During
the debate, which extended over four days, the whole question
of vested rights held by the railroads was threshed out and
their claims thoroughly examined. Finally the convention
agreed, though the vote was rather close, to restrict the rate
making power of the railroads by lodging it in the hands of
the legislature.
With the policy toward the railroads of the state settled,
there remained the necessity of determining exactly what rela¬
tion should exist between the state and the Illinois Central
^''Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, a; 1645.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 21
railroad, which had been aided by the donation of public lands.
Hitherto the road had paid a definite proportion of its receipts
into the state treasury, in return for which it was exempt from
taxes. Although a majority of the members of the convention
favored a continuation of this policy, a radical minority urged
that the road be placed on the same taxing basis as all other
railroads in the state. For this, they advanced two chief argu¬
ments; first, they contended that with the property of the
road exempt from taxation the counties in which the lines of
the Illinois Central railroad were located were finding it
increasingly difficult to raise sufficient funds by local taxation;
second, they pointed out that since the road was compelled to
pay large sums into the state treasury, it took advantage of
that fact to charge higher freight and passenger rates than
would otherwise have been the case.
The first argument Allen of Crawford met with a scathing
indictment of the counties along the road of the Illinois Central.
"They come here and whine and whimper to induce us to
release them from the obligations they entered into with us
when we made the contract with the railroad company, and
they beg the other counties, ' for God's sake relieve us from
the terms of that contract.'
"That is wrong. They have no moral right to ask it.
They got all we contracted to give them when they got the
Illinois Central railroad. They have all its advantages, while
we in the other counties, for every mile of railroad we have
built, have had to draw from our own pockets, and tax
ourselves.
" Now they ask us to surrender the interest of the State
in the seven per cent, that the people of counties on the road
may not be burdened by this taxation. Burdened! Why,
gentlemen, the Illinois Central railroad has made you rich.
It has poured into the lap of those counties millions of
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
wealth. It has built up large towns and cities all along its
line, while the other sixty odd counties have not had one
dollar's benefit from it, except as they have derived it from
the taxes paid into the State treasury."®®
In the end the convention agreed to continue the seven per
cent provision of the Illinois Central charter; and in order to
prevent it from ever becoming an issue in the legislature they
submitted to the people a separate section which provided that
" no contract, obligation or liability whatever of the Illinois
Central railroad company to pay any money into the State
treasury . . . shall ever be released, suspended, modified,
altered, remitted, or in any manner diminished or impaired by
legislation or other authority." This provision was indorsed
by the people, with the result that under the constitution of
1870 the question of the liability of the Illinois Central rail¬
road to pay a portion of its gross receipts into the state treasury
has never been questioned.
A fifth series of debates was over the reorganization of the
judiciary. All portions of the state felt the need of more
speedy justice, but to Cook county it had become a matter of
vital importance. The rapid congestion of population in Chi¬
cago had increased legal business of all descriptions; numerous
land sales, the rapid multiplication of grain elevators, and the
growth of the Board of Trade were among the factors which in¬
creased civil law cases ; while the easy opportunity for robberies,
thefts, and even murder among a dense and cosmopolitan popu¬
lation of a quarter million, multiplied the need of more criminal
law machinery. Chicago, therefore, wanted more courts, and
more and better paid judges; and, because this number far
exceeded that which the same number of people downstate
either desired or needed, the judiciary debates in the end con-
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2:1615.
Constitution of 1870, ibid., 1878.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 23
cerned themselves chiefly with whether or not Chicago should
attain its needs.
Various schemes were proposed for relieving the legal
congestion under which not only Chicago, but, to a less degree,
many other sections of the state suffered. One scheme favored
several appellate courts made up of circuit court judges taken
temporarily from the circuits within each appellate district;
another suggested a court of common pleas, having concurrent
jurisdiction with the circuit courts, to handle the less important
cases that would ordinarily go to the circuit courts. The scheme
which brought forth the most debate, however, provided that
in the downstate circuits there should be ninety or a hundred
thousand inhabitants for each judge, while in Chicago for each
judge there should be fifty thousand or less. This proposal
met the bitter opposition of many downstate members, not
because their sections of the state needed more judges or
because Chicago needed fewer ; but because, as they said, in a
constitution there should be no discrimination between local¬
ities.
As the debates proceeded and it became increasingly difficult
successfully to deny the claims of Chicago, the opposition
resorted to ridicule. "Now, the time was when the rural
districts required more judges for the same number of inhabit¬
ants. It was at a time when there were a great many law¬
suits growing out of the wild hog question ; but in those rural
districts there is no more mast-fed pork; and the result is,
litigation has measurably ceased. [Laughter.] They are a
quiet, honest and industrious people, and do not require a
judge for every forty thousand, as they do in those cities
where there are people who propose to live off of each other,
by just peeling each other every time they pass upon the
street."^" Ridicule, however, was of no avail; the better
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, i: 117.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
sense of the delegates overcame their prejudices, with the
result that the constitution made provision not only for the
increasing business of the courts downstate, hut also, in a much
more radical manner, for the peculiar interests of Chicago.^^
In matters of religion and education the delegates con¬
sidered the relation of church and state, the various types and
kinds of religious organizations in their relation to the school
system and to each other, and examine with considerable care
the principle of free education in all its ramifications. " Sepa¬
ration of church and state" the delegates appeared to have
clearly in mind; time after time in different debates, the mem¬
bers, while expressing their profound conviction that the well-
being of the state of Illinois depended on its citizens giving their
hearty allegiance to Christianity, insisted that the new constitu¬
tion should restrict neither by word nor implication the full
and complete right of each citizen to hold whatever religious
views he desired.^^ William H. Underwood of St. Clair
expressed the sentiments of a majority of his colleagues when
he said: "The line between church and State in this country
is clearly drawn. The duties to Almighty God are not touched
in any manner whatever by Jiuman government. We have no
jurisdiction of the subject. While our social relations and our
duties to our fellow creatures are properly and legitimately
the subject of human legislation, all efforts heretofore made
in the old world and in this country to introduce religious tests
or to incorporate in a Constitution or government made by all
the people for all the people, any part of the creed or any one
church, are, in my humble judgment, tyranny and despotism,
and an abuse of the power of human government wholly
unwarranted, which, in modern times, will not he submitted
See Constitution, article vi, section 23. For a full discussion of the subject
see Centennial History of Illinois, 5: 323 ff. '
<2 Constitution, article 11, section 3 ; Illinois State Journal, January 2S, 187a
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 25
to, and ought not to be submitted to by a free people who claim
for themselves the sovereign right of religious liberty, and are
equally determined to grant the same right and privilege to
every other human being."
More difficult was the question of the place of the parochial
school in the state's educational system. The members as a
group stood for free elementary education, and a majority
opposed any diversion of the school funds to the use of private
schools ; and, although great pressure was brought to bear on
the convention for a provision in the constitution whereby
school funds might be paid to " schools and other institutions
of learning of classes of the people whose conscientious scruples
prevent them from using the public schools, by appropriations
to the extent of the school taxes paid by such classes," yet in
the end it was decided to keep the entire school fund intact
for the public schools.^^
Closely related to the proposition to appropriate a portion
of the school funds to parochial schools was that to tax the
real estate owned by church organizations but not used directly
in worship. On the authority of Medill, it was stated on the
floor of the convention that Chicago alone had twenty million
dollars worth of such property, the exemption of which
increased the taxes paid by other property owners at least
fifteen per cent. Since no general rule, however, could be laid
down for determining just how or when property was used
for religious worship, the convention could not attempt to
settle the matter.
Proposals to have the Bible read in the public school started
a torrent of debate. James G. Bayne of Woodford, in starting
the discussion, declared that the Bible " is the only book now
extant in the world by which man can have any definite idea
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2:1319.
** Ibid., 1:622; Constitution, article viii, section 3.
26 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
of his origin or of his creation." William H. Snyder of
St. Clair opposed the proposal on the ground that it would be
an imposition on the Catholics of the state. "Has it ever
struck our protestant fellow-citizens," he said, " who are the
authors of this movement, what the consequences would be,
if their position and that of our Catholic countrymen were
reversed, and if Douay instead of the King James version of
the Bible, were sought to be enforced by law upon the public
schools of this State — if their hard earned means were wrested
from them by the tax-gatherer in order that the doctrines of
a hostile church and what they consider the most pernicious
of errors, were about to be impressed forever upon the young
and tender minds of their darling children?"^® Snyder's
view prevailed; the constitution went to the people with no
reference to the use of the Bible in the public schools.
Public education occasioned even more debate than religion,
for here again sectional interests were at play. Members from
the northern counties, whose proportion of taxable property
outran their proportion of school children, sharply protested
the proposition to apportion state funds among the counties
according to school population. Allen of Crawford and other
southern members argued, with effect, that the well-being of
children was the concern of the state rather than of individual
counties, and this larger aspect was the decisive factor in
formulating the decision of the members.
In all the debates, divisions of opinion among the delegates
merely reflected similar divisions among the people; for that
reason the convention deemed it advisable to submit to the
voters for their special consideration such articles as might
endanger the indorsement of the constitution proper. Accord¬
ingly, the voters were asked to adopt or reject, in addition to
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2:1740.
Ibid., 1743.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION vj
the constitution, eight separate articles: those in relation to
corporations, warehouses, removal of county seats, minority
representation, canal, Illinois Central railroad, municipal sub¬
scriptions to railroads or private corporations, and an article
entitled "counties." All were indorsed by large majorities,
the closest vote being on minority representation, which was
99,022 to 70,080. The proposed constitution was therefore
indorsed in toto by the people.^''
"Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2:1296. Sec
Centennial History of Illinois, 5:190 ff., for a full analysis of the contents of the
constitution.
II. SOME ASPECTS OF SOCIAL LIFE IN ILLINOIS,
1870-1876
HE early seventies in Illinois marked a period of growth,
characterized by the changing aspect of the school and
the pulpit, by the incorporation of new ideas, and by the widen¬
ing outlook on life. Awakening social consciousness brought
conflict — political, social, religious, racial. "We are fallen
upon a time of agitation," commented the Chicago Tribune.
"There is a general shaking up of the virtues, and the vices,
and the pools of society are being vigorously stirred by the
angels of reform." ^
That lowering of the moral tone, public and private, which
reflective men had noticed so markedly in the latter sixties,
still left its shadow over the land; it was a gloomy picture
that editors painted in New Year summaries. "The world of
morality has little to boast of. Crime has increased rapidly.
Corruption has left its taint all over the land. Public and pri¬
vate trusts have been betrayed in a reckless manner. Defalca¬
tions, embezzlements, frauds, murders, swindles, violence, riots
and thefts are and have been the order of the day and the
prospect does not brighten any with the advent of the new
year." Cairo gained the reputation of killing one man per
week, while Chicago increased its notoriety for gamblers,
"bunko ropers," confidence men, and murderers.^
"A clearing out" was advocated in Springfield on the
ground that that city was "infested with an unwholesome
1 Chicago Tribune, February 26, 1874.
^ Ibid., January i, 1875; Illinois State Realster. Sentember 8. tSta. Tnn^ m.
SOCIAL LIFE
29
debris consisting of bullies, strumpets, vagrants, and sneak
thieves." On one occasion, Christmas eve, 1873, "the city
was practically in the possession of a gang of drunken vaga¬
bonds. A negro was beaten on the street, ladies were insulted,
men assaulted, a religious festival interrupted, and various
other acts of ruffianism perpetrated." ®
To the public generally the "Williamson county war" was
the most flagrant example of untrammeled lawlessness. This
"war" had originated in a fued between two Williamson
county families " growing out of some trivial cause " and had
attained such huge proportions that within two years the
vendetta had reaped the toll of twenty-seven murders, a number
which rumor swelled to as high as forty. Journalistic comment
unmercifully lashed the participators in the feud, the county
officials, and especially Governor Beveridge for allowing the
"reign of terror" and "carnival of blood" to continue in
Williamson county. The Chicago Tribune scored its "Napo¬
leonic governor" for permitting "KuKluxism in this State,"
while the State Register urged the governor to "wake up,"
and to cease being " as dumb as an oyster," and " as action-
less as a post."^ It was only by the trial of the bandits under
the Ku Klux law, however, that the vendetta was finally
checked.
By far the most terrific social and economic calamity of the
period was the great Chicago fire. Like many western cities,
Chicago had grown so rapidly that at this time almost all the
56,000 buildings within the city limits were of pine construc¬
tion.
During the summer of 1871 the whole country had suffered
i Illinois State Register, May i6, 1S71, December ay, 1875.
* Illinois State Register, May 25, 1875; Chicago Tribune, August 6, 9, 19,
1875. For typical journalistic comments and press dispatches on the feud, see
ibid., December 18, 1874, May as, July i, August 2, 6, 9, ao, 1875; Cairo Evening
Bulletin, August 3,1875, clipped in Illinois State Register, August 6,1875; Chicago
Tribune, May 25, August 9, 10, 18, 1875.
30 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
from a severe drought, and in Chicago almost no rain had
fallen. Owing to its situation that city is exposed to sweeping
winds from every side ; those from the lake are generally wet,
but the hot, dry winds from the southwest were the ones the
city feared. They passed over acres of flimsy frame buildings,
leaving them as dry as tinder, before reaching the more sub¬
stantial business section within the fire limits. " Chicago, then,
had for years been exposed to a destructive fire. All that was
required was the concurrence of certain circumstances
a long continued dry season; a fire starting among wooden
buildings on the West Side; a negligent or worn-out Fire
Department, and a gale of wind strong enough to carry the
fire-brands across the South Branch and the river. On the 9th
of October they happened together." ®
Even after the fire was well started in the west division, no
general alarm was felt, for the river was considered sufficient
protection to the south and north division. But the " fire was
accompanied by the fiercest tornado of wind ever known to
blow here, and it acted like a perfect blow-pipe, driving the
brilliant blaze hundreds of feet with so perfect a combustion
that it consumed the smoke, and its heat was so great that fire¬
proof buildings sunk before it, almost as readily as wood."
When the fire jumped the river the whole city lay at its mercy.
Soon "billows of fire were rolling over the business palaces
of the city, and swallowing up their contents. Walls were
falling so fast that the quaking of the ground under our feet
was scarcely noticed, so continuous was the reverberation.
Sober men and women were hurrying through the streets from
the burning quarter—some with bundles of clothing on their
shoulders ; others, dragging trunks along the sidewalk . .
children trudging by the sides or borne in their arms. Now
and then a sick man or woman would be observed, half con-
® Chicago Tribune, October 9, 1S72.
SOCIAL LIFE
31
cealed in a mattress doubled up and borne by two men."'
Carts, wagons, carriages dashed through the streets while men
still frantically sought for some conveyance to bear them away.
Nearer the disaster "people were mad. Despite the police —
indeed the police were powerless — they crowded upon frail
coigns of vantage, as fences and high side walks propped on
wooden piles, which fell beneath their weight, and hurled them,
bruised and bleeding, into the dust. They stumbled over broken
furniture and fell, and were trampled under foot. Seized with
wild and causeless panics, they surged together backwards and
forwards in the narrow streets, cursing, threatening, imploring,
fighting to get free. . . . Everywhere dust, smoke, flame,
heat, thunder of falling walls, crackle of fire, hissing of water,
panting of engines."'' To make the helplessness of the city
more complete, the great pumping stations were disabled by a
burning roof falling upon them, so that not enough water could
be lifted from the lake to quench a bonfire; the tearing down
and blowing up of buildings was found to be almost the only
method of stopping the flames.
The total area of the burnt district covered 2,024 acres
on which 13,500 buildings were consumed; the dwelling places
of 100,000 citizens were destroyed, 92,000 persons being ren¬
dered homeless. It was estimated that 250 people lost their
lives, while the financial loss reached the sum of $187,927,000.
Relief poured in from other states and even foreign countries
to an amount little short of $5,000,000 — the nine railroads
entering Chicago could hardly furnish cars to transport the
provisions and clothing that came in.® The state legislature,
called into special session by Governor Palmer, was powerless
to render direct aid to the stricken city; it passed, however,
•Letter of W. B. Ogden, quoted by Andreas, History of Chicago, 2:704;
ihid.. 734.
t Chicago Post, October 18, 1871.
•Koerner, Memoirs, z: 53z.
32 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
an act redeeming the canal from the lien thereon for the cost
of its improvement by Chicago, and the amount of $2,955,340
was thus constitutionally placed at the disposal of Chicago.
Individual lives and fortunes had in a great many cases
suffered irreparable misfortune, but the city itself now seemed
to come into quicker and fuller life. Within two years the
bare ground on State and the streets parallel with it was worth
more than land and buildings were before the fire, for the
entire destruction of the old business section had cleared the
way for all sorts of improvements.
Brick, stone, and later steel buildings were erected in the
place of the earlier frame buildings, and within four years
after the fire it was estimated that nearly $18,000,000 had
been expended for stone and brick construction.®
If the fire did not check the material growth of Chicago
very seriously, neither did it, for more than a season or so,
banish those arts of living which that city had so early shown
a desire to cultivate.^® Chicago had long been favored with
good opera and plays of the better type. During the winter
season of 1875 the Italian Opera Company playing in Chicago
included "La Traviata," "Lucia," "Faust," and "Lohen¬
grin " in its repertoire, theater-goers were afforded the oppor¬
tunity of seeing actors like Edwin Booth and Clara Morris in
"Richelieu" and "Camille," while Sunday night concerts at
® Chicago Tribune, July 20, 1874. Strange as it may seem, the city did not
at once take adequate precaution against future fires; and it was not until a fire
in 1874 destroyed $4,000,000 worth of property and exacted $2,381,400 from insur¬
ance companies that the board of underwriters and the withdrawal of insurance
companies forced remedial action. A popular mass meeting of the board of under¬
writers demanded a reorganization of the fire department; extension of fire
limits; organization of a force of sappers and miners; increase of the capacity
of water pipes and plugs; protection of the business section from the frame
buildings in the southern, western, and northern parts of the city; and removal
of the lumber yards to a more remote section. On July 22, the mayor signed an
order extending the fire limits to the outer boundaries of the city, and other
improvements were not long after made. Chicago Tribune, July t8. 20. 22.
October 9, 1874.
'"See Centennial History of Illinois, 3:4368.
SOCIAL LIFE
33
the Chicago Academy of Music and recitals by the Liederkranz
and other societies were again offering their attractive pro¬
grams.^ ^ The first reception at the Fine Arts Institute after
the fire Chicago had heralded in 1874 : " Time was, before the
fire, when art receptions were notable events. . . . Then
came the fire and burned up the galleries and many of the
pictures, and drove the artists here, there, and everywhere,
so that they no longer had local habitation or name. . . .
As the new city, however, began to rise out of the ashes, one
after the other they began to return again, and now there are
more artists here than there were before the fire."
Other cities of the state were neglecting neither music nor
art. In 1875 Springfield indulged in a three-day carnival of
music when, at its invitation, twenty-two singing societies sig¬
nified their intention of attending the sängerfest on the twenty-
eighth and twenty-ninth of June.^^ At Jacksonville, an art
society was organized in 1875 conducted an exhibit of the
five "pieces of art owned in the city" — an effort which the
Chicago Tribune approved as showing " a remarkable evidence
of aesthetic culture." The Illinois Industrial University was
the proud owner of a "grand collection," said to be "the
largest west of New York; " the art gallery there was formally
opened January i, 1875, with four hundred pictures and four
hundred pieces of sculpture on exhibit.^^
Libraries and lecture courses still furnished an important
element of culture. At a lecture course in Sterling, Senator
Carl Schurz, Professor Swing of Chicago, Schuyler Colfax,
" Eli " Perkins, Mrs. Scott-Siddons, the Boston Quintette, the
Camillo-Urso Troupe, General Banks, and Lillian Edgerton
Chicago Tribune, January 2, 14, 16, 18, 1875.
"Ibid., February 13, 1874.
"Ibid., June 3, July i, 1875.
"Ibid., January 22, 1875. Citizens of Champaign and Urbana contributed
the funds for the collection which was purchased in Europe by Dr. John M.
Gregory. Ibid., January 2, 1875.
34 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
offered their various talents during the winter of 1875. In
Chicago, Sunday lectures, literary societies, classes in English
literature, and the extensive use of libraries indicated a con¬
scious effort at improvement.^®
The diversions of rural life changed but little during the
seventies. Exorbitant railroad rates still largely forbade
traveling, so that occasional visits to the neighboring town to
see Barnum and Company's circus or to attend the county fair
were the only trips that took the average farmer and his family
out of their accustomed environment. A pioneer mail order
firm offered its customers only croquet, playing cards, dominoes,
chess, and cribbage boards, though occasionally an agricultural
paper would advertise " Chivalrie, The New Lawn Game."
For reading matter, in addition to the family Bible, which
in most homes was the only book the house afforded,^^ there
was sometimes a community or metropolitan newspaper, but
for mental stimulus the entire family depended upon the agri¬
cultural paper, which found its way into almost every home.
Within its few pages was combined a wide variety of matter;
political news of interest to farmers; progress of the state
granges; scientific and popular articles on agriculture and its
new developments; labor-saving devices on the farm and in
the home; fiction and poetry for children; occasional love
stories or extracts from diaries of farm women; poetry, puz¬
zles, anagrams, enigmas — these were a few of the varied
items to be found in a typical agricultural paper of the day.^®
If rural life afforded little in the way of formal amuse¬
ment, it was growing richer in organized social life. The
serious business of fighting the railroads had led to the forma-
Chicago Tribune, January 8, May 13, 1875, February 21, 1876. New York
Post clipped in the Chicago Tribune, January 2, 1875.
1« Prairie Farmer, June 20, 1874.
" Catalogs of Montgomery Ward and Company for 1874, 1876, and 1878
advertised no books.
ts See volumes of Prairie Farmer, 1870—1876.
SOCIAL LIFE
35
tion of farmers' clubs, and of local and state granges. Women
were admitted on an equal footing with men, and consequently
when business was over the session took on the air of a festive
gathering. Local granges often provided for picnics and excur¬
sions ; and delegates to grange conventions listened to programs
where poetry as well as pápers on cheaper transportation
played a part.^®
One of the most marked evidences of social growth in the
state was the broadening scope of education. During these
years, kindergartens were inaugurated, schools for deaf-mutes
and feeble-minded were established, night schools were opened,
while industrial education and optional studies in the curriculum
had their beginnings.®" In 1872 compulsory education began
to be seriously advocated; in February a teachers' institute
adopted resolutions declaring that not only is compulsory edu¬
cation necessary to the school system, but upon it rests the
" foundation of liberty and good management," and in October
of the same year, similar resolutions were even proposed at
the regular republican convention. Two years later a com¬
pulsory education bill was introduced into the state legislature;
it provided that children between the ages of nine and fourteen
should be compelled to attend school at least three months a
year; it stipulated the subjects to be taught during that time
and imposed fines in case of violation of the law.®^
The Chicago Tribune hailed the proposed bill as a salutary
measure which, if carried out, would by lessening ignorance
tend to lessen crime as well. To the Chicago Times, however,
the proposed bill created "by force of statute a new crime,
to-wit: the crime of liberty in education. It declares it to be
" Prairie Parmer, March z8, July July ii, 1875 ; Chicago Tribune, Augnst
24, 187s, September 12, 1876; Proceedings of the State Grange of Illinois, 1875.
Ottawa Republican, February 15, 1872, July 31, 1873, July 15, August 19,
December 23, 1875; Chicago Tribune, January i, 29, 1874, February 10, 1875,
October 6, 1876; Illinois State Register, July 3, 1875.
Chicago Tribune, February 15, October 2, 1872, January 21, 23, 1874.
36 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
a crime for parents to be the educational guardians of their
own children." The bill was killed in the senate and the
State Register records its defeat as being " among the many
good acts of the adjourned session."^®
Signs of educational growth and change did not appear
without strong opposition, and democrats in particular found
much to criticise in the school system as a whole. The State
Register fought the public schools on the grounds of unwar¬
ranted expenditures, too extended a curriculum, and general
mismanagement. "Our schools, as now conducted, cost the
people of the state over $9,000,000 per year and the result is
absolutely nil. . . . The only way to save the public
school system from extirpation as a nuisance is to reform it.
If the general assembly will pass a bill restricting the studies
in all public schools to the English branches, excluding all and
singular flub-dubs and fribbles ... it will be a grand
reform." High schools were claimed to be " tax-eating
monopolies" and "instead of being schools to furnish all
children a good common school education are quasi colleges,
where dead and foreign languages are taught, and children are
turned out expensive blockheads without even the rudiments of
a common school education."
Democrats were ably seconded in their criticism by Catholic
journals. "All the stock arguments hashed and rehashed up
from time to time by the Protestant press in favor of our
common-school system have been answered and refuted cen¬
turies ago," said the Western Catholic of Chicago. "The
corollary to be deduced from the general principles stated is,
that the denominational system of education is the only sound
one. It is just as economical as any other. The injustice of
22 Chicago Tribune, January 22, 1874; Chicago Times, January 22, clipped in
Chicago Tribune, January 26, 1874.
Chicago Tribune, March 24, 1874; Illinois State Register, April 2. igTd.
" Ibid., March 23, 1875. a. /-»-
SOCIAL LIFE
37
Protestantism is singularly exemplified by its permitting the
Catholics to pay for two systems, as they are compelled to do
under the present order of things. They are taxed for the
common schools, which they cannot use, and they have to sup¬
port, in addition, their own educational establishments."
Democrats, however, disdained the charge that their criticism
might he based on sectarian grounds. " The Journal insists,"
commented the State Register, " that no one is displeased with
the present perverted public school system hut Roman Catho¬
lics. This is an unworthy, puritanical charge, and is as mean
as it is false. . . . Scores of Protestants of the strictest
sect, demand that the High School he abolished, the grades of
all the schools raised, and that the city furnish common school
educations, and not make sickly and expensive attempts at
collegiate courses, contrary to the original intention of the
common school law. The most radical persons we have met
on this subject belong to the Methodist church."
The question of admitting Negroes to common schools
roused great political and sectional bitterness. It was urged
that the admission of Negro pupils was unwarranted, uncon¬
stitutional, unnecessary; that it exposed Negro children to
ridicule; that to have Negro children thrust into the schools
was unfair to white pupils. Springfield was the seat of a
decidedly heated controversy over the so-called " public school
outrage." The Illinois Journal claimed that the fourteenth
amendment practically bound them to open schools to Negro
children, that it was the constitution and the law which were
to blame, if the members of the school board opened the
schools to Negroes in a conscientious discharge of their duty.
The State Register answered that the fourteenth amendment
" is not violated by the establishment of separate schools for
Chicago Tribune, July 6, 1875.
''^Illinois State Register, August 2, 1S73.
38 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
colored children. ... If the negro race were the equal
or even the superior of the white race, we should still be
opposed to the mixing of white and black children in our
public schools for the reason that such intermixing of chil¬
dren tends to establish social intimacies, which will result in
intermarriage and amalgamation."^^ Many of those who
opposed admission of Negro children began to look about
them for private and other schools in which to place their
children. On October 20, 1873, "eighteen negro children"
of Springfield "were admitted to the Fourth ward school;"
the following day several prominent protestants began to
arrange "with the Christian Brothers of the Roman Catholic
church for the establishment . . . of a school embrac¬
ing the various grades for boys."
Chicago supplied a bone of contention for educators when
by the action of the school board a unanimous vote dropped
Bible reading and the Lord's Prayer from school programs.
Protest and commendation at once greeted this action. The
resolutions of a public mass meeting condemned the action of
the school board ; the Chicago presbytery strongly deprecated
it, while Methodist ministers petitioned for the rescinding of
the action. Other members of the clergy, however, indorsed
the change; the Reverend E. F. Williams, a congregational
minister, thought it "unwise to insist upon Bible-reading as
an exercise in the public schools," believing it to be " a viola¬
tion of the conscientious convictions of many good citizens, and
in this way a species of tyranny and oppression which ought
not be countenanced by a Government professing to be repub¬
lican in form." 2» Dr. Samuel Fallows, a Reformed Episcopal
rector, argued for the entire separation of church and state.
^''Illinois Slate Register, October 14, 21, 1873.
Ibid., October 21, 1873.
Chicago Tribune, October i, 5, 30, November 9, 29, 1875.
SOCIAL LIFE
39
while the Reverend C. L. Thompson, a Presbyterian clergy¬
man, claimed that since schools were supported by taxation
from all, it was unfair to compel " children of Romanists and
Jews to engage in a form of worship which they do not
believe."
The impartial spirit that led such men to a stand which
would probably have been impossible to ministers of the fore¬
going generation was significant of the general broadening that
was coming over the religious world. That it was an age of
transition was obvious to all ; the awakening scientific attitude
was affecting the life of the spirit. In some pulpits fear of
the new dispensation took the form of a puritanical reaction
against any form of current amusements. The Methodists
expressed officially their "cause for apprehension concerning
another growing evil, — the fondness of social and public
amusements. . . . We do not refer to the theatre, the
circus, the ball room, or the wine-party. These confessedly
lead to spiritual death." They frowned upon the practice of
laymen reading Sunday papers, pronounced against Sunday
trains, and denounced the Sunday meat market, though such
restrictions were laughed down by many laymen.®^
The years 1874 and 1875 witnessed a great upheaval of
the revival spirit. When before overcrowded halls and taber¬
nacles evangelists wrestled with the demon sin and showed
their audiences how to down him, they met with whole-hearted
popular response and effected many conversions. At Joliet,
where a great revival was in progress, four hundred conver-
'"The school board took the latter stand, and by a vote of ten to three
refused to rescind their action. Chicago Tribune, October 4, November 13, 1875.
^^Ibid., January i, I2, 1875. When resolutions embodying such pronuncia-
mentos were passed by the Rock river conference the Chicago Tribune scoffingly
remarked that when such measures could he passed " in this good and centennial
year of grace, railroads, telegraphs . . . [it] must give us cause sufficient
to rub our eyes and see if there is not some old woman hanging from the
telegraph-pole, or some erring brother branded with a scarlet letter for eating
unsanctified beans for his Sunday dinner." Chicago Tribune, October 19, 1876.
40 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
sions were reported in a few weeks, and a revivalist at
Bloomington in two weeks converted i,ooo persons. A camp
meeting in progress at Sulphur Springs near Carlinville had
5,000 people in attendance, while Kankakee was a close second
with an average daily attendance of 4,000 people.®^ But in
Chicago, the "godless" city, the revival wave reached its
height. It was rocky soil that confronted the great evangelists.
Moody and Sankey, but their enthusiasm did not blench; the
first meeting was held at eight on Sunday morning—an hour
which put " the zeal of the good people of Chicago to a rather
dangerous strain, but the result fully justified the measure, for
when he [Moody] came to his preaching desk exactly at the
hour he found awaiting him an audience of 7,000 people."
The afternoon service of the same day was attended by over
8,000 people. During the whole time that the revival labors
were being carried on, the people of Chicago flocked to
his tabernacle in great numbers, and "the signs of a great
awakening" were in evidence.
The old and new forces in the formal spiritual life of the
day found direct expression in a bitter war between orthodoxy
and latitudinarianism. To many the crying need of the period
was some faith to bridge the gap between scientific discoveries
and old religious traditions; where such an atmosphere pre¬
vailed it was natural that pulpit preaching should change. The
sermon of "physical hells, actual devils, bona-fide infernos,
and all sorts of sulphurous horrors," passed away, and the
exposition of " harsh and vindictive dogma " was being
" avoided by most ministers." He who attempted much lati¬
tude of interpretation, however, was liable to the charge of
Illinois State Register, February lo, 1873, September i, 1875; Ottanua
Republican, February 19, 1874; Chicago Tribune, September t, 1875. One
Chicago preacher pointed out a singular connection between financial panics
and revivals of religion, since panics produce demoralization, and "demoraliza¬
tion has invariably been succeeded by a profound and universal religious
upheaval."
SOCIAL LIFE
41
heresy; the Reverend Mr. McKaig of the Ninth Presbyterian
church stood trial for heresy charged with making utterances
which would " seem to imply that some of the portions of the
Bible are not inspired, by representing it as containing ' incon¬
gruous admixtures,' ' sfrange stories,' . . . 'bad science,'
. . 'jarring dates,' 'historical discrepancies.'"®® The
Reverend David Swing, another Presbyterian preacher of
Chicago, who had been hailed as a thinker able to harmonize
scientific discoveries with religious perceptions, was also tried
for heresy. It was charged that Swing had delivered a lecture
in the aid of a Unitarian chapel " and thereby aided to pro¬
mulgate heresy;" that he had used "unwarrantable language
with regard to Penelope and Socrates," that he had eulogized
John Stuart Mill, "a well-known Atheist;" and that he dif¬
fered from some of the vital points affirmed by Calvinism.
Professor Swing was acquitted by the trial court but resigned
before the appeal of the prosecution was taken further. The
members of the synod were said to have attended the special
session " for the simple purpose of showing by their votes that
they will not sanction any latitudinarianism in the Presbyterian
Church, or the faintest departure from the Standards."®^
Such trials were merely the signs of the restlessness which
was stirring the people, and accusations of heresy often served
to transform doubt into action. After his trial Swing left the
presbytery and established an independent "central" church
where he preached to immense crowds. The celebrated trial
of the Reverend Charles E. Cheney of Chicago had been
followed by one of the most significant secession movements
in religious circles — the organization of the Reformed Epis¬
copal church of America, which by 1875 embraced thirty-five
Chicago Tribune, January 12, December 20, 1875, September 12, 1876.
^*Ibid., April 15, May 23, October 17, 1874, September 12, 1875. The
Tribune saw in the charges not the indictment of one man but the "outbreak of
Old School Presbyterianism against New School."
42 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
church organizations with a membership of about four thou¬
sand communicants.®®
The movement for independence expressed itself only
when some crisis precipitated an issue. When all over the
state it could be said that " Evangelistical churches show them¬
selves extremely restless under the yoke of their various creeds.
Their members are yearning for a more cheerful view of life
and of God," it was not surprising that the formation of inde¬
pendent churches was frequent. At times merely the desire
for tolerance and a broadening of the points of view seemed
to instigate change; in the little town of Henry a new church
was organized which was "broadly and mutually independent,
the pastor being free to preach what he likes so long as he
sticks to the New Testament as his 'basis of authority,' while
his hearers are equally free to believe him or not, just as they
prefer."
The new social consciousness which was influencing educa¬
tion and religion in the seventies found in the temperance
movement a concrete issue upon which it could lavish its
energy. The temperance question was by no means a new one
in the politics of the prairie state. In ante bellum days it had
been a force to be reckoned with; and after suffering an
eclipse it had again appeared in church resolutions and on the
banners of "radical reformers;" once more it became a sub¬
ject of heated discussion on the debating forum and was
thundered forth from lecture platforms. When temperance
men, not content with mere agitation, insisted upon entering
practical politics with their own candidates in the field, old-time
politicians looked askance. Republicans were at first inclined
to assure "an educated, practical people, Germans and Amer¬
icans, composing the republican party," that the republican
Chicago Tribune, May 13, December 6, 1875 ; Centennial History of Uli-
nois, 3:425.
3® Chicago Tribune, May 26, 1874, January 8, 1876.
SOCIAL LIFE
43
candidate was "as good a Champion of Temperance Prin¬
ciples As Any Man Can Desire." One wing of the republican
party, however, soon came out openly for temperance, but the
democrats steadfastly refused to temporize with the issue.
When the Bloomington Democrat heard that not only a tem¬
perance candidate was in the field but that the republican
nominee had taken a temperance stand, it ejaculated: "If
both these candidates are monomaniacs on this subject, which
is a thread-bare hobby, we trust the congressional democratic
convention . . . will bring out a man whom all sensible
people can and will support." This attitude the
democrats consistently maintained, and it began to worry
republicans somewhat; when John V. Farwell was nominated
for congressman-at-large by the prohibitionists, he declined,
declaring, " I am a Republican in my political convictions,
and I can see no practical result to follow the nomination of
a temperance ticket at the present time but the weakening of
the Republican party for the advantage and benefit of the
Democratic party. I cannot be an instrument in producing
such a result."
The definite goal at which the temperance forces were
aiming was the enactment of a law which would adequately
express their attitude toward the liquor traffic and which would
"provide against the evils resulting from the sale of intoxi¬
cating liquors in the State of Illinois." They formulated a
measure which required a licensee to give bond for $3,000,
with two good sureties, conditioned that he would "pay all
damages to any person or persons which may be inflicted upon
them, either in person or property, or means of support, by
reason of the person so obtaining the license." Moreover,
3' See Centennial History of Illinois, 3:431 ; Illinois State Journal clipped in
Illinois State Register, August 16, 1870.
38 Ibid., August 27, 1870.
39 John V. Farwell to the Chicago Tribune, September r6, 1870.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
members of the family who had been injured in person or
property or means of support by an intoxicated person could
require damages, conjointly from him who sold or gave the
intoxicating liquor and from him who owned the property
from which the liquor was dispensed. Other stringent pro¬
visions regarding Sunday closing and further indictments and
penalties insured the fiercest opposition to and the most dog¬
matic championship of the proposed bill. Before the opposi¬
tion forces fully realized how strong the temperance wave
had become, however, their agitation, meetings, pleas, and
persuasion culminated in the passage of the temperance
bill of 1872. It was approved by Governor Palmer on Jan-^
uary 13, 1872, but, since it was not to go into effect until
July I, the intervening months gave opportunity for a sharp
battle.
The forces backing the temperance bill claimed to have
all the elements of morality, decency, and honesty arrayed with
them. The churches, indeed, had taken a decided stand in favor
of temperance. In Chicago, during the first weeks after adop¬
tion, enthusiastic meetings were held in many churches. At
one meeting early in February, hundreds were turned away.
When the Reverend Dr. Fowler spoke on the new temperance
law, he praised the law as the best that could be obtained and
wanted it enforced " even at the point of the bayonet." In
opposition to such support the Ottawa Republican listed three
classes — " the keepers of low groggeries, the owners of hovels
in which these groggeries are kept, and that despicable class of
small politicians who court and depend upon the influence of the
groggery element."
The opposition did not expend their energies in vain invec¬
tive, but immediately after the passing of the bill organized
themselves to bring about its repeal or defeat its execution.
Ottaiua Republican, February 29,1872 ; Chicago Tribune, February 12,1872.
SOCIAL LIFE 45
In Chicago, and indeed wherever there was a large body of
German citizens who felt their personal liberty to be endan¬
gered by this development, opposition was particularly spirited.
Early in February, meetings of protest were held by Germans
to oppose the law in so far as it applied to the sale of beer
and wines. At Quincy, on January 29, a huge mass meeting
of Germans gathered together at which prominent citizens
denounced the law as unconstitutional and illiberal and as
intended to operate especially against the foreign population.
At Peoria, on February 12, the "antis" organized to prevent
the law's enforcement. On the ninth of March, the Chicago
Wholesale Liquor Dealers' Association decided to make a
concerted effort to secure the repeal of the law.'*^ Finally,
"in consequence of action in the central part of the state," on
the fourteenth of March the opposition called an antitemper-
ance law convention at Springfield. It was heavily attended by
Cook county and downstate Germans, who were, for the most
part, brewers and liquor dealers. After effecting a permanent
organization under the imposing title of " state association
for the protection of personal liberty," resolutions were
adopted, which, claiming to " abhor habitual drunkenness
and the habitual drunkard as much as any so-called temperance
men," opposed " the so-called temperance law because, while it
hypocritically affects to be in the interests of an advanced
morality, it is only a species of class legislation in behalf of
the wealthy and against the poorer, but equally worthy citi¬
zens; giving the former power to poison, (as alleged), while
Chicago Tribune, February 13, 16, March 9, 1872; Illinois State Register,
February 2, 1872. The Illinois State Register, February 29, 1872, hailed this
development with enthusiasm: "We are rejoiced that the law is to be tested,
for the questions involved are such as interest every man in the community,
and for the reason that the law will obtain in the courts a dispassionate scrutiny,
a calm discussion, and a fair argument, which it seems not to obtain anywhere
else." In striking contrast to the attitude of the Germans was that of the Swedes ;
in Kane county they pledged themselves to vote only for such municipal candi¬
dates as favored the temperance movement. Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1872.
46 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
the same is refused to the latter." Pro-temperance advocates
seemed little impressed by this move of the opposition; they
were inclined to dismiss the whole convention as a "demon¬
stration of the bummers, saloonkeepers, and balance of
power parties," where "the low groggery element largely
predominates."
In the end, the temperance forces were triumphant in
preventing the repeal of the law, and on July i, 1872, it went
into effect. It was another matter, however, to enforce it.
Opposition on the part of the German element made it espe¬
cially difficult to enforce the measure in Chicago and in other
of the larger cities. From the first, republican leaders were
doubtful as to the attitude of this group toward prohibition.
When, on October 10, 1872, the mayor of Chicago "issued
an order to the Police Commissioners for the closing of all
saloons, public bars, and other places where intoxicating liquors
are sold on Sunday," the Chicago Tribune raised the question
" whether lager-beer comes under the designation of ' intoxi¬
cating drinks,' " arguing that since lager beer does not produce
intoxication, "though it may, if taken in sufficient quantities,
produce stupefaction," an exception might logically be made
in favor of that beverage. The mayor's orders were enforced,
however, and " there was a grim feeling among the Ger¬
mans." Again the Tribune made the plea in behalf of the
disgruntled element that " Beer is the national beverage of
the German. He has drank it daily from youth up. It is the
bread and meat of the peasant, and as indispensable to him
as water to the American laborer. . . . The enforcement
of the law in such a manner as to stop the German from
drinking beer is not only foolish as invading his personal
minois Stale Register, March 15, 1872.
Ibid., March 18, 1872.
Chicago Tribune, October 11, 21, 1872.
SOCIAL LIFE
47
rights . . . but It is foolish, also, because it threatens
the public with new dangers and serious disturbances of the
peace. It will tend to provoke riots, and perhaps blood¬
shed."^® In spite of anything the Tribune could say, now that
enforcement of the law was bringing disagreeable results, the
fact remained that the republican party had stood back of
the measure in the first place ; many Germans began to show
serious disgruntlement with the party to which they had long
given full allegiance. This fact and the anxiety of republican
leaders, the democrats gleefully seized upon. "The action of
the Germans and others who oppose the law," commented the
State Register, "has quite taken these political gentlemen by
surprize, for they were quite sure nothing would induce the
Germans to leave the Republican party." Where now was
the assurance of a republican leader who declared that "the
Dutch couldn't be kicked out of the republican party?"
German opposition finally went so far that the Illinois
Staats-Zeitung urged its readers to vote for no man, irrespec¬
tive of party affiliation, who was not pledged to vote for the
repeal of the existing temperance and Sunday law. Whereupon
the Chicago Tribune, alarmed at such independence, solemnly
declared that the Zeitung had come "very near overstepping
the line which separates a truly loyal paper from a traitorous
Copperhead sheet." But the break had now become real,
and during the next two years there was a marked exodus of
Germans from the republican party. Because of their accession
to the democracy, German politicians like Antone Hesing and
John Lieb advocated the reorganization of the democratic
party. A meeting purporting to accomplish this was held by
democratic editors, at which " Mr. Hesing strongly advocated
a reorganization of the party, saying that the Democratic
Chicago Tribune, October 23, 1872.
October 24, 1872.
48 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
party was the only one which could keep down the puritanical
element and guarantee the peculiar freedom the Germans
demand."
Despite all opposition, the temperance enthusiasm con¬
tinued and during the next two years its advocates plied agita¬
tion with unabated energy. All over the state temperance
clubs and organizations were greatly in evidence. There was
the "Prohibition Party," the "Good Templars of Illinois,"
the "Women's Christian Temperance Union," the "Chicago
Temperance Alliance," "Sons of Temperance," the "Catholic
Total Abstinence Union of Illinois," and the "Women's Tem¬
perance Association of Illinois," of which Miss Frances E.
Willard was president. At Peoria the churches held meetings
and listened to discourses upon the subject. In many towns
appeared such typical notices as that in the Ottawa Republican,
March 12, 1874: "Temperance noon-day prayer meetings
will be held every day until further notice at the rooms of the
Academy of Sciences, Cheever's block."
Friends of the law and its enforcement gathered at the
Methodist church at Ottawa and adopted resolutions indors¬
ing " the fundamental principle in our State Temperance law."
" Rousing meetings " were also held at the Ottawa Catholic
church,^® where great impetus was given to the prohibition
movement in that locality.
The year 1874 stands out in the temperance movement as
the year of the "woman's temperance crusade," an organized
attempt made by Illinois women to effect state wide temperance.
Using some church as a local center, the women would gather
and divide into two bands — some starting out on the active
mission of reforming saloonkeepers, "while their co-workers
'^''Chicago Tribune, May 28, 1874, January 7, 1875. The Chicagoer Neue
Freie Presse, a prominent Geripan paper, opposed this " bold scheme of Hesing
and Lieb to democratize the Germans."
<8 Chicago Tribune, February 13, 1872 ; Ottanua Republican, March 5, la, 1874.
SOCIAL LIFE 49
in the cause remained behind to invoke the Divine blessing
upon the work." The crusaders met with varying success;
at Springfield, " the prevailing sentiment was altogether favor¬
able to the new movement—prayer and entreaty with the
saloonkeepers to give up the traffic, and with the bibulous to
give up their tippling habits." At Yorkville fifteen women
"went in a body to Sullivan's and Beck's saloons, this being
their second visit. Mr. Sullivan talked pleasantly with them,
and signified his intention of quitting the business. The ladies
indulged in song and prayer." Not always, however, did
the crusaders meet with such a flattering reception. "The
scene which occurred on Saturday night in front of Rayburn's
saloon was not calculated to aid morality or to inspire reflec¬
tion," asserted a Springfield item. "The facts are that the
temperance crusaderS'having agreed to pay Mr. Rayburn, the
alleged value of the liquor in his saloon, proceeded to carry
out bottles, demijohns, and barrels, and destroy them in the
presence of an excited crowd. Some of the lookers on tried
with rough good humor to seize the bottles and with these the
ladies struggled. When a religious hymn was being sung, the
crowd shouted and yelled, and when Rev. Mr. Reed .
mounted an empty whisky barrel to address the crowd, he was
received with shouts of derision."
The women sometimes extended their labors into other
fields. When recruits for the pledge were sought, a committee
of young ladies was organized to call on the clerks of Spring¬
field, and there to "use all their pretty devices and winning
ways to induce them to sign" the pledge. On one occasion
when the general assembly was in session " the temperance
crusaders raided both houses of the legislature for signatures
*^Illinou State Register, March i8, 1874; Ogle County Reporter. April 16,
''"Chicago Tribune, March 5, 1874; Illinois State Register, March 13, 1874.
50 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
to the pledge. The senate . . . promptly took a recess
to allow the ladies to get their autographs. When the house
was reached, however, the yeas and nays were called to deter¬
mine whether its members would 'quit drinking' or not, and
was decided in the affirmative and a recess was taken, during
which all the members ' took the pledge,' and all will go home
sober."
After several weeks of this campaign, the Chicago Tribune
remarked that " the fervor of the intemperate temperance
women is abating, dying; and yet . . . saloons are as
numerous; the number of drunkards about as great. . . .
The volume of orisons made a momentary impression on the
air, excited the ridicule of the anti-religious world, awakening
regret in the breasts of those whose religion is not wholly
irrational and sensational — and these are the only results
which have been produced by 'praying women.'" More
tangible results, however, were pointed out. On April 20, the
bells were ringing for a temperance victory in Bloomington,
while in May came a call to the temperance element of Illinois,
that " in view of the unprecedented successes of the temperance
cause within the past few months," a state jubilee should be
held; further activities along the same lines were proposed,
and the motto " throttle the wretch, and down with the dram¬
shop " was advocated.®^
During the temperance campaign the anxious eye with
which politicians regarded German opposition afforded an
instance of the great influence wielded by the foreign element
in the political life of Illinois. They were always courted by
political bosses, for, with the coming around of election day
the "nationalization mill began to run rapidly," with new
citizens ground out sometimes at the rate of one hundred per
Illinois State Register, March 21, 27, 1874.
Chicago Tribune, March 30, April 21, May 26, 1874.
SOCIAL LIFE 51
evening.®® Moreover, they had a greater strength than mere
numbers might insure, for in Chicago and other cities the
foreign population of artisan and laboring classes had already
attained a group solidarity which commanded respect. They
were organized into German, Polish, and Scandinavian
branches of the International Workingmen's Association.
Since the business meetings were conducted in the native tongue
of the members, English-speaking craftsmen were barred from
membership and American workingmen were years behind
foreigners in the development of such organization. One of
the problems which campaign organizers faced was the diffi¬
culty of meeting the demand for German, Irish, Bohemian, or
French speakers; they constantly heard the cry that one or the
other of these would do more good in a given locality than
all the English speakers that could be sent.®^
The deference which was accorded foreign groups afforded
fuel to old know nothing fires among the native Americans
which in turn aroused a species of foreign know nothingism.
The Swedish citizens of Henry county in a mass meeting at
Galva protested at the charge that they had " been petted,
deferred to, courted and fooled round long enough" and that
they were after " all the offices and fat places." In spite of
protestations against such charges, accusations grew steadily
more direct. " But Hesing and Lieb, controlling two news¬
papers printed in German, having long been personal enemies,
have united and organized an exclusively foreign ticket, and
placed it before the people of this country for the sole purpose
of excluding persons of native birth from office. They have
united the Germans, Irish, Scandinavians, Hollanders, Bohe¬
mians, French, Poles, Austrians, and all others of foreign
53 Chicago Tribune, January 22, 1872.
'■*Ibid., June 16, 1874; Burford to Goodell, October 16, 1876, Cowa to
Goodell, October 30, 1876, Guertin to Democratic Central Committee, Novem¬
ber s, 1876, Berry to Goodell, November 6, 1876, in McCormick manuscripts.
52 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
nativity . . . excluding all persons of native origin,"
while the charge is further extended to the effect that this
foreign party has for its object the "political disfranchisement
of Americans."®® The Chicago Tribune was especially indig¬
nant over an incident that took place in the city council. " In
his search for a proper man to fill the place of City Marshal,
the Mayor selected a gentleman who happened to be American
by birth. The Foreign Know-Nothings in the Council ascer¬
tained the Mayor's purpose . . . and simply resolved
that they would not receive the nomination. ... Is not
this thing gone far enough? ... We began to object
when the Foreign Know-Nothings refused to build a Court-
House unless an 'Irishman' or a 'German' were appointed
as architects. We object still more now that the stand has been
taken that no American shall be appointed Marshal. It is
past all endurance that American nativity should become a
political ban. Is this the idea of 'Home Rule,' about which
the Irish patriots are so fond of airing their eloquence?"®®
The Irish indignantly denied the imputation of know
nothingism, and indeed more than once threw their influence
against its appearance. The Irish were prominent at a meeting
in Springfield in April, 1874, held by "foreign-born citizens
to express disapprobation of any attempt, real or imaginary, to
revive the spirit of know nothingism." The Irish seemed to
discern the basic insidiousness of the appeal as when one of
their number thus expressed himself; "You know, and every
thinking man knows, that when a party asks the support of the
Irish people for a man on account of his nationality that they
are reviving the old khow nothing principles which every true
Irishman has been fighting for twenty years past, and which
I
These Swedish people adopted resolutions declaring that although they
had always been good republicans, they had held only one office in eighteen years.
Chicago Tribune, January 22, 1872, November 2, 1875.
Ibid., July 21, 1875.
SOCIAL LIFE
53
they will continue to battle against while there is a trace of it
left, whether it be native or foreign. . . .We vote for
men, not for nationalities."
Illinois State Register, November i, 1872, April i, 1874.
III. LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM, 1870-1872
The political history of the state of Illinois during the
quarter century following 1870 was characterized by
the rise and decline of third-party movements. The first of
these was liberal republicanism — a general protest against
the policies and acts of the regular republicans as a party,
with special emphasis on the administration of President Grant.
This movement was short-lived, its organized activities ceasing
with Grant's reelection to the presidency in 1872. During the
next three years, the center of the political stage was held by
the farmers, who had as a common aim the elimination of
railroad abuses and other injustices to their class. As soon
as it became apparent, however, that the state government
could and would regulate railroad and warehouse rates and
services, the farmers' movement, in so far as it was a separate
political phenomenon, quickly disintegrated. Immediately the
greenbackers entered the running as a third party, and for a
decade their aims and policies affected the politics of the state.
This movement, like the one carried on by the farmers, in time
found the ground on which it stood cut away by the disappear¬
ance of the particular abuses that had called it into being;
with the successful operation of the resumption act and the
disinclination of a majority of the voters to expand the note
currency, the reason for the further existence of the greenback
party vanished. Long before the greenback movement had
run its course, however, the silver question began to press for
answer; like its immediate predecessor, the new issue was the
outcome of an insistent demand for more and cheaper money.
The various movements clearly indicate a political unrest
54
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 55
that sprang from a deep dissatisfaction with economic condi¬
tions, aggravated by the problems arising from the Civil War
and reconstruction. The readjustment of industry to meet the
needs of peace was no simple matter; the tariff needed to be
revised, prices must be adjusted to conditions of peace and to
the gold level, capital and labor shifted from war to non-war
industries, and production speeded up to make good the losses
occasioned by the war itself. Such readjustment necessarily
created confusion and entailed hardships on individuals and
sections. Moreover, the disappearance of the frontier line
during the seventies, the rapid growth of population and
wealth, and the rapidly increasing stream of immigrants from
Europe combined to intensify political unrest.
Between the movements of protest and the democratic
party there was, generally speaking, a feeling of sympathy.
Several times this sympathy developed into open coalition on
the state ticket, while local fusion was a common occurrence.
The republicans, on their part, viewed every sign of political
unrest with disfavor, for they as a party had everything to
lose and little to gain by new and strange political alignments.
In 1870 the republican party could look back over ten
years of increasing power and prosperity; and, still pointing
to its exploits during the years of civil strife, it demanded con¬
tinuance in power as the party of justice and freedom. The
decade, however, had brought changes within republican ranks;
the austere idealism of i860, when the cry of justice and
freedom had rallied able men and powerful leaders to its
standard, had in 1870 become the laxness of prosperity; able
men and powerful leaders were becoming restive at the con¬
tented mouthing of once stirring phrases. They demanded
positive action — pacification of the south, revision of the
tariff, reform of the civil service; but their demands went
unheeded by the " radicals " in power, and there was a growing
56 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
conviction that no heed would be given under the administration
of President Grant.
The constitution of 1870 raised no problem in Illinois
which could crystallize this discontent; nor did the campaign
of 1870 offer issues which would make concrete the dissatis¬
faction which was in the air. The democrats offered no con¬
structive program to raise any questions, but merely contented
themselves with redoubling their ridicule of Grant and with
denouncing the republican party as sectional, corrupt, and
inefficient. In reply, therefore, the republican press expressed
satisfaction with the national administration. The Chicago
Tribune, which had already been showing symptoms of polit¬
ical independence, now straightened its face, claiming that the
pledges made by the party platform of 1868 to institute
economy in government expenditures and to reform the collec¬
tion of taxes had been redeemed by Grant; even so, however,
it could not forbear expressing the belief that the president
would wreck the party if he continued, as in the San Domingo
affair, to carry on his administrative policies without reference
to the cabinet.^
In the state convention at Springfield in September the
republicans attempted to carry through a thoroughly loyal
party program. They unanimously adopted a platform which
viewed with pride the record of the party in its relations to
the homestead law, to the Pacific railroad, to emancipation,
to the Civil War, to reconstruction, and to the Mexican
situation. They indorsed Grant's administration, calling it
honest, economical, and efficient, and condemned the demo¬
crats for their attacks on the policies of the president. All
these eminently proper party sentiments, however, were
entirely at variance with the revolutionary tariff plank;
therein they definitely set their faces against their eastern
^ Chicago Tribune, July 8, August 15, 1870.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM
colleagues by emphatically declaring that it was " wrongful
and oppressive for congress to enact revenue laws for the
special advantage of one branch of business at the expense
of another," and that the "best system of protection to
industry is that which imposes the lightest burdens and the
fewest restrictions on the property and business of the
people." ^
If the state party platform could not entirely conceal the
dissatisfaction of one wing, lack of harmony was more fully
revealed in the bitter contests for the republican nomination
in the Peoria and Springfield congressional districts. In the
Springfield district one of the four contestants was finally
nominated only after disgusting the better elements of leader¬
ship and discrediting the nominating convention in the eyes
of the people by flagrant wirepulling and political swapping.®
The Peoria district, warned by the Springfield situation, took
precautions against a similar outcome in its nominating con¬
vention by adopting the Crawford county system of primaries.
When a victory for Eben G. Ingersoll was announced, however,
several of the most important republican newspapers of the
state declared their intention to support the independent-
democratic candidate, Bradford N. Stevens.^ Then followed
one of the most bitterly contested congressional campaigns
ever held in the state, in which Ingersoll was beaten by a
coalition of regular democrats, various independent groups,
and the dissatisfied elements in his own party.® Despite these
evidences of disintegration, the republicans elected, though by
2 Chicago Tribune, September 2, 1S70; Moses, Illinois, 2:796. Compare this
plank with the tariff plank of the Indiana republican state convention held on
February 22, 1870. Chicago Tribune, February 24, 1870.
^ Ibid., July 29, 1870; Illinois State Register, July 29, 1870; Illinois State
Journal, July 29, 1870. See Chicago Tribune, August 4, 1870; Illinois State
Register, August 4, 1870.
* Peoria Review, Galesburg Free Press, Princeton Republican.
'See Illinois State Register, September 28, 1870; Ottawa Republican, Octo¬
ber 13, 1870.
58 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
a reduced majority, the entire state ticket, including the one
congressman-at-Iarge, while they carried eight of the thirteen
congressional districts.®
With the election out of the way, republican leaders who
felt that the policies of the party ought to be revised and
restated began a campaign for reform. On November 12, the
Chicago Tribune declared that: "The general result of the
recent elections indicates that the issues growing out of slavery
are settled; that the mere platform of 'economy
and reform,' without specifying by what measures these glit¬
tering generalities are to be put in practice, is as available
to one party as another, and, consequently, is not available
as the special platform of any party; and that, on the pres¬
ent living issues, as to the proper mode of laying taxes and
tariffs for the support of the government, the two old party
organizations can no longer be relied upon for their full party
vote."
Coming from an influential republican newspaper with
independent tendencies, this declaration attracted nation wide
attention and by stating concisely what thousands were vaguely
thinking gave the first impulse toward an independent political
organization. In Illinois four general causes made for such
an organization: industrial conditions were unsatisfactory;
leaders as well as many of the rank and file in the republican
party could not become reconciled to the methods used in
reconstructing the late confederate states; the national admin¬
istration was under suspicion of being corrupt and nepotistical ;
and relatively large groups of leaders, who had come from
the democratic party of the time of the Kansas-Nebraska split
over slavery, felt that the spirit which had drawn them from
«Republican majorities: 1878 (president) 51,159 majority; (governor!
50,099 majority; 1870 (congressman-at-Iarge) 23,610 plurality.
^ Chicago Tribune, November 12, 1870.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 59
their old allegiance had now passed from the republican
party.
Times were undeniably hard. Illinois farmers complained
of the low prices which they were compelled to take for their
grain and meats. Land values were low and fluctuating; farm
mortgages difficult to meet in the face of low prices; and the
feeling prevailed among the farmers that they were being
literally robbed by the railroads and kindred interests. Even
the report of the Chicago Board of Trade cautiously admitted
that "the year just closed [1869] has been, in some respects,
an unfortunate one, at least so far as the business of dealing
in the products of the earth are concerned; and, in fact, all
btanches of trade have, to a greater or less extent, shared the
general depression." ® The farming classes were not alone
caught in the net of industrial maladjustment; laborers, both
skilled and unskilled, complained of low wages and of the
exactions of the employing classes; and their discontent was
beginning to take form in strikes and boycotts. The Chicago
Tribune attributed what it called "stagnation in business" to
" the paralysis of production, the want of employment for
labor, the locking up of capital because it cannot find remu¬
nerative use." ®
But many had a more direct explanation to offer; they
felt that the national government was being administered not
only inefficiently and on a partisan basis but also in the interest
of favored classes, particularly eastern manufacturers and the
stockholders of national banks. Even the Chicago Tribune,
which up to this time was in thorough accord with all republican
policies except the tariff, expressed the belief that the national
government was favoring the east in the matter of financial
® Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1869, p. i.
^Chicago Tribune, February 8, 15, 1870; Tazewell County Register clipped
in Illinois State Register, December sz, 1870.
6o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
legislation. "We believe that in the organization of national
banks and in the distribution of the currency partiality has been
shown to the East."
To this dissatisfied group may be added those led by
Senator Trumbull, who stood out against the methods em¬
ployed by congress in reconstructing the southern states.
Nearly all of them had been democrats, who, being out of
sympathy with the " squatter sovereignty " doctrine of Douglas,
had first formed the nucleus of the anti-Nebraska wing of
the democratic party and then had gone over to the republicans.
They had played as important a part as the old whig leaders
in electing Lincoln in 1860 and in supporting his policies during
the war. Now, however, they were entirely out of sympathy
with the post bellum policies of the party. To their way of
thinking, the republicanism of Lincoln and Yates had ceased
to exist, with the result that they, standing where they had
always stood, were no longer within its ranks. Trumbull's
changing position in the republican party is typical of this
group. "He agreed with Lincoln's plan of Reconstruction,
embodied it in the Louisiana Bill, reported it favorably from
the Judiciary Committee, tried to pass it in the closing days
of the Thirty-eighth Congress. . . . He ceased to be the
leader of the Senate as he had hitherto been, on this class of
questions, and he became a reluctant follower. . . . This
course he pursued until the Anti-Ku Klux Bill was agreed to,
by the Judiciary Committee, in 1871. . . . Trumbull did
not change his principles, but he made an error in common
with his party and he corrected it as soon as he became con¬
vinced that it was in error."
This group also found immediate cause for dissatisfaction
in the administration at Washington ; indeed, whether a man's
Chicago Tribune, December 21, 1870.
White, Life of Lyman Trumbull, 433, 424.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 6i
discontent sprang from his dissatisfaction with economic adjust¬
ments, from lack of pacificatory measures toward the south, or
from the corruptness of the civil administration, both local
and national, the conviction was rapidly growing that no
redress could come under Grant.
The three years of his administration had seriously under¬
mined the president's reputation among reflecting men and
had shaken his popularity among the masses as well. His
conduct of public matters was flavored by his private affairs;
he rewarded his personal friends with political office and per¬
secuted his political opponents. " His acceptance of large gifts
while President, the appointment of numerous members of his
and his wife's family, some of whom were wholly unqualified
for the offices bestowed upon them, his waging a relentless
war against those Republican members of Congress who had
opposed some of his favorite measures, and the half-enforced
resignation of some of the very best members of his cabinet
had created deep dissatisfaction." Consequently, those
Illinois republicans who recognized that slavery as such was
a dead issue, that war tariffs were no longer defensible, and
that the democratic party had outlived the imputation of dis¬
loyalty, cast about for some effective means of expressing their
sentiments.
The anti-Grant movement, which had been just perceptible
during the campaign of 1870, rapidly gained headway in
Illinois after the November election. The democrats from
the first had been more than interested spectators; they eagerly
fomented dissension in the ranks of the enemy, hoping thereby
to regain some of their lost political control. In the first
general assembly under the new constitution, the republican
majority met sharp opposition throughout the state, even in
the enactment of the necessary laws to comply with the new
i^Koerner, Memoirs, 2:518.
62 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
constitutional provisions. In the chief political event of the
session, however, the election of the United States senator
to succeed Richard Yates,disintegration within the repub¬
lican ranks was apparent. To Logan, perhaps the most
popular of the candidates, there were several objections; in
the first place he had an unexpired term as congressman-at-
large, and his election to the senate would entail the expense
of a special election to fill his place; moreover, " a great many
Republicans could not overlook the fact that he was a rather
recent convert to Republicanism and that he had been one of
the most violent, dyed-in-the-wool, radical Democrats, not to
say secessionists. He had now become as radical a Republican,
just when a great many Republicans had adopted moderate
and conservative views and were in favor of closing the gulf
between the North and the South." This opposition, how¬
ever, was more than counterbalanced by the influence which
Logan wielded over the " boys in blue," for he was commander
of the Grand Army of the Republic. The military reputa¬
tion of Oglesby, the other principal candidate for the nomi¬
nation, did not command anything like the following which
was accorded Logan.For these reasons Gustave Koerner,
backed by the German press and some other leading republican
journals, as well as by influential and dissatisfied republicans
throughout the state, was induced to enter the field.
Before the legislature convened, Logan had left his seat
in congress and had returned to Springfield to direct his cam-
See Chicago Tribune, January 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 1871; Ottanaa
Republican, January 12, 1871; Illinois State Register, January 6, 10, 12, 1871.
In comparing the candidacy of Logan with that of Oglesby the Chicago Tribune
of January 16, 1871, remarks; "General Logan, however, had the advantage
from the beginning, not only by reason of having more patronage at his disposal,
but also by virtue of superior activity and perseverance; and, what is perhaps
of still greater importance, he had a forum for the exhibition and proof of his
qualities as a member of the National House of Representatives."
Koerner, Memoirs, 2: 519-520.
Ibid., 520-521.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 63
paign in person. He took "possession of two large rooms
on the ground floor opposite the bar of the principal hotel,
crowded constantly with his friends and admirers, and extended
great hospitality. Mrs. Logan held her court in one of the
ladies' parlors, and carried on the campaign for her husband
most vigorously." Such tactics were severely criticized. " If,
as reported, in all the newspapers and denied by none, Mrs.
Gen. Logan keeps reception rooms at the Leland House in
Springfield, and is daily and hourly using the arts and blandish¬
ments of her gifted tongue and pleasant, plausible nature in
the interest of her distinguished husband, that sort of audacity
deserves a square and substantial rebuke at the hands of this
Legislature." Logan, however, had better calculated the effect
of the alleged audacity, for " many of the rural members of
our Legislature, after calling on her, left thinking that they
were much bigger men than they thought themselves before
they entered her presence." And, by the time the legislature
convened, so sure was Koerner that the Logan following was
larger than that of his and Oglesby's combined that he desired
to withdraw from the contest. Oglesby and his friends, how¬
ever, professed to believe otherwise, assuring Koerner that
the Oglesby strength, which was bitterly opposed to Logan,
would be thrown to Koerner in case the republican caucus
came to a deadlock. Koerner, as it turned out, had more
accurate perception, for Logan had largely won over the
uninstructed members of the legislature upon whom Oglesby
had counted;^'' these votes tipped the balance and Logan was
named the party candidate, thus assuring his réélection at
the hands of the legislature.
Koerner, Memoirs, 2: 521, 522; Ottawa Republican, January 12, 1871.
Both Logan and Oglesby had during the summer of 1870 adopted the then
novel practice of canvassing the state to get the indorsements of local conventions
or the promise of support from legislative nominees; this action had been severely
condemned by some republican nevfspapers. Chicago Daily Journal, September
26, 1870.
64 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
His victory widened the republican breach; in the bitter
contest for his successor as congressman-at-large, the dissatis¬
fied republicans united with the democrats against the regular
republicans. The republican convention in nominating John L.
Beveridge of Cook county apparently attempted to placate
their disaffected colleagues by a series of resolutions favoring
a more liberal policy toward the late leaders of secession, a
modification of the tariff law, and a reduction of the public
debt; they "Resolved that the . . . time has come when
the enmities engendered by the war must yield to the friend¬
ship of peace . . . that the continuance of the political
disabilities imposed for participation in the rebellion longer
than the safety of the republic requires not only tends to
perpetuate feelings of unkindness among the people, but is
incompatible with the principle of political equality which lies
at the basis of the Republican creed . . . that the large
surplus remaining in the national Treasury calls for a still
further reduction of the public burdens." The dis¬
affected, however, had apparently become suspicious of fair
words; and when the democratic state convention, besides
nominating S. S. Hayes of Cook county, adopted a liberal
platform it attracted the attention of every discontented repub¬
lican element in the country, who very generally were support¬
ing the democratic nominee. Even so, however, Hayes was
beaten, Beveridge being elected by a majority of twenty
thousand.
Illinois but shared the general republican unrest that was
sweeping the country. At Washington prominent senator^ —
Sumner, Cox, Fenton, Forney, and Schurz as well as Trum¬
bull— had become open enemies of the administration. That
Horace White and Joseph Medill were rapidly transforming
Chicago Tribune, September 21, 1870; Illinois State Journal, September
31, 1870.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 65
the Chicago Tribune into an independent journal was merely
typical of the republican press throughout the country; Horace
Greeley of the New York Tribune, hitherto the chief organ
of the republican party, had become openly opposed to Grant,
while the Philadelphia Press, the New York Evening Post,
the Springfield Republican, the New York Nation, and the
Missouri Democrat showed the same tendencies. It was in
Missouri that the revolt, sharpened by local conditions, first
reached an articulate stage; and the disaffected republicans,
adopting the name of liberals, in January called a mass meet¬
ing; they adopted resolutions advising reconciliation with and
a general amnesty to the south, recommended a reduction of
the tariff, denounced the use of presidential patronage, and
advocated civil service reform. They further proposed a great
mass convention of all liberal republicans in the United States
to be held in May at Cincinnati. Throughout the northern
states this move met with hearty approval, but nowhere did
it meet prompter or more enthusiastic approbation than in
Illinois.
In March a number of prominent republicans of the state
sent an address to the Missouri liberals, declaring that: "We,
Republicans of Illinois, wish to express our concurrence in the
principles lately set forth by the Liberal Republicans of Mis¬
souri. . . .We believe that the time has come when the
political offenses of the past should be pardoned, that all
citizens should be protected in the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution; that federal taxes should be imposed for revenue,
and so adjusted as to make the burdens on the industry of the
country as light as possible; that a reform of the civil service
should be such as to relieve political action from public official
patronage. . . . And we also believe that at this time
a special duty rests with the people to do away with corruption
in office, with the hope that the movement begun in Missouri
66 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
will spread through all the States and influence every political
party." County conventions throughout the state soon
adopted the Missouri platform, while republican state officials,
including the secretary of state, the auditor, superintendent of
schools, attorney-general, and even the chairman of the state
central committee, were numbered among the advocates of
the new movement. Its most influential leaders, however,
were John M. Palmer, governor of the state, Lyman Trum¬
bull, just finishing his third consecutive term as United States
senator, and David Davis, associate justice of the supreme
court of the United States. Davis, a genial, amiable man, was
personally very popular in Illinois. He had been a thorough¬
going whig of the old school and, influenced by his intimate
friendship with Lincoln, had joined the republican party but
had always remained in its most conservative wing. He was
a tariff man, sound on all questions of currency; as a judge,
he had set his face against arbitrary arrests in states not in
rebellion and had discharged prisoners arrested under the
habeas corpus act. Trumbull, once the radical antislavery
leader in congress, had long since been left in the rear by the
present radical vanguard in the senate; now, in contrast to
his vindictive colleagues, he represented a most conservative
point of view, " pacification of the south. "
Despite Palmer's position as governor of the state and his
radical republicanism from 1861 to 1865, he had not hesitated
incisively to condemn the corruption in state government. Long
continued power had seemingly impregnably intrenched the
" Springfield ring," and Palmer felt that only sweeping changes
could oust the administration henchmen who flaunted their
graft at the state capital. To Palmer the need of civil service
reform was imperative. He had, indeed, cherished the hope
that these reforms might be attained within the party and had
^®Koerner, Memoirs, a: 536, 537.
(yTfMeyff K
[From photograph in the possession of Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber, Springfield]
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 67
so expressed himself in an interview in the Chicago Tribune for
March 22, 1072. Less than a month later, however, Palmer
addressed a letter to the editor of the Carlinville Democrat in
which he declared that the republican state convention, which
had been called to meet in May, would be packed in support
of Grant's candidacy for réélection; and, since the national
administration had neither the inclination nor the ability to
enforce economy and reform in the government, he argued
that civil service reform, which the people were demanding,
should be carried out by the state. The action of the president
in authorizing General Sheridan to employ troops to police
Chicago after the fire had brought about a sharp collision
between the two executives,^" in which Palmer, referring to
his ample power to raise and equip a militia, had firmly resisted
the employment of federal aid supplied by Grant. In this
letter he further criticized the president's action in that affair,
declaring that " if the powers claimed and acted upon by the
President in these instances exist in him, the State of Illinois
is but a dependency of the Government at Washington, and
the lives and liberties of the people are subject to the will of the
President."
This letter, forecasting as it did Palmer's break with Grant
and his backers, did more than any other single thing to con¬
centrate public attention in Illinois on the liberal republican
movement. Even the most unobserving and least concerned
must have felt that a governor of the state would not break
with his party without good reason. In an attempt to minimize
the significance of his action the republicans ridiculed Palmer,
while the more partisan newspapers called him an ingrate
and characterized him as a traitor to the cause of republican¬
ism.®*
Letter in Chicago Tribune, April 17, 1872.
^^Ottanua Republican, April 25, 1872; Rochelle Register, April 27, 1872.
68 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
During this period very few leaders had any idea of pre¬
senting nominees for president and vice president at the liberal
republican convention at Cincinnati. " The general idea was
to organize the Liberal party, recommend State conventions to
assemble that should appoint regular delegates to a national
convention, to be held after the administration Republicans
had held theirs. In all probability, the regulars . . .
would be terrified, and not nominate Grant, but some distin¬
guished man of reformatory tendencies; and they had several
such amongst them. The Liberals might then endorse the
regular nominee. But as it became manifest that the Cincin¬
nati Convention would be very numerously attended, and by
very many prominent Republicans, some of whom were
amongst the founders of the Republican party, the idea of
making no nominations was soon given up." Each of the
three Illinois leaders had a strong local backing for the Cin¬
cinnati nomination, but since Palmer was less well known
nationally than either of the others, Davis and Trumbull
received stronger support. Trumbull's chief strength lay in
Chicago and its vicinity, and the Chicago Tribune led in the
Trumbull movement. "We ask the delegations from each
State . . . to . . . unite upon one who shall be
recognized at once throughout the country as a thorough
Liberal statesman, whose record shall indicate at once national
views, experience, vigor, breadth of mind, honesty, success,
and thorough sympathy with, and leadership in, the present
reorganization of parties. ... If Mr. Trumbull's record
were subjected to the closest scrutiny of a party canvass, it
would be found that no American statesman had ever stood
so nearly midway between the violence of fanaticism on both
sides." The Chicago Journal, on the contrary, bitterly
Koerner, Memoirs, 2; 538.
Issue of April 26, 1872.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 69
opposed the efforts of Trumbull's friends to secure the nomi¬
nation for him ; "Trumbull [when he voted to acquit President
Johnson] had a little scheme, which he held on to with anxious
persistency. He wanted to be a ku-klux president .
riding into political Jerusalem on the foal of a ku-klux ass."
Trumbull himself appears to have stood unaffected. In reply
to the solicitation of personal friends he neither affirmed nor
denied the fumors that he desired the Cincinnati nomination.
On the twenty-seventh of April he wrote to Koerner: "I
think the nominee for President will be taken from Illinois,
unless the rivalry between the friends of various candidates
from that state prevents it. ... I do not wish to be
nominated as the result of any combinations or arrangements
between rival interests, nor unless there is a general feeling,
not manufactured for the occasion, in my behalf." A little
earlier he had declared: "I am in earnest in this movement,
believe it can be made a success, and I am willing to abide by
the action of the Liberal Republican Convention, so its nomi¬
nation falls upon any good Liberal Republican."
Davis' strength lay in his personal popularity, for not much
capital could be made of liberal decisions from the bench. The
most outspoken Davis newspaper in the state was the Chicago
Times, while "Long John" Wentworth, Jesse W. Fell, and
Leonard Swett worked indefatigably in his behalf. "They
organized meetings in the central and northern parts of the
State, which appointed numerous delegates instructed for Judge
Davis; besides this they called on the friends of the Judge to
repair to Cincinnati to swell the crowd. Free passage was
given to anyone who would go, without much reference to his
party relations."
Chicago Daily Journal, February 12, 1872.
White, Life of Lyman Trumbull, 375; Koerner, Memoirs, 2:543-544.
^*Ibid., 544.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The day before the opening of the convention, the Illinois
delegation, numbering between four and five hundred, met in
Cincinnati for the purpose of deciding on some policy of action
and on the method of presenting this policy to the convention.
It was determined after considerable debate that the number
of delegates from Illinois should be forty-two, divided among
Davis, Trumbull, and Palmer in the ratio of one-half, one-
fourth, and one-fourth respectively; a later arrangement,
however, gave the Palmer following to Trumbull.^^
The platform which the Cincinnati convention adopted
clearly reflected the liberal republican conviction that first and
foremost the personal régime of Grant, with its mass of alleged
corruption, must be ended, and that secondly the gulf of hatred
between the north and south must be closed by the immediate
and complete removal of political disabilities. The urgency of
these first two needs had swung into their ranks men whose
views were at opposite poles on the tariff question; the liberals,
therefore, deemed it expedient to leave a clear-cut policy in that
direction to a more propitious time. Horace Greeley formu¬
lated the action finally taken ; as a result the tariff plank merely
stated the situation and left the people to decide by their choice
of congressmen what course the future should pursue.
Sanguine as were the hopes raised by the adoption of this
sound and loyal document, the liberals realized that their fate
really hung upon the selection of an available presidential
nominee. " The hopes of success had turned on the selection
of a candidate who first of all, by a record of political strength
and sagacity, should divert Republican votes from Grant, and
then, by a record of sympathy with some article of the ancient
creed of the Democrats, should make it easy for them to follow
him in dropping the issues of the war." When the voting
Cincinnati Commercial, May i, 1872.
Dunning, Reconstruction Political and Economic, 197.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 71
began Charles Francis Adams, David Davis, Lyman Trum¬
bull, and Gratz Brown were leaders whose possible nomination
was regarded with equanimity by the liberals, but the rapidly
developing strength of Greeley was ominous. Soon it was
clear that neither Illinois candidate could measure strength
with Greeley or Adams. Horace White, a Trumbull lieu¬
tenant, had seen as soon as he arrived at Cincinnati that the
chances of his chieftain were slim. Davis, strongly favored
by the democrats and at first sharing with Adams the brightest
chances for the nomination, met violent objection from the
Adams men. " They charged his friends with bringing a great
body of hirelings from Illinois, and with attempting to 'pack'
the Convention,—with resorting, in short, to the alleged prac¬
tices of the Republicans who were still opposing the Democratic
party. They announced that even if Judge Davis should be
nominated they would not sustain him." Moreover, Davis
was objectionable to the " editorial fraternity who
resolved that they would not support him if nominated, and
caused that fact to be made known." This influential and
unyielding opposition was fatal to Davis, and as his star
declined that of Greeley rose. For five ballots the forty-two
Illinois delegates stood equally divided between Trumbull and
Davis; then, since it was clear that either Adams or Greeley
would get the nomination, Koerner, in order, if possible, to
swing the Trumbull and Davis vote to Adams, asked leave
for the Illinois delegation to withdraw for consultation.
Koerner writes of this conference : " I urged the delegation
with all my power, as Trumbull had no chance, to drop him
and to unite upon Adams, saying that Greeley's nomination
would drive thousands of Liberals from our ranks. I was
supported by Horace White and other prominent delegates.
Blaine, Tiaenty Years of Congress, 8:523; White, Life of Lyman Trum¬
bull, 380-381.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Messrs. Swett and Dexter, being considerably hurt by our
opposition to their favorite Judge Davis, refused to fall in.
I proposed a vote, and although twenty-eight votes went for
Adams as against fourteen for Greeley, the Davis men would
not be bound by the vote, and upon returning to the convention
I announced the vote accordingly amidst tremendous applause.
But it was too late. If we had been able to make the an¬
nouncement ten minutes sooner, it might have changed the
result."®®
The nomination of Greeley was a bitter disappointment—
on the Eoor of the convention " were curses loud and deep."
Greeley's name had not been seriously considered previous to
the convention; and his selection was out of the reckoning of
those founding the liberal party. As the liberal candidate he
had a double disability; how could the democrats welcome their
old enemy? How could the free traders welcome their bitter
opponent ? " The blow falls very heavily upon the free-traders
of the West. They were the originators of this reform move¬
ment. To them it meant almost first of all, tariff reform, and
they struggled long and earnestly to put their ideas on this
subject in the front. But . . . they have, lost every¬
thing.
. "The tariff plank resolution is practically and almost in
words Greeley's compromise and the candidate is the one man
in all the country who believes most sincerely in protection and
fights its battles most ably." ®'^ In the west the task of winning
support to a platform which had compromised on the tariff
was difficult enough; could they now hope that the free traders
would vote for the great protectionist? Koerner, speaking
for Trumbull, would not consider the latter's nomination for
Koerner, Memoirs, z: 555.
^^Ibid., 556; Springfield Republican, May 4, 1872; Blaine, Tnuenty Years of
Congress, 2:524.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM
73
vice president — in the heat of the moment declaring that "a
man cannot swim with a mill stone around his neck."
Despite the dissatisfaction at the nomination the liberal
republicans proceeded with their plan of campaign. By this
time, indeed, there was no hope of success against Grant except
through Greeley. The democrats, who had encouraged the
revolt in the hope that some moderate republican whom they
could cordially accept would receive the nomination, were at
first in a dilemma. Yet the die was cast—it was to be Grant
or Greeley. So clearly was this realized that the democrats of
Illinois immediately indorsed the nomination of the Cincinnati
convention, even though there remained the possibility that the
regular democratic convention, which had been called to meet
in Baltimore, in July, would not declare for Greeley. The
St. Louis Republican quoted William R. Morrison as express¬
ing the opinion that "the democracy of Southern Illinois are
almost unanimous in support of Greeley and Brown, and will
not vote for a straight-out democratic ticket if nominated."
Two days previously the Elizahethtown Democrathzá declared
its intention to support Greeley and Brown. Soon similar
action was taken by such democratic sheets as the State Register,
the Bloomington Democrat, and the Carlinville Enquirer, the
Effingham Democrat, and the Carmi Courier, while on June 4
Daniel Cameron, editor of the Chicago Times and president
of the Democratic Press Association, sent word to Greeley
that " the Democratic press of this State stands at this time
57 in favor of Greeley to 4 opposed; and that the Convention
soon to assemble in this state will be overwhelmingly in favor
of the indorsement of Mr. Greeley at Baltimore." Cyrus
McCormick, later chairman of the liberal democratic forces,
assured Greeley that " comparatively quiet as matters seem
to be yet, the good work is going forward gloriously, and will
burst forth in a volcanic blaze when the Baltimore Convention
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
pronounces for ' Greeley & Brown.' " The Chicago News
vainly set itself against this tide. "Until the assembling of
the national convention," declared the News, "no democrat
is authorized to speak for it. Should Mr. Greeley then be
taken up, it will be proper to hoist his name ; but meantime it
is the duty of democrats to keep themselves free from all
entangling alliances."®® The State Register, however, took
the stand that the convention owed its existence largely to the
encouragement which the democratic party had extended to
the liberals. "We protest that the Register, by putting up
the names of Greeley and Brown has placed the democracy
in a false attitude. Such false attitude can only be assumed
by going back on its encouragement of the liberal republican
movement." ®^ Republican newspapers, for their part, exerted
themselves to spread the belief that the acceptance of Greeley
by the Baltimore convention would mean an indorsement of
protection by the democratic party.®®
The national republican convention, which met at Phila¬
delphia June 5 and 6, unanimously nominated Grant for
president. The anxiety with which their leaders had watched
the growing strength of the liberals had very largely been
dispelled by the nomination of Greeley. They confidently
calculated that the democrats alienated by Greeley—their
implacable enemy for thirty years — would outnumber the
republicans won over by him. " If the Democratic conven¬
tion should refuse to indorse Greeley, the opposition to Grant
32 See Chicago Tribune, May 6, 14, 17, 1872; Illinois State Register, March 8,
May 7, 1872; Ottawa Republican, May 16, 1872; St. Louis Republican, May 10,
1872. In May the executive committee of the democratic state central committee
resolved, " that, should the democratic national convention endorse the nominees
of the Cincinnati convention we pledge our hearty support of the ticket." Ohicago
Tribune, May 9, 1872; McCormick to Greeley, June 4, 1872, McCormick manu¬
scripts.
33 Chicago Daily News, May 7, 1872.
3* Issue of May 8, 1872.
33 See Rochelle Register, May 25, 1872.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 75
would be divided and powerless; if the convention should
give its indorsement, the problem of defeating Horace Greeley
as the nominee of the Democracy seemed ridiculously easy of
solution."®® The platform, aside from the eulogies usually
pronounced by the party in power, shrewdly appealed to the
sectional prejudices of the north; it revived the war spirit and,
with the cry of treason and rebellion, rallied northern senti¬
ment to the old war chief. It defended the severity shown
the south by the president and congress ; and, though cleverly
avoiding offensive phraseology, it took a clear-cut stand for
protection, declaring that " revenue . . . should be
raised by duties on importations, the details of which should
be so adjusted as to aid in securing remunerative wages to
labor, and promote the industries, prosperity and growth of
the whole country."
The democrats in convention at Baltimore July 9 were
confronted by anathema in both presidential candidates; they
were, however, too far committed to the liberals to withdraw,
and, moreover, of the two they would rather have seen their
old enemy Greeley in office than to have Grant continued
another term. Therefore, they indorsed both the candidates
and the platform of the Cincinnati convention. This action,
which definitely acknowledged defeat in the dead issues of
war and reconstruction, was interpreted by republicans as a
surrender on the part of the democratic party of the principles
for which it had stood for half a century. " Dead I Dead 1
The democratic party met in national convention in Baltimore
on Tuesday last for the sole purpose of declaring to the world
that as a political organization it is without hope and practi¬
cally dead."
5® Dunning, Reconstruction Political and Economic, 199.
Rochelle Register, July 13, 1872. In September those democrats unwilling
to support the liberal republican movement nominated a ticket of their own.
76 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The national contest thus assumed a clear-cut appear¬
ance; on one side were the regular republicans, well organ¬
ized and strong in eleven years of federal control; on the
other, the dissatisfied republican elements, loosely allied with
the democratic party. In the Illinois campaign national
issues were taken over bodily to the exclusion of state prob¬
lems. The regular republicans echoed and reaffirmed the
national platform and headed the state ticket with the names
of ex-Governor Richard J. Oglesby and John L. Beveridge.®®
Palmer's espousal of the liberal republican cause had made
Oglesby the only logical candidate for the republican nomi¬
nation, though democratic and liberal republican newspapers
charged that his real political designs were directed toward
Senator Trumbull's seat in the United States senate, which
would become vacant in 1873.®®
Even before the assembling of the national democratic
convention, which alone had the authority to pass on the ques¬
tion of indorsing the liberal republican national ticket, the
democrats in Illinois had come to the conclusion that their
only hope of defeating Oglesby and the rest of the state ticket
lay in uniting with the liberal republicans. Accordingly, on
June 26 the two parties met in separate convention in Spring¬
field. Governor Palmer presided over the liberal republican,
James C. Allen over the democratic convention. A conference
committee unified the actions of the two conventions, candi¬
dates for state officers being chosen from both parties. The
governorship by common consent was to go to the liberals;
Palmer at once declined to be considered for the nomination,
while Trumbull, learning that he would probably be nominated,
frankly declared that if the liberals were successful he preferred
Illinois State Journal, May 23, 1872; Chicago Tribune, May 23, 1872;
Rochelle Register, May 25, 1872.
^'"Chicago Tribune, April 11, May 25,.1872.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 77
being returned to the senate. Gustave Koerner, high in the
counsels of the liberals, was then nominated.^® Though he
had enjoyed an honorable political career in his adopted state,
his influence over the German vote was his greatest claim to
availability; the Germans were known to be hostile to Greeley;
and it was hoped that their countryman would counterbalance
this antipathy.^^
When the nominations were agreed upon the two conven¬
tions met for a joint jubilee meeting, and, " as thousands of
people had gathered outside, a mass-meeting had been arranged
on the public square. Trumbull addressed the crowd on the
east, C. M. Clay on the west side. All Springfield apparently
had come out. Calcium lights and fireworks were let off, and
the hurrahing and speaking lasted until midnight. The so-often
abused saying that the people were wild with excitement, was
here literally true. On a smaller scale ... I could not
compare this night with anything else but the one after Lin¬
coln's nomination in Chicago in 1860."^^
The high prospects of hearty democratic cooperation were
quickly clouded; the opposition of the old "Bourbon" demo¬
crats was to be expected, but within the state executive com¬
mittee itself a petty quarrel arose which for months paralyzed
Other nominations were; lieutenant governor, John C. Black (democrat) ;
secretary of state, Edward Rummel (republican) ; auditor, Daniel O'Hara
(democrat) ; treasurer, C. H. Lanphier (republican) ; attorney-general, Law¬
rence Waiden (democrat). Because Koerner and Rummel were both Germans
the cry arose of " Too much Dutch" on the liberal ticket. Illinois State Register,
July 5. 1872-
The Germans did indeed align themselves generally for the liberal
republican ticket; it was expected that the German vote would decide the elec¬
tion. The Illinois State Register optimistically stated that " of the 40,000 in
the State who have heretofore voted the Republican ticket we have the most
trustworthy evidence that six-sevenths are for Greeley and Koerner. Five thou¬
sand more German Republicans in Chicago will vote the same ticket," October
la, 1874. In contrast to the liberal persuasion of most Germans the Chicago Daily
Journal estimated that "a careful canvass shows that 10,000 of the 11,000 Nor¬
wegians, Swedes and Danes in Chicago are for the re-election of President
Grant." Ottawa Republican, August 15, 1872.
^2Koerner, Memoirs, 3:563-564.
78 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
democratic activities. In July, Lyman Trumbull wrote that
the liberal republicans were "actively at work" and urged
that these "bickerings" of the democrats be not permitted to
interfere with the prompt and active work necessary to carry
the state ; in August the quarrel had not yet been settled, and
Horace White declared that the whole story seemed " so
pitiful and small that I could hardly keep my patience. . . •
The idea of stopping now to have a quarrel in our own ranks
is so absurd and vile that I refuse to believe you can entertain
it for a moment."
It was not until September that the democrats got actively
to work. The confidential circular sent out from the national
democratic headquarters, July 25, outlining the plan of cam¬
paign, was not responded to by Illinois until late in September,
when the difficulties were finally settled and the liberal repub¬
lican and democratic committees consolidated. Then the
chairman, Cyrus McCormick, on September 20 sent out a
tardy spur to county and precinct organizers. "We are of the
opinion that every person entitled to vote should be seen, and
a record made of him. . . . Our prospects look well
for this State, but we have a determined foe with a perfect
organization to combat. Pure zeal must be opposed to the
zeal of the Army of officeholders — Postmasters, Assessors,
and the like. They are an interested party; we are not—
having nothing but the good of the Country at heart. . . .
It is not enough to elect Greeley; we must rebuke Grantism.
Let us endeavor to do this by securing not a mere majority,
but an overwhelming one. Call on every honest and good
man to come to your aid. Canvass the County thoroughly.
Canvass by precincts and by wards. Organize Ward and
Precinct Committees. Urge all to do this work thoroughly,
«3 Trumbull to McCormick, July 22, 1872, Horace White to McCormick,
August I, 1S72, in McCormick manuscripts.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 79
and do you send in at the earliest moment full and complete
lists.""
Throughout the campaign, republican orators and news¬
papers defended the administration, advocated a protective
tariff which would make everybody prosperous, and pleaded
with the voters to secure the fruits of victory in the Civil War
by voting for Grant and Oglesby.^® The liberals had an
imposing array of orators in the field; among them were
Trumbull, Palmer, Schurz, Leonard Swett, "Long John"
Wentworth, and Governor Blair of Michigan. They bitterly
denounced the corruption of the Grant administration, insisted
on thoroughgoing civil reform, held up the republican party
to scorn for its insistence on the force "bill and its treatment
in general of the late confederate citizens, and called on the
citizens of the state to forget the past."
The liberals were failing, however, to advance any specific
inducements to the farmers, who now comprised the most
discontented element in the state. The farmers themselves
could see no particular advantage in turning out the repub¬
licans under whom had occurred whatever advance the state
had made in regulating railroads and warehouses; what assur¬
ance had they that a liberal republican state administration
would be able to handle the railroad and warehouse situation
better than had the republicans ? " Moreover, the Cincinnati
Horace White to McCormick, September zo, 187z, in McCormick
manuscripts.
Chicago Tribune, July zo, October Z3, 187z, March 15, 187z; Ottawa
Republican, September 5, 187z. Senator Logan, among other Grant speakers,
even plumed the administration upon the sale of $6,500,000 worth of arms from
the arsenals of the United States ; this disclosure of open violation of federal and
international law they represented as a great financial stroke — could you expect
military officers to be lawyers? Koerner, Memoirs, z:573.
Chicago Tribune, July 30, 187z.
The farmers had expected great things of the railroad and warehouse
commission and failed to appreciate the fact that it possessed no power which
would work revolutionary changes. Many farmers suspected Koerner, who was
chairman of the commission, of being too lenient in his official dealings with the
railroad interests; and for this reason his candidacy created less enthusiasm
than the liberals had expected.
8o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
convention had evaded the tariff issue; and the liberal repub¬
licans, as a national party, had skillfully avoided its discussion.
Many of the Illinois republican farmers, therefore, who might
have broken their party ties to vote against protection, sup¬
ported republican candidates or remained away from the polls.
In overlooking the fact that their program was not par¬
ticularly attractive to the farmers, liberals also miscalculated
the prejudices of the great body of voters ; appeals for reform
and for pacification proved to be poor politics. It was too
soon to ask that the dead past bury its dead; the rank and file
when reminded of the military exploits of the general forgot
condemnations of the president. The discontent which had
spurred the leaders had never vitally reached the great mass
of the voters. Moreover, whatever inherent elements of
weakness might have inevitably militated against them, the
leadership of Greeley was fatal to success. "The qualities
of head and heart for which he was notorious justified the
common remark among Republicans that to turn a knave out
of the White House for the purpose of putting a fool in was
hardly worth while ; and the discovery of any single expression,
in all his writings of thirty years, signifying aught but contempt
for whatever pertained to Democracy was a task beyond the
power of himself or any of his friends."
The rank and file of democrats felt no obligation to go to
the polls to support a man they desired so little. "If there had
been a chance to beat Grant, they argued, we should have
voted for Greeley, but as there is none we will not vote at
all, for he has heretofore been our strongest and lifelong
enemy." Illinois returns, with this stay-at-home policy of
the democrats markedly evident, were typical of the land¬
slide that defeated Greeley. The whole republican ticket was
Dunning, Reconstruction Political and Economic, 197.
Koerner, Memoirs, 2: 574.
LIBERAL REPUBLICANISM 8i
successful. Though Grant's vote was slightly less than it had
been in 1868, never before had a presidential candidate carried
the state by such a large majority; despite the fusion the
Greeley vote was almost ten thousand less than the democrats
alone had cast for Seymour four years previously.®®
'"Official vote: Grant electors, 241,936; Greeley electors, 184,884; election
returns from the secretary of state's office, Springfield.
IV. THE FARMERS' MOVEMENT, 1872-1875
The failure of the liberal republican-democratic state
ticket rested largely on the fact that the platform on
which it made its campaign was not especially attractive to the
farmers, the most discontented element in the state. What
the new party dwelt upon was political reform, and the farmers'
hopes were primarily concerned with economic improvement.
Charges of extravagance and mismanagement against Grant
and his administration stirred them less than did the extor¬
tionate demands and the discriminating railroad rates. One
was remote and capable of various interpretations, the other,
immediate and definite; it was to the excessive commission
charges of the middlemen and to the exorbitant freight rates
that the farmers attributed the low prices of farm products
and the high prices of manufactured goods.^ " Poverty, if
not bankruptcy, now stares us in the face. In the midst of
such overwhelming abundance as to choke the marts of trade,
and while the consumers on the seaboard and across the waters
are hungry for our products, we cannot realize enough to pay
our taxes and labor. Unless some remedy be found, our lands
must greatly decline in value, agricultural labor yet more
reduced in price, rural improvement must suffer a blight, and
general poverty cover the land, and thus dwarf and wither
every interest dependent upon the farmer's prosperity." ^
'^Chicago Tribune, December 30, 1872; Chicago Inter-Ocean, February 20,
1873 ; Prairie Farmer, March 22, 1873 ; Ottawa Republican, April 17, May 8,
1873. The Illinois State Register, November 18, 1872, analyzes the expense of
sowing and of shipping corn to the New York market.
2 From an address of L. D. Whiting delivered before a state meeting of
farmers. Prairie Farmer, January 25, 1873. The secretary of the Illinois
State Farmers' Association described the hovel-like home of the typical Illinois
82
FARMERS' MOVEMENT
83
His acute realization of his hardships led the farmer to a
new evaluation of the railroad. Prior to this decade the rail¬
road had been regarded as a blessing which magically bestowed
prosperity wherever it passed. Incidental evils, it was believed,
could be remedied by competition, and the demand was steadily
for more railroads. The railroads, however, by consolidations
and agreements had easily nullified the effects of competition;
they regarded their trade as a private business with transpor¬
tation as a commodity to be sold " at the best rates that could
be got from the individual customer. The big shipper got
the wholesale rate; the small shipper paid the maximum.
Favoritism, discrimination, rebates, were the life of the rail¬
road trade." ® But the hardships that such methods entailed
upon large groups of people were evolving from them the new
idea of regulation by the state ; and, once articulate, the demand
for legislative regulation became insistent. The dominant
republican party, however, manifested no inclination to accede
to so far-fetched a departure. It was then sharply borne in
upon the farmers that so long as they protested as individuals,
the managers of railroads and warehouses had little cause to
consider their complaints seriously; even their representatives
in the legislature had little to fear from neglecting their
interests. Organization would put a different face on the
matter. It would then become only a question of time before
opposition to the conduct of public enterprises after the manner
of private concerns would have to be taken seriously into
account, both by the corporations themselves and by the law¬
makers.
On account of its influence and its widespread activities
the Order of Patrons of Husbandry was, during the seventies,
farmers " with barely room to stand up in, with never a flower or shrub near,
without the kindly shade of a tree ; a bare, black, wretched abode, fit for nothing
but the squalid and the pigs." Prairie Farmer, August 30, 1873.
' Paxson, The Neiu Nation, 70.
84 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
the farmers' organization attracting the most attention. The
order had its conception in the mind of O. H. Kelley, an
employee of the department of agriculture at Washington;
he had an abiding conviction that unsatisfactory conditions
among the farming classes, both north and south, were due
largely to a lack of organization. Accordingly, in 1867, he
set on foot a movement which had as its aim the betterment of
farmers everywhere through organization in local " granges."
These granges, professedly nonpolitical, were intended to
serve as forums where all sorts of economic and social ques¬
tions affecting agriculture might be discussed. To that end
the order provided for the admission of women, and as time
went on they were given more and more authority and respon¬
sibility in the organization.
The first Illinois grange was organized in April, 1868, in
the office of the Prairie Farmer. Growth during the next three
years was slow; up to the beginning of the year 1872 only
eight local granges had been organized. During that year, a
period filled with the activities of liberal republicanism, sixty-
nine more were organized. Then, with the reaction against
the political movement which had offered little or no relief to
the farming classes, there came an intensification of the feeling
among the farmers that organization alone could gain for them
some relief from railroad, warehouse, and kindred abuses.
The grange movement, in so far as the organization of locals
was concerned, reached its greatest prosperity during the years
1873, when 761 local granges were organized, and 1874,
when 704 new organizations were formed. These two years
saw the most intense struggle between the public and the corpo¬
rations for ultimate control of the railroad rates. When the
struggle was keenest the number of local granges inaugurated
was almost twenty times as great as the number organized
during the previous four years; correspondingly, when the
FARMERS' MOVEMENT
85
foremost aims of the farmer were attained the number
of new granges fell to fifty in 1875, and in 1876 to twenty-
seven.^
The method of organizing local granges was simple. Any
number of persons "engaged in agriculmral pursuits, more
than nine, and not over thirty," could form a grange. Charter
members paid initiation fees of three dollars for men and
fifty cents for women; other members paid four dollars and
two dollars respectively. Dues paid by the locals to either
state or national organization were relatively small. "After
the charter is full there is sent to the State Grange one dollar
for each male member and fifty cents for each female member
initiated in all the degrees. None of this goes to the National
Grange. A monthly due of ten cents for each member is
collected, and six and a quarter cents of this is sent to the
State Grange each quarter, or twenty-five cents annually for
each member. A small portion of this, ten cents per annum
for each member, is sent to the National Grange, and this is
all the National Grange receives after the first payment of
ten dollars."® When the organization became stronger in
numbers, the dues paid into the national treasury were reduced
to five cents per member.
The founders of the grange provided for national, state,
and local units. In working out the details of their organi¬
zations they drew upon many sources; they had a ritual similar
to that of a leading American secret society and provided for
advanced degrees to which both men and women were admitted.
The total number of the degrees was seven, four of which the
local grange had the authority to confer under certain restric¬
tions. Each degree bore a name ; those for men were known
*For a history of the grange movement in Illinois see Buck, The Granger
Movement; Paine, The Granger Movement in Illinois; Martin, History of the
Grange Movement.
' Prairie Farmer, January 4, 1S73.
86 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
as laborer, cultivator, harvester, and husbandman; for women,
they were maid, shepherdess, gleaner, and matron. The fifth,
or Pomona (Hope) degree, the state grange could confer on
masters and past masters of local granges and their wives.
The national organization alone could confer the sixth, or
Flora (Charity), and the seventh, or Ceres (Faith) degrees,
and then only to a select few. Only members of the fifth
degree were eligible for the sixth, while the seventh was made
up exclusively of members of the sixth who had served one
year in that capacity.
This elaborate organization, with all the appeal of secrecy
and ritual, never lost sight of the grim reasons which had
called it into being. With considerable straightforwardness,
the grangers went forth to meet the problems of the farmers;
until political changes could be wrought the railroads stood
out of their reach, but might they not outmaneuver the mer¬
chants, bankers, and middlemen who had victimized them?
The farmer had long since lost all assurance that his products
once in the market would be honestly handled by the broker
or commission merchant, while at the same time he was put to
a great disadvantage in buying. Since he had little ready cash,
he was often compelled to buy on credit; and the price of
"credit" goods was exorbitant. It was purposed, then, that
granges should secure cooperation among the farmers in sell¬
ing their products and in buying their supplies, particularly
farm machinery.
The evils of the credit system, and the lower cost of large
scale production, furnished the keys to effective action. The
grange leaders undertook to educate the farmers to the desir¬
ability of paying cash for supplies and equipment and of
concentrating their buying power. They then arranged with
the manufacturers of agricultural implements, usually through
the grange's state purchasing agent, to make special prices to
FARMERS' MOVEMENT
87
members.® The results were gratifying; prices fell, in some
cases as much as one half. " Reapers for which the middle¬
men charged $275 were secured by the granges for $175.
Threshers were reduced from $300 to $200, wagons from
$150 to $90, sewing machines from $75 and $100 to $40
and $50, and other articles in like proportion."^
The saving in the purchases of machinery and tools caused
the farmers to cast about for further fields of action. Far-
sighted business men, eager to gain the trade of this group
with its growing class consciousness, launched various schemes
to meet their demands. They advertised their establishments
as being especially fitted to take care of the farmers' trade
and backed up their claims with large stocks and low prices.
It was this endeavor that produced mail order houses,
which eliminated the middleman. In 1872 Montgomery Ward
and Company of Chicago introduced this system " to meet the
wants of the Patrons of Husbandry." As the "original grange
supply house," backed by the recommendations of the national
grange, the company soon built up a thriving trade, "We
" The Cyrus H. McCormick Company regarded these developments with
some anxiety, for as a company it had yielded very little to granger demands ;
the company finally sent out questionnaires to its agents, endeavoring to ascertain
whether it would have to accede to the demands. The answers are interesting as
giving an intimate, if prejudiced, point of view.
" So far as my acquaintance extends among the Grangers," declared John H.
Shaffer of Kankakee, " I am free to say that the best men in the County will not
have anything to do with them. The principle men who are grangers are that
class of men . . . who do not like to get right do<wn and ntiork but who are
in hopes of getting a living by some Hook or Crook without labor. In short,
they are faultfinders, agitators, men who aspire to some political position. . . .
My plan is to let them severely alone unless they purchase of us the same as
other men do."
"My opinion is," wrote William F. Carr of Freeport, "any policy favoring
' Grangers "... will be highly suicidal not only to your interests but to
the entire manufacturing interests of the Nation." E. K. Butler of Sterling was
succinct. " You cannot serve two masters. No more can you make terms with
Grangers and deal with white men too." " Extracts from Agents' Letters on the
Subject of Farmers' Granges," in McCormick manuscripts; Chicago Tribune,
January 30, 1874. For an argument against the method of pooling purchases
see Rock Island Union, March, 1874, passim; Ottanaa Republican, March 26, 1874.
t Paine, The Granger Movement in Illinois, 40.
88 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
don't pay Forty Thousand a year Rent. . . . We don't
sell Goods to Country Retailers on six months' time. We
buy for Cash and sell for Cash. . . .We don't employ
any middlemen to sell our Goods" were the slogans which,
combined with "the power of the Grange," in four years
" saved the Consumers millions of dollars by breaking up
monopolies and forcing dealers to sell their goods at fair
prices." Montgomery Ward catalogs advertised a wide
variety of dry goods, furniture, cutlery, and groceries; their
customers bought through written order only; goods were
sent by express, " and each consignee is, by express contract,
authorized to open the package of goods, examine them, and
if not satisfied, can decline taking the things sent him. . . .
In no event is he in any way obliged or compelled to take the
goods, or pay therefor, except by his own volition." In order
that the farmer might still further escape the services of the
middleman, this company would receive consignments of all
sorts of grain and seeds: "All Grain consigned to us will be
sold at once and returns made the day of sale, unless other¬
wise directed. We charge one cent per bushel for handling
Grain, and 25c per car for inspection."®
The farmers themselves often took the initiative in organ¬
izing stores and warehouses for their own benefit. Here and
there they formed local stock companies on a cooperative
basis, usually with the idea of eliminating the middleman;
cooperative fire insurance was also undertaken. Some of these
enterprises were successful, but on the whole they were much
less profitable than their organizers had anticipated.®
Side by side with the grange there was growing up a large
number of nonsecret and more or less independent farmers'
^Chicago Tribune, December 24, 1873; Montgomery Ward and Company,
Catalog, mmhtr 11, p. 2, 3, number 17, p. i, number 20, p. 3.
•Paine, The Granger Movement in Illinois, 43-45; Ottavia Republican,
January 16, 1873; Prairie Farmer, December 12, 1874.
FARMERS' MOVEMENT 89
clubs which were not bound by the nonpartisan character of
that organization. Overlapping the grange in aims and often
in membership, these clubs differed in method; they were
coming more and more to feel that the remedy for the graver
problems of the farmer lay in legislative action. " They are
down on railroads and rings, and conspiracies, and monopolies,
and treason against the general welfare. . . . They say;
If the war lasts for ages they intend to fight it out to the
bitter end, and woe be to the politician who stands in their
way to the end fought for." The influence that the grange
acquired, as it came to personify the farmers' movement, these
clubs converted into political pressure. As early as 1869 the
farmers and their friends had succeeded in placing on the
statute books of the state a law which was supposed to remedy
conditions by preventing discriminatory rates and service. The
law, however, was ineffective; and conditions continued very
much as they had been before its passage. In the meantime
the constitutional convention had been called, and the friends
of regulation had finally been successful in embodying in the
new constitution definite provisions for regulating both rail¬
roads and warehouses; railroads were declared public high¬
ways, and to the legislature was delegated ample power to
regulate them.^^
W. H. Herndon in the Illinois State Register, February 19, 1873, con¬
tinues: "They say it is too hard to give fifty bushels of corn (an acre of corn)
for a pair of boots, simply to satisfy tariff monopolists. They say it is too hard
to have to sell corn here (in your city) for twenty-two cents, and have to pay a
dollar for the same corn in Chicago to feed the stock you take to supply the
markets. . . . They demand free trade as opposed to high protective tariff.
They intend to keep demanding till this iniquity — high tariff — shall be blotted
from the statute book of the nation. ... I am'requested to go to several places
and organize other clubs. I shall go and do all the good I can to the farmers,
gardeners, horticulturists, laborers and all others struggling to better their
condition."
The sections of chief interest in this connection are numbers 12 and 15 of
article XI :
" Section 12. Railways heretofore constructed or that may hereafter be con¬
structed in this State, are hereby declared public highways, and shall be free to
all persons for the transportation of their persons and property thereon, under
90 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
It was with keen interest that the farmers watched the
convening of the first general assembly under the new consti¬
tution; what would be the forthcoming railroad legislation?
Their interests were well represented; almost at once sixty-five
members had organized a Legislative Farmers' Club, which
had for its purpose the securing of legislation beneficial to
the farming classes, but more especially of legislation that
would curb the railroads. With such leverage it was com¬
paratively easy to get a majority of the legislators to favor
railroad laws.
Of the comprehensive and complex "railroad act of 1871 "
three provisions were of chief interest; charges for a long
haul should never be equal to or less than charges for a
shorter haul; handling and storage should be uniform; and
no road could charge a greater mileage rate on one portion
of its line than on any other portion. The legislators also
attacked the problem of regulating grain warehouses, since the
farmers charged that the warehousemen were guilty of dis¬
criminating in favor of individuals and of localities, and also
guilty of falsifying their records in the matter of weights and
grading.^^
Enactment of laws to regulate railroads and warehouses
such regulations as may be prescribed by law. And the General Assembly shall,
from time to time, pass laws establishing reasonable maximum rates of charges
for the transportation of passengers and freight on the different railroads in this
State."
"Section 15. The General Assembly shall pass laws to correct abuses and
prevent unjust discrimination and extortion in the rates of freight and passenger
tariffs on the different railroads in this State, and enforce such laws by adequate
penalties, to the extent, if necessary for that purpose, of forfeiture of their
property and franchises."
A suit to test the warehouse act of 1871 was instituted against a Chicago
firm of warehouse men, named Munn and Scott, for not taking out a warehouse
license as required by law. The lower court sustained the state's contention,
declaring the defendants guilty. The defendants then appealed the case to the
state supreme court, which in 1873 sustained the decision of the lower court. The
case, widely known as Munn v. Illinois, was then carried to the supreme court of
the United States. In 1876, that tribunal sustained the courts below, tbus setting
a legal_ precedent which had a far-reaching influence in the United States on
legislation affecting warehouses.
FARMERS' MOVEMENT
91
was comparatively easy, for few legislators had either the
desire or the hardihood to oppose legislation offered primarily
in the interest of the most numerous voting class in the state;
enforcement of these laws, however, was a different and more
difficult thing to accomplish. In order in some degree to meet
this difficulty, the legislature had authorized the formation of
a railroad and warehouse commission, and with the appoint¬
ment of three railroad and warehouse commissioners^® the
first step toward enforcement was taken. This body was a
unique one, Massachusetts being at this time the only state
having a commission for railroad control, while the inclusion
of warehouse regulation was without precedent. As soon as
the new board had effected an organization, it directed the
railroads in the state to report on earnings and mileage, in
order that the commission might determine which of the legal
passenger rates should apply to each road. The law went into
effect on July i, and during the next three months practically
all the railroads reported, though usually under protest. They
took the ground that the law under which the commission had
called for reports was unconstitutional and hence not binding
on the railroad companies. They were willing, however, to
" furnish such information as the mode of doing our business
makes reasonable and practicable."
The commission itself had little authority in the matter of
fixing passenger rates, so that even though the railroads sub¬
mitted the reports called for, that concession indicated no
intention of obeying the state regulatory law, particularly as
it had to do with passenger and freight rates. The farmers,
therefore, felt compelled often to take the matter of passenger
The first three commissioners were Gustave Koerner of St. Clair,
Richard P. Morgan of McLean, and David S. Hammond of Cook. For a dis¬
cussion of the advisability of appointing a commission see issues of Illinois State
Register, Bloomington Pantagraph, and Elgin Gazette for first two weeks of
August, 1871.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
rates into their own hands. It was not unusual for groups
of them, especially when going to farmers' conventions, to
board trains, offer the maximum fare stipulated in the state
law and refuse to pay more. Sometimes they succeeded in
carrying out their purpose, sometimes trainmen ran the train
on a side track and refused to proceed. "The railroads of
the State, in some cases, carry passengers free who will pay
legal fare. In other cases such passengers are ejected by
force. At Rantoul, the other day, a whole carload of legal
fare passengers were switched off upon a sidetrack and left,
while the engine and balance of the train went on." On one
occasion the farmers, when the trainmen attempted to oust
them from the cars, drew revolvers and bowie knives and
repulsed the attacking party.^^ The Illinois State Farmers'
Association tacitly approved these vigorous methods of secur¬
ing legal rights. On one occasion W. C. Flagg, president of
the association, speaking before a large farmers' meeting in
Champaign county, told with considerable satisfaction of how
a club had been formed in McLean county " to ride according
to the law; and the only thing that prevented them from doing
so was their inability to make the conductor receive anything.
They were obliged to ride for nothing." The association also
" Resolved, That persons traveling on the railroads of Illinois,
having tendered to the proper officers the legal fare, are in
the line of their duty, and, having complied with the law
so far as circumstances would permit, are entitled to and
should receive the protection of the civil power of the state,
and any interference with such persons by attempt on the
part of an officer or employee of the railroad to eject them
from the cars, for the reason that they have not paid the legal
fare demanded, is a crime against the peace and dignity of
the state — a violation of the rights of the citizen, and
Periam, The Groundsiuell, 297; Prairie Farmer, February 15, 1873.
FARMERS' MOVEMENT 93
should be summarily punished by exemplary fines and
penalties."
To the farmer his own direct action in enforcing the state
law was preferable to the slow procedure of the court, though
he, as an aggrieved passenger, alone had the right to bring
suit. The railroad commission, however, held that no perma¬
nent settlement of difficulties could be secured by such methods,
and by indirection it had several test cases instituted. One of
these suits was begun in August, 1871, by Stephen H. Moore
of Kankakee against the Illinois Central railroad, which, the
plaintiff claimed, had charged him a higher passenger rate than
the state law permitted. More than a year later the circuit
court decided in favor of the railroad company.^® The case
was appealed to the state supreme court, where after another
twelvemonth the judgment of the circuit court was affirmed.
The higher court decision, while it seemed to the farmers and
their friends to favor the railroads, really left the issue exactly
where it started, since on technical grounds it absolved the
company from blame and refrained from expressing any
opinion on the constitutionality of the law under which the
suit had been brought.
In the meantime the railroad and warehouse commission
had instituted in McLean county a suit against the Chicago and
Alton railroad on the ground that it had charged, in open vio¬
lation of the law, a higher rate on lumber for the no miles
from Chicago to Lexington than for the 126 miles between
Chicago and Bloomington. Counsel for the defense contended
first that the act under which the suit had been brought violated
the rights guaranteed by the constitution of the United States;
and second that the rate between Chicago and Lexington was
reasonable, the one for the longer haul being maintained by
Prairie Farmer, January 25, February 8, 1873.
Illinois State Register, August 10, 1871.
94 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
the Chicago and Alton at a loss in order to compete with the
Illinois Central. The commission and its attorneys took ex¬
actly the same ground occupied by some of the delegates in the
constitutional convention in contending that any right which the
legislature might have conferred on the railroads detrimental
to the public welfare was void, since the legislature by so doing
had exceeded its authority. The decision of the circuit court,
which was handed down in November, 1872, sustained the con¬
tentions of the commission. The railroad appealed the case to
the state supreme court, which in the January term, 1873,
reversed by a unanimous vote the judgment of the McLean
county circuit court. Speaking for the court. Chief Justice
Charles B. Lawrence declared that the railroad act of 1871
was contrary to the state constitution but not to the constitution
of the United States.
Indignation was intense among the great mass of farmers;
such a decision was all that was necessary to coalesce the loosely
organized farmers' clubs into an Illinois State Farmers' Asso¬
ciation with the definite object of attaining their rights through
political action.^'' They would no longer wait for the support
"of legislators or courts whose pockets are filled with free
railroad passes."'® Almost the first act of the association
was the adoption of a series of radical resolutions relating to
transportation, wherein it asserted, "that the power of this
and all local organizations should be wielded at the ballot-
box, by the election of such and only such, persons as sym-
^^The association was built on broader lines than was the grange; it organ¬
ized farmers into state, county, and community units and tried to coordinate and
unify farming interests. It included in its ranks granges as well as other kinds
of farmers' organizations; membership in state meetings was to "consist of
delegates from the various Farmer Clubs, Granges, and other agricultural and
horticultural societies of the State."
The Prairie Farmer, March 8, 1873, discreetly hid criticism of the decision;
"the law being unconstitutional we are glad to know it at this early date," but,
it said: "Let us now look to the legislature for the amendments recommended,
and let us have these amendments at once." Ibid.
FARMERS' MOVEMENT
95
pathize with us in this movement." The state legislature was
then in session, and the executive committee of the newly
organized association issued a call for a state farmers' con¬
vention at Springfield, April 2, " for the purpose of attending
to our interests in the legislature, and of giving that body and
the governor to understand that we mean business, and are
no longer to be trifled with ; that while we have no disposition
to infringe upon the rights of others, we demand that protec¬
tion at their hands from the intolerable wrongs now inflicted
upon us by the railroads, which they have a constitutional
right to give us."
The farmers realized that their fight would be won pro¬
vided the legislature would enact an adequate regulative law
not inconsistent with the state constitution, but the railroads
were equally alert to that fact, and both sides brought all
pressure possible upon the legislature. The railroads main¬
tained hired lobbies, while the farmers and their friends —
through their local granges and organizations and through
several state meetings — impressed the lawmakers with their
determination to carry on the fight until satisfactory railroad
legislation had been enacted.^® In these meetings the argu¬
ment that "cheap railroads and cheap ships are necessary to
cheap freights " made the farmers take a decided stand against
protection; and this was the first indication that the move¬
ment was to expand into the formation of an independent
national party. In September a state farmers' convention
went on record as favoring "the immediate repeal of the
^»Prairie Parmer, October 5, liys, March 29, 1873; Turner Essays in
American History, 1^.
20 The farmers' first significant victory came when, because of stout objec¬
tions to his appointees on the railroad and warehouse commission, Governor
Beveridge withdrew the names he had submitted and allowed the farming inter¬
ests to dictate the nominations. Prairie Farmer, February i, 8, 15, 1873; Illinois
State Register, February 8, 9, 1873; Ottawa Republican, February 13, 1873. A
complete account of a state meeting of farmers which convened on April i, 1873,
is found in Prairie Farmer of April 12; see also Chicago Tribune, April 3, 1873.
96 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
protective duties on Iron, steel, lumber and all materials which
enter Into the construction of railroad cars, steamships, vessels,
agricultural Implements." In general, farmers were " opposed
to protecting one class or kind of Industry by legislation, at
the expense of another, and declare for giving equal rights
and exacting equal duties to and from all." Moreover, the
farmers, feeling the pinch due to a scarcity of money, accused
the banks, particularly the national banks, of being respon¬
sible In large measure for the hard times, since It was thought
that these Institutions had united to oppose the Inflation of
the currency by the Issuance of greenbacks.^^
The fight on the Immediate political Issue — railroad regu¬
lation— continued for months In the legislature, with the
farming Interest steadily gaining the upper hand. In May,
the legislature enacted the railroad law of 1873,^^ much moré
radical and much more effective than any so far passed. For
a long time the railroads refused to acknowledge defeat; they
at once assumed an attitude of having been Illtreated and
began to Interpose what obstacles they could to the adminis¬
tration of the law. The state cannot, declared the annual
report of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway,
" abridge or take away the right of the Railroad Company
to operate Its Road, and to fix, adjust, and collect reasonable
tolls and charges for transportation thereon. These rights,
and the money Invested In order to Insure their use and exer¬
cise, are private property, and not to be destroyed or Impaired
by legislation without the consent of the owner."
Illinois State Register, September i, 1873. It is not to be supposed that
the farmers were a unit in regard to inflation. Flagg, the president of the state
association, strongly urged the opposite.
Prairie Farmer, February i, 8, 15, 1873; Illinois State Register, Feb¬
ruary 8, 9, 1873; Ottaiua Republican, February 13, 1873. For example of the
influence of the farmers on the act see Illinois State Register, March 5, 1873.
Chicago Tribune, April 23, 1874. Ex-Governor Palmer, in addressing a
meeting of farmers, thus summed up the attitude of the railroads: "They rely¬
ing upon perverted theories of constitutional law have arrogated to themselves
FARMERS' MOVEMENT
But the tide was setting in strongly for the farmer; in
every state and local election this or that candidate trimmed
his sails to his particular demands : every candidate was the
" farmers' candidate." The reaction of the two old political
parties to the independent movement was, of course, dictated
by self-interest; the democrats, who had everything to gain by
weakening the republicans, generally encouraged the move¬
ment; while the republicans, their power endangered, con¬
demned this attempt of an industrial group to gain their
ends by political means. The State Register enthusiastically
announced that it was " in favor of any nominations made
by any body of men, called democrats or by any other name,
who are opposed to the salary steal, railroad extortion, cor¬
poration monopolies of all kinds, and in favor of free trade
and equal rights to all and special privileges to none. This is
our platform, and the Register will only support candidates
who stand on it."^^ The State Journal betrayed "radical"
republican uneasiness when it sneered at the composition of
the farmers' movement; "the efforts of democratic bummers
and dead beats, all over the country, assisted by a few theo¬
retical agriculturists, to convince the people of the absolute
necessity for the organization of a 'new,' or 'farmers' party,'
do not seem to be encouraging. We have yet to see the first
republican paper, however vigorously it may be urging reform
in the management of the railroads, that indorses the proposed
movement."
a vested right to defy the popular will, as declared in the constitution and laws.
And even yet it is apparent that they are defiant . . . railroad managers,
have as yet shown no disposition to accept this law in the just spirit in which it
was enacted. On the contrary, they have found in its passage a new pretext for
extortion." Illinois State Register, March 3, 1874; Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy Railroad Report, 1874, p. 24.
Illinois State Register, November 9, 1872, July 8, 11, 1873; Ottanua Repub¬
lican, August 14, 1873; Chicago Tribune, July 11, 1874.
25 Quoted in Illinois State Register, July 11, 1873. See also Rochelle Register,
August 16, 1873.
98 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
As to how independent a step they should take, the farmers
themselves were divided. The ones who openly advocated
an alliance with one of the old parties were bitterly opposed
to those who favored the organization of an independent party.
" If those that see the necessity of this great movement being
made political in order to accomplish the overthrow of the
monopolies of which the farmers complain, should make the
mistake of attempting to attach it to the democratic party,
they will soon discover that they cannot accomplish their under¬
taking. The republican members of the Clubs and Granges
will not, as a general thing, support the democratic party, and
the republican party will thus be enabled to continue to rule
the country in the interest of the giant monopolies." Tazewell
county farmers went squarely on record against coalition by
declaring that both old parties were the "tools of grabbers
and monopolists."
The formal entrance of the farmers into politics as an
organized body came in 1873 '^he judicial elections. It had
needed only the McLean case to convince many that the rail¬
road interests controlled the judiciary; and that if any solid re¬
sults were to be attained, the courts as well as the legislature
must be renovated. As a beginning, therefore, it behooved the
farmers to see to it that the judicial candidates should not be
found wanting in a proper reaction to the railroad laws. In
the fifth district, where the term of Chief Justice Lawrence,
who had spoken for the court in the McLean case, was about
to expire, this feeling was particularly strong. When Law¬
rence was renominated by means of the influence of the lawyers
of the district, the farmers held a convention at Princeton,
where they nominated Alfred M. Craig, who, in the constitu¬
as PraiWi Farmer, June 2i, September 13, 1873. For opposing opinions on
the significance of the farmers' movement as a political issue see the Nation,
1873; Harper's Weekly, 1873.
FARMERS' MOVEMENT 99
tional convention of 1869-1870, had shown himself favor¬
able to railroad regulation. They further adopted resolutions
demanding effective action from both the legislature and the
courts in support of the railroad provisions of the. constitution;
they declared their intention of supporting no one not in
accord with the farmers in these matters, and recommended
that the " antimonopolists " of the state nominate their own
candidates for the judicial positions in the various districts.
The farmers in the second district, the only other one
where a supreme court vacancy was then occurring, and in
eight or nine of the twenty-six circuits of the state adopted
the advice of the Princeton meeting, while candidates in many
other districts voluntarily declared their sympathy with the
farmers' views. The election results revealed not only to
the farmers, but to astounded politicians as well, the power
which the new movement had gained. Nearly every candidate
nominated or backed by the farmers was elected, even Judge
Lawrence — in spite of a spirited campaign in his behalf —
being defeated.
Such victories promised well for the independents in the
county elections that fall, and preparations were soon under
way. A device which stimulated much enthusiasm was the
celebration of a " farmers' Fourth of July." On that day the
farmers of every vicinity gathered to listen to fiery addresses
from their members, to discuss earnestly the political condi¬
tions of the day, and to hear a clever parody—" The Farmer's
Declaration of Independence" — which succinctly set forth
the farmers' cause.The machinery of local clubs and organ¬
za After a preamble, a statement of " self-evident truths," with the sins
committed by the railroad, the declaration concludes:
" We, therefore, the producers of this State, in our several counties assem¬
bled ... do solemnly declare that we will use all lawful and peaceable
means to free ourselves from the tyranny of monopoly, and that we will never
cease our efforts for reform until every department of our Governrnent gives
token that the reign of licentious extravagance is over, and something of the
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
izations was everywhere set in motion, and county after county
began to hold conventions and nominate farmers' candidates,
until sixty-six of the one hundred and two counties had such
" antimonopoly " nominees. Old party lines were completely
ignored; for in some counties one and in some the other of
the old parties refrained from making its own nominations
and fell in with the independents. When the November returns
came in they showed the farmers, or "antimonopoly" party,
victorious in fifty-three of the sixty-six counties in which they
had their own nominees; republicans carried sixteen, demo¬
crats twenty, and "independents" thirteen of the remaining
counties.^®
Such results could not but stimulate the hope of a similar
outcome in the state elections in the following year; indeed,
with 1874 an "off-year," everything was favorable to the
development of a strong state party. True, the railroad situa¬
tion was no longer a menace, and other issues which had been
rallying points for the granges, had passed away; but the
agrarian organization, conscious of power, failed to recognize
that the solving of those problems meant also the relaxing of
the strong cohesive force which had held together the farming
group. No other fundamental question had supplied a unify¬
ing issue; and consequently old differences of republicans and
democrats, as well as newer differences of "hard" and "soft"
money men, began to become active. The force of organiza¬
tion, however, largely concealed these disintegrating agencies
purity, honesty, and frugality with which our fathers inaugurated it has taken
its place.
"That to this end we hereby declare ourselves absolutely free and independ¬
ent of all past political connections, and that we shall give our suffrage only to
such men for office . . . as we have good reason to believe will use their
best endeavors to the promotion of these ends ; and for the support of this decla¬
ration, with a firm reliance in Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." Chicago Tribune, June
17, 1S73.
28 Buck, The Granger Movement, 82-89.
FARMERS' MOVEMENT loi
and, at the same time, brought into relief the demands for
which the antimonopolists now stood. Their call to convention
at Springfield in June, 1874, came from "the farmers, mechan¬
ics, laboring men, and other citizens of Illinois . . .
deeming it needful for the best interests of this state and
nation that independent political action be taken by and in
behalf of the producing, industrial, and other business classes,
and in opposition to the corporate monopolies that are influenc¬
ing and even controlling our legislatures, courts, and execu¬
tives, and taxing and oppressing our citizens; " and they urged
all voters of the state to unite with them in supporting the
platform and nominees of the convention.Representatives
of all political organizations were present; ex-Governor
John M. Palmer, John H. Bryant, Jonathan B. Turner,
G. W. Miner, W. C. Flagg, and William B. Anderson were
among the prominent members. Palmer made the principal
speech, in which he spoke against " grinding monopolies " and
reiterated what he had said two years previously about the
uselessness of the two old political parties, declaring that they
" had accomplished their work, and that it was time for them
to give way. Whatever these parties might have been in the
past, certain it was that they had outlived their usefulness."
That the government was extravagant and that the civil
service law was being evaded, the agricultural classes were
now convinced. Furthermore, they were dissatisfied with the
way in which the government had extended aid to the Pacific
railroads; they felt that they were being exploited by the
banking interests and were becoming more and more distrust¬
ful of the protective tariff. Their platform had a salutary
influence on subsequent political utterances when it demanded
Chicago Tribune, June 11, 1874; Illinois State Register, June ii, 1874;
Prairie Farmer, June 20, 1874.
Chicago Tribune, June 11, 1874.
102 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
retrenchment in government expenditures, strengthening of the
civil service law, repeal of the national bank law, replacement
of national bank notes by legal-tender currency issued by the
national government, and revision downward of the tariff.
The candidates nominated were David Gore for state treasurer
and Samuel M. Etter for superintendent of public instruction.®^
The republicans had watched this whole development with
some anxiety; they asserted again and again "that there is
no occasion, nor is there any principle involved, nor issue at
stake to justify men who had been Republican, or Democrats,
all their lives to set themselves up as an Independent Party."
But in their convention a week later at Springfield, the dele¬
gates, still flushed with the rather easy victory of 1872, did
not hesitate to squabble over issues and candidates. Thomas S.
Ridgeway was finally nominated for state treasurer, and Wil¬
liam B. Powell for superintendent of public instruction, while
the Chicago Tribune dismissed the republican platform as " on
the whole an apologetic and nerveless document, indicating
unmistakably that the party does not know where it stands on
the questions treated."
In the latter part of the next month the democratic state
central committee, in pursuance of the power vested in it
by the democratic convention of 1872, called a state conven¬
tion to be held at Springfield on August 26. The committee
invited all democrats, liberals, and all others opposed to the
For an account of the convention see Chicago Tribune, June ii, 1874;
Illinois State Register, June 11, 1874.
32 Chicago Tribune, January 18, 1874, January 4, 1875. The financial plank
of the platform consumed hours of discussion in committee, which finally reported
to the convention, that it declared for a resumption of specie payments and
against an increase in the volume of greenbacks. The first portion of the plank
the convention adopted ; the second portion, the one dealing with greenbacks, it
rejected by the close vote of 298 to 234. In other planks of the platform the
convention put the republicans of the state on record as favoring the national
banking system, the election of president by direct vote of the people, and
adequate laws for regulating railroads. For pre-convention comments on issues
see Chicago Tribune, May 29, 1874, quoting from Sullivan Progress, Paxton
Journal, Illinois State Journal, and Bloomington Pantagraph.
FARMERS' MOVEMENT 103
republican party to unite in sending delegates to the conven¬
tion. That it was to take issue with the farmers over the
currency was seen when it announced the purposes of the con¬
vention to be the restoration of gold and silver as the basis
of the currency of the country, the speedy resumption of specie
payments, and the payment of all national indebtedness in
the money recognized by the civilized world. They further
declared for free commerce, individual liberty and opposition
to the sumptuary laws, the right and duty of the state to pro¬
tect its citizens from extortion and unjust discrimination by
chartered monopolies, the rigid restriction of the government,
both state and national, to " the legitimate domain of political
power by excluding therefrom all executive and legislative
intermeddling with the affairs of society, whereby monopolies
were fostered, privileged classes aggrandized, and individual
freedom unnecessarily and oppressively restrained."
With the publication of the above call a bitter controversy
arose over the prospective attitude of the convention toward the
candidates already named by the independents. The independ¬
ents themselves, though somewhat ambiguous in their attitude
on tariff and the currency, had, on the whole, committed them¬
selves to the greenback policy; the democratic party had now
taken an uncompromising stand for resumption and specie
payments. Still, the independents, with the exception of those
who feared that indorsement spelled disintegration, desired the
indorsement of the democratic convention for their candidates;
this desire was shared by many democrats, particularly by
those who placed the defeat of the republicans before the
preservation of their party organization. A very large number
of democrats, however, took the ground that the time had
come for the democrats to stand squarely on their own prin¬
ciples and candidates. "The only way that the Democratic
Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1874; Illinois State Register, August 5, 1874.
I04 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
party," declared the State Register, "can be true to itself and
gain the confidence of the people is to honestly and boldly
declare for Democratic doctrines on all questions and at all
times, that the country may know in what we believe, and
knowing, may either indorse or reject. The day of shuffling,
subterfuges, and experiments is past."
The platform as adopted demanded a tariff for revenue
only; favored individual liberty, which in this connection
meant opposition to temperance laws; denounced monopolies
and class distinction, and declared that it was the right and
duty of a state to protect its citizens against oppressive cor¬
porations. The only contest of importance over the adoption
of a platform of principles concerned the plank dealing with
" resumption." Two reports came from the platform com¬
mittee, the majority urging speedy resumption; the minority
proposing resumption when possible "without injury to the
business of the country." Led by William R. Morrison, the
friends of the majority report pleaded with their fellow dele¬
gates to place the convention on record as opposed to any plan
or policy that might be considered repudiation even in the slight¬
est degree. William J. (Josh) Allen and J. M. Grebs headed
the opposition, which took the ground that the majority report
proposed " to establish one currency for the people and another
for the bond-holders." During the debate a Cook county
delegate offered an amendment to the minority report, declar¬
ing against inflation and in favor of the payment of the national
Chicago Tribune, August 12, 1874. Permanent organization was efiFected
with ex-Governor Palmer in the chair, and his acceptance was the last step in his
return to the democratic party after an absence of twenty years.
Chicago Tribune, February z6, 1874. The differences of opinion among
the democratic delegates over resumption and inflation were not confined to the
members of that party, for even the republicans were not a unit regarding these
questions. Despite the lack of a sharp party cleavage, however, they served as
party issues, since President Grant's veto of the inflation bill had tended to array
the republicans on one side and the democrats on the other. Chicago Tribune,
April 24-30, 1874. '
FARMERS' MOVEMENT
debt in the money of the civilized world. All day the delegates
debated over the resumption plank. Finally the chairman,
Palmer, took the floor, pleading with the delegates to support
the "hardmoney" proposition in some form. The convention
then adopted the minority report, declaring at the same time,
however, against inflation. The convention nominated Charles
Carroll, of Gallatin county, for treasurer, and indorsed the
farmers' candidate, Samuel M. Etter, for superintendent of
public instruction.®®
In spite of the efforts of leaders to stir up enthusiasm in
the campaign, it was a very quiet election—" in Illinois there
is nothing material at stake from a party point of view."
Though old party issues were threadbare, the "standpat"
voter too often lacked the initiative to find his place in this
transitional era — and therefore remained away from the
polls. Even the agrarian population, at the height of its
power, shared this inertia. The Prairie Farmer, in its last
issue before the election, urged that " it is the duty of every
man in Illinois entitled to a vote, to be at the polls on Tuesday
next. It is absurd for men to stay at home on election day
and then grumble that the country is misgoverned, and that
politicians are all scoundrels." Already, however, farmers
over the state were realigning themselves, with the struggle
of 1876 in view; some were returning to the republican or
democratic camps which they had left upon the formation of
the state grange ; and still others were coming more and more
under the influence of the greenback agitators.®®
The results of the election indicated clearly that disintegra¬
tion had not yet destroyed the antimonopolists; the agricul-
For an account of the democratic convention see Illinois State Register,
August 27, 1874; Chicago Tribune, August 27, 1874.
Chicago Tribune, October 29, 1874; Prairie Farmer, October 31, 1874.
As early as 1874, Willard C. Flagg, president of the Illinois State Farmers'
Association, in leading an insistent minority had urged the adoption of an anti-
inflation resolution, which failed, however, to meet the approval of the majority.
io6 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
tural and working elements had beyond question secured the
balance of political power in the state. Though the republicans
elected their candidate for treasurer, they secured only six of
the congressional districts; the fusion candidate for superin¬
tendent of public instruction easily triumphed.®®
Despite the fact that in the legislature the nine independ¬
ents held the balance of power and that one of their number,
E. M. Haines, sat in the speaker's chair, they left no distinctive
impression upon the work of that body to mark their passing.
The following year the " antimonopolists " were absorbed
into and became a component part of the national greenback
party, and that move ended the organized political life of the
farmers in Illinois. But the influence of the " grange " was
not so easily obliterated. Primarily a protest of the masses
against aggregations of oppressive power, they had demon¬
strated the value of organization in making effective their
political demands. Thus they established the power of the
people to force forward vital issues evaded by old conservative
parties. Above all, the " grangers " had evolved the idea of
public control and regulation which, as yet a mustard seed,
was to grow mightily and bring forth much fruit.
The relative strength of these different organizations as shown at the
polls was:
For Treasurer For Superintendent of Public
Republican 162,974 Instruction
Democrat 128,169 Fusion 197,490
Independent 75,580 Republican 166,984
— Manuscript election returns, secretary of state's office, Springfield.
V. GREENBACKISM AND DEMOCRATIC
REORGANIZATION
IN THE west the economic unrest which, ever since the
Civil War, had come more and more to affect the political
life of the country, found in the currency question a tangible
peg on which to hang its grievances. The laborer and the
farmer, face to face with hard times and falling prices, with
unemployment and small returns, had long been resentfully
viewing the policy which the government was pursuing in
regard to the greenbacks. This depreciated paper money,
representing a portion of the war debt, the treasury had in
1865 begun to retire in favor of long-time bonds in order that
the government might speedily return to a sound credit basis.
The greenbacks represented, however, not only a part of
the national debt, but they had become almost the only circu¬
lating medium. Depreciated money such as this was bad
money; but every greenback withdrawn reduced by just so
much the circulating medium of the country, and there was
always the fear that the volume of money would drop below
the actual business needs of the country. As retirement of the
greenbacks progressed, the circulating medium remaining had
to work harder and harder — demand, and with it the market
value of the "dollar," increased — with a consequent fall in
the money price of all other commodities.
The west, new and growing, was a debtor country; its
" boom " had commenced after the Civil War, and its indebted¬
ness was coincident with depreciation. The creditor east could
view with complacency the prospect of an appreciated dollar —
their selfish interests coincided with the desirability of return-
107
io8 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
ing to a sound money basis. But the western debt, which
represented extensive farm improvements, besides the more
aggressive merchandising and brokerage operations of the
cities, had been accurnulated in the legal-tender dollars of
depreciated greenbacks. All the eastern forces demanding
resumption of specie payment were conspiring to make the
debt of the west a greater burden. "Had the East loaned
gold to the West, and it was now proposed to substitute for
gold a new and hitherto unknown and now depreciated legal-
tender, the complaint might have some force ; but the creditor,
having unloaded his 6o-cent dollars on the West, can hardly
object to being paid in the same kind of currency, worth now,
however, 95 cents on the dollar." ^
The pressure from the west combined with other forces
led congress in 1868 peremptorily to block any further con¬
traction of the currency. But this, the west declared, was not
enough; only more and more money would ease their diffi¬
culties. The panic of 1873 augmented the clamor for inflation.
The president's veto of the so-called "inflation bill of 1874"
and the passage of the resumption act of 1875 were sufficient
to mark sharply the lines of cleavage that divided east from
west within both parties and to insure the formation of a new
national organization. Moderate inflationists were left to
retain their old affiliations; but in May, 1876, an impressive
number of extremists, regardless of party ties, gathered
together at Indianapolis to form the independent or green¬
back party. Their standard bearers were Peter Cooper and
S. P. Gary; and though the question of the currency made a
narrow platform, it was a vital one.
Both republicans and democrats regarded the currency
question with anxiety and uncertainty; with division within
their own ranks they hesitated to commit themselves irrevo-
^ Chicago Tribune, June 15, 1877.
GREENBACKISM
cably either way. Republican leaders were well aware that
their official stand against inflation was alienating large masses
of voters; yet democrats feared the reaction, if they pressed
too hard the charge that, despite their words, the republicans
were slothfully delaying specie payment. Would republican
waving of the "bloody shirt" or democratic cries for reform
suffice in the face of the greenback appeal?
In Illinois factional division over the currency had so
broken party ties that the greenbackers had been able to per¬
fect party organization some time before the assembling of
the national convention. Like all other groups, the farmers'
or antimonopoly party of 1874 was far from being a unit on
the greenback question; yet the majority, two years earlier,
had been able to declare themselves as practically coinciding
with greenback contentions. About the currency question
clustered a periphery of banking, bond, land, and railroad
issues that made the farmers' organization quite willing to
merge itself into the greenback movement; they formed a
lusty nucleus about which, in the eyes of the Chicago Tribune,
the " reckless, broken-down speculators, and equally reckless,
broken-down politicians, without any standing in the old
parties," ^ could rally a new party.
On February 16, the greenbackers called an "Independent"
convention at Decatur. W. C. Flagg of Madison county pre¬
sided over the 299 clamorous and insistent delegates — for
the most part farmers and laborers — from sixty-five counties.
Naturally, the chief plank in their program covered the
financial question: "we demand the repeal of the Specie-
Resumption and National Bank acts and the substitution of
legal-tender paper money for the National Bank circulation;
the perfecting of a monetary system based upon the faith and
resources of the nation and adapted to the demands of legiti-
2 Chicago Tribune, January i, 1876.
no THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
mate business, which money shall be a legal-tender in payment
of all debts, public and private, duties on imports included,
except that portion of the interest and principal of the present
public debt that is by the express terms of the law creating it
made payable in metallic money; this money to be made
interchangeable at the option of the holders with registered
Government bonds bearing a rate of interest not exceeding
3.65 per cent per annum." ® Lewis Steward of Kendall county
was chosen to head the ticket.''
If the convention and its platform drew support from the
inflationists in both parties, it called forth, irrespective of party,
the opposition of sound-money men. The Chicago Tribune
alluded to the convention as a " gathering of sorehead nonde¬
script log-rollers," called the supporters of inflation "bucolic
nurses of the Rag-Baby," and ridiculed their measures.® " The
Decatur Convention of Independents, among other things,
'resolved' to 'demand the election of competent and honest
men to all offices in the gift of the people.' After that they
proceeded to assume that they alone constitute the ' competent
and honest men,' and, consequently, they were entitled to all
the offices in the gift of the people. Then they proceeded to
put in nomination the standard-bearers of the Rag-Baby, some
of whom are old political bummers and played-out partisan
2 Chicago Tribune, February 17, 1876. They further declared for honest elec¬
tions — for reforms in the civil service, for improvements in water transportation
■—for equal rights for capital and labor, reform of legal procedure, for protec¬
tion of laborers engaged in " mining, manufacturing and building pursuits," for
state regulation of all corporations, and for a reduction of public expenditures.
* The other nominees were J. H. Pickrell of Macon county, lieutenant
governor; M. M. Hooton of Marion county, secretary of state; John Hise of
Cook county, auditor; Henry T. Aspern of Champaign county, treasurer; and
W. S. Coy of Ford county, attorney-general. The national greenback convention
assembled in Indianapolis three months later indorsed a platform which con-
detnned the specie resumption act, called for the payment of government
obligations in greenbacks, protested against the further sale of government bonds
to foreigners, and criticized the government for buying silver for subsidiary
coinage. Ibid., February 17, 1876.
''February 16, 1876; Ogle Couniy Reporter, February 17, 24, 1876.
GREENBACKISM
III
plugs, and others of them are about as intelligent as horse¬
blocks, but all of them are inflationists and dilutionists of the
most crazy description." ®
Meanwhile the republicans, secure in power, were content
to follow the national policy in regard to currency and were
chiefly concerned in determining which of their leaders was
likely to make the strongest race for governor. Beveridge,
who had succeeded to the governorship on Oglesby's election to
the United States senate early in 1873, had not proved to be
a popular leader; indeed, the new governor's advocacy of
temperance had created so powerful an opposition within the
party that he was out of the running. Elihu B. Washburne,
an experienced politician and statesman, was strongly sup¬
ported in Chicago, while Shelby M. Cullom was the choice of
downstate interests.'' Cullom's ability as an organizer and
his popularity as a legislator gave him an advantage over his
opponent, which was increased by the fact that it was highly
desirable to nominate a candidate from the central section of
the state ; ® therefore the republican state convention held in
Springfield on May 24 selected Cullom by a vote of 387
against a vote of 87 for Governor Beveridge. The delegates
adopted a platform in keeping with the policies of the national
administration; besides praising Grant personally, the plat¬
form approved the currency legislation of the Grant adminis¬
tration, applauded the president for prosecuting the "whisky
ring," condemned a democratic congress for discriminating
against union soldiers in filling offices, and urged greater care
on the part of the executive in protecting union men in the
« Chicago Tribune, February 19, 1876.
''Illinois State Register, March 18, 1876; Chicago Tribune, March 22, 1876.
8 For the twenty years since the presidential campaign of 1856 Cullom had
been active in political aflFairs and almost continuously in office, either as a
member of the state assembly or as a representative in congress. During the
twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth general assemblies be had presided over the
house, showing a marked ability to handle and direct affairs.
112
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
late seceding states. The convention, with enthusiastic Blaine
and Logan supporters dividing the field, finally instructed the
delegates to the national republican convention to support the
candidacy of James G. Blaine of Maine for president; three
weeks later, however, the national convention passed Blaine
by and named as its standard bearer Rutherford B. Hayes of
Ohio.®
The democrats were more cautiously weighing the situa¬
tion. They were slowly regaining power in the state, and their
anxiety was to play their cards so that they would not retard
their growing strength. Four years before their alliance with
the liberal republican movement and their indorsement of an
impeccably sound and loyal program had gone far to remove
among nonpartisan people — in spite of the still energetic
waving of the "bloody shirt"—the stigma of opposition to
the Civil War. With this new status, the national party was
laying elaborate plans for the presidential campaign; and in
June the nomination of Tilden had made " reform " unques¬
tionably the battle cry of the national democracy.
In Illinois the issues growing out of the currency loomed
high on the horizon; the consequences of the slow and vacil¬
lating policy of the government toward providing relief were
more easily perceived than those of its maladministration,
conspicuous as they were. Thus for weeks after the national
convention had met democratic leaders still hesitated; were
they strong enough to make a campaign alone or should they
indorse the^greenback candidates? The national platform
had denounced " the financial imbecility and immorality of that
party which, during eleven years of peace, has made no advance
towards resumption — no preparation for resumption — but
instead . . . has annually enacted fresh hindrances
® For complete account of the republican state convention see Chicago
Tribune, May 25, 1876.
GREENBACKISM 113
thereto. As such a hindrance we denounce the Resumption
clause of the Act of 1875, and demand its repeal." It
had also demanded a "judicious system of preparation by
public economies, by official retrenchments, and by wise
finances," which would restore the national credit before the
world; and had also demanded resumption of specie payments
on the legal-tender notes of the United States.^" Here was
a rigorous attack on republican financial policy, and possibly
the democrats might be interpreted as taking a "softer"
stand than the "hard money" professions of their opponents,
but by no stretch of interpretation could it be taken as green-
backism. Which, then, should Illinois democrats place first:
a symmetrical party organization or the defeat ccrUGrantism ?
Over this question democratic leaders hesitated so long as
to threaten dissension within their ranks; the Cairo Bulletin
called the postponement " a piece of cowardice " and " an
insult to the democracy." On July 27, the democrats finally
held their state convention in Springfield, and, the advice of
those who urged the wisdom of a "harmonious union of all
the opposition elements" finally won the day;^^ they adopted
the national democratic platform, indorsed two greenback
candidates — Steward for governor, and Hise for auditor —
and named candidates from their own ranks for the rest of
the state offices.
Their position decided upon, the democrats set systemati¬
cally to work to organize their forces. The formation of Tilden
reform clubs was the weapon against republicanism which the
national committee was advocating—a club in every town
1® Campaign Text Book, p. 4, 8.
11 Issue of March 17, 1876, clipped in Illinois State Register, March 21, 1876.
12 McClernand to McCormick, July 28, 1876, in McCormick manuscripts. In
this chapter, through the courtesy of the McCormick family and of Mr. Her¬
bert A. Kellar of the McCormick Agricultural Library, extensive use has been
made of the great mass of papers and correspondence received by the democratic
state central committee in 1876 and preserved by Cyrus Hall McCormick.
114 the industrial state
or polling place in every county of every state. In Illinois,
Cyrus H. McCormick as chairman of the state central com¬
mittee put his executive ability, business experience, and his
personal force into the cause of reviving the democracy; and
under his direction a vigorous campaign was initiated. Tilden
clubs spread rapidly, preaching their gospel that with a thor¬
ough administrative reform business would revive and pros¬
perity be restored.^® Sometimes they frankly proceeded on
the practical assumption that to the voter suffering from
hard times "bread & butter is more to them than Hays &
Wheeler."To combat directly the "bloody shirt," an
especial appeal was made for the soldier vote — one zealous
worker " sent out 3000 of those soldier letters this week."
The crying need of reform had been set down in a campaign
textbook of seven hundred and fifty pages wherein the sins of
omission and commission of the republican party stood fully
revealed. Letters, textbooks, together with poll books in
which district organizers returned a complete canvass of the
political standing of their neighbors, were carefully distributed
over the state. By August the democracy was roused from
Cairo to Chicago, the state central committee being in touch
with seventy-five of the counties in Illinois.^®
A special effort was made to secure the German vote, since,
if the democrats could win this from the republicans, it would
count doubly against their opponents. The temperance ques¬
tion and other local issues had tended to weaken republican
control over the Germans, so that this was an auspicious
moment to win them back to their first allegiance. Such
reports as "Nearly All the Germans have turned over to
Confidential form letter from the chairman of the national democratic
committee of 1876, in McCormick manuscripts.
Isaac B. Hymer to McCormick, September 11, 1876, ibid.
T. W. S. Kidd to Goodell, October 27, 1876, ibid.
"Daniel Cameron to McCormick, August 23, 1876, ibid.
GREENBACKISM 115
us & will vote for Tilden," raised high hopes of success;
from their canvass and correspondence in September the state
committee felt that "the German element may safely be
counted as three-fourths for Tilden & Hendricks,—change
enough of itself to almost secure the state."
Industrious democratic workers were found in every
foreign group; some of the ablest speakers of the state were
Irish, and were in great demand; Swedish, Bohemian, and
French speakers, each armed with campaign literature in his
own tongue, went out to proselyte among their peoples. Even
in the southern counties, where the colored population, it
was said, "vote solid against us" and "there is no pros¬
pect of obtaining a democratic victory," colored speakers
were engaged in the hope of breaking up the solid republican
phalanx.^®
As always, naturalization played its part in securing the
foreign vote. On September 20, the campaign committee of
Chicago sent out a circular urging the importance of equipping
those who possessed the legal requirements and " who favor
the cause of Democracy and Reform with tickets that will
entitle them to certificates of naturalization Free of Charge."
Sometimes such efforts were handicapped by the determina¬
tion of "dirty Black Republican" clerks to prevent the papers
from being issued in time;^® but on other occasions seventy-
five men might be rounded up in one little town.^®
Popular response to this organization of the Illinois
democracy had never, since the days of Douglas, been so
enthusiastic.^^ The feeling that "we have never before had
" Daniel Cameron to McCormick, September ii, 1876, Hermann Lieb to Jim
Cameron, November i, 1876, Charles Parker to McCormick, October 19, 1876, ibid.
ts O. Edson to McCormick, October 28, 1876, ibid.
t®W. E. Cook to Goodell, October 31, 1876, ibid.
20 James Braun to Goodell, November 3, 1876, ibid.
When Thomas Hoyne went to Oregon to speak he was met at the station
by a delegation of enthusiastic young men. " My God," a correspondent reported
ii6 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
so good a chance " permeated leaders as well as the rank
and file. Correspondence from all over the state indicated
that, while there was no change of democrats to republicans,
many republicans were going over to the democracy. The
demand for campaign literature indicated a disposition to read
and consider the political situation which was found highly
encouraging. "The bands of party are broken in this state,
and there is no need to resort to falsehood on our part.
Truth properly presented is the most powerful weapon we
can use."^® Old-time "monster meetings" of ten thousand
to fifteen thousand people, barbecues, torchlight processions
with speeches, speeches, speeches filled the days. Trumbull,
Palmer, James C. Robinson, John Farnsworth, Edward, Vor¬
hees and Thomas Hoyne talked in every corner of the state,
and still telegrams poured into the state committee pleading
for their services.
A democratic barbecue at Cairo drew crowds " from Mis¬
souri, Kentucky and Illinois by trains, boats, on horseback
and on foot." A rally of the democrats and independents
of Champaign county drew thousands from the surrounding
towns. "An immense procession of between one and two
miles long . . . with several hundred other horsemen
and wagons and footmen, passed through the two cities and
then adjourned" to listen to the speakers of the day.®^\ More¬
over, the "bloody shirt" of republicanism began to show
decided signs of wear, particularly when loyal democratic
generals stumped the state, pitilessly exposing republican cor¬
ruption.
The greenbackers were the uncertain element in democratic
him as saying, " how I wish Douglas had have lived. It warms me up and gives
me encouragement, to see you young men take hold of the campaign." F. h.
March to Daniel Cameron, October ay, 1876, in McCormick manuscripts.
22 Daniel Cameron to McCormick, August zj, 1876, ibid.
^'Daniel Cameron to McCormick, September 11, 1876, ibid.
Illinois Statt Register, October 28, 1876.
GREENBACKISM
117
calculation; and as the unknown quantity, their importance
tended to be magnified rather than minimized. Republicans pro¬
fessed to believe that their opponents' coalition would bring into
sharper relief their differences, and their energy would thus
be dissipated. In September, from reports received from all
over the state, democrats estimated that Cooper would poll
twenty thousand votes. The shrewder observers were not
unduly alarmed at this showing, for it was believed that three-
fourths of this number had heretofore been republican and,
therefore, "instead of hurting this will help the National
ticket 10,000 votes." Many democrats, however, mani¬
fested almost nervous concern over the greenback strength
and sought opportunities to curry favor with these independ¬
ents. As the campaign continued there grew up, in spite of
the most reassuring reports from the field,^® a prevalent feeling
that the state democratic candidates should be withdrawn and
independents substituted. As late as October it was being
contended that the democrats on the ticket were men of
straw — what then could be better than substitution of an
entire greenback ticket, " if thereby we could solidify the
opposition & by any possibility carry the State elect Tilden
save our delegation in Congress & gain a senator or accomplish
even a part of these results." The opposition to such a
move was sufficient to prevent it—John A. McClernand
declaring " that it would be wrong in principle and a blunder
in policy."
25 Daitiel Cameron to McCormick, September 11, 1876, in McCormick manu¬
scripts.
2* "At first Many Dem were for Peter Cooper but now not one Dem here in
this whole county can be found who will waste his vote on Cooper but will vote
straight for Tilden." Parker to McCormick, October 19, 1876, ibid.
22 H. Chrisman to McCormick, October 23, 1876; Power and Harl to Goodell,
October 31, 1876, ibid.
28 " I learn with regret that some of our political friends are countenancing
and as I think very injudiciously, the substitution of the democratic State nomi¬
nees by so many independent nominees. This in my opinion would be an
inglorious surrender of the democratic party, its platform and presidential ticket.
ii8 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Few discerned clearly that the influence of the green-
backers was on the wane. That deep-seated conservatism of
the common voter, which operated to keep him safe within the
established party fold whenever hope of attaining his desires
was given him therein, was now sapping the life of the green¬
back organization. But the movement had inspired such whole¬
some respect that, even in November, fear of its possible
strength sponsored the recommendation that " tickets headed
Cooper & Booth with Tildan & Hendrics [ííc] Electors
at ev[er]y precinct" would give the democracy ten thousand
votes.^®
Throughout the campaign in the state, as in the nation,
neither party had any real issue to proffer; the democrats
cried reform and mercilessly attacked the republican administra¬
tion for corruption, extravagance, and the patronage system;
the republicans on the defensive denied these charges, ascribed
the hard times to nonpolitical causes, preached retrenchment,
and, while continually flaunting the "bloody shirt," endeav¬
ored to bring to light new as well as old sins of their oppo¬
nents.®® With the injection of personalities the campaign
became intensely bitter; nothing derogatory to a candidate's
character escaped the "watchful eyes of the mud-heavers."
The republicans had made little effort to conceal their disdain
of the farming and laboring classes, and the democrats eagerly
pounced on any slip of their opponents which might gain for
them the support of those groups. " Cullom, the whisky ring
candidate for governor," commented the State Register,
It would be in contempt of the authority of the democratic State Convention
which to the extent of its democratic nominees, discriminate in their favor
against rival independents. It would tend to chill the ardor of many old and
true democrats whose zeal essentially centers in Governor Tilden. It would
tend to repel the application of the Germans. It would be wrong in principle and
a blunder in policy. I protest against it. I hope you will make a stand against
it." McClernand to McCormick, October 27, 1876, in McCormick manuscripts.
I. F. Fairraan to McCormick, November 3, 1876, ibid.
Chicago Tribune, June 2, 8, r6, 17, 29, 1876.
GREENBACKISM 119
" speaks of Mr. Steward, the democratic candidate, as ' The
barn-yard' candidate. . . . The men of the shops and of
the farms, the laborers of the cities and towns, in short, the
workingmen, are the real owners of the country. They fight
its battles in war and they support its revenues in peace; the
man who works in his barn-yard has a better claim upon the
suffrages of his fellow citizens than has the banker who clips
off coupons and shaves notes."
As the campaign continued, excitement and enthusiasm
became feverish. The republicans, strong in a powerful and
well-organized machine, used much the same plan of campaign
as did the democrats. In Chicago and downstate towns
Hayes-Wheeler clubs were formed, their members garbed as
"minute-men;" in Rockford a Swedish republican club was
organized, while in some instances colored republican clubs
and German republican clubs stirred up enthusiasm among
their brethren. Robert G. Ingersoll, John A. Logan, Carl
Schurz, and James G. Blaine with dozens of lesser lights tried
in vain to stamp out the fire of regeneration sweeping through
the Illinois democracy. If they influenced many through their
"borrowed ticket — borrowed crowd — borrowed guns," the
democrats outmatched them in spontaneous enthusiasm. Some¬
times two hundred speeches within a week would be made in
a single district, and even a call of a meeting at a country cross¬
roads brought hundreds of farmers.®^
By such leaps and bounds did democratic vigor rise and
cut into republican supremacy that, when the election returns
came in, the results were for a time in doubt; and both parties
in Chicago held mammoth jollification meetings. When the
votes were all counted it was found that though the republicans
Illinois State Register, October 25, 1S76.
3= J, C. Black to Goodell, October 29, 1876, in McCormick manuscripts;
Chicago Tribune, April-November, 1876.
120 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
had again carried the state, Cullom was elected only by about
seven thousand against the fusion candidate, and Hayes by
about twenty thousand plurality.^®
Before Illinoisians could draw breath over the outcome
they were caught up in the hysterical excitement which swept
the country; was Hayes or Tilden elected—would Hayes or
Tilden become president? The joy that possessed the democ¬
racy when the news went out that now at last they had wrested
power from a party which they believed had long debauched
the government changed to chagrin over the delay in according
them full rights as victors. When republicans set about secur¬
ing beyond peradventure the votes of the three doubtful south¬
ern states, their opponents first watched with unbelieving
eyes, then with flaming wrath, determined to checkmate so
high-handed a proceeding. Less than a week after the election
both sides prepared to investigate conditions in the south,
selecting for that purpose prominent leaders of the respective
parties, who came to be known as " visiting statesmen." Among
them were seven Illinois men: Charles B. Farwell, Abner
Taylor, James M. Beardsley, and S. R. Havens, republicans;
John M. Palmer, Lyman Trumbull, and William R. Morrison,
democrats. The "visiting statesmen" did nothing to relieve
the taut nerves of the nation — they only increased the con¬
viction of the people that anarchy and chaos were upon them.
In Illinois, democrats at white heat and democrats in
passive despair held county and state conventions to express
their sentiments over the crisis. Republicans might with
feigned complacency dismiss these " democratic war meetings "
as " not very harmonious in their councils. While one faction
was brandishing its tomahawks, the other was waving the
white banners of peace — It was a competition between idiotic
Chicago Tribune, November 6, 1876; election returns from the secretary of
state's office, Springfield.
GREENBACKISM
121
fury on the one side and calm sense on the other, in which the
latter seems to have had the advantage;" but the situation for
a while really endangered civil peace. "The people were in
a warlike spirit. The idea that a man should be juggled into
the office of President who had been beaten by a popular vote
of more than a quarter of a million, and, if the white vote
alone were counted, by one million two hundred thousand,
seemed so preposterous to common sense and natural justice
that perhaps ninety-nine out of a hundred Democrats thought
it would be entirely justifiable to resort to another civil war."
Meanwhile the Illinois legislature had convened — a legis¬
lature in which the greenback independents held the balance
of power. The first business was the selection of a United
States senator to succeed Logan, whose term would expire
March 4, 1877; and here the greenbackers held the whip
hand. Logan and Palmer held the caucus vote of the two old
parties ; but since neither could hope to gain the prize without
the support of the greenbackers, the contest resolved itself into
a struggle on the part of the old party leaders to secure suffi¬
cient votes from the independents to elect their own candidate.
Balloting began on January 17, and continued for a week with¬
out effecting a choice. The republicans finally shifted their
support to Judge Charles B. Lawrence; thereupon the demo¬
crats, fearful of a republican victory, joined with the inde¬
pendents in the support of Judge Davis, who, on January 25,
was elected to the United States senate.
Meanwhile, for two montl;is and more after the election
various schemes for effecting settlement in the national situa¬
tion had come to nothing. The democrats were more than
willing that the election of the president should devolve on
the national house of representatives, which happened to be
democratic. To any such plan the republicans would not agree.
Koetner, Memoirs, a : 6i6.
122 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Finally, it was decided to submit the whole controversy to an
electoral commission composed of five senators, five represent¬
atives, and five judges of the United States supreme court.
Obviously, it was impossible to select men entirely without
political bias and, just as obviously, neither party was willing
that the other should have a majority on the commission.
Consequently, it was planned to make Judge David Davis of
Illinois the fifteenth member, on the ground that his whole
political course had been as nonpartisan as anyone could expect
of a public official. On the very day, however, of the passage
of the electoral commission law the Illinois legislature elected
Davis United States senator, thus eliminating him from the
commission. Later, Trumbull appeared before the commission
as counsel for the Tilden side, but his efforts were in vain,
the commission deciding that the disputed returns should be
counted for Hayes, who was inaugurated president in
March, 1877.
The democrats were again defeated, but it was a defeat
which presaged a return to power. Fear of greenbackism
as a separate political organization had now largely passed,
though in a different phase the currency question for twenty
years continued to trouble the waters of Illinois politics.
VI. REPUBLICANISM AT THE WHEEL,
1876-1880
The election of 1876 and the narrow margin by which
republicans had retained state control was a crisis which
seemed to consume the strength of their opponents and
allowed republicans a return to peaceful power. Not that
opposition was killed ; but from the republican point of view the
array of opponents plainly at odds and disunited, each seeking
his own end rather than the common aim of defeating repub¬
licanism, could be viewed with equanimity, not to say satisfac¬
tion. To them it held no menace comparable to the distressing
alliances of enemies which for several years had been able in
places of power persistently to clog the wheels of the republican
machine.
In previous years democrats, under the sting of conscious
weakness, had for expediency's sake reluctantly espoused green-
backism; now, flushed with their return to recognition as the
second great party, they attempted no concealment of the fact
that they were in reality hopelessly out of harmony on that
question. It was true that one faction sympathized with the
greenback agitation; but others, scorning the "rag baby,"
cried for hard money; while some desired a reduction of the
public debt, others opposed any reduction. The greenbackers
girding up their loins for their last stand — for the resump¬
tion act would go into effect in 1879 — heard the State Register
calling greenbackers " Inflationists and Lunatics " and paper
money "the invention of the devil." ^ To be sure, the Salem
''■Illinois State Register, March 3, 27, 1878; Chicago Tribune, September
16, 1878.
ï2i
124 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Advocate held them in different esteem, declaring that "the
strongest argument of the goldites, of the usurists, bankers
and bondholders has been that ' congress has no power in
time of peace to make the notes of the treasury a legal tender
for private debts,' and this we are pained to see, is the lunacy
of the State Register, the one excuse for being counted out of
the party, and working for and with the Wall street finan¬
ciers;"^ but the more powerful party press as well as official
democratic approval was withdrawn from such financial heresy.
Democrats and republicans regarded with equal disdain
the new alliance into which the greenbackers had entered—
that with the workingmen. Old party leaders, still harking
back to the ideals and issues which had animated them during
war and reconstruction, regarded the whole labor movement
with contempt and loathing. The consciousness of "labor"
was a new thing—before the great railroad strike of 1877
" the large mass of our people contented themselves with the
belief that in this great and free Republic there was no room
for real complaint." The rapidity and spontaneity of that
industrial mutiny revealed great unrest and brought to realiza¬
tion by the public grave labor problems. It became known
that there existed a workingmen's party.® The press was a
little vague as to the component elements of the movement
which was now seeking political expression, though "the new
secret society of workingmen called the Knights of Labor,"
along with those of a communistic or socialistic persuasion,
was usually cited.^ The press, regardless of party, condemned
out of hand not only the theories but the specific demands of
labor, holding it impossible that American workingmen could
listen to the call of the communistic gods of France. When
^ Salem Advocate quoted in Illinois State Register, March 27, 1878.
' Schilling, " History of the Labor Movement in Chicago," in Pariont,
Life of Albert R. Parsons.
^Chicago Tribune, July a6, 1878.
REPUBLICANISM
125
the workingmen took a stand for the reduction of the hours
of labor to eight, the abolition of child labor in all industrial
institutions, the compulsory education of children under four¬
teen years of age, the inspection of food to the end that all
impurities might be detected, the establishment of a national
bureau of labor statistics, they met decided disapprobation.
At times their demands were mildly but finally dismissed with
"there is nothing in their platform that is connected in the
most remote manner with the interests" of the community,
while the public was assured that " there is no danger of an
infection of the Americans . . . the Socialistic heresies
are too foreign to our institutions and the American character
to gain a foothold among us." In more heated moments,
however, it was declared: "If the chief end of man is to
become a lazy loqt, a shiftless vagabond, a pestilent petrifac¬
tion, a brawling, long-haired idiot, a public nuisance, and an
enemy of his race, let him turn Communist." ® It was in the
larger cities, particularly Chicago, that the labor agitators
found an abiding place, and they were "mostly foreigners
and many of them aliens," though there was a smaller English
section. Such propositions as that " the means of labor should
be National, whilst the result of labor should be personal
every man must make himself useful to the commu¬
nity; all his functions should be utilized to the benefit of the
community," were dismissed as mumbo jumbo befitting an
alien source.®
° Chicago Tribune, August 22, 1877, March 24, 1879.
"In the spring of 1879 Chicago was amazed to find that the socialists — or
communists — had cast 12,000 votes for their candidate for mayor, and, in
addition to the alderman elected in 1878, they now succeeded in placing three
others beside him in the common council of Chicago. By November, however,
the votes polled by " this pestiferous organization " had dwindled to four thou¬
sand, and internal strife soon split the socialists into opposing factions. " Good
times" had relieved the labor situation, so that in 1880 the Chicago Tribune
declared " a marvelous change " had been wrought in the condition of the
working people. Chicago Tribune, March 24, October 14, November 6, 1879,
November 28, 1880; Parsons, Life of Albert R. Parsons, xxi.
126 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The patent absurdity of the demand for a working day of
eight hours and the " charlatan" impracticability of prohibition
of child labor were bad enough in the purely economic field U
but it was beyond the ridiculous to bring them as issues into the
political arena. Now, because labor stood also against the re¬
tirement of the greenbacks, against the national banking sys¬
tem, and " against official barnaclism," it had joined hands with
the greenbackers as the greenback labor or industrial green¬
back party. In the coalition, moreover, the greenbackers
ceded "everything except the name. They promise to adopt
the Workingmen's platform with slight variations.
The fatted calf, so to speak, is to be divided; the tail and
hide, representing certain offices, are to be given to them
fgreenbackersl, and for this concession they are truly
thankful." 8
To the public at large the greenback issue proper was being
rapidly overshadowed by a new phase of the currency question.
During the winter of 1877-1878 the silver discussion in con¬
gress aroused the country to the most intense excitement. A
crime, so the public called it, had been committed by the
demonetization of silver in 1873. The line between the east
and the west, so characteristic of the greenback discussion, was
in this case eyen more sharply drawn. No party alignment
could be made in Illinois; republicans, democrats, greenbackers,
and labor passionately took issue against the " evil conspiracy
against the welfare of the American people." Chicago bankers
might raise their voices in opposition to the silver bill, but their
protests were drowned in the chorus of ardent support. Illinois
was convinced that the " country could not prosper or recover
from depression and curtailing markets while money continued
to ascend in purchasing power and property, and wages to
' Chicago Tribune, August 22, 1877, April 3, 1878.
^ Ibid., October 17, 1877.
REPUBLICANISM 127
descend. As the gold dollar rose, the weight of debt and tax
rose with it, and wages and employment sank at the other end
of the beam. . . . While the Shylocks waxed fat, bankrupts
and tramps filled the streets. The Eastern gold-grabbers
have acted the part of vampires, sucking the life-blood out
of productive enterprise."® It was believed that the silver
convention at Springfield — to which Quincy alone contributed
fifty-five delegates — expressed the feeling of "nine-tenths of
the people" in regard to the "wrong and fraud which had
been perpetrated in demonetizing silver;" the convention
resolved: "We view with intense indignation the efforts now
being made by the money-power of New York, and other
cities of the East, to enforce public opinion in the West
and South upon the question of silver remonetization. And
we say most emphatically that the honest convic¬
tions of the people of this section of the Union will never be
surrendered at the dictation of greedy capitalists and bond¬
holders, let the consequences be what they may." The state
grange, then in session at Peoria, telegraphed a resolution
expressing its hearty sympathy with the purposes of the
meeting, and enthusiastic meetings at such places as Blooming-
ton, Quincy, Peoria, and Princeton expressed "the sentiment
of the great West on the vital question of the restoration of
the dollar that was surreptitiously withdrawn from the cur¬
rency of the nation in 1873." With remonetization success¬
ful, Illinois was exultant. " The victory is one of the people.
It is a victory that was needed to remind the world that Wall
street no longer controls and dictates national legislation. For
the first time, perhaps since the War there has been legislation
on a question of finance which has not been inspired by and in
® Chicago Tribune, January 26, March i, 1878.
^"Illinois State Register, January 16, 1878.
Chicago Tribune, December 7, 22, 1877, January 16, 1878; Illinois State
Register, January 3, 13, 24, 187S.
128 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
the interest of those who live by gambling in money and public
securities."
The action of a republican congress in February, 1878, in
passing the Bland-Allison bill over the president's veto, by
which the United States was forced to purchase annually a
large quantity of silver, added to the glory of that party in
a state which had reacted so keenly to the silver question.
Still, it was the disunion of their enemies, rather than enthu¬
siasm for republicanism, that was decisive in the biennial elec¬
tion of 1878. With an independent vote four times as great
as it had been two years before — more than sufficient to carry
the state if combined with the democrats — the election of 1878
was a clean sweep for the republicans.^® The greenbackers
themselves saw ultimate victory in their own defeat. They
professed to see the beginning of " hard times," which would
awaken the people to the necessity of voting the greenback
ticket. "The coming years, instead of bringing better times
than we have just been passing through, is going to bring
' honest' money and harder times than you have ever witnessed.
God pity the poor 1 "
To the republicans the most pleasing feature of their vic¬
tory was undisputed control of the legislature after a lapse
of four years, during which independents of one stripe or
another had held the balance of power. Again chief interest
centered around the struggle over the senatorship, which would
now assuredly go to a republican. The most prominent candi¬
dates were ex-Senator Logan and Senator Oglesby, whose
Chicago Tribune, March i, 1878.
^^Ibid., September 16, 1878. Official vote:
For Superintendent of Public
For Treasurer Instruction
John C. Smith 206,458 James P. Slade 205,461
Edward L. Cronkrite . . . 170,085 Samuel M. Etter 171,336
Erastus N. Bates 65,689 F. H. Hall 65,487
— Manuscript election returns, secretary of state's office, Springfield.
National Greenbacker, November 15, 1878.
REPUBLICANISM
129
term of office would expire in March, 1879.^® Logan had
failed of réélection to the senate in 1877; and during the
intervening two years his friends had carefully prepared the
way for his election in 1879, hoping that it would be a stepping-
stone to the presidency in 1880 or in 1884. Logan, with an
almost solid backing from the Grand Army of the Republic,
had built up a powerful machine which insured the support of
the rank and file of his party; and because of his dashing
personality and brilliant military record, he commanded the
support of many democrats. Oglesby, on the other hand, while
popular, had not made the same brilliant record as a military
officer, nor had he, as a member of the United States senate,
measured up to the expectations of his supporters.^® Despite
every effort of Logan's bitter enemies — for there was a grow¬
ing restiveness under the yoke of political bossism within the
republican party — on January 17, a republican caucus nomi¬
nated him by a vote of 80 to 26 for Oglesby.^^ When the
democrats united on John C. Black, Logan's election was
assured. He received 106 votes to 84 for Black, 14 being
divided among several other candidates.
The following year the opposing forces lined up for the
quadrennial fight over the presidency. With the return of
the now reconstructed southern states to the party fold, the
democrats were looking forward to contesting for national
control on a better basis than they had known for twenty years.
1'' During the campaign the friends of both candidates had endeavored with
varying degrees of success to pledge the support of republican legislative candi¬
dates. This practice many of the republican newspapers opposed ; but it appears
to have had the sanction of the state .committee, for that body had tabled a reso¬
lution which requested " local committees to refrain from pledging legislative
candidates on the senatorial vote."
For contrary opinion see Chicago Tribune, December lo, 1878.
The Chicago Tribune declared that Logan "was opposed to all reforms
in Government," that he was " the embodiment of the worst phase of machine
politics." Illinois States Register, July 21, 1878, January 8, 1879; Chicago
Tribune, January 7, 9, 1879; Nation, February 19, 1881; Senate Journal, 1879, p.
105.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Within the state the result of refusing coalition with the green-
backers two years before had been to hand over undisturbed
domination to the republicans; now again they looked favor¬
ably on fusing with the greenbackers or at least profiting by
a large defection from the republican ranks due to the green¬
back movement. The greenbackers themselves professed
to believe that the working of the resumption act— in effect
on January i, 1879 — was so unsatisfactory as to force
the expansionist elements of both parties into their own
ranks.
In the republican situation both the democrats and the
greenbackers thought that they saw a combination of circum¬
stances which would cause the defeat of their enemy in the
state as well as in the nation. Rutherford B. Hayes had been
in no sense a popular president; furthermore, his decision not
to become a candidate for réélection caused a scattering of
party leadership. A somewhat similar condition existed in
the republican party of the state; Shelby M. Cullom was a
successful executive, but he was compelled, though bearing the
brunt of democratic attacks, to share leadership with Oglesby
and Logan.
While the general political situation was in this fluid state
it became evident that subtle influences were pushing Grant
forward as a third-term candidate. His statement in 1876
that he would not accept a third term unless " such circum¬
stances as to make it an imperative duty" should arise, had
been seized upon by his managers, who now, violently waving
the "bloody shirt," began to point to such circumstances —
specifically, the attitude and speeches of southern members in
the last congress; there was "still danger to the country from
the rebel Brigadiers." In 1878 the Chicago Tribune, dis¬
turbed by clouds " already considerably larger than a man's
hand," had declared that "if we are to have trouble from
REPUBLICANISM
internal dissensions, either from the Socialists or from the
Democratic party, a man of the Cromwellian breed and blood,
like Grant, is needed at the helm. A great public crisis gener¬
ally brings to the front the man that is wanted." Now, in the
spring of 1880, Logan, speaking in Chicago and elsewhere,
was declaring that "there is danger, and great danger, to be
apprehended to our country in the near future," and in gen¬
eral terms was affirming that "the evidence of this has been
accumulating for some time, and thoughtful people have
observed it."
Unfortunately for the consistency of this attitude. Grant,
while his managers were crying wolf, wolf, was touring among
erstwhile confederates and " eulogizing the good behavior of
the men who wore the grey." On April 16, Logan was
declaiming in Chicago about the "'great emergency' which
would, in his estimation, excuse and justify a third term;"
and in Cairo, Grant was applauding the good citizens of the
south — loyal to the union and devoted to the old flag.^" It
was a bad setback for a boom, and it seemed apparent to many
that the "bloody shirt" was too threadbare to prevail over the
prejudice against the third term, while "Grantism" had of
itself long ago won implacable enemies.
Logan was not discouraged; Grant's popularity in his
state, combined with his own powerful influence, he deemed
sufficient to win for Grant the Illinois vote in the national
convention. Preliminary to an open campaign in the state.
Grant's managers arranged for a visiting tour in which he
should be received in several Illinois cities not as a presiden¬
tial candidate but as the leading citizen of the state, a Civil
War hero, and an ex-president. As such, even the democrats
Chicago Tribune, June 29, 1878.
Nation, February 26, 1880.
2® Ibid., April 22, t88o.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
were forced to receive him with open arms. At Springfield,
on May 5, 1880, ex-Governor Palmer welcomed Grant and
eulogized his acts in preserving the union, carefully refraining,
however, from any mention of his service as president.
Evidence of a third-term enthusiasm continued slight, while
anti-Grant and anti-third-term men became more outspoken.
By April " the third term movement makes a feeble showing
in Illinois. . . . Twelve counties with eighty-five delegates
have elected only twenty-seven Grant men; and Sangamon
county having sent a divided delegation. The sudden journey
of General Logan homeward is understood to have had some
connection with this impediment to the boom. The machine
has now been put under a full head of steam, rumors have
been sent out in every direction, and every possible effort is
making to reverse the current of party opinion."
Yet, notwithstanding every effort, when the state conven¬
tion came together in May, Logan had been unsuccessful in
subduing the independents; the convention was divided over
issues, over candidates, and over methods of naming delegates
to the national convention. Grant and anti-Grant forces con¬
tended for support Cullom and Oglesby each had a strong
following for governor; the leaders were anything but unani¬
mous in the matter of national issues. The first fight began
over the seating of delegates from Cook county; directed by
Logan, it resulted in a victory for Grant. The convention
next discussed the method of choosing delegates to the national
convention. In previous presidential campaigns, each congres¬
sional district had chosen its own delegates and alternates, but
the Grant forces proposed to abandon the plan, leaving the
choice of the entire state delegation to a committee of the state
convention. All day and far into the night the debate raged
Nation, April 2Z, 1880.
" Illinois State Register, May 20, 1880.
REPUBLICANISM
133
over the proposed change. Finally, at two o'clock in the morn¬
ing the convention by a vote of 389 to 304 indorsed the change,
and by a still larger majority instructed the delegates to the
national convention to support Grant's candidacy.^®
The success of the Grant men in the state convention
threatened to disrupt it. It was charged that all anti-Grant
and anti-third-term men were kept out of the convention.
" General Logan is the state Boss, and has the usual Boss's
control of the State Committee, and the State Committee has
the direction of the organization of the Convention." The
convention adopted no regular platform, leaving that respon¬
sibility to the national convention. On the third day it took
up the nomination of state officers. The first ballot showed
the delegates divided among seven candidates. Governor
Cullom and General John 1. Rinaker leading. The first four
ballots were taken without a choice, but with the fifth and
decisive ballot, the contest narrowed to the two leaders.
County after county which had been supporting one or the
other of the weaker candidates went over to Cullom or
Rinaker, with the result that the former was chosen, first
by a majority vote and then unanimously, though under
protest.®®
As the success of the Grant men had torn asunder the
convention, it now threatened to disrupt the republican party
throughout the state. A mass meeting of Chicago republicans
"declared that they would not submit to Boss rule; that they
would not have a third term; that they would defeat the
villainous attempt to deprive them of their liberties. . . .
They drowned in groans a complimentary allusion to Grant."
Chicago Tribune, May 21, 22, 23, 1S80; Illinois, State Register, May 21,
22, 23, i88o; Moses, Illinois, 2: 862, 863.
2* Nation, May 27, 1880.
25 John M. Hamilton was nominated for lieutenant governor, Henry D.
Dement for secretary of state, Charles B. Sweigert for auditor, Edward Rutz
for treasurer, and James McCartney for attorney-general.
134 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
From Rockford, Bloomington, Freeport, Dwight, and Moline
protests arose.-®
On June 2 the republican national convention met in
Chicago, and there the struggle between the Grant and the
anti-Grant factions in the state was renewed. Many of the
congressional districts, unwilling to surrender to the state
convention the privilege of naming delegates to the national
convention, had selected their own delegates and alternates.
The result was a contest for seats, in which the Grant forces
were beaten. And in convention the Grant men worked in
vain; on the thirty-sixth ballot the convention nominated
James A. Garfield of Ohio, who as a delegate was helping
to manage the candidacy of John Sherman. Thus both the
leaders. Grant and Blaine, were defeated and the prize went
to a dark horse.
A week after the republicans began their deliberation in
Chicago, greenback delegates met in national convention in the
same city. For president they nominated James B. Weaver
of Iowa, and for vice president, E. J. Chambers of Texas.
Several planks of their platform pointed the way to radical
reform; one declared that "legal tender currency should be
substituted for the notes of the national banks, the national
banking system abolished, and the unlimited coinage of silver,
as well as gold, established by law;" another, that it was
the duty of congress to regulate interstate commerce in order
that there should be secured for the people " moderate, fair,
and uniform rates for passenger and freight traffic," and
denounced as dangerous the efforts everywhere manifest to
restrict the right of suffrage. They named Alson J. Streeter
for governor, and A. M. Adair for lieutenant governor.
Illinois Staais-Zeitung, May 24, 1880; Chicago Tribune, June i, i88o.
See in this issue dispatches from Rockford, Bloomington, Freeport, Dwight, and
Moline, which show opposition to the action of the state convention.
REPUBLICANISM 135
On June 10 the democratic state convention met at Spring¬
field with S. S. Marshall presiding. The platform declared
for reform in the civil service, for a " constitutional currency
of gold and silver, and of paper convertible into coin," for
better laws relating to the collection of wages, and against
protective tariff laws. Lyman Trumbull and Lewis B. Parsons
headed the ticket.^^
The Illinois delegates to the national democratic conven¬
tion, which convened in Cincinnati on June 22, supported the
candidacy of William R. Morrison of Illinois, though there
appears to have been little enthusiasm for him in any other
state. Winfield S. Hancock of Pennsylvania with William H.
English of Indiana as his running mate became the presidential
nominee. The platform, which declared against everything
republican, resembled somewhat the one adopted by the green-
backers, though it was less radical and less constructive.
With all the candidates named and the platforms pub¬
lished, the campaign of 1880 began in earnest. The repub¬
licans had the advantage of official patronage and the optimism
that went with twenty years of uninterrupted political power.
They were handicapped, however, by the sore spots that went
with the success of Cullom and the Grant men in the state
convention and with the defeat of both Blaine and Grant in
the national convention. Fortunately for the party, Garfield
was proving to be popular, and it was hoped by the leaders
that differences might be temporarily buried and a united front
be offered to the enemy.^®
The democrats also received their presidential nominee
John H. Oberly, secretary of state; Lewis C. Starke), auditor; Thomas
Butterworth, treasurer; and Lawrence Harmon, attorney-general. Illinois State
Register, June 12, 1880. The same convention appointed Melville W. Fuller,
John A. McClernand, S. S. Marshall, and W. T. Dowdall delegates-at-large to
the national democratic convention. Ibid., June ii, 1880; Chicago Tribune,
June ti, 1880.
^^Ibid., May 22, 27, June 9, 18S0.
136 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
with satisfaction, and the lack of internal dissensions among
the state leaders gave hope of success. The long services of
Trumbull as a republican in the United States senate, however,
tended to neutralize his efforts to be elected governor of the
state on a democratic ticket. The Chicago Tribune even
accused him of appealing for republican support on the basis
of his political activities while yet a member of that party.
" Indeed, it is said that he goes so far as to remind Repub¬
licans not merely that he was part author and active supporter
of the constitutional amendments and Reconstruction acts
which the Democrats denounced as 'unconstitutional, null, and
void,' and which they are now seeking to repeal, but that also,
during his career in the Senate as a Republican, he procured
certain offices and advocated the allowance of certain claims
for Republicans."
The campaign as a whole appears to have been conducted
by both parties on a somewhat higher plane than had been
their custom, although personal attacks and slander were
plentifully used. Republicans declared that the democratic
platform was "mainly a condensation of the principles, pur¬
poses, and accomplishments of the Republican party during
the past twenty years"—with the single exception of the
" heresy of State-sovereignty, to which the Democrats cling."
They laid chief stress on the value of protection, pointing to
the good times as conclusive evidence of its beneficent effects
on industry. Both the other parties denied the existence of
prosperity as best they could, while the greenbackers boldly
called for the remonetization of silver and for the abandon¬
ment of the national banking law. The greenbackers, however,
without the support of the democratic press, which had been
accustomed during the previous two presidential campaigns
"Issue of September 7, 1880.
^"Chicago Tribune, June 26, i88o.
REPUBLICANISM
137
to give aid and comfort to the third party, were waging a
losing battle.
As election day approached the democrats began to lose
courage. Hancock, their candidate for president, by making
his famous declaration that the tariff was a local issue, damp¬
ened the enthusiasm of the leaders and cut away the ground
on which they were basing their arguments against protection.
In October Indiana went against the democrats with the effect
that many of the Illinois leaders of democracy gave up the
contest.®^
The election itself was a republican victory. Both Cullom
and the republican electors carried the state by a comfortable
majority, the greenback vote being actually less than one-half
as great as it had been in the state election two years before.®^
Of the nineteen representatives elected to congress thirteen
were republicans and six were democrats. The legislature was
also safely republican, thirty-two out of fifty-one senators and
eighty-two out of one hundred and fifty-three representatives
being members of that party.
The thirty-second general assembly, which convened
January 5, 1881, found little constructive legislation either
necessary or demanded. The Chicago Tribune took the ground
that the legislature should confine itself primarily to a bill
regulating trials before justices of the peace, to amending the
landlord and tenant act, to the biennial appropriations, and
to a new apportionment of the state based on the tenth census
(1880).®^ The legislators themselves thought otherwise;
Palmer, Personal Recollections, 439.
Official results:
For Governor For Presidential Electors
Cullom 314,565 Republican 318,037
Trumbull 277,532 Democratic 277,ZZt
Streeter 28,898 Greenback 26,358
— Manuscript election returns, secretary of state's office, Springfield.
83 Issue of January 5, 1881.
138 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
they gave their attention to a great variety of legislation and
undertook investigations that consumed weeks of time, drag¬
ging out the first session to the last of May. They passed
laws dealing with the sale of deadly weapons, with the adul¬
teration of food, drink, and medicine, with the practice of
dentistry and pharmacy, with the inspection of tenement houses,
and with the publication of annual reports of financial officers.
They did not, however, pass an apportionment bill, and they
refused to legislate for the Illinois-Michigan canal. The
next year Governor Cullom called a special session, which
sat from March 23 to May 6, 1882, to consider apportion¬
ment and the canal. The law relating to the cession of the
canal was submitted to the people, and the state was reappor¬
tioned so as to give the republicans thirty-two senatorial dis¬
tricts and the democrats nineteen.®^ Thanks to these gerryman¬
dering activities, the republicans were able to retain control of
the legislature with a majority of eleven in the senate and one
in the house, thus assuring the election of a republican sena¬
tor to succeed David Davis, whose term would expire on
March 4, 1883.
Competition among republican aspirants to the senatorship
increased with the convening of the thirty-third general as¬
sembly. Cullom, Oglesby, Thomas J. Henderson, and G. B.
Raum were candidates. Cullom had the advantage of state
patronage, an advantage which was somewhat neutralized by
the feeling that he ought to complete his term as governor
The special session of the legislature naturally gave an early start to the
campaign of 1882; the republicans named John C. Smith for treasurer and
Charles T. Strattan for superintendent of public instruction, the democrats nomi¬
nated Alfred Orendorff and Henry Raab, and the greenback nominees were
Daniel McLaughlin and Frank H. Hall. A fourth ticket, the prohibitionist,
comprised John G. Irwin and Elizabeth B. Brown. The republicans narrowly
escaped defeat. Smith was elected by a plurality of a little more than six
thousand, while Strattan ran slightly behind his democratic opponent. Chicago
Tribune, May 5, 1882; report of republican convention is found in ibid., June
29, 1882; report of democratic convention is found in ibid., September 8, 1882;
Illinois State Register, September 8, 1882.
REPUBLICANISM 139
before asking for another office. The other three candidates
were men of large political experience, and each of the three
was entitled to be addressed as " general," an advantage not to
be passed over lightly in political affairs. On the first ballot of
the republican caucus Cullom lacked ten votes of a majority,
being but five votes ahead of Oglesby. The fifth ballot saw
Cullom victorious, with sixty-three votes to twenty-three for
Oglesby, thirteen for Raum, and seven for Henderson. The
democrats honored Palmer by choosing him as their candidate,
though there was no probability that he could be elected. On
joint ballot Cullom received one hundred and seven votes to
ninety-five for Palmer.
Next to the senatorial election the most important act of
the thirty-third general assembly dealt with the liquor business.
For a dozen years or more the question of temperance had
been a thorn in the side of local politicians. Both the old
parties had studiously avoided for a time any definite stand,
though it was generally thought that a majority of the people
irrespective of political affiliation was opposed to any law
intended to " regulate the social intercourse or the private
habits of people." Public men known to be in sympathy
with the movement found their leadership imperiled, while
those of the rank and file who held similar views were objects
of derision and ridicule. Such a feeling in fact went far to
hamper the administration of Governor Beveridge, who was
known as a temperance leader, and made his renomination
impossible. Hostility to the cause, however, did not dampen
the enthusiasm of its friends. Some undertook the formation
of a political party which should stand first and last for restric¬
tions on the liquor business, but many more preferred to gain
the same end through the parties already in existence. After
Chicago Tribune, November 4, 16, 187a; Ottamia Republican, May 30,
November aS, 187a.
I40 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
their victories in 1872 and 1874, little additional legislative
progress had been made. From time to time petitions asking
for a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the liquor
traffic in one or another aspect came before the legislature,
only to be quietly killed in committee or tabled " until July 4
next." Even in 1879, when a huge petition containing 175,000
names was presented to the legislature, it produced no imme¬
diate effect.
In 1883, William H. Harper of Chicago introduced the
"Harper high license bill," providing that the keeper of a
dramshop should pay an annual license of not less than $500,
unless malt liquors only should be sold, and then the minimum
license should be $150.®® Republicans lined up behind the
bill; democrats opposed it. The vote in the house was exceed¬
ingly close and for a time its friends despaired of its passage."
It was openly charged that money was freely used by the
liquor interests. The temperance forces, however, prevailed,
and the Harper bill became a law. While it never accomplished
as much as its closest friends had predicted, it was a step for¬
ward in state prohibition and undoubtedly gave courage to
the friends of temperance to struggle for further advance.
Another act of the same assembly deserves notice. The
state constitution had originally provided that the governor
might not partially veto an appropriation bill, being compelled
either to indorse it or to reject it in its entirety. Such grave
abuses had arisen under the provision that the people were
generally demanding its modification. Accordingly, the legis¬
lature, in conformity with the provisions of the constitution
for amending that instrument, submitted an amendment for
the consideration of the voters, which provided that if the
governor "shall not approve any one or more of the items
Lav)s of i88s, p. 92-93.
House Journal, 1883, p. 995.
REPUBLICANISM
141
or sections contained in any [appropriation] bill, but shall
approve the residue tïiereof, it shall become a law as to the
residue in like manner as if he had signed it." This amend¬
ment the people ratified at the November, 1884, election; and
on the twenty-eighth of the same month it was formally pro¬
claimed a part of the state constitution.
'^Latut of 1883, p. 1Í6.
VIL THE POLITICAL MACHINE IN OPERATION
ILLINOIS politics of the seventies and eighties were charac¬
terized by blind adherence to platforms and candidates,
by extreme displays of enthusiasm at rallies and jollification
meetings, and by the influence of the caucus and convention in
choosing party nominees. It was the day of the " party man "
when independent voting was regarded with more or less suspi¬
cion, of the torchlight procession with its fantastical costumes
and its noise, and of the party manager with his swaps and
trades and petty patronage. Though the typical voter con¬
tinued firmly to believe in the sacredness of the ballot, yet it is
doubtful if any other period in the state's history ever saw the
professional politician so bold or his position so secure. Con¬
ventions and caucuses exerted a controlling influence in the
determination of political policies and candidates, with the
result that the individual voter was practically powerless to
register his choice; usually, swept along by the tide of party
fervor, it did not occur to him that there was any course open
to him but to render blind allegiance to his chieftains.
One of the most reprehensible features of party politics
was the fraud and corruption attendant upon elections. In
the larger cities particularly, the densely populated districts
afforded a rich field for unscrupulous " bosses," while the voting
system itself had no safeguards against all manner of frauds.
Through the seventies and early eighties abuses had continued
so flagrant as finally to arouse a really determined hue and
cry against ballot box stuffing, " repeaters," and falsified
returns.
It was customary for each party to print its ballots privately
142
POLITICAL MACHINE
143
and to distribute them to the voters at the polls. A ballot was
a small sheet of paper which usually read:
For (name of office)
John Smith (name of candidate)
And since registration of voters was not required, to stuff a
ballot box was not a difficult matter. Moreover, professional
" repeaters," men who voted in several precincts, infested the
polls. The Chicago Tribune dates the systematic use of this
practice in 1872;^ and at an election in 1875, from the evi¬
dence presented to the supreme court, it was shown that " in
many wards no poll-books were kept; that no clerks were
appointed; that no record of the number of names or voters
was kept or returned; that the ballots were not numbered;
that the returns were not signed by any clerks; no poll-lists
or tally-sheets were returned." ^ In the April elections of 1876
the Tribune cried aloud over the "outrageous frauds
a monstrous, dangerous, exasperating fraud has been perpe¬
trated."® In 1879, the same journal declared that "there is
a 'Tammany' society within the Chicago Democratic organi¬
zation, and this year, for the first time, the society has carried
into effect, on a large scale, one of the practices of its New
York prototype. It has been engaged, systematically, in cor¬
rupting the registry-lists by the insertion of fraudulent names,
— the names of repeaters. The Tribune of yesterday published
a large number of these fraudulently registered names. One
''■Chicago Tribune, April 17, 1876, "With all the political abuses Chicago
has suffered since the municipality was formed, we believe there was never any
systematic and formidable ballot-stuffing until resort was had to that infamous
practice to carry the reorganization of the city under the general charter of 1872."
^Ibid., April 12, 1875.
ä Ibid., April 8, 1876.
144 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
ward alone shows one hundred and twenty-eight of them
already detected."^ Again in November, 1884, charges of
fraudulent voting were rife.® Some of these charges were
due to mere partisanship — the desire of one party to bring
on its opponent the odium of corruption; but in very large
part they rested on evidence of illegal tampering with election
returns. Finally the saner and cleaner forces in both parties
united in the cause of election law reform. In journalistic
fields, the Chicago Tribune led the movement, while the Union
League of Chicago and other clubs were driven by "palpable
frauds committed under, and the difficulties growing out of,
the present defective election Laws " to urge a revision of the
statute law dealing with elections. Small precincts, voting by
daylight, and the Pennsylvania plan of choosing election judges
were the remedies advocated.®
With the pressure from newspapers, civic organizations,
and messages from retiring Governor Hamilton and from
newly elected Governor Oglesby, both urging remedial legis¬
lative enactment, it was inevitable that the matter should
receive the attention of the legislature. The law finally enacted
provided for registration of voters, for qualification of elec¬
tion judges, and for strict rules regarding the opening and clos¬
ing of polls; it enumerated election offenses, and provided for
the pay of judges and clerks. Abuses were lessened but not
* Chicago Tribune, November 4, 1879.
® Some of these charges vpere due to mere partisanship — the desire of one
party to bring on its opponent the odium of corruption; but in very large part
they rested on evidence of illegal tampering with election returns. One especially
flagrant election crime was that in the second precinct of the eighteenth ward of
Chicago (sixth senatorial district), where a very clumsy forgery had been com¬
mitted. " There is every reason to believe that this forgery was committed in
a bold and deflant spirit, with the full knowledge that it must eventually be
detected, but with a purpose to brazen the matter out until the State Senate can
be organized and a United States Senator can be chosen." The case was Anally
taken up before the federal grand jury, and Brand, democrat, was awarded the
seat in the state senate against Leman, republican. Chicago Tribune, Novem¬
ber 19, 1884.
^ ibid., January 4, 1885.
POLITICAL MACHINE
145
seriously checked until the adoption of the Australian ballot
in 1881.''
In the political campaign of 1884, John Marshall Hamil¬
ton, who had succeeded to the gubernatorial chair upon the
election of Governor Cullom to the senatorship, was a candi¬
date to succeed himself, but the party convention favored
ex-Governor Oglesby and chose him by acclamation.® The
platform expressed the party's pride in the administrations of
Arthur and Hamilton; demanded revision of the criminal law
code, a tariff that would protect labor, and laws for the protec¬
tion of workmen; it denounced election frauds in the south
and instructed the delegates to the republican national con¬
vention to support the presidential candidacy of Logan. This
last plank gave evidence of the efficiency of the state party
machine, for even in Illinois the name of Blaine had more
magic than that of Logan. " The mention of Logan's name
provoked a storm of applause — that of Blaine's a cyclone of
uncontrollable enthusiasm from all parts of the hall — the
Logan feeling rallied at the second mention of the Illinois
Senator's name, but the applause which followed lacked that
spontaneity and long-sustained power which characterized the
reception of that magic, magnetic name of the idol from
Maine." ®
Even after the state convention had given its formal
indorsement, Logan's managers encountered obstacles in push¬
ing his candidacy. Many of the republicans of the state had
never become reconciled to his active support of the third term
movement in favor of Grant; and many more believed that
^ Laws of 1885, p. 188-196.
® Other nominations were J. C. Smith, lieutenant governor; Henry D.
Dement, secretary of state; Jacob Gross, treasurer; and George Hunt, attorney-
general. Moses, Illinois, 2: 895. See Chicago Tribune, February 2, 24, March 23,
1884; Illinois State Register, March 23, 1884.
» For account of the convention see Chicago Tribune, April 17, 1884; Illinois
State Register, April 17, 1884.
146 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
"Nature made him a soldier and a politician, but neither
nature nor art ever designed him to be a statesman."
Furthermore, it was felt in republican circles that Blaine not
only was capable but also that he had honestly earned the
highest honor the party could confer on him — the presidential
nomination.
As the day for opening the national convention approached,
a rumor gained ground that the managers of Logan were
trying to arrange a coalition with Blaine men whereby Logan
should become candidate for vice president on a Blaine ticket.^^
Logan's supporters, however, denied any such intention, insist¬
ing that their candidate would get the presidency or nothing.
Accordingly, when the convention, which assembled in Chicago
on June 3, called for nominations. Senator Cullom placed
before the delegates the name of John A. Logan, whom he
characterized as the tried hero and patriot, the sagacious and
incorruptible statesman, the man who had never skulked in
his life. Three ballots were taken without a nomination. On
the fourth ballot Cullom asked to be allowed to read a tele¬
gram from Logan.^2 This request was denied, whereupon
thirty-four of the forty-four Illinois votes were cast for Blaine,
who was subsequently nominated. Logan was then nominated
for vice president.
In July, the democrats met in state convention at Peoria,
with Palmer as the keynote speaker. The platform presented
" General Logan has stumbled up to very near the head of his class in
politics, by dint of perseverance, self-confidence, good-fellowship, and active
wire-pulling. ... In point of education, training, solidity of parts, mental
grasp, and the general equipment so desirable in a Presidential candidate,
General Logan is so seriously deficient that his nomination would be looked
upon in the Eastern States as something altogether outré." Nation, April 3, 1884.
Illinois State Register, June 3, 1884.
The Logan telegram was reported to have been as follows: "The repub¬
licans of the states that must be relied upon to elect the president, having so
strongly shown a preference for Mr. Blaine, I deem it my duty not to stand in
the way of the people's choice, and recommend my friends to assist in his nomi¬
nation." See Illinois State Register, June 7, 1884; Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1884.
POLITICAL MACHINE 147
to the convention was comprehensive and plain; it denounced
the republicans for not reducing taxes and for not amending
the criminal code, declared for an eight-hour day and the right
of labor to organize, and praised temperance, though it com¬
mitted the state democracy as " earnestly opposed to all sump¬
tuary legislation . . . and to the enactment of prohibition
liquor laws as being fanatical in emanation, destructive of the
rights of freemen, vicious in principle, utterly ineíBcacious for
good, and fraught with manifold evils." All this and more
the delegates were ready to accept without serious question;
but on the matter of protection there were grave differences of
opinion, which appeared when Carter H. Harrison of Chicago
moved to refer the revenue-only tariff plank to the national
convention. Harrison, so he stated, did this in the interest of
harmony, since many of the Chicago delegates, though they
opposed high protection rates, believed in discriminatory duties.
William R. Morrison replied with some warmth. Palmer
sided with Morrison. The debate became personal; Palmer
declared that Harrison, who was the leading candidate for
the gubernatorial nomination, should decline the nomination
of the convention unless it indorsed the motion to refer the
tariff plank. Harrison replied that he was being unjustly
treated. In the end the convention supported the Harrison
motion by a vote of 653 to 623 and nominated him for
governor.^® The next week the democratic national conven¬
tion, at Chicago, named Grover Cleveland for president and
Thomas A. Hendricks for vice president.^^
The rest of the ticket comprised: Henry Seiter for lieutenant governor,
Michael J. Dougherty for secretary of state, Alfred Orendorff for treasurer,
Walter E. Carlin for auditor, and Robert L. McKinly for attorney-general. For
complete account of democratic convention see Chicago Tribune, July 3, 1884;
Illinois State Register, July 3, 1884.
Two other parties, though their combined strength was less than the
republican plurality over the democrats, took part in the campaign ; the green¬
back candidate for governor was Jesse Harper, while their national nominee
was Benjamin F. Butler. In their national platform they indorsed the legal-
148 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The campaign was enthusiastic. The republicans organ¬
ized Blaine and Logan clubs, uniformed marching units, and
encouraged the holding of immense political rallies, featured
by torches, floats, bands, and barbecues. In addition they
capitalized the popularity of Logan as a soldier, thereby bid¬
ding for the support of the soldier vote irrespective of political
affiliation. The democrats likewise resorted to rallies, but with
no leader to match Logan, they were unable to equal the
republicans in creating enthusiasm.^®
The chief issue of the campaign was protection. The
congressional discussion over the passage of the "mongrel"
tariff act of 1B83 had stimulated a deep interest in the tariff
question. The democrats as never before felt that it was an
opportune time to stand or fall on that question, for there
were signs that the people were beginning to feel that high
tariff rates not only enriched one section at the expense of
another but also contributed directly to governmental extrava¬
gances and to political corruption.^® The republicans, on their
part, recognizing the demand for tariff revision, pledged the
party in their national platform "to correct the inequalities
of the tariff and reduce the surplus, not by the vicious and
indiscriminate process of horizontal reduction, but by such
tender decision of the United States supreme court, denounced monopoly,
demanded government regulation of interstate commerce, and favored the sub¬
mission to the people of constitutional amendments designed to give women the
ballot and to abolish the liquor traffic. The last of these issues served as the
core of the national prohibition platform, which, in addition to declaring for
prohibition, demanded that the United States government alone should issue
money and that a liberal pension policy be followed. They named J. B. Hobbs
for governor, and John P. St. John for president.
In some sections the democrats tried unsuccessfully to fuse with the green-
backers, in others to combine forces with dissatisfied republican elements. See
Chicago Tribune, June 24, 1884; also for the months of September and October,
1884. Illinois State Register, October, 1884, passim.
A farmers' institute at Princeton in February, 1883, adopted the following
resolutions and forwarded copies to their representatives in Congress: " Resolved,
That this meeting of farmers, representing about one half of the industrial toilers
of this country, desire to join their voice with the common expression of all other
classes in favor of relief from the excessive and inequitable burden of the present
tariff." Chicago Tribune, February 16, 1883.
POLITICAL MACHINE 149
methods as will relieve the taxpayer without injuring the labor
or the great productive interests of the country." "
That almost universal rebellion of independent republicans,
or in contemporary parlance " mugwumps," that swept the
democrats into national power did not make much headway
in Illinois. Only in Chicago was there a center of strong anti-
Blaine and Logan feeling; there the mugwumps claimed to
have enrolled over fifteen thousand names " of Republicans
who are opposed to the election of James G. Blaine." Outside
the city, however, there was no strong reaction;^® accord¬
ingly, in spite of the sweeping victory of the national democ¬
racy, Illinois remained thoroughly republican, electing the
entire state ticket and a full representation in the electoral
college.^® Republicans also had exactly one-half the con¬
gressional representation and one-half the members of the
state legislature.®®
Logan's defeat for vice president and the very active
opposition to him that developed during the campaign of
1884 did not dampen the enthusiasm of his friends for his
presidential candidacy; and in order to keep their champion
on the political stage they concentrated their attention on the
approaching selection of a United States senator by the legis¬
lé Within Illinois the Harper high license law was a heated issue. The prohibi¬
tionists and republicans charged Harrison, the democratic candidate for governor,
with the desire of repealing this measure; and the republicans reasoned that the
prohibitionists could not, therefore, afford to throw away their votes on their
own candidate. Chicago Tribune, September 29, 1884.
18 Chicago Tribune, April 12, 29, October 28, 1884.
Inofficial results:
For Governor For PREsroENTiAL Electors
Oglesby 334.234 Republican 337.4«9
Harrison 319,635 Democrat 312,351
Harper 8,605 Greenback 10,776
Hobbs 10,905 Prohibition 12,074
— Manuscript election returns, secretary of state's office, Springfield.
20 The election of 1884 was the last in which the greenbackers as a party
participated in a state contest. The success of the resumption law, the adherence
of the democratic party to remonetization, and the general friendliness of the
people for the national banking law, cut away the only ground on which they
could stand as a party.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
lature. When that body convened in January, 1885, both
houses stood nearly equally divided between the two parties;
the roll of the house showed seventy-six republicans and seventy-
seven democrats, including E. M. Haines, the "independent"
of Lake county; the senate was divided between twenty-six
republicans and twenty-five democrats, including one " green-
backer." In the face of such an evenly balanced line-up it
was especially gratifying to Logan lieutenants that within the
republican ranks no formidable competitor to Logan appeared,
whereas the democracy was divided in allegiance between
William R. Morrison and Carter H. Harrison.
It was tacitly understood on both sides that the senatorial
question should be held back as much as possible until after
the house and senate were organized.^^ In the senate, the
republicans utilized their majority to bring about a prompt
organization; the office of president pro tempore went to
William J. Campbell, a veteran who had occupied the same
position in 1881 and again in 1883. In the house, however,
organization was not so readily achieved. Haines, " the
marplot of several previous sessions," held the strategic posi¬
tion in the speakership fight; and the seventy-six democrats
conceded an obligation to the " guerrilla " politician that wor¬
ried republican leaders. Although plainly anxious to win
Haines' allegiance before the senatorial fight should begin,
the democratic caucus tried to satisfy him with the temporary
chairmanship, while selecting a regular, Edward L. Cronkrite,
as their candidate for speaker. Meantime, C. E. Fuller
of Belvidere was accorded the republican nomination, and
Joseph B. Messick of St. Clair was selected for the temporary
chairmanship.
After a day of preliminary skirmishing, Haines, aided by
Rochelle Herald, November 20, 1884. Logan Scrapbook, z.
Illinois State Register, January 6, 1885.
POLITICAL MACHINE
the vote of a republican admirer, Eugene A. Sittig,^® secured
the temporary chairmanship. Once Haines was in the speak¬
er's chair, the anxiety of both Fuller and Cronkrite men became,
"will he ever be unseated?" Sittig, indeed, now the avowed
supporter of Haines, declared that there was no " power in
that Legislature as it is now composed to drive Mr. Haines
from that chair again, and he will be the Speaker of the
House — not as the slave of the Democratic caucus, but as
an independent in the fullest meaning of the term. I stand
between him and the Republican party, and what he does for
it he will do on my account." The temporary speaker soon
showed that both democratic and republican fears as to his
attitude were well founded. When permanent organization
was proposed by D. Linegar, a prominent Cairo politician and
Cronkrite man, the chairman firmly ruled his resolution out
of order.®® Successive efforts on both sides to bring this ques¬
tion before the house were equally futile; and after days of
parliamentary wrangling Haines at length deigned to make
clear his position. Since the state constitution made no men¬
tion of the election of a temporary speaker, he declared that
in electing him to fill the chair they had constitutionally elected
him permanent speaker; he insisted, therefore, that the for¬
mality of another election was out of order.®® Here indeed
23 Tangible reward for his support came to Sittig, in the form of his appoint¬
ment as a member of the committee on credentials, thus enabling him to retain
his contested seat in the house against all other contestants, and in later being
made chairman of the committee on claims. Chicago Tribune, January 9, 1885.
2^ Chicago Tribune, January it, 1885.
House Journal, 1885, i session, 20.
Illinois State Journal, January 10, 1885. In the debate on this clause,
during the constitutional convention of 1870, its ambiguities had been thoroughly
thrashed out; Haines had there also maintained that "the substitution o the
Secretary of State [to call the house to order] dispenses with the temporary
chairman. It is the permanent speaker that they elect." Debates and Proceed¬
ings of the Constitutional Convention, 1:529. At this point the reader may be
reminded that just ten years before, in 1875, Haines had raised no objection to
the election of a permanent speaker following the temporary organization of the
house. See above, p. 4 ff.
152 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
was a challenge, and before it the house stood aghast. Repub¬
licans at once lined up solidly against this interpretation;
democrats found themselves divided over it. While Simeon H.
West of McLean county argued ably for the right of the house
to govern itself and choose its speaker, Dill of St. Clair
stoutly maintained that the house was permanently organized
under the constitution. Haines himself, after asking Crafts
to take the chair, defended his course for over an hour; but
his oratory, which was occupied to some extent with " cracking
old jokes at the expense of Fuller," did not ease the situa¬
tion. The republican determination to force the election of
permanent officers was unshaken, and they voted solidly
against adjournment. It became a test of endurance ; ingenious
filibustering filled the hours until upon an attempted roll call
at 11 P. M. the house broke into wild disorder. Led by one
or two hot-headed partisans, a group of democrats started for
the republican aisle; the angry republicans surged forward to
meet them. Fists were shaken in the faces of opponents,
threats exchanged, and pandemonium broke loose. In the
meanwhile, "the half-frenzied" speaker "vainly yelled for
the clerk to suspend the roll-call." It was not until i : 40 in
the morning that adjournment^® was effected.
For four days the controversy was prolonged; again and
again resolutions were introduced to the effect that the order
of the day was permanent organization. But the speaker
steadfastly withstood the attacks of his enemies and pleas of
his friends. Finally, however, the long struggle began to
wear down even Haines' resistance, and on January 21 he
sent word to the republicans that he was ready for a com-
Chicago Tribune, January 17, 1885.
For a complete account see Chicago Tribune, January 17, 1885. It will be
of interest to note that while Governor Hamilton stated that he would consider
as invalid any bill passed with Haines as temporary speaker, such prominent
men as Chief Justice Scholfield and General Palmer said that Haines was legally
in the right.
POLITICAL MACHINE 153
promise and would help them elect either Eugene A. Sittig
or Abner Taylor as speaker. When the republicans replied
that they were entirely satisfied with their choice of Mr. Fuller,
the exasperated speaker — declaring that he had been elected
as an independent democrat and that, since both republicans
and democrats had no use for him, he would continue as an
independent—ran down the steps from the speaker's chair
and locked himself up in the speaker's room.^®
This action gave victory for the day to the Fuller and
Cronkrite men; yet it by no means solved the speakership
problem. Haines' resignation had broken the democratic
ranks, and they were determined to postpone the permanent
organization until they were again united. "The Illinois
House today," read a journalistic comment, " is simply a
howling mob — without a Speaker, without a Clerk, without
committees, and without function. There have been scenes
every day during the last three weeks which would disgrace
a town meeting in a frontier Territory, and in the meantime
the Senate is awaiting organization to enter upon the business
of the session, the Governor elected by the people is not per¬
mitted to take his office, the election of United States Senator
is postponed far beyond the date contemplated by law, and
one of the most populous and progressive States in the Union
is dishonored and outraged and humiliated by the spectacle."
The democrats at last realized that organization without
Haines was impossible. It was openly known that Sittig was
ready to cast his vote for the Lake county man whenever it
would elect him, and on January 29 the voting began amid a
solemn silence. The first ballot resulted in a tie. Fuller's
vote had gone to Sittig as a final peace offering and a silent
plea to stand by his party. Upon the second roll call it was
Illinois State Journal, January 22, 1885.
Chicago Tribune, January 25, 1885.
154 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
found that the democracy was solidly in support of Haines.
When the name of Sittig was reached he arose to vote; but
before he had a chance to cast his ballot, Fuller jumped up
and asked leave to have his vote changed from Sittig to
Haines. In explaining the change Fuller said, " I am not
willing that any gentleman on this side of the House (point¬
ing toward Sittig) who is false to the dictates of his party
shall be allowed to give the casting vote which shall make my
distinguished colleague Speaker." Sittig recorded his vote
for Haines; the deadlock was broken, and the house perma¬
nently organized.®^
The intensity of that struggle gave indication of the dra¬
matic quality of the senatorial contest to which the legislators
now squared themselves. Indeed, there had developed a wide¬
spread recognition that the Illinois senatorial election was to
be " a national rather than a state contest." ®® In spite of the
fact that rumor invested Charles B. Farwell, John M. Hamil¬
ton, Thomas J. Henderson, and Joseph G. Cannon with
senatorial ambition, John A. Logan continued the only promi¬
nent aspirant in the republican ranks; and, moreover, Logan
had early declared that, " I desire you to know that should I
allow my name used it would be with the understanding that
it was for the whole contest, however long it might be pro¬
tracted." Democratic support, in contrast, was sharply split
between William R. Morrison and Carter H. Harrison.
"Josh" Allen, after nursing some ambitions of his own, with¬
drew his strength to Morrison, making the latter the favorite
of all downstate factions, which, according to the Carbondale
Chicago Tribune, January 30, 1885.
Illinois State Register, January 30, 1885.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, January 30, 1885. "The Illinois Senatorial
question and the organization of the House have been themes of general conver¬
sation among senators, representatives, office holders, and others at Washington."
Illinois State Register, February i, 1885.
Chicago Tribune, February 20, 1885; Illinois State Register, February
2o, 1885.
POLITICAL MACHINE 155
Statesman,were determined that Harrison, mayor of Chi¬
cago, should be downed. This disunion among his opponents
contrasted with the powerful unanimity-compelling republican
machine gave Logan his greatest advantage. The machine
had so far, however, been unable to whip into line one avowed
anti-Logan candidate, Eugene A. Sittig, " who declares he will
not vote for Logan even if he receives the caucus nomination."
With a republican majority of only one on a joint ballot, this
defection, if sustained, was so serious as to make " Senator
Logan's prospects of réélection appear to be very poor."
In the republican caucus General John A. Logan was nomi¬
nated by acclamation and a rising vote after a laudatory
nominating speech by Senator Lorenzo D. Whiting.®^ In his
speech of acceptance, Logan showed the quality of his deter¬
mination: "sometimes people feel it incumbent upon them to
say we can not elect. Would it not be as well for us to say
we will not let the other side elect? . . . whether we
achieve victory now, or not, depends on ourselves."
The democratic senatorial caucus had easily effected Mor¬
rison's nomination, and on February 13 the joint assembly
considered the names of John A. Logan and William R.
Morrison, which were presented amid the usual burst of
oratory.®® Then for weeks progress went no further. Day
Quoted in Chicago Tribune, February 4, 1885.
Nation, January 1, 1885.
" Illinois State Register, February 6, 1885.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 6, 1885.
The lack of real unity in the democratic party was revealed in its
balloting; the caucus vote stood 67 for Morrison, 19 for Harrison, 4 scattering,
and 12 absentees — a total of 102 votes or within one of the number necessary
to elect a senator. " The most urgent need [of the democratic party] . . .
appears to be an accepted leader, strong enough to command the respect of his
party, and possessing sufficient of the organizing faculty to unite its forces and
suppress the paltry jealousies and bickerings of ambitious party chiefs. Without
such a commanding general, trivial and vexatious discords will continue to baffle
the efforts of the party hereafter as they have baffled and defeated it in the pro¬
tracted contest which came to an end yesterday." Chicago Times, May 20, 1885;
Illinois State Register, February 5, 1885.
156 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
after day, the members assembled in joint session to sit in
ominous calm; or for days together they debated angrily and
ineffectively. Feverish insistence on one side to force the
election was obstinately blocked by the other. There were
sessions when no votes were cast; sessions when the solid vote
of one side would be met by no vote at all from their oppo¬
nents; and there were occasions when the only vote cast
was that of Speaker Haines for William R. Morrison."
Republican unanimity, except for Sittig, remained practically
unbroken; when that party voted, Logan rarely received less
than one hundred votes.^^ The democrats, never so amenable
to party discipline, suffered in addition from the champion
iconoclast. Senator Alson J. Streeter. A tried and true demo¬
crat, though a greenbacker, he was not a man content to follow
caucus dictates unquestioningly. On one occasion, disgusted
by the dillydallying tactics of both sides, which had just
refrained from voting, he rose to explain his vote and the course
that he was determined to follow: "We have been here
now two months, and we have as yet failed to elect a United
States Senator. Our constituencies, I believe, are dissatisfied
in the main. . . .We have been led on until we have dis¬
graced ourselves, and our constituencies; until day by day we
see scenes enacted in this house more befitting a street mob
than a deliberative body. . . . There is one man in this
convention who will not bow to king caucus. ... As I
said, I give you all good notice, and I want you to be here
Illinou State Register, January 14, 1885.
" It is the belief of many of my constituents," Sittig declared, " that the loss
of a clear majority of Republican votes in this assembly is due to a narrovy and
restricted party management and the concentration and perpetuation of power
in the hands of a comparatively few of the friends and admirers of the senior
Senator from this State." Republican unanimity may in part be accounted
for by the party pledge exacted by Logan from the republican members of the
legislature. Logan was able to garner every republican vote but that of Sittig,
and the latter attributed his defection to this rigorous party régime. Chicago
Tribune, February 20, 1885; Illinois State Register, February 20, 1885.
POLITICAL MACHINE
157
next week and vote, and if you do not I will try to elect a
senator alone." "
Yet through all these weeks no event occurred which could
unquestionably give victory or defeat to either side; and the
senatorial election continued to hang in the balance of fate.
By April 12, three deaths had occurred in the general assembly.
The first two vacancies involved no change in the political
line-up; in the election that succeeded the third death, how¬
ever, there occurred an episode which is remarkable in the
political history of the state ; for in a district overwhelmingly
democratic, the republican candidate was elected. It was
accomplished by a "still hunt," and is known as the famous
"gum-shoe campaign" of the thirty-fourth district." "My
plan is," wrote Henry Craske, the local republican leader, to
John A. Logan, " for you to select a man in each
county of the district, whom you know you can depend
upon; he in turn to select a man in each school district; who
in turn will select not more than five staunch Republicans
Chicago Tribune, March 17, 1885. On one occasion he gave his vote to
"John Smith," and admitted that he had no particular man in mind when he cast
his vote, though he thereby risked defeat for his party. Even Colonel Morrison
admitted that the presiding officer " could consistently with his duties as Speaker,
have declared Logan elected, on the ground that Senator Streeter's vote for
'John Smith' was no vote at all and that, not counting it, Logan had a majority
of all present." "After the vote was taken, Streeter remarked that he voted for
'Pocahontas' Smith. That gentleman is dead, and had Streeter declared, in reply
to some republican during the joint convention, that he voted for 'Pocahontas,'
Logan would have been elected, because a vote for a dead man would be no vote
at all. On such slender threads hangs the fate of Senators." Chicago Daily
Journal, February 19, 1885; House Journal, 1885, p. 180-184; Chicago Tribune,
February 20, 1885.
There is considerable doubt as to the originator of the plan. Many claim
to have conceived the idea. The Illinois State Register, May 9, 1885, very
shrewdly observed, " We suppose every prominent Republican in the State will
claim the glory of working the scheme in the 34th district." William H. Weaver,
the elected representative, attributes its origin to John A. Logan himself. The
above account is based on interviews with William H. Weaver and John
Purkapile, who distributed the republican tickets in the thirty-fourth district;
also on a letter from Mrs. John A. Logan, the Logan Scrapbook, and Henry
Craske's History of the Campaign. Mrs. John A. Logan claims that "Mr. Craske
conceived, and with the assistance of General Logan's friends caused his wonder¬
ful scheme to be executed." Mrs. John A. Logan in a letter to the author,
April 25, 1918.
158 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
whose duty it will be to see every true Republican in their
district who can be depended on to keep it secret, and thus
secure the attendance of all Republican voters at the polls
at from three to five o'clock P. M., according to size of town
or precinct; and with the apparent apathy that will seem to
be in the Republican ranks, lulling the enemy into fancied
security, thereby electing a Republican Representative." **
So effectively was this plan carried out that the democrats
of the district did not even know the name of the republican
candidate. When republicans of the district began to congre¬
gate at the polls it was too late in the day for the democrats
to rally their forces — and the new representative was a
republican. The chagrin of the democrats not only in the
thirty-fourth district but all over the state was extreme. " The
most disgraceful thing which has occurred in Illinois politics
for years, was the conduct of the democrats in the Thirty-
Fourth district in permitting their majority of over 2,000 to
be wiped out and a republican elected. It is disgraceful because
it was useless — it is more than disgraceful — it is a political
crime. By their inaction, if the republicans will all stand
together, the democracy loses a United States Senator for six
years, and the possible control of the United States during the
last half of Cleveland's administration."^®
Despite the fact that this turn of events seemed now at
last to assure Logan's election, the democrats refused to con¬
sider themselves defeated. Republicans " stole a check from
the democrats but they haven't got it cashed yet," they
Craske, History of the Campaign^ p. 6; see also Mrs. John A. Logan,
Reminiscences of a Soldier's Wife, 425.
Illinois State Register, May 8, 1885.
Illinois State Register, May 12, 1885. "It is said that everything is fair
in war and politics. If our republican friends excuse their political burglary in
the Thirty-fourth district for this reason, they can not complain if the democrats
use all the power they possess within the law to prevent them enjoying the fruits
of their wickedness." Ibid., May 12, 1885.
[From photograph in the possession of Mrs. John A. Logan, Washington, D. C.]
POLITICAL MACHINE
159
declared hopefully and made a vigorous but unsuccessful effort
to elect a senator before Weaver should take bis seat.^^ The
republicans meanwhile were joyfully following up their advan¬
tage. The night of May 14 they secretly administered the
oath of office to the newly elected legislator in the hall of
the house of representatives; on the following day they for¬
mally demanded his recognition. The democrats protested
with spirit, but the republicans carried their point, and Weaver
was seated.
Even yet the democracy did not give up hope. They
decided, at this late day, to abandon William R. Morrison
and substitute at the moment of crucial voting the name of
Lambert Tree, in the hope that upon him they with the one
or two dissatisfied republicans would unite. Unsuccessful here,
in a last desperate effort to defeat Logan they attempted to
unite upon Farwell, a republican.^®
The tide was against them. At noon on May 19, when
the legislature met in joint session, every member was in his
seat. The galleries were crowded with eager spectators;
" politicians of both parties from every section of the State
were present, while the floor of the house, the aisles and the
galleries were packed with interested spectators. General
Logan stood hat in hand in the rear of the Republican side
of the House. Col. Morrison sat in the midst of the demo¬
crats, while Judge Tree was moving about on the outskirts
of the crowd." The assembly proceeded to the balloting.
On the first roll call, the democrats refused to vote. Every
republican in the senate and all but one in the house cast his
vote for Logan. When Sittig's name was called, he did not
Chicago Times, May 9, 10, 1885.
Mr. Farwell received 21 votes in the senate, and 72 in the house. See
Lusk, History of the Contest for United States Senator, before the Thirty-Fourth
General Assembly of Illinois, 188S, p. 48.
Chicago Tribune, May 20, 1885.
i6o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
vote. The announcement was met with wild applause by the
democrats, followed by a deathlike quiet. Logan lacked only
one vote for election. When the call for absentees was read,
the democrats again refrained from voting. All eyes were
turned on Sittig; at last his name was again reached. He
asked leave to explain his vote, which was instantly accorded
him. In the course of his remarks, he said: " I found myself
differing very widely with many Republicans in the choice of
a candidate for United States Senator. , . . Mr. Speaker,
I have found John A. Logan's political methods to be galling
to the independent manhood of those who recognize his leader¬
ship. ... I prefer to say that, in obedience to the Repub¬
licans of the Sixth Senatorial District, who sent me here as
their trusted servant and officer (but under my personal
protest) I vote for John A. Logan."®® The deadlock was
broken — John A. Logan was again United States senator from
Illinois.®^
Shout after shout went up from the joyful republicans,
while Sittig was surrounded by groups of his delighted col¬
leagues. Logan was pulled here and there, shaken, and tossed
by his frenzied friends.®- Immediately after adjournment " a
crowd of the republican members began singing ' Marching
Through Georgia,' and they proceeded to march up town to
various saloons — where they spent the ballance of the after¬
noon singing songs, yelling like Indians. ... It was
announced that the town would be painted a deep red at
night." A brass band was hurriedly got together, and while
Logan held a levee for the crowds of congratulatory friends
at his hotel, hundreds of others too exuberant to contain
themselves, formed a procession and with torches, banners,
^''Illinois State Register, May 20, 1885; Chicago Tribune, May 20, 1885.
Illinois State Journal, May 20, 1885.
°® The final vote stood for John A. Logan 103, for Lambert Tree 96, and 5
scattering; total, 204 votes. Illinois State Register, May 20, 1885.
POLITICAL MACHINE
i6i
and songs paraded " around the principal streets, bawling for
Logan, John A. Logan."
The triumph of Logan demonstrated the power of the
smoothly working party machine, as well as the magnificent
political grasp of the man himself. Even the State Register
which had consistently and bitterly fought his election, hand¬
somely conceded that " General Logan made a most discreet
and energetic fight, and fully demonstrated his ability as the
leader of his party. He deserved to win after he had kept
his party in line and had secured for it the 103 votes. We
would like to have seen a democrat elected — we would have
rejoiced to have secured a democratic successor to Logan; but
we cannot help but admire the perseverance and pluck that
wrested success from apparent defeat.""
Illinois State Register, May 20, 1885.
Ibid.t May 20, 1885.
VIII. NEW FORCES ASTIR
However gratifying the sweeping republican success of
the early eighties in Illinois may have been, old-line poli¬
ticians were becoming acutely conscious of the growing clamor
of new issues. Into the political field, long sacred to tariff
discussions, to reconstruction debates, to senatorial election
campaigns — all saturated with the bitter brine of personal
invective — economic questions now insistently pushed their
demands. It is true that for almost twenty years, coincident
with the country's phenomenal business and industrial develop¬
ment after the Civil War, economic discontent had at various
times tried to become politically articulate. The unfolding of
business opportunities, the achievements of manufacturers, and
the expansion of trade had afforded a spectacle of delight to
the American people generally; but to particular groups this
development had exhibited only its sinister side, the ruthless
contest without rules, in which they were always beaten. In
Illinois, railroads and middlemen had pressed too hard the
agricultural population ; and the granger movement, conceived
in stringent economic necessity, had for a period dominated
politics. The same forces, dissolving into greenback, and later
into "independent" organizations, had less aptly voiced their
economic protest.
Meanwhile, in the thriving young cities of the state,
diversified industry was leaping into strength. Machine shops,
foundries, and factories, with nothing to hamper or limit them,
expanded, organized, united, and went on growing. Poverty
and unemployment, disease and overcrowding became in a new
sense pressing municipal problems. At the same time the
people began to know the names " trusts " and " combinations,"
i6a
NEW FORCES ASTIR
while newspaper abuse of those "corporations which fatten
on the people " became familiar enough.
The growth of industry meant, in a state heretofore so
largely agricultural, the tremendous increase of industrial
laborers. Caught in the swirl of changing conditions, buffeted
and beaten, they had been slow to realize that their individual
weakness could be changed to strength by united bargaining
power; when first they did essay to grasp that weapon it was
not surprising that, divided into foreign language groups, with
the native element innocent of organization, their demands
were laughed at and ignored. To the press, labor unrest and
agitation were only other names for communism and socialism
— a fearful embodiment of things foreign and alien; the
freely admitted reprehensibility of big business when it com¬
bined into heartless trusts must not confuse the citizen into
condoning the impractical demands of labor — demands for
shorter hours, for safety devices, for employers' liability, for
limitation of child labor, for the right of organization — any
of which, if insisted upon, would certainly disturb business.'
Such was the doctrine of the newspapers for several years.
Early in 1880, the thousands of workingmen in the packing
houses of Chicago were defeated by their employers in a three-
weeks' strike over their right to organize. "The 'striking
men,' finding thei-r wives and children suffering for bread . . .
concluded at last to abandon their nonsense and apply to their
old employers for work in their old places, at the old rates."
^ On March 13, 1880, the Illinois State Register declared that " one most
consummate piece of humbuggery ever suggested in connection with the ' labor
question ' is the so-called ' eight hour movement.' The thing is really too silly
to merit the attention of a body of lunatics . . . and the idea of ' striking '
for eight hours is about as sensible as ' striking ' for pay without the hours.
A wise laboring man will work just as long as he agrees to work for certain
wages, specified between himself and his employer whether for one hour, or
for twenty-four hours. No legislative body on earth can properly have anything
to do with the subject. It is purely and exclusively a matter of contract between
the individual wage-payer and the individual wage-worker."
I64 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
They were rejected, however, whereupon a demonstration
against the "scab" labor took place. The State Register
termed it " an unpardonable outrage upon the decency of the
times," and concluded: "Such Tabor agitators' as these
Chicago mobocrats are a fraud upon all the dignities of honest
toil. They are traitors, not only to wives and children, but
to society and government. They deserve no freeman's sym¬
pathy, but detestation. They are entitled simply to the severest
penalties of the violated law, supplemented, if need be, by
copious showers of shot and shell I"^
Nevertheless in the large centers laboring men began slowly
to rally; and organization, once under way, progressed
rapidly. The unions formed in the skilled trades came more
and more to express discontent and unrest, while the Knights
of Labor, emerging from their humble beginnings in the
seventies, in the eighties felt strong enough to come to the
front with a more aggressive attitude on labor questions.®
In June, 1884, they held a meeting in Chicago to urge the
members of the republican convention then in session to put
forth in its program something more than vague generaliza¬
tions about labor. Among the foremost demands of the Knights
were those for an eight-hour day, for a law for the incorpo¬
ration of unions, for the legal prohibition of the labor of
children under fourteen,* for an employers' liability act, and
^Illinois State Register, January ii, 13, 14, 1880.
3 The Knights of Labor, according to the idea of the founder, Uriah S.
Stephens, received members irrespective of trades and planned a grand army
of laborers, strong enough to force a respect of their rights. In 1881, the ruling
of secrecy was removed, and with Terence V. Powderly as grand master, it
grew by leaps and bounds. Politicians greatly feared its growing strength,
which in 1886 was rumored to be 5,000,000— or seven times its actual membership.
* Labor was actuated by other than the humanitarian motive only, in
taking the lead in this particular demand. In many industries besides " foundries
a system of child labor had been introduced. Boys were kept out of school and
taught how to make the mold for one particular piece of casting and nothing
else. In foundries where many similar pieces were cast a boy soon became able
to do the work of a man. Wages ran down the scale almost to the common
day-labor point." Chicago Daily Neitis (evening), November i, 1890.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
165
for a law giving the worker a lien on the product of his labor.®
The two years from 1884 to 1886 saw such a formidable
development in labor organization, such bold demands for
protection and recognition, that, with the great increase of
strikes, the democratic press descanted upon "the power and
benefits" of labor organizations; and political aspirants began
to trim their sails somewhat to this new force. "The una¬
nimity with which congressmen are expressing their friendliness
to labor legislation is an indication that they are beginning to
realize the great power possessed by organized labor."® Five
years before, republicans and democrats had regarded with
equal disdain labor's political demands; now republicans in
convention were forced to receive politely the demands of the
labor representatives, while democrats went so far as to discuss
them.''
In October, 1884, the Federation of Trades designated
May I, 1886, for the inauguration of the eight-hour day. In
Illinois during the late winter and early spring of that year
this concrete demand became symbolic to workingman and
employer alike: to the one it was the substance of greater
things yet to be ; to the other it threatened the right of private
capital to the autocratic control of production. Every week
saw enthusiasm grow among the laborers; the Knights of
Labor formed a hundred new lodges a week until finally they
were obliged to call a halt lest they become too unwieldy.®
Organizations of manufacturers, with opposition to unions and
Knights as their password, were the answer to this unprece¬
dented growth.® The dramatic spectacle of the railway strike
in East St. Louis — a sympathetic demonstration to the strug-
® Nation, June 5, 1884.
® Illinois State Register, February 5, 1886.
' Ihid., February 5, 14, 18, i886.
^ Ibid., February 25, March 13, 14, 24, 1886.
^ Ibid., May 25, 1886.
i66 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
gle then going on in the southwestern states — could not have
been better staged to spur on both sides.^" Before his eyes
the awakening worker saw displayed the power he might come
to wield; state and federal authority stood helpless before it.
The owners of industry seemed to see the handwriting upon the
wall foretelling a new age; and, for the most part, they set
themselves in uncompromising opposition. The lockout be¬
came as common as the strike. In February, Cyrus McCor-
mick locked out his fourteen hundred employees when they
tried to enforce the principle of union labor. " I told them,"
said Mr. McCormick, "that the right to hire any man, white
or black, union or nonunion, Protestant or Catholic, was
something I would not surrender. . . . Where we dif¬
fered in the matter that involved principle, I would not yield.
I also said we would have no trouble about the matter, and to
avoid any trouble and to sustain that principle, the works
closed this morning."'^
During these months the press in general favored labor's
demand. Five years had converted the eight-hour agitation
into something " theoretically sound . . . humane and
unselfish" as long as it asked eight hours' pay for eight hours'
work. The plan would give the workingman greater oppor¬
tunity for personal development; moreover, it had been found
that he produced as much in eight as he did in ten hours. But
there were signs that the movement had " degenerated into a
demand for eight hours' work and ten hours' pay" — a
"menace" to be deplored. "A twenty per cent increase in
pay contemplates an industrial revolution which ought not
rudely to be forced upon the country," just recovering from
depression. Moreover, would the workingman be satisfied
w Chicago Tribune, Chicago Herald, Chicago Daily Nevis, Illinois State
Register, April i, May i, 1886, passim.
Illinois State Register, February 17, 1886.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
167
with this victory, or would he, on the contrary, continue to
demand greater and greater concessions? He could scarcely
expect sympathy if that were the case. Still, it sometimes
appeared, with the sweeping enthusiasm among workingmen
resulting from "the trade and labor unions, the Knights of
Labor assemblies, the socialistic and international groups," all
" agitating harmoniously for a full, legal day's work," that
regardless of theoretical considerations the eight-hour day
would be successful.^®
Outside the industrial centers, the state manifested little
sympathy with the movement. The problems of the agricul¬
tural population were divorced from those of the city; a vague
alliance which the currency question had cemented between
farming and industrial classes was almost negatived by sharper
lines of cleavage. Moreover, labor had too long been identi¬
fied in the minds of the farmers with press accounts of so¬
cialism and anarchy, red flags, incendiary speeches, and alien
violence to win understanding consideration now. Everywhere
the forces of law and order were unequivocal in their stand.
The Catholic church forbade its members to join the Knights
of Labor.'® The police force of Chicago reflected the hostility
of the employing class, regarding strikes per se as evidence
that the men had placed themselves in opposition to law and
order. During these months of unrest it became a pastime for
a squad of mounted police, or a detachment in close formation,
to disperse with the billy any gathering of workingmen. The
billy was an impartial instrument: men, women, children, and
shop-keeping bystanders alike composed its harvest.'* It was
Ibid., February 14, March 13, May i, 1SS6; Chicago Herald, May i, 2, 1S86.
Ibid., April 30, 1886.
"Altgeld, Reasons for Pardoning Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab, jg-jo. Alt-
geld here quotes Judge McAllister in the case of the Harmonia Association of
Joiners against Brenan ei al., gives a letter, dated November 21, 1885, from
the Peoples' Gas, Light, and Coke Company, and cites several affidavits all
setting forth the brutality of the police at this time toward working people or
innocent bystanders.
i68 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
the police, aided by the " Pinkertons," who added the great
leaven of bitterness to the contestd® To the workingmen they
furnished concrete and hateful examples of the autocracy
against which they protested.
As May Day approached the tension all over the city of
Chicago increased. Squads of police guarded the larger
factories and galloped unexpectedly through quarters where
laboring men assembled. Meetings and processions revealed
the excitement among the workingmen. On April 26 over
three thousand men marched in procession, the different trades
bearing such mottoes as "The Proletariat Must be Liber¬
ated;" the terminus of these " Blatant Anarchists on a Tramp"
was the lake front, where eight thousand people listened to the
speeches of labor leaders. " Communistic Germans, Bohe¬
mians, and Poles, representing the lumber-yards, coopers, bak¬
ers, the cigar shops, the breweries, and the International
Workingmen's Association" were now prominent, while "the
Nihilistic character of the procession was shown by the red
badges and red flags which were thickly displayed through
it "16 Yjjg gjty lived in dread of what might happen. " The
supreme officers of the police department have ceased in the
attempt to smooth over the fears of the last few weeks regard¬
ing the labor movement. Their sole idea now is that
there will be a great deal of trouble. It was decided last night
to place the entire police on reserve early Saturday morning
. . . many hundred additional men can be pressed into
service as special policemen as soon as any serious outbreak
should occur."^''
It came then as a surprise that the day passed peacefully
16 One phase of the activities of the Pinkerton detective agency vtas to collect
armed strike breakers from various states and move them from place to place
to protect property confided to their care.
Chicago Tribune, ApcW 26, 1886; Chicago Herald, April 26, 1886.
^''Illinois State Register, May i, 1886.
NEW FORCES ASTIR 169
enough — so peacefully that in spite of parades and celebra¬
tions the numerical strength of the sixty thousand men actively
engaged in the movement was much underestimated.^® The
result of the day differed in the various trades; in a few trades
the eight-hour day with ten hours' pay had already been
granted, in others the eight-hour day with eight hours' pay
was, now inaugurated, while still more compromised on a nine-
hour day with nine hours' pay.^®
But on the " Black Road " leading to the McCormick works
trouble was brewing. During the winter and spring difficulties
had grown steadily more acute. The owner would consider
neither compromise nor arbitration; "scabs" had replaced the
striking workers ; policemen and Pinkertons hovered about the
place. When, on May 3, the union men held a meeting near
the plant and again indulged in hoots of contempt and derision
at the " scab " employees, the owner called in the police. In
the mêlée which followed the appearance of a hundred and
fifty officers of the law, several workingmen were killed and
a score or so wounded. The news went swiftly through the
city. The headlines of the Arbeiter Zeitung screamed:
" Blood ! Lead and Powder as a cure for dissatisfied workmen !
About six laborers mortally and four times that number slightly
wounded! Thus are the eight-hour men to be intimidated.
This is law and order!" That night "thousands of copies of
the following circular were distributed in all parts of the city.
'Revenge! Revenge! Workmen to arms! Men of labor,
this afternoon the bloodhounds of your oppressors murdered
Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1886.
Ibid., May 30, 1886; Chicago Herald, May 20, June i, 1886; Chicago
Daily News, May 3, 1890; Illinois State Register, May i, 12, 1886. The matter
of hours was by no means settled, even where labor had forced concessions.
A few weeks or months found the old schedules in force again in most places
and the eight-hour demand remained for years a battle-cry of labor. On May 3,
1890, the Chicago Daily News declared; " He is a foolish man who thinks that
this widespread sentiment for a shorter working day can be put down by force
or frozen out by indifference.""
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
six of your brothers at McCormick's 1 Why did they murder
them ? Because they dared to be dissatisfied with the lot which
your oppressors have assigned to them. They demanded bread,
and they gave them lead for an answer.' " A great mass meet¬
ing at Haymarket square was called for the evening of May 4
"to denounce the latest atrocious act of the police;" some of
the notices carried an exhortation to the workingmen to appear
armed.^"
The fears of a May-day uprising so recently quieted, now
awoke again. Reserves of police were held in readiness at
nearby stations while Mayor Harrison himself attended the
meeting in order to disperse it if the atmosphere became in¬
flammatory. At about ten o'clock that official left the meeting,
and, stopping at a nearby police station, informed Inspector
Bonfield that no violence need be feared — the meeting had not
been of an incendiary character and the thousand or so people
in attendance were now dispersing. As soon as the mayor
withdrew, however. Inspector Bonfield, already hated by work¬
ingmen for numerous previous collisions, marshaled one hun¬
dred and twenty-five policemen into formation, marched to
the meeting and ordered it to disperse. Almost simultaneously
there was a thundering explosion; a bomb burst among the
policemen, killing one and fatally wounding several others.
The police fired wildly into the fleeing crowd, killing and
wounding many—and the "Haymarket riot" was over.
Fear shook the city; rumors of the firing of public build¬
ings and of the massacre of all anarchists spread over the
state. The press, long bitter against socialist and anarchist,
now became hysterical, while labor and its eight-hour demands
were condemned with the anarchists. " That bomb put an end
to a good many things beside the blatant mouthings of the
Revenge circular, Thomas J. Morgan files ; testimony of Police Inspector
John Bonfield.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
171
Anarchists. It broke up the strikes, . . . The necessity
of putting down Anarchists has made public sentiment im¬
patient with disputes as to hours and wages." Although for
a fortnight thousands continued idle, the "strikers holding
out sullenly," 22 the wave of public hostility destroyed the
stamina of many who had recently caught the enthusiasm of
collective bargaining. The molders, who had long been one
of the most actively discontented trades, heard the metal manu¬
facturers announce that one-third of the old hands were back
on a ten-hour basis. Their union and the Knights of Labor
assembly issued an appeal, asking: "How can you go back
when those millions of voices call . . . ' Now is the day of
the emancipation of the white slave.' Shall the bosses put brass
collars on your necks or shall they black list you? .
Why men, this is the battle for labor's freedom: Are you
content to simply live a slave ?"^® Striking lumbermen
" threatened to get up a counter demonstration in the hope of
keeping weakening workingmen from giving in and going
back to work."®^ But soon even the hardiest strikers were
crying quits ; lumbermen, molders, tailors, and boot and shoe
workers went back, while by the end of June, the police and
"scabs," with the aid of "125 Pinkerton men armed with
Winchester rifles and heavy Colt's revolvers," had broken the
morale of the striking Lake Shore switchmen.^®
Evidently labor was settling down; business, in spite of
the fact that "a good deal of the spring trade has been di¬
verted from Chicago, and it will take months before the old
activity prevails," had won in a struggle the outcome of which
it had feared. The focus of the whole issue had been shifted
Champaign Daily Gazette, May 5, 1886; Chicago Herald, May 11, 1886.
Ibid., May 13, 1886.
Ibid., May 16, 1886.
^*Ibid., May 17, 1886.
^^Ibid., May 17, 20, June 29, i886.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
by the Haymarket incident; its consequences held the center
of the stage. The bomb thrower himself remained un¬
known.^® Out of the many arrested, eight men were finally
held for trial. The men were either editors, stockholders, or
printers of the two international "anarchist" papers of Chi¬
cago ; three of them had made speeches at the meeting the night
of the riot.^^ The prosecution, unable to establish any evidence
of even remote personal participation of any of the accused,
took the stand that in speech and in writing the accused had
urged the employment of force and it must have been upon
such advice that some unknown person had acted. Pertinent
evidence against the men was still so meager, however, that the
trial soon resolved itself into a trial of " anarchism " and of the
accused as " anarchists." The popular outcry was for a convic-
That is, he remained officially unknown; there was a strong impression
that as a matter of fact his identity was not entirely a mystery. In a statement
now on record in the Illinois Historical Survey, made by Mr. Wallace Rice,
June 25, 1919, and concurred in by Mr. Clarence S. Darrow and Mr. George
A. Schilling, all of whom were in a position to know the inside history of the
case, Mr. Rice says: "It was the impression of all the newspaper men informed
in tire premises that the fatal bomb was made by Louis Lingg and thrown by
Rudolph Schnaubelt. Many of them believed further that this fact was also
known to the police and that Schnaubelt was allowed to go after they had taken
him into custody because he could not be connected in any way with the other
men afterward condemned, with the possible exception of Lingg and of Michael
Schwab, who was husband to Schnaubelt's sister. Lingg, however, was thought
to be the only one of the defendants who had guilty knowledge of the bomb and
its throwing.
" Schnaubelt, after his release by the police, went as far and as fast from
the scene of the crime as he could, and when an indictment was found against
him at last, was believed to be in southern California near the Mexican line,
whence he could easily escape to another country. I myself recall dispatches
received by the Chicago papers which told of his whereabouts and, eventually,
of his death in Mexico. There was another story, not substantiated, that he had
fled to Belgium, and died there."
The case against Albert R. Parsons, an eloquent labor agitator known
in alinost every industrial center in the United States, may be cited. Returning
to Chicago the afternoon of May 4, he had, almost by accident, attended and
addressed the Haymarket meeting, and with his wife and children had left before
the bomb was thrown. After reaching a place of safety, he had voluntarily
returned to the city and had surrendered himself to stand trial with his comrades.
No evidence except his editorship of the Alarm and his espousal of anarchism,
could be adduced against him; in fact a report of his speech showed that he
had decried the unwisdom of violence against particular persons, urging that
it was the system which must be abolished. He was, however, sentenced to death,
and died protesting himself the victim of judicial murder.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
173
tlon; the public, convinced that it had barely escaped destruc¬
tion in some fiendish plot, frantically demanded a victim. The
jury, after listening for eight weeks to the voluminous evi¬
dence, found the eight men guilty of murder and sentenced one,
Oscar Neebe, to fifteen years' imprisonment, and seven to
death.^® Although many eminent men believed it to be a po¬
litical trial and exerted powerful influence to secure executive
clemency, they could not avert the hanging of August Spies,
Adolph Fischer, George Engle, and Albert R. Parsons; their
efforts did procure for Michael Schwab and Samuel Fielden a
commutation of the capital sentence to life imprisonment.^®
The eighth man, Louis Lingg, had committed suicide.
However great the hostility which the anarchist case had
aroused against labor, many workingmen were too thor¬
oughly aroused to accept tamely the cold shoulder of society.
Heretofore their entrance into politics was tentative, but now
they began to lay plans for a third party. " 'Keep out of
politics' is the advice which the old party hacks, journalistic
and other, are forever giving the labor organizations ; " but,
the Chicago Herald reminded the workingmen, "To keep out
of politics is to submit blindly to every abuse of the law-making
and executive power or to breed anarchists, who, ignoring
politics, assume to accomplish their desires by force."®® In
September a Cook county labor convention, to which nearly
every Knights of Labor assembly in the county sent delegates,
was called in Chicago; and in spite of serious differences be-
28 Chicago Tribune, August 21, 1SS6.
28 A petition received the signatures of many conservative and influential men
■who were indefatigable in their efforts to prevent the hanging: Lyman J. Gage,
president of the First National Bank, Charles B. Holmes, president of the City
Railway, William Penn Nixson, black republican editor of the Inter-Ocean;
Potter Palmer, Senator Farwell and Victor Lawson; Judges Tuley, Samuel
McConnel, Moran, William A. Gowdy, Chester Daws, S. S. Gregory, and A. H.
Barnum. Petitions from other cities of the country and abroad testified to the
widespread interest in the case.
'0 Chicago Herald, June 8, 1886.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
tween the conservative and the radical elements, it organized
the united labor party, " composed of such regular trade and
labor unions and Knights of Labor assemblies as shall officially
repudiate the Republican and Democratic parties." Similar
manifestations throughout the state resulted in the nomination
of local and legislative candidates and in the election of fifteen
independents to the general assembly.®^
Public opinion in general did not, as many socialists con¬
fidently expected, rise to repudiate, by the means of an over¬
whelming political labor movement, the verdict in the anarchist
trial. Far from showing " the Republicans . . . that we
can break up their party in this State,"®® the anarchist incident
proved a disintegrating factor within organized labor itself.
However staunch the support of this or that labor group may
have been, there were many, following the official action of the
Knights of Labor, who were eager to prove their own skirts
free from the contaminating touch of anarchism. Labor, they
felt, had paid dearly for its radical counsel; this division ren¬
dered ineffectual all efforts for united political action.
The next two years were not calculated to quiet restless
elements. Serious strikes continued; moreover, the farmers,
resentful of a discriminating protective tariff, increasingly rest¬
less over currency problems and continued state abuses, showed
a disposition to unite forces with the Illinois State Labor Asso¬
ciation. When that association met in Peoria in January, 1888,
representatves of the farming element, " mostly greenbackers
and anti-monopolists, who hope for success by united action
with the labor party," joined with it in resolving to form an
independent political organization; in April the Illinois labor
party convened at Decatur to draw up a platform and to select
Chicago Tribune, September 23, 24, 26, 28, 1886; Chicago Daily New
(evening), May 14, 1890.
Chicago Tribune, May 14, 1886.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
175
candidates. The platform advocated " the strict enforcement
of all laws and obeyance of the same, calls for a lower State
tax, urges that holders of mortgages be taxed on the same,
that members of the Board of Railroad and Warehouse Com¬
missioners shall be elected, that means of communication and
transportation shall be owned by the government, that a mone¬
tary system in the interest of the producer instead of the spec¬
ulator shall be secured, that arbitration shall take the place of
strikes, that a graduated income tax be established, that United
States Senators be elected by the people, that both sexes shall
have the right to vote, and that the Labor party is a prohibition
party." Harmony within the group was disrupted at the out¬
set, however, when, because of resentment at the nomination of
W. W. Jones to head the state ticket, several Chicago delegates
bolted the convention.
In the campaign of 1888 this situation — the general rest¬
lessness together with lack of cohesion in the laboring and farm¬
ing groups — gave to the democrats their opportunity; to their
legitimate strength as the second great party they would add
these disunited elements. Indeed, the democratic guberna¬
torial nominee, John M. Palmer,®^ appeared to the more con¬
servative wing of his party as "a bull in a china shop" be¬
cause of his " pro-Socialistic speeches." Palmer, in his speech
of acceptance, outlined the stand which he took everywhere
on the stump. He turned his back squarely on the old political
leaders who regarded the governorship " as a stepping-stone
to other places;" who, disregarding the interests of the peo¬
ple of Illinois, had turned the state into a mere election dis¬
trict. But the issue that made his campaign notable was his
ss Chicago Tribune, January 12, April 26, 27, 1S8S.
Other candidates were : Andrew J. Bell, lieutenant governor ; N. Douglas
Ricks, secretary of state; Andrew Welch, auditor; Charles H. Wacker, treasurer;
Jacob R. Creighton, attorney-general.
Chicago Tribune, July ii, 1888.
176 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
direct appeal to the laboring man when he denounced the hated
Pinkertons; why was it, he asked again and again, that "the
State has become an object of such contempt that standing
armies are raised in its midst . , . that private men may
organize soldiers in the State, hirelings to go with their Win¬
chesters and overawe the people."®®
The general aspect of the situation was far from encourag¬
ing to the republicans. Their national organization was com¬
mitted to a high tariff with which they had but scant sympathy;
yet their disavowal of it as a policy of the eastern republicans
could not prevent the democrats from making capital out of
it. Further, the party seemed singularly lacking in strong
candidates to make the presidential race; no one stood forth
as a leader who could attract united and enthusiastic support.
In this situation the Illinois republicans entertained hopes of
naming one or the other of the nominees on the national ticket
Senator Cullom was mentioned by some as a possible " dark
horse" for president; others brought up the name of Oglesby
for vice president. Neither suggestion met widespread re¬
sponse; so influential a paper as the Chicago Tribune, for in¬
stance, preferred to support Judge Walter Q. Gresham of
Indiana for president.®' The national convention quashed
whatever faint hopes there were by nominating Harrison with
Morton of New York as his running mate.
The Illinois leaders therefore turned to the state cam¬
paign, but with forced enthusiasm. At Springfield early in
May the state convention had nominated Joseph Eifer. The
Tribune admitted that "it would be sheer hypocrisy
to pretend that the convention placed in nomination the strong¬
est candidate beyond recall, correction, or change." It there¬
fore urged " straight party men ... to make the best
3® Chicago Tribune, May 23, 24, 25, August 9, 26, September 7, 1888.
Ibid., January 19, April 14, 17, 19, 21, 23, May 2, 28, June 12, 27, 1888.
NEW FORCES ASTIR 177
of it." Fifer was characterized as a "clear-headed, plain,
every-day sort of man " and as the campaign proceeded repub¬
lican hopes began to revive. Fifer's appeal to the soldier vote
as a "private," in striking contrast to those who as generals
had long solicited the veterans' support, was proving very suc¬
cessful; in southern Illinois he won en bloc the enthusiastic
support of the Negro vote which Palmer, contrary to demo¬
cratic tactics since 1876, was making little attempt to conciliate.
Further, in answer to Palmer's Pinkerton argument, Fifer
pointed to the law which had been enacted the year before and
assured workingmen that it had been and that it would be well
enforced.®®
Nevertheless, democratic strength was disquieting. "The
Tribune can say all it wants to about our deal with the An¬
archists; it won't hurt us any with the labor people," was
proving true; it was plain that Palmer's strength was formid¬
able in Cook county, while in Chicago " democratic and labor
votes are self-same."®® The farmers of the state, too, were
lending a willing ear to the democratic appeal ; like the labor¬
ing men, they were not to be won over by republican talk of
prosperity and high wages so long as that party carried the
responsibility for the protective tariff. The argument that
this measure meant a full dinner pail for the workingman and
home markets for the farmer as well as protection for the
manufacturer failed utterly to convince them.
Accordingly, although the election returns showed that
the republicans had again secured a governor, the party be¬
held in dismay the havoc their foes had wrought in their strong¬
holds. Their narrow victory revealed an unexpected unity in
the democracy and made the republicans fear that their op¬
ponents might " hold the Laborites until after the election of
38 Chicago Tribune, May 4, June 26, July 20, 25, October 16, 24, 1888.
38 Ibid., August 1, 1888.
178 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
November, 1890," in which case they would have an excellent
chance of doubling their representation in the state senate.^"
Moreover, the outlook in the state was discouraging to any old-
line party. In addition to the uncertain and discontented labor
vote, the restlessness of the farmers was causing both political
parties uneasiness; the old granger spirit seemed in a fair way
to revive. In 1885 the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association,
popularly known as the F. M. B. A., first established lodges
in Illinois; within four years, with a membership of forty-five
thousand, it effected state organization and thereupon quickly
added thirty thousand new members. Its plan of organization
"appears to be hybrid, with the old Grange and Knights of
Labor for models. There are county assemblies and local
lodges, a secret ritual, a badge, a pass word, and a grip." As
a protest against the middlemen, "the great class who like
leeches extort from the farmers the profits that by hard labor
they have dug from the ground," the association undertook
to maintain cooperative stores, without " striking success
although it has ruined the merchants in the small
towns." The platform struck at a variety of grievances felt
particularly keenly by the farmers; it included such planks as
reconstruction of the revenue code, enforcement of the law
providing for the assessment of property at its fair cash value,
reduction of the legal rate of interest, reduction of the cost of
transportation, and legislation against trusts. Similar demands
were also being urged by the Farmers' Alliance, an organiza¬
tion much like the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association in
character, but much less strong numerically, having only ten
or twelve thousand members.
To accomplish what they sought, the farmers resolved that
again, as in 1874, they would be represented in the legisla-
Chicago Tribune, April 7, 1889.
*^lbid., January 6, April 28, October 29, 1890.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
179
ture. In May, 1890, a conference between the Farmers'
Mutual Benefit Association, the Farmers' Alliance, the Grange,
and the Knights of Lahor resolved that " our future success
and welfare depends upon concerted action;" accordingly, a
federation of the organizations was effected with J. M. Thomp¬
son, master of the Illinois State Grange, as president. Each
member was to work in his own party for the nomination of
candidates favorable to farmers; no state nominations should
he made by them as a formal third party, hut " in legislative,
senatorial, and congressional nominations, we demand of all
candidates that they he publicly pledged . . . and we
will support no candidate not so pledged." The conference
went on record in favor of the free and unlimited coinage of
silver, election of senators by direct vote of the people, a na¬
tional law prohibiting dealing in futures on all agricultural
products, and a tax on incomes.
So successful was this program that besides scoring
heavily in township and county elections the farmers' organ¬
izations elected fifty republican and democratic farmer assem¬
blymen pledged to the interests of their brethren, and three
outright Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association members as " in¬
dependent" assemblymen.^® In the new general assembly,
the republicans could count only one hundred members and
the democrats one hundred and one; thus the three inde¬
pendent representatives of the organized farming inter¬
ests— two of them former democrats — held the balance of
power.
Inasmuch as the legislature of 1890 had to select a sue-
^2 Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1890.
48 For several sessions, ever since the farmers had begun to rouse themselves,
it had been customary for the farmer legislators to form a club at Springfield;
on January 15, 1891, the farmers of both houses, irrespective of party, met to
organize and to draw up an article of the constitution to be thereafter formed:
" No person shall be eligible to membership in this club whose principal vocation
is not that of farmer"—an article which fifty-eight members of the general
assembly signed. Ibid., January 15, 1891.
i8o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
cessor to United States Senator Farwell the situation was
peculiarly disquieting to republicans. At just this inauspicious
moment came the news of the McKinley tariff bill, with its
proposed increase on the necessaries of life. The strength
which General Palmer had developed in the gubernatorial
race made him the logical democratic senatorial candidate;
what more auspicious for a Palmer boom than tariff reform
meetings with the McKinley bill as text ! Republican leaders
" can see perfectly well that political affairs are not as lovely
as they might be. They know or should know, the feeling
among the farmers and the alliances. They know that the
party is not gaining as it should, that it is losing many of those
who have long fought under its flag. They know that this
McKinleyism is swaying their party in the West, and that the
wholly unnecessary increased taxation policy repels men from
the Republican organization." Leading republicans from
all over Illinois at a meeting in Chicago in May, 1890, said
not one word "which even a desperate newspaper advocate
of higher tariff taxes could torture into an approval of the
McKinley bill."
Under the dark cloud of the McKinley bill what rosy
inducements could republican legislators offer the Farmers'
Mutual Benefit Association members? They humbled them¬
selves and waited upon the independents in order to ascertain
their wishes in regard to the speakership, the senatorship, the
coming legislation, and what not; but to no effect — the trium¬
virate would make no compromise ; they wanted " all this ter¬
restrial globe," and " a vast deal of courting and attention "
to boot.^® Indeed the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association's
instructions to ignore the caucus choice of both parties auto-
Chicago Tribune, May 6, 1890.
*^Ibid., May 8, 1890.
Ibid., January 7, 1891.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
i8i
matically precluded any understanding. Palmer had long
been the democratic choice; the republicans, on January 14,
announced their allegiance to Senator Farwell; while the
Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, decided to support Alson
J. Streeter, long identified with parties of protest in Illinois
politics."The principal reason that has compelled us to
the solid support of Mr. Streeter is that his interests are iden¬
tical with the industrial interests of the country — We claim
that the questions of money and railroad transportation are
the main questions — and we know Mr. Streeter to be sound
on the money question and sound in his opposition to the
rapacious greed of corporations."
And there the matter stood for two months of struggle
and uncertainty. The Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association
yielded not one inch, but quietly waited for one or the other
of the old parties to accept its choice. It was the republicans
who were "under the wheel;" the democrats, remembering
the lesson of previous elections, were a solid one hundred and
one for Palmer,^' quietly nursing the hope that his liberal
record might eventually win the triumvirate. Finally, early
in March the republicans began advances toward Streeter,
trying to wring from him such concessions as would make
their choice of him, "not as an ideal candidate, but as a choice
of evils," somewhat plausible. Streeter thereupon drew up a
speech of acceptance defining his position ; this he incautiously
showed to the triumvirate, who immediately declared that the
republicans had " little by little, sought and obtained from our
candidate such concessions and promises as would, if carried
out, entirely unfit him for conscientiously representing the
He had served as chairman of the farmers' antimonopoly convention in
Chicago in 18S4 and as union labor candidate for president in 1888. He was not
a member of the assembly. McKee, National Conventions and Platforms of All
Political Parties, 178Ç-IÇ05, p. 223, 257.
Chicago Tribune, January 14, 1891.
This in spite of the grave uncertainty of many old leaders over his success.
i82 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
principles of the independent organizations."®® Streeter, in¬
deed, as the Chicago Tribune asserted, had "promised every¬
thing to everybody. He has told the railroad folks they need
not be uneasy if he be elected and he has assured the grangers
their rights would be protected." As a consequence two
members of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association bolted
him at the last moment, throwing their votes with the demo¬
crats, and on March 12, 1891, John M. Palmer was declared
United States senator.®^
Such a victory, when some of the ablest democratic lead¬
ers had been convinced of its impossibility, could not but excite
the highest hopes for victory in the national campaign of 1892
and democrats surveyed the plight of their opponents with
satisfaction. Republicans had to carry the onus of President
Harrison and the McKinley bill, and the still greater opposi¬
tion aroused by the proposed "force" measures. In bright
contrast shone the popularity of Cleveland, the democratic
nominee, which state pride in his running mate, Adlai
Stevenson, only augmented.®®
Conditions within the state offered such palpable breaches
for assault that when the democrats selected John P. Altgeld
^"Chicago Tribune, March 13, 1891. It was these same "independent"
forces which early in August, 1891, formally organized the people's party in
Illinois indorsing the Cincinnati platform. Ibid., August 14, 1891.
Ibid., March 7, 1891.
Their defeat was a bitter pill for the republicans to swallow, and the
Tribune placed the first responsibility on "McKinley with his bill. It is to him
that a score of Democratic State Senators and Representatives owe their seats.
Next, General Palmer should return 'heartfelt thanks' to Joe Cannon and the
twelve other Republican Congressihen from Illinois who voted for the McKinley
bill, as they could have defeated it. Cannon should get the lion's share, because
had he chosen, he could have organized an opposition among Western Repub¬
lican members which would have stripped McKinley's measure of its worst
features and sent it to the Senate so modified as not to be harmful to the party.
He purposely neglected to do it, and as a consequence is out of public life and
Palmer is in it." Chicago Tribune, March t3, 189t.
63 During the winter and spring there was a marked movement in the
Illinois democracy to father a Palmer presidency boom, and the delegates to
the national convention were instructed to stand for him, though not to oppose
Cleveland. Illinois State Register, February r9, 24, 27, March 5, April 12, 24,
28, 1892.
NEW FORCES ASTIR 183
to head their ticket, republicans wondered whether after thirty
years they might lose control of the gubernatorial chair. Could
Fifer, as the logical republican candidate for réélection, suc¬
cessfully measure swords with him? Chicago politicians knew
and feared Altgeld as a bewildering paradox: at once a con¬
summate politician, and a real friend of the people. Elected
judge by the democratic labor party and long influential in the
radical wing of the democracy, he had always displayed un¬
canny finesse in the political game — a gift which was poten¬
tially at the service of the weak. Still, it was felt that a man so
frankly a friend of labor suffered a handicap which would
make it possible to wreck his political hopes. But before the
gubernatorial campaign was officially launched, Altgeld threw
about his political weaknesses a protective cloak of other
issues.®^
He well knew that his liberal views on social and economic
questions, which made certain the support of the idealist, the
humanitarian, and the laboring man, would readily lend them¬
selves to misrepresentation and calumny; in the parochial
school question he found an issue which would bind to him large
classes not otherwise to be won. The Catholic, and particu¬
larly the Lutheran, population of the state had become greatly
exercised over the compulsory school law of 1889, which re¬
quired the teaching of reading and writing in English. The
fear that the authority of parent and of priest, that even the
"liberty of religion" were being trenched upon, led to a de¬
termined demand from this body of voters for the law's repeal.
Altgeld, while declaring himself and the democratic party
thoroughly in sympathy with the principle of compulsory edu-
At a time when no one had given thought to the fate of the " criminal,"
Altgeld published a pamphlet, Our Criminal Code, which held the seeds of
scientific criminology. His volume, Live Questions, collected from periodicals and
newspapers, contained his sympathetic reaction on such questions as "The Eight
Hour Movement," " Arbitration of Strikes," " The Slave Girls of Chicago's
[Factories]," and "The Administration of Justice in Chicago."
I84 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
cation, made himself the champion of these religious groups.
At a meeting of the state committee, "Judge Altgeld's plan
of campaign was endorsed and it was decided to make the
school question the main issue of the state canvass — 'we want
a law enacted that will insure the rudiments of an education
to every child without trenching upon religious grounds and
without doing violence to the doctrines that lie at the base of
republican institutions.' "
The republicans vigorously protested at being thus sad¬
dled with the onus of a nonpartisan bit of legislation which
had inadvertently roused a tempest. They pointed out to the
foreign groups that when the measure received the enthusiastic
support of members of all parties in the thirty-sixth general
assembly no one suspected the existence of the objectionable
features that appeared in its practical operation; republicans
were eager that these features be removed.®® The offended
voters, however, heeded this explanation little when it became
clear that republicans were appealing to the native Americans
to support the " little red school-house." Indeed charges were
soon freely circulated that " Governor Joe Fifer is the moving
spirit behind the . . . rampant and powerful ' know-
nothing' propaganda and organization, than which nothing
could be better calculated to bring the foreigner into the ranks
of the democracy."
Meanwhile Altgeld's "political hand shake," as it was
bitterly dubbed by his opponents, had brought him a wide ac¬
quaintance over the state. Early in the summer he had quietly
traveled from county to county in a pre-campaign trip, hold¬
ing informal receptions for the hundreds of farmers or miners
who had driven in to meet him or " plodding about the muddy
Illinois State Register, May 25, 1892.
Senate Journal, 1893, p. 26.
"Illinois State Register, June i, August 31, September 25, 1892.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
streets getting acquainted with people and giving them an op¬
portunity to get acquainted with him."®®
In the state campaign Altgeld proceeded on his theory that
the " principal cause that will lead to Democratic victory is not
a party issue. It is the gi'owth of the mighty trusts and power¬
ful and unscrupulous monopolies . . . under the wing
of Republican legislation. The common people are becoming
alarmed at the extent of these trusts."®" With that passion¬
ate earnestness which characterized him, he reviewed state
evils and he boldly revealed national and state extravagance;
in Illinois were institutions where "it took $600,000 to pay
and keep employes to expend $400,000 on the inmates of the
institution."®" His attacks on the evils of the convict labor
system, against which organized labor had long protested, and
on the abortive efforts of recent legislation to remedy these
evils under the republican administration, and his accusations
of neglect in many other fields of law enforcement®^ roused
the republican press to frenzy. The " deliberate and malicious
falsehoods" of "a brazen demagogue,"®® the fomenter of
foreign known nothingism, the sympathizer with the " george-
ites," the millionaire labor leader, were themes which the
republican press enlarged upon. "The desperation of the
republican organs is manifested by the way they attack Judge
Altgeld. 'Altgeld is an anarchist,' shouts one organ; 'Altgeld
®® "The Journal appears to think it a strange thing for a candidate for
governor to notice a workingman, much less shake his soiled hands; and it
tries to cast ridicule on Judge Altgeld for visiting railroad shops and mines to
meet and become acquainted with intelligent and worthy toilers ... it is
not the custom of the fine-haired republican office-holders to do so." Illinois
State Register, May 12, 13, 14, July 22, October 19, 1892.
Chicago Tribune, January 25, 1892.
Illinois State Register, September 28, 1892.
" If the institutions of Illinois are not carelessly and extravagantly, if not
corruptly managed, then figures lie. Judge Altgeld gave the figures for his
statements and he laid bare some of the iniquities that prevail in the manage¬
ment of the institutions, and exposed the weakness and faithlessness of the state
administration." Ibid., September 29, 1892.
'^Chicago Tribune, September 7, 18, 1892.
i86 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
is a goldbugl ' cries another; 'Altgeld is only a hundred days
Man!' blubbers a third; while a fourth organ howls 'Altgeld
was never in the army at all I ' "
Such efforts were in vain; the democratic star at last was
in the ascendant. On November 9, the headlines of the State
Register ran: "Shout the Glad Tidings, our Country is
Free — Everything Democratic and the Majorities Increasing.
Illinois over 10,000 on Both State and National Tickets." At
length "the oppressors of the wage workers of the land" had
been answered; the democracy rallied in a grand jubilee meet¬
ing at Springfield, with the triumphant state ticket uniting
" with the gallant democracy of Sangamon county and Central
Illinois in rejoicing over the glorious victory."
The new administration now faced the problem of rem¬
edying the wide range of grievances of the voters who had
brought it into power. Altgeld had been elected not only as
a democrat but as spokesman for an acute economic and social
unrest which demanded satisfaction; and immediately after
the thorough house cleaning among the appointive offices
which the democratic party demanded as a matter of course,
his first attention was given to carrying out definite construc¬
tive measures. For the protection of the workers, he appointed
a woman factory inspector, Florence Kelley, who carried out
rigidly the hitherto neglected provisions of the factory in¬
spection law in regard to sanitary and safety measures; in the
interests of a more humanitarian method of dealing with soci¬
ety's dependents he inaugurated the indeterminate sentence
and parole system for criminals, sponsored the creation of
the great insane hospital at Bartonville and, at Peoria, the
Asylum for the Incurably Insane, and in addition improved the
facilities and administration of the various state institutions.
Seeing in public education the great hope of social democracy
Illinois State Register, August 24, 1892.
NEW FORCES ASTIR
187
and justice, he spared no effort to improve the school system
of the state ; the normal schools at De Kalb and at Charleston
stand in large measure as his monument, while the University
of Illinois received from him heartier support than it had had
from any of his predecessors in the gubernatorial chair.
One act, prompted by the uncompromising love of justice
and sympathy for humanity which were part of the man, was
to bring down upon his head an avalanche of vituperation such
as few public men have ever received; this was his pardon of
the " anarchists " serving sentences for the Haymarket riot.
Simply a formal executive message setting the men at liberty
might well have escaped more than passing notice; but Altgeld
chose to accompany his pardon with an extended exposition of
his reasons, which comprised a denunciation of the whole trial
as unfair and illegal and pronounced the sentences wholly
unwarranted by the evidence. Thus he not only freed the im¬
prisoned men but in effect accused the state of judicial murder
of the hanged men.®^ The public at large could interpret his
message only as a plea in behalf of " anarchy," and the press
from coast to coast united in heaping villification upon the head
of the executive who thus opened the gates from within to the
" anarchistic snakes." Only here and there a few labor unions
and Turner societies, together with judges, mayors, and public
men, dared salute his "manful and courageous act" as a deed
which struck deeper than the matter of freeing a few individ¬
uals to the fundamental rights of human beings.
Altgeld, Reasons for Pardoning Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab. It had been
rumored that Altgeld would grant the pardon; as soon as he was elected he was
urged to take action by the Amnesty Association which had been indefatigable in
its efforts to release the prisoners. In answer to Clarence S. Darrow, his law part¬
ner, who reproached the governor for his failure to free the anarchists within the
first six months of his term of office, urging that it would be a popular move as
well as the right thing to do, Altgeld replied, "Darrow, I haven't had time to
go over that case yet, but I am going over the record carefully and if I conclude
those anarchists ought to be freed I will free them. But make no mistake about
its being a popular move — if I do it I will be a dead man politically." Record
of interview with Clarence S. Darrow, in Illinois Historical Survey.
IX. DEVELOPMENT OF ARTS AND LETTERS
WITH the close of the Civil War, the people of Illinois
came to cast a freshened eye upon the record of the
past and upon the needs of the future. There were short¬
comings to be made good. There were abuses to be corrected.
For good measure, there was the dignity of the commonwealth
to be exemplified. Within the short space of three years ( 1867-
1870), a new state constitution was proposed and adopted, the
cornerstone of a new state capitol was laid, and as the culmina¬
tion of long years of effort, a state university was finally
established.
At the end of this brief period, Chicago, with a population
of three hundred thousand, a definite nucleus of culture, and
justifiable hopes of metropolitan status, was advancing toward
the most serious check in its history—the great fire of 1871.
This was a check, however, which would serve but to liberate
a new onrush of ambition and energy — one which was to
lead, some twenty years later, to the triumphs of a World's
Columbian exposition.
In 1870 Illinois, from many points of view, was backward.
The tone of the state was provincial, and large sections had
made but slight advance from conditions that had ruled on
the early frontier. Communication was limited; schools were
lacking in endowment and equipment. As a whole, the
state still awaited the application of forces which were
presently to promote cultural activities, heighten social
amenities, and broaden and enrich the spiritual life of the com¬
munity.
The University of Illinois, one of the most important
igg
ARTS AND LETTERS 189
factors in the cultural development of the state, was chartered
in 1867 äs the Illinois Industrial University — a title which it
retained until 1885. Its ranges of machine shops and dairy
barns, for example, still bear witness to the practical spirit in
which it was conceived. It was, except for the State Normal
University at Bloomington, founded ten years before, the first
educational institution within the state boundaries to be estab¬
lished on a basis altogether non-denominational. For a genera¬
tion or more the higher educational interests of the state had
been in sectarian hands, and several of the earlier institutions
had been aided by the "college" and "seminary" funds, de¬
rived from the sale of state and federal lands. The Methodists
controlled McKendree College, Northwestern University,
Wheaton College, Illinois Wesleyan University at Blooming-
ton, and Illinois Woman's College at Jacksonville. The
Baptists controlled Shurtleff College at Alton and the old
Chicago University (1857-1886). The Presbyterians con¬
trolled Monmouth College, and later were to add Millikin
University at Decatur, the creation of a local banker. The
Universalists controlled Lombard College at Galesburg. A
blend of Presbyterian and Congregational influences was
operative at Illinois College, Jacksonville; and the same
influences, less happily adjusted, were felt for a decade or
more at Knox College, Galesburg.^ Augustana College,
founded in Chicago in i860 and transferred to Rock Island
in 1875, has been the chief educational seat, secular and
theological, for the Lutherans.
There had been hopes in some quarters that the State
Normal University, the location of which had been largely
due to the initiative of Jesse W. Fell (1808—1887), an active
and valued citizen of Bloomington, itself might serve as the
1 See statement by Dean Simonds, prepared for Webster, Seventy-five Signifi¬
cant Years: The Story of Knox College, I&3y-igi2, p. 69, 70.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
basis of the new non-sectarian state institution which was con¬
templated. Such, indeed, was Mr. Fell's own hope. He was
a law partner of Judge David Davis, a personal friend of
Lincoln, a man of energy, ability, and integrity; and he was
desirous of founding at North Bloomington a town which
should be characterized by sobriety, morality, good society,
and all the other elements desirable for an educational center.
Political and financial considerations, however, led to the selec¬
tion of another site. Bloomington — Normal, rather — re¬
mained as the head of the normal system of the state — a system
which was extended in 1869 by the founding of the Southern
Illinois State Normal University, at Carbondale, and later
by that of several state normal schools in convenient sections
north, east, and west.
A few county normal schools were also established; in
1868 the Peoria County Normal School and the Bureau
County Normal and Model School were organized. In 1869
came the Cook County Normal School, which, in 1896, was
taken over by the city of Chicago and handsomely rehoused.
Normal, however, by reason of its priority and of its large
and well-trained body of alumni, continued to exercise a strong
influence on the educational interests of the state, and even,
in later years, a distinctly definite one upon the state university
itself.
That there came to be a state university at all, however
belated, was due in large part to the earnest endeavors of Jona¬
than B. Turner of Jacksonville, who for years had labored
among farmers, educators, and politicians to forward his
cherished ideals of industrial education. That the new institu¬
tion came to be located in Champaign county was due to the
political aptitudes of Clark Robinson Griggs of Urbana, who
had been a member of the state legislature in Massachusetts,
a railroad promoter in Illinois, and an adroit lobbyist every-
ARTS AND LETTERS
191
where.® That the university started to advantage on a career
ultimately crowned by success, meeting, despite many draw¬
backs, the immediate practical needs of a new people in a new
land, was due to the character and ability of its first regent.
Dr. John M. Gregory, a high pattern of forcefulness and
devotion.
The State Normal University has been, in a peculiar
measure, the center of scientific culture in Illinois. A con¬
vention held at Bloomington in 1858 had organized a State
Natural History Society, and in 1862 the legislature had
granted the society a charter. In 1867, the state granted
further a small annual appropriation for the salary of a
curator and for additions to the collections. Under Professor
John W. Powell (1867—1872), Dr. George Vasey (acting
curator in 1872), and Professor Stephen A. Forbes (1872—
1884), the number of specimens was greatly increased; and
under Dr. Vasey, in particular, many high schools through
the state were supplied with cabinets of them.® In 1871 the
collection at Normal passed into the possession of the state
board of education, which in 1877 ordered that a portion of
it be transferred to the new statehouse at Springfield, where it
was united with the State Historical Library—a union which
lasted twelve years. The collection was afterward transferred
to the state arsenal. The portion remaining behind at Normal
was converted into a State Laboratory of Natural History.
In 1885 there was an extensive transfer of specimens and
material to Urbana and the state university. Some months
earlier Professor Forbes had himself left Normal for Urbana,
where he was to teach zoology and entomology. He brought
with him the office of state entomologist; and his other office,
^ For Griggs and his methods see Nevins, Illinois, 32-40.
3 Forbes, " The State Laboratory of Natural History," in Cook and McHugh,
A History of the Illinois State Normal University, 236, 239.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
that of director of the State Laboratory of Natural History,
was transferred soon after. Such accessions could not but add
to the consequence of the university and help signal its grow¬
ing importance in relation to the general affairs of the state.
At the same time broader cultural ambitions had begun to
assert themselves, and the early designation of " industrial,"
it had come to be generally felt, was both a misnomer and an
embarrassment. Accordingly, in the summer of 1885, the
university took its present name.
Thus far the state. In Chicago, in 1870, conditions natu¬
rally bore a different stamp. Large communities do not follow
the stark educational ideal with the single-minded devotion so
often shown by the smaller ones: amenities and diversions
have their part. At the beginning of the present period
Chicago indeed possessed due educational features. It had
a public school system (one which was trying to grow as the
town grew) with an enrollment of nearly forty thousand
children, and with a staff of more than five hundred teachers.
It had the Baptist University founded in 1857 by Stephen A.
Douglas, and the St. Ignatius Jesuit College (now Loyola
University), built in 1869. In its historical society (founded
in 1856) it had a body intent upon the little that had happened
and upon the much that was expected to happen. There was
a worthy opera house, which gave quarters to a gallery of
paintings and to an Academy of Design; and there was an
Academy of Sciences with pertinent collections. The town
enjoyed, particularly among the Germans, an active musical
life; and it possessed, thanks to the state legislature of 1869,
a tripartite system of parks and boulevards — one well started,
if still far from completion. It had a magazine. The Lakeside
Monthly, which had been founded by the admirable devotion
of Francis F. Browne to combat the "unbecoming awe" which
ARTS AND LETTERS
was the tribute then paid by the west to the literary east; it
had a club which was to develop with the years into some
social prominence; and it had even a "Maison Dorée," a
restaurant handsomely housed behind the pillars of an early
colonial mansion and designed to give Chicagoans some idea
of life's elegancies as practiced in an older and richer "world."
But the great fire dispersed the academicians, to whichever
interest they were committed; it put a brake alike upon the
development of the school system and the park system; it
caused an hiatus in the ordèrly issuance of the town's magazine ;
it forced the historical society to beat a retreat before history
in the making, and it desolated the " Maison Dorée," with
its portico and its gilded lettering, beyond redemption. But
it produced one beneficent and immediate cultural effect;
English sympathizers were moved to make offerings which
formed the nucleus of a public library — a lack which the city
found itself less likely than before to make good.
The rebuilding followed the architectural mode of the
day. In that period, as in later ones, the middle west lay
open to any assertive outside influence, and modestly abdi¬
cated all right of judgment. The mode then current was that
of the second French empire — a style with no small capacity
for meretriciousness. Simple examples of it (or early half-
conscious adumbrations of it) were accepted in various parts
of the state. Shapes of indigenous red brick, crowned by
mansards aggressive or timid, found place on the campus of
Illinois College, Jacksonville, and on that at Urbana. An
elaborate yet not altogether unfavorable example of this style
was accepted by Morgan county for its courthouse at Jackson¬
ville (1868). At Springfield a still more elaborate example
was created (in 1868-1888) in the new state capitol, where
an endeavor was made to graft on an accepted structural type
the fashion lately regnant in Paris.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The college towns of Illinois invoked the aid of landscape
gardening along with that of architecture. The dwellers on
the open prairie, without waiting for the landscape architect
to receive his label, were impelled by their very situation to
summon the horticulturist and the arboriculturist to their
obvious opportunities. Few towns possessed the diversified
surroundings which furnished sites for the educational insti¬
tutions at Alton and Monmouth, and later at Macomb. The
State Normal University and the University of Illinois were
alike established on treeless flats. The academic shades which
they developed were due, in the one instance, to Jesse W. Fell,
a tree-lover and tree-planter, and, in the other, to the taste
and knowledge of Dr. Thomas J. Burrill. Similar services
were performed for Jacksonville and Galesburg, whose sites,
at the beginning, were equally bare.
Landscape gardening is one art that may flourish without
an elaborate centralized apparatus, and literature is another.
Within two or three years after the great fire, literature began
to lift its head in Chicago, and literary clubs and literary
publications to become active. Thus, 1873 saw the founda¬
tion of the Fortnightly, a club of ladies devoted to social
amenities and to essays on literature and art. In 1874 was
founded the Chicago Literary Club, an association of pro¬
fessional men given over to a wide range of humane studies.
Both clubs are still active. After some months of silence
The Lakeside AIonthly resumed publication ; and in 1873 The
Alliance, a weekly devised by a group of liberal literary
preachers with a taste for the essay — David Swing, Reverend
Robert Collyer, Dr. Hiram W. Thomas, and others — made
its first appearance and continued through ten years.
As literature may rise without libraries, so music may
flourish in reasonable independence of metropolitan facilities.
During Chicago's earlier days music was chiefly in the hands
ARTS AND LETTERS 195
of the German element, and gave a good account of itself,
whether vocal or instrumental. Theodore Thomas first brought
his own orchestra to Chicago in 1869. In 1870 the city pos¬
sessed two rival male choruses. German singers had first come
together, in any considerable body, in 1865, to furnish music
for the funeral services of President Lincoln. The organiza¬
tion of a permanent male chorus followed; then the customary
dissensions arose; and five years later a keen rivalry between
two societies of equal powers was in full force. The Germania
Männerchor, engaging orchestra and soloists, gave a perform¬
ance of Weber's opera "Der Freischütz." The Concordia,
equipping itself in similar fashion, responded with Mozart's
"Magic Flute," ^ and the Germania retaliated with Flotow's
" Stradella." In 1875 more than a score of singing societies
held a three-day Sängerfest at Springfield. In 1881 the
twenty-second festival of the North American Sängerbund
was held in Chicago, with a chorus of eleven hundred voices,
a mixed chorus of six hundred, an orchestra of one hundred
and forty, and a fine array of soloists.
In the lower part of the state, wherever the German
element was numerous and active, the musical life was active
in correspondence. Belleville, the capital of St. Clair county,
may be instanced. The citizens of this advanced community
had voluntarily taxed themselves for a system of public schools
before the free educational system of the state was established
in 1855, and they organized one of the first kindergartens in
the United States, as well as an early Turngemeinde. Belleville
had formed a Sängerbund as early as 1855—an organization
which, in 1873, was merged in a Liederkranz, a male and
mixed chorus of four hundred voices. In 1867 there was
founded a philharmonic society with some thirty members. Both
* For this performance as well as for the one that prompted it, see Chicago
Tribune, April 7, 1870, and Moses and Kirkland, History of Chicago, 2: 582.
196 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
these organizations early put up their own buildings. A third
society was the Kronthal Liedertafel, and in 1881 these three
societies united in a summer night's festival of significant pro¬
portions. Belleville naturally developed its own composers
and supervisors of music, and also a large choral body formed
of school children. Thus, in 1871, Belleville was able to
celebrate in the church (later, cathedral) of St. Peter's the
twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession of Pius IX with a
full choir, two bands, and the boys of the parochial school
attired in the uniform of the Papal Zouaves of the day. The
juvenile choruses of Belleville, chanting in German and in
Latin, were perhaps an anticipation of the rise of interest
in music among the children of the native element in such
music schools as those of Jacksonville, Galesburg, and De¬
catur.
The conspicuous center in Chicago, for a culture predomi¬
nantly musical, was Crosby's Opera House, whose brief,
brilliant, and varied career lay between the close of the Civil
War and the great fire of 1871. It was the earliest of a series
of buildings by means of which idealistic and energetic young
men endeavored to provide, each in his own day, a gathering
place for the arts. Crosby's offered opera, both Italian and
English; extravaganzas and spectacles;® it provided studios
and exhibition halls; and, after some lapses from its early
ideals, was upon the verge of rededication to art at the hands
of Theodore Thomas when fire wiped it out for once and for
all. Music was resumed in Chicago in 1872, with the organi¬
zation of the Apollo Club and the Beethoven Club; concerts
and lectures were given in churches in residential districts that
were still standing. The rebuilding of the city was celebrated,
in 1873, by a Gilmore Jubilee, when a thousand voices and a
® Among them " The Black Crook,'' reprobated by the moralists of the day,
but revived without objection in 1893.
ARTS AND LETTERS
197
great orchestra with many anvils filled the arches of a vast
new railway station.
Though literature may spring up here and there almost
as freely as music, the study of it is best aided by the close
presence of such cultural mechanisms as are provided by
educational institutions and their libraries. Thus Jacksonville,
settled by markedly choice stocks from the south and east, and
propelled by a blend of influences Presbyterian and Congre¬
gational, early became conscious of itself as the prime diffuser
of culture throughout the state, was made the site of a group
of the state's charitable institutions, and led, under the impetus
of Illinois College and kindred forces, in the formation of
various clubs and societies designed to serve the advance of
the higher life. The town, which had founded a literary
society in 1864 (a society that still exists), and had estab¬
lished later, in 1869, the first Sorosis outside of New York
City, formed later a Plato Club. This club functioned under
the direction of Dr. Hiram K. Jones — who founded also an
Academe for the study of classical literature and for the con¬
sideration of educational questions — and it was a living force
in the town's life for more than twenty years. On different
occasions it was addressed by Emerson, Bronson Alcott, and
Dr. William T. Harris. A second Plato Club was formpd
later at Bloomington, and entertained Alcott and Matthew
Arnold; and a Philosophical Club, similar in aim and tone,
was established at Quincy. Later, in 1889 and 1890, the
clubs at Jacksonville and Bloomington, acting with the Illinois
Platonic Association, gave formal symposia in honor of the
birthday of Plato, and these events were duly recorded in a
bimonthly Bibliotheca Platónica.^
Meanwhile, the State Normal University, the actual crea-
®This exponent of the Platonic philosophy was edited by Thomas M.
Johnson, Osceola, Missouri,
198 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
tion of General Charles E. Hovey, its first principal (1857),
had moved on under the guidance of Dr. Richard Edwards,
who succeeded him in 1862, and of Dr. Edwin C. Hewett, who
had succeeded in turn in 1876. During the early years of the
institution its best energies went into the common branches,
and conditions remained comparatively static; but a quickening
of activity was to come at a later period.
In the early seventies the Order of the Patrons of Hus¬
bandry (predecessor of the different national farmers' alliances,
1880-1890, and of the people's, or populist, party, organized
nationally in 1892), rose into influence, with the object of
advancing the social needs and of combating the economic
backwardness of farm life. One of the earliest of its granges
in Illinois was established in 1872 at Dixon.'' On its cultural
side this movement gave an impulse to the establishment of
libraries, traveling or local, of reading courses, lyceums, and
farmers' institutes, of improved highways and rural free
delivery; it encouraged better agricultural exhibits and brought
about an improved agricultural press; and utilized all other
practicable means for the lessening of rural isolation and the
betterment of the farmers' opportunities. Membership, which
included alike the old and young of both sexes, had by 1874
risen in the various states to nearly eight hundred thousand.
In 1876 Illinois took its share in the centennial exposition
at Philadelphia. Illinois made its appearance frankly and
consciously as the "prairie state," proud of the productivity
of the deep loam of its corn belt and its river bottoms and of
the marked prosperity which was resulting from it. It was a
soil through which the plow might run mile after mile without
touching a pebble — a soil which made a rotation of crops
unnecessary through the greater part of the state's confines.
Though a deplorable hitch in the legislature had cut the state's
^ Chicago Tribune, March 6, 187a.
ARTS AND LETTERS
199
appropriation to $10,000, subscription papers were circulated
privately and sufficient funds were collected for an adequate
and representative display. The most successful phase of this
display was made in the Agricultural Building. The exhibit
of the Illinois Industrial University, shown in that building
and in others, was the largest made by any educational insti¬
tution. Its exhibit at Paris, in 1878, received a gold medal.
But the linked chain which led from a remarkable soil to a
wonderful productivity in crops and in livestock, thence to
prosperous farmers, and on to ambitious sons and daughters,
avid of education and eager to contribute to the strength and
adornment of the commonwealth — all this remained in large
part a matter for future demonstration, an ideal dawning,
indeed, but not yet fully clear in the general consciousness
and awaiting a realization which was to come with the after
years. Nearly ten were to elapse before the state university,
as a chief agent in this great metamorphosis, was to take a
comprehensive and representative name, and more than twenty
before it should completely establish itself in the collective
mind of the people as the right engine for a vast work, and
should begin to receive the full measure of support and recog¬
nition which it required and deserved.
The centennial first brought art to the general notice of
the American people. It gave, too, useful indications of cul¬
tural cooperation in a broad fashion. It stimulated our
historic consciousness. It taught the country, the middle west
included, something about the value of artistic taste as applied
to our rising manufactures. It introduced new elements into
home life and into household ideals. One feature of the
centennial was the spirited rivalry among manufacturers of
pianos and sewing machines for awards and diplomas; in fact,
the final victory of the piano over the melodeon and the parlor
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
organ may be said to date from about this period. In the
later seventies Japanese asymmetry raged throughout the land.
Closely followed upon this the ideal of Eastlake and the eccen¬
tricities of the English "aesthetic" movement. Art had inocu¬
lated the country ; the west, along with other sections, took to
the new manifestation with promptitude and with unquestioning
docility.
In 1879 the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts gave way
to the Art Institute — an organization which, after passing
through several buildings of varying styles and varying suit¬
ability, was finally housed, in 1892, in a Palladian palace on
the lake front. Through the intervening years art made its
manifestations in environments likely and unlikely. During
the earlier eighties the Columbia Theater maintained a cred¬
itable art gallery in its lobby. The Hotel Richelieu,® an early
essay in the direction of the elegant, in 1885 showed in its
upper gallery some two hundred and forty pictures in oil
and water color. For many years the Calumet Club gave
annual art receptions; that of 1885 displayed a hundred works.
In 1882 the Illinois Art Association, which had been formed
by members of the Illinois Club, a social organization that laid
stress on the fine arts, devoted $25,000 to gathering a per¬
manent collection of paintings and other art objects. During
all these years the Interstate Industrial exposition, which had
been established in 1873 and which continued to the day of
the Columbian exposition, gave annual exhibitions of increas¬
ing scope and value; that of 1885 offered more than four
hundred paintings — most of which, significantly, were the
work of American artists. During these same years — the
earlier eighties — a union of art clubs was active through the
central section of the state. Though works of art were them¬
selves necessarily infrequent, the study of the history of art
® Andreas, History of Chicago, 3: 355, 666.
ARTS AND LETTERS
201
was prosecuted with vigor and enthusiasm, and essays upon
art and literature were read before large union meetings called
at Springfield, Champaign, Decatur, and Lincoln.
Through this same period the musical interests of the state
grew in strength and variety. The Illinois Conservatory of
Music, at Jacksonville, one of the oldest schools of its kind
in the state, had been established in 1871, and was to be
merged later with Illinois College. In 1876 was established
the school of music of Northwestern University, which was
to lead to vastly significant results in the musical life of Evans-
ton in the early years of the coming century. In 1883 Knox
Conservatory of Music was founded at Galesburg. In Chicago
new schools and conservatories came to dispute the field with
older ones. An Amateur Musical Club, resembling in social
character the Fortnightly, was formed in 1877, when three or
four ladies met for piano practice; from this small germ grew
an organization which was to count some seven hundred mem¬
bers, active and associate, and was to enliven social life for
many seasons with programs of real value. In 1877, too,
Theodore Thomas began his long series of summer night con¬
certs in the Exposition Building, and for many years patrons
were privileged to hear a high order of orchestral music as
best they might among the amenities of an auxiliary beer
garden and the tumults of the lake front railroads. In May,
1882, and again in May, 1884, the Chicago Music Festival
Association, in conjunction with Mr. Thomas and his orchestra,
gave successful series of concerts of the highest character.®
In 1878 the Edison phonograph was first exhibited in Chicago.
By this time, too, Chicago had begun to loom larger in
the eyes of the eastern opera companies. Their visits became
more frequent and more extended. The city came to be enter¬
tained— in a fashion none too legitimately musical — by the
» Thomas, A Musical Autobiography.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
struggles of rival managers and the squabbles of rival prima
donnas. Opera became a recognized means of social display;
its complicated paraphernalia now seemed abundant and acces¬
sible; and certain ardent, enterprising spirits, moved by a
desire to emphasize an element undeniably metropolitan and
to open up a field for picturesque executive action, decided to
give a great opera festival. This festival was successful in
itself, but more interesting still was what it led to. First of
all, where should it be held? No suitable hall existed. Some
years earlier Central Music Hall had been put up by an ambi¬
tious and idealistic young citizen, George B. Carpenter, who
paid out his life in the strain of his endeavor. This hall had
served, and was still to serve, a variety of useful purposes,
but it was too small for the larger ideas of 1885 ; and, on the
other hand, the days of coliseums and hippodromes were yet
to come. It was decided to construct a suitable opera hall
within the confines of the useful old Exposition Building; and
it was this extemporized interior which, with its various pecu¬
liarities, was reproduced, mutatis mutandis, in the well-known
Auditorium, dedicated four years later — the life monument
of Ferdinand W. Peck. It was this vast hall which really
domesticated the opera and the symphony concert in Chicago,
and which added so greatly to the collective expressiveness of
the community, whether on occasions of jubilee or of protest.
As the city grew, a still larger hall was required, and the
Coliseum came into being. It originated in an enterprise which
brought the old Libby Prison from Richmond to Chicago for
exhibition and museum purposes. After this war relic was
removed from behind its castellated street screen an arched
structure of iron girders was substituted, and the new hall,
since so familiar as the scene of mass meetings, concerts,
"shows," and political conventions, began its career of service.
The great libraries of Chicago and that of Urbana were
ARTS AND LETTERS
203
still in the future ; yet a lesser institution, founded in an early
day but rehoused during the present period, calls for notice —
the Withers Library at Bloomington. Organized by women
in 1857, it was installed in 1887 in its new building, erected
by the contributions and energies of women on the site of
Mrs. Withers' first home. It existed for many years as a
subscription library, until taken over by the city and so made
public; but it stands forth with some prominence among many
later institutions of like aims, throughout the state, which are
due, in whole or in part, to the systematized philanthropy of
Mr. Andrew Carnegie.
But culture is not a matter to be pursued merely within
studious interiors, however the multiplication of libraries and
the retired manner of life amongst early collegians may have
made it seem. The ideal long ago established by the Greeks
was to engage the attention of the modern American; he was
to reach good terms with his body through the cultivation of
an active out-of-door life. The days of general sport were at
hand. Baseball, our first modern equivalent for the games of
the ancient palestra, established itself shortly after the close
of the Civil War. The Forest City Baseball Club, of Rock-
ford, was one of the earliest to enjoy a general fame, about
the years 1865-1870. The sport grew rapidly in favor. In
1876 the National League of Baseball Clubs was organized; a
second league followed in 1882; and in 1888-1889 the tour
of a Chicago ball club round the world made the national
game known to other countries. Shortly after 1875 lawn
tennis established itself as a favorite pastime. In 1878 walk¬
ing became prominent as a form of sport, and a Chicago
postman remained for a while the six-day champion. In 1879
the first national convention of croquet players ever held in the
United States gathered at Chicago. In the same year, the
White Stocking ball park, Chicago, saw the first national
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
tournament of the National Archery Association. In 1880
and in 1884 large roller skating rinks were opened in Chicago,
the former on the future site of the Auditorium Building.
During these years, and through later ones, the "Wild West"
and its ideals exercised a powerful sway; when the loving cup
was passed around at the banquet which inaugurated the Co¬
lumbian exposition, no drinker was more warmly applauded
than " Buffalo Bill." The German turner associations had been
active through the sixties, and one of the earliest buildings
replaced in Chicago after the great fire was that of the Turn-
gemeinde on the north side, in which both gymnastics and
music were cultivated. The influence of turning reacted on
the Young Men's Christian Association, which began to lay
greater stress on physical education; a training school for
directors of such activities was formed in 1885. The safety
bicycle appeared in 1887, and within ten years the League of
American Wheelmen had a hundred thousand members, men
and women.^" In due season the league ran out its course as a
promoter of health and pleasure, but the wheel continued to sur¬
vive, especially in rural and suburban districts, as a practical
convenience and as a supplement to other forms of locomotion.
If transportation and the various forms of communication
are to be ranked as adjuncts to cultural development, then
earlier and vastly more important matters than the bicycle
must claim attention. The railroad, however, once mentioned
speaks for itself; so does its notable extension through the
state. The mileage of Illinois increased from some 4,000 miles
in 1870 to more than 7,800 in 1880, and to more than 10,000
in 1890. The extension of telegraph lines was in due
proportion.
The spread of information and of ideas through the news-
^®Paxson, "The Rise of Sport," in Mississippi Valley Historical Review,
4:143-168.
ARTS AND LETTERS
205
paper press kept pace with the spread of the railway and the
telegraph. In 1870 the number of titles of periodicals of all
classes published in Illinois was but slightly over five hundred.
In 1880 the number had risen to more than a thousand. In
1890 the total number of publications had passed thirteen
hundred, including m daily newspapers and 938 weeklies.
The greatest advance, as will be noted, was made in the
decade 1870—1880, despite the backsets of the Chicago fire
and the panic of 1873. The decade marked the rise of the daily
to greater importance, and the growth of the Chicago press to
proportions truly " metropolitan." It was during these years
that the general change in the characteristics of the American
newspaper was largely effected. The earlier type of journal
had been concerned chiefly with ideas; the later type tended
to lay emphasis on news. The one had been the organ of a
personality — the expression of an individual character which,
even if violent or crude, was immensely earnest and effective;
the other tended to become an impersonal property or " plant"
— a composite of many diverse natures and talents addressing
a world of wider and more varied interests. The one had been
concerned primarily with the promotion of political thought
and political fortunes ; the other now devoted itself to the
advance of business interests and the upbuilding of the par¬
ticular community it served. Newspapers appearing at Spring¬
field, Peoria, Bloomington, and Cairo obtained a general
currency and standing throughout the state and ranked in
influence with those of Chicago. At meetings of the National
Editorial Association Illinois has for years occupied a seat of
honor, and hundreds of able journals have reflected the enter¬
prise and intelligence of their communities and of the state.
Through this period the principal church organizations in
the state kept pace in their growth with the increase in popu¬
lation and with the general social advance. This was evidenced
2o6 the industrial state
in a material way by the largely increased cost of church build¬
ings and the great improvements made in church architecture,
by the mounting valué of church property, and by the large
totals of the annual contributions, whether for home work or
foreign missions. ,It was evidenced in a less material way by
the continuing vigorous life of theological schools and of
denominational organs. Almost every church organization
had its theological seminary and its flourishing weekly period¬
ical. The Northwestern Christian Advocate, the Standard,
the Interior, and thé Advance were powers throughout the
middle west.
The changes in the habits and manners of the people had
not been without their effect on religious life and religious
observances. The old-time days of simplicity in worship and
in attire, along with certain marked manifestations of early
fervor, passed away, though the camp meeting still flourished,^^
and with them passed most of the old-time asperities, jealousies,
and controversies. The result was brought about, in consider¬
able part, by a general union in Sunday school work; with
freedom of intercourse came more liberal interpretations and
broader views. A more important reason for rapprochement
and union among the various denominations was found in
the development of evolutionary thought, a portentous, ill-
understood novelty which approached in the guise of a common
danger and called for a common defense. Through a dis¬
turbed decade or two, before adjustment and adaptation came,
it operated to unsettle the religious convictions of the day.
Further stir and confusion were added by the picturesquely
sensational lectures of Robert G. Ingersoll (1833 — 1899), of
Peoria; but these faded in importance before the honest.
In the early seventies large camp meetings were held at Des Plaines, Lake
Bluff, Kankakee, and other favorite headquarters; and in 1884 a national prohi¬
bition camp meeting was held at Decatur.
ARTS AND LETTERS
207
thoughtful endeavor to reconcile the elder religious beliefs
and the newer scientific views.
The words "club" and "social" have been frequent in
recent paragraphs. They might almost serve, of themselves,
to indicate the changes in tone and in methods which had
begun to steal over the state. The church, the schoolhouse,
and the county fair had by no means lost their power as sources
calculated to energize collective social endeavor; but in
Chicago, at least, other agencies began to take the initiative.
Here the churches were coming to be supplemented by organi¬
zations active in the central district — flocks led by essayist-
preachers who freed their services from specific sectarian
dogma ; sometimes these churches took the guise of ethical
culture societies; or, if they held the old designation, they
called themselves "institutional" churches and devised the
mechanism for social and cultural betterment. The schools
began to specialize — particularly with the introduction of
manual and technical training, and with the multiplication of
high schools — yet remained schools merely. The county fair
took an urbanized form and continued to revive annually, in
the autumn, within the building of the Interstate exposition.
But in the decade between 1880 and 1890 the favored
form of procedure tended more and more to become that of
the club. Some of these organizations, purely social in nature,
have been named. Others of the same type were the Chicago
Club and the Union Club. Some clubs frankly expressed an
outside — an eastern — ideal, and when they were found to
be too far from the definite needs of a new day they died a
natural death. Other clubs were socio-political in their nature;
some of them started in residential districts, and when found
to be too far from the center of things to impress themselves,
they died too, or else came down town. Clubs like the Iroquois,
2o8 the industrial state
the Marquette, the Hamilton, and the Union League strove
to raise the tone of political life and aided in the earliest
assemblage of the "better element" for political and social
reforms. The Union League Club began in 1887 its elaborate
annual celebration of Washington's birthday — with speakers,
frequently, of national celebrity.^^ The Woman's Club
(1876), like other earlier organizations of its kind, began
to practice parliamentary rule in sessions given over to con¬
siderations of art and literature, but moved on in due season
to effective dealings with the social problems of a great and
growing community. The Sunset Club (1889-1901), a
gathering of young professional and business men, discussed
weekly over the supper table current questions of both local
and national interest. A Press Club had been founded in 1879,
and the first of the athletic clubs made its appearance about
this time. Hull House, the earliest of Chicago's ameliorative
settlements, dates from 1889.
This same decade witnessed further attempts in Chicago to
establish permanent periodicals. The Dial, begun in 1880, was
marked for a continuance into the present day. The Current,
a weekly with flamboyant literary pretentions, lasted from
1883 to 1888; and America, a literary and political weekly
which opposed a threatened preponderance of non-American
elements, appeared from 1888 to 1891.
Two architectural developments of the present period
deserve record, each highly important in its own way. In i'88i
began the building of the industrial town of Pullman, with the
generous if not fully considered hope of meeting handsomely the
newer social and industrial developments of the day. The new
town realized itself in red brick and terra cotta, with a blend-
The first speaker in the series was James Russell Lowell, who had been
expected to deliver an address on " Our Politics," but who, for some unexplained
if not inexplicable reason, chose to give instead a lecture on Shakespeare'»
"Richard iii." Chicago Tribune, February 26, 1887.
ARTS AND LETTERS 209
ing of "advanced secular Gothic" and of what was known,
whether fairly or unfairly, as " Queen Anne." In 1883 was
designed the first steel cage construction known to the world.
This earliest of " sky-scrapers " was the Home Insurance
Building in Chicago, a modest endeavor of ten stories; but
it revolutionized the building methods and the general aspect
of American cities. Chicago had lately become a center for
the construction and installation of passenger elevators, and
this industry, functioning within the steel cages, has made
practicable the tall towers which greet the arriving foreigner
in New York and surprise him afresh within the "Loop" of
Chicago. Buildings of this new type, looked upon, rightly
enough, as indications of an urban spirit and as evidences of
commercial and financial success, were imposed, in cases, on
towns not at all actuated by an urban spirit nor prompted by
urban ambitions; surely Illinois has more than one quiet,
academic town, otherwise homogeneous in tone, which would
be better for their absence. The new type, a matter of engi¬
neering rather than of true architecture, furnished a frame
on which to hang a decorative drapery of brick or stone,
borrowed from various irrelevant and incongruous periods;
later, it even brought the public under the added tyranny of
"period" furnishings. In smaller towns, however, real build¬
ings, conceived in the sincerer style of earlier times, continued
to rise. Many of them, especially, if intended as architectural
monuments, adopted the rock-faced Romanesque style intro¬
duced by Richardson from central France. This style persisted
rather late in many parts of the state. A simple, straight¬
forward phase of it was employed at Monmouth in the Warren
county courthouse; a handsome and elaborate expression of
An illustrated article, " Pullman : A Social Study," by Richard T. Ely in
Harper's Magazine, 70:452-466, presents the social and ssthetic aspirations
of Pullman's founder.
2IO THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
it occurs in the Central Congregational Church, Galesburg;
and a finely dignified manifestation of it, both exterior and
interior, in the library of the state university at Urbana.
The World's Columbian exposition of 1893 had, of course,
its preliminaries, and they reached further back than many
people may realize or may remember. In 1885 the directors
of the Chicago Interstate Industrial exposition expressed them¬
selves to this effect; "Resolved, that it is the sense of this
meeting that a great World's Fair should be held in Chicago
in the year 1892, the four hundredth anniversary of the
landing of Columbus in America." In 1888 the Iroquois Club
made itself active toward the same end. In 1889 a "World's
Exposition Company" was organized by Chicagoans, with a
capital stock of $5,000,000. In 1890 finally came congres¬
sional action : Senator Shelby M. Cullom of Illinois introduced
a bill at Washington which provided for the holding of the
"World's Columbian Exposition of the Arts and Industries
in commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the
discovery of America"—a wording similar enough to that
of the local resolution of 1885, save that it discreetly omitted
to name any particular city for the site of the enterprise. Into
this open field entered Chicago, New York, St. Louis, and
Washington. The early efforts made by Chicago, together
with its central situation and its reputation for vigorous action,
gave it the prize. The city was required to show that its
anticipatory subscription of $5,000,000 could be depended
upon, and to add $5,000,000 more. A duplex organization,
consisting of a national commission representing all the states
and of a local board of directors elected from among the
original stockholders, was formed. The two bodies, acting
together, appointed a director-general, and the great enterprise
was fairly under way.
ARTS AND LETTERS
211
The state of Illinois rose to the occasion. Since the cen¬
tennial of 1876, prosperity and enlightenment had increased in
the west. Here was an undertaking which promised to exceed
in grandeur any known event of like nature, and it lay close
at home. Illinois, at a special session of the state legislature,
appropriated $800,000, put up a large, costly, and conspicuous
state building, before which stood a statue of " Illinois Wel¬
coming the Nations," and installed an exhibition illustrative
of the growth and resources of the state and of the develop¬
ment of the various departments of the state government. The
University of Illinois, which was now rising to its full status
as a successful and widely recognized state institution dur¬
ing the brief incumbency of Regent Burrill, contributed an
"extraordinarily large exhibit"—one that was "by far the
most extensive and most representative," he reported, " shown
by any institution." Meanwhile, his predecessor. Dr. Peabody,
acted as director of the exhibit of liberal arts.
The vast enterprise was carried through, in great part, as
regarded its practical administrative details, by the citizens
of Chicago ; the outcome spoke loudly for their pluck, industry,
liberality, energy, and capacity for cooperation. The exposi¬
tion, in the words of the English commissioner, an experienced
official, " surpassed all its predecessors in size, in splendor, and
in greatness both of conception and execution;" nor has that
result been more than equaled since. The exposition stimu¬
lated national, state, and civic pride, opened new visions of
utility and beauty in all the varied ways of life, and exercised
a strong influence on the furtherance of commercial and
inventive activities, and on the study and appreciation of his¬
tory, science, and art. Three at least of the many phases of
this vast undertaking will linger indelibly. For the first time
cosmopolitanism visited the western world; for the first
time woman publicly came into her own; for the first time,
212
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
and on a grand scale, art was made vitally manifest in the
American consciousness.
The varieties of human types and of human thought were
most clearly and effectively asserted through the many con¬
gresses arranged by the World's Congress Auxiliary. During
the six months of the fair, gatherings were constantly held
in the halls of the Art Institute and elsewhere. There were
congresses, for example, on social reform, on commerce and
finance, on woman's progress, on science and philosophy, on
literature, education, and the various arts.^^ Most striking
and memorable of all, however, was the Parliament of
Religions, when representatives of various sects at home and
of many variant schools of thought abroad met on one plat¬
form and tolerantly engaged in an interchange of views. Most
impressive of the delegates were those from the orient; they
added picturesque costume to novel discourse, and enlarged
the western concept of the world and of the "varieties of
religious experience" within it.
It was at the Columbian exposition that woman, for the
first time, asserted herself in the official world on a large scale
and in an emphatic way. The labors of a board of "lady
managers " ran parallel to those of the national commission
and of the local board of directors; and it was soon perceived
that woman, profiting by the experience in cooperation and
administration gained during the preceding decade in her
multifarious clubs, was developing an adequate ability for
large affairs. A Woman's Building, favorably placed, was
designed by a woman architect, decorated by woman artists,
and filled with the evidences of woman's activity and taste.
Through women, the child, too, received a measure of public
i^For these congresses two temporary structures were erected within the
two wings of the Art Institute, each seating about three thousand persons. They
were called respectively the Hall of Columbus and the Hall of Washington.
Currey, Chicago: Its History and Its Builders.
ARTS AND LETTERS 213
recognition: one of the features of the fair was a crèche, or
children's nursery. The success of women at Chicago had its
influence through the state. A specific example was furnished
by Peoria, where, in 1893, a woman's club financed and con¬
structed its own buildings, and soon brought all the social and
administrative aspects of such an organization into full play.
But the highest and most reverberant note of all was
struck by the artistic phases of the exposition, and it rang
through the state and country for a generation. The directors
had virtually given a free hand to a committee of architects
in the laying out of the grounds and the disposition of the
buildings. The earliest sketches for the fair had been pre¬
pared by the gifted John W. Root, of Chicago; his sets of
water color sketches covered the undertaking in all its more
important aspects, showing a strong feeling for festal con¬
siderations and a striking use of color. But Root died while
the fair was still shaping, and as it shaped it grew; and it
was presently determined that so large an endeavor, to be
executed in so short a time, must be not the work of one man
but the work of many: associated architects from all over the
country—from Chicago, from the east, and even from the
west beyond Chicago—worked in harmony under the general
direction of Daniel H. Burnham, Root's surviving partner.
It was seen, too, that no individual style, however picturesque
and festal, could serve at the present juncture. A standardized
style was required and was adopted; and that style, adjusted
to a common scale among its several practitioners, was the
style taught in Paris, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where many
of the participating architects had been trained. There issued
the White City; the multi-colored city was reserved by the
years for Buffalo and for San Francisco. The result was an
ensemble on a scale more magnificent than has ever been
attempted for such a purpose, and complete in its union of
214 the industrial state
variety and harmony: possibly the very lack of color led to
a heightened distinction. It all showed what could be achieved
by the cooperation of the allied arts of architecture, painting,
sculpture, and landscape gardening, and it awoke the nation
to the value and desirability of beauty as a practical asset.
The impression it made was nation wide, and beauty began
to be accepted as the fit national expression of the people's
general advance. Throughout the state of Illinois schools,
libraries, bank buildings, and parks soon began to respond
to the great exemplar which had risen by the shores of Lake
Michigan.
It was during the fair and the years immediately preceding
it that Chicago first came to be known as a theatrical producing
center — if one may pass over the troupes of Negro minstrels
whose weekly improvisations enlivened the seventies. In
1891-1893 the Chicago Opera House was conspicuous as the
home of the American Extravaganza Company. The produc¬
tions of this company were large and lavish, and the vast
attendance of pleasure seeking throngs at the fair gave them
a wide fame. During these years a local librettist and a com¬
poser together produced a series of light operas, of which
"Robin Hood" became perhaps the best known. Through
the same period a German theater, constructed in 1892, and
housing also a German-American Press Club, contributed to
the cosmopolitan atmosphere.^®
While the Columbian exposition was under construction,
other important building operations with high cultural impli¬
cations were under way. During this time the latest structure
to be occupied by the Art Institute was completed. The insti¬
ll A German theater had been established in Chicago, on the north side,
as early as 1858. Another had followed, on the west side, in 1870. On New
Year's Day, 1875, five German theaters presented plays. During the next two
decades the German theater, as an institution, was housed in different English-
speaking theaters of the central district, and in later years returned to its original
haunts on the north side.
ARTS AND LETTERS 215
tute — which had succeeded (in 1879) the Chicago Academy
of Fine Arts and the earlier Academy of Design, and had
occupied a succession of buildings of various styles and sizes —
received aid from the directorate of the Columbian exposition
to the extent of $200,000, and occupied its new quarters in
1893. In this same year was laid the cornerstone of the Public
Library—a cooperative work planned by architectural design¬
ers and practical librarians; also, that of the Chicago Academy
of Sciences, in Lincoln Park, and that of the latest building of
the Chicago Historical Society.^®
More important still was the founding of the University
of Chicago, whose first halls were completed and occupied
during the early days of fair building. The old Chicago
University, a Baptist institution, founded by Douglas in 1857,
had passed away during the days of depression which had come
upon denominational and privately endowed colleges in the
eighties. The later eighties witnessed a happy conjunction
between Professor William Rainey Harper of Yale and
John D. Rockefeller of Ohio, himself a prominent Baptist.
In 1890 Mr. Rockefeller made an offer of $600,000 for
founding a new university in Chicago, if an additional amount
of $400,000 were pledged by others. Professor Harper, who
had become President Harper, took hold of the enterprise in
the summer of 1891, and building began late in the autumn
of that year. This new activity started up in the same quarter
of the city as was witnessing the rise of the various structures
which were to house the fair — only a mile, in fact, from the
great Court of Honor, and much less than that from some of
the lighter phases of the enterprise. Cobb Hall and the
September 3, 1893, was "Shovel Day" for the great drainage canal,
designed to improve conditions in Chicago by turning the flow of the Chicago
river from Lake Michigan into the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. The sanitary
district of Chicago was organized in 1889 and the canal was opened in
January, 1900.
2i6 the industrial state
divinity schools took shape but a few hundred yards from
the Ferris Wheel and the Street in Cairo. The Gray City rose
pari passu with the White City, and opened its doors — with
five hundred students and a faculty of one hundred and
twenty—on the first of October, 1892, a few weeks earlier
than the dedicatory ceremonies held for the exposition itself.
The conjunction of two such events might be felt as marking
saliently a stage in the forward movement of the state, and
might well be accepted as the climax of an almost unequaled
progress, through twenty years, in the general complex of civil
life. They represented, in the fields of art and education, such
a cultural triumph as was the proper and gratifying accompani¬
ment to that comprehensive advance in population, wealth,
agriculture, invention, and manufacture which had led the
state on to so notable and widespread a prosperity.
X. CORN IS KING
UNTIL 1870 Illinois was primarily an agricultural state.
Not only was the major part of its population engaged
in agriculture, but the other principal pursuits such as manu¬
factures, trade, and transportation were so clearly dependent
upon this fundamental one that their growth served only to
proclaim the primacy of agriculture. During this period the
prairie state presented the remarkable spectacle of a common¬
wealth developing along the lines of agriculture, manufacturing,
and mining, and securing a high position among the states
of the union in each field of productivity.^
The relative importance of agriculture, curiously enough,
cannot at all be gauged by the number of persons engaged in
it, for these figures would lead to the conclusion that agricul¬
ture has been a declining rather than an expanding industry.
The table on the next page suggests some interesting conclusions.
In the first place, it is evident that there were actually fewer
people engaged in farming in 1890 than there had been ten
years before; furthermore, that although in 1870 one out of
every two persons gainfully occupied was in agriculture, by
^ The following table shows the position which Illinois held among the other
states of the union as an agricultural state:
Rank of Illinois with Respect to:
Number
Value of
Value of
Value of
Vaîae
Census Year
of
farm
land and
farm
of
farms
property
buildings
implements
livestock
1870
2
4
4
3
t
1880
i
3
3
3
i
1890
2
x
i
4
2
217
2i8 the industrial state
1890 there were three persons in other industries to every one
in farming.
Persons Engaged in Agriculture in Illinois, 1870-18902
Via*
Total
population
Persons in all occupations
Persons in agriculture a
Number
Per cent
Number
Per cent
1870
2I539I89I
742,015
29.2
37^,325
50.7
1880
3,077,871
999,780
32.5
436,312
43-6
1890
3,826,352
1,353,559
35-4
430,134
31.8
a Males and females over ten years of age, exclusive of lumbermen, apiarists,
fishermen, and other -workers in similar pursuits not strictly agricultural.
A closer inspection of the table suggests one reason for this
decline. It will be observed that the percentage of the popu¬
lation engaged in gainful occupations, as a whole, increased
from 29.2 in 1870 to 35.4 in 1890. From these figures one
might expect a decline in the number of the leisure class or
of those in attendance at school; as a matter of fact, exactly
the opposite was the case. The real explanation lies in the
steady transference during this period of various industries
from the household to the factory. Whereas previously
a place had been found in the farm home for such domestic
industries as garment making, butter and cheese production,
sugar making, canning and preserving, meat slaughtering, and
the like, these were now being taken over one after another
by factories and produced more economically in centralized
establishments, though perhaps by the same individuals. This
statistical change has served to magnify the relative impor¬
tance of manufactures and by that much to reduce the relative
importance of agriculture.
This explanation, however, does not account for the decline
in the absolute number of those engaged in agriculture between
2 Compiled from census reports by C. L. Stewart, Land Tenure in the United
States, 35.
CORN IS KING
219
1880 and 1890. This decrease came rather as the result of
the increased efficiency of the agricultural population. Evidence
of this appears in a comparison of the population engaged in
agriculture and the number of bushels of cereals produced by
them. In the table the year 1840 is taken as the base year,
the statistics for the other years being given as percentages of
the 1840 figures:
Year
Population
engaged in
agriculture
Cereal
production
loo.o
133-9
206.7
357-3
4H-3
408.3
zoo.o
248.6
502.0
877.5a
I.425-9
1,503.0
1Í80
a Based on average crops of 1868 and 1870. The crop of 1869 was a complete
failure.
It is seen from this table that while the number of agri¬
cultural workers increased fourfold in the fifty years ending
in 1890, the production of cereals was fifteen times as great.
This enormous increase in the productivity of the average
worker between 1840 and 1870 must of course be explained
in the first instance by the gains in labor power and efficiency
effected by the invention and introduction of machinery. Partly
responsible also for the excellent record made by Illinois agri¬
culture were undoubtedly the character and industry of the
farming population. Between three-fourths and four-fifths of
the farmers were native Americans, and of the foreign born the
Germans and English alone made up a considerable element.®
The proportion of farm operators increased between 1870
and 1890 at the expense of the agricultural laborers. In
1870 farm laborers made up 33.1 per cent of the agricul-
' For table see appendix, p. 481.
220
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
tural workers; this proportion increased to 35 per cent in
1880, but by 1890 had fallen again to 30.6 per cent, showing
that at the end of the twenty-year period a larger percentage
of the workers consisted of operators who were working on
their own account. The decline in the proportion of laborers
may be accounted for in part by the increased use of farm
machinery during this period, and in part by the rise of laborers
to the status of tenants or owners operating their own farms.
The farm operators may be divided into the two broad
classes of owners and tenants. Statistics showing this distinc¬
tion were not gathered until 1880, when it was disclosed that
already 31.4 per cent of all Illinois farms were being operated
by tenants; by 1890 this percentage had risen to 34.^ In this
year Illinois ranked third among the states of the union in
the number of tenant farmers. This increase in the proportion
of tenants was largely due to the falling off in the number of
owners, which declined almost 17,000. In 1880 only one
county, Logan, had a percentage of tenant farms greater than
50, though two others. Mason and Christian, had over 45 per
cent. By 1890 nine counties had over 45 per cent of their
farms operated by tenants, namely, Grundy, Livingston, Ford,
Marshall, Mason, Logan, Christian, Madison, and St. Clair.
The counties with the highest percentages were in the east
central part of the state. Ford county having 53.7 per cent.®
The extent of tenant farming in these counties is partly
accounted for by the holdings of William Scully, an Irish land¬
lord who was accumulating an estate of 211,000 acres, making
him the largest landholder in the United States. In the decade
before the Civil War he came to America to purchase Mexi¬
can War land scrip. He located thousands of acres in Illinois,
and continued his purchases until by 1887 he had acquired
* Thirteenth Census of the United States, 5:124.
^ Stewart, Land Tenure in the United States, 49.
CORN IS KING
221
30,000 acres in Logan county alone. After these years of
farming operations, Scully returned to England; eventually,
his holdings were let out to tenants under what became a system
of ironclad one-year leases: at the end of the year, he or his
agent had the right to decline to renew a tenant's lease, in which
case the tenant would have to find a purchaser of his improve¬
ments satisfactory to the agents ; Scully's agent might in any year
raise the rent or disapprove of the proposed purchaser of a
tenant's improvements. Scully also made certain requirements
of his tenants in the direction of scientific farming by requiring
a definite rotation of crops and specified farming methods. Since
Scully spent most of his time in England, his holdings involved
not only the uncertainties of landlordism but also those of
absenteeism; it was particularly difficult for tenants to appre¬
ciate the point of view of a landlord with whom they had no
direct contact. The problem, moreover, became an issue of
state importance as a result of the fact that the tenants were
generally not prosperous — some were paupers brought over
by Scully agents — and since the tenants were required to pay
the taxes, there was often an inadequate contribution to the
public school needs and to other public improvements. In 1887,
feeling against " Lord " Scully produced a widespread impres¬
sion that legal restrictions were necessary. As a result, bills
introduced into the general assembly by Piatt of Henry county
and Pierce of Logan county led to the enactment of the anti-
alien landlord act of June 16, 1887.® To the requirements of
this law Scully conformed by establishing a residence at Wash¬
ington, D. C., from 1895 to 1901 and taking out citizenship
papers, so that the status of his holdings remained unchanged.'^
® Lwws of 1887, p. s ff. An accompanying act prohibited alien landlords
from including the payment of taxes as a part of the rental of farm lands. Ibid.,
4. See also Chicago Tribune, January 28, 1887.
' His naturalization was completed in 1900. Until his death in 1906 he
continued to make his home in England where he acquired the reputation of being
"the greatest American farmer."
222
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
More important than any other factor in increasing
the yield of Illinois farms was the extended use of agricul¬
tural machinery. The invention and introduction of improved
implements, especially adapted to the new type of prairie
agriculture, was almost coincident with the settlement of the
land. It did not become significant until the decade of the
Civil War, when machinery was introduced on a large scale
to make good the lack of labor caused by the withdrawal of
the men for service in the army. The most marked effects
upon production, however, are observable between the years
1870 and 1890.
Year
Value of
farm implements
Increase
per cent
Average
value
per farm
1870
$27,661,269 a
60.0 b
$171
1880
33,739,951
21.9
132
1890
34,456,938
2.1
143
a Reduced to a gold basis.
b Increase over i860.
This table does not show fully the great increase that
was taking place in the use of farm machinery, for the value
of these implements was steadily declining during this whole
period, partly as a result of a general lowering of the price
level, but more largely because of the improvements in methods
of production; at the same time, the efficiency of the new tools
was being steadily increased.
Almost half the improved farm machinery used during
this period was to be found in the northern division of the
state.® The southern division was particularly backward in
® Since 1867 the Illinois Horticultural Society has divided the state into three
rather clearly marked divisions, and by an act of March 24, 1874, the legislature
hp_ recognized these divisions. The boundary between the northern and central
divisions is the southern boundary of Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, La Salle,
Grundy, and Kankakee counties. The boundary between the central and southern
divisions is the southern boundary of Pike, Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, Christian,
Shelby, Coles, and Edgar counties. Illinois State Horticultural Society, Tram-
actions, 44:17, 252-255.
CORN IS KING
223
this respect, as might have been expected from the character
both of the land and of the crops in that section. It was in
the northern and central divisions, where the important cereal
crops were concentrated, that the need for a heavy investment
in field machinery was greatest. Only in the northwest section
of the southern division, where wheat was being grown, was
there any opportunity to use these labor-saving devices. Illinois
inventors and manufacturers took, a prominent part in the
development of agricultural machinery, for the use of which
the level prairies were peculiarly well adapted.
No machine has been of greater importance on the level
prairies of the west than the reaper, and while its first con¬
ception cannot be claimed as an Illinois invention, its produc¬
tion on a large scale dates from the establishment of the first
McCormick factory in Chicago in 1847. I" spite of claims
to priority by other inventors, it seems certain that the first
practicable reaper was invented by Cyrus Hall McCormick
in 1831 in Rockbridge county, Virginia. Here and in the
neighboring town of Lexington he gave exhibitions of his
machine, and in 1833 he advertised reapers for sale at fifty
dollars apiece,® printing testimonials from four farmers who
professed satisfaction with trials of the machine."
McCormick, however, did not secure a patent on his
invention until June 31, 1834, and in the meantime Obed
Hussey, after a public trial of his mowing and reaping machine
on July 2, 1833, near Carthage, Ohio, had obtained a patent
for his invention on December 31, 1833. A long and bitter
controversy between these two men as to their claims to pri¬
ority has never altered the facts that McCormick gave an
earlier public trial of his invention and that Hussey was the
® Lexington Union, September 28, 1833.
Quoted from the Lexington Union in the Farmers' Register, volume 1,
number 5. See also Mechanics' Magazine and Register of Inventions and
Improvements, November, 1833, p. 260.
224
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
first to patent his.^^ Since these early reapers were not wholly
successful, McCormick laid aside, for a few years, his plans
for their manufacture, but in 1839 introduced some improve¬
ments. In 1840 he sold two reapers, in 1842 seven, in 1843
twenty-nine, and in 1844 fifty. Of these last one was sold in
Illinois. It soon became evident that if the business was to
attain large proportions it must be moved to the west, where
alone could be developed a great demand for the reapers.
Accordingly, in 1847, McCormick selected Chicago as the site
of a new factory.
Shortly after 1840, George Rugg of Ottawa, Illinois,
improved on Hussey's cutting apparatus by serrating the edges
of the sections ; and the idea was applied also to the McCor¬
mick reaper. During the next few years other improvements
in reaping machines were patented by McCormick, George
Esterly, John H. Manny, and William N. Whiteley, all of
whom were destined to play important rôles in the later
development of the reaper.
Soon the reaping machine had been so perfected that it
delivered the cut grain in condition suitable for binding, ^ince
most reapers required two operators and six or eight men to
follow the machine and bind the grain, a crew of from eight
to ten men was required to cut and bind from ten to twelve
acres of grain a day. Two young farmers of Illinois, the
Marsh brothers, Charles W. and William W., patented in
1858 the Marsh harvester, which had an elevating device to
convey the cut grain to tables, where men could bind it on
the machine. After the Civil War the improved Marsh har¬
vesters began to drive the combined reapers and mowers from
the field.
Finally an automatic binder was invented to take the place
"The claims of Obed Hussey are set forth in the following: Stabler,
Overlooked Pages of Reaper History, 7 ff. ; Memorial of Robert McCormick.
C H.
[From painting in the McCormick Agricultural Library, Chicago]
CORN IS KING
225
of the men on the machine. Binders which used wire for
holding the sheaf were patented after the war, but were
unsatisfactory. In 1869 and 1870 George H. Spaulding of
Rockford, Illinois, constructed a grain binding machine. In
1878, John F. Appleby, of Palmyra, Wisconsin, who had made
his first model twenty years earlier, succeeded in making his
"twine binder" a commercial success.^^ It was now possible
for one man to do as much as eight had previously accom¬
plished with the reaper.
The development, during the nineteenth century, of the
modern harvester from the primitive scythe passed through six
epochs; "(i) That of the improved scythe and cradle; (2)
that of the hand-rake reaper, adapted to deliver the cut grain
in gavels by manual means; (3) that of the self-rake reaper, in
which the same was accomplished automatically; (4) that of
the Marsh harvester, on which the grain was bound manually
by operators riding upon the machine; (5) that of the auto¬
matic binder; and (6) that of the machine of steel. The
cradle saved one-half the labor before required, the reaper a
half of the remaining labor; the modern twine binder saves
nearly all."^®
The settlement of the west presented new problem's to
makers of plows. The older moldboards made either of
wood or of cast or wrought iron were all found to be unsatis¬
factory in the new soil, so different from the brittle soil of
the east. Finally, after almost fifty years of experimentation,
the solution of the difficulty was discovered in the steel plow
which would scour in bad land and not wear out in sandy soil.
It is said that "John Lane, who operated a little forest
forge at about where now towers the Illinois Central station
Mr. Appleby died on November 8, 1917, almost the last of the pioneer
inventors in the perfection of the complete harvester.
Official Retrospectwe Exhibition of the Development of Harvesting Ma¬
chinery, Made by Heering Harvester Company, 7.
226
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
on Twelfth street, in Chicago, in 1833 fabricated the first steel
plow the world had ever seen, using a worn-out steel cross-cut
saw blade, from which he laboriously shaped share and mould-
board."" He was followed by John Deere, who began the
manufacture of plows at Grand Detour in 1837 and made use
of specially manufactured plow steel; in 1847 he moved to
Moline and established there the business which still bears his
name. William Parlin in 1842 began plow manufacturing at
Canton. In even the largest steel plow factories, however,
most of the processes were carried on by hand.^® It remained
for John Lane, a son of the original maker of the steel plow,
to revolutionize the manufacture of plows by the invention of
soft center steel in 1868. This permitted an outer surface
of finely tempered steel, which would scour well and yet not
break because of the inner layer of softer metal. About this
same year, too, large drop hammers and heavy cast-iron dies
were introduced to shape the different parts. These changes
permitted both a cheapening in cost and an improvement in
character and durability.
The introduction of the wheeled (sulky or riding) plow
marked another great improvement. The first patent was
granted in 1844; not until twenty years later, however, did
a practical sulky plow come into general use. In 1864, F. S.
Davenport patented the " Davenport." A decade later, in
1875, Gilpin Moore received a patent for a sulky plow, after¬
wards manufactured by Deere and Company, and for years
continued to make improvements. W. L. Cassady the follow¬
ing year also received his first patent ; he was the first to remove
the landslide entirely and use a wheel in its place. In 1884,
G. W. Hunt patented the first three-wheeled riding plow, which
" The Tool Which Holds a World in Debt," Farm Implement Nenvj,
34:27-
Sobey, " Some Changes I Have Seen in Nearly Fifty Years," Farm Imple¬
ment Neivj, 34: 28.
CORN IS KING
227
was brought out by the Moline Plow Company.^® During the
period 1890 to 1900 both the two-wheeled and three-wheeled
plows were perfected. From the wheel plow it was now a
comparatively simple step to the gang plow and other improved
types of a later period.
A minor factor and yet one of no mean importance in the
development of the plow was the establishment of plowing
matches. The plowing match seems to have made its appear¬
ance early in the year 1877, when the first one in Illinois of
which there is a record was held at Wheatland, Bureau county.
So successful was this experiment that annual matches have
been held there ever since, and have also been introduced in
other counties. The plowing matches were not limited in their
beneficial effects to the mere stimulation of local rivalry, but
became the occasion for testing the merits of different makes
of plows and other agricultural machinery, resulting in marked,
improvements. Great advancement was recorded in the com¬
munities fortunate enough to have introduced these contests,
not only in the cultivation and yield of the land, but also in
the use of better farm machinery and in the general appearance
of the farms, houses, and schools.
Another notable step forward was taken with the intro¬
duction and improvement of the disk harrow. Although it was
probably invented before 1870, the improvements which have
made this implement practical have come since that date.
It is now one of the most valuable and most generally used
implements in American agriculture. Another important in¬
vention was the cultivator. The introduction of the surface
blade cultivator made both possible and practicable the shallow
cultivation of corn, probably the most valuable improvement
made in corn production during this period.
Ellis and Rumely, Poiuer and the Plow, 154; Davidson and Chase, Farm
Machinery and Farm Motors, 56; Farm Implement News, 34:30.
228 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The grain drill was improved by a device, patented in 1877
by J. P. Fulghum, for varying the length of the cavities of
the seed cylinder, thus permitting a variation in the amount
of seed to be drilled. The edge-selection drop used on the
recent corn planters was brought out by the Dooley brothers
of Moline about 1892. Hay tedders and especially hay rakes
were improved; spring-tooth rakes, bull-tooth or sweep rakes,
and side-delivery rakes were introduced. The last named were
made practical necessities by the introduction of hay loaders.
These, together with hay carriers, forks, and slings, hay
stackers, and hay presses or bailers, have enormously lightened
one of the most wearisome tasks of the farm. The manure
spreader dates back to the thirties, but many of the ideas of
the modern spreader made their appearance in the patent of
J. S. Kemp, granted in 1877. A spreader with a solid bottom
appeared in 1884, and in 1890 one with an endless apron, with
hinged slats, was introduced.^'^
Of peculiar importance in the prairie state was barbed
wire, the invention of J. F. Glidden of Illinois. The cheap¬
ness and effectiveness of this fence material made it a great
boon, particularly to the stock and dairying interests of the
state.
The motive power to run farm machinery was furnished
during this period almost exclusively by draft animals, espe¬
cially horses; accordingly, the number of these advanced pari
passu with that of farm machines. With the increased supply
of mechanical power and horses the same number of workers
could care for a larger number of farms, as is shown by the
fact that while the agricultural population increased 14.3 per
cent between 1870 and 1880, the number of separate farms
increased 26.2 per cent (from 202,803 to 255,741). From
the first settlement of the state down to 1880 there went on
1' Davidson and Chase, Farm Machinery and Farm Motors, 103, 120, 193-194.
CORN IS KING
229
an uninterrupted process of converting the land area of the
state into farms, and of increasing the percentage of improved
land on the farm. During this period the agricultural popula¬
tion, as well as the number of farms, steadily increased.
After 1880, however, these various factors remained almost
stationary, and in some instances even decreased. The im¬
portant changes in Illinois agriculture after 1880, and espe¬
cially after 1890, have been in the greater yields and in the
growing values both of the farms and of their products. The
year 1880, therefore, seems to mark a turning point in the
agricultural development of Illinois.^® The singular decline
in the number of farms (from 255,741 to 240,681) and in
the total farm area (from 26,115,154 to 25,669,060 acres)
between 1880 and 1890 may be attributed to the urban and
westward migration of the agricultural population, to the com¬
petition of the newly developing grain growing states of the
northwest, and to the consequent fall in the prices of agricul¬
tural products.
The land surface of Illinois is approximately 35,867,520
acres, of which six-sevenths had already been included in
farms by 1880; the next thirty years saw an addition of only
4,000,000 acres to the farm area. The proportion of improved
land in farms rose steadily from about three-fourths in 1870
to over four-fifths in 1890, indicating better utilization of the
land for production. By 1890 there was very little unimproved
land in the northern and central divisions of the state, except
in the counties between the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. In
the southern division there was much unimproved land, since
the Ozark ridge made a great deal of the land too rough for
ordinary farming, and other lands were still heavily timbered.
There was also in the state much wet and swampy land
which needed to be drained or tiled before it could be culti-
For table see appendix, p. 481.
230
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
vated. A beginning had been made in the southern section,
but there was still in the central division land too wet for
cultivation. Altogether in the state about five per cent of the
area, or 1,813,096 acres, came within this category; its value
was placed at $12,869,286, and it was estimated that it would
be worth $52,958,603 when drained.
In the late seventies an important movement started for
tile drainage. By 1880 there were 44,880,760 feet of drain tile
laid in Illinois, or a little less than 2 feet of drain tile to every
acre of improved land. In 1886 the amount had increased
to 14 to each acre, and in 1890 there were 20 feet to each acre.
By 1895 there were 666,669,066 feet altogether, or 26 feet to
each acre of improved land. Most of this work was carried on
in the eastern part of the northern and central divisions, where
the land is very level and lies at the headwaters of many
streams.
The agricultural changes during this period were also
reflected in the values of the different classes of farm property.
The total value in Illinois farms increased from $883,871,705
in 1870 (gold value) to $1,175,772,293 in 1880, and to
$1,477,759,187 in 1890."
Changes in the number and character of the agricultural
population, in the farm area, and in the equipment of the
farm are important, but even more significant is the use to
which the land and the labor and capital applied to it have
been put. The amount of farm products furnishes a test by
which may be measured the efficiency of Illinois farmers.
Judged by this standard, agriculture seems to have made little
progress during the twenty-year period ending in 1894, for
the value of farm products was almost the same at the end
as at the beginning of the period. In the following table are
A clearer picture of the changes involved may be seen from table showing
average values per farm; see appendix, p. 481.
CORN IS KING
231
shown the values of farm products for five-year periods,
together with their distribution in the different divisions of
the state and between the two principal groups of products:
Farm Products in Illinois, 1875-1894 2»
PXRIOD
Average value
of farm
products
Distribution (per cent)
Per cent of
farm product!
North
division
Centra!
division
South
division
Field
crop!
Animal
product!
»875-79
$224,275.13«
42.a
40.0
17.8
76.6
234
1880-84
263,676,476
474
36.a
16.4
74.0
26.0
1885-89
234.840.954
45-5
38.1
16.4
72.2
1890-94
225,135,443
54.a
32.6
13.2
72.6
274
The steady decline which set in after 1884, and which
brought the figures back to the former level in spite of an
increase in actual quantities, points clearly to a fall in prices.
This slump was due in part to a general contraction of the
money supply, but in much larger measure to the increased
amount of farm products being marketed from the newly
opened northwest. That the eighties and nineties were a period
of hard times for the farmers in Illinois is indicated by the
fact that not until about 1900 do the reports of the Illinois
state board of agriculture show that the farms of the state
taken as a whole yielded a steady profit, one year with another,
above the costs of production. The northern division of the
state grew steadily in importance during this twenty-year
period at the expense of both the other divisions. During
the five years 1890-1894, over half of all the farm products
(54.2 per cent) was produced there, as against a third for
the central division (32.6 per cent) and about one-eighth
for the southern division (13.2 per cent).
Of the two large groups of farm products — field crops
Compiled from data given in the Statistical Reports of the Illinois State
Board of Agriculture, 1875-1894.
232 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
and animal products — the field crops constituted about three-
fourths of the total value for the state; in the southern divi¬
sion, where livestock farming was not so profitable, the pro¬
portion was even higher — four-fifths. There was a tendency,
however, for the field crops to become more highly concentrated
in the northern and central divisions.
The period 1875-1884 shows an increase in the value of
the field crops as a whole, while the next ten years show a fall
so marked that their value was less in 1890-1894 than it
had been twenty years before.^^ Comparing the four main
groups of field crops which may be differentiated — cereal,
hay and pasture, horticultural, and miscellaneous crops —
there was a decline in the relative importance of the cereal
crops from 74 to 70 per cent, and a corresponding growth
in that of the hay and pasture crops from 21 to 25 per cent.
The horticultural and miscellaneous groups, with some slight
fluctuation, maintained the same relative position throughout
the period. The loss in the relative importance of the cereal
crops was distributed fairly uniformly throughout the state,
their place being taken in the northern and central divisions
by the hay and pasture crops, and in the southern division by
the horticultural crops. This last group, including Irish pota¬
toes— in the production of which Madison county led — sweet
potatoes, peaches, and small berries, was very much more
important in the southern part of the state than in any other
section. Likewise, the miscellaneous crops, which included
tobacco, cotton, and sorghum, throve best in the warmer cli¬
mate of that division.
The cereal crops, comprising corn, wheat, oats, barley,
rye, and buckwheat, at the beginning of this period ranked in
the order just given. By 1879 rye had become more important
than barley, and by 1889 the crop of oats was larger than that
2' For table giving the essential facts for the field crops see appendix, p. 482.
CORN IS KING
233
of wheat. At the end of this period, therefore, the order of
importance was ; corn, oats, wheat, rye, barley, and buckwheat
— an order which has not since been changed.^^
Corn maintained practically the same relative position in
the state at large, though it declined somewhat in the northern
division and gained in the southern. The wheat crop showed
the greatest loss, but this was more than made good by the
great gain shown by oats. The other three crops were of
distinctly minor importance. These changes reflect in a general
way what has happened in other states; for "Wheat, like
beef, has been, in a sense, a frontier crop."-® Since it stands
transportation well and contains considerable value in a rela¬
tively small bulk, it is well suited to production in new
communities where transportation facilities are poor, and
where there is an abundance of cheap land in proportion to
the supply of labor. As land became more expensive and
labor more abundant in Illinois, wheat production tended to
move on to the newer lands of the northwest. This movement
was accelerated by the introduction of agricultural machinery,
by the invention of new processes in the milling of flour, and by
the extension of railroads and the opening up of vast areas of
new wheat lands.
On the other hand, the crops that took the place of wheat
had characteristics which fitted them for production in a rapidly
developing state. Corn and oats must be utilized on the spot
in the feeding of horses, cattle, and swine, or in the distilleries,
the production of breakfast food, or other manufactures.
As it used to be said of the southern states before the
Civil War that " Cotton is king," so might it with equal truth
be said of Illinois during this period that " Corn is king," for
22 For table showing the value and relative importance of these various
crops see appendix, p. 482.
23 Carver, Principles of Rural Economics, 113.
234 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
the crop constituted about 60 per cent of the total value of the
cereals. In its production Illinois led all other states in the
union in 1890, being followed by Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and
Nebraska.
During the seventies there was a steady growth in the
number of acres planted in corn, which reached the highest
point in 1877 with 8,935,411 acres, an amount not equaled
again until 1915. There was a corresponding increase in the
yield, which reached its highest point in 1879 as a result of
the bumper crop of that year, amounting to 305,913,377
bushels — a crop which has been exceeded only three times
in the history of the state. By a combination of circumstances,
moreover, the most important of which was short crops in
Europe, the financial returns during these years were extremely
large. During the eighties, however, prices fell and acreage
was curtailed. The lowest point was reached in 1892, when
only 5,188,432 acres were planted in corn, and when the total
crop was cut down to 137,540,285 bushels — the lowest figure
with two exceptions since 1870.
Climatic conditions contributed to the hazards of corn
farming during the period. A severe drought in 1873 and
1874 made these years especially disastrous, the average yield
per acre being only 21 and 18 bushels per acre respectively.^®
The next few years were fairly normal; but in 1881 the lack
of rain caused a complete crop failure in the southern division,
where only six bushels per acre were harvested. In the first
seven years of the eighties there was only one year—1885—
in which some part of the state did not report crops below
the average. The 1887 failure was the worst in the history
For table showing some of the important facts in connection with changes
that have occurred in this crop, see appendix, p. 483.
From Clay county came the report, "the summer was very dry, causing
almost a total failure of corn;" Jefferson county reported, "we were nearly
burnt up." Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1874, p. 81, 97.
CORN IS KING
235
of the state with the single exception of that of 1874, and,
like the earlier one, was due to drought.^® The half decade
1890-1894 witnessed continued failures of the corn crop in
the southern division. Certainly the record of these years
offers an adequate explanation of the steady loss of interest
in corn growing on the part of the farmers in the southern
division; the proportion of the corn crop which was grown
in the southern division sank from 16.6 per cent in 1870-1874
to 10.5 per cent in 1890-1894.
That the farmers of Illinois were not securing the fullest
returns possible from the land, even aside from adverse cli¬
matic conditions, is apparent from a comparison of the highest
yields and the average yields. In 1879, for example, of the
four counties reporting an average yield of over 40 bushels
per acre, Scott county had an average yield per acre of 57
bushels, but the best yield reported from that county was
90 bushels per acre; for Mercer county the two figures were
respectively 50 and 100; for Warren, 45 and 100; and for
De Kalb, 42 and 105.^'' The conclusion is inevitable that a
great many farmers were not making the fullest use of the
land.
A factor which affected the value and through that the quan¬
tity of what the Illinois farmers produced was the price received
for their crops. The prices for corn fluctuated from the low
level of 22 cents per bushel in 1878 to the high record during
this period of 56 cents per bushel in 1874. The Illinois state
board of agriculture estimates that there were in the period
1870—1893 only ten years in which growers of corn received
a profit over and above all their costs of production; that is
to say, in three years out of five the farmers suffered a loss.
2® The rainfall in the southern division for this year was 34.64 inches, as
compared with a normal rainfall of 43.19 inches. Mosier, Climate of Illinois, 48.
22 Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1879, P- 45®, 516-517.
236 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
It must be remembered, however, that the farmers were making
a living for themselves and their families and were gaining an
increment in the value of the land which more than offset losses
on the crop.
A study of the distribution of corn production throughout
the state during this period shows that the central division
produced more than either of the other two, except for the
two periods 1880-1884 and 1890-1894. The southern divi¬
sion never produced more than about one-sixth of the total
crop. In 1869 the center of the corn belt had been Sangamon
county, but by 1879 it had shifted to McLean county. By
1894 Champaign county was the leading corn growing county
in the state. The natural limits of the corn belt had been
pretty well determined by the end of this period, and the
tendency within this belt to concentrate upon corn was clearly
evident.
As might have been expected from their prominence as
producers of corn, Illinois farmers have made several contri¬
butions in the introduction of new varieties. Golden Eagle,
one of the eight recognized varieties, was originated in 1871
by H. B. Perry of Toulon. In 1880, a standard variety called
White Superior was originated by P. R. Sperry of Monmouth,
and in 1890 J. H. Beagley of Sibley originated the Silver Mine.
In methods of production, too, experiments and improvements
were constantly being made. Perhaps the greatest contribution
during this period was the introduction of shallow cultivation
by Professor George E. Morrow of the University of Illinois,
who as head of the department of agriculture did much to
promote scientific agriculture.
In the production of wheat Illinois has suffered the same
fate which has overtaken all the wheat growing states east
of the Mississippi. During the first half of the nineteenth
century the center of wheat production moved first from the
CORN IS KING
237
New England states to western New York, and by 1850 was
located near the center of Ohio. By i860 the center of
wheat production was in Indiana, eighteen miles northeast of
Indianapolis. The census reports of both 1870 and 1880
showed that the center of wheat production was in the state
of Illinois, the first year 82 miles northeast of Springfield, and
in the second year 69 miles northwest of the same city. This
westward movement carried the center of production in 1890
into Iowa, where it has since remained.^® The full effects of
this movement were not felt adversely in Illinois until about
the middle of the eighties, when the competition of Iowa and
Minnesota, both better adapted to wheat production than
Illinois,^® began to show itself.
During the period from 1870 to 1881 there was a very
steady increase in the acreage devoted to wheat in Illinois,
the maximum being reached in the latter year with 3,642,589
acres. Unfortunately, however, this year saw one of the most
severe crop failures in the history of the state, the average
yield being only slightly over 7 bushels per acre for the whole
state. From this year there was a very steady fall both in
the acreage and in the yield of wheat, due to a fall in prices
reaching the lowest point in 1894, when the price of wheat
on the farm was only 42 cents a bushel. This fall in price
was brought about by the opening up of the new lands in
Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Kansas, which produced enor¬
mous quantities of wheat and glutted the Chicago market.
In more than half of the fifteen years ending in 1894 it was
reported by the Illinois state board of agriculture that the
Illinois farmer lost money on his production of wheat. The
profit per acre on winter wheat fell from $7.44 in 1877-1879
^^Statistical Atlas of the United States, 1914, plate 388.
Rutter, Wheat-Growing in Canada, the United States, and the Argen¬
tine, 69.
238 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
to 14 cents in 1890-1894.®'® Most of the winter wheat was
raised in the central and southern divisions, especially in the
eastern half of these two sections; and the spring wheat was
confined for the most part to the eastern half of the northern
section.
While winter wheat held its own only moderately well, the
production of spring wheat showed the most extraordinary
fluctuation and decline. The census of 1870 reported a crop
of 10,133,207 bushels for Illinois; by the end of the decade
this had fallen to 2,687,049 bushels on a three-year average,
and the next five-year average saw a still further shrinkage
to 790,795 bushels. The reason for this extraordinary fall
was that this crop came into direct competition with the spring
wheat grown in the new northwest; whiter and cheaper flour
could be produced in Minneapolis flour mills from the hard
wheat of the northwest. From $2.54 in 1877-1879 the
profits per acre on spring wheat fell steadily until in the period
1890-1894 the unfortunate farmer who had continued the
cultivation of spring wheat lost 16 cents on every acre planted.®^
A comparison of the production of the two kinds of wheat
shows that by 1890 over nine-tenths of all the wheat produced
in Illinois was winter wheat. The northern section of the
state did not produce as much, therefore, as did the other
divisions, and after 1880 did not produce enough even for its
own consumption.
In striking contrast with the decline of wheat production
stands the steady growth in the production of oats. From i860
to 1900 almost without a break there was a steady increase
in the acreage and yield of this crop.®® The great increase from
For table showing the essential facts concerning the production of winter
wheat in Illinois see appendix, p. 483.
For table see ibid., p. 484.
For table giving important facts in connection with the oats crop between
1870 and 1894 see ibid., p. 484.
CORN IS KING
239
an average annual yield of 37,000,000 bushels in 1870-1874
to 104,000,000 bushels in 1890-1894, must be attributed to
the enlarged demand for food for horses, the number of
which, especially in the cities, was increasing steadily. In oat
production the northern, central, and southern divisions stood
to each other as 5 :3 : i, the southeastern counties of the north¬
ern division and the northeastern counties of the central
division being the center of the oat district. Illinois ranked
first as an oat producing state in both 1870 and 1880, but
was superseded in 1890 by Iowa. Oats, like corn, were an
unprofitable crop during most of this period, due to the glut¬
ting of the market by the overproduction of the new lands in
the northwest. But as they fed a considerable part of the crop
to their stock, Illinois farmers continued and even expanded
its production.
The minor cereal crops, consisting of rye, barley, and
buckwheat, are of relative insignificance in Illinois. The pro¬
duction of rye, four-fifths of which is produced in the northern
division, reached its highest point in the period 1880-1884,
after which it declined again. The production of barley showed
a rapid fall during this period, accompanying and probably
due to a decline in its profitableness. Ninety-five per cent of
the barley in 1894 was produced in the northern division, most
of this in the three counties of Stephenson, Ogle, and McHenry.
Most of the crop was consumed by the breweries. Buckwheat
was unimportant at the beginning of this period and steadily
lost ground until in 1890-1894 the average annual crop was
less than 50,000 bushels; most of it was grown in the Rock
river valley.®®
The second group in the category of field crops, hay and
pasture, although only one-third as important as the cereals.
For table giving the important facts concerning the production of rye,
barley, and buckwheat from 1870-1894 see appendix, p. 485.
240
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
was five times as important as the horticultural and fifteen
times as important as the miscellaneous crops. Hay made
up approximately three-fifths of the total. As might have
been expected from the distribution of the dairying and cattle
raising industries, the northern division far outranked either
of the other two, producing from one-half to three-fifths of
the total forage crop. The production of hay showed a very
steady increase to the middle of the eighties, after which there
was a falling off both in the number of acres harvested and in
the amount produced, probably due to a steady fall during this
period in the price of hay.
Of the four important kinds of grasses reported as being
grown in the state in 1879 — timothy, prairie, clover, and
Hungarian and millet seed — timothy was by far the most
popular, almost three-fourths (72.6 per cent) of the acreage
devoted to hay being sown with timothy grass. About one-
fifth ( 19.1 per cent) was devoted to prairie grass, 7.7 per cent
to clover, and less than one per cent to Hungarian and millet
seed. Timothy was the favorite in the central division, prairie
grass in the northern division, and clover in the southern
division.
The acreage devoted to pastures followed the same course
as did the production of hay, increasing steadily until the
second half decade of the eighties, after which there set in a
decline. As time went on, the growth of the cattle feeding
industry tended to concentrate pasture acreage more and more
in the northern division, though Morgan county in the central
and Washington county in the southern division showed a great
development.
The third group of the field crops is the so-called horti¬
cultural crops, which comprise vegetables, orchard fruit, bush
For table giving the important facts relating to forage crops see appendix,
p. 485.
CORN IS KING
241
fruits, and vineyard products. Of these the vegetables were
the most important, constituting from one-half to almost three-
fourths of the group. Orchard fruits made up between
one-fifth and two-fifths of the total at different periods, while
the other two classes were relatively unimportant, amounting
together to only about five per cent of the total. The pre¬
eminence of the vegetables was greatest in the northern divi¬
sion, the orchard and bush fruits having a relatively larger
importance in the more hospitable climate of the other sections
of the state.
The vegetables comprised Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes,
turnips, and other root crops. Of these, Irish potatoes made
up almost nine-tenths in value throughout the entire period.
Turnips and other root crops have shown a steady decline in
relative importance, while sweet potatoes have grown some¬
what in favor.®®
Throughout the three decades between i860 and 1899
Irish potatoes grew steadily in importance, reaching their
climax in the last named year, with a record crop of 15,484,390
bushels. Since then there has been an equally steady decline.
That Illinois farms are not so well adapted to potato growing
as are those of neighboring states is shown by the fact that
between 1866 and 1889 the average yield per acre in Illinois
was less than that in Ohio, Michigan, or Wisconsin.®® The
prices were very unstable during this period, fluctuating
between a minimum of 25 cents a bushel in 1899 and a maxi¬
mum of $1.12 in 1873.®'' The crop was always more important
in the northern division than in the two other sections.
Sweet potatoes, the production of which was at the begin-
For table giving the more important statistics concerning these crops see
appendix, p. 485.
^^Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture, 1909, p. 493.
3' The average yield for the state was only 40 bushels per acre, the smallest
with two exceptions in the history of the state.
242
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
ning of this period nearly equally divided between the central
and southern divisions, came, as time went on, to be more exclu¬
sively a product of the southern section, where Union and the
adjoining counties produced the greater part of the total supply.
There was a steady increase during this period in the produc¬
tion of sweet potatoes, due in considerable measure to improved
methods of propagation.
The value of the minor root crops showed a marked
increase during the seventies and the first half of the eighties,
but after that showed an even greater decline. This was in
part due to the fall in the general price level, but also to the
unpopularity of turnips and beets and other similar root crops
in the southern part of the state. Here droughts and heat
had caused many failures during the seventies, so that the
farmers in this section turned with relief to the production of
corn. In the northern division, however, the growth of
Chicago provided an excellent home market for onions and
market garden produce, while the development of the dairy
industry tended to increase the amount of turnips which were
raised as feed for the cows. By the end of the period three-
fourths of these crops were being produced in the northern
division. An interesting development during this period was
the growth of market gardening, especially in the vicinity of
Chicago and of St. Louis. From about $750,000 in 1870
the value of the market garden products increased until in
1889 it was about $1,400,000.
Orchard fruits, of which apples constituted nine-tenths,
made up a much less important group of horticultural products,
and one, moreover, of steadily declining consequence. Most
of the apples, peaches, and pears were grown in the southern
division of the state, as the climate in the northern part was
too severe.®®
For table showing the production of these three fruits see appendix, p. 486.
CORN IS KING
243
The production of bush fruits such as strawberries, rasp¬
berries, blackberries, and similar small fruits, has never been
important in Illinois, partly because of climatic conditions and
partly because of the lack of an adequate labor supply for the
necessary intensive culture. These crops also were concen¬
trated in the southern division of the state, especially in the
vicinity of Union county. For a whilê it seemed that a fruit
canning industry might be developed.®® In 1875 the Fruit
Growers' Association of Southern Illinois was organized;
and by 1877 the Illinois Central was running a regular fruit
train to Chicago, the rate being 80 cents per hundred pounds
from Cairo to Chicago.^®
The fourth group of the field crops comprised a number
of miscellaneous products such as tobacco, broom corn, flax,
hemp, cotton, sorghum, maple sugar and maple sirup, clover
and other grass seeds, peas, and beans. Of these tobacco is
not only the most important but has had the most interesting
history.^ ^
During the Civil War the cutting off of the supply of
southern tobacco forced the price to the highest point which
it had ever reached and stimulated its production in the north¬
ern states. As southern Illinois was fairly well adapted to
the growing of tobacco, the production of this crop increased
rapidly in that section. In 1862 the acreage devoted to this
product was 8,585, which yielded about 9,000,000 pounds, but
in the next year 30,627 acres were planted in tobacco, the
largest acreage in the history of the state. In spite of a poor
crop the yield this year was 20,000,000 pounds. For the rest
of this decade the acreage was over 20,000; it declined in the
early seventies, however, then rallied and held its own for a
Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 1873, p. 279-280.
*0 Chicago Tribune, January 7, 1875; Illinois State Register, April 21, 1877.
See '•■Report on Culture and Curing of Tobacco in the United States," in
Report on the Productions of Agriculture as Returned at the Tenth Census.
244 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
decade or more, only to fall again disastrously in the early
nineties.^^
Broom corn has always been distinctively an Illinois crop.
As early as 1820 it was mentioned as having been " planted in
rows on the sides of corn fields." Records show that a Mr.
Beebe, a farmer near Platteville, planted twelve acres in 1856
and obtained a good crop, and that Messrs. Johnson and
Beauregard of Champaign county had a field of 400 acres
in 1861.^® When statistics of this crop began to be gathered
by the Illinois state board of agriculture, in 1877, the acreage
devoted to it already amounted to 14,566 with a total yield
of 6,674,747 pounds. The center of broom corn culture was
in Illinois, especially along the line of the Illinois Central
railroad,^^ which transported the raw material for the impor¬
tant industry of broom making, in which Chicago held high
rank.^® From this time until the end of the eighties there
was a fairly steady increase in acreage and production. Most
of this product was raised in the central division, and was
highly concentrated in Coles, Douglas, and Henry coun¬
ties.^®
The textile crops have never been important; they showed
a steady decline during this period, with the exception of a
boom in the production of hemp, noted in the census report
for 1890. Cotton became so unimportant that it was no longer
reported by the census bureau. As flax fiber became an
unprofitable crop during the seventies, the farmers turned to
the production of flaxseed, which by 1880 was being produced
in such large quantities as to give Illinois first rank among
For table showing the growth in production and the distribution of the
crop see appendix, p. 486.
Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1875, p. 316; Gerhard,
Illinois as It Is, 336; Champaign County Democrat, August 24, 1861.
" Broom-corn and Brooms, 12.
Moses and Kirkland, History of Chicago, 1:411.
For table showing production of broom corn see appendix, p. 486.
CORN IS KING
245
the states in this field. By 1890, however, this also had been
given up as an unprofitable crop.
The same story of decline must be told of the sugar crops,
although a temporary gain over the preceding decade in the
cases of maple sirup and of sorghum sirup was reported by
the census of 1880. The maple tree products were concen¬
trated for the most part in the eastern and northwestern
sections of the central division, while the sorghum sirup was
produced most extensively in the Wabash river valley of the
southern division.
One of the minor crops of Illinois which increased in
importance during this decade was grass seeds. During the
twenty years 1870-1890 there was more than a fivefold
increase. At the beginning of the period timothy made up
somewhat more than one-half, but by the end clover consti¬
tuted over two-thirds. The chief center of production by the
end of the period was the region between the Mississippi,
Illinois, and Rock rivers.
Never very important, the legume crops, consisting of dry
beans, cowpeas, and castor beans, have on the whole shown
the same decline which has characterized the other minor crops.
The production of the first two centered principally in Jasper
and Cumberland counties, and of the third 99.5 per cent was
produced in the southern division.^^
For table giving the statistics of production of the miscellaneous crops see
appendix, p. 487.
XI. ANIMAL PRODUCTS OF ILLINOIS FARMS
The second main group, the animal products, constituted
about one-fourth of the total values yielded by the farm,
but it was steadily growing in importance during the period
1870- 1890. The growth and relative importance of the five
main classes are shown in the following table:
Animal Products in Illinois, 1877-1894
Firiod
Average
total
production
(value)
Distribution
(per cent)
Percentage of animal products
North
division
Centra!
division
South
division
Animals
sold
Dairy
products
Poultry
products
Wool
Hooey
1877-79...
$S2.45«.9í5
53-J
36.9
lo.o
84.7
13-4
»■9
1880-84.. •
68,484,171
54-3
351
10.6
80.0
18.2
1.8
1885-89....
65.393,242
55-3
35-1
9.6
75.8
19.7
3-4
i.i
1890-94...
61,753,273
63.1
28.0
8.9
65.5
29.6
3-9
•9
.x
It will be noticed that there was a steady decline in the
relative value of animals sold, while dairy products more
than doubled. Wool, never of great importance, declined
heavily, while poultry and honey appeared only toward the
end of the period. More than half of all of the animal prod¬
ucts were produced in the northern division, and this tendency
to concentration became more marked as time went on. This
was due to the growing predominance in that region of both the
cattle feeding and the dairy industries.
As a larger proportion of Illinois land was brought under
cultivation the great blue-grass pastures were broken up and
the number of livestock tended to decrease. On the other
hand, the tendency toward a decline in the number of animals
246
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
247
was counteracted by the development of the practice of buying
"feeders" to be fattened on Illinois corn. There was a net
gain in the value of livestock in the state from $118,205,358
in 1870 to $180,431,662 in 1890.^ This represented an in¬
crease of 52.7 per cent, a rate of growth which was far below
that for the preceding twenty years, 1850-1870, when the
building of railroads had given an abnormal impetus to grain
farming and cattle raising.
One group of livestock, the draft animals, was given a
position of new importance in agricultural economy by the
introduction of machinery, for there was a greatly heightened
demand for animals, particularly horses, to supply motive
power. Illinois ranked highest in the union in the absolute
number of horses for the twenty years ending in 1890; during
these two decades there was a steady increase from 853,738
to 1)335,289. In view of the use made of the animals it was
natural that the distribution should show a strong concentration
in the corn belt; almost half of the total number was in the
northern division, less than a fifth was in the southern.''
With the increase in numbers and use came a stimulated
interest in the breeding of horses. The importation of French
horses seems to have begun in 1866, when Dr. A. G. Van
Hoorebeke brought the Percheron stallion Lucifer 285 to
Monmouth; by 1870 Illinois had taken the lead in the breed¬
ing of draft horses and held it through two decades. In
1890 there were listed 488 owners of pure-bred horses, of
whom 221 had Clydesdale, 152 Percheron, 100 Shire, and 15
Belgian,® almost all in the northern and north central divisions,
^ The growth of livestock during the period 1870-1890, on this basis of
value, is shown in the appendix, p. 487.
' The most pertinent facts in this regard are presented in the appendix,
p. 488.
® Sanders, A History of the Percheron Horse, 133, 154; American Clydesdale
Stud Book, volume 5 ; National Register of French Draft Horses, volume 5, 6 ;
American Shire Horse Stud Book, volume s, 2; National Register of Belgian
Draft Horses, volume i.
248 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
McLean county leading in the number of owners of all kinds
except Belgians.
The southern half of the state was interested chiefly in the
other varieties of draft animals. There was an increase in
the total number of mules and asses in the state from 85,075
in 1870 to 123,278 in 1880, or a gain of 44.9 per cent; but
in the following decade the number declined 12.5 per cent,
falling to 107,875 in 1890. These animals were shifted more
and more to the southern counties during the whole period,
because of their ability to thrive in a hot climate and to stand
the pestiferous flies bred in great swarms in the swampy low-
lying districts of Egypt. But not even in the southern part of
the state did these animals average as many as one to a
farm.
Even more marked was the decline in the number of oxen
and their relegation to a few counties in the extreme south¬
eastern part of the state. From 19,766 in 1870 the number
fell to 3,346 ten years later, but increased by 1890 to 6,579,
due principally to a very large increase in the southern counties.
Their inefficiency has made oxen unavailable for use in connec¬
tion with expensive farm machinery. Seven counties, including
Saline and the counties which immediately surround it, con¬
tained almost all the working oxen in the state in 1890; and
these same counties were, with a few exceptions, the poorest
in farm machinery.
An even more marked concentration in the northern and
central divisions is to be noted in the case of the second group
of livestock, the meat and dairy animals. The number of milch
cows showed a steady growth throughout the period, increasing
from 640,321 in 1870 to 865,913 in 1880, and to 1,087,886 in
1890, the last figure being surpassed only by Iowa and New
Y Ork. In 1890 the average farmer in the northern division had
over twice as many dairy cows as the average farmer in the cen-
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
249
tral division and over three times as many as the average
farmer in the southern division.*
An investigation of the popularity of the different breeds
of dairy cattle in Illinois, made by the federal bureau of animal
industry in 1884,® showed that the shorthorns were far in the
lead and were generally distributed throughout the state. Next
in favor were the Jerseys — rather remarkable, since during
the seventies the fact that the first cases of contagious pleuro¬
pneumonia ever known west of the Alleghenies were in herds
of pure-bred Jerseys had led to the belief that this breed was
more subject than others to attacks of contagious and infectious
diseases. By 1884, however, the prejudice against the Jerseys
was passing away and they were again being sought to increase
the butter-producing capacity of cows.
Holstein-Friesian cattle were also in considerable demand
during the eighties, the large yield of milk by cows of this
breed making them particularly popular in the vicinity of large
cities. Ayrshire cattle were at one time comparatively popular
in Illinois, and pure-bred herds were to be found at several
places. But they seem to have lost favor, for well-bred
Ayrshires could be purchased in the early eighties for little
more than the price of common milch cows. By 1890 they
had been superseded in favor by Guernsey cattle; nineteen
herds of this breed were to be found in the state, most of
them in Cook and the neighboring counties.
In 1890 there were altogether in the state 368 herds that
were headed by at least one pure-bred animal. The Jerseys
led with 234, the Holsteins coming next with 115 herds, while
the Guernseys had only 19. The high quality of the dairy
cows of Illinois was attested by the performance of the brown
Swiss cow Brienz, owned by A. Bourquin of Nokomis, which
* These facts are shown in the appendix, p. 488.
* Report of the United States Burean of Animal Industry, 1895, p. 366-368.
250 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
in 1891 broke the existing public competition butter fat record
by yielding 9.32 pounds of butter fat during the three days of
the Chicago Dairy Show.*
The development of the dairy industry was brought about
by the growth of urban industrial centers in the state.'' During
the twenty years ending in 1874 there was almost a threefold
increase in the value of dairy products sold by the farmers,
from about $7,000,000 in 1877-1879 to an annual average
of over $18,000,000 for the half decade 1890-1894, due
almost entirely to the increasing demands of Chicago, Peoria,
St. Louis, and other expanding cities. During the year 1869
there were sold from Illinois farms 9,259,545 gallons of milk,
an amount surpassed only in the more densely settled states
of New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Cook
and Kane counties each sold over 2,000,000 gallons and
together cohtributed over half of the state's total. Elgin was
the center of the milk shipping industry, doing a business
of about $500,000 annually. Shipments from this region
increased from 757,112 gallons in 1866 to 1,235,653 gallons
in 1867.®
Comparatively little milk was shipped to Chicago in the
early seventies from points distant more than fifty miles from
that city. Fifty-three miles formed the extreme limit of regu¬
lar milk shipment on the Chicago and Northwestern railroad,
while on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy the limit was
seventy-three miles. Three-fourths of the Chicago milk supply
came from the Rock river valley, where hundreds of farmers
devoted themselves entirely to dairy farming, shipping direct
* Jersey Herd Book, volume 16-23, 26; Holstein-Friesian Herd Book, volume
8-9; Herd Register of the American Guernsey Cattle Club, volume 1-3; Hale,
History of Agriculture by Dates, 63.
^ The principal facts concerning the growth and distribution of the dairy
industry as a whole are set forth in the appendix, p. 489.
'Illinois State Agricultural Society, Transactions, 187t, p. 163; Ifestern
Rural, volume 6.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
251
to Chicago or selling to the cheese factories. The transpor¬
tation charges were based upon a zone tariff system; those
on the Chicago and Northwestern were 16 cents per eight-
gallon can for distances up to twenty miles, 20 cents for
twenty to forty miles, and 24 cents for more than forty miles.
The rates on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy road were
15 cents per eight-gallon can up to forty miles, 20 cents for
forty to seventy-five miles, and 25 cents for seventy-five miles
and over.®
The shipment of milk into Chicago received a special
impetus in 1872 as a result of the removal of all cow stables
to points outside the city limits, upon order of the Chicago
board of health. The amount shipped over the Chicago and
Northwestern railroad alone increased from 1871 to 1872
by nearly a million gallons. In 1872 the city board of health
reported daily shipments of 14,112 gallons. In addition, cows
kept near the city supplied about 6,000 gallons. This made
a total of 20,112 gallons daily, or a rate of 7,340,880 gallons
per year.^° As the demands of the city grew and as improved
methods of refrigeration were introduced, the market natu¬
rally drew upon a larger and larger area for its supply, absorb¬
ing about nine-tenths of all the milk sold in Illinois. By 1890
Kane, McHenry, and Du Page counties were the leading pro¬
ducers of milk, while Boone, De Kalb, Lake, and Cook made
up a group of only slightly lower showing.
St. Louis did not furnish so good a market for the southern
division as did Chicago for the northern. This was due largely
to the existence within that city, or in the immediate vicinity,
of swill milk dairies, the owners of which were able to pur¬
chase spent grain from the breweries at two cents a bushel, and
distillery slops at a proportionately low price. About 1870,
^Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 1872, p. 341.
^«Ibid.
252 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
however, milk shipments into St. Louis began from towns in
Illinois; and in the following year the Ohio and Mississippi
railway shipped 157,356 gallons into St. Louis from stations
within a ninety-five-mile radius. The transportation charges
averaged two cents per gallon.
The prices received by the farmers of the state show, on
the whole, a steady increase during this period. The highest
prices appeared in the central division, where the lack of large
cities caused the farmers to deliver their own milk, receiving
a retail instead of a wholesale price. In the northern division
the business was organized in the hands of city dealers who
paid much lower prices to the farmers for their product.^^
A curious fall in the price of milk in the southern division was
probably due to the better organization of the city dealers in
St. Louis as the demand for milk in that city became greater,
and to the greater distance of the farmers in that section from
their natural market. St. Clair, Randolph, and Washington
counties showed the greatest development of the dairy industry
in this section.^®
Following closely upon the large scale organization of the
milk industry was the transfer of butter making from the farm
home to the factory. During the seventies and early part
of the eighties most of the butter produced in the state was
still churned on the farm in the old-fashioned wooden-dasher
churn. Once butter making machinery had demonstrated its
commercial possibilities, the homemade product steadily de¬
clined.
The industrial revolution in butter making began in this
country about 1861, when the first creamery was established
Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 324.
The milk which was shipped into Chicago went to the city dealers, who,
during the six winter months of 1871-1872, "paid farmers 4.% cents per quart
and retailed at 7 cents; during the summer of 1872 farmers received cents,
city retailers obtaining 6 cents." Ibid., 341.
The development during this period is shown in the appendix, p. 489.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS 253
in Orange county, New York.^^ The first one west of the
Great Lakes was the Elgin Butter Factory, established in 1870
by Dr. Joseph Tefft. By 1871 this factory was already making
80,000 pounds of butter. The second creamery to be estab¬
lished was probably that owned by I. Boies, at Marengo, who
soon operated a large number of factories.
The introduction of the cream separator, about 1880,
further hastened the process of commercialization. Previous
to this, the whole milk had been taken to the creameries, but
skimming stations, to which the milk was brought and from
which the' cream was forwarded to the creameries, were now
established. Later, each farmer had his own separator and
skimmed the milk on the farm.
Finally, the invention in 1890 by Professor Stephen M.
Babcock of the University of Wisconsin, of the milk tester, by
which the amount of butter fat in the milk could be determined,
placed the dairy business upon a scientific basis. Before this,
creameries had paid for cream by the inch, but now they
paid for it on the basis of quality, and at once an impetus
was given to the movement for improved breeds of dairy
cows.^®
The phenomenal development of the production and sale
of cream is indicated by the increase of 673 per cent for the
half decade 1880—1884. In 1878 the amount of cream sold
from the farms was 62,707 gallons, in 1879 it was 230,949,
in 1880 it was 601,314, in 1881 it was 1,380,936, and in 1882
it was 2,188,396. On the other hand, the amount of milk sold
fell off from 96,659,845 gallons in 1879 to 38,986,861 in
1880, and the amount of butter from 25,028,225 pounds
in 1879 to 24,553,449 in 1880.
Sanford, The Story of Agriculture in the United States, ZTi-
For some of the changes wrought in the sale of butter, cream, and cheese
on Illinois farms see table in the appendix, p. 490.
254
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The butter industry acts as a buffer in the dairy business.
When, due to abundance of pasture because of increased rain¬
fall, too much milk is produced and the price falls, the surplus
is made into butter. This product is admirably adapted to
store up the most valuable elements in milk, for it contains the
largest value in the smallest bulk of any dairy product, will
keep longest, and will stand transportation best. On the other
hand, when the price of milk is high, less butter is made and
the supplies in storage are reduced.
Of the four branches of the dairy industry, that of the
production of cheese was the one which varied most and which
finally became of least importance. The first cheese factory
in Illinois was established in 1863 by J. H. Wanzer on his
farm near Elgin, as a result of inability to market whole milk
at remunerative prices. The real impetus to the production
of cheese by the factory method, however, was given two years
later when Gail Borden built in Elgin a factory which manu¬
factured 240,000 pounds of cheese the first year; this success
encouraged others and in 1867, only two years later, there
were seventeen factories in northern Illinois. The factories of
McHenry county alone produced 600,000 pounds of cheese,
using 5,500,000 pounds of milk. By 1870 there were forty-
six cheese factories in the state, and each year thereafter for
a decade saw an increase in the number. Kane county in 1873
had fifteen factories which produced 2,297,500 pounds
of cheese. The largest of these establishments was Gould's,
which used the milk from 1,300 cows and made 490,000
pounds of cheese. By 1878 there were between sixty and
seventy butter and cheese factories within fifty miles of
Elgin.
The home market for cheese was more than supplied by
these factories, so that a movement began for the export of
Illinois State Agricultural Society, Transactions, 1S73, p. 81; 1878, p. 269.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
255
the product to eastern markets. The very success of the indus¬
try, however, proved its undoing. Difficulties with the factories
as to price led the farmers to remove some of the cream from
the milk; the manufacturers next substituted buttermilk and
tried to hasten unduly the curing of the cheese. Illinois cheese
soon lost its good reputation, and its manufacture fell off
rapidly. By 1890 the industry revived somewhat, as many
factories were starting to make filled cheese. This business
flourished until 1896, when a law which prohibited filled cheese
gave it a fatal blow, and within a few months it declined so
that Illinois sank almost to the bottom of the list of cheese
producing states.
A new demand for whole milk was created when, in 1865,
Gail Borden selected Elgin as one of the points for the manu¬
facture of condensed milk. Since the industry can use only
very pure milk, it led to the introduction of more sanitary
methods of production and marketing.
No less interesting than the changes in the dairy business
were the developments during this period in the cattle indus¬
try. In 1870 Illinois was surpassed only by Texas in the
number of cattle raised chiefly for beef, but since that year other
states had forged to the front; in 1890 Illinois was outranked
by Texas, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.^'' During the two
decades 1870—1890 the number of "other cattle"—that is,
all neat cattle except milch cows, calves, and oxen — almost
doubled, increasing from 1,055,499 in 1870 to 1,968,654 in
1890. Most of these cattle were to be found in the north¬
western part of the state, particularly between the Mississippi,
the Rock, and the Illinois rivers. In the fifty years ending in
1890 the beef cattle in the northern division had increased
over ninefold, those in the central division had about trebled,
For the important facts as to the increase and distribution of neat cattle
see table in the appendix, p. 490.
256
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
while those in the southern division were actually fewer by
6,170 in 1890 than they were in 1840. This concentration was
due chiefly to the development of Chicago as the central market.
The improvement in the breeds of beef cattle in the state
had begun as early as 1840 and had been given a decided
impetus by the formation in 1857 of the Illinois Stock Import¬
ing Association. Among the pioneers in this field were J. C.
Cox of Jacksonville, importer of shorthorn cattle, B. F. Harris
of Champaign, an exponent of heavy cattle, and Emory Cobb
of Kankakee, importer of high-grade cattle. By 1875 the
number of thoroughbred cattle in the state was considerable;
nine-tenths were shorthorns, the remainder consisting of
Jerseys, Devons, Herefords, and Ayrshires. In 1884 Illinois
led all the other states, excepting Kentucky and Ohio, in the
quality of its beef cattle.^® Thirty-five per cent of the animals in
Illinois were "high grades," that is, cattle in which the blood
of pure-bred animals had exercised a strong influence for
improvement.
The first, and for some years the only, representatives of
pure-bred cattle in the state were shorthorns. By 1870, Illinois
breeders already had a considerable reputation and attracted
buyers from all over the country. By 1884 shorthorns, or
grades got by animals of this strain, made up two-thirds of
all the cattle in the state.^® John Wentworth, the famous
politician and one-time editor of the Chicago Democrat, had on
his "Summit Farm," near Chicago, about eighty thoroughbred
animals; his herd was noted for the fact that it was headed
by Fifteenth Duke of Airdrie, one of the greatest of the famous
Bates bulls. By 1890 there were in the state 1,038 herds of
Illinois State Agricultural Society, Transactions, 1861-1864, p. 372;
1875, p. 321-324; Report of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry, 1885,
p. 386-
Chicago Tribune, August 10, 1871 ; Report of the United States Bureau of
Animal Industry, 1885, p. 367.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
257
shorthorn cattle led by registered animals, over half of these
being in the northern division.^®
In the seventies, T. L. Miller's Highland Stock Farm in
Will county became the center for the breeding of Herefords.
Other prominent breeders were Thomas Clark of Beecher,
Will county, and G. W. Henry, owner of Rossland Park Stock
Farm, at Ashburn. There were about eighty herds of Here¬
ford cattle in the state in 1884 and one hundred and eighty-nine
in 1890, most of them in Will county.^^
Another popular breed was the Polled Aberdeen Angus,
of which there were about thirty herds in 1884; this number
had increased to 158 by 1890. The herd which Messrs.
Anderson and Findley of Lake Forest had started in 1878
had by 1885 grown to be the largest herd of that breed in
the United States or Scotland.^^
Other breeds of considerably less importance were Devons,
Galloways, and Ayrshires. In the eighties two new breeds
were introduced: J. C. Duncan of Normal imported some
Normandy cattle from France, and John Dick of Quincy
made an importation of Simmenthal cattle.^®
Slightly over one-fourth of all the beef cattle in Illinois
in 1890 were high-grade stock.^* The largest proportion of
each kind was to be found in the northern division, but the
central division made the best showing, as just one third of
all the cattle in that section were high grade.
^"American Short-Horn Herd Book, volumes 31-33, 65. The quality of this
breed was attested by the fact that Roan Boy, a shorthorn steer, exhibited by
C. M. Cubbertson of Newman, was adjudged the champion of the American Fat
Stock Show in 1883. Ten years later the shorthorn steer. Cup Bearer, exhibited
by M. E. Jones, of Williamsville, was declared the champion beef animal at the
Columbian exposition. Hale, History of Agriculture by Dates, 58, 65.
Sanders, The Story of the Herefords, 348. Mr. Miller founded the
American Hereford Herd Book in 1879; Prairie Farmer, November 14, 1885;
American Hereford Record and Hereford Herd Book, volumes 8-10.
Prairie Farmer, November 14, 1885.
Hale, History of Agriculture by Dates, 60, 61.
2* The quality of the neat cattle of Illinois may be judged from a table in
the appendix, p. 491, showing the pure-blooded and other stock in 1890.
258 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
In the development of beef production which has taken
place in Illinois, two distinct historical stages may be noted;
and the industry seems now to be entering upon a third stage.^®
The first stage was that in which cattle were fed on corn as
the most profitable method by which to bring the corn to
market. The second stage was reached when the ranges were
broken up; the object now became not so much to raise cattle
as a means of marketing corn as to raise corn in order to make
beef. The third stage is that of baby beef making.
The first of these methods is well illustrated by the follow¬
ing comment: "Several droves of cattle have been brought
into Morgan county, during the past week, from Missouri,
for the purpose of putting its immense yield of corn in market¬
able condition, it being the policy of all farmers to send their
staple to market in the form of beef." It was estimated
that one ton of pork could be made from about six tons of
corn, one ton of beef from ten tons of corn, and one ton
of butter from twenty-five tons of corn. Since many farmers
at the beginning of this period had to haul their grain thirty
or forty miles to reach a railroad, most of them preferred to
"make their corn walk to market."
Moreover, it was easy and profitable to raise stock. In
the newer sections there was much open prairie land, covered
with luxuriant grass, where cattle could be herded at a dollar
a head from May to October; then they were turned into
stalk fields, in which gleanings of corn had been left, at a
cost of ten cents an acre. During March and April, clover,
timothy, or prairie hay could be fed to the cattle; these were
Wallace's Farmer, volume 38.
Illinois State Journal, October i, i860. By some, however, native cattle
were preferred to those brought in from other states. Thus Mr. John F.
Alexander of Springfield, who grazed 7,000 head of Texas cattle in 1869,
asserted that this was a losing business and that he intended hereafter to
feed and graze none hut home-grown cattle. Illinois State Journal quoted in
Chicago Tribune, February 28, 1870.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
259
the only expensive months. The total cost of growing stock
under these conditions was about six dollars a head; the cattle
were ready for market in from three to five years, at the end
of which time they sold at about twenty-five dollars a head.
Since the railroads, furthermore, discriminated in favor of
the livestock business, there was considerable profit in this
method of growing beef.
Among the drovers in the early days may be mentioned
Isaac Funk of Bloomington, one of the first to recognize the
value of the prairie lands. Corn was kept before the cattle
all the time in order to secure weight as rapidly as possible.
The large animals were preferred to the small ones; until the
late eighties or nineties little attention was given to the finish
of steers which were sent to market.
After the open prairie land in the state of Illinois was
settled the feeders bought their cattle cheaply from the ranges
on the plains west of the Mississippi river and fattened them
at home on corn. Up to 1895 the number of beef cattle in
Illinois increased at a rapid rate.^^
As a swine breeding state Illinois has always ranked high.
For four decades prior to 1870 importations of improved
breeds had been made steadily, until Illinois had become the
center of pure-blooded swine in the United States. In 1869
an Illinois Swine Breeders' Association was formed with
Thomas J. Crowder, of Springfield, as president.^®
During the twenty-year period the number of hogs in the
state doubled, increasing from 2,703,343 in 1870 to 5,924,818
in 1890. The northern division almost trebled and the central
doubled the average number per farm, while there was an
" For the changes which took place in the production of beef cattle during
this period see table in the appendix, p. 491.
28 Paxton Record, December 4, 1869. For the important facts as to the
increase and distribution of swine during the period 1870-1880 see table in
the appendix, p. 492.
26o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
actual decline in the southern division. This concentration
of hog growing in the corn belt had been going on since 1850,
particularly in the region between the Mississippi, Illinois, and
Rock rivers.
Illinois was also the foremost state in the union in the
excellence of the breeds. In 1880 nearly sixty per cent of
all the breeders of pure-bred swine in the United States resided
in this state. Within its borders were to be found the most
perfect representatives of all the leading breeds. The four
volumes of the American Berkshire Record issued prior to
the close of 1880 give the pedigrees of 1,418 Berkshires bred
in Illinois, and of 1,679 owned in the state; the corresponding
Poland China records register 361 hogs bred in Illinois, and
396 owned here. There were also good droves of Chester
Whites and Essex. The breeding stock in whole counties or
districts was composed largely of pure-bred animals of one
or another of these strains.
Chicago gained prééminence in pork packing in the late
fifties; by 1861 it had passed Cincinnati and had become the
center of the industry. In the thirty-five-year period ending
in 1889 there was a steady increase in the number of hogs
sold in Illinois; but the climax was reached in 1885-1889,
and after that date the industry declined, since the price of hogs
fell more rapidly than did the price of corn, so that it became
less profitable to feed corn to hogs. The industry was fairly
widely distributed throughout the state, though as time went
on the northern division gained at the expense of the southern
division.^®
Sheep raising has always been a very fluctuating industry
in Illinois. In 1840 the figure was a little less than 400,000;
it increased to almost 900,000 ten years later, but fell off
For the more important facts concerning the production of pork see table
in the appendix, p. 492.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
261
again in i860 to 769,135. As a result of the Civil War and
the high price of wool, new interest began to be manifested
in sheep raising, particularly in the raising of Merino sheep.
The wool clip of 1865 was the largest ever produced in the
state, amounting to nearly 12,000,000 pounds from a little
less than 3,000,000 sheep.
With the lessened demand after the war there was a great
fall in the price of wool and of sheep. Merinos which in
1862 or 1863 had been bought at fabulous prices were now
sold for $i to $1.25 apiece. By 1870 the number of sheep
had fallen to half what it had been five years before. This
blow to woolgrowing diverted attention from the Merino to
the mutton sheep, but the number of sheep declined through
the seventies, until it reached the low point of 1,037,073 in
1880. From 1880 to 1883 an enthusiasm developed in cen¬
tral Illinois for long-wooled rams, but it had cooled off by
1884. The decline which then set in continued steadily
until 1890; there were then only 922,631 sheep in Illinois.
Wool was selling for less than it had for some years, and
mutton was only $2.30 per hundred pounds gross, the lowest
price recorded in the history of Illinois.®®
The sheep industry was fairly well concentrated in the central
division, though a temporary increase of sheep in the north¬
ern division in the late seventies put that division in the lead
m 1880. Lake county had over 65,000 sheep in 1890, many
times more than any other single county.
The breeds of sheep changed radically in Illinois between
1865 and 1890. In the former year fully three-fourths of
all sheep in the state were Merinos or their crosses. When
woolgrowing ceased to be profitable the English mutton breeds
— the Lincolnshires, the Cotswolds, the Southdowns, the
ä» For the important facts as to the sheep industry see table in the appendix,
P- 492. 493'
202 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Shropshires, and the Leicesters — were more largely intro¬
duced; and by 1890 the proportion of Merino sheep had
sunk to 31.1 per cent, while the English breeds were 42.7
per cent. The remaining 26.2 per cent were "common"
sheep. The worst showing was made by the southern division,
where nearly half of the sheep were scrub stock.
The demand for a mutton sheep led not only to the intro¬
duction of new breeds but also to a modification of the Merinos
from the Vermont type, weighing only 90 pounds, to a species
developed in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio weighing
160 to 210 pounds, good for mutton, and yielding a fourteen-
pound fleece. Unsuccessful experiments were made with the
French Merino in northern Illinois, in order to secure a high
grade of wool on a mutton carcass; but by 1890 little of this
blood remained.
The first mutton sheep introduced into Illinois was prob¬
ably a grade of Leicester, but by 1890 the Southdowns
were the standard mutton sheep. The latter breed had been
introduced into the state in 1844 by Jesse A. Pickrell.
John Wentworth improved his Southdown breeds and popu¬
larized this strain in the state during the seventies and
eighties.
The Shropshires are a comparatively recent introduction
into the state and have had their greatest development since
1883. Their carcasses were heavier than those of the South-
downs and their mutton but little inferior, while they yielded
larger fleece. The Cotswold was long a favorite mutton sheep
in Illinois, and the cross of the Cotswold on the Merino was
at one time a general practice. Other breeds which were
found in Illinois in 1890, but to a much less extent, were the
Hampshire Downs, Lincolnshires, Oxford Downs, Horned
Dorsets, and Cheviots. The Southdowns and Oxford Downs
were largely centered around Sangamon county, while the
ANIMAL PRODUCTS 263
Shropshires were represented most largely in Will, Vermilion,
Champaign, and De Witt counties.
The number of sheep sold in Illinois between 1875 and
1895, with the exception of the half decade 1880-1884,
showed a steady decline, due, no doubt, to the high price of corn
as compared with the price of mutton. In the eighties the
practice of raising early lambs was successfully introduced.
Farmers with blue-grass pasturage fattened western sheep for
the fall market. The industry was fairly well scattered
throughout the state, though the central division led the other
two.®^ In spite of the decline in the number of sheep, more
wool was clipped during the seventies, owing to the improve¬
ment in the Merino and the long-wooled mutton sheep. During
the next decade, however, the emphasis given to mutton sheep
caused a great shrinkage in the wool clip.®^ The industry was
distributed over the state, the central division leading.
Last on the list of the products of the farm are apiarian
and poultry products. The statistics of eggs and poultry sold
by no means indicate the importance of the hen to the Illinois
farmer, for they take no account of the amount consumed on
the farm. Of the eggs and poultry sold, about half were from
farms in the northern division. The value of both these items
increased from an average of $997,123 for the half decade
1885-1889 to $1,052,639 for the half decade 1890-1894.
The production of honey and beeswax increased almost
threefold between 1870 and 1890, the former growing from
1,547,178 to 4,602,941 pounds, the largest figure recorded.
There was a decided movement in the industry from the eastern
half of the state to the northwestern section during this period,
but it has never become important.
Carman, Heath, and Minto, History and Present Condition of the Sheep
Industry of the United States, 609. See table in the appendix, p. 493.
For actual figures see ibid.
XII. EXPANSION OF BUSINESS, 1870-1878
The financial problems which called for solution in Illinois
during the period 1870-1878 were not essentially differ¬
ent from those which were occupying other states. National
questions of funding and resumption were foremost at the
beginning of the period. The proposed refunding act, by which
six per cent bonds of the federal government, especially the
five-twenties of 1862, were to be converted into five per cent
bonds, called forth emphatic objections from Illinois. The
members of the Chicago Clearing House Association, together
with representatives of several banking institutions in other
parts of the west, sent a memorial to congress protesting that
the bill threatened the national bank note circulation, which was
based upon the ownership of federal bonds. They asserted:
"Even if the National Banks in the East would submit to the
inequality, with other inequities forced upon them by this bill,
that the West could not do it—because they could not submit
to so great a loss on the investment of their capital."^ In
general, the western bankers demanded a resumption of specie
payments rather than a refunding of the national debt,^ but in
spite of their opposition a refunding act was passed July 14,
1870, which converted the outstanding federal bonds at lower
rates of interest.
Although resumption of specie payments was not finally
effected until 1879, there were demands for it in Illinois
throughout this entire decade. Agitation was first directed
against the fractional paper money authorized in 1863, which
1 Chicago Tribune, March 26, 1870.
® Ibid., March 21, 1870.
264
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS 265
had been issued to a total amount of $20,215,635.® These
small notes were easily lost or destroyed and were generally
dilapidated and filthy; and the retail merchants demanded
their retirement and the issue of subsidiary silver coin. " If
Congress would order that no more fractional currency be
issued, except in exchange for torn bills, and that all received
should be cancelled, we might resume specie payments, so far
as retail business is concerned, immediately." ^ Such action
was not taken by congress, however, until 1876.
As early as 1870 an editorial in the Chicago Tribune stated
that the west generally was in favor of specie resumption.
"Whatever weakness may ever have existed at the West in
favor of currency inflation and of depreciated paper is rapidly
disappearing. From nearly all our Northwestern exchanges
we meet with a growing demand for specie resumption." ®
This analysis doubtless reflected the trend of republican
opinion and the Tribune's oWn sentiment on the matter.
The issue of inflation was presented very sharply on the occa¬
sion of President Grant's veto of the so-called inflation bill on
April 22, 1874. A poll of the western press showed that 514
newspapers approved, 408 disapproved, and in were non¬
committal; for Illinois the corresponding figures were: 129
for, 117 against, and 9 noncommittal.®
More important than questions of national finance, how¬
ever, was the subject of banking. After the disastrous failure
of the State Bank in 1848, Illinois, in common with a number
® Knox, United States Notes, 104.
* Chicago Tribune, March 5, 1870.
^ Ibid., March 14, 1870.
' Chicago Tribune, May 13, 1874. An entire page i» given up to thii poll.
Among the papers which were opposed to inflation were the Rock Island Timet
and Argus, Alton Telegraph, Quincy plerald. Galena Industrial Press, Kcwanee
Independent, Cairo Gazette, Jacksonville Journal, Illinois State Register, Illinois
Staats-Zeitung, and Chicago Union. Among those which disapproved the veto
were the Peoria Democrat, Champaign Gazette, Peoria Transcript, Illinois State
Journal, Danville Commercial, Rock Island Union, Chicago Inter-Ocean. The
Chicago Tribune was strongly opposed to inflation.
266 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
of other states, had adopted the free banking or bond deposit
system,'' which came to an end, after a life of twenty years,
as a result of Civil War vicissitudes. The vacuum created by
the abolition of the free state banks of issue was meanwhile
being filled by the incorporation of national banks within the
state. This system was inaugurated in 1863 and within a year
seven national banks were established® in Chicago, Aurora,
Cairo, Danville, La Salle, Monmouth, and Rock Island. By
1865 the number was seventy-six and by 1870 it was eighty-one.
Their growth was steady but slow, due partly to the high
minimum capital of $50,000, which was too large for the
small towns and villages, and partly to political opposition.®
The desire of the framers of the act was to substitute national
for state banks without deranging the business of the institu¬
tion or affecting essentially the volume of bank note circulation.
Several states—Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, New Jersey, and Maine — passed "enabling acts" to
facilitate the transformation of state into national institu¬
tions.'® But political opposition in Illinois prevented the
passage of such an act, even though bills for this purpose were
at various times introduced in both senate and house." The
following table shows the growth in the number and resources
of the national banks in Illinois:
'White, Money and Banking, 340; see also Centennial History of Illinois,
3:93-
® Bankers' Magazine, 18: 617.
° Davidson and Stuve, History of Illinois, 587.
Bankers' Magazine, 19:865, 20:523.
It Opposition to national banks as such also found expression, especially on
the part of those who favored the issue of paper money directly by the govern¬
ment. This, together with the repeal of the national bank act, was urged by a
"convention of citizens of Illinois," held in Ottawa, Illinois, September 9, 1867.
Chicago Tribune, September 10, 1867. Resolutions of similar purport were
passed by the democratic convention in the thirteenth (Cairo) congressional dis¬
trict on August 12 and by the Springfield convention on September 14, 1870.
Ibid., August 13, September 15, 1870. After the organization of the greenback
party there were_ a great many indorsements of these principles by farmers'
conventions, workingmen's meetings, greenback clubs, and similar groups.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS
267
National Banks in Illinois (000 omitted)
Yea»
Number
Loans
Deposits
Circulation
Capital
Undivided
profits
1863
3
$ 186
$ 313
$ 275
$ 5
1865
76
12,228
15,783
$7,495
10,715
832
1870
81
27,82»
21,608
10,132
12,770
i,3fi5
1875
146
49,537
28,287
11,414
19,466
1,939
1880
136
45,662
49,392
8,567
I4,9«5
2,874
1885
165
76,966
68,664
6,877
25,424
2,481
1890
192
122,750
102,696
4,821
3I|222
5,203
Private tanks have always conducted a large part of the
banking business of the state, not only in the small towns and
villages, but also in the largest citiesd® It is estimated that
in i860 there were one hundred and twenty-three of these
banks in the state, and the number probably did not vary much
for several years.^®
In 1867, the year which witnessed the elimination of the
free banks, the legislature organized twenty-five banking
institutions by special charter. The powers of these institu¬
tions varied greatly; some were commercial banks, while
others had savings, or savings and trust, features.^^ In the
same session the legislature provided for the incorporation
of two loan and trust companies and seventy-two insurance
companies.^® Although banking was specifically prohibited in
the charters of several of the insurance companies, they were
permitted to borrow and loan money, and later some of them
developed into banking institutions.
During the following session (1869) charters were granted
by special act to sixty-seven banks, fourteen loan and trust
companies, and fifty-six insurance companies. In none of the
" Moses and Kirkland, History of Chicago, i : 53°: Knox, History of Banking
in the United States, 728.
Bankers' Magazine, 15:54, i9:i33> 7'°-
2 Laius of 1S67, 1: 56 ff.
I» Ibid., 2: 98 ff, 277 ff.
268 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
charters granted were provisions made for reports by the
corporations to any state officer, nor were there any general
laws calling for such reports from any banking institutions
save the few remaining free banks. Probably many of the
charters of the insurance companies were not used for the
purpose designated.
One of the most important and most needed clauses
adopted by the constitutional convention of 1870 deprived
the legislature of the power to pass special legislation. It
provided that " no corporation shall be created by special laws,
or its charter extended, changed, or amended, except those
for charitable, educational, penal or reformatory purposes,
which are to be and remain under the patronage and control of
the State, but the General Assembly shall provide, by general
laws, for the organization of all corporations hereafter to be
created."
The committee on banks and currency made its report to
the convention on April 29, 1870. It is plain that the com¬
mittee did not have in mind provisions which would facilitate
the incorporation of state banks, but that it aimed simply
to limit the power of the legislature in case it should wish to
enact banking legislation.^^ It is further evident from the
report of the committee and from the debates which followed,
if they express at all the sentiment of the people, that there
was little desire or enthusiasm for state banks.
The report of the committee contained eight separate sec¬
tions, of which the first five were adopted with very little
debate.^® They provided (i) against any participation by the
state in banking enterprises; (2) for the submission of bank¬
ing laws to the vote of the people; (3) for the individual
Constitution of 1870, article 11, section I.
^''Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2:1553, 1688.
I' Ibid., 1553, 1678.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS 269
liability of stockholders in banks for the amount of shares
held; (4) against the suspension of specie payments by banks
created by the state; and (5) for the publication of quarterly
reports by state chartered banks.
The next two sections, providing for the taxation of the
paid-up capital of any banking association and of the " capital
actually used" by private bankers receiving deposits, raised
a question that had been a live one for several years and
excited animated debate. Bank shares were taxed in the
hands of the owners, but bank capital was exempt. Many
felt that under this system banks were not bearing their just
share of taxation, and others that the method was unjust. The
two sections were finally stricken out on the ground that these
matters belonged properly to the committee on revenue.
The last section, which was discussed at considerable length
in committee of the whole, may best be given in full :
" Section 8. If a general banking law shall be enacted, it
shall provide for the registry and countersigning, by an officer
of State, of all bills or paper credit, designed to circulate as
money, and require security to the full amount thereof, to be
deposited with the State Treasurer in United States or Illinois
State stocks, to be rated at ten per cent, below their par value;
and in case of a depreciation of said stocks to the amount of
ten per cent, on the dollar below par, the bank or banks owning
such stocks shall be required to make up said deficiency, by
depositing additional stocks. And said law shall also provide
for the recording of the names of all stockholders in such
corporations, the amount of stock held by each, the time of
any transfer, and to whom." From the debate it was apparent
that in the minds of many the national banking system was
not yet a permanent institution and that provision should be
made in the constitution for state banks of issue. It was
feared that national banks would soon be abolished because
270 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
of the political opposition to them. " National Banks," stated
one political faction, "are the great tree of monopoly that
has brought forth much bitter fruit. Railroads and Manu-
facturies are simple branches of it." It was also argued that
as the national banking system would expire by the statute of
limitations in fourteen years, and in any event when the national
debt was paid off, it was desirable to provide a system that
would take its place. Those opposed to the section argued
that, as the state debt would soon be expunged and as the
national debt was being paid off rapidly, the provision that
state bank notes should be based on a bond deposit would be
void. When the question was finally brought to a vote, the
section was adopted;^® and it was finally ratified by the vote
of the people.
Under the new constitution, practically no change was
made in existing legislation on banks until the passage of the
general banking act of 1887. For almost twenty years the
banking business of the state was carried on by national, pri¬
vate, and the comparatively small number of specially char¬
tered state banks. The national banks increased at a healthful
rate, chiefly at the expense of the chartered state banks, which
decreased in number and played no important part in Illinois
banking during this period. The private banks, however,
apparently grew in number and influence.
The orderly development of banking in the state was
severely disturbed by the great fire in Chicago in 1871. The
city's importance as the economic nerve center of an extensive
region made it inevitable that its disaster should have wide
ramifications; the destruction of approximately $187,000,000
of capital®® in a distributing point of such significance was
Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 2; 167S ff.
20 Moses and Kirkland, History of Chicago, 1:208. A very full account of
the fire and all events connected with it is contained in the Chicago Tribune,
October 9, 1872, the first anniversary. See also above, p. 29 ff.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS
271
bound to be felt more or less directly by the whole coun¬
try.
Fire insurance companies, of course, were particularly
affected. Over $100,000,000 in risks were carried in the
burned district by various companies, and claims when adjusted
amounted to over $90,000,000 ; of this only about $38,000,000
was paid at once. Several companies in the east were hard
hit; a number compromised their claims, and a great many
were forced into the hands of receivers who paid only part
of the claims.'^^ Of the Illinois companies involved, many
had only a paper basis, having received their charters by the
careless legislation of 1867 and 1869,^^ and were as a result
completely wiped out by the enormous claims which now arose ;
those which were able to withstand the strain at all could find
in their more careful reorganization and in their strengthened
financial standing some compensation for the ordeal through
which they had passed.
The banks escaped more fortunately than might have been
expected. There were in the city at the time eighteen national
banks with a combined capital of $6,550,000 and twelve
state and private banks with a combined capital of $6,950,000.
All the bank buildings, with the exception of one which was
rendered untenantable, were destroyed; and for a time it was
feared that the whole credit machinery of the city would be
crippled. But the safes were foimd in good condition, and
the banks speedily found new quarters for their business. They
suggested that they pay their creditors by installments, begin¬
ning with fifteen per cent; but this precaution was soon found
to be unnecessary, for instead of balances being drawn out
The policyholders of Chicago organized to protect their interests, and
elected a comraittee consisting of W. F. Coolbaugh, Cyrus Bently, C. B. Farwell,
Marshall Field, C. M. Henderson, J. L. Thompson, J. F. Bonfield, John Crerar,
and Francis Peabody. Chicago Tribune, November i8, 1871.
22 The legislature in these two sessions chartered, under special acts, 128
insurance companies of all kinds. 2 Laws of 1867, 1:98; Laws of i86ç, 2:495.
272 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
deposits were freely made.^® The total loss on discounted
paper resulting from the fire was only $600,000. By Octo¬
ber 17 most of the banks had unconditionally resumed busi¬
ness.
Although during the spring of 1871 there had been some
complaint of slow collections in the country districts, owing to
the low prices of all agricultural products except wheat and
the consequent unwillingness of farmers to sell their products,
the movement of the new crops had begun by the end of
July, considerably earlier than usual. Consequently, the usual
demand for currency for crop moving purposes was felt.
New York exchange declined to 75 cents per $1,000 discount
but even at that price could not be obtained in sufficient quan¬
tity, and some of the banks ordered currency shipped to them.
By October, at the time of the fire, the money paid out to the
farmers was already coming back to the banks ; and by Novem¬
ber, in spite of the temporary interruption, deposits had
become so large that the banks were complaining of idle funds.
In January, 1872, the condition of the money market was
described as " plethoric."
These funds, however, could not long be permitted to
accumulate in banking institutions. Building operations began
almost before the ashes of the fire had cooled and continued
until interrupted by the panic of 1873.®® The building trades
boomed, real estate rose enormously in value ; and many banks,
especially savings banks, made large and unwise loans upon
speculative values. A branch of the Bank of Montreal was
opened in Chicago in order to facilitate credit operations and
to attract English capital, which, as had long been the case
with eastern capital, saw now the chance to profit by the high
Report of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1872, p. xxiv.
Chicago Tribune, June 9, July 31,_ November 11, 24, 1871, January 15, 1872.
" The activity in building is calling every dollar of available capital into
use.'' Ibid., April i, 1872.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS
273
interest rates prevailing in Chicago and the west generally and
sought investment there.^®
Although not enjoying a stimulus comparable to that felt
by the building trades and a few cognate industries, most other
activities recovered within a surprisingly short time. Com¬
merce and trade especially revived quickly, for the demand
for necessaries on the part of a population of over one hun¬
dred thousand had to be met; and the grain and livestock
trades were scarcely affected at all.^^ The most severe sufferers
were the manufacturing industries, for the machinery destroyed
in the fire could not be replaced at once, while loanable capital
was needed in the work of rebuilding the burned structures.
Nevertheless; reconstruction made steady progress.
This promising industrial revival after the fire was nipped
in the bud by the panic of 1873, which everywhere made
retrenchment necessary. Not only in Illinois but throughout
the United States and even in Europe every department of
economic activity was affected in some degree by this financial
crash, which came as the logical result of a long period
of industrial expansion and inflated credit. The five years
preceding the panic had seen remarkable expansion in railway
building; the average annual amount of new building in the
United States from i860 to 1868 was 1,499 miles; in the next
four years almost 25,000 miles were built. To this total the
western states contributed over half, practically doubling their
2« Colbert and Chamberlin, Chicago and the Great Conflagration, 330.
Eight per cent was offered in 1871. Chicago Tribune, April 5, 1871. In the
fall of 1872 there was a marked stringency; "even on call loans money is not
to he had at less than 10 per cent, instead of 8 per cent and 6 per cent, as in
times when funds are abundant." Ibid., September 7, 1872. A loan of $1,000,000
for twenty years at six per cent, secured on some of the best business property of
the city, was placed in London this year.
Except in so far as an opportunity seems to have been afforded for
manipulation by speculators. An oat corner was attempted hut collapsed in June,
and a similar fate overtook a wheat corner in August. Ibid., June 19-20, aiid
August 23-29, 1872. In 1874 the legislature passed a law prohibiting dealing in
futures, which went into effect July i.
274 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
mileage between 1868 and 1872. The Chicago and North¬
western and the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul railroads
were being extended with particular rapidity. In Illinois the
growth of railway mileage between i860 and 1868 had been
only 650 miles; but beginning with 1869, when Illinois had
a railway mileage of 4,031 miles, there was a rapid expansion,
the mileage in 1872 reaching 6,361 miles.^®
Clearly, the building of new railway facilities was pro¬
ceeding much more rapidly than the population required.
The money to finance this construction, which was estimated
at $1,755,000,000 for the five years ending with 1873, or
$351,000,000 annually, had been raised by the sale of bonds
abroad and in the domestic money market. In addition, bonds
and stocks of states, cities, manufacturing corporations, and
mining companies had been floated. Most of these were sold
abroad; and when the foreign demand fell off, the bonds of
railroads and other enterprises which were in process of con¬
struction were forced upon the home market until their nego¬
tiation became almost impossible. It was discovered later
when the panic came that in many cases the institutions which
were the first to go to the wall were heavily involved in
financing western railroads.^®
This great extension of railway facilities brought about
important changes in agricultural, industrial, and commercial
organization and production. Not only was a vast amount
of capital sunk in improvements, many of which were far in
advance of the real needs of the country and which brought
Poor, Manual of Railroads, 1873-1874, , p. xxvii, xxix.
Thus the New York Warehouse and Security Company, a grain and
produce house, had financed the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad; Kenyon,
Cox and Company had indorsed $1,500,000 of the paper of the Canada Southern
railroad; Messrs. Jay Cooke and Company had made large advances to the
Northern Pacific railroad; the Union Trust Company had loaned $1,750,000 to
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroad. Commercial and Financial
Chronicle, 17: part 2, p. 382.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS 275
in but small returns on the capital invested,®® but the opening
of such large areas of fertile land and their consequent rapid
settlement disturbed the price of grain and revolutionized the
status of the farmers. The rapid development of railway
construction, moreover, created an unprecedented demand for
iron and steel and gave new activity to mining; the develop¬
ment of these basic industries led to overinvestment and was
attended by land speculation on a large scale. There seemed
to be no limit to the possibilities of successful expansion in the
industrial world; profits were large, prices were inflated,
optimism ran riot.
The commercial situation, however, was not healthy.
For years the United States had been borrowing abroad,
first on account of the Civil War and later for the purpose
of financing her railways and other industrial undertakings.
It is estimated that the total foreign indebtedness incurred
by the people of the United States between 1861 and 1868
was $1,500,000,000.®^ With the proceeds from the sale of
their bonds and other securities they had been buying large
amounts of commodities from Europe, as is clearly shown in
the large excess of imports during these years. By 1873 the
supply of bonds was exhausted, and it became necessary to
pay for imports with a corresponding amount of exports, or
with gold, or else to restrict importation. Like a spendthrift
who appears to be flush as long as he can draw bills on the
future, the people of the United States had been expanding
their enterprises with borrowed capital and now were called
upon to meet their bills. Moreover, this foreign indebtedness
had brought with it an annual burden of interest, estimated in
1868 at $80,000,000, while payment to foreign owned vessels
>0 The dividends on the capital stock of all railways in the western states
were 2.83 per cent in 1872. Poor, Manual of Railroads, 1873-1874, p. Hi.
't Dewey, Financial History of the United States, 371.
276 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
for freight, expenditures of American travelers abroad, and
other items, brought the total annual payments up to about
$130,000,000. To meet these demands it became necessary
to export specie, thus seriously disturbing the domestic money
market.
The monetary situation, too, contributed its share to the
panic. The circulating medium of the country consisted of
United States notes (greenbacks) and national bank notes.
After the Civil War the policy of retiring the former was
begun, but was checked in 1868, when the outstanding issue
was $356,000,000. In 1870 and again in 1871 the secretary
of the treasury reissued some of these notes, thus adding to
the currency of the country and giving an additional stimulus
to speculation, though the notes were soon retired again. But
the supply in actual-circulation, that is, outside the treasury,
was increased from $314,704,000 in the middle of 1869 to
$346,168,000 in 1872.®^ At the same time the issues of
national banks were expanded from $291,800,000 in 1870 to
$315,500,000 in 1871, and to $333,500,000 in 1872.
In the expansion of bank credit the Illinois institutions
showed a growth even greater than the nation as a whole.
This is shown in the following brief table:
National Banks in Illinois (000 omitted)
"Vear
Number
Loans
Deposits
Circulation
1869
83
$32,924
$18,923
$ 9iSi9
1870
81
27,821
21,608
10,132
■871
110
36,223
28,720
13,644
1872
132
43,069
32,595
15,600
'873
134
44,768
32,564
15,262
From this table it is seen that deposits and circulation
together increased 65 per cent in four years. Here was abun-
Noyes, Forty Years of American Finance, 17.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS 277
dant stimulation to industrial and commercial expansion, as
well as to purely speculative enterprises. It is impossible to
present similar statistics for the state and private banks in
Illinois, for these were not collected prior to 1873. It is
probable, however, that they contributed to the prevailing
expansion by the extension of their loans and the corresponding
growth of their deposits.®®
Another way in which the prevailing banking practice
contributed to bringing on the panic of 1873 the custom
of concentrating the bank reserves in the reserve cities, espe¬
cially in New York. The country banks were required to
hold a reserve of 15 per cent of their deposit liabilities but
were permitted to deposit three-fifths of this with banks in
the " redemption cities," as they were then called. In all four
years between 1869 and 1872 they held far more than the
legal requirement; but in 1872 of the $102,000,000 counted
as their reserve $57,000,000, or considerably more than
half, had been deposited with reserve city banks. Their
power to withdraw money from the city banks was therefore
considerable.
There were two classes of reserve cities. In fifteen cities,
banks might become agents of country banks; but the banks
of these cities must keep a reserve of 25 per cent of their
deposit liabilities. Half of this reserve, however, could be
deposited with the banks of the central reserve cities. Until
1887 New York City was the only one in this class, so that
this system permitted a serious concentration of reserves in
the banks of this one city. In 1872 the fifteen reserve city
banks held reserves to the amount of $79,000,000, but
$33,000,000 of this was deposited in New York City banks,
giving these reserve city banks in their turn a large drawing
power upon the New York banks.
Report of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1887, i : 228.
278 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The New York City banks in 1872 held reserves of
$65,000,000, or 29.1 per cent of their demand liabilities.
While this was above the legal minimum, it cannot be con¬
sidered sufficient in view of their responsibilities as the final
repositories of the bank reserves of the country. They held
in this year $81,000,000 of bankers' balances; fifteen of the
fifty New York banks held practically all of this, while seven
of them held between 70 or 80 per cent of these deposits.®^
Moreover, according to the very careful analysis of their
condition given in the report of the national monetary commis¬
sion by Professor Sprague, it appears that the position of these
few banks was by no means a strong one. " It is clear, then,"
he wrote, "that with this situation in New York an emergency
would cause serious disturbance if it should lead to the with¬
drawal of any considerable amount of money by the outside
banks, and there could not be the slightest doubt that this
would be done or at least attempted."®®
One of the reasons for the concentration of bankers'
deposits in New York was the payment of interest, running
as high as four per cent, on such deposits by some of the
banks in that city, among which the seven mentioned above
were numbered. This had at least two very undesirable conse¬
quences. It caused outside bankers to send money to New
York in order to earn something on their deposits while still
counting them as reserves; and it forced the New York banks,
in order to pay this interest, to keep their reserves unduly
low and to loan their accumulated funds on call.®® The only
Sprague, History of Crises under the National Banking System, i*.
^^Ihid., 18.
" The prevailing pracUce, not only of national banks, but of State banks
and private bankers, of paying interest on deposits attracts currency from all
parts of the country to the large cities, and especially to New York, the great
financial centre. At seasons of the year when there is comparatively little use for
currency elsewhere, immense balances accumulate in New York, where, not being
required by the demands of legitimate and ordinary business, they are loaned on
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS 279
people who borrowed from the banks in this way were specu¬
lators on the stock exchange. There was thus established a
close connection between the bank reserves of the country and
stock exchange dealings.
But the evils resulting from the payment of interest upon
deposits were by no means confined to the New York banks,
or even to those of the reserve cities. " It may be safely said
that this custom, which prevails in almost every city and village
of the union, has done more than any other to demoralize the
business of banking. State banks, private bankers, and asso¬
ciations under the guise of savings banks, everywhere, offer
rates of interest upon deposits which cannot safely be paid by
those engaged in legitimate business."
Every year the interior banks withdrew money from the
reserve cities for the purpose of moving the crops. In 1873
this movement began early in September and resulted in a
withdrawal by interior banks of their deposits in New York
City, which in turn resulted in a contraction of loans. In the
third week of this month the whole house of cards fell in ruin.
The New York banks were unable to stand up under the strain
imposed upon them and many of them failed. The excitement
and general distrust which followed the first suspensions caused
a general and rapid calling in of loans; this in turn pre-
call at a higher rate of interest than that paid to depositors and are used in
speculation.
" Every year, at the season when the demand sets in from the West and South
for currency to be used in payment for and transportation of their agricultural
products, there occurs a stringency in the money market arising from the calling
in of such loans to meet this demand.
" Until this year, though annually creating some embarrassment, this demand
has been met without serious difficulty. . . .
" This year there was a great demand for currency to pay for the heavy
crops of a bountiful harvest, for which the European countries offered a ready
market. The suspension of certain large banking houses, the first of which
occurred on the i8th day of September, alarmed the people as to the safety of
banks and banking institutions in general. Suddenly there began a rapid calling
in of demand loans and a very general run on the banks for the withdrawal of
deposits." Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, 1873, p. xi-xii, 92.
Ibid,, 95-96.
28o
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
cipitated the failure of other houses. There was a great fall
in the prices of stocks, runs on some of the banks occurred,
and a general feeling of distrust and panic grew up. On
September 20 the New York Stock Exchange was closed, to
remain so for ten days.
Relief was brought to the financial community in two ways.
The federal government purchased bonds to the amount of
$12,000,000 and exchanged $17,000,000 of currency for
certificates of deposit held by the banks. By January, 1874,
the government had purchased $26,000,000 of bonds with
legal-tender notes. This action, however, had little effect in
staying the course of the panic, as it was "tardy, timid, and
insufficient."
More important in lessening the demands upon the banks
for cash was the issue of clearing house certificates. These
were issued by the New York banks to a total amount of
$26,505,000, beginning with $10,000,000 on September 22
and continuing until January 14, 1874, the date of their final
cancellation.®® By thus pooling their reserves the New York
banks were enabled to devote their energies to meeting the
demands of the interior banks. Liberal remittances were sent
to Chicago and to other centers. But the drain was more
than they could stand, and on September 24 a partial suspen¬
sion of specie payments was declared. This was followed by
a premium on currency in terms of certified checks and clearing
house certificates, amounting to about four per cent on Sep¬
tember 30.^® Foreign exchange rates went up and a temporary
blockade set in.
The worst effects of this were felt in the grain and produce
markets. In Chicago it was reported that " the shipping
Kin ley, The Independent Treasury of the United States and Its Relations
to the Banks of the Country, 201.
Conant, History of Modern Banks of Issue, 656.
*" Chicago Tribune, September 24, 30, 1873.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS
281
movement was partially paralyzed by the news from New
York that sterling exchange was unnegotiable." The move¬
ment of wheat and meat products to the Atlantic ports fell
off, and in consequence the elevators and stock yards became
crowded to their utmost capacity, and shipments from primary
markets were necessarily refused by the railroads. The price
of wheat fell sharply—from $1.13 on September 19 to 90
cents on September 24. The following week foreign exchange
dealings were resumed, and shipments were renewed, bringing
a rise in the price of wheat, which sold above $1.00 on Sep¬
tember 29.
The suspension in New York was quickly followed by
similar action in most of the secondary money centers. When
the New York banks failed to respond to the demands of
their correspondents, these in turn were not able to meet the
demands of their correspondents. Exchange on New York,
which would otherwise have commanded a slight premium,
was at a discount and to a considerable extent unavailable. In
Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, New Orleans,
Cincinnati, and St. Louis the issue of clearing house loan
certificates, and at the same time the use of certified checks,
payable through the clearing house, were sanctioned as a
measure of relief.^^
The Chicago banks declined to resort to the issue of loan
certificates, thereby drawing upon themselves considerable
criticism. The situation was never so serious in this city as
in the east, however, and the need of clearing house certificates
was not so pressing. The banks were able to effect all clear¬
ances with currency; and at a meeting of the bankers in the
Clearing House Association to consider the question of issuing
clearing house certificates, a motion was adopted, by a decisive
Chicago Tribune, September 20, 25, 1873.
*2 Sprague, History of Crises under the National Banking System, 15.
282
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
vote of twelve to four, declaring that under the circum¬
stances it was " inexpedient to issue any Clearing-House cer¬
tificates."
Whatever may have been the situation elsewhere, there is
no doubt that the condition was improving daily in Chicago.
In the first place, and most important in the money stringency
which always accompanies a panic, a steady stream of cur¬
rency was flowing into the city. On Wednesday, September 24,
receipts by express of about $500,000 were reported, and as
much the following day. After this the daily inflow rose to
$2,000,000 and then to $3,000,000, so that for the week ending
Thursday, October 2, a total of $16,165,000 had been received
through the express companies alone. " In addition to this,"
said an editorial in the Chicago Tribune, "there were several
persons reached Chicago yesterday to purchase grain, espe¬
cially barley, at the reduced prices: each of these persons
brought his currency with him. Brewers and distillers who
can command the money are making the best of the market
by cash purchases." It was estimated that currency to the
amount of $250,000 was brought into the city in this way on
that single day.
This large movement of currency into Chicago, it may
be said, was a normal one and would have occurred in even
larger measure if the panic had not interrupted it. The crops
had already begun to move eastward and were being paid for
in cash. The Chicago bankers therefore occupied a strategic
position, as eastern buyers had to secure the grain and remit
cash for it. Indeed, as one writer put it, " if we demand
diamonds and rubies for what we have to sell, we shall get
Chicago Tribune, September 36, 27, 28, 1873. The action of the meeting
was commended by the Tribune: "not to adopt the loan certificate plan in vogue
in New York, which is simply a system of requiring the creditor banks at the
Clearing-House to take their balances in the bills receivable of the debtor banks
at 4 per cent discount instead of taking them in greenbacks."
Ibid., September 27, 1873.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS 283
them." The crops had heen very large, and in consequence
the demand for currency in the east had been heavy for several
weeks prior to the panic. Indeed, the unusual abundance of the
crops made the situation more difBcult.
The Chicago banks were able to weather the storm for
several days, but on the morning of Friday, September 26,
five national banks were forced to suspend. These were the
Union, the Cook County, the Second, the Manufacturers, and
the Bank of Commerce ; and these were followed two days
later by the Third National. The Union National and the
Cook County National resumed business on Monday, Septem¬
ber 29; but the former was forced the following day to go
into liquidation. The suspension of this bank gave a greater
shock to confidence, not only in Chicago, but throughout the
west, than any other incident connected with the panic. In
one respect, however, the failure of this bank helped to relieve
the drain for currency from Chicago, for it had held probably
one-third of the country bank deposits in the city, and the
country demand was now reduced by that much.^®
Notwithstanding the strong position of the Illinois banks
as a whole, the lack of currency brought about in the state a
partial suspension of cash payments which was apparently
only a little less general than in the east. On September 24
the Clearing House Association in Chicago voted to recommend
the suspension of currency payments on any large demands
made upon the banks either from the country banks or over the
counters. Similar action was reported from Bloomington,
Peoria, and Danville, where it was decided to pay only small
checks in currency, giving certified checks, if desired, for the
balance. There was, however, great diversity of opinion as
to what constituted a "small check;" some banks paid $25,
<5 Chicago Tribune, September 25, 1873.
ïhid., September 27, October 2, 1873.
284 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
some $i,ooo, and others 25 or 30 per cent of a depositor's
account.^^
A complicating factor was hoarding on the part of indi¬
viduals; this seems to have continued until about the middle
of October, after which it was less appreciable. A far more
serious cause of disturbance from the suspension of payments
was the dislocation of the domestic exchanges. In making pay¬
ments at a distance local substitutes for money will not serve,
and the failure of some banks to remit cash to other banks
for drafts and checks sent to them soon brought business to a
standstill. In Chicago the exchanges were completely blocked
for a few days, and serious derangement continued for a longer
period.
" The effect of the financial panic on the transportation
business has been very serious," said the New York Tribune,
"railroad freight on all the principal lines from New York
to the West has fallen off since the beginning of the panic
from 25 to 50 per cent. . . . The eastern-bound freight,
which consists mainly of grain, has not been so seriously
affected as yet, but unless western buyers, who are compelled
to pay greenbacks to the farmers for grain, are supplied by
the banks with something besides certified checks, they say
that the movement of produce eastward will soon cease."
During the progress of the panic and afterwards the loans
of the banks throughout the country were contracted, both on
the part of the reserve city banks and of the country banks.
The most severe contraction among city banks was in Chicago,
where loans were reduced from $25,300,000 on September 12
to $19,000,000 on October 13; they were at the latter figure
on November i. By some writers this was attributed to the re-
Chicago Tribune, September 25, 26, 27, 1873. When this action was taken
the Chicago Times announced in flaming headlines that all the banks in Chicago
had suspended, a statement which did much to increase the panic and induce a
run on the banks by country banks and depositors.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS 285
fusai of the Chicago banks to issue clearing house certifi¬
cates.*®
Although complete data are lacking, it is possible to get
a fairly clear picture of the situation in Illinois during this
period. For the western states in general the following table
shows the movement of the principal itenls :
Condition of Country Banks in Western States, 1873"
Datk
Loans
Circulation
Deposits
September 12
October 13
November i
$123,854,884
IIM33>97°
111,549,204
$59,659,474
60,253,336
60,475,600
$92,856,762
75,541,162
70,772,060
Date
Due from
redeeming agents
Legal-
tenders
Specie
September 12
October 13
November 1
$17.993,614
8,029,701
7,981,507
$14,085,0x1
16,341,748
16,199,236
$246,003
217,680
Ï75.52Î
It is evident that loans were contracted about 10 per
cent between September 12 and November i; that deposits
fell off about 24 per cent; and that while there was only a
slight increase in the reserve, the ratio of reserve to liabilities
rose considerably, so that the banks were in a relatively
stronger position at the latter date than at the former. But
this safety was secured in part by a curtailment of loans, and
in even larger measure by recalling their balances from the
reserve city banks, the amount due them being reduced from
$18,000,000 on September 12 to $8,000,000 on November i.
<8 Report of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1873, p. 142.
«»The following states are included: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska. The date of September 12
was that of the regular report of the national banks; special reports were called
for on October 13, the day on which the New York city banks held the smallest
amount of legal-tender notes during the crisis, and on November i, the day on
which the banks resumed currency payments. Report of the Comptroller of the
Currency, 1873, p. 94.
286
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
It is impossible to present as complete data for Illinois
banks alone, but the following tables show the amount and
character o^ the reserves held at the specified dates by the
national hanks in the state and in Chicago :
Reserves of Illinois National Banks, 1873"
Datx
Number
of banks
Liabilities
to be pro¬
tected by
reserve
Reserve
required,
15% of
liabilities
Reserve
held
Per cent of
reserve to
liabilities
Cash
Due from
redeeming
agents
September 12.
October 13...
November i..
1x6
116
117
$2S>734,O87
23,636,920
22,606,596
$3,860,113
3,545,538
3,390,989
$6,185,002
5,543,677
5,497,015
24.0
23.5
24.3
$2,346,149
2,901,252
2,866,665
$3,838,853
2,642,425
2,630,350
Reserves of Chicago National Banks, 1873"
Dati
Number
of banks
Liabilities
to be pro¬
tected by
reserve
Reserve
required,
25% of
liabilities
Reserve
held
Per cent of
reserve to
liabilities
Cash
Due from
redeeming
agents
September 12.
October 13...
November i..
18
18
18
$30,021,086
25,051.552
25,400,816
$7,505,272
6,262,888
6,350,204
$8,814,904
8,243,366
7,775,9'3
29.4
32.9
31.1
$5,236,282
5,444,986
5,324,392
$3,578,622
2,798,380
2,451,521
The significant point in both these tables is the fact that
while the percentage of their liabilities held as a reserve was
always well above the legal requirement, especially in the case
of the country hanks, yet the character of the major part of
this reserve was such as to occasion trouble the moment the
hanks tried to bring it into their own hands. Almost 60 per
cent of the reserves of the country hanks on September 12
consisted of balances due them, so that their actual reserves
on hand, instead of being 24 per cent, were only 9.1 per cent
of their liabilities.
The per cent of reserve to liabilities held by the Chicago
^"Report of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1873, p. 130.
Ihid., 142.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS
287
banks, 29.4, was the lowest, with three exceptions, reported
at any quarterly period within the past six years, and even of
this small percentage over three-fifths was in the form of sums
due them from other hanks. Their actual cash reserve on
hand on September 12, a week before the beginning of the
panic, was only 17.4 per cent instead of 25 per cent. As a
result of this situation the Chicago banks were compelled to
strengthen their reserves, first, by calling in their deposits
from the New York banks (over $1,000,000 being secured
in this way between September 12 and November i), and
second, by contracting their loans, the principal effect of which
was to reduce their liabilities in the form of deposits.®^ This
meant the denial in many instances of needed accommodation
to their customers. The practice of permitting the national
banks to count as part of their legal reserve sums deposited
in other banks, with the resulting concentration of reserves in
New York City, here brought about its logical consequences.
The effects of the panic did not cease with the banks, but
reached all other lines of activity. Railway construction fell
off rapidly. In Illinois the high water mark for fifteen years
was reached in 1871 with 1,197 miles; this declined to 170
in 1874, and after a temporary revival in 1875 fell off again
until in 1877 only 59 miles of new road were built — the
smallest amount in a decade. In sympathy with the cessation
of railroad building the production of iron and steel declined.
This greatly depressed prices; blast furnaces, rolling mills,
machine shops, and foundries ceased work; and many men
were thrown out of employment. The consumption of pig iron
Report of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1875, p. 134-135. "The
resumption of discounts has been, in one sense, very limited. A large portion of
the paper -which has fallen due during the last fortnight has been paid only in
part. . . . This overdue or partly paid paper has been renewed or extended.
There have been discounts in a few cases of entirely new paper, and at notes
not exceeding ten per cent on short time, the collaterals being local securities of
established values." Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1873.
288
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
— which is the best measure of the aggregate iron industry —
fell off from 2,500,000 tons in 1874 to 1,090,000 tons in 1876
for the United States as a whole; for Illinois the correspond¬
ing figures were 37,946 in 1874 and 54,168 in 1876. The
price of bar iron fell from $96 a ton in January, 1873, $4°
in January, 1879, which is equivalent to a drop of one-half
even after making allowance for the resumption of specie
payments in the latter year.
The agricultural interests of the state also suffered. It
was estimated by the Illinois state board of agriculture®® that
the corn crop yielded a profit to the farmers of the state in
only one of the seven years 1872—1878; this was in 1875,
when there was a combination of large yield with good prices.
The crop of 1874 was the smallest during this decade, and
though prices were high the returns to the farmer were insuffi¬
cient. In other lines good crops were secured in 1874, 1875,
and 1876; but this was partially neutralized, so far as the
producers were concerned, by a considerable decline in prices.
The prices for wheat to Illinois farmers during the years 1874,
1875, and 1876 were the lowest since 1870.
After the first stages of the crisis had run their course
and liquidation had taken place, a long period of depression
ensued. Large amounts of idle currency accumulated in the
banks, prices were low, profits small, and few new enterprises
were begun. Rigid economy was practiced by all, both from
lack of means and by reason of timidity. The year 1876 began
auspiciously, but the excitement of the election checked business
transactions in the closing months.®^ The prices of corn and
wheat remained fairly steady. The following year witnessed
a considerable increase in the price of wheat, which, coupled
with abundant harvests, added largely to the wealth of the
" Statistical Report of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture, 1916, p. 5.
Bankers' Magazine, 28: 394, 29:398; Financial Review, 1877, P- 't
1878, p. I.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS 289
farmers; the price of corn, however, still remained low and
did not recover until 1879. The disastrous railroad strikes in
July, 1877, and the agitation of the silver question by congress
in the fall prevented the manufacturing, mercantile, and bank¬
ing businesses from expanding.
In 1877 there occurred in Chicago the so-called "savings
bank crash." It is estimated that in 1872 there were in Chi¬
cago eighteen savings banks with deposits of $12,013,000;®®
most of them were commercial banks, state or private, which
carried on the savings business as a subordinate branch,
exposing it, accordingly, to all the risks of ordinary banking.
Some eight banks failed: the Merchants', Farmers', and
Mechanics' Savings Bank,®® the Fidelity Savings Bank, the
Third National, the Central National, the German National,
the German Savings Bank, Henry Greenebaum and Company,
and the German-American Savings Bank.®^
The cause of the failure of these savings banks can in part
be traced back to the panic of 1873, their deposits were
invested largely in Chicago real estate, which shrank greatly
in value during the succeeding years. Overloans and general
mismanagement, however, were also responsible. The shock
to public confidence as a result of these failures, involving as
they did the savings of artisans, mechanics, and laborers,®®
destroyed for many years the usefulness of savings institutions
in Chicago.
In consequence, the savings of the people were diverted
into another type of savings institution, which became very
popular in Illinois, namely, building and loan associations. The
Moses and Kirkland, History of Chicago, i : 530.
®®This bank made a particularly discreditable showing, having been looted
by the president and cashier so that it could pay only ten per cent of the deposits
to the depositors.
'^''Industrial Chicago, 4:180; Chicago Banker, 1:271; Chicago Tribune,
September 14, 1877.
Ibid., September 14, 1877.
290
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
first association of this type in Chicago was incorporated in
1869, but not until the passage in 1879 of the law governing
them were any considerable number organized.®® After 1883
their growth was very rapid throughout the state.
Reforms in the laws governing banking were demanded
throughout this period. A bill was introduced in the legis¬
lature in 1874 providing for the organization of state banks
on the same general lines as national banks, with the addition
of a trust feature, but it met with the vigorous opposition of
the presidents and other officials of the State Savings and the
Fidelity banks of Chicago, who secured its defeat.®® In his
message of January, 1875, the governor urged the passage
of a banking law; and the Bogue bill, introduced in the ensuing
session of the legislature, called for quarterly statements from
banks organized under state charter; but no action was taken,
and the bank system of the state continued to be " one of
almost complete irresponsibility." ®^
Postal savings banks were urged in order to provide safe
depositories for the savings of the working people and, after
the savings bank failures, a demand was made for a savings
bank law; but for a decade no law was passed to provide for
the organization of such institutions. In 1887, however, the
general assembly passed a savings bank act,®® the chief pro¬
visions of which may be summarized as follows :
Any thirteen persons or more, citizens of the state, two-
thirds of whom should reside in the county where the proposed
society was to be located, could organize a savings bank. The
trustees were to own unincumbered real estate worth in the
aggregate at least $100,000, situated in the county where such
"Moses and Kirkland, History of Chicago, 1:531.
Industrial Chicago, 4:186. The failure of both these banks within three
years made clear the reason for their desire to be free from supervision.
Chicago Tribune, January 11, 14, 1875.
Lavjs of 18S7, p. 77 ff.
EXPANSION OF BUSINESS
291
society was to be established. No trustee could accept pay for
his services or borrow from the bank. The deposits were to
be invested only in the following securities : ( i ) stocks or
bonds of the United States ; (2) of the state of Illinois; (3) of
any other state which had not within three years defaulted in
the payment of principal or interest; (4) of any city, county,
town, or village of Illinois; (5) of any city or county in the
New England states or New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska,
Wisconsin, or Minnesota; (6) in the stocks of any national
bank or state bank or trust company chartered in Illinois; (7)
in the mortgage bonds of any railroad company of approved
credit located in any of the states aforesaid; (8) in bonds or
notes and mortgages on unincumbered real estate located in
any of the states aforesaid, worth at least twice the amount
loaned thereon; (9) in real estate for the transaction of its
own business or upon foreclosure of mortgages held by it.
The aggregate amount received as deposit from any one
person was limited to $3,000. Banking powers of discount
were prohibited, and provision was made for annual reports
and for biennial examination by the superintendent of banking.
Two savings banks, the Decatur Mutual Savings Associa¬
tion and the Chicago Society for Savings,®® were organized
under this act in the next two years. But before the usefulness
of the act could fairly be tested it was declared unconstitutional
on the ground that it had not been submitted to a vote of the
people, as required by the constitution. Since the act had
prohibited these associations from exercising ordinary banking
powers, the legislature had not considered this a banking act.®*
" Report of the Auditor of Publie Accounts, 1888, p. xii.
Reed et al. v. People ex rel., 125 Illinois, 592. Governor Oglesby con-
lidered vetoing the bill because no provision was made for its submission to the
people, but finally decided this was not necessary. Chicago Tribune, May 15,
33, 1887.
292 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
No provisions for the organization of savings banks have
since that time been passed in Illinois, and few institutions
which are devoted solely to that purpose exist in the state.
Very little actual legislation affecting banking found a place
on the statute books between the adoption of the constitution
and the passage of the general bank act in 1887. By an act
of 1875 foreign corporations were authorized to loan money
in the state and to take real estate as security for such loans,
but they were specifically prohibited from exercising banking
powers and privileges. In 1879 greater protection to deposit¬
ors was provided by a law making the receiving of deposits
by any bank officer, after the actual insolvency of the bank, an
act of embezzlement; and the converting of a bank's funds to
the private use of any bank officer, larceny. This was aimed
against abuses which had characterized the bank failures in
1877. At the same time savings banks were forbidden to
become liable as guarantors.®®
Laius of i87¡, p. 65 ; 1879, p. 113 £E.
XIII. FINANCIAL PROBLEMS, 1878-1893
HE year 1878 marked the end of the long depression
which had followed the panic of 1873, ushered in a
remarkable trade revival which was felt throughout the whole
country, and not least in Illinois. Unusually large crops in
1877 gave the first presage of returning prosperity; and the
repetition of bountiful harvests in the next few years breathed
new life into the whole structure of business, especially as a
lighter crop than usual in Europe in 1879 and following years
created a strong demand for grain for export, and so main¬
tained prices on a high level.^ Of the prosperity resulting
from this remarkable combination of circumstances Illinois
enjoyed her full share.^
The corn crop of 1879 was 305,913,377 bushels, a record
which has but rarely been surpassed since; and the wheat
crops of 1879, 1880, and 1882 were the three largest in
the history of the state.® The total value of cereal crops
1 The prices of corn and wheat at the end of 1878, when the European
harvests were good, had fallen to the lowest point they had reached in the
decade. Financial Review, t879, p. a. The price of corn to the Illinois farmer
was twenty-two cents a bushel, while that of wheat was only eighty cents.
Statistical Report of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture, August i, 1915, p. 4,
December i, 1915, p. 5.
2 " Mr. Chairman Wright, of the depression committee, frankly confesses to
having seen and heard much that astonished him in Chicago, and to having been
thoroughly impressed with the truth of the statements of the manufacturers and
business men regarding the marked increase of general prosperity that has been
visible in this city for more than a year past. He found things he did not expect
to see, such as a community of men engaged in mammoth manufacturing and
mercantile operations who paid cash for what they bought and required cash
for what they made or sold, and who declared that there was an abundance of
money with which to carry on their business; and he failed to find there a city
full of starving mechanics and workingmen unable to find employment." Chicago
Tribune, August 2, 1879.
ä The figures are: 1879, 45,417,661 bushels; t88o, 56,508,409 bushels; 1882,
52,323,261 bushels. For the crop of 1881, see note 9.
294
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
increased from $520,000,000 in the half decade 1870-
1874 to $630,000,000 in the period of 1875-1879, and to
$690,000,000 in the following five years. The effect of these
large crops was to stimulate industrial, commercial, and finan¬
cial undertakings along all lines; a "boom" period was
ushered in which continued until checked by the panic of 1884.
Railroad earnings rose at once^ and gave impetus to new
building; the mileage in the state increased steadily from
7,570 miles in 1879 to 8,909 in 1884.® While in other parts
of the country the large earnings led to stock watering by the
declaration of stock dividends,® this seems not to have occurred
to such a large extent in Illinois, as the capitalization of the
railroads in the state for the two years 1879 and 1880 remained
the same — $231,000,000. In the half decade 1879-1884,
however, the mileage of the roads increased only 18 per cent
while the capital stock increased 40 per cent,'^ which suggests
that the gain in earning power was ultimately capitalized.
It was but natural that speculation should be a concomitant
of the new prosperity. One of the most disastrous ventures
was the attempt by J. Keene and others to corner the Chicago
wheat market in 1880. The corner finally broke with large
loss to the people concerned; and the price of wheat declined
* The amount paid out in interest and dividends by the railways of Illinois
was $17,053,730 in 1878 and $24,986,503 in 1879. Poor, Manual of Railroads,
1879, p. vii, 1880, p. vii.
® The figures as to the growth of railroad mileage in Illinois do not ade¬
quately indicate the changes which were making Chicago the great distributing
center of the west, for the greatest growth was taking place in those railroads
which lay outside the state of Illinois, but were tributary to Chicago. The most
prominent corporations which were largely increasing their mileage during this
period were the Chicago and Northwestern, with a total mileage at the close of
the year 1880 of about 2,800; the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, with
3,700; and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy, with 2,800. These companies
watered their stock largely during this period. Thus in 1880 the Chicago, Rock
Island, and Pacific Company doubled its stock through a " scrip dividend " of
one hundred per cent; the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy issued a twenty-
eight per cent stock dividend. Noyes, Forty Years of American Finance, 64-65.
^Financial Review, 1881, p. 1.
'Poor, Manual of Railroads, 1880-1885, passim.
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS 295
sharply, from $1.59 per bushel in January to $1.03 in Sep¬
tember. More successful was the effort of Armour and
Company of Chicago to corner pork; after controlling the
whole market supply of the country for some months, this
ring closed out with a large profit in the autumn.®
The following year, 1881, speculation in breadstuff s was
especially flagrant. Taking our short crops and the small
stocks in Europe as a basis for their operations, the specu¬
lators in Chicago seized the markets in August and from then
until November held control of them, crowding up the prices
of wheat and corn to such a point that exports were seriously
checked and stocks accumulated. In November and December
the usual decline from such an artificial movement followed,
resulting in loss to many who had been engaged in it.®
In spite of the excesses of speculators, however, the clos¬
ing years of the decade were years of really solid prosperity.
The best evidence of this is afforded by that faithful indicator of
commercial conditions, the record of business failures." The
year 1880 as the low water mark was in all respects regarded
as a record-breaking era of prosperity.^^
^Financial Review, 1881, p. i, 2.
®The wheat crop in Illinois was a disastrous failure in 1881, averaging only
seven and one-third bushels to the acre and yielding 22,374,163 bushels, as against
56,508,409 bushels for 1880. This was the smallest harvest in twenty years.
While the small yield was compensated for in a measure by higher prices — $1.07
per bushel in 1881 and 82 cents in 1880 — the total value was only about half as
much as for the preceding or for the following year. The corn crop in 1880 was
fair, but in 1881 was a decided failure, only four years between that date and
1915 showing a smaller yield. In 1879 the number of bushels produced was
3°5)9t3i377i '^^o it was 250,697,036; and in i88t it was 174,491,706. The
high prices obtained for the small crop of i88i, however, made the total value
nearly equal to that of the year 1879. Statistical Report of the Illinois State
Board of Agriculture, August i, 1915, p. 4, December i, 1915, p. 5; Financial
Review, 1882, p. i.
to See appendix, p. 494.
11 " Perhaps there has never been a more satisfactory or prosperous year in
the career of any nation than the last year has been for the American people.
The peculiar merit of this prosperity was its genuineness and substantiality; it
was not wildly illusive as was the apparent prosperity of the years following the
War and preceding the panic. . . . The influx of foreign labor has certainly
exerted a salutary and important influence in discouraging strikes, lock-outs, and
296
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
With the year 1882 came a slackening of speed in the
business world, and the following year was one of steadily
increasing depression in commercial and financial affairs, cul¬
minating in the panic of 1884. In Chicago, however, the large
liabilities of 1883 made that year more serious than the year
of the panic itself. Bank clearings, which are a fair index of
business prosperity, in 1884 fell off ten per cent from the total
of the previous twelve months.A run of minor importance
was made upon some of the Chicago banks, but it was without
serious consequences. There were no national bank failures
in Chicago and only two in the state,due to a general shrink¬
age of values which occurred not only in Illinois, but through¬
out the country.
The year 1885 showed a quick recovery from the tempo¬
rary depression, for business was sound at bottom. Except
for the almost complete failure of the wheat crop, conditions
in Illinois were healthy.^® The upward movement continued
during the next few years, though it was interrupted by the
switchmen's strike in Chicago in 1886 and other labor troubles
of that year, and in 1887 by the attempted corner in wheat
carried on by Chicago and California cliques.
These were hard years, however, for Illinois farmers, for
the rapid settlement of the western lands was glutting the
other labor disturbances which might have occurred if there had been a scarcity
in the supply of labor. . . Railroad-building has received a remarkable
impetus during the past year. . . . The growth of manufactures has kept
pace with the extension of the railroads. Far more coal has been mined and iron
and steel made than in any previous year. . . . We would be safe in saying
that the amount of building has been 50 per cent greater than any year since the
panic." Chicago Tribune, January i, 1881.
Industrial Chicago, 4:181.
These were the First National of Monmouth and the Farmers' National of
Bushnell. Report of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1914, 2; 114.
Ibid., 1884, p. 40.
'"The average yield per acre of wheat was only seven bushels in 1885, the
smallest in the history of the state since i860. The total yield was only 8,299,243,
the smallest between i860 and 1915 with one exception. Statistical Report of
the Illinois State Board of Agriculture, August i, 1915, p. 4.
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
297
markets with an enormous amount of grain. In 1889 the
price of corn in Illinois was only 23 cents, the lowest point it
had reached in ten years, the lowest in fact with one exception
in twenty-five years. The price of wheat to the Illinois farmer,
after the failure of the pool in 1887, fell to 65 cents a bushel,
which was the lowest price since 1860^® and was not reached
again until 1893. It was in general a period of falling prices,
which affected adversely industrial and commercial enterprises.
The growth of mortgage indebtedness may sometimes be
interpreted optimistically as an indication of hopefulness and
energy which make it desirable to mortgage the future for
the sake of immediate improvements which will yield a larger
return. During this period, however, the increase in the mort¬
gage indebtedness of Illinois farmers must be regarded as a
sign of depression and of a sevère struggle against adverse
conditions.
Mortgages on Illinois Farms, 1870-1887 "
'O
y. «
Yea*
U bO
a>
il bo
"S M
«a M
S rt
B "S B
0 AJ
t. B
'S M
s 0
^Ubo
c"
Ü t- c
A. «y r
s M
<9 U
u
rt'rj
t2
^ S
go s
< Ë
<.S 2
1870
69,931
6,609,673
$125,337,391
61.5
38.5
9-4
31
1880
83,150
7,048,322
112,367,054
76.6
23.4
7.6
3-5
1887
92.777
8,082,794
147,320,054
80.0
20.0
6.9
3.8
As the table shows, the number of mortgages and the
number of acres of farm land under mortgage increased
steadily between 1870 and 1880. The decline in the value
of the mortgage indebtedness was due to a decrease of
$19,000,000 in the farm mortgages in Cook county, resulting
possibly from the transfer of this land to the category of
town lots or city property. During the eighties the increase
in all three of these items was especially rapid, and this must
Chicago Tribune, June 15, 1887.
Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of Illinois, 1888, part i.
298 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
be attributed to the severe agricultural depression of this
period, which resulted from the opening up of the northwest
and the consequent fall in the price of grain. This view is
borne out by the fact that a larger proportion of the mort¬
gages was for loans and a smaller percentage for deferred
payments on the land. The only bright feature in the table
is the decline in interest rates, but this may be interpreted in
part as a sign of stagnant enterprise and idle money in the
banks.
It will also be noted that the foreclosures of mortgages
increased fifty per cent between iSSoand 1887. In the former
year the number of farm mortgages foreclosed in Illinois was
810, with a total valuation of $1,204,598; and in the latter
year it was 1,223 with a value of $1,892,535.^® Most of the
mortgages were executed in the northern and central divisions
of the state. Only a small proportion was held by nonresidents
of the state, most of whom lived in Connecticut, New York,
and Wisconsin.
The year 1891 witnessed a repetition, on a smaller scale,
of the combination of circumstances which had made 1879
such a fortunate one for the farmers — the unusual combina¬
tion of an immense wheat crop in the United States coupled
with a famine in Russia and partial crop failure in France,
leading to very high prices." The stimulus thus given to
general manufacturing and mercantile business was felt
throughout the year 1892 in improved conditions, and this
year was singularly free from any great or unexpected dis¬
asters in the business or financial world. Unfortunately,
however, the panic of the next year was to prove that this
was merely the calm before a storm.^"
Report of the Bureau of Lahor Statistics of Illinois, 1890, p. 206.
Financial Review, 1893, p. 3.
The panic of 1893 is discussed in Centennial History of Illinois, 5: 394-420.
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
299
To revert to the developments in banking, there is to be
noted as the most important event the passage of the state
bank act of 1887. This was the first general act on this subject
which had been passed since the adoption of the constitution
in 1870, and, with a few amendments, is the present state
banking law. The more important provisions of this act are
as follows ; Any association of persons desiring to organize
a bank under the provisions of this act is to apply to the audi¬
tor for permission. If he is satisfied after a thorough exam¬
ination, he may give the association a certificate authorizing it
to commence the business. Double liability of stockholders
is provided for; reports are to be called for once every three
months; and an annual examination of the bank is to be made
by the auditor. Banks are forbidden to own real estate, except
the banking premises. Not more than one-tenth of the paid-in
capital may be loaned to any one individual or firm. The
capital stock must be not less than $25,000 in towns of less
than 5,000 inhabitants, and $50,000 in those of 10,000 inhab¬
itants. All corporations with banking powers existing by
virtue of special charters were made subject to the provisions
of the act.^^
Laws of 1887, p. 89 ff.
Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts, 1890, i:xiii ff.; Laws of 1887,
p. 89 ff. The auditor ascertained that twenty-six banks of this sort were operating
in the state, as follows:
Name Location Capital
Alton Savings Bank Alton $100,000
Bank of Illinois
Belleville Savings Bank
Chicago Trust and Savings Bank
Corn Exchange Bank of Chicago
Dime Savings Bank
Enterprise Savings Bank
Home Savings Bank
Illinois Trust and Savings Bank
International Bank
Northwestern Bond and Trust Company.
People's Bank of Rockford
Pullman Loan and Savings Bank
Springfield Marine Bank
Chicago
Belleville
Chicago
Chicago
Chicago
Cairo
100,000
150,000
350,000
1,000,000
69,475
50,000
5,000
Chicago
Chicago
Chicago
Chicago
Rockford
Pullman
1,000,000
486,000
100,000
125,000
100,000
Springfield
85,500
300 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
After the act had been submitted to a vote of the people
and ratified, it was discovered that by error no provision had
been made for the establishment of banks in cities of over
10,000 inhabitants.^® An amendment the next year, accord¬
ingly, provided that banks could be organized in cities of
10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants with a minimum capital of
$100,000, and in cities of over 50,000 inhabitants with a
capital of at least $200,000. Another amendment provided
that each director must hold in his own name at least ten
one hundred dollar shares of stock of the bank in which he
was director.®^
An adequate state banking law had long been needed in the
state, and much interest was manifested in the new system.^®
The Chicago Economist commented on the situation as follows :
" The law will have a great influence on the financial and
commercial affairs of the State. . . . The National banks
now have a great lead, and will hold their prestige for a long
time yet unquestionably, but the very basis of their existence
is threatened by the reduction in the National debt, and no
new basis has yet been discovered. In this city many efforts
to form new financial institutions have been put forth in the
Name Location Capital
The East St. Louis Bank East St. Louis 40,000
The Elgin City Banking Company Elgin ¿0,000
The Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank Galesburg 100,000
The Hibernian Banking Associatiop Chicago 111,000
The Merchants' Loan and Trust Company Chicago 2,000,000
The Moline Savings Bank Moline none
The Montgomery County Loan and Trust Company.. Hillsboro 50,000
The People's Bank of Bloomington Bloomington 100,000
The Sangamon Loan and Trust Company Springfield 5^,323
The Union Trust Company Chicago 500,000
The Workingmen's Banking Company East St. Louis 50,000
Western Trust and Savings Bank Chicago too,000
Total $6,890,298
Chicago Tribune, November 28, 1888.
Laius of i88q, p. 58, 59.
Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts, 1890, i:xix.
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
301
past few years, but the great difficulty has been to secure the
right sort of a charter. Nearly all the old hank charters
have been rendered valueless by one cause or another, and
capitalists naturally dislike to organize under the unlimited
liability or partnership. Organizations can now he formed
with only the same liabilities and under substantially the same
conditions as those of Eastern cities. We shall accordingly
have in this city new State banks, trust companies, mortgage
loan companies, etc., and throughout the State local banks will
spring up."
During the first few years after the ratification of the bank
act the state banks increased rapidly in number and in capital,
loans, and deposits. By November, 1890, fifty-four permits
for organization had been issued and twenty-four banks were
operating. The loans and discounts totaled $48,025,615 and
the combined capital of the banks was $10,212,500." Two
years later one hundred and ten permits had been issued, the
loans and discounts had risen to $76,647,599, and the com¬
bined capital to $17,512,500.^®
In addition to the savings bank act and the general bank¬
ing act, already described, the legislature in 1887 passed a
third act providing for the organization of trust companies.
The following are the more important provisions of this law:^®
Any corporation incorporated under the laws of the state for
the purpose of accepting and executing trusts may be appointed
assignee, or trustee and executor. The amount of money which
any such corporation shall have on deposit at any time must
not exceed ten times the amount of its paid-up capital and
surplus, and its outstanding loans must not exceed that amount.
Each company, before accepting any such appointment or
Quoted in Bankers' Magazine, 43: 870.
^''Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts, 1890, p. xiv; 189z, p. xiv.
Ibid., 1892, p. xiv.
Laws of 1887, p. 144 ff.
302
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
deposit, must deposit with the state auditor $200,000 in stocks
of the United States or of Illinois or in approved mortgages
on real estate.®® Every company must procure from the
auditor a certificate of authority before accepting any trust
or deposit. Annual reports and examinations must be made,
and more frequent reports may be called for.®^
The finances of the state reflect in a general way the trend
of the times in private business. Expenditures, which had
been over $13,000,000 for the biennium ending in 1872 and
almost $12,000,000 in 1874, declined to less than $9,000,000
in 1876 and remained below the high figures of 1872 and
1874 for twenty years thereafter.®® It was, of course, not
possible to make any considerable reduction in state expendi¬
tures, as most of the funds went to the support of public insti¬
tutions or for work which could not be curtailed without
serious inconvenience or even suffering. Retrenchment and
economy, however, were the order of the day; and in spite
of the growth of population the expenditures were held down
to practically a fixed amount, so that by 1892 the total dis¬
bursements of the state were still under $11,000,000 for the
biennial period. Revenue remained constant; and after a rather
serious deficit of $2,452,143 in 1871-1872, there was no
year in which the discrepancy between receipts and expenditures
resulted in either a large surplus or an embarrassing deficit.
The small deficits of 1879-1880 and of 1885-1886 were
easily taken care of the succeeding year; the deficit of 1891 -
1892 marked the beginning of a series of lean years, but the
'"In 1897 this section was amended so as to provide for a deposit with the
auditor of securities worth $200,000 in cities of over 100,000; for those with less
than 100,000 population the deposit need be only $50,000. Provision was also
made for larger deposits in case the estates held exceeded ten times the amount
thus deposited, and for subsequent reductions. Laius of iSq7, p. 187.
^^The Illinois Trust and Savings Bank of Chicago was the first company to
qualify under this act. Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts, 1888, p. xii.
Report of the Efficiency and Economy Committee, 1050.
INCREASE OF STATE RECEIPTS, EXPENDITURES, AND TAXES, 1871-1892
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
303
consideration of this period does not properly belong here.®®
The table on page 304 shows the main expenditures of the state
during this period, grouped according to the most significant
purposes.
The deficit of 1871-1872, it may be noted, was due to
extraordinary and unexpected expenses. There were first of
all the additional expenses of an unusually long session of
the legislature, which was necessary in order to revise the
statutes so as to harmonize them with the newly adopted
constitution of 1870. For the same reason the item of print¬
ing was exceptionally large both for this and for the next
biennium. Then the Chicago fire made it necessary to expend
about $1,000,000 annually for each of the four years 1871-
1874 to repair and reconstruct bridges in Chicago which had
been destroyed. Most important of all, however, was the
payment of almost $4,000,000 on the public debt.®^
Throughout the period there was an appreciable increase
in the amount required by the administrative officers, owing to
the higher schedule of salaries provided by the constitution
of 1870, and to the larger number of people employed as the
volume of work expanded with the growth of the state. The
judiciary, too, found it necessary to make gradually increasing
demands for funds. The legislature, however, was singularly
modest in its requirements, and its items show very little
variation.
For purposes of higher education additional special out¬
lays, amounting during the twenty years to $210,000, were
33 See Centennial History of Illinois, 5:421 ff. The table on the fol¬
lowing pages shows expenditures of the state for 1871-1892. In constructing these
tables it has been necessary to regroup the items as presented in the auditor's
biennial reports, where the arrangement is arbitrary and generally without
significance. This criticism may be made of most statistical reports published
by our state governments. For a statement of the items included under each
of the headings in the table see appendix, p. 495 ff.
3< Smaller payments in successive years completely expunged the debt
by 1882.
304
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
State Expenditures, 1871-1892
Administrative offices
General assembly
Judiciary
Bienkium
Salaries
Other
expenses
Pay and
mileage
Other
expenses
Salaries
Other
expenses
binding, and
stationery
I
la
II
11a
111
111a
IV
1871-72—
$ 49,600
$51,325
$475,453
$33,568
$318,634
$77,235
$124,724
1873-74...
81,082
57.313
296,560
12,756
386,758
64,730
207,356
1875-76...
86,016
46.355
152,923
5.483
360,922
19.079
79.637
1877-78...
91.494
56.470
228,723
9.236
426,630
52.834
81.271
1879-80...
94.750
67.733
208,510
12,742
484.747
56.394
78.906
1881-82...
9«.275
64,608
281,717
16,664
501,288
59.328
90,796
1883-84....
94.766
65,210
246.555
13.175
501,701
58,768
81,222
1885-86...,
97.378
72,834
287,367
21,876
506,756
59.298
118,566
1887-88....
97.800
64.473
255.630
29.940
517.721
60,381
95.074
1889-90...
98,006
67,076
255.134
15.779
547.787
78.356
110,665
1891-92....
104,452
68,425
230,756
16,355
533.507
72,801
90,350
Educational institutions
Charitable institutions
Penal and correctional
institutions
Militia and
military
affairs
Current
expenses
Other
expenses
Current
expenses
Other
expenses
Current
expenses
Other
expenses
V
$ 69,233
83.723
82,879
102,579
112,966
130,728
153,262
»50.954
176,206
176,002
189.752
Va
$208,869
134.895
17.664
79.696
20,700
32,613
29,613
130,013
83.519
32,813
176,288
VI
$ 592.299
681,019
768,268
892,040
1.034.399
1.173.972
1.321,189
1.606,334
1.893.154
1,890,404
2,122,520
Via
$542.078
755.796
275.217
544.769
366,893
428,306
643.906
603,580
539.597
529.611
744.597
VII
$180,216
103,800
100,879
241.390
303.925
385.987
304.935
311.847
334.318
312,585
416,532
Vila
$189,123
20,839
18,140
164,103
262,823
153.883
80,457
133.049
149,402
81,132
208,932
Vlll
$ 9.729
8,165
7.976
39.454
138,182
143.878
275,860
273.693
334.768
210,346
285,124
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
305
State Expenditures, 1871-1892
Statehouse
and
executive
mansion
Public
schools
Public
health
Internal im-
provements
and public
works
Agri¬
culture
Industrial
supervision
and
statistics
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
$ 818,443
$1,825,792
$2,062,087
$17.500
$ 18.149
1.063,984
2,029,390
2.444.619
21,600
34.449
715,228
2,020,466
185.424
22,000
39.412
242,411
2,022,380
$ 1,669
146.193
32,100
34.773
45.427
2,020,914
8.766
11.333
36,300
40.899
57.246
2,132,126
12,847
10.950
35,700
55.370
48.130
2.133.224
16,673
10.965
40,800
69,882
419.236
2.132.084
24.522
10.950
42,800
82,727
259.982
2,109,144
20,744
10,965
47.800
187.771
70,323
2.132.659
25.248
10,950
51.500
110,065
54.516
2,130,898
18,861
30.965
47.023
116,189
Bienniuu
1871-72.
1873-74..
1875-76.
1877-78.
1879-80
1881-82.
1883-84
1885-86
1887-88
1889-90
1891-92
Refund taxes
Historical
Fish and game
conservation
monuments.
State debt
Miscellaneous
Total
improperly
paid
payments
celebrations,
and exhibits
payments
expenditures
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
$162,011
«84.337
$1.334.343
2.297.949
$3.913.767
674.557
$133.315
107.569
$13,207,030
11.754.282
442.473
2,508,623
960,042
68,725
8.983,831
36.528
2.255.470
946.651
160,242
8,879,088
48.665
2.218,565
$ 1.997
527.287
320,035
8.583.909
7.924
2.393.569
4.390
265,854
209,371
8,747.394
61,855
2.518.297
7.026
134,986
8.948.457
1.273
2.779.039
13.133
i6i}i8S
10.034,501
657
2,824,888
14.714
$ 1.771
249.817
10,360,236
769
2.924.969
19,861
3.243
110,223
9.825,510
1,038
2.696,334
19.520
251.931
78.362
10,706,028
3O6
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
made for the construction of buildings for the Illinois Indus¬
trial University; while an equal amount was assigned to
the Southern Normal University: $160,000 in 1872-1873
to erect new buildings, and $150,000 in 1885 —1886 to replace
the buildings which were destroyed by fire in 1885. The
common schools, which had already become well organized
before 1871, continued with practically no variation.
Part of the increase in expenditures for charitable institu¬
tions was due to the taking over by the state of duties formerly
performed by the local governments, but another large part
was due to the fact that with the furnishing by the state of
improved facilities for caring for the insane, the feeble-minded,
the deaf and dumb, and the blind, many persons were sent to
state institutions who formerly would have been cared for at
home. Closely analogous are the expenditures for penal and
correctional institutions. A number of new buildings were
erected, and the state assumed a larger share of the care of
those classes, which previously had been defrayed by the local
governments.®® As the labor of the convicts in the state peniten-
"The following are some of the more important items which caused the
increase in expenditure for group vii;
1871-1872: reform school, $30,000; a large part of the remainder went to
meet indebtedness of the state penitentiary.
1873-1874: reform school, $57,500; conveying convicts to the penitentiary
and reform school, $36,000; fugitives from justice, $10,000.
1875-1876: about the same as 1873-1874.
1877-1878: conveying convicts, $45,000; fugitives from justice, $32,000;
largest item was payment of accumulated indebtedness of Northern
Illinois penitentiary.
1881-1882: Southern Illinois penitentiary, $230,000.
1891-1892: asylum for insane criminals, $23,000.
For group vila some of the new or variable items were as follows:
1871-1872: reform school, $70,000.
1877-1878: Southern Illinois penitentiary, $143,000.
1879-1880: Southern Illinois penitentiary, $200,000.
1883-1884: reform school, family building, $30,000.
1885-1886: reform school, kitchen, bakery, dining room, etc., $54,000.
1887-1888: Southern penitentiary, cell house, $40,000.
1889-1890: Southern penitentiary, cell house, $40,000.
1891-1892: state reformatory, $40,000; asylum for insane criminals, $50,000.
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS 307
tiaries was managed under the contract system during this
period, the expenses of maintenance were kept unusually low.
The mounting expenditures for the care of the dependent, de¬
fective, and delinquent classes, taken together, marks the
development of a greater sense of social responsibility for these
groups on the part of the commonwealth; it evidences also a
growth in numbers of these classes which is entirely nor¬
mal, being inevitable with the constant expansion of the pop¬
ulation.
Expenditures for militia and military affairs partake both
of the character of defense and of police duty. For the first
three biennial periods, 1871-1876, the only expenditures made
by the state which were chargeable to this group were those
of the adjutant general and his department. After this the
expenses of the Illinois national guard are included, although
they were carried on the auditor's books under a special fund,
called the "military fund," until 1884. The expenditures of
the adjutant general and his department varied from $20,000
to $50,000 during this whole period; the expenses of the
national guard showed a normal growth due to larger
enlistments in this body and also exhibited very great fluc¬
tuations in some years when troops were mobilized for strike
duty, as the state had to bear the entire expense of their
maintenance on such occasions, sometimes for considerable
periods.
Expenditures for internal improvements and public works
had all but ceased in Illinois with the completion of the Illinois
and Michigan canal; and they remained insignificant until the
state embarked in 1909 upon a program of improving the
state roads. Practically the only outlays on this score, there¬
fore, were the sums occasioned by the cost of rebuilding the
bridges across the Chicago river, which had been destroyed
in the Chicago fire of 1871, and other extraordinary expendi-
3o8 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
tures for the repair of the Illinois and Michigan canal and
the improvement of the Illinois river.®®
Somewhat more important at this time were the expendi¬
tures for the heterogeneous functions brought together in the
above table under the title " industrial supervision and statis¬
tics." While the small expenditures under the head of public
works show the disinclination of the people to have the state
undertake the ownership and operation of public utilities, the
growth of this other group of expenditures illustrates the need,
which is felt in all modern states, of regulating and supervising
more carefully the methods of private business, for the sake of
protecting both workers and consumers and of preventing
practices injurious to the welfare of the whole community.
Following the adoption of the constitution of 1870, a rail¬
road and warehouse commission was established in 1871 with
important powers of supervision and regulation of railroads
and public warehouses. By the establishment of this com¬
mission Illinois was the leader in the movement for public
regulation of railroads, and the litigation as to the constitu¬
tionality of this act resulted in an important judicial decision —
in the case of Munn v. Illinois — upholding the power of the
state to regulate business affected with a public interest. This
commission remained in existence until superseded by the
public utilities commission on January i, 1914.
In 1877 state humane agents were appointed at Chicago,
East St. Louis, and Peoria; beginning with a modest $2,400
The following sums were expended for these purposes:
1871-1872: Illinois and Michigan canal, $227,696; canal commission, $11,-
000; bridges, etc., in Chicago, $1,823,391.
1873-1874: Illinois river improvement, $154,221; practically all the remain¬
der for repairing damage done by Chicago fire.
1875-1876: Illinois river improvement, $156,906.
1877-1878: Illinois river improvement, $83,789; Illinois and Michigan canal,
$51,453-
1879-1880: Illinois river improvement, $368.
1891-1892: Illinois and Michigan canal, $20,000.
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS 309
a year their expenses slowly increased to about $10,000 a year.
The commissioner of labor statistics dates from 1879 with
an appropriation of $3,500 a year, which has grown to about
$50,000. With 1881 there began the expenditures for the
state board of livestock commissioners and state veterinarian,
which have swelled from $1,687 the first year to over
$200,000. Mine inspectors and examiners date from 1883
and have added to the expenditures from $6,846 in the first
year to about $100,000 today.
A few other items, though not involving large expendi¬
tures, serve to show the widening complexity of the state's
activities. In 1880 was established the fish commission. In
1877 the board of health was created to fill an obvious social
need; while its scope was limited during this period, it never¬
theless succeeded in establishing itself firmly as a definite
agency of the public service. Another new field was opened
up in 1888 when the Lincoln homestead was purchased as an
historical monument; and in 1891—1892 about $250,000 was
appropriated to the World's Fair celebration. Ever since then
there has been a regularly recognized group of expenses for
monuments, exhibits, and celebrations of various kinds, the
demand for which has grown with the passing years.
To secure the revenue needed to meet its expenses the
state was making use of an antiquated tax system, which was
only partially modified during the ensuing decade. The con¬
stitution of 1870 made some changes in the article on revenue"
as it had stood in the constitution of 1848, but the necessary
state revenue was to be obtained as before, principally by
taxing the owners of property in proportion to the value of
the property owned. According to the terms of the new consti¬
tution, (i) the capitation tax was omitted; (2) the list of
objects which could be specially taxed by the legislature was
ST Constitution of 1870, article IX, section 1-13.
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
greatly increased by adding to the specified " pedlars, auc¬
tioneers, etc.," liquor dealers, insurance, telegraph and ex¬
press interests or business, venders of patents, and corpo¬
rations owning or using franchises or privileges; hut it was
provided that all such special taxes should he imposed by
general law, uniform as to the class upon which it operated;
(3) the exemption clause was made more specific and some¬
what longer; (4) general regulations were substituted for
detailed provisions with regard to tax sales and redemptions ;
(5) limits were placed upon tax rates for county purposes
and upon local indebtedness; (6) special assessments for local
improvements were authorized. For forty-six years these
provisions remained unchanged except for an amendment in
1890 authorizing the city of Chicago to issue $5,000,000 in
bonds on account of the World's Fair.
In 1872 the general assembly revised the tax law to make
it conform with the changes in the new constitution, and this
law still forms the basis of the present system of state taxation.
This act defined in greater detail the rules for listing and
valuing property, increasing the number of items that must be
scheduled under personal property; it provided for the review
and equalization of original assessments by county boards ;
and it reorganized the state board of equalization, adding to
its duties that of assessing railroad property and the capital
stock of Illinois corporations.
Under this system the general property tax still remained
the backbone of state and local finance. Where the township
system of organization existed, each township was to elect an
assessor; where there were no townships the county was made
the unit for assessment purposes. The local assessor was to
assess all property at its fair cash value ; real estate was to be
listed and valued by the assessor, but in the case of personal
property the owner himself was required to list it; if he failed
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
to do so, then he was assessed according to the assessor's best
judgment.
During the next decade about ninety per cent of the state
taxes were derived from the general property tax.®® As long
as Illinois remained an agricultural state and the forms of
the wealth of her citizens were such as to make them easily
ascertained and valued by the assessor, the general property
tax was fairly well administered. But as new industries and
forms of wealth developed and as corporate securities and other
kinds of intangible personalty multiplied, it became increas¬
ingly difficult to ascertain all taxable property and to assess it
fairly.®®
Estimated True Value and Assessed Valuation of Property
Yzak
Estimated
true value
Assessed
valuation
Percentage
which
assessed value
made of
true value
1850
$ 156,265,006
$119,868,336
76.8
i860
871,860,282
367,227,742
42.1
1870
2,121,680,579
480,664,058
22.7
1880
3)210,000,000
786,616,394
21.4
1890
5,066,751,719
808,892,782
16.0
It appears from the above table that there was a great
decline in the proportion of the true value that was assessed
for taxation from 1850 to 1890. In the former year most
of the wealth in the state consisted of real estate and farm
implements and livestock, but by 1890 other forms which could
easily be concealed had multiplied to such an extent that only
äs See appendix, p. 500.
5' That these facts were realized by the members of the legislature which
passed the revenue act of 1872 is evident from the debates on this measure. The
topics debated at greatest length were those of deduction of indebtedness and
listing of credits.
312 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
one-sixth of the true value was returned for taxation.^" On
the other hand, attention may be called to the census estimates
of true value, showing that the wealth of the people of Illinois
was rapidly growing during this period.
An innovation was made in the tax law of 1872 which
was designed to reach some of this growing wealth at the source
by taxing the corporations which were producing it. The tangi¬
ble property of corporations could be fairly easily ascertained
and assessed by local officials. But this by no means always
measured their total taxability. Many of them had valuable
franchises which every increase in population and wealth of
the community made more valuable. Tangible property was
not a sufficient index of earning power or of ability to pay
taxes. The law of 1872 accordingly sought to ascertain and
assess the value of the franchise as well. Tangible property
continued to be assessed by the local officials as before; but
the "corporate excess," that is, the value of the securities of
corporations, less the value of their property assessed locally,
was to be ascertained and taxed by the state board of equal¬
ization.^^ In 1875 "companies and associations organized
for purely manufacturing purposes or for printing, or for
publishing of newspapers, or for the improving and breeding
of stock" were released from assessment by the state board,
which meant in practice release from assessment on their cor¬
porate excess. But even in the case of those corporations
which the law directed should be assessed, the work of assess¬
ment was so inefficiently performed that the true corporate
excess was not reached. The corporations either failed to make
^"The state board of equalization had passed the following formal resolution
in 1870: "That it is the opinion of this board that the aggregate assessment of
the property of the State for the year 1870 is not more than one-fifth of the true
value of all the property in the State." Chicago Tribune, October z8, 1870.
The state board of equalization, organized in 1867, consisted of the state
auditor of public accounts and one member elected from each congressional dis¬
trict. It was, therefore, cumbersome and unwieldy.
FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
313
reports to the state board of equalization of the capital stock,
funded debt, and assessed value of their tangible property, or
they made defective or erroneous reports with a view to
reducing their assessment. On the other hand, the state
board, clothed with insufficient power, performed its work in
a very inefficient manner. The decline both in number of
corporations assessed and in valuation of their corporate
excess is shown in the following table
Assessments of Corporate Excess by the State Board of Equalization
Date
1873
1874
1875
1880
1885
1890
Number of
corporations
assessed
Net assessment of
capital stock
and franchise
207
$20,730,057
224
11,719,216
100
4,802,112
29
2,179,460
114
3,791,623
305
6,956,909
Though the decade 1880-1890 showed an improvement in
the latter respect, no adequate assessment of corporations was
secured until compelled by the courts a decade later.^®
The assessment of railroad property, which had previously
been made by local assessors, was now also divided between
these and the state board of equalization, the former assessing
the railroads upon their tangible property and the latter upon
their corporate excess, except in the case of the Illinois Central
railroad, which was exempted from ordinary taxes by virtue
of its payment into the state treasury of a percentage of
its gross receipts. The first effect of the introduction of this
new scheme of assessment, under the law of 1872, was to
*- Moore, Taxation of Corporations in Illinois other than Railroads, since
1872, p. 93. , . .
" See Centennial History of Illinois, 5:444-445.
314 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
increase the valuation of railroad property in the state from
$25,568,784, in 1872, to $133,520,633, in 1873." But here
also a shrinkage soon appeared, which reduced the assessment
to $40,461,865 in 1878; after this date the assessment moved
slowly but steadily upward, reaching $75,310,524 in 1890.
The corporate excess, however, which was found to be
$64,611,071 in 1873, dwindled rapidly until in 1877 it dis¬
appeared entirely. For the next twenty years the railroads
paid taxes only on the value of their physical plant.
Taxes were received also during this period from banks
and insurance companies under special modes of taxation; and
department fees and some miscellaneous items added a few
thousand dollars each year. For local purposes the general
property tax was almost the only source of revenue, though
local districts were permitted to impose a poll tax and the road
tax was often paid in labor at the rate of $1.25 or $1.50 a day.
"Haig, A History of the General Property Tax in Illinois, 210.
XIV. RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION, 1870-1893
OWING to its strategic position between Lake Michigan
on the north and the Ohio river on the south, below
which the country is mountainous and broken, Illinois is prob¬
ably the most important railroad state in the union. All the
trunk lines between east and west thread their way across this
state, with the exception of a few southern roads, while prac¬
tically all the through lines from north to south in the central
states have one of their termini at Chicago. Indeed Chicago
is the terminus for all the more important lines stretching to
the Atlantic, to the Pacific, to the Gulf of Mexico, and to the
northwest, while the more southerly lines, north of the Ohio
river, pass through East St. Louis, Illinois, which is opposite
St. Louis, Missouri. Owing to the presence of these trunk
lines and their branches, and the local coal roads, Illinois has
long boasted of the greatest railway mileage of any state in the
union.^
Down to 1869 only one year, 1856, had seen over 350
miles of railroad constructed in a single year in Illinois. In
that year the Illinois Central was completed and the maximum
building record of the state—1,348 miles — was attained.
Beginning with 1868, however, an era of railroad construction
set in, which continued until interrupted by the panic of 1873.^
These years were marked by a notable activity in railroad
building in all parts of the country, especially in the west. The
construction in 1869, 1870, and 1871 for the United States as
^ See appendix, p. 501.
^ The new mileage constructed each year was as follows: 1868, 216; 1869,
591; 1870, 666; 1871, 1197; 1872, 457: 1873, 228.
315
3I6 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
a whole was 4,999, 6,145, 7i379 miles respectively, each
year setting a new record for the number of miles built.
In addition to the general movement toward expansion
there was in Illinois the special stimulus of the " tax grab " law
of 1869, which permitted counties that chose to bond them¬
selves in aid of a new railroad to deduct from the increase in
taxes, which would normally accrue through the rise in the
value of the land, enough to pay the interest on these bonds.
The prohibition in the constitution of 1870 of such local grants
of credit in aid of railroads had the effect of hastening the
promotion of new roads which would probably otherwise have
been postponed or perhaps never built. Consequently many
new schemes were started in 1869 and 1870 which were not
concluded until a year or two later.®
The liberality of local governments in granting aid to
almost any proposed road, under this "tax grab" law, was
truly amazing. The local credit voted in aid of railroads in
eighty-six counties, in the form of bonds and money, amounted
to $16,088,027 ; returns from the other sixteen counties would
certainly have brought the total for the state well up to
$20,000,000.^ The alacrity with which particular localities
hastened to pay a heavy price for the advantages of a railroad
is well shown in the case of the Ottawa, Oswego, and Fox River
Valley railroad, a line of 57 miles stretching from Streator to
Fox River Junction. Kendall, one of the smallest counties of
the state, containing only nine townships, voted $131,000 in
aid of its construction; Kane, La Salle, and Marshall counties
ä In his report for 1870 the auditor stated that "two thousand miles of rail¬
roads have been built in this State since the adjournment of the last General
Assembly, and are now in actual operation." Quoted in Chicago Tribune, Decem¬
ber 17, 1870.
* These figures do not include the lands granted the Illinois Central by the
state or lands granted various roads by individuals. Report of the Railroad and
Warehouse Commission, 1873, p. 8. In 1877 it was estimated that the aggregate
debts of towns, counties, cities, and districts in the state amounted to $40,000,000.
Chicago Tribune, January 11, 1877.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 317
contributed additional bonds for $323,000, making a total of
$454,000, or nearly $8,000 a mile.®
When it is remembered that in addition many roads
received grants of land from various private individuals, it is
not surprising that there was called into existence a class of
irresponsible promoters, who, without capital of their own,
built lines as a speculation, selling stocks and bonds at whatever
prices these would bring, often with no serious intention of
operating the road but hoping to sell out at a profit.® For such
roads, of course, there was no economic justification.
In 1870 there were 4,708 miles of railroads in Illinois.''
The Illinois Central, with 707 miles inside the state, was the
longest single line. This road formed an immense Y with
its northeast terminus at Chicago, its northwest terminus at
Galena, the junction at Centraba, and the base at Cairo. The
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy was second with 460 miles of
lines, stretching across the state from Chicago to Burlington,
Iowa, and occupying with its branches the northwest section of
the state. Other important lines were the Chicago and Alton
(243 miles) from Chicago to East St. Louis; the Chicago,
Rock Island, and Pacific (193 miles) between Chicago and
Rock Island; the Toledo, Peoria, and Warsaw (249 miles),
now the Toledo, Peoria, and Western, which stretched from
the Indiana state line at Iroquois county directly across the
state through Peoria to Warsaw; the Toledo, Wabash, and
® Commercial and Financial Chronicle, i6: 693, quoting the Chicago Tribune,
May II, 1873. See also the case of Quincy, Chicago Tribune, February 24, 1871.
® The Ottawa, Oswego, and Fox River Valley railroad may again be cited
for illustration. In addition to the local aid received, it issued bonds of its own
to the amount of $1,260,000, over $22,000 a mile; then upon completion it was
leased in perpetuity to the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy, and the disillusioned
county bondholders sought to release themselves from the obligations they had
undertaken. Commercial and Financial Chronicle, 16:693, quoting the Chicago
Tribune, May 11, 1873.
^ A table giving the length of the various roads and their cost was printed
in the American Railroad Journal, 43:8. Subsequent construction can be traced
in the Reports of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission.
3I8 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Western, which extended across the state from east to west
about fifty miles south of the Peoria and the Western, passing
through Springfield and Decatur. This last named road was
the result of consolidations of numerous small lines and now
forms part of the Wabash system.
During the year 1870 some 666 miles of new road were
added to the railway net of Illinois, comprising the Rockford,
Rock Island, and St. Louis (130 miles), from Sterling to
Alton; the Gilman, Clinton, and Springfield; the St. Louis,
Vandalia, and Terre Haute; the Ohio and Mississippi, from
Vincennes to St. Louis; and the Indianapolis and St. Louis.
The extension of the Belleville and Southern Illinois to Du
Quoin gave a connection with the coal fields of the state. Most
of these lines, it will be noticed, were east and west roads across
the state.
The year 1871 witnessed the largest construction, with one
exception, of any year in the history of the state, namely 1,197
miles; this was more than one-seventh of the new construction
in the whole country.® A noticeable feature of the railway
building now begun and carried through during the rest of the
decade was the opening up of the southern part of the state.
The Springfield and Illinois Southwestern® was completed to
Shawneetown, thus providing a route from central Illinois, and
also by means of various connections from the northern part
of the state, to the southeastern counties, which until this time
had been unprovided with railway facilities. Work was also
begun on the Cairo and Vincennes, and on the Cairo and St.
Louis, in the southwestern section of the state. The latter line
was built as a narrow gauge road.^®
® Poor, Manual of Railroads, 1872.
» This road later became a part of the Baltimore and Ohio system.
Cairo was hailed as the coming railroad center. See Du Quoin Tribune,
quoted in American Railroad Journal, 55:483. An active controversy was car¬
ried on at this time as to the relative merits of the narrow gauge of three feet
and the standard gauge of four feet eight and one-half inches. Several of the
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 319
In other parts of the state also railway building was pro¬
gressing. The Chicago, Pekin, and Southwestern was being
built from Chicago to Pekin in the interests of the Chicago,
Burlington, and Quincy system. The Bloomington and Ohio
railroad built about 70 miles during the year; the Decatur and
State Line Company 129 miles; the Decatur, Sullivan, and
Mattoon 40 miles. These and other short connecting lines,
none of great importance, filled in the gaps between the larger
systems already built ; most of them were later absorbed by the
large companies and their names have been forgotten.
There followed a period of pronounced reaction, only 457
miles being built in 1872 and 228 in 1873. Largely responsible,
of course, was the general depression caused by the panic of
1873; partly responsible, too, was the prohibition by the new
constitution of further local aid under the "tax grab" law of
1869, and the higher interest rates. But the fundamental reason
was the fact that Illinois was no longer so keenly in need of new
lines and was now unwilling to pay exorbitant prices for them.
To show how well the state was provided with railroads, the
railroad and warehouse commission published a table in 1872
which showed that 73 per cent of all the land in the state lay
within five miles of a railroad; 21.5 per cent between five and
ten miles ; 4 per cent between ten and fifteen miles ; and only i. 5
per cent was more than fifteen miles distant. The commission
concluded that when to these facilities were added the advan¬
tages which were presented by the lake, navigable rivers, canals,
and slackwater navigation of the state, and also those of the
railroads in other states adjoining the border, it might fairly
southern Illinois lines were constructed with the three-foot gauge, which was
urged because it was cheaper and more economical to operate and hence could
be extended into districts where the more expensive standard gauge lines would
not pay. An Illinois narrow-gauge convention was held in 1875 to advance this
movement and to advocate the construction of a narrow-gauge railroad to the
seaboard. Railroad Gazette, 2:417; American Railroad Journal, 45:109; Rail-
v>ay Age, 4: 514.
320
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
be presumed that no other state in the union possessed equal
facilities for the transportation of persons and property, so
uniformly distributed through its territory.^^
It will be instructive to pause at this point and note the
character of the railroads and equipment with which the state
was now so well supplied. Early Illinois railroads, like those
of many western states, were built across the level, open prairie
and were constructed at the lowest possible cost, with little
regard for their permanency. The demand for improved
means of transportation was pressing and as much track as possi¬
ble was built with the limited capital available. The existing
traffic, indeed, would scarcely have warranted anything better;
but it was hoped that with the development of the country the
increasing traffic would pay for improvements as the temporary
equipment wore out. Already in 1870 this substitution of
more permanent structure had been begun on some of the
older lines.
In its first annual report for 1871, the railroad and ware¬
house commission stated that the railroads of Illinois compared
favorably with those of any other western state. They were
in good repair on the whole, although the work of ballast¬
ing was proceeding slowly on account of the lack of suitable
material in the state and the great expense of obtaining it
from a distance. The bridges, stations, and other permanent
structures were being gradually improved; and the passenger
accommodations were especially good. Sleeping and dining
cars were just being put into general use, the first having been
introduced in 1867.^^
While Illinois railroads may have compared favorably with
those in other states in many respects, they were always handi¬
capped in the construction of the roadbed, owing to the scarcity
Report of the Railroad and W"rehouse Commission, 1872, p. 19-20. 168-169.
1871, p. 8-9.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 321
of gravel or other suitable material for ballast. The early
typical earth road has been described as follows:
"A newly constructed road-bed, which depends solely upon
the material found at each point along the line for ballast, and
which is not more carefully drained than was formerly com¬
mon, frequently degenerates into the condition depicted by the
expressive phrase 'mud road,' and this is practically what a
number of American railroads formerly were, the mud some¬
times flying in all directions before the march of the locomotive
as freely as it flies on a common dirt road after a heavy rain
when a vehicle is driven over it at a rapid pace."
The first step in the improvement of such a road was the
use of earth ballast. When properly applied this material ren¬
dered the roadbed much more serviceable, and as it was more
practicable than sand or gravel, its use had become very general
in 1870. Even as late as 1890, about 40 per cent, or 4,044
out of 10,213 miles, of the railroads in the state were still
earth ballasted. At this latter date the other forms of ballast
were: slag, 82 miles; cinders, 561 miles; stone, 892 miles;
gravel and sand, 4,412 miles.The use of earth ballast
caused high maintenance charges, and also high operating
expenses, as accidents and losses were more frequent.
Practically all the rails of the Illinois railroads in 1870
were of iron and constructed according to a T pattern. These
were very unsatisfactory, and a substitute was eagerly sought
both in England and in this country. The first steel rail was
laid in this country in 1864, and a year later the first one in a
central western state was reported to have been laid. The
early steel rails were imported, the first one rolled in this
country being produced by the Chicago Rolling Mill in May,
1865, under the direction of W. F. Durfee, the engineer of
IS Ringwalt, Development of Transportation Systems in the United States, 296.
" Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1890, p. 46.
322
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
that company.^® The works of the Joliet Iron and Steel Com¬
pany were established at Joliet in 1870, and in 1873 they first
manufactured Bessemer steel. In 1874, however, the company
failed, and although it made a second attempt it again failed
in 1879. The Vulcan Steel Company of St. Louis, which also
undertook the business of making steel rails, met a similar fate
in 1877.
It is not possible to state how many miles of steel rails there
were on Illinois railroads in 1870, but there could not have been
many. In 1874 there were 1,398 miles of steel rails of about
60 pounds weight per yard as against 11,229 miles of iron
rails of an average weight of 40 to 60 pounds.^® The follow¬
ing year it was reported that 518 additional miles of steel rails
had been laid.^^ Most of these, as might be expected, were
on the larger roads, as the Chicago and Alton (141 miles), the
Illinois Central (105), Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy (95),
and the Chicago and Northwestern (94). At first the high
price of steel rails prevented an extension of their use, but
after 1875 (in which year they sold for $120 currency per
ton, or about $95 gold), prices fell steadily until in 1885 the
low level of $28 per ton was reached. This permitted the
replacement of iron by steel rails, and substitution went on
so rapidly that by 1885 the railroad and warehouse com¬
mission could report that " since their last inspection nearly all
the leading roads in the State have removed the old iron rails,
and replaced them with steel rails."
Ringwalt, Development of Transportation Systems in the United States,
198, 200, 201; Johnson, American Railnuay Transportation, chapter 4; Report of
the Pennsylvania State Railroad Commission, 1864, 1866.
Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1874, p. 360. These
are the miles of lines owned by Illinois roads. Not all the mileage was in
Illinois. The figures, however, are valuable in showing the proportion of steel
and iron rails on these roads.
"Ibid., 1875, p. 12. This report also stated that twenty-six per cent of the
railroads of the state were laid with steel rails; but if the proportion of eleven
per cent given the previous year was correct, this figure is much too high.
Ibid., 1885, p.xiii.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 323
This movement toward a heavier track was caused by, and
also made possible, the use of heavier locomotives and other
rolling stock. Thus the average load of a freight train on the
Chicago and Alton line grew from 124 tons in 1875 to 177 tons
in 1880, and 184 tons in 1885.^®
It was in the development of special types of passenger cars
that Illinois made her contributions. Mr. George A. Pullman
patented his new sleeping car in 1865, and two years later the
Pullman Company was incorporated for the manufacture of
these cars. They were followed soon afterwards by dining
and parlor cars. The splendors of these new palaces on wheels
were described by Mr. Charles G. Leland of Philadelphia as
follows: "A remarkable subject of interest, which our party
examined this morning, was the City of Chicago — not the
metropolis itself, but its reflection, as regards splendor and
enterprise, in a sleeping car of that name, which runs on the
Illinois Central. This car cost $20,000, and is said to be cheap
at the price. Every comfort which can be placed in such a
vehicle is to be found within its wooden walls. . . . Not
less remarkable is the corresponding seat car for day passen¬
gers, which surpasses in splendor, and still more in comfort,
any car which I have ever seen on an eastern road. There
is yet another car, which cost thirty thousand dollars, which
I did not see, but which was described as a miracle of its
kind."®«
The introduction of the vestibule seems to have followed
the use of dining cars, although rather tardily. A vestibule
car is said to have been designed as early as 1852, but they did
not come into use until the end of the eighties, and their general
introduction on the railroads of Illinois came even later than
i®The average weight of freight engines increased from twenty-eight tons
in 1869 to forty-two tons in 1880. Tenth Census of the United States, 4: 570-573.
Ringwalt, Development of Transportation Systems in the United States, 3^9-
Ibid., 209.
324 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
that.^^ The need for this device had, however, been pointed
out as early as 1871 by the railroad and warehouse commission
in the following statement: "The recent adoption of dining
cars for the accommodation of passengers, instead of stopping
trains at eating stations, which has come into use on several of
the important roads, involves the necessity of passengers pass¬
ing from car to car through the trains while they are running
at full speed. The practice of passing through trains in that
manner has always been regarded, and proven by serious
loss of life, to be very dangerous; especially is this so
where the old style coupling, draw-head and platform, are
used.
"The danger to life in this regard is considered by this
Board to be quite enough to require legislative action, which
shall oblige, at an early day, the use of platforms and couplings
of some of the various forms now well known, by means of
which these dangers may be materially diminished.
"As the platforms of passenger cars are structures usually
made independent of and attached to the body of the cars, the
necessary changes can be readily accomplished at moderate
expense, and the Board therefore recommend that after one
year the use of any platform and coupling on passenger trains,
except such as when coupled together are, and remain in near
contact, should be prohibited by suitable penalties."
The various improvements made in track and equipment
tended on the whole to reduce the danger of accidents, relative
to the increasing traffic. Laws began to be passed also, be¬
ginning in the seventies, for the prevention of accidents. An
act of 1869 provided for flagmen at crossings and a few other
precautionary measures, but the general law of 1874^® was
Johnson, American Railivay Transportation, 48.
Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1871, p. 8-9.
" Laws of l86ç, p. 312-315; Hurd's Revised Statutes, 1874, p. 8076.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 325
much more far-reaching. This required the right of way to be
fenced in and cattle guards to be placed at crossings; it pre¬
scribed rules of procedure where two lines crossed; it left to
the local government units the regulation of the speed of trains
through the corporate limits, but imposed certain penalties for
the violation of such ordinances; and it required all roads to
equip passenger trains with automatic couplers.
The work of coupling and uncoupling cars was the most
dangerous task of railroad employees, being responsible for
about 37 per cent of all accidents to them.^^ The automatic
coupler replaced the old link and pin coupler very slowly, how¬
ever, and the power of the interstate commerce commission had
to be employed before the change was made complete. The
increase in railroad accidents during this period was very slight
for passengers and did not keep pace with the increase in
passenger traffic; those to employees showed a greater growth,
especially of nonfatal injuries; but the largest number of
fatal accidents was among persons other than passengers and
employees, the largest percentage of whom were killed at
crossings. The following table shows the number of accidents
as reported annually by the railroad and warehouse commis¬
sion. It should be pointed out, however, that part of the
apparent increase is doubtless due to the fact that in the earlier
years not all the cases of accident were reported.
The building of new railroads was almost entirely sus¬
pended for the rest of the decade after the panic of 1873.2«
This was apparently due less to the hostile railroad legislation
than to the fact that the state was already well supplied with
transportation facilities.2® There was thus no inducement for
the investment of new capital, particularly at a time when
Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1882, p. xv.
25 The miles of new lines built were as follows: 1872, 170; 1873, 228;
1875, 350; 1876, 176; 1877, 59: 1878, 114; 1879, 130; .
-«Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1876, p. 21.
326
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Accidents on the Steam Railroads in Illinois
Year
Passengers
Employees
Others
Total
Ending
June 30
Killed
Injured
Killed
Injured
Killed
Injured
Killed
Injured
1874
27
67
71
210
129
127
227
404
'875
16
36
61
350
IC9
I3Ä
186
5"8
1876
8
68
102
262
"63
167
273
497
'877
10
42
«5
212
"32
108
207
362
1878
7
23
51
186
169
163
226
372
'879
7
28
72
246
140
129
219
404
1880
18
39
126
43"
"73
217
3"7
687
i88i
20
85
145
354
176
149
337
688
1882
13
65
147
528
247
224
407
8"7
1883
ii
65
154
518
220
227
385
810
1884
17
137
131
598
228
240
376
975
1885
14
131
128
701
227
262
369
"094
1886
12
52
112
666
236
240
360
958
1887
(not
given)
1888
97a
249a
187
"375
3"7
350
601
1964
1889
as
116
172
1188
360
402
557
1706
1890
27
136
176
"059
365
369
568
1564
1891
39
236
"95
"255
434
407
668
1898
1892
as
205
218
"727
477
508
720
2440
1893
as
399
246
2664
533
688
802
3751
a Eighty of these ninety-seven were killed in the Chatsworth disaster in
August, 1887, and 140 of the 249 passengers injured were hurt in this accident.
interest rates were high and it was difficult if not impossible
to float new securities. The panic of 1873 ^"d the resulting
depression had been caused by overinvestment in railroads and
other forms of fixed capital, and the prevailing difficulties could
be corrected only by permitting the country to grow up to the
existing facilities.
Not only was new building suspended, but the work of
improvement was interrupted and for several years after 1873
many of the roads were unable, because of the decline in earn¬
ings, even to keep their permanent structures and rolling stock
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 327
in good repair. By 1878 the railroad and warehouse com¬
mission reported that certain railroads in the state were in a
condition that made them dangerous highways of travel and
freightage. Although under existing statutes the commission
had no authority to compel the repair of a road if it was found
defective, it began the policy of annual inspection of and
report on the railroads in the state, hoping by publicity to
secure such improvements as were necessary.^^ The policy
seems to have been successful and the practice was maintained
subsequently.
More important than the mere physical growth in mileage
or improvement in equipment is the question as to how satis¬
factorily the railroads were actually serving the people of the
state in carrying them and their freight. For an answer to
this question it is necessary to turn to statistics of traffic and
rates, but these are unfortunately both incomplete and inaccu¬
rate.^® It is impossible to say how great the freight traffic was
in 1870, but by 1872 the railroads in the state carried about
12,000,000 tons. By 1875 the freight carried amounted to
12,900,000 tons. This was made up of various products in
about the following proportions:^® grain, 23 per cent; flour,
4.5 per cent; livestock, 9 per cent; coal, 16 per cent; manu¬
factures, including agricultural instruments, 5 per cent; and
general merchandise, 20 per cent. This list leaves 22.5 per
cent of the traffic unclassified. So far as they are available the
data of railroad traffic in Illinois are given in the following
table for five-year periods:
2' Consult Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1S78, p. xix.
®'The railroad and warehouse commission complained that the returns made
by the railroad companies were very imperfect; they were not only meager, but
incorrect, due either to ignorance or carelessness in their preparation. The com¬
mission was continually urging that the reports be made more accurate. See ibid._
1879, p. xxiii.
20 Compiled from ibid., 1875. This report is so incomplete that the figures
given can be considered only rough approximations.
328 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Growth of Railway Traffic in Illinois
Year
Freight
Passengers
Tons
carried
Tons carried
one mile
Passengers
carried
Passenger« car¬
ried one mile
12,000,000
12,900,000
23,297,000
34,571,000
48,364,000
59,000,000
1871;
1,449. "8,034 a
334,115,2340
11,047,858
20,603,000
23,600,000
38,028,000
1885
1890
'895
3,025,300,000 b
4,271,377,000
6,697,000,000
499,000,000 b
574,000,000
900,000,000 c
a Estimated in Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1875,
P- '3-
b Estimated on basis of tons carried and miles in average haul.
cTo make the figures comparable the estimated traffic of elevated lines was
subtracted from the figure given by the railroad and warehouse commission.
To the shipper in Illinois the question of rates was almost
more vital than that of railroad facilities, for of what avail
were the latter unless he could afford to use them? In 1870
the freight rates were, on the average, 2.43 cents per ton-mile.
But this average, when rates were in such a confused condi¬
tion, probably in very few cases represented the amount actual¬
ly paid. Passenger rates were between 3.5 and 6 cents per mile,
with an average of 4 cents. While these were about the same
as were being charged in other states in the middle west, they
were decidedly higher than similar rates for the United States
as a whole, which were 1.889 cents per ton-mile for freight and
2.392 cents per mile for passenger service.®" That these rates
were high, not only relatively in comparison with the rest of
the country, but also absolutely in comparison with the cost of
service, there is little reason to doubt. By 1880 the freight
rates had been reduced to 1.32 cents per ton-mile and the
passenger rates to 3.28 per mile. But whether they were high
or not, the farmers and other shippers generally believed them
Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1871; Dixon, State
Railroad Control, 44; Newcomb, Changes in the Rates of Charge for Railway
and other Transportation Seri>ices, 14.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 329
to be so.®' In defense of the railways it may be said that the
traffic in Illinois at this time was so light that rates had to be
high if fixed charges were to be met. The rates for freight
and passengers by five-year intervals are shown in the table:
Average Freight and Passenger Rates, 1870-1893
Illinois
Yxab
(1)
Freight
U)
Passenger
1870
243
4.00
'875
....
....
1880
1.32
3.28
1885
.96
2.20
1890
.832
2.066
»893
2.409
United States
(3)
(4)
F rcight
Paiiengcr
1.889
I.421
1.232
1.011
.941
2.156
.878
2.105
But not merely were rates high ; they were also discrimi¬
natory. The truth of the matter was that there were more
railroads than the state really needed; it was simply impossible
to expand the traffic to keep pace with the new roads, often
promoted by irresponsible adventurers — and accordingly the
existing traffic had to be divided among a larger number of
rivals. Competition became most severe;®® and owing to the
peculiar nature of railroad service, which can be sold only in
See report of the committee on transportation of Illinois State Grange,
January 15, 1875, and address of Illinois State Farmers' Association to the
railroad and warehouse commission quoted in Railroad Gazette, T-^6.
33 Sources: column 1, Reports of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission.
Rates given for the years 1880 and 1885 are estimates made by the commission
on the basis of the rates reported by the leading railways of the state. In the
later years the rates were compiled by the writer from ^statistics given in the
reports. Column 2, ibid. Column 3, Newcomb, Changes in the Rates of Charge
for Railnoay and other Transportation Services. Column 4, Report on the StattS'
tics of Railnuays in the United States. i j i.-
33 At Chicago and Peoria and all other important centers of trade, shippers
not only had the option of transport to any one of several Atlantic seaports but
they had also the option of two or more routes to the same port. ' Report on the
Internal Commerce of the United States," 1876, House Executive Documents, 44
congress, i session, number 46, p. 69.
330
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
connection with the line that renders it, this meant that each line
attempted to steal its competitors' business by offering lower
rates, secret rebates, and other favors. The loss caused by the
lowering of the rates at competitive points was then made up
at noncompeting points. Larger amounts were often charged
for a short haul between two noncompeting points than for
much longer hauls between competing points; and large or
influential shippers were given concessions which were made up
by additional charges on small shippers.
The need for a more equitable adjustment was imperative,
yet so strongly did the idea prevail that the only way to secure
lower rates was to encourage free competition, that only
after a severe struggle did the constitutional convention in 1870
undertake to establish the right of the state to regulate the
railroads.®^ The legislature of 1871 promptly carried out the
provisions of the constitution by establishing a mandatory rail¬
road and warehouse commission to regulate and fix maximum
rates.®® Discrimination and extortion were made illegal, and
the commission was empowered to enforce the law in such cases.
But the railroads fought the laws and the commission appointed
to regulate rates.'® Cases were promptly brought before the
courts to test the constitutionality of the act establishing the
commission;®'' until these were decided little change was made
in actual conditions. Even when its power to regulate was
judicially determined, the Illinois commission adopted a very
conservative policy in fixing its schedule of rates;®® and the
3* See above, p. i8 ff.
3' A full analysis of the measure is given in American Railroad Journal,
44:480.
Commercial and Financial Chronicle, 15:794.
Of these the most famous was that of Munn ni. Chicago, which was decided
in 1876 and established the principle that the state had the power to regulate
business affected with a public interest.
38 The commission issued a circular giving their construction of the railroad
law and outlining their plans, which is reprinted in American Railroad Journal,
46:905.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 331
maxima were made high enough so that the railroads could still
have considerable freedom in adjusting rates to meet com¬
petition.®® It adopted a policy in most.cases of acting as
arbiter rather than as public prosecutor, as the law apparently
intended.
After the validity of the " granger laws " had been estab¬
lished by the United States supreme court in 1877, the railroads
gradually assumed a more conciliatory attitude and the com¬
plaints against them became fewer. These by no means
altogether ceased, however, and in 1880 there were brought
before the Illinois commission 47 formal complaints of which
25 were for extortion (unreasonably high rates), 13 for unjust
discrimination, and 9 for other offenses. All these cases were
settled by the commission, and in those cases where the decision
was against the railroads the latter acquiesced promptly in
the decision of the commission.^® Gradually the complaints
against the roads for violation of the law became fewer; and
by 1884 the number of cases which came before the commission
had been reduced to three, all of which concerned the question
of discrimination. For some years after this there were no
cases of importance.
One of the most cogent reasons for the lessened need of
reduction of rates by the state was the fact that competition
really did tend to lower rates as fast as the decreasing costs
of operation would allow. This movement was particularly
noticeable throughout the seventies." The panic of 1873
intensified it abnormally, for when in the general depression
railway earnings fell off, many roads became bankrupt; and
such roads, relieved of their fixed charges, entered into an
especially ruthless rivalry for traffic.
For illustrations see Railroad Gazette, 5-270, 373.
40 Clark, State Railroad Commissions, and Honu They May Be Made Effec¬
tive, 37.
41 Hadley, Railroad Transportation, 104.
332
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
These periods of ruinous competition in the early seventies
led the railroads involved to endeavor to escape by the forma¬
tion of " pooling" agreements. It was very difficult, however,
to get all the roads into one pool or to enforce the agreements,
and for that reason they were generally short lived. They
also operated to the disadvantage of certain of the important
commercial cities and to the advantage of others; and the
luckless cities would then bring pressure to bear upon the pool,
which usually resulted in its dissolution.
The first regular organized pool in the United States was
the Chicago-Omaha pool, which was formed in 1870 by three
Illinois roads. These were the Chicago, Burlington, and
Quincy, the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific, and the Chicago
and Northwestern, then the only lines connecting the two cities
named. They had only recently been completed and, finding
their early rate wars and competition mutually destructive, they
formed a pooling agreement. The traffic pooled was the
passenger and freight business between Chicago and Omaha.
As each road had about an equal amount of business, it was
comparatively easy to apportion the traffic, and it was agreed
that each road was to reserve practically half of its earnings
for itself and to share the remainder equally with the other two
roads. This percentage was maintained throughout the agita¬
tion of the granger period and conduced greatly to the stability
of rates. In fact, Larrabee concluded that its success in main¬
taining rates was one of the chief causes leading to the granger
movement.^^ This pool lasted for fourteen years without a
break and was then, in 1884, merged into the Western Freight
Association.
Another pool, which was more distinctly an Illinois affair,
was entered into in 1875 by the Illinois Central, the Wabash,
^- Johnson, American Railvcay Transportation, 230; Report of the Industrial
Commission, 19:333; Larrabee, The Railroad Question, 194.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 333
and the Chicago and Alton railroads on all competitive busi¬
ness. This was a money pool, and equalization was made and
balances were settled each month. The work of equalization,
which was performed by a board of arbitrators, was brought
to a high degree of exactitude. A typical monthly report, for
example, shows that out of a total business of $2,800,000 by
the three Chicago-St. Louis lines, one fell $800 short of its
allotted percentage, another only $400, and the third exceeded
its share by $1,200. Rates were in general maintained ef¬
fectively and were kept stable by this organization ; but at times
it broke down and severe rate wars occurred, especially for
passenger traffic. For instance, in 1880 the Wabash cut its
passenger rate from Chicago to St. Louis to $2.00, and the
other roads reduced theirs to $3.00.^®
Another state association, concerning which, however, little
is known, was the Illinois Railway Freight Association. From
the scanty reports available it seems to have been composed of
Illinois lines and to have concerned itself principally with intra¬
state business. It attempted to fix rates and appointed com¬
mittees to draw up complete freight tariffs. At a meeting in
December, 1881, it was urged by the rate committee that the
maximum rates permitted by the railroad and warehouse com¬
mission be adopted as the minimum rates of the association.
In addition to these local pools there were agreements
among the trunk lines concerning both eastbound and west¬
bound traffic. During the seventies the number of traffic
associations, both freight and passenger, increased in number
in all parts of the country until practically every road was a
member of more than one organization.^^ These associations
were on the whole very successful in steadying rates and dis¬
tributing competitive traffic so as to check interline warfare.
Railivay Age, 9: 562.
Johnson and Huebner, Railroad Traffic and Raies, 1:299.
334
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
But the excessive competition, due to the building of railroads
in excess of the economic needs of the time, led again and again
to the breaking of these agreements and to rate wars.
To the railroad men of the time cooperation seemed the
only protection from ruin. In 1877 the delegates who had been
appointed by the London shareholders of the Illinois Central
railroad to investigate the causes of the steady decline of traffic
upon that road concluded that much of the loss of traffic was
due to the severe competition of small lines. The remedy they
pointed out in these words: "The best prospect of maintain¬
ing remunerative rates, at present, lies in making agreements
between the railroad companies for the maintenance of rates,
and for division of earnings at competitive points. The
absorption of the smaller lines into the systems of the larger
companies is what must be looked to as the final settlement of
the question of competition between the railroads."^®
But both pooling and combination were strongly opposed
by shippers and the public in general, who believed that
unrestricted competition was the best cure for high rates and
unfair practices. In Illinois the shippers were for the most
part farmers, and as they controlled the legislature many bills
were brought in by them to prohibit pools.^® As the railroad
and warehouse commission pointed out, however, it was inter¬
state and not intrastate pooling that constituted the really
serious problem, and over this the state legislature had no
control. The shippers were advised to await the action of the
federal government, which was already being strongly urged
to undertake legislation to regulate the railroads.
In 1881 a suit was brought against the Chicago and Alton,
the Wiggins Ferry Company, the Madison County Ferry Com-
Report of the delegates, A merican Railroad Journal, volume 50. The
report is given in full, p. 779-781, 811-812.
See Railway Age, 14: 177, for an illustration.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 335
pany, and the St. Louis Bridge and Tunnel Company to prevent
a pooling agreement from going into effect, on the ground that
it would destroy competition in the transportation of freight
across the Mississippi river.^'^ The court held that by the
common law people could not lawfully be deprived of the
benefits of competition by contracts between companies. The
agreement was therefore held to be illegal. This seems to
have been almost an isolated case in Illinois, however, and
pooling went on practically unrestrained until the passage of
the federal interstate commerce act in 1887.
The actual rates differed frequently so widely from the
published rates that it is not possible to say exactly what effect
pooling had upon rates, but that it did not always raise them
appears from various rate agreements in which considerable
reductions below the previous tariffs were agreed upon.^® The
purpose of the pooling agreements was not so much the fixing
of higher rates as the assurance that the published rates would
be observed by all the roads. If secret rates and rebates were
not given, it was quite possible that lower published rates could
be established. The pool was therefore not concerned with
raising rates, but with prevention of rate-cutting. The maxi¬
mum freight rates were determined by water competition and
by the effort of the railroads to develop the greatest possible
traffic consistent with reasonable rates. An inspection of
freight rates in Illinois shows that these fell much more '
rapidly before 1887, the year in which pools were prohibited,
than in subsequent years.^®
In spite of the severe rate wars and competition, the rail-
Reported in the Railroad Gazette, 14:62-63.
■t® Thus in 1S75 the Illinois Central and the Chicago and Alton railroads
agreed to the following reduction in passenger fares: Chicago to New Orleans,
from $33.00 to $28.00; Chicago to Mobile, from $31.00 to $26.50; Chicago to
Vicksburg, from $31.25 to $26.50. • In the same year the four roads between
Chicago and St. Paul agreed to a 25 per cent reduction of freight rates.
For table see appendix, p. 502.
336
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
roads of Illinois had by 1880 completely recovered from the
demoralized conditions of the previous decade. The revival
of business after 1878 gave an impetus both to freight traffic
and to passenger travel. For the increase in the latter the
reduction of fares on all Illinois railroads may have been partly
responsible,®" but the growth of freight traffic was due to
bumper crops and improved industrial conditions. Earnings
increased steadily, improvements were made in both road¬
bed and rolling stock, and the railroads of the state entered
upon a new era of prosperity which continued until 1884.
At the same time rates were much lower, the average in
1885 being 2.2 cents per mile for passenger traffic and .96 cents
per ton-mile for freight.®^ The following table shows the
gross earnings of railroads operating in Illinois:
Earnings of Illinois Railroads, 1881-1885
Per cent of increase
Year Ending June 30
Gross earnings
or decrease over
previous year
1881
$176,073,250
26.0 increase
1882
189,352.978
7-5 "
1883
214,146,915
II.5
1884
210,228,068
1.8 decrease
1885
i99»i23,334
5-2 "
The panic of 1884 affected railway construction as well as
earnings and in 1885 there was an actual decrease in mileage
in the state.®® The years 1884 and 1885 were marked by a
Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1880, p. 20.
1885.
These figures are for the entire lines of the roads reporting to the railroad
and warehouse commission and not for that part of the business done only within
the borders of Illinois, as these latter were not published until 1884. The Illinois
business alone yielded a gross return in 1884 of $56,447,139, and in 1885 of
$56,960,964, which shows a slight gain instead of the lose indicated in the above
table for these years.
Railroad construction in Illinois for the period 1880-1893 was as follows:
1880, 273 miles; 1881, 409; 1882, 416; 1883, 192; 1884, 40; 1885, -4 (loss);
1886, 371; 1887, 326; 1888, 106; 1889, 122; 1890, 384; 1891, 10; 1892, 123;
1893, 63.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 337
large production of corn and other foodstuffs in Illinois with
resulting low prices. At the prevailing freight rates it scarcely
paid the farmers to ship their produce to market, and they
accordingly requested the railroad and warehouse commission
to order a general reduction of rates. This the latter refused
to do.®^
The years 1886 and 1887 witnessed the beginning of
another period of railroad expansion, especially in the newer
country west of the Missouri river, but Illinois railroads did
not share in this prosperity. Less freight was hauled in 1886
than in the previous year and, while there was an improvement
in the amount of business in 1887, rates were still so demoral¬
ized by the severe competition of western lines that earnings
remained low. Fifteen companies operating in Illinois had
passed into the hands of receivers during the panic of 1884,®®
and twelve of these were still under the control of the courts in
1886. Two years later most of these had been sold under
foreclosure or otherwise reorganized. These were the weaker
roads. The financial and physical condition of the stronger
systems was, on the other hand, improving; thus the Illinois
Central was able in 1886 to sell a large block of 2^2 per cent
bonds on the London market at par,®® although a decade before
it had been forced to pay 6 per cent interest. The earnings of
Illinois railroads began to show an increase in 1888, which
continued very steadily until interrupted again by the panic of
1893.®^
Ratlivay Age, 14:179; Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commis¬
sion, 1S85, p. xiii.
Ibid., p. vii.
Railway Age, 15:353- A quotation from the London Economist refers to
this transaction as " an unparalleled feat in the history of American railways."
The gross earnings of Illinois railroads for business carried on within the
state were as follows from 1884 to 1893 (year ending June 30) : 1884, $56,447,000;
1885, $56,960,000; 1886, $55,677,000; 1887, $56,860,000; 1888, $61,333,000; 1889,
$63,170,000; 1890, $65,471,000; 1891, 73,499,000; 1892, $81,793,000; 1893,
$85,823,000. Compiled from Reports of the Railroad and Warehouse Com-
mission.
338 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Traffic, both passenger and freight, showed a steady
growth during this period. The amount of freight carried
in Illinois increased from 35.5 million tons in 1885 to 48.3
million in 1890, and to 61.7 million in 1893. The decade
ending in 1885 had seen the freight traffic in the state just
doubled, and the eight years following almost equaled this
record. Along with its growth in tonnage, an interesting
change was manifesting itself in the character of the freight,
which reflected the industrial changes taking place in the state
during this period. Manufactures and coal began to take the
place of the products of agriculture as the most important
class of freight. Thus in 1875 the products of agriculture,
animals, and lumber made up exactly half of all the freight
carried (49.8 per cent), while coal and other minerals, mer¬
chandise, and manufactures made up the other half (50.2
per cent). But by 1890 the percentage of the two groups was
35.8 and 64.2 respectively. This change in character, of course,
reflects the growing industrialization of the state and the
urban concentration.
During the decade ending in 1893 '^he improvement of
the physical equipment of the railroads went on at a rapid
rate. Steel rails superseded iron on all the principal roads
of the state, better bridges were built, heavier and more capa¬
cious rolling stock was provided, safety appliances were intro¬
duced, Pintsch and other improved lighting systems replaced
the oil lamps in passenger coaches, passenger trains were pro¬
vided with steam-heating systems, and many other improve¬
ments were adopted in order to guard the lives of passengers
and employees and to care in a more efficient manner for the
ever-increasing volume of freight and passenger traffic. The
use of greater care in guarding against accidents and in the
preservation of life and property was especially noteworthy.'®
See Reports of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1882-1892.
RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION 339
Illinois still led all the states in the union in the total rail¬
road mileage constructed and in operation in 1893. There
were in this year 10,315 miles, or over 18.04 miles of railroad
per 100 square miles of territory and over 36 miles of road per
10,000 inhabitants. Most of the people of the state lived
within easy access of railroad facilities, 85 per cent of all the
land being within 5 miles of a railroad in actual operation,
11.5 per cent between 5 and 10 miles, 2.5 per cent between 10
and 15 miles, and only i per cent farther distant than 15 miles,
although none more than 20 miles away. The many railroads
in other states near the boundary lines are not included in this
estimate.®®
Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1893, p. 31.
XV. WATERWAYS AND ROADS, 1870-1893
S THE state acquired adequate facilities for transporta¬
tion by way of the railroads, it naturally came to make
less use of the slower and less easily controlled waterways.
The streams which had borne the traffic of the pioneer had
served their day; the enlarged commerce of the industrial
commonwealth could not well accommodate itself to their inter¬
mittent and slow navigation. Especially were the more ex¬
pensive commodities, which could stand higher freight rates
and which required certainty of delivery within a reasonable
time, transferred from the rivers to the more reliable rail-
By 1870 the competition of railways had begun to make
inroads upon the important St. Louis traffic, most of which
had its origin in Illinois. " The great system of Railroads now
rapidly spreading out from our City in every direction," said
the secretary of the St. Louis Merchants' Exchange, "has had
the effect to contract the limits of the freightage by water and
we now find an excess of tonnage in nearly every trade. In
years gone by, when not only the freight but the passenger
travel went by water, our fine and commodious packets found
a remunerative trade. But in this fast age, everybody takes
the quickest route, and our steamers have to look almost
entirely to their freight list for their profits." ^
A few years later an Illinois authority commented in even
more discouraged tones upon the decline in water transpor¬
tation "Every one familiar with the business knows that
^Report of the Trade and Commerce of St. Louis, 1871, p. 17-18.
^ Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1875, p. 21.
340
roads.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 341
the railroads have almost driven the steamboats out of trade.
Instance the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers,
where only a few years since fleets of fine boats were sailing,
doing a prosperous business; now occasional boats make a
precarious livelihood. . . . Even in Chicago, so favorably
situated for water transportation, the relative amount done by
rail is yearly increasing."
The river commerce of Illinois is difficult to determine
because of the paucity of statistics, but investigations conducted
by the federal government on the internal commerce of the
country in 1869 and again in 1886 make it possible to trace
the changes which occurred between these dates. A study
of the traffic on the Ohio river shows that at all ports where
there was railroad competition the river trade had been reduced
during this period to between one-half and one-third of its
former volume, while at other ports where there was no rail¬
road competition there was a marked increase in the river
traffic.® This was probably true of other river towns.
Cairo was the most important commercial city on any of
the Illinois rivers, situated as it was at the junction of the
Mississippi and Ohio rivers, but the commerce of this city
fell off from $20,000,000 in 1869 to a little over $7,729,000
in 1886; of the latter amount about half was wholesale and
retail merchandise. The number and gross tonnage of the
vessels engaged in the river trade also declined, though not
in the same proportion. The number of steamboats and barges
arriving at Cairo in 1872 was 4,105 with a gross tonnage of
1,486,717 ; in 1886 there were 2,868 boats of 1,119,364 tons.^
In the latter year the city was still served by eleven packet
lines plying on the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumber¬
land rivers, but as a result of increasing diversion of traffic
3 Report on Internal Commerce of the United States, 1887, appendix, 514-515.
* Ibid., 91, 514-515.
342
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
to the railroads there was each year less commerce to divide
among them, and the number of lines and vessels was steadily
reduced.
The most important single branch of the river trade was
the traffic in grain, which was drawn from all over the state
and shipped farther south. But with the building of rail¬
road connections from Cairo into southern territory the boat
lines lost the business. The railroads made a rate low enough
to get the traffic, allowed the bulk grain to be stopped in transit
for sacking without extra charge, and put in switch connections
at the large plantations. Against these and other advantages
the steamboats could not long compete.®
St. Louis was the most important center of the Mississippi
river trade and was served in 1870 by four packet lines with
over twenty vessels operating between this city and Illinois
ports. These lines were able to operate only about ten months
in the year, being ordinarily forced to suspend operations in
the winter on account of ice.® Interesting light is thrown on
the character of the vessels engaged in this trade by noting
that while the number of steam vessels registered in Illinois
river ports increased from 61 in 1872 to 72 in 1895, their
average tonnage declined from 211 to 115 tons for the same
years. As reduced freightage demanded less capacity the size
of the vessels was reduced, for smaller vessels were better
adapted to the shallow and variable waters of the Illinois
rivers.
Far more important than the water traffic of these rivers
for the Illinois shipper was their influence upon railway freight
rates. In 1876 it was stated by a federal authority that "the
Mississippi River is still and will always continue to be the
^Report of the Commissioner of Corporations on Transportation by Water,
part 2, p. 304-305.
^Report of the Trade and Commerce of St. Louis, 1870, p. 10, 31, 38-41;
1871, p. 17.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 343
most important avenue of commerce between the West and
the South, not only with respect to the commerce actually car¬
ried upon it, but in the influence which it will ever exert toward
regulating rates on competing rail-lines, especially for the
transportation of the heavier commodities comprising the
lower classes of freight and embracing agricultural products,
lumber, minerals, &c." ^
The Illinois river was 'regarded by shippers during the
seventies as very influential in preventing unreasonably high
railway rates, and there was much agitation at that time for
the improvement of this waterway. "The people of this State,
generally," said the canal commissioners in 1870, "have a
very deep interest in making the Illinois River navigable for
boats drawing five or six feet of water, from LaSalle to the
Mississippi River, at all seasons when not shut in by ice, or
when the canal from Chicago to LaSalle is open, which is about
eight and one-half months in the year, and not only this State
but many of the Western and Southwestern States, as it con¬
nects Lake Michigan and the great chain of lakes with the
Mississippi and its tributaries, on which is from 10,000 to
12,000 miles of river navigation."®
The demands for improvement of the waterways led in
1872 to the building, by the state of Illinois, of a lock at
Henry on the Illinois river. This lock was at the time of its
construction the largest one on the continent. Its installation
caused a revival in the river commerce; and the following
year there developed between several Illinois river points and
Peoria a large grain trade, which was important enough to
induce two Peoria elevators to erect the necessary machinery
for unloading grain from river boats quickly and cheaply.®
' Report on Internal Commerce of the United States, 1876, p. 38.
® Report of the Canal Commissioners of Illinois, 1870, p. 36-37.
"Report of the Trade and Commerce of Peoria, 1873, p. 9.
344 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The building of the lock helped to reduce freight rates,
not merely by water but also by rail, and also benefited the
producers of grain and other commodities. After this improve¬
ment the cost of freight between Chicago and St. Louis and
intermediate points was only three-fifths of the cost by rail;
and as a result of the river competition freight rates generally
were held down and the benefits were distributed throughout
a large section of the state.^®
A further improvement in the upper part of the Illinois
river was made by the construction in 1876 of a second lock
at Copperas creek. On the section of ninety miles between
Copperas creek and La Salle, where the Illinois and Michigan
canal connects with the river, the state collected tolls just as
it did on the canal. The principal freight carried through the
river was grain, a considerable amount of sorghum from
various Illinois points to St. Louis, and merchandise from
Chicago and Peoria. The St. Louis boats ran to Chicago; in
1886 there were nine steamers engaged in this trade.^^ The
number of boats fell off steadily, however, and no new ones
were built because of the keep railway competition.
The federal government was now induced to undertake
the further improvement of the Illinois river from Copperas
creek to its mouth at Grafton on the Mississippi river, and for
many years improvements were carried on jointly by the state
of Illinois and the United States government. A lock and
dam were completed at La Grange, 79 miles from the mouth
of the river, in 1890; and four years later a second one was
opened at Kampsville, 48 miles farther south. The building
of these improvements gave promise of satisfactory navigation
on the Illinois river at all times, as it was believed that a stage
Report of the Canal Commissioners of Illinois, 1872, p. 56; 1S74, p. 11;
Chicago Tribune, March 13, 1871.
Report of the Trade and Commerce of St. Louis, 1882, p. 57; 1886, p. 55.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 345
of water would be permanently secured sufficient for all pur¬
poses of navigation and affording at least as deep a channel
as existed in the Mississippi river between Grafton and Alton.
After the completion of the locks and dams built by the
federal government there was an increase in the number of
steamers plying between St. Louis and Illinois river ports,
from nine in 1886 to fourteen in 1899.^® Many of these
steamers, however, were not cargo carriers but were used
merely to tow barges. An idea of the general trend of the
river commerce may be secured from a study of the receipts
from and shipments to Illinois river points at St. Louis. In
the following table these figures are given for five-year
intervals :
Freight Traffic between St. Louis and the Illinois River
Receipts at
Shipments from
Year
St. Louis
St. Louis
(tons)
(tons)
1871
146,000
10,936
1S76
129,940
20,560
1881
160,555
5.17s
1886
88,010
5,175
1891 <
31,190
4,305
1896
30,325
11,780
The great decline shown in the receipts at St. Louis of
produce from Illinois river points is traceable to the falling off
of the movement of flour and grain by water. In the case of
flour and wheat this might easily be at least partly explained by
the shifting of the center of wheat production to the northwest
and to the consequent decline of Peoria as a wheat and flour
milling center. But the decrease in the shipments of corn and
Report of the Trade and Commerce of St. Louis, 1890, p. 79'8o.
Ibid., 1899, p. 132-134.
346 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
oats — the latter of which almost ceased — can be accounted
for only by the fact that most of this traffic had been diverted
to the railroads. The same thing was true of shipments of
livestock and meats down the river, due to the decline of Peoria
as a meat packing center and to the use of refrigerator cars,
which gave the railway practically the whole trade. So, too,
shipments of salt, coal, hay, lumber, butter, cheese, and other
products, which amounted in the aggregate to a considerable
tonnage in 1870, had all but ceased twenty years later.
The Illinois and Michigan canal, stretching from a point
on the Chicago river about five miles from its mouth to La
Salle, where it connects with the Illinois river, forms a part
of the through waterway from Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico,
of which the Illinois river is another link. This canal had
been in the hands of trustees since 1845, when money had to
be borrowed from private sources to complete it, but had been
so successfully managed that by 1871 the debt was entirely
paid and the canal trust was dissolved. The question as to
the state's attitude toward the canal when it should again
come under state control had already arisen during the debates
of the constitutional convention over the section dealing with
the state debt. Those opposed to the canal wished a provision
incorporated in the constitution forever prohibiting the state
from incurring debts for the construction of internal improve¬
ments. But the friends of the canal, who wished not only to
see the canal kept up but also to have further improvements
made on the Illinois river, vigorously opposed this proposal,
and finally won their point, at least to the extent of permitting
a state indebtedness of $250,000.'^
The canal was turned over to the state on August 17, 1871,
with all debts paid and a balance of $92,100 to its credit.
Chicago Tribune, January 28, 31, 1870, July i, 1871; Constitution of 1870,
article iv, section 18. See also above, p. lo ff.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS
347
Efforts now began to be made to have the state enlarge the
canal in the hope of expanding its traffic and thus increasing
the amount of revenue from tolls. The Joliet Iron and Steel
Company, operating a large steel plant at Joliet, in a letter to
the canal commissioners in 1872, declared that it would ship
ore to the amount of 134,000 tons a year via the Illinois
river and the Illinois and Michigan canal from the iron mines
of Missouri, if satisfactory navigation could he maintained
throughout the year.^® The canal commissioners urged canal
improvements, hut usually they were on the defensive, and
their reports were filled with excuses and explanations of the
declining revenues.
The amount of freight transported over the canal remained
fairly steady during this period, hut since the total amount car¬
ried within the state was rapidly increasing this meant that the
canal's share was growing smaller while that of the railroads
was increasing. In 1873 and 1874 there were transported by
canal to Chicago 12,425,705 bushels of corn and wheat, while
in the same years the Chicago and Rock Island railroad alone
carried to Chicago 16,279,634 bushels. The contest between
the canal and the railroads was a spirited one, hut after 1882
both the absolute and relative tonnage of the canal fell off. So
unpromising, indeed, was the outlook that in 1882 the people
of the state voted by a large majority to cede the canal to the
federal government as a part of a lakes-to-the-g\alf water¬
way.^®
The movement of freight and the financial condition of the
canal from 1870 to 1893 shown by five-year intervals in
the following table :
Chicago Tribune, September 12, 1871 ; Report of the Canal Commissioners
of Illinois, 1872, p. 65.
16 Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1873, p. 72, 74; 1874, p. 72,
74; Report of the Trade and Commerce of Peoria, 1882, p. 17.
" "Preliminary Report of the Inland Waterway Commission," Senate Docu¬
ments, volume 17, number 325, p. 250-251.
348
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Operations on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, 1870-1893
Year
Boats
running
Clear¬
ances
Tons
transported
Gross
expenses
Tolls
Surplus
or deficit
1870
179
2,902
585,975
$108,695
$149,635
$40,940
187s a
142
3>554
670,025
74,511
107,081
32,570
1880
133
4-,536
751,360
125,601
92,296
33,405 b
188s
135
3,990
827,355
86,393
66,800
19,593 b
1890
104
2,920
742,392
75,125
55,112
20,013 b
1893
82
2,452
529,816
59,522
38,702
20,820 b
a After 1872 the table includes clearances from the locks at Henry and Copperas creek
on the Illinois river.
b Signifies a deficit.
Grain was the most important commodity passing through
the canal. In 1892 the articles transported consisted of
2,333,957 bushels of grain, 359,680 cubic yards of stone,
9,710,695 feet of lumber, and 1,683 of merchandise.^®
Under the last named were included hardware, dry goods, cut¬
lery, groceries, and similar bulky or heavy commodities. The
reduction in tolls, which was imperative if the canal was to
retain any of the traffic, caused a steady fall in the receipts from
the canal; and although the expenditures upon the canal were
pared down to the very minimum it was impossible to prevent a
deficit. Every year since 1879 has witnessed a deficit in the
operating expenses of the canal, no allowance being made in
these figures for interest on the investment.
In spite of declining traffic and repeated deficits, the canal
was still a sufficiently effective competitor to keep down railroad
rates. In 1876 the canal rate on corn from La Salle to Chi¬
cago, 99 miles, was 3.25 cents a bushel; the railroad rate was
4.5 cents. From Henry to Chicago, 128 miles, the water rate
was 4 cents per bushel, while the railroad charged 4.5 cents.
But from Tiskilwa, which did not have the advantage of water
18 " Preliminary Report of the Inland Waterway Commission,'' Senate Docu¬
ments, volume 17, number 325, p. 251.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 349
competition to Chicago, 123 miles, the railroad rate was 6.83
cents, although most of the way the grain from this place and
from Henry moved over the same tracks and frequently on the
same trains. The effect of the canal competition was also seen
in the railroad rates from Peoria to Chicago, 160 miles; in the
summer the rate was 3 cents a bushel, but 4.5 cents in the
winter when the canal was not in operation.^® The effective
and the possible competition of the canal route and its effect in
keeping down railroad rates was probably the most potent
influence in inducing the people to continue in operation an
artificial waterway which on the surface was losing money for
the state.
The agitation for improved and cheaper transportation
facilities, which took the form of granger legislation, of rate
regulation, of the creation in Illinois of the railroad and ware¬
house commission, and of other efforts to secure cheaper rates
directly from the railroads, next found expression also in
efforts to improve the waterways and thus reduce the cost of
transportation. The low prices obtained by the farmers for
their grain and the high railway freight rates which made it
almost impossible to market their products at a profit caused
many shippers to look to artificial or improved waterways as
the best solution of their problem. This movement led to the
building, by the state, of two locks on the Illinois river in 1872
and 1876 which greatly improved the navigability of the upper
section of the river. But this improvement did not help the
Illinois farmers and other shippers on the upper Mississippi;
they desired a shorter and more direct route between their
section of the state and Lake Michigan. Thus began an agita¬
tion for a second canal which finally culminated in the con¬
struction of the Hennepin canal. Although it was not com¬
pleted until 1907, the discussion of this project in the earlier
Putnam, The Illinois and Michigan Canal, 121.
350
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
period throws considerable light upon the character and
extent of the forces that were agitating for cheaper transpor¬
tation.
The proportions of this movement may be judged from the
fact that nine hundred delegates attended a canal convention
held in 1874 at Rock Island, Illinois. This convention passed
resolutions declaring that the time had come for the United
States government to assume control over interstate commerce;
that congress had too long neglected the petitions for direct
water communication between the Mississippi and the Great
Lakes; and that the construction of a canal from Hennepin on
the Illinois river to Rock Island would help to solve the trans¬
portation problem of the farmers on the upper Mississippi.
The convention also favored the improvement of the Illinois
and Mississippi rivers, and urged the state of Illinois to cede
the Illinois and Michigan canal to the federal government as
a link in a through waterway from Lake Michigan to the
Mississippi.^"
A memorial was drawn up and sent to congress by a com¬
mittee appointed for the purpose. In this were set forth the
advantages of cheap transportation from the northwest to the
east, the need of an all-water route in order to compete with
the railroads, the enormous volume of freight traffic between
the Mississippi and Lake Michigan, the savings that would
accrue to the shippers, and similar arguments. But this memo¬
rial seems to have made little impression upon congress. The
following year another canal convention was held at Rock
Island; and this time they appointed delegates to go to Wash¬
ington to lobby for the building of the Hennepin canal, but
this enterprise, too, was without success.-^
The next canal convention seems to have been held in 1879
Chicago Tribune, March 25, 1874.
Ibid., January 15, 1875.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 351
at Ottawa, when 600 farmer delegates met to urge a deep
waterway from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. Petitions
were circulated which were to be forwarded to congress.
When, less than a month later, the rivers and harbors bill was
passed, great discontent was expressed because the Illinois con¬
gressmen were unable to get more than $40,000 for the Illinois
canal improvement, while Wisconsin men got $100,000 for a
useless project, the improvement of the Fox river.^^
Several further meetings were held in 1881, but the most
important step forward was taken in 1884 when the national
board of trade at a meeting in Washington, D. C., indorsed
the following resolution presented by the Chicago Board of
Trade: "Resolved, That the enlargement of the Illinois &
Michigan Canal and the construction of the Hennepin Canal,
connecting the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, as by survey
recently made by the Secretary of War, are necessary to control
and materially reduce the cost of transportation from the fields
of production to the great lakes, and that the cheapest possible
transport from the interior to the seaboard is indispensable to
the retention of foreign markets for our cereals."
A few days later the advocates of the Hennepin canal were
given a special hearing before the congressional committee on
railways and canals. They presented arguments to show the
saving in cost of transportation that would be effected by the
construction of the canal; they pointed out the absolute neces¬
sity of having foreign markets to take off surplus cereals
and argued that the canal would aid in marketing this agricul¬
tural produce by reducing the transportation rates both directly
and indirectly by their restraining effect upon railway freight
charges. The house committee was convinced and voted 8 to
2 to report favorably a bill appropriating $1,000,000 to begin
** Chicago Tribune, January 17, February 12, 1879.
Ibid., January 25, 1884,
352 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
work on the Hennepin canal; but the project failed to receive
the sanction of congress.
Agitation, however, continued in spite of the objections that
now began to be made: some thought it would be better to
secure the improvement of the Illinois river before urging
the construction of a new canal. They pointed out that the
lockage involved in the project was enormous, that the pro¬
posed ditch was too small, that it was not planned to construct
it by the most feasible route, and that the time for such a canal
had not yet arrived.^® A waterways convention of 595 dele¬
gates held at Peoria in 1887, however, indorsed both plans —
that for the improvement of the Illinois river and that for the
construction of the Hennepin canal. Finally the federal
government decided to undertake the Hennepin project, but
even after the decision was made construction proceeded very
slowly, and not until 1907 was the canal finally completed.
Plans for through water routes to the seaboard and even
to Europe were not confined to the rivers and canals alone, but
looked also to the lakes. There were many projects looking
to the development of a direct water route from Chicago to
Europe without the necessity of transhipping the freight. A
considerable trade existed at that time in grain, which went by
lake boat from Chicago to Montreal and was there loaded on
ocean steamers. Chicago shippers urged that the locks on the
Welland canal, which were too small to permit the passage
through them of ocean-going ships and even of the larger lake
vessels, be enlarged; they also desired to have the free naviga¬
tion of the St. Lawrence assured them by the terms of the treaty
of Washington of 1871.^®
The swelling volume of the lake trade, however, was itself
Chicago Tribune, February i, 7, t884, January 30, 1885; Report of the
Trade and Commerce of Peoria, i88t, p. 17.
Chicago Tribune, February 26, 1885, December 11, 1886.
"^Ibid., December 13, 1870, April 20, 25, May i6, 20, 1871.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 353
making this dream of through commerce unrealizable, for with
its increase there went on a steady growth in the size of the
lake vessels. Although the Welland canal was twice enlarged,
there were on the lakes in 1884 no less than 255 vessels which
drew too much water to pass through it.-'^ One result of the
situation was a decline in the traffic on this canal and its diversion
to the Erie canal. But the gain by the latter was not so great as
the loss of the former. The canal system as a whole was losing
steadily to the railroads. Even before 1870 the railroads had
begun to compete vigorously for the eastbound traffic from
Chicago, especially for grain; but the success of the railways in
diverting this trade to themselves differed among the various
commodities.
In the case of flour the balance turned in favor of rail
shipments as against those by lake as early as 1866. Between
1872 and 1885 the railroads enjoyed their most pronounced
ascendancy, in some years carrying more than ten times as much
as the water route. During the next ten years there was a
great increase in the total shipments, and the share of the
railroads fell to slightly over half by 1894. In the contest for
the wheat and corn trade the railroads were less successful.
From 1870 to 1894 between a third and a quarter of each of
these grains was shipped east from Chicago by rail, the
remainder, which moreover was a steadily increasing amount,
going by water. On the other hand, in the movement of oats
from Chicago the railroads have since 1873 maintained a
supremacy over the lake vessels, exactly reversing the propor¬
tions for wheat and corn.
Of the total grain and flour movement from Chicago during
the period 1860-1864 lake shipments were approximately ten
times as great as those by rail. The next twenty years saw
the latter equal and finally exceed the former. The average
Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1884.
354 THE industrial STATE
annual lake shipments increased from 41 to 63 million bushels
between 1860—1864 and 1880-1884, while the all-rail move¬
ment grew from 4 to over 64 million bushels. But the next
decade saw the situation reversed again, the lake route taking
about 64 per cent of all in the period 1890-1894. At this
date the total eastbound shipments by lake were 97 million
bushels and those by rail were 80 million.^®
Though the slackening interest in waterways within the
state is readily enough explained by the expansion of the rail¬
roads, it is not so easy to understand why the highways con¬
necting the farms with shipping points both on railroads and
rivers should have gone so long neglected. In spite of the
denser settlement and the increased ease of communication
with other parts of the country, within the state Illinoisians
were moving about on roads that were still those of a frontier
state; although by 1870 more miles had been constructed, their
condition was hardly better than it had been twenty-five years
before.
Practically all the roads in the country districts throughout
the state were of earth and, although for a part of each year
most of them were almost impassable, the farmers and other
persons who used them manifested little interest in their im¬
provement. The road legislation was antiquated ând obstruct¬
ive, little change having been made in the road law passed in
1841. Administration was highly decentralized and only by
much effort were conditions gradually improved.
After the adoption of the constitution of 1870 it was real¬
ized that the existing road laws were inadequate and unsatis¬
factory, and in 1871 the first step toward their improvement
was taken by the appointment of a standing committee of the
house on roads, highways, and bridges. A similar committee
"8 Report of the Commissioner of Corporations on Transportation by IVater,
part 2, p. 168.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 355
existed in the senate. In 1872 a new road law was passed,
which provided for the division of all counties into districts, in
each of which three highway commissioners were to be elected
who were to have the care and superintendence of all road
affairs.^® An attempt to have incorporated a provision pro¬
viding for the maintenance of the roads by contract with the
lowest responsible bidder failed, because the farmers wished to
work out their road taxes at leisure.
This law, it was declared, caused great confusion, so the
following year it was repealed, and two new laws were passed
in its place — one for counties under township organization and
the other for those under county organization, which for the
most part were those in the southern part of the state. These
latter counties cared little for local road officials, so in them
road administration was placed in the hands of a county board
which appointed district supervisors. But in counties under
township organization, offices to fill were apparently regarded
as more desirable than efficient road administration; and not
only were the three elective commissioners in each district
retained, but in addition three overseers of highways elected
for one year were provided for; these latter officials, having
charge of actual construction and repair of roads and bridges,
were abolished in 1877, restored in 1879, and abolished again
in 1883.®°
An opposing tendency was manifesting itself in the desire
to reduce the expenses of road administration to as low a point
as possible. Accordingly, while the number of officials was
multiplied their pay was reduced; the per diem pay of the local
highway commissioners was cut from $2.00 in 1872 to $1.50
in 1873 and to $1.25 in 1879.®^ This struggle between two
House Journal, 1871, p. 68, 93; Lanus of 1871-1872, p. 679
Latus of 1873, p. 169; Latus of 1877, p. 182; Latus of 1883, p. 138.
Latus of 1873, p. 184; Latus of 187g, p. 269.
356 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
opposing tendencies explains also the alternate inclusion and
exclusion of the elective highway overseers in the laws of the
period.
The forces operative in bringing about changes in the road
laws in the seventies were on the whole political rather than
economic. The farmers, who made most use of the public
highways, manifested little interest in wagon road improve¬
ment. The Illinois State Farmers' Association, which held
annual conventions beginning in 1873, had not a word to say
on this subject. The same thing was true of the Illinois State
Grange, which was organized in 1872. During the depression
from 1873 to 1878, with the prevailing low prices for agricul¬
tural products, the farmers were more interested in securing
lower rates from the railroads so as to market their crops at
less cost, than in voting additional taxes to improve the roads
between their farms and the railroad stations. The former
was cheaper and seemed to them of greater importance and
more economical.
Toward the end of the decade, however, agitation began
among the more progressive elements for a betterment of the
bad condition of the country roads in Illinois. For road build¬
ing in the prairie states the engineers were agreed in urging
proper grading and drainage. Thorough compacting of the
road surface by means of a steam roller was also recom¬
mended.®^ In order to encourage the introduction of road ma¬
chinery and to arouse interest in its use, the state board of
agriculture in 1874 offered a gold medal for the best road build¬
ing machine on display at the state fair that year. In 1875 they
offered a cash prize of $100 for the best half mile of earth road
built in the state during thatyear. In the period 1877—1880 still
another plan was tried, of offering a cash prize of $100 to the
Illinois township which built the greatest mileage of earth roads
Engineering News, 3: 36; 4: loi, 300, 306; 5: 193, 310; 6: 219,228,235,243.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS
357
during that year. And finally between 1879 and 1882 cash
premiums and medals were offered for the best road-building
machine and scraper on display at the state fair. By 1883 the
displays of such machines had grown so numerous that the
premiums were discontinued.
Under the stimulus thus given, numerous road making con¬
tests were held and considerable impetus was given to road
improvement. The contest held in 1875 will serve as an
illustration. A prize of $100 was offered for the best half
mile of road constructed, and in making the award there were
to be taken into consideration the kind of soil, the devices
adopted in construction, the time in which the work was done,
and the cost of construction. At the trial at Roberts' Station
in Ford county four competitors appeared on the ground, but
as it was impossible to find available halfmile stretches of road,
owing to the wet weather, the distance was reduced to 80 rods
for each competitor, and the time of completion was limited to
a day and a half. The prize was awarded to W. J. Edwards
of Chicago, who constructed the 80 rods with a Wauchope
grader and ditcher in 9 hours and 20 minutes at a cost of
$8.40 or 10^2 cents per rod. But his machine complete cost
$675, and the committee felt that so expensive and heavy a
machine might not be readily available for all localities, so
they also commended a lighter machine called the Chicago
scraper and ditcher, which cost only $15 and which made a
good showing in the contest.®®
The increasing public sentiment in favor of improved roads
found expression in 1879 the governor's message to the
general assembly, when Shelby M. Cullom mentioned the bad
condition of the roads and the need for improvement. He had
no constructive program, but said he thought there could be
" some plan devised by legislation to encourage their permanent
83 Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1875, p. 72-74.
358 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
improvement." This last phrase may be interpreted as the
first official indorsement of "hard roads" in Illinois. Four
years later Governor Cullom referred again to the bad roads
and expressed his belief that the legislature would act in
response to a "strongly expressed public sentiment" in favor
of improvements.®® As usual the agitation for road reform
took thé form of a demand for changes in legislation, but there
were some so bold as to declare that the only way to get
improved roads was to place competent men in charge of road
work and to collect all road taxes in cash instead of labor.
The road question was considered so important that the
senate in 1883 directed the secretary of state to gather informa¬
tion as to actual expenditures in the counties during the previous
year. He reported expenditures for I'oad purposes amounting
to $2,492,940, but this sum was undoubtedly an underestimate,
as it was less than the amount of taxes collected for roads and
bridges during that year. Two new road laws were passed
during this session.®® One which affected counties under town¬
ship organization abandoned the elective overseers in each
township, provided for additional taxes for roads, authorized
road officials to build permanent roads where possible, and
provided for tile drainage of roads. The other law applied to
all counties in the state and provided for a special levy, by vote
of the people, in any township or county for the construction of
"hard roads."
This " hard roads law " was hailed as a great revolution in
road affairs in Illinois. It was the first legislation providing
for hard roads at public expense, although toll roads of a
permanent type had existed in the state for a number of years.
The application of tile drainage in road building was also an
Reports General Assembly, 1879, 2:14.
Ibid., 1883, 1: lo-ii.
Senate Journal, 1883, p. 216, 237, 510-511; Laavs of ¡88s, P- 132®.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 359
innovation, although for several years engineers had been
recommending proper grading and thorough drainage as the
best means of improving prairie roads.®'' Tile drainage was
just coming into prominence in agricultural operations, and the
legislators, hitherto suspicious of manufacturers of draintile,
at length consented to apply the same principles to road con¬
struction. Some of the railroads in the state offered to haul
material for building hard roads at the actual cost of service.
The growing interest in the subject of improved roads is
evidenced by the action of various societies and meetings. One
of the important organizations in the agitation for better roads
and in the campaign of education necessary to arouse the public
was the Illinois Society of Engineers and Surveyors, organized
in 1886. This society stood for the application of scientific
engineering methods to road construction and maintenance, and
its influence was a factor of no mean importance in the move¬
ment for road betterment. The state board of agriculture was
another body which advocated the improvement of roads; it
commended heartily the hard roads provisions of the law of
1883 and urged the people of the state to take advantage of
them.®® In May, 1886, the board called together a three-
day meeting of the local highway commissioners. Over 400
farmers assembled on this occasion to discuss the road situation
in Illinois, thus making it one of the most notable gatherings
yet held for such a purpose. It was generally recognized that
road improvement was one of the greatest problems before the
people of the state, but there was considerable difference of
opinion as to what was necessary to secure the desired improve¬
ment. The convention finally adopted resolutions favoring
proper grading and thorough drainage.
See papers read before the annual meetings of the Illinois Tile Makers'
Association. Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, iSSi, p. 483-
485 ; 1882, p. 502-504.
s® Ibid., 1883, p. 364.
36o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
A so-called "permanent road" convention, also under the
auspices of the state board of agriculture, was held the follow¬
ing year at Springfield. This body urged cooperation of its
officers and the appointment by the legislature of a commit¬
tee of the state board for this purpose. A law was passed during
the ensuing session of the legislature providing for the division
of counties not under township organization into road districts
with three elective highway commissioners in each district.®®
This law may be said to have unified the system of road admin¬
istration, since after this time there is very little difference in
this respect between the two different types of counties in
the state. It was unfortunate, however, that the model of
decentralized administration should have been taken as the one
to which the state system was made to conform.
The movement for good roads was not confined merely to
agitation or even to legislation. Experiments were being made
toward the end of the eighties in the construction of gravel
roads. A number of towns along the Sangamon river — Say-
brook, Gibson, Lexington, Towanda, and Money Creek—had
built gravel roads at an expense of about $900 a mile, which
was $391 in excess of ordinary dirt roads. Such a method
was feasible, however, only in those sections where gravel was
easily obtained. A few localities voted the issue of bonds for
the construction of hard roads, and in at least one instance
funds were raised for this purpose by private subscription.^®
In 1890 a bill was introduced into congress by Senator Cullom
appropriating $50,000 for the construction of a macadam road
from Springfield to Camp Butler, but the grant was not made.
By this time, however, economic and social forces began to
supplant the political forces and to give new impetus to the
39 Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1887, p. 11; Laous of
18S7, p. 269 ff.
^''Engineering News, 19: 487; 20: 2Í7; 23: 236, 501. At Highland, C. Kock
raised $600 in a few days.
WATERWAYS AND ROADS 361
movement for improved roads. Definite demands began
to be made by various state organizations which repre¬
sented the more enlightened elements of the rural and village
population. Such were the Illinois Farmers' Institute, the
Illinois State Grange, the Illinois State Dairymen's Association,
the Illinois State Horticultural Society, and the Illinois Society
of Engineers and Surveyors. The last named body was par¬
ticularly active in urging the appointment of a commission to
study the matter, the adoption of a constitutional amend¬
ment to permit bond issues for road improvement, and other
reforms. The dairymen resolved in 1891 that " it is the duty
of all interested in the industry of farming to encourage the
immediate building of permanent stone and gravel roads, and
to discourage the expenditure of any money in the customary
method of plowing roads." In 1890 the State Grange
adopted resolutions favoring the appropriation of money by
the state and counties for the construction of hard roads con¬
necting county seats and other important towns; by 1892 this
organization was demanding federal as well as state aid for
local roads and also the use of convict labor in public highway
improvement.
It is clear that the more progressive elements in rural
Illinois were in favor of road improvement and of greater
centralization in road administration. In 1891 a bill was
introduced into the house providing for the establishment of a
nonpartisan state board of highway commissioners; but the
committee on roads and bridges reported the bill adversely,^^
and the political forces against it proved too strong. The
appointment of such a commission had to wait another decade.
The construction of highway bridges had progressed as
little as had that of roads. In both respects Illinois lagged
Report of the Illinois State Dairymen's Association, 1891, p. 461.
House Journal, 1891, p. 656, 1006-1007.
302 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
behind neighboring states. Bridges were poorly built and in
many cases actually dangerous ; yet nothing was done to better
conditions. As early as 1872 provision had been made by law
for county aid in building substantial and expensive bridges,
but few townships availed themselves of this aid and cheap
structures continued to be built. Several bridge accidents in
the decade from 1880 to 1890 called attention to the inadequacy
and even danger of the ordinary wooden highway bridge, but
practically nothing was done to remedy the situation.
The two decades and a half ending in 1893 constituted
what may be called the "awakening period" in the history of
roads in Illinois. There was much talk and little achievement.
It was a period of education and agitation. Yet by the end of
it the economic and social forces which were to " pull Illinois
out of the mud" were beginning to operate, although many
more years were to pass and other forces were to develop and
unite with these before the final steps were taken in the effective
movement for highway improvement.
XVL TRADE AND COMMERCE, 1870-1893
HE majority of the people of Illinois in 1870 were
engaged in farming, and most of them in. highly special¬
ized forms of agriculture. The city workers, on the other
hand, were developing a great diversity of industries, many of
which were built up on the basis of the raw materials furnished
by the farms. A large and growing interchange of commodi¬
ties had, therefore, developed between the rural and urban
sections of the state, and between both of these and more
distant markets in the east and south. No longer could a
single producer or group of producers supply all their own
wants, but each was forced to trade with the others. In the
early seventies the chief commercial interests of Chicago —
and in that city were centered the commercial interests of the
whole state — were grain, flour, livestock, provisions, lumber,
wool and hides, seeds, and coal.^ Of these the most important
was grain.
Before 1870 most of the surplus grain of Illinois had gone
to eastern markets, being shipped from Chicago via the Great
Lakes and the Erie canal or the St. Lawrence river. Corn,
pork, and other agricultural products also found a market in
the south. It had been the custom to place grain shipped to
Chicago from Illinois farms, or from points farther west, in
warehouses in that city, from which it was sold to grain dealers.
This necessitated immense warehousing capacity and the
whole business of storing, buying, and shipping grain was of
^ Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1871, p. 9-13 ; 1872, p. 10-14.
364 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
great importance. About this time, however, various events
occurred which threatened the prosperity of this trade and the
preëminence of Chicago as its principal center in the United
States.
Illinois had long been losing ground as a wheat producing
state. The center of production of winter wheat was steadily
moving to the southwest, while that of spring wheat was being
pushed even more rapidly to the northwest. As a result of
the large immigration into these states, Dakota, Nebraska, and
Kansas expanded their wheat producing area from 3,600,000
acres in 1879 to 5,050,000 in 1884. New markets sprang up
at Omaha, St. Paul, and Kansas City to care for the grain
traffic from these new sources of supply, and to that extent
interrupted the flow of grain to Chicago just as thirty-five years
before Chicago had diverted the trade intended for Cincinnati
and other points farther east.^
Already in the early seventies Chicago had lost its position
as an important market for winter wheat, although efforts con¬
tinued to be made to regain this trade. Peoria, the other
primary grain market in Illinois, had by the early eighties
ceased to place any emphasis upon its wheat receipts, making
no effort to attract more wheat to its market than was needed to
supply the local demand.® The spring wheat trade still
remained important, although Duluth rapidly gained upon and
finally outdistanced Chicago as the chief center of this trade.
In 1881 there were shipped from Chicago seventeen million
bushels as against three and one-half million from Duluth; but
a few years later, in the five year period 1886-1890, the ship¬
ments from Chicago had fallen while those from Duluth had
increased to almost an equal amount. In the next five-year
^Railroad Gazette, 17:38.
^Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1878, p. xxii; Report
of the Trade and Commerce of Peoria, 1884, p. 13.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
365
period Duluth passed Chicago and has ever since held first
place as the center of the spring wheat trade.^
Other cities also were competing with Chicago for the grain
trade. The opening of the jetties at the mouth of the Missis¬
sippi river in 1869 greatly improved the facilities of that route,
reducing the cost of shipping grain from St. Louis to Liverpool
from fifty to thirty-two cents a bushel. St. Louis immediately
made a strong effort to divert the export grain trade from
Chicago to the river route via New Orleans.® The St. Louis
Grain Association was said to have been organized for that
express purpose. Grain shipments increased rapidly, but after
a few years fell off again, declining even below their former
proportions. The reason for this was the increasing railroad
competition which was beginning to divert the grain traffic from
both the water routes. Especially instrumental in effecting
this change was the fact that the water routes were closed
during the winter months.
It had been the practice during the earlier period to let the
grain accumulate in warehouses until navigation opened in the
spring, but about 1871 the railroads began to carry the grain
to the east during the winter, and these winter shipments
*The following table gives the exact figures. Those for Duluth are for
grain received, hut for practical purposes this may he treated as equal to the
amount shipped east. The statistics for Chicago are from Reports of the Trade
and Commerce of Chicago, and those for Duluth are from Reports of the New
York Produce Exchange.
Wheat Shipments of Chicago and Duluth, 1881-1895
Period
Shipped from
Chicago
(bushels)
Received at
Duluth
(bushels)
1881-1885
16,729,000
9,089,000
1886-1890
16,545,000
16,086,000
1891-1895
29,705,000
40,317,000
''Western Agriculturist, November, 1877, p. 8; Cairo Evening Bulletin,
April I, 1869, p. I ; Tyson, History of East St. Louis, 50.
366 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
increased until in a few years the movement of grain eastward
was continuous throughout the year. With this change Cairo
entered the field and attracted, during low water and the winter
season, much of the grain that was seeking a market farther
south. By 1874 Cairo had become so important as a grain
center that the Board of Trade of that city adopted a system
of grain inspection and appointed one of the assistant state
inspectors to organize and take charge of the work. But the
movement of the grain producing area to the northwest pre¬
vented the grain trade of Cairo from assuming large propor¬
tions. For this trade Chicago, because of its position, had
undisputed supremacy over other Illinois cities. Milwaukee
and Toledo also attracted some of the trade of the Mississippi
valley; the latter for a time attained some importance as a
grain dépôt, principally as a result of the real or supposed
extortions of the warehouse system of Chicago.®
Of all the factors which threatened to divert the grain
trade from Chicago at this time the warehouse system was the
most irritating and called forth the most discussion. It was
charged that there was a combination between the railroads
and the warehouses by which the grain traffic of Chicago was
completely monopolized. The combination exacted a ware¬
house storage charge of two cents for twenty days on every
bushel of grain entering the city whether or not it was ever
actually in a warehouse. The only exception to this rule was
in the case of wheat brought in bags to Chicago, but as most of
the wheat was now handled in bulk, the exception had no
practical significance. In order to compel country shippers to
consign all grain shipped to Chicago to the "ring" elevators
an additional charge of eight to ten cents per bushel was made
'Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1S71, p. 99; Report
of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1874, P- 33! Chicago Tribune,
August 18, 1871, April 30, 1874.
TRADE AND COMMERCE 367
by the railroads on all grain shipped to independent elevators
which were not members of the combination.''
This storage charge not merely diverted the grain traffic
from Chicago, but, it was urged, it also prevented the growth
of flour milling in the city, since wheat made into flour at Peoria
and other points escaped the tax of two cents a bushel and hence
enjoyed an advantage in this respect over Chicago. In order
to protect the grain producers and shippers the Chicago Board
of Trade demanded the registration of all receipts issued for
grain placed in storage and the cancellation of such receipts as
soon as the grain in storage was removed. But the warehouse¬
men refused to agree to such a system.
It seems hardly open to doubt that the high storage charges
had an adverse effect upon the Chicago grain trade. In 1870
it was estimated that the charge for storage for one year was
thirty-three and one-third per cent of the selling price in the
case of wheat and nearly seventy-four per cent in the case of
oats. The Illinois farmer was practically forced by such a
system to sell his grain as soon as it reached the market, which
was just at the time when prices were lowest. The system of
grading at Chicago was also the subject of considerable com¬
plaint, and much of the corn from southern Illinois began to be
shipped direct to Toledo, where it could be sold on its merits
and avoid the grading system prevalent at Chicago.®
During the progress of the controversy numerous petitions
were forwarded to the constitutional convention asking that
some provision be incorporated in the state constitution to
protect the people against warehouse frauds. It was objected,
however, that such a clause would be in the nature of legislation
rather than a statement of fundamental principle such as alone
belonged in the constitution. After the adoption of the con-
'This was effected by a new freight tariff. Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1871.
^ Ibid,, January 28, February 16, 19, March 3, 17, 1870.
368 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
stitution the demand for appropriate legislation was renewed
before the legislature, and in spite of the opposition of the
Board of Trade, of the warehousemen, and of the railroads,
three separate laws were passed in 1871 for the protection of
the grain trade : a law providing that a license be taken out for
each warehouse; an act to govern the transportation of grain
by railroads; and an act to establish a board of railroad and
warehouse commissioners.®
The warehousemen refused to take out licenses as directed
and contested the authority of the new railroad and warehouse
commission, which was appointed and organized for business
in July, 1871. From 1872 on there were suits continuously
pending in the courts to compel the railroads and the ware¬
housemen to comply with the law, but by the end of the decade
the constitutionality of the act and the authority of the com¬
mission had been fully established. There were constant
disputes, however, as to the character of the work done by the
commission. The Board of Trade declared that the adminis¬
tration of the commission was unsatisfactory, and some of the
largest shippers protested that the state grain inspection was
unfair. On the other hand, the commission claimed that the
system of state grain inspection was rapidly growing in favor,
and that eastern cities were following the example of Chicago
in this respect. As a result of the work of the commission the
worst abuses were gradually eliminated, and in 1877 by an
agreement between the elevator men and the railroads the
elevator storage charge was reduced from two cents a bushel
for twenty days to one and one-fourth cents for ten days, and
the trimming charge from one dollar to fifty cents per car, while
the railroad companies abolished their charges for switching.^®
^Chicago Tribune, April i8, 1871.
Ibid., October 16, November 12, December 7, 1872, January 6, 1S74,
August 8, 1876, February 16, 1877; Report of the Railroad and Warehouse
Commission, 1873, p. 35; 1874, p. 33.
TRADE AND COMMERCE 369
The bad repute of the Chicago warehouse system was en¬
hanced if anything by the "corners" which occurred in that
market in 1871 and 1872. A wheat corner was attempted in
1871, but it finally collapsed. In the following year two cor¬
ners were organized — one in wheat and the other in oats.
These speculative operations aroused a great deal of feeling
against the grain trade manipulations carried on in Chicago.
Another factor which worked against the grain trade of
Chicago, temporarily at least, was the inadequacy of storage
facilities. The fire of 1871 destroyed a great many elevators
and warehouses, and during the next few years the business
was hampered by the lack of facilities for handling it. In 1872
some of the railroads were compelled to refuse to accept grain
from the shippers because of lack of room in which to store it.
This particular difficulty was gradually remedied, however, and
when a few years later the railroad and warehouse commission
endeavored to ascertain the storage capacity of all the ware¬
houses in Illinois a great expansion was disclosed. The Chi¬
cago elevators had a storage capacity of 26,000,000 bushels,
while those in other cities had over 31,000,000 bushels; the
largest warehouses outside of Chicago were at East St. Louis
(700,000 bushels) and Peoria (300,000 bushels).
After 1870 the railroads played an increasingly important
rôle in the commercial and industrial development of Illinois.
They were able, therefore, to affect this development for good
or ill by their rate policy. It was charged in 1871 that all
railroads except the Michigan Central were discriminating
against Chicago and in favor of Kansas City with regard to
the shipment of packing house products. " For nearly two
years," said the Chicago Times, " Kansas City has taken the
Report of the Railroad and fVarehouse Commission, 1872, p. 35; 1879,
p. xxvi-xxvii; Chicago Tribune, August 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, September 20, 1872,
January 16, 1884. During September and October, 1884, there was a gigantic
corner in corn on the Chicago market. Ibid., September 23, 27, October i, 1884.
370
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
lead of Chicago in beef packing. Kansas City packs three
times the number of cattle as Chicago. The reason is that
packed beef is transported from Kansas to New York through
Chicago at 70 cents per 100 pounds. The roads east of Chi¬
cago receive 42 cents of this amount, while Chicago packers are
charged 65 cents for the product packed from here."^^ It
seems from these rates that the Chicago packers had an advan¬
tage of five cents a hundred pounds in the cost of shipment to
the New York market, but they were not satisfied with this
and protested to the railroads. These complaints were
repeated from time to time. Similar charges were made of
discrimination against the Chicago grain dealers, as the grain
was carried directly to the east without stopping at Chicago as
formerly or even passing through that city. By 1879 a con¬
siderable quantity of grain was being shipped eastward by rail
from points to the west of Chicago via the Joliet cut-off,
thus avoiding the grain inspection and switching charges at
Chicago.^®
That the railroad discriminations were not aimed at Chi¬
cago, but lay rather in the very nature of rate fixing at that
time, is seen from the fact that other towns complained equally
of discriminations against them and in favor of Chicago.
Thus Peoria claimed that the apparent object of the rate dis¬
criminations by the railroads was to force all traffic to go by
way of Chicago. It was, moreover, asserted that during the
months when water navigation was closed the rates from
Peoria to eastern points were so high that the shipment of
grain from that city was almost prohibited. The growing
industries of Peoria were, however, beginning to absorb the
grain shipped to that city and to leave less for export. About
Chicago Times, December 8, 1871.
Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1875, p. 19; 1888, p. xlvi;
Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1879, p. xxxii.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
371
1885 corn began to be substituted for rye in the production of
distilled liquors, owing to improvements in machinery for pre¬
paring grain for distillation; and as a result the demand for
corn increased while that for rye fell offd^ On the whole,
railway rates were not arbitrarily fixed, but were subject to the
competition of other carriers and of competing markets and
regions of production.
An effort to stabilize rates and divide the field was made
by the railroads in 1878. By an agreement made in that year
the railroads were to charge a relatively low rate on agricul¬
tural products and a relatively high rate on manufactured
products going to eastern or southern markets, while just the
reverse would be done in the case of goods moving to the west.
By this arrangement it was designed to stimulate the movement
of agricultural products to the east and south and of manufac¬
tured goods to the west, a movement which at that time was
perfectly normal and did not prejudice the interests of the state,
as there was little manufacturing in Illinois. But with the
growth of manufacturing industries these discriminating rates
began to prove irksome.
As the manufacturers or wholesale dealers of Chicago
reached out into southeastern markets they found themselves
at a serious disadvantage in competition with dealers from New
York and other eastern cities because of the operation of the
agreement of 1878.^® By 1890 goods were being shipped
from Chicago as far east as Pittsburg, west to the Pacific coast,
and to a lesser extent into southern territory. The shippers
of Chicago protested against this system in vain. Unable to
secure a readjustment of rates directly from the railroads, they
united with shippers of Cincinnati, who had a similar grievance.
Report of the Trade and Commerce of Peoria, 1878, p. 13; 1879, p. 13;
1885, p. 10, 14.
The extent of this disadvantage and the nature of the discrimination may
be illustrated by the following table of rates to two important southern points in
372 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
and made complaint before the interstate commerce commis¬
sion. In 1894 the commission decided in their favor and
ordered a reduction of rates on the lines south of the Ohio on
goods from Chicago and Cincinnati. The order of the com¬
mission was set aside, however, by the supreme court in the
famous maximum rate case;" and not until 1905 were the rates
to the south on Chicago manufactures reduced below those
on manufactures coming from the east.
In spite of all these disadvantages and difficulties the trade
and commerce of Chicago were expanding at a rapid rate.
Indeed, some of the evils may be regarded merely as growing
pains incidental to the readjustments which were taking place
in a rapidly developing state. By 1880 the more important
railroad connections between Chicago and the west and north¬
west had been made and Chicago was drawing the grain trade
from an area of about 350,000 square miles of the most pro¬
ductive agricultural district of the world. This section was,
moreover, being developed with marvelous rapidity and was
cents per hundred pounds. The numbered classes are manufactured goods and
in general high-grade traffic. The lettered classes include agricultural products.
To Knoxville, Tennessee
Distance
(miles)
from
i
2
3
4
5
6 a
b
C
D
E
f
g
New York. .
Chicago ....
735
560
100
116
85
99
70
82
55
64
48
55
40 36
42 42
40
38
36
33
36
29
48
47
55
58
72
48
To atlanta, georgia
Distance
(miles)
r\
from
i
2
3
4
5
6 a
B
C
D
E
f
g
New York. .
Chicago....
876
•■■ 733
114
147
98
126
86
x06
73
85
60
71
49 36
58 40
48
47
40
38
39
34
58
61
78
68
68
68
— From opinion of the interstate commerce commission in Freight Bureau of the
Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce v. Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas
Pacific Railway Company and others, Interstate Commerce Reports, 6:195 (204,
205).
Ibid., 6:195 (200-201); Interstate Commerce Commission v. Cincinnati,
New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company, 167 United States, 479
(493-495)-
TRADE AND COMMERCE 373
connected with the Chicago market by a railroad mileage of
over 15,000. These facts were sufficient to guarantee a bril¬
liant future for the city in spite of the decline of the winter
wheat traffic. Receipts of grain increased from 98)935,413
bushels in 1873 to 164,924,732 bushels in 1883,^^ or a gain of
sixty-six and two-thirds per cent.
About 1885 another change was inaugurated by the rail¬
roads, which threatened to divert some of the traffic from
Chicago. The shipper was now permitted to leave his grain
in the cars and sell it on the track. In case it was sold he paid
the local rate to Chicago; and if not sold he could reconsign it
to the east at the through rate, which was two cents lower per
bushel than the sum of the local rates. That this was an
advantage to the producer and shipper and an economical
method seems clear, but it is equally clear that it did not work
to the advantage of Chicago. It was, of course, a blow to the
warehouse and elevator interests, and there was a strong tend¬
ency toward eliminating the terminal warehouse. But if
the investment in expensive terminal facilities was rendered
unnecessary by the system of selling on the tracks, there was no
reason why other cities could not be grain markets. As the
railroads granted the same concessions to other cities, there
was thus a further diversion of the grain traffic from Chicago.
The Chicago roads had apparently not been perturbed by
the sacrifice of the city terminal interests, but when the grain
began to move to other centers their own position was threat¬
ened. To combat this diversion of the trade from Chicago
two policies were open. They could lower rates to and through
Chicago sufficiently to allow that city to compete on an equality
with points nearer the sources of supply, or they could improve
the system of marketing grain. They chose the latter plan,
" Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1880, p. 519 ; Report
of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1911, p. 18.
374
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
and allied themselves with certain warehouse owners who had
sufficient capital to buy up all the grain along their lines and
ship it to Chicago. The railroads then gave to these dealers
the use of their terminal facilities and local elevators on espe¬
cially favorable terms. In other words, the roads were
practically subsidizing dealers to get grain for their lines and
for the Chicago market. As a result of the concentration of
the business, however, the marketing expenses were consider¬
ably reduced, most of the saving in this respect going to the
producer.^® This is illustrated in the following table showing
the savings effected in the case of wheat :
There was some protest against this system by the inde¬
pendent grain dealers who were being gradually forced out of
business, but the fear of an oppressive monopoly was dismissed
as groundless by the industrial commission after the plan had
been in operation a number of years.^®
The importance of Chicago as a packing center is discussed
in another place,®® but the influence of this industry upon the
commercial development of the city calls for notice at this point.
Illinois was the leading state in the slaughtering and meat
packing industry, Chicago alone producing more than the state
ranking second. Between 1870 and 1890 there was a steady
growth in the receipts of cattle, hogs, and sheep, most of which
were slaughtered and packed, although an increasing number
were of course reserved for local consumption. The shipments
of beef in packages, of barreled pork, and of cured meats did
iSNewcomb, Changes in the Rates of Charge for Railnaay and other Trans¬
portation Services, table 70.
Report of the Industrial Commission, 6:9, 50, 76.
See p. 394 ff.
Average Chicago cash price (cents per bushel)
Average farm price (cents per bushel)
Cost of concentration at Chicago
1884 i8Ç7
82.7 8x.2
64.5 76.3
18.2
4-9
TRADE AND COMMERCE
375
not show a corresponding growth,as the introduction in the
early seventies of refrigerator cars stimulated the shipment of
fresh meat instead of the prepared products.
Other products closely connected with the packing industry,
for which Chicago has long been a distributing center, were
lard, wool, and hides. There was a steady increase between
1870 and 1890 in the shipments of lard (from 43,292,000
pounds to 471,910,000) and of hides (from 27,246,000 pounds
to 199,084,000), but in the case of wool the maximum ship¬
ments (of 51,904,000 pounds) were made in 1885. Salt was
received in large quantities at Chicago for use in the packing
house plants, and a considerable amount passed through the
city for use elsewhere.
Other of the bulky raw commodities for which Chicago
was an important distributing point were the lumber and
shingles of the northern pine forests. In the early seventies
this traffic was conducted for the most part by water, and
large quantities of lumber were sent down the lakes and via
the Illinois and Michigan canal and the Illinois river to south¬
ern markets. But as the forests were cut back from the water's
edge, railroads began to penetrate the upper peninsula of
Michigan, and other roads were built between the Wisconsin
and Minnesota forests and Iowa, Kansas, and other western
points. New sources of supply, new markets, and new routes
of transportation all helped to divert the traffic from Chicago.
Moreover, the lumber manufacturers in Michigan and other
nearby states began to assort lumber at their own mills for
the retail market, thus saving the cost of yardage and middle¬
men's profits at Chicago. And finally the pine forests of the
south began to supply the southern markets to which most of
the Chicago shipments of lumber had been directed. After
about 1880 the lumber trade of Chicago began to fall off and
See tables in appendix, p. 503.
376 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
became increasingly local in character; the great building
activity within the city has of course caused the receipts of
lumber to increase, though in the case of shingles even the
local demand has declined since 1885.^^ This is doubtless due
to the development of fireproof construction.
The importance of Chicago as a general distributing center
for other products was, however, becoming manifest during
this period. By 1870 the movement of merchandise to the
south had reached large proportions, and a considerable part
of this passed through Illinois. During the winter of 1869-
1870 it was stated that sufficient tonnage could not be obtained
on the Mississippi river to move forward the accumulated
freight which the two railroads running southward from
Chicago carried to the river ports. Flour, oats, hay, bulk
meats, agricultural implements, and merchandise were the
articles which entered most largely into this trade, many of
which were supplied by Illinois manufacturers.®®
This general business received a rude interruption at the
time of the fire of 1871 and again following the panic of 1873,
but by 1876 the amount of merchandise received, produced,
handled, and sold at Chicago had immensely increased. During
the years after the panic the wholesale and jobbing trade of
Chicago showed a remarkable expansion. Many of the interior
merchants, who a few years before had made the bulk of their
purchases in the east, began now to buy practically all their
goods in Chicago. Agencies of the larger manufacturing
establishments in eastern cities were located in Chicago, and
the number of wholesale and jobbing houses in the city grew
rapidly. At the same time the older established houses more
Chicago Tribune, March 9, 1871; Report of the Trade and Commerce of
Chicago, 1886, p. xxxiv; Industrial Chicago, 4:315-318. For table of receipts
and shipments of lumber and shingles at Chicago showing the gradual decline
of that city as a distributing point for these articles see appendix, p. 503.
Chicago Tribune, March it, 1870.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
377
than doubled their business in five or six years after the fire
in 1871.2^
Chicago enjoyed certain advantages over its eastern com¬
petitors as a distributing and jobbing center, which enabled
it to forge ahead rapidly at this time. The prosperous agri¬
cultural population of the Mississippi valley furnished an
unrivaled market for staple commodities, and the location of
Chicago in the very heart of this district gave it an initial
advantage. Chicago merchants were better posted as to the
responsibility and tastes of their customers than were eastern
merchants. They could therefore sell on a narrower margin
of profit, as they had the very pick of the customers. As they
usually sold goods on shorter time than most eastern mer¬
chants, moreover, they were able to give better terms in other
respects. It was stated that goods of nearly all descriptions
could be bought at wholesale in Chicago at prices as low as
those in New York or any other eastern market with freight
charges added, and in many cases as low without any allow¬
ance for freight, and that the stocks in Chicago were as fresh,
as large, and as desirable as those to be found elsewhere. By
1876 the wholesale trade of Chicago, exclusive of the products
of western agriculture, amounted to not less than $350,000,000
annually.^®
One of the potent agencies enabling Chicago to stem the
tide of eastern competition in the wholesale business, and to
make such notable progress in such a short time, was the
system of employing commercial travelers. Up to the time
of the Civil War the "drummer" had been regarded as a
Report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1872, p. 32; Chicago
Tribune, January i, 1877; Report on Internal Commerce of the United States,
1876, appendix, 90. For instance, in 1876 the important dry goods house of
A. T. Stewart and Company established a wholesale branch in Chicago. A
decade later the number of branch firms or agencies in Chicago was noteworthy.
American Artisan and Patent Record, February 27, 1886, p. 10.
Report on Internal Commerce of the United States, 1876, appendix, p. 82.
378
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
sort of privateer in trade, but with the development of the
railroad and telegraph facilities during the following decade
he had won a position of importance and responsibility. By
1875 the soliciting of orders and selling by sample in the
hands of agents of business houses had become an established
method of intercourse between buyer and seller. The advan¬
tages and economies of this mode of commercial intercourse
were quickly recognized by Illinois merchants, who began to
sell almost every conceivable article of merchandise, and to buy
raw materials, through this new agency.^®
One interesting development of Chicago commerce during
this period was the direct importation of goods from Europe
and the Orient. It had been urged that foreign trade was
restricted by having to pass through New York and that if
Chicago were made a port of entry a large direct trade with
Europe would result. In 1872, accordingly, Chicago was made
a port of entry, but there was little diversion of trade from
New York to the direct route via the St. Lawrence river and
the Great Lakes. The value of imported goods upon which
duty was paid at Chicago increased from $6,955,234 in 1880
to $15,406,786 in 1890."
Besides the trade with Europe, the early seventies saw
the growth of a direct trade between Chicago and the Orient.
Tea and other oriental goods began to be shipped from China
and Japan across the Pacific ocean and by the transcontinental
railroads, which were just being built, to Chicago. The first
cargo of tea thus received at that city arrived in 1870. In
two months of the following year 25,000 chests of 60 pounds
each came direct by rail to Chicago, and about 50,000 chests
passed through the city on the way to New York and other
Report on Internal Commerce of the United States, 1876, appendix p. 66-67.
Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1880, p. 60; 1890, p. 116-
TRADE AND COMMERCE
379
eastern points. Illinois merchants were led by these facts to
believe that Chicago was destined to become the central dis¬
tributing point in the west for teas and oriental goods, as well
as for many native products.^®
It is difficult to determine exactly the extent of the terri¬
tory covered by Illinois wholesale houses and jobbers, as some
branches of trade, like boots and shoes, extended farther than
others. The supplies of the western territory, as far west as
Utah, seem to have been drawn largely from Chicago prior
to 1880. Nevada was competitive ground for eastern mer¬
chants and those of the Pacific coast. This western trade was
largest in mining machinery and supplies, boots and shoes, and
dry goods. The Chicago trade in boots and shoes, which
were of coarse and medium qualities and thus well adapted to
the western and southern demand, was probably more extended
than that of any other commodity, reaching to Nevada on the
west, to Tennessee and Georgia on the south, and to Penn¬
sylvania on the east. Dry goods and drugs went nearly as far,
but in less volume.^®
The panic of 1884 caused a depression in the wholesale
as well as in all other business in Chicago; but by the end of
the following year a revival began which continued unabated
through the next few years. The boot and shoe industry was
by 1888 one of the largest in the city and was represented by
over eighty leading manufacturers and jobbers, giving employ¬
ment to nearly 7,000 operatives. Still, it was claimed by
enterprising merchants that " the boot and shoe trade of
Chicago is in its infancy." The dry goods trade stood at
the head of the wholesale business, showing sales which
increased from $55,300,000 in 1879 to $83,570,000 in 1888.
28 Chicago Tribune, March 24, 1870, May iz, 1871, December 15, 1874.
Report on Internal Commerce of the United States, 1879, p. 48-49.
^"Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1888, p. xv; Chicago
Tribune, January i, i886.
38o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Allied with this was the wholesale millinery business, whose
sales in the last named year amounted to $6,500,000. Some¬
what larger and more extensive was the manufacture and
trade in men's and boys' clothing. Chicago claimed the largest
manufacturing house of this kind in the world, and altogether
nearly a hundred factories and jobbing houses with a capital
of $14,000,000. The sales of Chicago clothing extended
eastward into Michigan and Ohio, and throughout the
southwest, west, and northwest. Other commodities for
which Chicago was an important distributing as well as
producing center, were paper, the sales of which in 1888
were $33,900,000; manufactured iron, comprising bar iron,
plate steel, nails, carriage goods, and the like, with sales
of $11,500,000; and agricultural implements with local pro¬
duction of $12,000,000 and a trade many times as large.®^
Although Chicago overshadowed all other Illinois cities
in the wholesale and jobbing business, Peoria had developed
a considerable trade along similar lines by the early seventies.
In 1875 the local Board of Trade claimed that "the whole¬
sale and jobbing interests keep pace with the facilities offered,
and Peoria is now one of the best markets in the west in which
to procure the supplies needed for the interior towns, and will
compare favorably with the larger markets in the extent and
variety as well as prices of its merchandise of all kinds."
This prosperity suffered from the panic of 1873 again
from that of 1884, but it recovered quickly in each instance,
so that by the end of the period Peoria held second position in
the state as a trading center.
Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1888, p. xiv, xv, xvii.
Report of the Trade and Commerce of Peoria, 1875, p. 12.
XVII. MANUFACTURES IN ILLINOIS, 1870-1890
LTHOUGH Illinois in 1870 was still primarily an
agricultural state, in the very wealth of its agricultural
products lay the basis of an expanding and enduring industrial
development. Able to draw upon the great wheat and corn
belts, the manufacturers of Illinois have utilized their products
in building up a variety of great industries; upon these chiefly
rests Illinois' industrial prosperity. But these primary indus¬
tries have been well complemented by others; although the
state is singularly lacking in metallic resources, its clays were
early utilized in the manufacture of brick, and its abundant
supply of coal has been made to furnish suflSciently high caloric
to smelt and work the iron shipped in from neighboring states.
Before this period the manufactures of Illinois had been
relatively insignificant, the state ranking fifteenth in the union
in this respect in 1850. The decade 1860—1870 was one of
great expansion, the value of the products showing almost a
fourfold increase, so that by 1870 the state ranked sixth. In
this decade a new era in manufacturing may be said to have
begun. With the barriers of distance almost eliminated by
improved railroad transportation and by the telegraph and
improved postal facilities, the sphere of competition widened.
With the repeated inventions of new processes of manufacture,
with the growth of population and the enlargement of the
market, the factory system supplanted the old neighborhood
and hand methods of production, and manufacturing was car¬
ried on upon an ever-enlarging scale. The changes in the
industrial system, the growth of corporations, and the differen¬
tiation of capital and labor were even more far-reaching.
382 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Each of the next two decades saw the value of the manu¬
factured products double, passing that of agricultural prod¬
ucts in 1880 and far outdistancing it ten years later. By
1890 Illinois was the most important manufacturing state
west of the Alleghenies and of all the states in the union
was surpassed only by New York and Pennsylvania. The
value of Illinois' manufactured products in this year exceeded
that of the products of agriculture, mining, and fisheries com¬
bined.^
The beginning of modern industrialism which occurred in
Illinois in 1860—1870 was to a certain extent simply a reflec¬
tion of what was taking place all over the country at this time.
The Civil War had created a suddenly increased demand for
certain commodities such as food, clothing, arms, and the like.
The rise in prices occasioned by the overissue of legal-tender
paper money acted as a stimulus to the production of goods
for future sale ; as long as prices were rising it was difficult for
a manufacturing enterprise to fail unless grossly mismanaged.
And finally the imposition of heavy war tariffs on practically
all imported manufactured goods gave a great advantage to
domestic producers in the United States by reserving for them
the home market. Illinois felt the force of all these factors;
but it was affected even more directly by the development of
the west. The growth in population, the increasing produc¬
tion of grain and cattle, the building of railroads, the con¬
struction of cities and various city improvements, and the
general betterment of the material conditions of the people
were creating a vast home market for manufacturers and at
the same time were increasing the purchasing power of the
people. It is noticeable that while the most important manu¬
facturing industries of Illinois were based upon the state's
^ For table showing comparative growth of manufactures, agriculture, and
mining see appendix, p. 504.
MANUFACTURES
383
possession of unrivaled sources of raw materials, especially
grain and livestock, there were also many others which grew
in response to local needs, the products of which were too
bulky or too heavy to stand transportation from the industrial
centers of the east.
The substantial progress made by Illinois manufacturers
during these years is the more impressive when it is remem¬
bered that it was on the whole a period of falling prices,
tending to depress industrial enterprise. Even in the years of
recovery from the panics of 1873, 1884, and 1893 complaints
were frequently heard that times were dull and profits low,
and some large plants were shut down.^
A more detailed study of the leading industries of the
state in 1870 reveals the close relation which existed between
manufactures and the extractive industries, that is, the utiliza¬
tion of natural resources. There were in this year thirty-four
industries with an annual output of over $1,000,000,® of which
seven turned out over $5,000,000 a year each, or almost half
(47 per cent) of the aggregate value of products. These
seven leading industries were, in the order of their importance,
flour and grist mills, meat packing, agricultural implements,
clothing, distilled liquors, planed lumber, and carriages and
wagons — all except one closely connected with the extractive
industries. The manufactures of flour and of whisky were
based upon the plentiful supplies of wheat and corn; meat
packing upon livestock and corn as fodder; agricultural imple¬
ments, carriages and wagons, and planed lumber upon the
large supplies of wood from the neighboring states of Michigan
and Wisconsin and upon the great market in Illinois for agri¬
cultural supplies. Clothing alone of these industries may be
2 See JVestern Manufacturer, 10:337, 12:236; Report of the Trade and Com¬
merce of Chicago, 1882, p. xiv; American Artisan and Patent Record, January 19,
1889, p. 235; June 22, 1889, p. 12.
^ For table see appendix, p. 504.
384 the industrial state
called a product of the factory system rather than of a plentiful
and cheap supply of raw materials.
If, however, the sixteen manufacturing industries which
produced more than $2,000,000 but less than $5,000,000 in
1870 be taken, this characteristic is less marked and a larger
proportion of them are found to be "pure" manufactures,
that is, industries in which the process of manufacture adds
largely to the value of the raw material which is worked up.
These were, in the order of their importance ; sawed lumber,
malt liquors, iron castings, forged and rolled iron, chewing
and smoking tobacco, furniture, machinery (not specified),
woolen goods, saddlery and harness, cooperage, sashes, doors,
and blinds, boots and shoes, tin, copper, and sheet-iron
ware, machinery for railroad repairing, curried leather, and
tanned leather. In general, however, they were industries
which involved the working up of large masses of raw materials
by means of machinery or relatively simple processes, rather
than those which called for numerous hands or laborious work¬
manship.^ Their presence in Illinois may in most cases be
explained by the existence of special facilities or of a local
market for the product.
It is evident that Illinois owed what advance it had se¬
cured in manufacturing prior to 1870 to the preparation of
food, drink, and clothing—the great staple commodities
needed by a growing agricultural community which demanded
the satisfaction of its primary necessities in ever-increasing
degree, but which as yet had little to spare for the luxuries
and superfluities. Most of the manufactures went to satisfy
a local demand; and, in addition to those produced at home,
vast quantities were imported into the state from Europe and
the east. As yet little was produced for sale in distant markets
* Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1869-1870,
p. 200.
MANUFACTURES
385
except in the case of a few specialties as, for instance, agricul¬
tural implements, packed meats, and the like. Indeed, in 1870
Illinois had by no means passed out of the system of neigh¬
borhood and hand industry, as is witnessed by the fact that
"home manufactures" were still returned in the agricultural
schedules as constituting part of the products of the farm
household.
By 1870, then, the foundations had been well laid for
an industrial commonwealth, but, after all, little more than
the foundations can be recorded. The next twenty years were
to witness the full development of the characteristic features
of modern industrial organization and an expansion of enter¬
prise that brought the state to third rank in the union in
manufactures.
There is probably no single change which so sharply
differentiates the modern factory system from the old hand
methods as the use of nonhuman power. Only when machines
were invented which could be driven by nonhuman power—
animal power, water, and finally steam — was the human race
emancipated. How great an addition to its productive capacity
a community secures by the use of steam or water power may
be realized when it is remembered that one "horse power" is
equivalent to that of twenty-one men. Judged by this standard,
Illinois in 1870 had not yet developed the factory system of
manufactures. Although ranking fourth in population, sixth
in value of products and number of establishments, the state
occupied seventh place in the use of power, surpassed by
Pennsylvania (363,918 horse-power). New York (334,363),
Massachusetts (184,356), Ohio (174,323), Michigan (105,-
851), and Indiana ( 100,369). In that year Illinois developed
only 86,044 horse-power, of which 85 per cent was steam power
and the remaining 15 per cent was water power. It is evident
that the immense wealth of coal and the vast amount of
386 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
natural water power of the streams of Illinois had as yet
scarcely been drawn upon to furnish the motive power for
the manufacturing industries of the state.
During the next twenty years a tremendous change took
place. New labor-saving machines were constantly being
invented, improvements made on the old ones, and new ways
were devised of securing the power to drive them.® The
same amount of human labor could now produce many times
as large an output, and the larger quantities found ready sale
in the widened market created by the expansion of the rail¬
roads. The old limited hand labor methods were rapidly
forced to the wall; unless manufacturers had the capital to
invest in new devices, they were doomed to speedy extinction
in the struggle for survival. It became less easy to set up new
establishments and increasingly easy for factories equipped
with machinery to enlarge their scale of operations. Thus
the outstanding characteristic of the period was the immense
increase in the capital invested and the output as compared
with the number of establishments — m other words, the
growth of large scale factory production with its numerous
economies.
In 1B70, the number of establishments had reached 12,597,
almost four times what it had been two decades before; the
increase during the next decade was slight, less than two thou¬
sand, in spite of a decided increase in all the other factors
involved — capital, labor, and output. By 1890 it had reached
only 20,482.® Clearly a great many establishments were
forced entirely out of the running in the first years of readjust¬
ment; obviously, too, those which remained were producing
on a larger scale than before. The following table con-
^ Western Manufacturer, 10:29. Over a thousand patents were issued to
residents of Illinois in iSSi, probably a fairly typical number.
® For table see appendix, p. 505.
MANUFACTURES 387
veniently shows the change which took place in the average
establishment :
Growth in Size of Average Establishment, 1850-1890
Item
1850
1870
1S80
1890
3,162
3.6
$1,966
$5,229
ia»S97
6.5
$ 7.491
$16,322
14.549
8.2
$ 9,668
$28,515
20,482
IS
$24.509
$44.363
Average hands per establishment
Average capital per establishment....
Average output per establishment....
In contrast with the very moderate increase in the number
of establishments during the twenty years is the consistent
and rapid increase in the amount of capital invested, from
something over $94,000,000 in 1870 to over $500,000,000
in 1890. Naturally, certain industries required or attracted
a larger share of this capital than did others. The heaviest
investment was in the manufacture of agricultural implements,
gas, grease and tallow, iron, distilled liquors, machinery for
railroad repairing, meat packing, and woolen goods; but a
number of other industries such as cooperage, gunsmithing,
and the like were carried on upon a small scale and with only
a very light investment of capital.
The number of wage earners engaged in manufacturing
and mechanical industries grew from 11,559 i" 1850 to 82,979
in 1870 and 312,198 in 1890, a rate of increase several times
as rapid as that of the population. The percentage of the
total population engaged in manufactures exhibited a corre¬
sponding increase for these same years from 1.4 to 3.3 and
to 7.3.
More striking than the growth in the total number of wage
earners, however, was the change in the composition of this
group. Down to 1870 there were almost no women employed
in manufactures in Illinois, their number being only 493
388 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
in 1850 and falling to 479 in i860; by 1870, however,
the number of women had increased to 6,717. The change
in the character of the labor force was initiated by the with¬
drawal from industrial pursuits of a large proportion of the
male population for military service during the Civil War
and the consequent necessity of filling men's places with women
and children. But such a shift would not have been possible
upon such a scale if the previous decade had not witnessed
the introduction of machinery and labor-saving devices which
made feasible the utilization of the labor of physically less
capable workers — a characteristic feature of the factory
system.
The principal industries in which the women found employ¬
ment were clothing and textile industries and to a lesser degree
bookbinding, millinery, printing and publishing, tobacco manu¬
facturing, and watchmaking, all calling for deftness and deli¬
cacy of touch. Children under the age of sixteen years were
enumerated for the first time in the census of 1870, when it
was ascertained that 3,217 were employed in manufacturing
establishments. This number had almost trebled by 1880,
but in the following decade it was greatly reduced as a result
of child labor legislation. Most of these children found em¬
ployment in the same occupations which engaged the women,
though in addition the brick, confectionery, furniture, iron,
and lumber interests employed a good many boys.
The total amount paid in wages to the factory workers in
Illinois showed a steady growth during this period, which was,
moreover, more rapid than the increase in numbers, so that
the average per capita wages also showed an improvement.
The average yearly wage, which had been only $279 in 1850,
was $375 in 1870 and $509 in 1890. While these figures are
not high, they represent about the average remuneration which
workers at that time were receiving in the United States.
MANUFACTURES
389
Since the manufacturing industries of Illinois were based
upon the utilization of valuable raw materials and did not
carry the process of working over these materials through
many subsequent stages, the value of material bulks large in
the value of manufactured products. In 1850 it constituted
54 per cent of the final value of the finished goods, in 1870
it made up 62 per cent, and 58 per cent in 1890. At each
decennial investigation it was shown that it made up more
than half of the value of the finished product. The latter
showed a wonderful growth, increasing from $16,534,272 in
1850 to $908,640,280 in 1890. More significant, however,
of the development of the factory system than the increase of
the gross value of the manufactured products is that of their
net value after deducting the value of the raw materials incor¬
porated in them; this increased from $7,574,945 in 1850 to
$78,020,595 in 1870, and $379,621,191 in 1890.'^
Typical of American industry during this period was the
development of economical methods of extracting, handling,
transporting, manufacturing, and marketing the natural re¬
sources of the country. In the Lake Superior region there
were being opened up the iron ranges, from which an excellent
quality of iron ore could be transported cheaply and easily to
Chicago. To handle this, improved devices and boats were
developed. The manufacture of steel rails, which began in
this country in 1867 and rapidly supplanted iron rails in rail¬
road construction, permitted the carrying of heavier loads,
while the use of steel in the construction of locomotives and
cars led to a great increase in the size and capacity of the
average train. These improvements permitted the carriage
of coal, grain, and similar commodities in large quantities and
' For table showing the rank of manufacturing industries in Illinois for each
of the three census periods 1870, i88o, 1890, the net value of whose production in
1890 was over $i,ooo,cxx), see appendix, p. 506.
390
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
facilitated their utilization as the basis of manufacturing
industries which should deal with materials in the mass.
The iron and steel industry in Illinois dates from about
the sixties. Although Pennsylvania has always been the leader
in this industry, competing enterprises were able to develop in
Illinois because they were nearer the growing western market
and had a slight advantage with regard to the raw material.
At first Hardin county gave promise of an abundant supply
of iron ore, and companies were organized to exploit the
mines, but these works were soon abandoned.® The Iron
mountain district of Missouri was next drawn upon, but since
the eighties the chief sources of supplies for Illinois furnaces
have been the Lake Superior iron ranges. Coal was obtained
from Pennsylvania, Indiana, and southern Illinois.® The
total production of iron and steel within the state showed a
tremendous expansion from 25,761 tons in 1870 to 417,967
tons in 1880, and to 1,657,325 tons in 1890. Illinois ranked
fourth among the iron and steel producing states in 1880,
having made a great stride since 1870, when it ranked fifteenth ;
by 1890 it had attained third place.
The iron industry at Chicago, the present center, dates
from 1857, when Captain E. B. Ward of Detroit built the
Chicago Rolling Mill on the right bank of the Chicago river,
"just outside of the city." It was built to reroll iron rails
and formed the nucleus of the North Chicago Rolling Mill
Company. This company was incorporated in 1869, and at
that time it was reputed to have manufactured about one-third
of all the iron and steel produced in the country. The first
furnace in this district dates from 1868, in which year two
were built by the Chicago Iron Company. In the following
8 Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1871, p. 156; the
furnace at Elizabethtown is said to have been established in 1839. Swank, The
American Iron Trade in 1876, p. 146.
® Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1871, p. 89-93.
MANUFACTURES
391
year two more were built by the North Chicago Rolling Mill
Company. At Joliet, thirty-seven miles southwest of Chicago,
the Joliet Iron and Steel Company, established in 1871, had
built two furnaces by 1873. In addition to these, two others
near St. Louis and three in the coal region about Grand Tower
were reported in 1876.^° There were thus eleven large fur¬
naces using bituminous coal and coke as fuel. In the same
year there were in the state nine rolling mills, chiefly for
rerolling railroad iron. Of the total output of rails in the
United States in 1875, Illinois produced almost a quarter
(23.75 per cent), ranking second to Pennsylvania. In the
production of pig iron, however, Illinois ranked seventh.
Chicago claims the distinction of having the first Bessemer
steel made in this country; it was rolled by the proprietor of
the North Chicago Rolling Mill in 1864. The Union works
were put in operation in 1863 as an iron rail mill, but later a
Bessemer steel plant was added. The South Chicago works
were opened for the production of Bessemer steel in 1882.
The Joliet works, established as an iron mill in 1870, added
a steel rail mill in 1873. These four Illinois mills together
with one in Milwaukee were consolidated in 1889 when a
holding company was organized under the name of the Illinois
Steel Company. In 1890 the total output of all the mills of
this company was 680,274 tons, and the number of employees
was about ten thousand. It operated also seventeen coke blast
furnaces.
In addition to those owned by the Illinois Steel Company,
there were in the state at this time only two other blast fur¬
naces, one of which was operated by the Calumet Iron and
Steel Company, and the other by the Iroquois Furnace Com-
Western Manufacturer, 2:19; Swank, The American Iron Trade in 1876,
p. 146; Report on the Manufactures of the United States at the Tenth Census,
2: 106.
" Chicago Journal of Commerce, August 15, 1883 ; Flinn, Chicago, 308.
392
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
pany, both of Chicago. Of steel plants there were, however,
in addition to the four consolidated mills of the Illinois Steel
Company, thirteen others in Chicago and vicinity. It was
estimated that in 1890 the Chicago steel mills turned out over
one-third of the entire steel rail production of the country.^^
At the same time the local consumption of pig iron, aside from
that converted into steel, amounted to about 400,000 tons.
But the iron and steel products of the state were not limited
to pig iron and steel rails and structural shapes. There were in
1890 over one hundred foundries in Chicago alone and many
more in other towns which produced car wheels, machine cast¬
ings, car castings, stoves, architectural iron, plumbers' supplies,
hardware, and numerous other articles. Illinois establishments
also manufactured on a large scale such products as cut nails,
horse nails, wire nails, bridge building parts, wire, tin plate,
locomotives, and steel ships. None of the last named were
manufactured in the state prior to the formation of the Chicago
Shipbuilding Company in 1890.
The iron and steel industry was the basis of many other
industries, and its expansion was indicative of the general
industrial development of the state. To handle and work up
large masses of raw materials into staple goods on a large
scale, special machinery and labor-saving devices were neces¬
sary, and to provide these had ever been one of the leading
features of Illinois manufactures. By the end of this period
foundry and machine shop products and iron and steel stood
third and fifth respectively in the list of Illinois industries.^®
They were providing the technological apparatus for carrying
on other branches of industry. This period witnessed, too,
the application on a large scale of the principle of interchange-
Cope, The Iron and Steel Interests of Chicago, 7.
13 For table showing the rank of manufacturing industries in Illinois the
gross value of whose production in 1890 exceeded $5,000,000, see appendix
p. 507.
MANUFACTURES
393
able parts. This system was revolutionizing the manufacture
not only of machinery itself, but also of ammunition, locomo¬
tives and railroad machinery, watches, clocks, and agricultural
implements, in the production of all of which except the first
Illinois took a leading place. Illinois shared the benefit of
these improvements with other industrial states, but none was
more profoundly affected by them.
As plentiful and cheap supplies of coal are an essential
condition to the development of the iron and steel industries,
the capacity of Illinois to meet this demand may be noted at
this point. Before the advent of railroads the coal supplies
for southern Illinois came from the east by way of the Ohio
river and for the northern part of the state by lake to Chicago.
The coal deposits of Illinois, situated for the most part in the
southern counties, were then entirely unworked, or were
worked only for local consumption as fuel in homes. Even
after the development of railroads much coal continued to be
shipped into the state from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.
But gradually the more important coal fields in Illinois were
opened and railroads were built to market their product. The
opening of the iron mines of Missouri led to a demand from
St. Louis for large quantities of coal for manufacturing pur¬
poses, and hence gave an impetus to coal mining in southern
Illinois. Railroads were pushed across the state to Belleville
and other important mining centers, and by 1888 over one
hundred important bituminous coal mines in Illinois at dis¬
tances ranging from eight to eighty miles from East St. Louis
were furnishing that city and St. Louis with their supplies of
soft coal.^^
Chicago, too, began to draw its supplies of coal in increas¬
ing measure from domestic sources. With the development
Report of the Trade and Commerce of St. Louis, 1888, p. 25. For discus¬
sion of mineral products see chapter 18.
.394
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
of wheat shipments from the upper Superior districts the
vessels began to carry coal from Pennsylvania and other east¬
ern places on their return journeys to those districts. Accord¬
ingly, the shipments of eastern coal to Chicago by water fell
off, just as the mines in southern Illinois were opened up and
began to supply in heightening degree the expanding needs
of Chicago manufacturers. This has been especially true since
about 1880. Peoria and other industrial cities of Illinois owe
a large part of their growth as manufacturing centers to their
proximity to cheap fuel. Practically no part of the state is
out of reach of coal mines from which fuel for domestic and
industrial purposes can be derived.^®
The typical and leading industries of Illinois, however,
were based rather upon the products of the corn belt than of
iron and coal mines. Slaughtering and meat packing and dis¬
tilled liquors, the first and second on the list of manufactures,
as well as malt liquors, which rank lower down, owe their
preeminence to the state's ability to produce corn and other
grains cheaply. Agricultural implements were in special
demand on the rich level prairies of Illinois, where they found
one of their best markets. But of all these industries the one
most closely identified in the popular mind with the industrial
development of Illinois was the slaughtering and meat packing
industry.
Before the consolidation of the Chicago stockyards in
1865, meat packing was in its infancy. The cattle and hogs
had to be packed in the winter season and the product kept
until the spring when navigation was resumed. Naturally, few
could engage in an industry involving so many risks. But when
railroad transportation began to supersede lake traffic and
the livestock trade was consolidated, the meat packing in¬
dustry in Chicago began to thrive. Various other influences
For table showing growth of coal trade see appendix, p. 508.
MANUFACTURES
395
assisted the development of the industry. Chief of these was
the refrigeration process of preserving meat, begun in the six¬
ties; this rendered summer packing possible,^® though for
many years only the large packers undertook all-the-year
packing. In 1867 the first experiment made in shipping fresh
meat in refrigerator cars proved successful.^^ This method
of caring for meat, together with the development of minute
utilization of by-products, revolutionized the meat packing
industry.
The export trade of cattle and packed meats began in the
sixties, but the shipments were greatly increased when the
process of refrigeration and refrigerating cars made the trans¬
portation of fresh meats feasible. In 1867 the foreign exports
of dressed hogs constituted about 25 per cent of the aggregate
weight of hogs slaughtered in the west that season, while in
1873 the exported product represented 60 per cent of the
total. The first fresh beef shipment to Europe was made in
1875, when 36,000 pounds were exported. Since the improve¬
ment in the processes of curing and canning meat in the seven¬
ties the exportation of provisions has continued to increase,^®
except during the eighties, when a boycott on American packed
meats was practically declared by the French and German
governments. In 1883 and again in 1887 these countries
refused to import American salted pork on the ground that it
was unwholesome.^®
Cleaver, History of Chicago from 1833 to i8q3, p. 107 ; Department of Agri¬
culture of Illinois, Transactions, 1871, p. 98. Libby, McNeill, and Libby first
demonstrated the practicability of curing beef in summer. Centennial History of
Chicago, 157. ,
In 1867 a car from Illinois arrived in New York laden with beef, mutton,
poultry, etc., slaughtered ten days before and in good condition. American
Artisan and Patent Record, July 29, 1868, p. 33.
Railway and Engineering Review, July 7, 1877, p. 5; Report of the Trade
and Commerce of Chicago, 1883, p. 18. In 1874 the export trade fell off somewhat
because of an advance of twenty per cent in the price of hogs. Annual Report of
the.Packing of the West, 1876, p. 23, 24.
Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1883, p. 13 ; 1887, p. xxviii.
396 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The effect of the utilization of more and more of the
by-products was not only to insure the permanent success of
the industry in Chicago, the chief manufacturing city of the
west, but to accelerate the concentration of the industry in a
few hands. The inevitable tendency toward combination
asserted itself early in the history of the industry in Chicago.
The first association of packers was formed in 1865 for the
purpose of guarding their interests; the weeding out of the
small packers began a few decades later. A consolidation of
packing houses was attempted in 1890, when Fowler Brothers,
Limited, an English corporation, was organized to acquire the
business of one firm in Liverpool, two in New York, and the
Anglo-American Refrigerator Car Company of Indiana and
the Anglo-American Provision Company of Chicago.^" This
was followed in 1892 by the organization of the International
Packing and Provision Company, Limited, incorporated in
London, which acquired several packing and commission con¬
cerns of Chicago : the International Packing Company, T. E.
Wells Company, Allerton Packing Company, John Cudahy,
J. C. Hately, Hately Brothers, and Jones and Stiles. This
consolidation was unsuccessful and the company sold its
property and interests to the Consolidated Packing Company.
Flour and grist mill products, which headed the lists of
both gross and net products in 1870, sank lower by degrees
as the center of wheat production gradually passed farther
west and the great flour mills were established in the spring
wheat section of Minnesota. Flour milling had been one of the
earliest industries to develop in Illinois. As proximity to raw
material is an essential factor in this industry, it had flourished
as long as Illinois was an important wheat producing state.
In 1871 the Illinois mills were reported to have had a grinding
capacity of 100,000,000 bushels of wheat annually. But with
'^"Chicago Tribune, January i, 1865; Investor's Manual, May, 1902, p. 70.
MANUFACTURES
397
the shifting of spring wheat production to the northwest, flour
production in this state gradually declined. In spite of the
excellent situation of Chicago as a market for flour, the number
of mills in the city decreased from fifteen in 1869 to eleven in
1870. When six of these were destroyed in the fire of the
following year they were not rebuilt. The local mills have
not been able since that date to supply the local demand.^^
Before 1870 Peoria had also been an important flour milling
center, but here too the industry declined. In the southern
part of the state, where winter wheat still held its own, some
seven or eight mills which were owned and operated by St.
Louis millers maintained themselves and even increased their
output from 653,820 barrels in 1882 to 1,457,103 barrels
in 1892.^^ But as a whole the industry was distinctly a
declining one.
Other industries which showed declines were ; between
1870 and 1880, carpentering (12 per cent), carriages and
wagons (17 per cent), and planed lumber (33 per cent);
between 1880 and 1890, electrical machinery and apparatus,
and grease and tallow (48 per cent). This last was more
than offset by the growth of the manufacture of soap and
candles, in which forms the grease and tallow, by-products of
the packing industry, now reached the market. The decline
in the lumber industry was more significant, for it denoted an
exhaustion of forest resources. Probably the decline in car¬
pentering and in carriages and wagons was due to the same cause.
The clothing industry, which in 1890 held fourth rank
according to the net value of the product, and sixth according
to the gross value, may be regarded as more typical of the
21 Department of Agriculture of Illinois, Transactions, 1871, p. 98 ; annual
review of the trade and commerce of Chicago in Chicago Tribune, 1869, p. loi,
1870, p. 23. The amount of flour milled in Chicago has been as follows by five
year intervals; 1870, 443,967 barrels; 1875, 249,653 barrels; 1880, 196,041 barrels;
1885, 575,165 barrels; 1890, 430,609 barrels.
Report of the Trade and Commerce of St. Louis, 1882, p. 78; 1892, p. 162.
398 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
development of pure manufactures. In Illinois down to i860
the manufacture of men's clothing, as well as of that for
women and children, had been mainly a household industry.
But with the introduction of the sewing machine it was trans¬
ferred to the shops and the factories. An impetus was given
the industry during the Civil War by the great demand for
army clothing, a demand which was reflected also in the
increase of sheep raising and the manufacture of woolen
goods (amounting to $2,700,000 in 1870). With the large
influx of Russian Jews into this country, beginning in the'seven¬
ties, the sweating system, unfortunately still characteristic of
this industry, was introduced. Indeed, the factory system of
making clothing may be said to have been based upon a large
supply of cheap and ignorant labor. Of this labor supply
Illinois was already obtaining her share, many of the immi¬
grants settling in Chicago. By 1880 the number of natives
of Russia and Poland in the state was 8,238 and in 1890 it
was 37,285. In the latter year the total value of the products
of the men's clothing industry amounted to $35,500,000, to
which may be added $6,400,000 of women's factory-made
clothing. Chicago boasted already of having the largest fac¬
tory for the manufacture of men's ready-made clothing in the
United States, which meant in the world.
Other industries in which Illinois took high rank among
the other states of the union were newspaper printing and
publishing, and brickmaking. Two states only. New York
and Pennsylvania, had a larger circulation of newspapers
than Illinois, which in 1890 boasted a combined circulation
of 7,891,219. In the manufacture of brick and tile Illinois
held fourth place with a total value of products for 1890 of
$6,399,492. Lacking metallic resources, the manufacturers
of Illinois early began to transform the clay deposits into
bricks, tiles, and cements, which with steel are the basis of
MANUFACTURES
399
modern building construction. Another rapidly growing indus¬
try was the factory production of butter, cheese, and condensed
milk. In 1870 about 71 per cent of the cheese was produced
by factories, but all the butter (except 4,348 pounds) was as
yet made on the farms. By 1880 over 95 per cent of the
cheese and one-third of the butter was factory made, a pro¬
portion which still prevailed in 1890. By this time the
manufacture of condensed milk had been added to the other
two, the value of the products of the three amounting in 1890
to $8,004,991.
In tracing the progress of manufactures in Illinois two
very interesting movements which deserve somewhat fuller
treatment disclose themselves. These are, first, the localization
of manufactures in certain sections of the state and second,
the growing concentration of certain industries in larger
establishments.
In 1870 the manufacturing industries of the state were
widely distributed. Flour milling, which was the leading
industry, was the principal manufacture in seventy-four coun¬
ties, and was scattered impartially throughout the state from
Lake county in the northeast to Alexander in the southwest
corner. Sawed lumber was the leading industry in eight scat¬
tered counties, mostly in the south; agricultural implements
in five northern counties ; distilled liquors in five corn producing
counties of the northern section. Meat packing (pork) led
in Cook and Marshall; carriages and wagons in De Witt and
Edwards; pig lead in Jo Daviess; saddlery and harness in
Ford; freight and passenger cars in Kane; railroad repairing
machinery in Marion; woolen goods in Schuyler ; and furniture
in Stephenson. If flour and grist mill products be excluded
from this list as being extractive rather than pure manufac¬
tures, all but two of the counties involved would be situated in
the northern half of the state.
400 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
In i860 there were only 10 counties—Jo Daviess, Winne¬
bago, Cook, Rock Island, Peoria, Fulton, Hancock, Adams,
Morgan, and St. Clair — which had over 100 manufacturing
establishments, and 11 which turned out over $1,000,000 of
products in that year. By 1870 manufactures had been widely
introduced throughout the state, and the number of counties
with over 100 establishments had grown to 40, a figure which
remained constant for 1880. This latter year probably saw
the most widespread distribution of manufactures which had
yet existed, for while the number of establishments remained
constant, the number of counties in which over $1,000,000
was produced was greater in 1880 (33) than in 1870 (26).
In 1890 the markedly industrial counties were Cook, Will,
Peoria, St. Clair, Madison, Winnebago, Kane, La Salle, Rock
Island, Adams, and Sangamon.
This localization of industry in the northern and central
counties, principally those with large cities, was made possible
chiefly by the improvement of transportation facilities. Fac¬
tories started up at points where there were especial advan¬
tages for shipping; and in turn the more factories there were
in a certain town, the more profitable it became for trans¬
portation concerns to provide additional facilities. Moreover,
since in any case the market for each single establishment was
no longer confined to its immediate locality, competition was
not particularly affected by the grouping in the same city of a
number of establishments making the same kind of product.
Chicago, of course, offers the most striking illustration of
this tendency of manufactures to group themselves at points
having good shipping facilities. The real industrial develop¬
ment of this city began after the panic of 1873; in the next
five years its 690 factories increased to 2,000, and by 1890
they numbered over 3,000.^® Not only were various indus-
Report of the Trade and Commerce of Chicago, 1873, p. 9.
MANUFACTURES
401
tries centralized in the city, but within the city itself particular
localities came to be given over to special manufactures. Thus
the tanneries and distilleries began to cluster around the north
branch of the river, and stonecutting near the south branch.
The south division of the city also contained the stockyards,
the railroad warehouses, and the shipbuilding establishments.^^
As the number of new establishments increased, moreover,
so that there was little room left in the city for manufacturing
plants, new groups were formed in the suburbs or outskirts.
One of the first and most significant of these was the district
south of the city, where, after the fire of 1871, the heavy iron
and woodworking industries grouped themselves. Here were
located the Chicago Stove Works, the Wells and French
Bridge and Car Works, the Columbian Iron Works, Barnum
and Richardson's Car Wheel Works, Swan and Clark's Fur¬
niture Factory, F. E. Candee and Company's Car Works, and
other establishments. An important accession came in 1872,
when the McCormick works were removed to the community.
High rental and the need of space and easier transportation
facilities soon impelled other industries to establish themselves
quite beyond the limits of the city; as a result there have grown
up such manufacturing towns as Chicago Heights, Pullman,
Steger, Hegewisch, Cicero, Maywood, Waukegan, Grand
Crossing, and Hammond, Indiana.
Within Chicago and its environs, then, was concentrated a
high proportion of all the manufactures of the state. In par¬
ticular the meat packing industry was definitely centralized in
the city ; the wagon and carriage industry, too, was largely local¬
ized here, it being reported in 1879 that nine-tenths of all the
wagons and carriages in the United States were manufactured
in Chicago or within a radius of 250 miles. In the latter part
Chicago Times, October 9, 1872; Chamberlin, Chicago and Its Suburbs,
138-140.
402 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
of the period under survey the iron and steel industries came
strongly to the fore ; the rolling mills alone turned out a
product valued at $24,000,000,^® while the iron foundries,
machine, engine and boiler shops, car wheel and stove works
became increasingly important and increasingly concentrated in
the Chicago district. Everything considered, it is not sur¬
prising to find that in 1870 Chicago produced about 44 per
cent of all the manufactures of the state — and that in 1880
this proportion rose to 60 per cent, and to 72 per cent in 1890.
As the new methods of manufacture tended more and
more to remove the old-time limits of production, competition
between firms in the same line rapidly became sharper. Each
establishment in its effort to maintain for its product a market
wide enough to allow large scale production, with its con¬
sequent economies, would go to almost any length in order to
drive rivals from the field. So disastrously did this system of
cutthroat competition defeat its own ends that manufacturers
soon began to seek to limit production by concerted action
rather than by warfare.
The form of organization first resorted to in order to
eliminate competition was the pool. Some of the important
industries in which conditions led to the adoption of this device
were nail making, pig iron, steel, iron pipe, stoves, wooden
ware, chairs, sashes, doors, blinds, plows, and wagons, starch,
linseed oil, lumber, screens, copper, glass, and brewing.^®
Most of the associations in which Illinois industries were repre¬
sented comprised western manufacturers only, as the Western
Pig Iron Association, the Western Wagon Makers' Association,
and the Chicago and Milwaukee Breweries Association.®^ So
Western Manufacturer, 7:56; Report of the Trade and Commerce of
Chicago, 1888, p. xiii.
2« This list has been gathered from the Western Manufacturer, Chicago
Journal of Commerce, and American Artisan and Patent Record.
Western Manufacturer, 8 ; 54; 12 ; 114.
MANUFACTURES 403
ineffective were these loose associations, however, in controlling
prices or production that combination into one concern was
next resorted to.
This development was decidedly marked in the case of
slaughtering and meat packing, the making of agricultural im¬
plements, cooperage, leather, distilled and malt liquors, and
soap. While the total number of manufacturing establishments
in the state was rapidly increasing, in every one of the industries
just enumerated the number actually declined between 1870 and
1890, although the size of the remaining plants grew enor¬
mously and the total output was enlarged. There was thus a
marked movement toward combination and consolidation of
hitherto competing businesses in these lines, in all of which
large scale production could be very effectively practiced.
The course of development in the manufacture of agricul¬
tural implements was particularly significant. The land of
Illinois is so level, so fertile and well watered, that the state
early attracted this branch of manufactures. In 1850 Illinois
had ranked fourth among the states in the manufacture of
agricultural implements, based on the number of operatives
employed; by 1870 it ranked third, and by 1890 it had achieved
first place. In 1870 the industry was more widely distributed
than at any other decennial date, being carried on in thirty-two
counties; but fifty per cent of the output was produced in the
three counties of Cook, Rock Island, and Winnebago. The
largest plants were situated in Chicago, among them being the
Fürst and Bradley Manufacturing Company, which employed
about 600 men and produced plows, hayrakes, cultivators,
harrows, cotton planters, and other farm implements ; another
was the William Deering and Company's harvesting machine
works, established in 1870, employing about 4,000 men and
producing mowers, reapers, rice harvesting machines, and the
like, its specialties being the Marsh harvester and the Whit-
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
tington wire binder.^® The McCormlck works were removed
to Chicago in 1872, where they gave employment to about
800 men.
Outside of Chicago the more important pioneer enterprises
were the John Deere and Company Plow Works the
Moline Plow Company, founded in 1865;®° the Barnard and
Lease Manufacturing Company, whose farm machine works,
were established in Moline in 1860;®^ the Keystone Manufac¬
turing Company, incorporated in 1870 at Sterling and Rock
Falls to manufacture farm implements;®^ B. D. Buford and
Company, whose plow works at Rock Island were established
in 1855 and were purchased by the Rock Island Plow Company
in 1884; the Rock Island Plow Company, founded in 1841
and the Sandwich Manufacturing Company.®^
Other factories of considerable importance producing farm
implements in the eighties were the following : the United States
Wind Engine Company, Batavia ; the Brown Corn Planter
Works at Galesburg; the Harrison Manufacturing Company
of Belleville; Brewster, Dodge, and Hase, Peru; the Pekin
Plow Company; the Weir Plow Company, Monmouth;®®
N. C. Thompson, Rockford; the Ellwood Manufacturing
Company, Sycamore; King, Hamilton, and Company, and
Briggs and Enoch of Rockford; Pierreport and Tuttle, Bush-
Cope, The Iron and Steel Interests of Chicago.
Originally located at Grand Detour, where it was founded in 1837, it was
removed to Moline in 1847. By 1878 the number of employes was 600. Western
Manufacturer, 7: ti ; Western Agriculturist, January, 1877, p. 8-9. See biograph¬
ical notice of John Deere on the occasion of his death on May 17, 1880, in
Chicago Tribune, May 18, 1880.
In 1877 they employed about 400 men. Western Agriculturist, February,
1877, P- 9-
In 1877 they employed from fifty to sixty men. Ibid., January, 1877, p. 9,
The number of employees in 1880 was about 200. Western Manufac¬
turer, 9: r3.
Ibid., 7:934 ; 8: 8 ; 12:232.
S''In 1883 they employed about 200 men. Chicago Journal of Commerce,
October 3r, 1883 ; Western Manufacturer, 8 : i8t.
Removed to Peoria in t898 and incorporated as the Kingman Plow
Company.
MANUFACTURES
405
nell; the Peru City Plow Company;®® the Vandiver Corn
Planter Company, Quincy ; Hapgood Plow Company, Alton ;
the Knowlton Manufacturing Company of Rockford; and the
Avery Planter Company, Galesburg.®®
Plows, harrows, cultivators, reapers, and corn planters
were the chief implements produced. Plow manufacture does
not require a large factory organization, and consequently this
branch of the industry was not so concentrated as was the
manufacture of mowers, reapers, and harvesters, which are
most economically produced on a large scale. The town of
Moline, nevertheless, was already a center for the production
of steel plows. In 1870 there were made in Illinois almost
two-thirds (63 per cent) of all the corn planters in the United
States and one-fifth (20 per cent) of all the plows. An inter¬
esting change was taking place during this period in the kind
of agricultural implements manufactured. In 1870 one har¬
row was produced to every 125 plows, and in 1880 one to
every 7 plows; in 1870 one cultivator was made to every 5
plows, and in 1880 one to every 2 plows. This indicates
clearly that much of the labor formerly performed in the
preparation of the land for crops by plowing was now done
by harrows and cultivators and similar implements, at a great
saving in labor and cost.
As time went on the number of separate establishments
engaged in the implement business in the state was rapidly
reduced through competition and combination from 294 in
1870 to 100 in 1890. The size of the average establishment.
In 1886 they employed from seventy to one hundred men. Western Manu¬
facturer, 14:106.
Established in 1873. They employed from 175 to 200 men in 1880.
Ibid., i : tig.
s® Ibid., n: 138. The Avery Manufacturing Company removed to Peoria in
1883 and employed from 800 to 1,200 at that time. Two other manufacturers of
farm implements in Peoria established more recently are the R. Herschel Manu¬
facturing Company and the Acme Harvesting Machine Company. Cf. Rice,
Peoria, City and County, 1:464.
4o6 THE industrial STATE
on the other hand, showed a truly remarkable growth.®® In
1890 Illinois ranked first among the states of the union in the
production of agricultural implements, turning out almost one-
third of the total product of the United States. Almost half
of the Illinois output ($24,609,660) was manufactured in
Chicago ($11,883,976) ; and there, with the exception of the
wholesale trade, it was confined to three large establishments
manufacturing harvesters, binders, plows, mowers, cultivators,
rakes, and similar implements and giving employment to about
4,000 men.^° Peoria came second with a product of $519,611
in 1890. Her factories devoted themselves principally to the
production of wagons, plows, binder twine, harvesters, and
threshing machinery.
In the case of distilled spirits there was an even greater
localization and concentration of the industry, as it was carried
on in only fifteen counties in 1870, of which two — Cook and
Peoria — turned out 60 per cent of the total amount produced
in the state. The reduction in the number of establishments
between i860 and 1870 from 52 to 45, and in the number of
counties where the industry was carried from 29 to 15, was
undoubtedly due to the effect of the excise duties imposed by the
federal government during and after the Civil War. Prior to
these acts the business of distillation was entirely free from
excise taxation, and instead of being localized at a few centers
The following table shows the increase in size of the average establish'
ment manufacturing agricultural implements in Illinois:
Item
1870
1880
1890
Number of establishments
Average number employees
294
13
$i8,aoi
$30,205
220
». "
$51,395
$61,357
100
104
$486,394
$246,096
Average product
Report on Manufacturing Industries in the United States at the Eleventh
Census, part r, p. ti9; part 2, p. 649.
MANUFACTURES
407
was prosecuted everywhere. An appreciable portion of the
disposable surplus of corn found its way to the local still, as
the business was simple and did not call for a large investment
of capital. The product was used not only as a stimulant, but
also served in large measure as the raw material of many
manufactures. The price was exceedingly low, falling in
August, 1861, to thirteen cents a gallon in the Cincinnati
market.
The imposition of the excise duties, which were increased
from time to time and which fluctuated greatly, had the effect at
first of depressing the distilling industry.^^ As soon as an
advance in the tax became probable, however, the business of
distilling was renewed very actively in order to take advantage
of the enhanced prices. When the period of speculation was
over, in 1868, there was a surplus capacity for manufacture in
the country, and it was impossible for some of the distillers to
continue in business. At the same time the increase in price of
alcohol led to its disuse in the arts, where its place was taken
for some purposes by petroleum, for others by animal and
vegetable oils. These causes tended to keep the distilling
business in a comparatively depressed condition during the
latter part of the sixties. " Even as early as 1870 or 1871 the
distillers felt themselves compelled to enter into an agreement
to limit their distilleries to two-fifths production; and all north
of the Ohio, with two or three exceptions, made such an agree¬
ment." This did not have any decisive effect, however, and
gradually the less profitable establishments went out of busi¬
ness, while the development of an export trade absorbed the
surplus production of the others. Between 1878 and 1882
The rates per gallon were as follows: 1863, 20 cents; 1864, 60 cents; 1865,
$1.50; i866, $2.00; 1868, 50 cents; 1872, 70 cents; 1875, 90 cents; 1894, $1.10.
Not until the act of 1894 did the new tax apply to whisky already in bond; hence
there would be every effort made under the earlier acts, down to 1868, and
again from that date to 1875 to increase production just before a change.
4o8 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
especially, on account of poor crops in Europe, a heavy export
demand sprang up. This led in turn to the running of the
existing distilleries at full capacity and even to the building of
some new ones. "After 1880, good crops in Europe, poor
crops at home, with some changes in the tariff laws of leading
European countries, especially discriminating duties against the
United States, cut off this demand, and left the distilleries of
this country with a capacity sufficient to produce four times
what the home market needed."
In order to limit production and maintain prices a pool was
formed in November, 1881. This was maintained, with fre¬
quent suspensions and reorganizations, until 1887. In that
year a "trust" was organized, modeled upon that of the
successful standard oil trust, under the name of the " Distillers'
and Cattle-Feeders' Trust." Nearly all the distilleries in the
former pool, to the number of more than eighty, became
members of the trust.^® In order to limit the output to the
demands of the market and to maintain prices, most of these
distilleries were gradually closed, until in 1889 twelve distill¬
eries alone were producing all the distilled spirits placed upon
the market by the trust. Of these, six were located at Peoria,
which was stated to have at least a 10 per cent advantage over
a distillery located at Chicago, and nearly 20 per cent over one
located at St. Paul.^^ The effect of the organization of the
trust upon the industry in Illinois is seen in the sudden drop in
the number of establishments, in the decade 1880—1890, from
Jenks, "The Development of the Whiskey Trust," Political Science Quar¬
terly, 4:296 (299, 300). For an interesting account of the industrial and financial
effects of the excise tax on distilled spirits see Wells, Practical Economics,
152-234.
*2 Report of the Trade and Commerce of Peoria, 1883, p. 15 ; 1884, p. 16 ; 1885,
p. 15; Jenks, "The Development of the Whiskey Trust," Political Science Quar¬
terly, 4:296 (308). The feeding of cattle on the slop from the distilleries is an
important adjunct to the distilling business.
Jenks, "The Development of the Whiskey Trust," Political Science
Quarterly, 2^6 (312).
MANUFACTURES 409
36 to 7, with a very great increase in size and capital, and
especially in output.^® Illinois was the leading producer of
distilled liquors in the United States, turning out nearly one-
quarter of the world's supply. As just stated, six of these
distilleries were located at Peoria;''® the other one was that
of Shufeldt and Company of Chicago, an independent concern
and the most formidable rival of the trust.
There is no doubt that the formation of the whisky trust
resulted in certain economic gains. Only the most favorably
situated establishments were maintained, and these were run
at full capacity instead of at 25 to 50 per cent, as was the case
beforehand; the expenses of management were thus lessened.
At the same time the price was maintained fairly steadily at a
point somewhat above production. Probably few other indus¬
tries furnish such a striking object lesson in the economies of
industrial combination and of concentration of manufacture.
In contrast with the industries just described there were
some manufactures which, so far from showing any tendency
toward concentration, tended to spread out over a wider
area and to distribute themselves more generally in small
establishments; in some cases indeed the average individual
plant grew steadily smaller. This characteristic is to be
noted in the case of brass and bronze products, bread and other
bakery products, flour and grist mill products, leather goods.
The following table shows the number and average size of establishments
producing distilled liquors in Illinois between 1870 and 1890:
Item
1870
1880
1890
Number of establishments
Average number employees
Average capital
Average product
45
21
$ 56,000
$175,300
36
59
$ 95,500
$405,500
7
146
$1,248,800
$7,428,100
The number of barrels of spirits and liquors shipped from Perria was
as follows: 1872, 105,959; '877, 127,580; 1882, 217,884; 1887, 216,201; 1892,
303,268. Report of the Trade and Commerce of Peoria^
4IO THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
patent medicines and druggists' compounds, and tobacco —
Industries which In general did not call for the Investment of
large amounts of capital and In which the processes were rela¬
tively simple, not offering great economies to be derived from
large scale production.
In no Industry has the tendency to scatter been more pro¬
nounced than In the case of tobacco manufactures. Here the
number of establishments grew very steadily (from 274 In
1870 to 730 In 1890), and these were widely distributed over
the whole state. There was a decline, on the other hand. In
the average number of employees per establishment (from 10
to 7), the average capital Invested (from $7,170 to $5,686),
and the average output (from $15,765 to $12,287), during the
period 1870-1890. This was an industry which necessitated
only a comparatively small Investment of capital, as hand
methods still largely prevailed, and In It, too, there was no
great economy effected by concentrating the Industry In a single
large plant.
XVIII. DEVELOPMENT OF MINERAL WEALTH
ILLINOIS' splendid gifts of fertile soils and clement
weather so overshadow her other natural resources that
it comes as a surprise to many to read that more than five per
cent of the nation's total mineral production has been con¬
tributed in recent years by this state, and that only two other
states in the union can boast of more.
For abundant mineral resources one is usually inclined to
look to mountainous places difficult of access rather than to
richly productive farm lands like those of Illinois with their
flat prairies and thick soils deeply burying all signs of solid
rock. But, fourth in production of petroleum and clay prod¬
ucts, third in brick and tile as well as in coal production, sur¬
passed only by Pennsylvania in the manufacture of Portland
cement, and leader in the fluorspar, sand and gravel, and
tripoli industries, Illinois presents excellent proof that agricul¬
tural wealth and mineral poverty do not necessarily go hand in
hand.
Though agriculture is and doubtless always will be the
dominant feature of the economy of Illinois, the mineral indus¬
tries of the state are gradually gaining in relative importance.
Excluding coke, pig iron, and some other values that cannot
honestly be credited to Illinois because the raw materials do not
originate within its borders, the total value of mineral pro¬
duction in 1917 was somewhat more than one-third as great
as agricultural production, whereas in 1905 the ratio was only
as one is to four.^ The actual increase from 68 to 238 million
dollars during the same period is indeed striking, but even
1 For table see appendix, p. 510.
411
412
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
more impressive is a list of minerals and their production
in Illinois in the hundredth year of its existence as a state
as compiled by the United States and state geological surveys.
Mineral Production of Illinois, 1917
Product
Asphalt short tons
Cement, Portland barrels
Clay products
Clay, raw short tons
Coal "
Coke "
Fluorspar "
Iron, pig "
Lead "
Lime "
Mineral paints, lead and zinc pigments....
Mineral waters gallons
Natural gas i,ooo cubic jeet
Natural-gas gasoline gallons
Peat
Petroleum barrels
Potash
Pyrite short tons
Sand and gravel " "
Quartz (silica) " "
Silver fine ounces
Stone
Sulphuric acid
Tripoli short tons
Zinc " "
Miscellaneous
Quantity
110,756
4.378,233
188,616
86,199,387
2,289,833
156,676
3,458,126
1,439
83,409
1,370,461
4,439,016
4,934,009
c
15,776,860
c
24,59«
9,120,698
386,866
7,186
16,133
4,267
Value
E i,3t7,855
6,090,158 a
19,565,420-
632,383 b
162,281,822
14,455,539 h
1,373,333
91,094,541 b
247,508
529,451
9,465,176 e
66,042
479,072
866,033
c
31,358,069
c
89,998
3.658,799
630,256
5,921
3,322,041
3,902,831 d
31,338
870,468
867,892
Total value. $238,186,690
a Exclusive of natural cement, value of which is included under " miscel¬
laneous."
b Value not included in total value.
f Value included under "miscellaneous."
¿From zinc smelting.
eOnly that part of this total not duplicated elsewhere is included in the total
for the state.
Of these products probably but one, coal, could have been
among the mineral resources that the explorers and earliest
settlers desired and sought for. The glamour of gold and
MINERAL WEALTH
413
silver doubtless still occupied a place in the background of the
explorer's mind — a heritage from the days of the Span¬
iards— and tales of pieces of copper found lying on the sur¬
face by the Indians long inspired the hope of metal mines; a
real but all-inadequate recognition of the value of iron and
coal kept newcomers on the lookout for such deposits; and
salt as an immediate necessity was early developed. But be¬
yond coal, salt, and the metals, the desires of the early visitors
did not go, and little did they realize the importance to be
achieved by the very one of these looked upon with least favor.
Before the sixties coal production increased almost imper¬
ceptibly and other industries lagged equally or even more. But
with the passing of the third quarter of the century the variety
and value of developed resources began to give promise of
their present magnitude.
A legitimate question is very naturally an inquiry as to the
reasons for the slowness with which Illinois responded to the
opportunities that lay hidden in her soils and rocks. The ad¬
venturous early visitors to the region may not have been will¬
ing to stay their restless feet for minerals less alluring than
gold and silver, but with the arrival of the first home-makers,
unafraid of toil and willing to win a livelihood slowly, lack of
development cannot be laid to the unromantic character of the
minerals of Illinois.
The early failure to utilize state mineral resources was due
rather to certain geologic conditions and to lack of transporta¬
tion. The transportation question is so intimately entangled
with the history of the development of the coal industry that the
idea can be more profitably discussed later ; at this point a glance
at the illustration opposite page 422 will suffice to corroborate
the assertion that development of mineral industries was forced
to wait for development of adequate transportation.
Certain geologic aspects reacted directly on mineral devel-
414 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
opment in Illinois. In the broad central portion of the state
the thick layers of drift deposited by glaciers of the Pleistocene
epoch effectively concealed bed rock and the mmeral resources
contained therein; and even in the unglaciated and driftless
counties in the extreme northwest and south and in the border
counties where major streams had in many places cut through
the drift to rock, recognition and utilization were delayed by
the almost universal cover of swamp vegetation and forests
over the alluvial plains and the bordering areas of the Missis¬
sippi, the Kaskaskia, and the Illinois valleys. Further, the
early settlers long kept to forested areas, influenced as much
by fear of the prairies and ignorance of their possibilities as
by need of transportation and of wood for fuel and construc¬
tion, these being afforded them only near streams.
Even if glacial drift had not lain thick over the central
part of Illinois, and even if forests and adequate transporta¬
tion had attracted settlers at once to the heart of the state,
mineral development would nevertheless have progressed
from the borders inward just as it did. For it happens that it
is only in the counties lying near the boundaries of the state
that the spoonlike structure of the rock layers brings to the
surface the pre-Pennsylvanian beds, with their thick fine lime¬
stones, and the better coal and clay beds of the Pennsylvanian
period, leaving similar beds in the broad central area gener¬
ally deeply buried by younger shales of little value.
It was during the third quarter of the nineteenth century
that the most substantial progress was made in overcoming
hindrances due to lack of transportation and restricted mineral
distribution and the description of mineral development here
given is focused on this period to illustrate the point. The
order adopted for presentation of the ensuing brief historical
sketches of individual mineral industries follows, as closely as
the dates are known, the order of their appearance in the state.
MINERAL WEALTH
The earliest mineral utilized must have been water, but
like soil, this resource is so universally needed, used, and dis¬
tributed that it is not a commodity except under unusual con¬
ditions, and therefore, in its most important aspect, is not an
industry. It is true that statistics are given for a nominal
water industry, but these figures give no conception of the true
amount and value of water taken from the rocks and soils.^
Compare them, for example, with the estimate made by Lev-
erett in 1896, when population was smaller than it is now, that
"the total supply from this source [shallow wells] is about
840,000 barrels for household consumption and 700,000 bar¬
rels for stock, or about 1,500,000 barrels per day. About one-
half the population of the State is thus supplied with water for
cooking and drinking, the other half being supplied mainly
from Lake Michigan and from the streams, deep wells fur¬
nishing the supply for but a small part of the population."®
It is a significant fact that even in the area which is domi¬
nated by the lake, deep (or artesian) wells are sources of
water for industrial purposes. It would seem that the original
cost of drilling a two-thousand-foot well with its smallest diam¬
eter from six to twenty inches, and the continual expense of
upkeep and pumping would eliminate wells as a source of sup¬
ply in a district where water is as abundant as it is in the region
of Lake Michigan. And yet in Chicago during the summer of
1914 there were in active service 125 wells over 1,000 feet
deep, with a pumpage of over 30,100,000 gallons per 24
hours ; and within a circle of a half-mile radius in the stockyards
district 26 wells delivered 13,450,200 gallons, or 44.3 per cent
of the total daily deep-well pumpage in the city.^
2 For table see appendix, p. 516, columns 49 and 50.
ä Leverett, " The Water Resources of Illinois," in United States Geological
Survey, Seventeenth Annual Report, 1896, part 2, p. 769.
* From an unpublished paper on the artesian water supply of northeastern
Illinois, written by Carl B. Anderson for the Illinois State Geological Survey.
4I6 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Industries in other parts of the state are forced to depend
upon deep wells for water supplies, but such statistics as these
for the Chicago district where an alternative source is at hand
demonstrate clearly the real importance and value of deep
underground water supplies. Deep-well sources are destined
to become of ever-increasing importance, especially outside the
lake cities, as a direct consequence of the increasing danger
of the pollution of shallow sources that accompanies the growth
of population.
After water, the next resource used by human beings prior
to 1818 was salt. Its production, once the sole industry of
Illinois, had far-reaching effects on the early settlement of the
Mississippi valley, but long before 1870 the Saline river brines
had so demonstrated their incapacity to compete with West
Virginia and Ohio brines that the salt industry was practically,
and a few years later, actually, a closed chapter in the mineral
history of the state.
The lead and zinc industry, too, had its beginnings before
1818; but, though small amounts of lead and zinc still come
from northern Illinois and, as a by-product of the fluorspar
mining operations, from southern Illinois, this industry of
romantic history is of very small importance at present.
The stone industry, based on another mineral resource
used prior to 1818, has persisted to the present, the 1917 pro¬
duction exceeding three million dollars in value. Large though
this figure is, the increase in the past quarter of a century is
surprisingly small when compared with that of other min¬
erals.® The reasons are probably that Portland cement and
clay products, such as brick and terra cotta, have been largely
substituted for stone in construction work; and that the Bed¬
ford limestone quarries of Indiana, opened during the nine¬
ties and very favorably situated with reference to the
'For table see appendix, p. 516, column 43.
MINERAL WEALTH
417
Illinois market, supply a product far superior to Illinois
limestones.
Since 1890 clay products have doubled their values, while
cements have increased fifteen times over, and as much of this
production has been substituted for stone in structural work,
it is not surprising that Illinois' rank in production of building
stone is now only fourteenth, although for many years prior to
1896 the state ranked first in the country for marketed pro¬
duction of that class of stone.
The general absence of surface limestone over the broad
central portion of the state, due to the spoonlike structure of
the bed rock layers that carries the limestone beds hundreds of
feet below the surface in the middle of the state, and the almost
unbroken continuity of the drift curtain there, mean that the
state must continue to look to border counties for structural
limestone and for road metal. The latter is of increasingly
vital importance to the prairie population since the advent and
rapid increase in the use of automobiles has forced the construc¬
tion of good roads.
Though the monetary value and the distribution of the
limestone industry have changed but little, the use of the product
has changed remarkably. Whereas in 1890 approximately
half of the total production was building stone, in 1917 almost
the same proportion was sold for concrete and more than half
as much again for road making and as railroad ballast. Fur¬
thermore, in production of building stone Illinois has fallen in
rank from first to last place, and in value from more than a
million dollars to about ten thousand, or one per cent of its
former value, during a period when in every other use of
limestone there has been a marked increase.
An immediate corollary to production of limestone for
building must have been the development of the lime industry,
for wherever stone or bricks are used in construction work.
4I8 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
limestone must be burned Into lime for mortar. And as a
second corollary to the stone industry, another ingredient of
mortar, namely sand and gravel, demands mention among
mineral resources utilized in 1818. The first lime was made
at Alton and that city and the surrounding district held suprem¬
acy in the lime industry for many years, owing to the excellence
of the product, the concentration of the earliest population in
the general region, the cheap river transportation, and the early
abundance of fuel wood and later of coal.®
By the seventies, however, it was recognized that the Mis¬
sissippi lime business was losing its supremacy, the reasons being
that the center of population and therefore the principal market
was shifting northeast to the Chicago area.'' The production
continued to be large, of course, for the St. Louis demand
persisted; but its unchallenged leadership was no more until the
period of abnormally rapid growth in the northeastern counties
of the state was over, when the Mississippi district was re¬
instated as leader. Statistics for the years after 1893, which
are the earliest complete ones available, reveal steady produc¬
tion with no great increases during the quarter century.® In
the union Illinois ranks low, fifteenth in 1917 and as low as
twenty-second in 1907.
In sand and gravel production, the second chronological
corollary to limestone production, it surpasses all other states.
In the sand and gravel lenses, pockets, and strata of its thick
drift sheets, and in the St. Peter sandstone that outcrops in
La Salle county, Illinois has perhaps its bulkiest mineral re¬
source and one of no mean value, the marketed production
for 1917 being valued at more than $2,580,000. It is widely
distributed, being produced for sale in over one-third of the
® Geological Survey of Illinois, i : 324.
' Ibid., 325.
® For table see appendix, p. 516, columns 47 and 48.
MINERAL WEALTH
419
counties, and doubtless it is taken out for local use in at least as
many more counties.
The varieties of sand are so many that discussion of indi¬
vidual kinds is precluded; the subject must be inadequately
dismissed with the statement that the industry is likely to con¬
tinue to grow in importance with the increase in the variety of
its uses and as the result of discovery of new kinds of sand in
Illinois' well-nigh inexhaustible supply.
The story of coal, the last of the pre-i8i8 resources, re¬
veals as in a mirror the correlative development along other
lines, and therefore deserves far more detailed consideration
than is possible in this chapter, especially as it is the most valu¬
able mineral product in the state. In 1917, Illinois' 86,199,387
tons, valued at $162,281,822, were produced from 810 mines.
Of these, 324 shipped ninety-eight per cent of all the coal away
from the vicinity of the producing mines while 486 more mined
two per cent of the total production for local use. In 1917
these many mines were places of employment for 80,893 men,
each of whom was responsible, on an average, for bringing to
the surface almost 1,000 tons of coal during the year. In 1913,
the last year unaffected by the European war, Illinois had to
its credit five per cent of the world's coal production and was
surpassed by but three countries in the world, one of them the
United States.
The history of the growth of the coal industry to such
impressive magnitude is divisible into two great periods, rail¬
road and ante-railroad. So marked is the transition from one
to the other that from the curve for statistics of production
could be read the date of beginning of railroad development
even though the curve for railroad mileage had been omitted.®
Transportation of a bulky commodity like coal over any
great distance was well-nigh impossible except by water until
» See illustration opposite p. 422.
420 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
railroads came to solve the problem, and shipping mines and
their markets were confined during all the period to the vicinity
of streams. The first macadamized road in the state, almost
fourteen miles long, was built between Belleville and St. Louis,
probably directly in response to the needs of transportation in
the coal industry; and the first railroad, built in 1837 by
Governor Reynolds between St. Louis and a coal mine on the
Mississippi bluff, was avowedly a direct response to the de¬
velopment of coal resources.^®
The whole face of the situation changed with the develop¬
ment of railroads. The date 1850 is but an approximation of
the time of beginning of the railroad era, for the first railroad
was built in 1837, thirteen years previous, and it was not until
1854 that the coal mining and railroad industries became inter¬
dependent and the railroad era was unquestionably begun.
"Until 1854, coal was hauled by wood-burning locomotives
and the greatest impetus given to expansion of the coal indus¬
try after the construction of railroads was the purchase by
the Galena and Chicago railroad in that year of five locomo¬
tives ' guaranteed to burn bituminous coal mined in Illinois.'
The success of this departure was largely responsible for the
immediate and marked expansion of coal production in direct
response to the increase in railroad mileage, though it is true
that even with wood-burning locomotives the figures for coal
production doubtless would have mounted with astonishing
rapidity.
All through the third quarter of the nineteenth century the
railroads were masters of the coal and railroad situation, for
main-track mileage was increasing at a higher rate than was
coal production. It was essentially a case of development of
mines where railroads were built during the pre-1893 years,
Andros, Coal Mining in Illinois, a8.
iWW., 35 ff.
MINERAL WEALTH
421
but after that time, as the graph clearly shows, coal production
became dominant; the rate of increase of main-track mileage
decreased from year to year, while that of coal tonnage in¬
creased by leaps and bounds.
An additional basic factor in the great increase in coal
production in the latter half of the railroad period was the
impetus given to steel production by the establishment in 1870
of the Bessemer process of steel manufacture. Though the
chemical quality of Illinois coal does not permit its use as blast
furnace fuel, the iron and steel industry has played a leading
part in the huge increase of coal production in the past twenty-
five years, for coal enters into almost every phase of manu¬
facture and industry that depends for existence on steel, which
means that the coal industry is interdependent with practically
all industry and grows in proportion to the growth of aggregate
manufactures and the conditioning steel industry.
The great increase of population, the enormous growth of
manufactures, the improvements in transportation facilities,
the increase in wealth, and the rise in the people's standard of
living, the magnitude of which is oftentimes not appreciated,
are all so dependent upon the iron and steel industry that the
abundance of iron is commonly taken as a measure of national
wealth. But, as J. Russell Smith says ; " Coal is the twin of iron
in the production of the new world commerce, because this com¬
merce is carried in vehicles made chiefly of iron, driven by
power derived from coal. Coal also furnishes heat for the
reduction of iron, and power for driving the machinery em¬
ployed in its manufacture."^- And so the abundance of coal
must be regarded as a second measure of the wealth of a
people, coordinate with iron. Indeed, though the two are
interdependent in the present scheme of industrial economy
and therefore are of equal importance, coal is perhaps even
12 Smith, Commerce and Industry, 139.
422 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
better entitled to be the final measure of wealth in any area :
witness the manufacture of Lake Superior iron ores in distant
eastern coal field centers like Pittsburg, and the smelting of
Missouri lead and zinc in cities of the Illinois coal fields.
The iron and coal industries of today have many points
of similarity: both are developed only where manufacturing
is well advanced, both require good transportation facilities,
and both are fundamental to good transportation. Both re¬
quire many laborers and large markets such as only concen¬
trated population can give, and both may be regarded as
industrial barometers. As true for coal as for iron is Smith's
statement that "it very distinctly is not a frontier industry."^®
Thus there is to be read from the rising curve of coal produc-
Hon'^ not only the rise of coal mining itself but, more impor¬
tant, the advance of Illinois from the frontier stage of fifty
years ago to its present high rank in modern industrial civili¬
zation.
As there has been little change in the number of coal pro¬
ducing counties for thirty-five years or more, it seems safe to
assume that all potentially important producers are now de¬
veloped. But the further natural conclusion that the counties
have maintained a corresponding constancy of rank in coal
production is belied by the facts.
Five counties — St. Clair, Sangamon, Madison, Macoupin,
and Vermilion — appear among the ten leading counties every
year since 1880, their continued prominence resulting from
great abundance and a sufficiently good quality to enable them
to hold their positions year after year. Comparing the years
1880 and 1917, the other five are in no instance identical. La
Salle, Will, Fulton, Peoria, and Rock Island counties com¬
pleting the list of ten for 1880, and Franklin, Williamson,
Smith, Commerce and Industry, 146.
See illustration on opposite page.
COINCIDENT DEVELOPMENT OF MAIN TRACK MILEAGE AN PRODUCTION OF COAL
MINERAL WEALTH
423
Saline, Montgomery, and Christian counties completing that
for 1917. Those of the 1880 list are all Illinois or Mississippi
river counties and owe their early start and prominence as
much to their location, which is favorable to transportation,
as to the abundance or good quality of their coal. Conversely,
the fact that none of the five new counties of the 1917 list is on
an important river shows the modern release of coal production
from the early restrictions imposed upon it by lack of railroads
into the interior; it also gives evidence of the new scientific
methods of search, such as efficient methods of test drilling,
mine planning, and managing under the supervision of geolo¬
gists and engineers as contrasted with the early practice of
drifting into a valley bluff wherever an outcrop presented itself.
The rise of Franklin and Williamson counties to first and
second place, respectively, in 1917, from no production at al)
in 1900 for the former and ninth place for the latter, is a par¬
ticularly good example of the effect of modern methods in an
old industry.
Another sign of increasing efficiency is seen in the decrease
of the total number of mines during the past decade.^® The
number of mines fell from a maximum of 1,018 mines of all
types in 1906 to 810 in 1917, while at the same time the total
production doubled. Both local and shipping mines have de¬
creased in number and increased in tonnage, the greater in¬
crease for the latter class probably depending upon the fact
that the shipping mines are also the larger mines worked by
the better organized and capitalized companies.^®
Comparisons drawn on the basis of the relation between
number of men and production are less simple. For the period
from 1893 to 1917 more rapid relative increase in efficiency
is indicated for local mines than for shipping mines by these
15 For table see appendix, p. 512, column 4.
16 For table see ibid., columns i, 2, 3, 5, 6.
424
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
data, but the per capita production for the former is actually
still far below that for the latter and throughout the period
shows the efficiency of shipping mines to be actually greater."
The fact remains, however, that the gap between shipping and
local mines in this regard is slowly narrowing.
One factor in producing such a result may be the organi¬
zation and expansion of local mines as municipal enterprises
or of private enterprises simulating these in scope. Another
factor is that the hindrance imposed by competition upon effi¬
cient operation is felt more by shipping mines than by local
mines."
The idea that competition must force efficiency is so gen¬
erally accepted, so almost axiomatic, that the failure of the
principle in this instance requires an explanation. The remark¬
able development of coal carrying railroads and the low ton-
mile rates made for long hauls have permitted the more cheaply
produced eastern coals to move into Illinois and set prices that
are too low to permit efficient development. The ease of
opening new mines causes scores of them to spring up with
every period of unusual prosperity, and with the slack spring
and summer seasons or with the return of normal or subnormal
prosperity the effort of each of the many operators to keep
his own mine going even at a slight loss results in excessive
and unfair competition. Proper organization or consolidation
could of course partly remedy such difficulties, but to a certain
extent they are unavoidable, as Illinois coal stocks very poorly
and therefore labor rates must be high to cover the consequent
period of summer idleness even though mines be reduced to
a number conducive to efficiency. All these conditions have
led to a steady decline in the margin of profit, a feature that
For table see appendix, p. 512, columns i, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10.
i®Rice, "Mining Wastes and Mining Costs in Illinois," in Illinois State
Geological Survey, Bulletin 14, p. 212 ff.
MINERAL WEALTH 425
is injurious to the interests of both producer and consumer
when it is carried too fard®
In spite of the hindrance of excessive competition, there
are numerous examples of increasing efficiency in the coal indus¬
try of Illinois. Since 1900 there has been a notable increase
in the number of mines using machines, and in the number of
machines in use in each mine. This has resulted in a fourfold
increase in tonnage for mines so equipped as compared with
a twofold increase for all other mines during the past seventeen
years.
Again, in protection of miners against injury and loss of
life the coal mining industry shows improvement. The actual
increase in nonfatal accidents and in the number of lives lost is
not great, and in the number of tons of coal produced to each
life lost a measure of the progress may be seeh;^^ for, whereas
in 1883 only 90,000 tons of coal were taken out for each life
lost, 381,000 tons, or more than four times as much coal was
mined in 1917 for each man lost.
Nominally closely related to the coal industry, but actually
in this case utterly distinct, is the coke industry. The decline
of Illinois in coke production from eighth place among the
states in 1880, and perhaps from an even higher rank in earlier
years, to twenty-third place in 1904 and 1905, and its rise to
fourth place in the following decade, implied by the fall and
rise of production totals for the period, is entirely different
from the history of production of other Illinois mineral prod¬
ucts.In the years of the earlier, lesser maximum of pro¬
duction, after timber in sufficient abundance for charcoal was
practically exhausted, the iron furnaces of the state were com¬
pelled to use coke produced locally, regardless of what the
Andros, Coal Mining in Illinois, figure 67, p. 221.
20 For table see appendix, p. 513, columns 22, 23.
21 For table see ibid., columns 18-21.
22 For table see ibid., p. 515, columns 34, 35.
426 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
quality of coke from Illinois coals chanced to be. Better coke
was to be bad in the east, but the bigb cost of transportation
in the days of few railroads outweighed the advantage of east¬
ern over Illinois coke, and iron smelters were content to estab¬
lish themselves in the midwest centers of population near the
supplies of raw material for their coke. And so for many
years the coke industry thrived on Illinois coal, quantities of
fuel for blast furnaces being manufactured at Carterville, St.
Johns, Brussels, Equality, Brookside, and Streator. Espe¬
cially was the industry important in the Big Muddy valley,
favorably situated south and east of St. Louis, for in the Big
Muddy coal field was found some of the very best coal for
coking purposes in the state. With the marvelous cheapening
of transportation that marked the decades following 1890,
New river and Pennsylvania cokes moved at so reasonable a
cost into the markets fed by the Illinois product that consumers
found it economy to use the superior eastern article in place
of the inferior product from the impure Illinois coals. By
1893 attempts to make metallurgical coke from Illinois coal
were abandoned and the little that was made was chiefly for
use in the manufacture of water gas and for domestic use as
crushed coke. The coke manufacturers were not even per¬
mitted to enjoy that small market undisputed, and the decline
continued into the early years of the new century. The pro¬
digious increase after 1904 was heralded by the completion
at South Chicago in 1905 of a bank of 120 Semet-Solvay by¬
product ovens using coal drawn from the field of Fayette
county. West Virginia.^®
Prior to 1900 the concentration of enormous coke pro¬
duction in the beehive coke oven fields of Pennsylvania and
West Virginia rendered impossible the absorption of more than
a small fraction of the gas and other potentially valuable
23 United States Geological Survey, Mineral Resources of IÇ05, p. 740.
MINERAL WEALTH
materials evolved in coke manufacture, and the enormous re¬
mainder was not readily transportable to outside areas. A
solution for the difficulty was found in the transfer of the raw
material from the good coke-coal fields to such places for manu¬
facture as Chicago, where great quantities of coke were de¬
manded by near-by steel mills and where the by-products,
particularly the gas, might find a market that would more than
pay coal transportation costs.
With the importation into Illinois of the state's new coke
industry in 1905, then, the ends of conservation were served
by stopping one of the great criminal wastes of the nation's
natural resources involved in the use of the beehive coke
oven and at the same time Illinois gained a great industrial
asset.
Another early industry, more normal in its development
and therefore having a history more nearly analogous to that
of coal mining than has the coke industry, is that of clay mining
and the manufacture of clay products. During the period when
coal production increased fourfold clay products increased fully
threefold, and in both subdivisions of the industry—pottery,
and brick and tile — there was an approximately commensurate
relative increase. The two are not of equal importance by
any means, however, brick and tile manufactures having far
outranked pottery for many years. The reverse was true in
the early days, for neither the great bulk of the state's clay
resources nor the need for brick for construction and tile for
drainage was discovered while the population was still confined
to the wooded areas along major stream lines. With expan¬
sion into the prairies, however, the brick and tile phase of the
industry promptly achieved prééminence.
The brick and tile industry is itself subdivided into so many
small and diverse branches that for brevity's sake it is necessary
to restrict discussion to common brick and draintile, the former
428 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
representative of the brick and the latter of the tile industry,
and each of leading importance in its class.^*
With its sixty-seven per cent of the state's total production
of common brick in 1917, Cook county leads all others by a
great margin, in consequence of its density of urban population
and its plentiful supply of glacial clay. Kankakee county also
ranks high in production of common brick but it ranks still
higher in draintile manufacture, producing almost a fourth of
the state's output. The rapid reclamation of the extensive
marshes and swamps of Kankakee county serves to insure its
leadership, for it involves the use of enormous quantities of
tile. The factors that induce such large production in these
two counties are at work elsewhere in the state, though in less
degree. They are mainly geographic and geologic, and that
they are widespread is shown by the fact that in 1917 fifty
counties reported production of draintile and fifty-five reported
production of common brick.
In the case of common brick a considerable demand
throughout most of the state is occasioned by the lack of good
building stone in the northern part and by the lack of stone in
sufficient quantities, even where locally of suitable quality, in
most other parts of the state. In the case of draintile the almost
state wide demand is explained by the fact that although the
sheet of glacial drift with which Illinois is gifted is especially
abundant and rich, its surface contains so many depressions
that swamps and marshes large and small abound, and natural
drainage is generally inadequate. Even the southernmost coun¬
ties and some of those of the western tier, where effects of
glaciation play an inconspicuous part, have their drainage prob¬
lems because of the broad flood plains of the Mississippi, the
Ohio, and the Wabash. Singularly enough, the universal de¬
mand in the state for common brick and draintile is matched
For table see appendix, p. 514, columns 27-31.
MINERAL WEALTH 429
by an almost universal supply of raw material suitable for their
manufacture. The relation is particularly noteworthy in the
case of draintile: glaciation is responsible, for poor drainage
conditions, but at the same time glacial deposits afford inex¬
haustible quantities of clay for draintile with which to remedy
the defect.
More significant even than the gradual increase in pro¬
duction, amounting to at least twofold in the years since 1893,
is the almost unbroken decrease in the number of manufacturers
of clay products from a maximum of 697 in 1894 to a minimum
of 216 in 1917. This progressive change is one of the clearest
examples of the tendency toward concentration and centrali¬
zation which is typical of many phases of the state's mineral
industry. What with raw materials, coal for kilns, easy trans¬
portation from without the state for certain raw materials
necessary for more refined products, and a market to absorb
an enormous quantity of all varieties of clay products, it is not
to be wondered at that in total value of clay products Illinois
is surpassed only by Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Another mineral industry supplying structural material and
developed during the first fifty years of the past century, is the
production of cement, both natural and Portland. The manu¬
facture of natural cement is of necessity restricted to places
where the raw materials are to be had near the surface. It
was Illinois' fortune to have an abundant source of natural
cement materials at Utica on the Illinois river. No more
favorable position than this vicinity could well be imagined
for such a resource: in the ante-railroad days the Illinois river
furnished a ready line of transportation to the markets west
and south where most of the population lay; later, with the
building of the Illinois and Michigan canal, in the construction
of which natural cement from Utica played an extensive part,
an easy way was opened to the markets in growing Chicago
430 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
as well as at points east by way of the lakes ; still later, the great
markets of the prairies were opened when railroad lines focused
themselves on the La Salle-Utica area, attracted by glass-sand
quarries, cement plants, and abundant supplies of coal, the last
constituting still another factor in making the Utica area
almost ideal for natural cement manufacture. Indeed, when
Portland cement plants arose to contest victoriously the right
of natural cement to supremacy, they were established early
in this very area and the two have continued to exist side by
side in La Salle county.
The natural cement industry in Illinois was one of wide
extent in the past, shipments going far from the state in the
days when cements were more difficult to obtain than they are
now; but especially in the upbuilding of the large cities of
Illinois natural cement played an important part.
In spite of the excellence of the Utica product, the stand¬
ardization possible in the artificial cement, combines with
the far wider availability of the necessary raw materials
to make the Portland cement industry supreme. The beginning
of Portland cement production in the state was a slow, tedious
process, compared with its successful growth in later years.
Construction engineers were naturally slow to take up with a
new substitute for the old, tried, natural cement, but when once
it was proved satisfactory, the rapidity of increase in produc¬
tion was phenomenal.^® As the manufacture is centralized in
five large plants, it is relatively easy to gauge production and
to prevent flooding of markets with excess stock—in striking
contrast with the coal industry, for example.
The close of the first half of the century in 1868 saw the
birth of no industries other than those that have been dis¬
cussed. By that time the foundations had been laid for three
industries of great importance — water, clay products, and
25 For table see appendix, p. 515, columns 37, 38.
MINERAL WEALTH
431
coal; and by that time the salt and the indigenous iron indus¬
tries,^® which, though once thriving, were not on sufficiently
sound foundations to persist in the face of later development
in other states, were fast dying out. In short, the law of the
survival of the fittest operated in the first fifty years: those
industries that were based on Illinois' possession of abundant
resources unexcelled in nearby areas lived; those that were not
so favored died. All through that period lack of adequate
transportation hampered development so markedly that the
growth in the next fifty years when the state was suddenly
freed from this restraint is fairly startling.
Of the three mineral resources — petroleum, natural gas,
and fluorspar — developed during the third quarter of the
century, fluorspar easily has precedence. Until 1896 the only
production of this mineral in the United States was from the
deposits of Hardin county, which are known the world over
as among the greatest yet discovered. In 1896 mines were
opened in the adjacent Kentucky district, and a decided slump
in Illinois production followed for five years. A strong revival
of production began about 1902 and tonnage has increased,
with considerable fluctuation, from that time to the present.^^
Fluorspar is used mainly in supplying the American market
with spar for foundry work and steel making and its pro¬
duction consequently increases or decreases as the steel industry
thrives or declines. Only a very small fraction — that con¬
taining less than one per cent silica — can be used in the
enameling, chemical, and glass trades. A still smaller fraction
of the material is sufficiently flawless and in pieces of adequate
size for use in optical work.
The commercial importance of the Illinois fluorspar district
is bound to grow with the expansion of steel manufacture, for
28 Geological Survey of Illinois, i :
22 for table see appendix, p. 516, columns 44, 45.
432 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
not only are the deposits of this state unexcelled, but they are
nearer great steel manufacturing centers than are the small
mines of Colorado, New Mexico, and New Hampshire.
Omitting details of discovery in the dozen or so scattered
fields, the history of oil and gas production in Illinois may be
made extremely brief; for every field in every state the story
is the same in outline — a rapid rise in production almost imme¬
diately upon discovery followed by a slower but sure decline
to exhaustion not many years later. Unless new large fields for
both oil and gas are discovered, which scarcely seems probable,
the decline begun in 19lo and which has been but temporarily
interrupted, is likely to continue unbroken.^® For the time be¬
ing, however, the oil and gas industry in Illinois is of major
importance, as statistics for 1917 show. Of natural gas the
state produced almost four and one-half billion cubic feet,
valued at almost $500,000, while of petroleum it produced
more than fifteen and three-fourths million barrels, valued at
more than $31,000,000. Indisputable testimony to the excel¬
lence of Illinois oil is the fact that for some years its value has
kept it one notch higher in the scale of states based on total
value of production than it is on the basis of quantity pro¬
duced.
The enormous risk of capital involved in oil and gas pros¬
pecting and the great cost of pipe lines and refining plants
tnake it clear that the petroleum industry does not belong to
a frontier civilization, and helps to show why even slight de¬
velopment was delayed till 1882 and maximum productiveness
until 1904, near the close of the hundred years succeeding the
admission of Illinois to statehood. Remembering that fluor¬
spar, too, had to wait for extensive development until the
frontier stage was well past, the contention made that the
mineral resources developed after 1868 would be of that nature
For table see appendix, p. 514, columns 32, 33.
MINERAL WEALTH
433
seems to have been borne out by the group of industries dating
their rise within the third quarter of the century.
The fourth and last group, belonging to the 1893-1918
period, support this contention with even greater clearness.
Silica (tripoli), mineral paints, pyrite, sulphuric acid, asphalt,
and natural-gas gasoline are the six industries of the group.
Three of them, mineral paints, sulphuric acid, and asphalt,
though rightly termed mineral industries, can more properly
be considered under the head of manufactures so far as Illi¬
nois is concerned. A paragraph in regard to each, however,
will not be out of place.
In 1917 mineral pigments were made in Illinois directly
from the ores at Collinsville, Chicago, Argo, and East St.
Louis, the total value being $9,465,176.
The sulphuric acid produced in Illinois is a by-product of
zinc smelting at La Salle, Peru, Collinsville, and Danville, in
which process the waste gases, sulphur dioxide and sulphur
trioxide, are converted into acid. A product which as waste
would be extremely harmful is thus turned to good account,
amounting in 1917 to $3,902,831.^®
In Illinois asphalt is derived from crude petroleum in
refineries. The entire product—110,756 tons in 1917, worth
$1,317,855—is marketed for road oil and for flux.®"
Of the other three industries, all are independent, not by¬
products in processes of manufacture involved in other mineral
industries. Illinois tripoli has been used for some time as a
paint, wood filler, metal polish, in soaps, cleansers, glass manu¬
facture, and for facing foundry molds. The annual production
fluctuates considerably, the $30,000 value for 1917 being un?
usually low.
Next oldest is the pyrite industry, dating from 1907, so
20 For table see appendix, p. 511.
30 For table see ibid.
434 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
far as statistics show. Especially in Vermilion county, where
production was almost one hundred per cent of the state's total,
is the industry developed, since the pyrite can be easily saved
incidental to coal mining, as it occurs in the coal of this district
in distinct lenses and bands instead of being finely disseminated
throughout the coal as it is in most parts of the state. That
24,596 tons worth $89,998 were mined in 1917 shows the
possibilities of an industry that is merely incidental. Pyrite
is used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, a product of great
importance at all times.
The youngest mineral industry that has attained real indus¬
trial importance in the state is the production of gasoline from
natural gas. Production figures have mounted so rapidly —
in 1917 almost five million gallons valued at $866,000 — that
certainly the experimental stage must be safely passed. The
recovery of gasoline from gas promises to become a flourishing
business, for large quantities of gas now wasted may be turned
to profit by the process.
It is readily recognized that the nine mineral industries
which have originated in Illinois during the fifty years since
1868 differ greatly in their essential character from those
industries originated in the earlier half of the century. Every
one of them is an industry requiring at least one of the follow¬
ing factors for its development: large population to afford
market, adequate transportation facilities, an advanced stage
in the manufacturing industry, or abundant capital for estab¬
lishment and upkeep. Clearly none of them could be a frontier
industry. The contrast presented by the earlier group in com¬
parison with the later is, then, a strong one : on the one hand,
the older industries, though now no longer of frontier char¬
acter, were developed under frontier conditions and persisted
through the frontier period, proving their adaptability to such
conditions; and, on the other hand, the younger industries were
MINERAL WEALTH
435
not adapted to and could not have been established in pioneer
times. The older industries were, very logically, the develop¬
ment of mineral resources necessary to the simplest forms of
living in a frontier country, having to do with fuel and struc¬
tural materials; the younger industries involved the develop¬
ment of resources necessary only to a higher civilization and
possible only after frontier conditions had disappeared.
A final word in regard to the response of Illinois to de¬
mands placed on mineral resources of many kinds by the war
may be pertinent. The remarkable increase in production
along many lines in 1916 and 1917, and especially in 1917,
offers general evidence.®^ The end of the production curve
for coal®^ presents a picture of what happened in those years
not only in coal but in aggregate mineral industry as well, but
a few s^iecific instances will show this in greater detail.
Even before the United States entered the war two Illinois
industries, fluorspar and clay, were directly affected by the
stoppage of German trading. Before the war the whole supply
of clear, colorless, flawless pieces for optical instruments for
scientific work passed through the hands of German optical
dealers, and its stoppage promised to be a serious matter. At
once, however, Illinois producers' and the country's optical
manufacturers were informed of the need and of the source of
supply in Hardin county, and the danger was averted.
The cutting off of certain German refractory clays directed
attention to deposits in southwestern Illinois, among other
places, and geologists and ceramic engineers soon found that
one variety of Union county clay was even superior to that
formerly sought in Germany. And so another gap was stopped.
Almost immediately upon our entrance into the war the
small fleet of ships plying between Spain and the United States
For table see appendix, pp. 511-516.
22 See illustration opposite p. 422.
436 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
and bringing back quantities of pyrite from the rich Spanish
deposits were arbitrarily transferred to service more essential
to the winning of the war. Since pyrite is a source of sulphuric
acid, which is not only vital to industry in general but to manu¬
facture of explosives in particular, at first glance the action of
the government seems a strange step. But the administration,
knowing well that adequate supplies existed undeveloped in this
country, rightly surmised that producers would rise to meet the
need. Furthermore, zinc smelting was revived in connection
with war manufacture and the sulphuric acid by-product of this
process was bound to increase in quantity. In both phases of
the increase Illinois had a part, for the zinc smelters of the
state increased their production, and coal operators took ad¬
vantage of the opportunity to save pyrite, hitherto considered
only as a waste; thus they increased their earnings while min¬
ing a cleaner, better coal and supplying a raw material with¬
out whose manufactured product our part of the war could
not have been carried on.
Another effort to conserve was the attempt to substitute
Illinois, Indiana, and western Kentucky low-sulphur coals
wholly or in part for coal and coke from the east, hitherto
used exclusively in the important coal and water gas industry.
Curtailment of the eastern supply by order of the United States
fuel and railroad administrations was directly responsible for
the attempt, but it is probable that experiments and investi¬
gations begun with the aid of gas engineers and geologists will
continue, with the eventual result of a permanent decrease in
the dependence of Illinois on the east, and a great saving of
energy in transportation of coal and coke from Pennsylvania
and West Virginia.
The most phenomenal increase in production was that of
coal, and the work of Illinois miners deserved the high praise
granted it by the fuel administration, for it frequently hap-
MINERAL WEALTH
437
pened that when other states were behind in their apportion¬
ments, Illinois had enough and to spare. There is no need
to mention the far-reaching effect adequate fuel production has
on power to increase manufactures that they may stand the
strain of excessive war time production. A fitting climax,
indeed, to the first century of mineral production in Illinois,
is found in the realization that the mineral industries of the
state did not fail to play their full part in successful prosecution
of the war.
XIX. LABOR ORGANIZATION
The good times which had prevailed in industry during the
period since the Civil War were abruptly ended by the
panic of 1873. Immediately the demand for goods began to
fall off, factories were closed down, men were thrown out of
work, and all the familiar incidents of a financial and industrial
crisis were set in motion. Within a week after the crash came,
the first effects on the workingmen were reported by the news¬
papers. The Chicago and Northwestern railroad not only
was unable to pay its shopmen their August wages, but
announced a seven per cent reduction in wages, whereupon the
men quit work. In other cases the men were discharged and
the establishments closed. By November the number of
unemployed in Chicago alone was estimated between ten and
fifteen thousand. Two months later the Relief and Aid
Society made a canvass of the manufacturing establishments in
the city to ascertain the extent of unemployment. From the
data furnished by ninety-eight firms, which gave the number
usually employed and those then at work, it concluded that
thirty-seven per cent of the workingmen were without work.^
These figures did not include the building trades, usually the
first to feel the effects of a period of depression, and con¬
sequently did not fully measure the distress. Moreover it
must be rem.embered that many families had as yet scarcely
recovered from the losses of the fire of 1871, which had swept
the workingmen's district and rendered many homeless.
This situation was quickly utilized by the radical elements
^ Chicago Times, October a, 1873 ; Real Estate and Building Journal, Novem¬
ber 15, 1873; Chicago Tribune, February 17, 1874.
438
LABOR ORGANIZATION 439
for purposes of agitation. Foremost in this work was Der
Sozial-Politische Arbeiterverein, a German organization which
had been formed in 1868 by some Chicago followers of Lassalle
under the name of Der Allgemeine Deutsche Arbeiterverein,
but which in 1871 had changed its name and adopted as its
creed the communist manifesto of 1848. This organization
called a mass meeting for Sunday evening, December 21, at
Vorwaert's Turner Hall on West Twelfth street. Between five
and seven thousand people representing "workingmen of all
nationalities and trades " filled the hall to overflowing. The
meeting was addressed in English, German, French, Swedish,
and Polish, all the orators urging city aid for the unemployed.
Resolutions were adopted demanding work or assistance and
the use of the city's credit if the funds on hand were insufficient.
A committee was appointed to present these demands to the
common council at its session the following day, and another
one was authorized to draw up plans for the immediate organ¬
ization of the " workingmen's party." ^
On the following day a crowd of ten thousand workingmen
accompanied the resolutions committee to the city hall. Der
Sozial-Politische Arbeiterverein marched in a body and for
the first time in the history of Chicago raised aloft the red flag
of socialism. The workingmen were assured by the common
council that a joint committee would meet the next day to
consider the matter, but when it met they were told the city had
no money. They were advised to take up the matter with the
Relief and Aid Society, which might be induced to turn over
part of its funds to the city for temporary relief work. But
this society, when appealed to, declared that such a step would
be both inexpedient and unlawful.® Despairing of relief from
organized channels, the workingmen now decided that they
' Chicago Tribune, December 22, 25, 1S73.
® Ibid., December 23, 24, 27, 1873.
440 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
must go to the ballot box and elect men of their own stamp in
order to get laws according to their needs.
From this time on the work of organizing an independent
political party went on rapidly; and on January I2, 1874, a
committee on " platform and plan of organization " submitted
a program. The name of the proposed organization was to
be the " workingmen's party of the state of Illinois." The
platform, after declaring that all men "have an equal right to
the necessaries of life," demanded the prevention of monopoly,
the public ownership of all means of transportation and com¬
munication, state management of savings banks and fire insur¬
ance, the deposit of public moneys in state banks, abolition of
contract system on public works, weekly payment of wages,
abolition of prison labor except on state works, compulsory
education of children from seven to fourteen years of age,
abolition of child labor under fourteen years in factories, aboli¬
tion of the fee system, recall of officials, and the organization
of workingmen's associations.^ Somewhat later a provision
was added declaring for the abolition of all indirect taxes and
the introduction of a progressive income and property tax.®
Outside of the initial statement, there was nothing alarm¬
ingly radical in these demands. The platform was undoubtedly
drawn with the necessary reserve in order to win the coopera¬
tion of the farmers who, under the name of the independent
reform party of Illinois, were making similar demands. In
the newly established party organ, however, a clear statement
of the ultimate goal of the organization was given as the
socialist state, which was to be achieved by the formation of
workingmen's associations with state credit in accordance with
the scheme of Lassalle, the German socialist.®
^ Ibid., January 12, 1874; Vorbote, February 14, 1874.
® Ibid., September 19, 1874.
® The Vorbote was founded and appeared on February 14, 1874, as a weekly
paper.
LABOR ORGANIZATION
441
At first the progress of the party was rapid. By March
there were fifteen German sections, three Bohemian, three
Polish, and one American. In the spring elections it ran a
candidate for collector on the north side, who received 975
votes against 4,410 cast for his opponent, a fusion candidate.
In the fall elections, however, when the workingmen's party
put a full ticket in the field, their vote showed a great falling
off. Then, too, an attempt which had been made to cooperate
with the independent reform party of the farmers at their con¬
vention at Springfield in June had failed completely, for the
interests of the two groups were too diverse for such a move¬
ment to be successful.^
Faith in political action consequently began to decline, and
in the following March the party voted not to nominate candi¬
dates. Soon afterwards it abjured the milder socialism of
Lassalle and became a revolutionary Marxian group. A new
platform was accordingly adopted, which, in addition to
indorsing most of the demands of the former program and
adding some new ones as purely palliative reforms, also laid
down the more radical principles of direct legislation, popular
administration of justice, common ownership of all means of
production and communication, state organization and regula¬
tion of the productive processes according to the needs of the
people, cultivation of the soil according to scientific methods,
and universal and equal state education.
The adoption of this revolutionary program, however,
made the party so much like the North American Federation
of the International Workingmen's Association that the union
of the two groups became inevitable; and they finally united
under the name of the workingmen's party of the United
' Vorbote, February 28, April ii, June 6, 13, 20, July 18, November 28, 1874;
Chicago Tribune, April 11, 1874. A section consisted of at least twenty-five
members.
442 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
States.® Soon afterward the Illinois party declared itself dis¬
solved; its sections became sections of the new organization
and the Vorbote became the latter's property and official organ.
New life seems to have been injected into the local party as
a result of the national fusion. The Chicago section of the
workingmen's party of the United States reported a member¬
ship of seven hundred and fifty members; two new women's
groups were added and two more newspapers were started, one
Scandinavian and the other German. The continued depression,
moreover, was a potent incentive for movements to better the
economic condition of the working class. Wages fell steadily
between 1873 and 1877; according to the reports made to
congress average wages declined eight per cent during this
period, and in many instances the decrease was more than fifty
per cent. Thus shoemakers suffered a fifteen per cent reduction
in 1874, a similar cut in 1875, and another in 1877. Silver¬
smiths earned twenty-five dollars a week in 1872 and ten dollars
in 1879; coopers received twenty-five cents a barrel in 1873
and ten cents in 1879; typesetters saw their pay fall from
fifty-five cents per thousand ems in 1876 to thirty-six cents in
1879; and the coal heavers suffered a reduction from twenty
cents a ton in 1873 to eight cents in 1878.®
In 1877 the labor unrest, which was general throughout the
country, blazed out into open opposition. The immediate
occasion was a ten per cent reduction in wages on the leading
railroad systems after several reductions had already been
made. On July 23 the switchmen on the Michigan Central
' Vorbote, March 26, 1875, J"ly 29, 1876.
® House Report of Special Committee on Labor, March, 1879, ibid., Decem¬
ber II, 1875, August 17, 1878, March 15, 1879; ibid., October 14, November 25,
1876, March 3, 17, 1877; "Report on Wholesale Prices, Wages, and Transporta¬
tion," Senate Documents, 52 congress, 2 session, report 1394, p. i. The new Ger¬
man paper was first known as the Chicagoer Sozialist, later as the Illinois Volks-
zeitung, and finally as the Arbeiter-Zeitung. Except for a brief interruption in
1886 it has had a continuous existence since.
LABOR ORGANIZATION
443
quit. The next day, under the leadership of the socialists and
radical trade-unionists, they persuaded the trainmen on other
lines to strike, then marched to the manufacturing centers of
the city and shut down lumberyards, brickyards, foundries,
shoe factories, and stockyards. Open conflict with the police
followed during the next two days in which some nineteen
persons were killed and possibly a hundred wounded.^"
The failure of this movement led the workingmen again to
seek relief at the polls, and in November the socialists cast
approximately 7,000 votes. Soon afterwards the name of the
party was changed to the socialist labor party. A new official
paper. The Socialist, was established in Chicago as the organ
of the English section of the party. Moreover, in the spring
of 1878 the socialists cast about 8,000 votes and elected two
aldermen to the common council and in the fall elections
four members of the general assembly. In 1879 they cast
11,576 votes for their candidate for mayor and elected three
aldermen.^^
Chicago was now the undisputed center of the socialist
movement in the country. The local section contained 870
members in good standing. It published four socialist papers :
the Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung and the Vorbote in German,
the Socialist in English, and the Nye Tid, the only Scandinavian
socialist paper in the country. The return of industrial pros¬
perity in 1879, however, put an end to the success of the party
at the polls. At the fall election of that year the socialist vote
fell to 4,800, and only one candidate was elected.^-
Moreover, forces were at work which were to cause a
split in the party. Disagreements arose first over a military
10 Chicago Tribune, July 22, 25, 27, 28, 1877: Pinkerton, Strikers, Communists,
Tramps and Detectives, 404.
Ibid., November 8, 1877; Vorbote, November 10, 1877, January 19, April 13,
September 21, November 9, 1878, April 5, 1879.
12 Ibid., November 8, 1879 ; Commons, History of Labour in the United States,
2: 282.
444
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
organization called the Lehr- und Wehrverein, which the Ger¬
man socialists had established for the purpose of drilling and
arming the workingmen for the coming social revolution, but
to which the American socialists were opposed. More funda¬
mental, however, was the antagonism between the political
opportunism of the American faction and the class-conscious
socialism of the German group. The question of supporting
the candidates of other parties, to which the Germans were
opposed, first presented itself in 1879; in the following year
the quarrel broke out again over the question of uniting with
the greenback labor party and finally resulted in a complete
breach. The Germans reorganized as a more distinctly trade-
union party, while the Americans united with some green-
backers to launch the Chicago Labor Union, an organization
chiefly for purposes of discussion.^®
The greenback movement was never important in Chicago,
as it was primarily a farmers' movement. The first attempt
at cooperation between the farmers and the workingmen was
made, as has been mentioned, in 1874 at the Springfield meeting
of the independent reform party, a farmers' organization
which a year later extended " a cordial invitation to all indus¬
trial organizations and individuals to join in every effort to
throw off the burden imposed on the industrial classes by the
encroachment of aggregate capital in the hands of monopo¬
lies."^^ In 1876 at Decatur it showed its interest in the
workers by declaring for " measures providing for the health
and safety of those employed in mining, manufacturing, and
building pursuits."^®
In 1875 announcements of meetings of persons "in favor
Vorbote, May 29, 1875, June 22, 1878; Arbeiter-Zeitung, July 6, lo, Octo¬
ber 4, 28, December 28, 1880, January 4, 1881 ; Chicago Tribune, December 27,
1880, January 3, 1881.
Illinois State Register, January 22, 1875.
Chicago Tribune, February 17, 1876.
LABOR ORGANIZATION
445
of a greenback currency" began to appear in the Chicago
papers. In March of the following year a Central Club an¬
nounced that the independent greenback party would " enter in
the field in the forth-coming municipal contest with a full city
ticket composed of candidates possessed of strict integrity,
unquestionable honesty, and acknowledged ability;" but this
plan failed to mature. A short time later, however, the Work-
ingmen's League of Illinois, subsequently changed to the Chi¬
cago Labor League, was launched. It was to be composed of
delegates " from trade, labor, and ward organizations," and
its object was to bring the various working elements " into close
communion with each other;" to disseminate information
among them ; to protect them from discriminating and unjust
legislation; "to ascertain and make known the views of candi¬
dates for office on questions of interest to its members; to
cement brotherly feeling among those laboring for wages and
their employers ; and to scrutinize and discuss all matters af¬
fecting the conditions of the laborer." This league, which
owed its existence chiefly to A. C. Cameron of the Working-
men's Advocate, was to be used to bring together the working-
men in behalf of the greenback cause. At one time the organi¬
zation was said to have numbered in its membership forty-two
labor organizations, which, however, appear to have done little
to further the greenback cause; for Peter Cooper, the green¬
back candidate for United States president, received but 276
votes in Cook county in the fall of that year.^^
It was not until the workingmen felt the full effects of the
depression which culminated in the railroad riots of 1877^®
that they turned to greenbackism. On August 23 the Labor
League held an open-air meeting, repudiated the democratic
18 Workingmen's Advocate, April 22, 1876; Pomeroy's Democrat, November
II, 1876; Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1877.
11 See above, chapter 5.
18 See above, chapter 6.
446 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
and republican parties, and voted to form a separate party.
It adopted a platform calling for the repeal of the resumption
act of January 14, 1875, remonetization and free coinage of
the silver dollar, the perpetuation of treasury notes as legal-
tender, and several other reforms and improvements which
were circulating at the time. The platform also contained a
number of labor planks: an eight-hour day, arbitration of
industrial disputes, abolition of contract cpnvict labor, pro¬
hibition of child labor for those under twelve years of age, the
enactment of a law compelling employers to pay the wages
earned in a certain month not later than the fifteenth of the
succeeding month, and the establishment of state and national
bureaus of labor. Some time later the league changed its name
to the " workingmen's industrial party of the United States."^®
This party soon became a source of encouragement to other
labor groups to form parties of their own. The socialists were
already in the field. After the Chicago Labor League had
become the workingmen's industrial party, the independent
greenback party, together with disgruntled democrats who had
subscribed to greenbackism, made an abortive attempt to
organize the independent party of Cook county, based on the
" cooperation of all classes of citizens, irrespective of past party
ties and affiliations." A. C. Cameron and William McNally,
a democratic politician, were leaders in this coup. Meanwhile
another set of workingmen organized the National Working-
men's Organization of Illinois, which was to be nonpartisan.
Its purpose was not to put a ticket in the field, but " to bind the
workingmen together for the support of the best men who
should be nominated by either of the two great parties." Later
on it appeared that republican politicians were welcome guests
at its meetings.
There were now bidding for the labor vote five different
See above, p. 12+ flf.
LABOR ORGANIZATION 447
elements: the disgruntled democrats who had subscribed to
greenbackism ; the greenbackers proper, who were the intellec¬
tuals of the movement, counting among their number J. A.
Noonan, editor of the Telegraph, " Doctor" Taylor, "Judge"
Layton, " Colonel " Ricaby, " Professor " Corcoran, and " Pro¬
fessor" Jackson; the industrials who were the workingmen;
the nonpartisan workingmen with a republican bias; and finally
the socialists.
Each of these parties now tried to win over the others.
The democrats made an offer to the industrials which fairly
staggered them. Out of thirteen county officers to be elected
they offered them the nomination of seven — mostly, however,
to the minor offices. At first the industrials rejected the offer;
but it was so tempting that when they met in convention they
more than carried out the democratic designs; with some ex¬
ceptions, they nominated a democratic tickét. As the election
approached, the other labor groups turned one by one to sup¬
port the democrats.^"
A small group of industrials, together with a small group
of greenbackers, bolted the democratic alliance and, for the
next few years, agitated labor greenbackism under the name
"industrial-greenback party." In some instances, with the aid
of the democrats, they elected some of their candidates. Their
highest independent vote was cast in the fall of 1878, when
5,479 votes were polled for their candidate for sheriff.
With the return of prosperity the political organizations of
the workers for the redress of their grievances lost strength
and finally disintegrated. As employment became more gen¬
eral interest shifted from legislation to more practical problems
of hours and wages and conditions of work. Trade-unionism
took the place of political organization and dominated the
labor movement during the next few years. The long period
Chicago Tribune, August 24, September 12, 20, October 14, 19, 26, 31, 1877.
448 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
of depression which followed the panic of 1873 with its attend¬
ant lack of work or irregular employment, low wages, and
unsatisfactory conditions, came to an end about 1879 and in
its place followed an era of prosperity and expansion which
continued with little change until 1893 except for a brief inter¬
ruption from the panic of 1884. The resumption of specie
payments in 1879 removed the specter of greenbackism, while
the silver purchase act of 1878 was generally regarded at the
time as a help to business by making money easier.
So marked was the change in general business conditions
that even the official organ of the labor movement in Chicago
noticed it. "The transactions of the clearing house," said the
Arbeiter-Zeitung in August, 1880, "have grown weekly since
January i. . . . The sale in groceries has grown well
nigh 35 per cent over the preceding six months. . . . The
drug trade has added about 20 per cent. . . . For hides
Chicago has become the chief American market. In the course
of the last six months 40 or 50 per cent more hides were
received and shipped here than ever before in the same period.
The sale of iron has become so rapid, that it appears absolutely
impossible to keep a big supply of it on hand. And as in these
branches so has business grown in practically all others."^'
With this improvement in conditions of employment the work-
ingmen now became more interested in the maintenance and
further improvement of these conditions. They abandoned
politics, which sought only legislative reforms, for trade-
unionism which stood for the practical betterment of the wage
scale, for shorter hours, and similar demands.
Already in 1877 the workingmen began to organize along
trade-union lines and in December of that year brought into
existence the progenitor of the Chicago Federation of Labor.
The delegates who met for this purpose represented unions,
^'^Arbeiter-Zeitung, August 19, 1880.
LABOR ORGANIZATION
449
mostly German, of the upholsterers, cigar makers, printers,
stonecutters, silver gilders, coopers, molders, tailors, black¬
smiths and machinists, carpenters, furniture workers, cabinet¬
makers, painters, brickmakers, shoemakers, and stair builders.
There were present also some " amalgamated workingmen " —
" the Chicago alias of the secret organization which seeks to
control the labor movement throughout the country." This
description seems to indicate that these men were members of
a local of the Knights of Labor, which was then a secret organ¬
ization. The question at once arose as to the admission of
secret organizations and was decided in the negative under the
influence of the trade-unionists. It was voted to organize a
trade council consisting of trade-unions only. Albert A. Par¬
sons was elected president of the new body.^-
The aims of the Trades Council, according to a circular
published somewhat later bearing the title " Principles and
Platform of the Council of Trade and Labor Unions of Chi¬
cago and Vicinity," were: the organization of labor unions of
all branches of trade and labor; the local, national, and inter¬
national amalgamation of all labor unions; repeal of all con¬
spiracy laws; reduction of the hours of labor; higher wages;
factory, mine, and workshop inspection; abolition of contract
convict labor and the truck system; responsibility of employers
for accidents caused by neglected machinery; prohibition of
child labor; the establishment of labor bureaus; and labor
propaganda by means of labor press, labor lectures, and the
employment of organizers.
Although the secret societies had been kept out of the
Trades Council in 1877, the question came up again two years
later and this time their supporters were strong enough to
secure the admission of three such organizations. These were
the Sons of Vulcan, the Washington Benevolent Society, and
Chicago Tribune, December 2, 16, 1877.
450 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
the Sons of Freedom. The machinists' and blacksmiths', the
furniture workers', and the engineers' unions protested. These
societies were secret, their membership was unknown, and they
leaned to democratic politics. The council refused to revoke
its action, however, and the result was a split. The furniture
workers withdrew their delegates and were followed by several
other unions. Some fifteen dissatisfied unions finally met and
voted to organize a trade and labor council "made up only of
delegates from trade unions." By this move the trade-union¬
ists won their point. A few months later the old council made
a bid for union and consented to eject all secret organizations
and to proceed on a strictly trade-union basis.^® The name
Trade and Labor Assembly was adopted for the united body, a
name which was retained until the nineties brought another
upheaval, when the present name of the Chicago Federation of
Labor was adopted.
The same forces that brought into being a central labor
body also favored the organization of local unions. The
council in 1879 named organization committees for the north,
west, and south sides of the city to found new labor unions ; and
shortly afterwards the establishment of unions among the wood
polishers, the machine woodworkers, the painters, and the
glaziers was reported. The various carpenters' locals held a
mass meeting to organize a single carpenters' union, and a
similar move was made in the boot and shoe industry by some
of the members of the lodges No. 7 and No. 39 of the old
order of St. Crispin.^^ This movement is well illustrated by
a calendar of trade-unions published by the Arbeiter-Zeitung
during these years. In the first list of September 4, 1879,
twelve unions were listed; forty-five on April i, 1880, fifty on
Morgan manuscripts; Arbeiter-Zeitung, December 12, 16, 19, 26, 1879,
January 16, May 7, 1880.
^*Ibid., October 10, November 3, 10, December i, 22, 1879.
LABOR ORGANIZATION
451
April I, 1881, and twenty-nine on March 16, 1882. These
figures may not be exact, but they indicate the rise and fall of
trade-unionism for this period.
The first generarl demand made by these organizations was
for a reduction of hours for a day's work from ten to eight.
Early in 1879 the St. Louis Trade Assembly adopted resolu¬
tions "that all Trade and Labor organizations unite in one
body, and on July 4, 1879 proclaim to the world that eight
hours shall be a normal day's work." The Chicago Trades
Council indorsed the proposition and held mass meetings to
bring it before the public. When the Fourth of July arrived
it held a three days' demonstration in its favor at which
speeches were made by Ira Steward, the Nestor of the eight-
hour movement, and others.^®
Ira Steward's vision of an eight-hour day as bringing more
leisure, increased wants, higher wages, reduced profits, and the
emancipation of labor may have influenced some of the eight-
hour advocates; but the more practical consideration, that
shorter hours would create more jobs, undoubtedly moved most
of them. Only seldom did the labor papers and labor orators
mention the former virtues of an eight-hour day, but they
continually harped on the latter. The Chicago Trades Council
in indorsing the reduction of hours stated that such a reduction
was " well calculated to create a demand for labor by placing a
limit upon the supply of labor."-® The socialists supported
the eight-hour day " as a check upon the exploiting-power of
capital" and "as a bridge to the system of regulating labor
by law.""
An Eight-Hour League was organized to promote the idea
of an eight-hour day, while the Furniture Workers' Trade
Vorbote, April 12, May 4, 1879.
Chicago Tribune, May 19, 1879; Arbeiter-Zeitung, July 5, 1879.
" Vorbote, September 13, 1879.
452 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
Union of North America took the first step to make it practical.
The Chicago union demanded it of their employers, and on
July 5 nine factories employing 765 men announced an eight-
hour day and three others employing 230 men declared that
they had no objection to it. By the next day the number of
factories that granted the reduced hours had risen to forty.
But now a reaction set in. The Brunswick and Balke firm
locked out its men until they agreed to a ten-hour basis. A week
later some thirty-five manufacturers met and resolved that
"the interests of the manufacturers as well as the workingmen
will be most secure as long as the ten-hour working day remains
in force." As a result of this opposition the movement for a
shorter working day failed.^®
After the failure of the eight-hour movement the working-
men next turned their attention to raising their wages. Of the
strikes that occurred during the four years from 1879 to 1882
three-fourths were for higher wages. The most important of
these were the following: in 1879 the cigar makers struck over
a new wage scale, and the packing house employees for higher
wages and then for the closed shop; in 1880 the chair makers
demanded a fifteen per cent increase in wages, and the brick-
makers a revised bill of prices considerably beyond existing
rates; in 1881 the boiler makers struck for a ten per cent
increase, the street car conductors and drivers for a twenty per
cent increase, the molders for a twenty-five per cent increase,
and the switchmen for the same; in 1882 the iron and steel
workers demanded a ten per cent increase and the brick laborers
struck to maintain wages at the existing rates.^®
The latter strike is an indication of declining prosperity in
this year. It was the first slump since 1879 it again drew
Arbeiier-Zeitung, July 8, lo, i8, 19, 1879.
" Reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of Illinois. See also Report of
the Commissioner of Labor, 1887, p. 100 ff.
LABOR ORGANIZATION 453
the workingmen into politics. The Trades Assembly in this
year decided to run its own legislative candidates; and the
elements that a few years earlier had participated in the
greenback movement now, with some others, organized the
antimonopoly party. In September was held a meeting which
the Chicago Tribune described as a "motley gathering
composed of relics of all the third, fourth, and fifth parties
which have bubbled up at election times during the last ten
years." There were present socialists, land and labor agi¬
tators, trade-unionists. Knights of Labor, and " a quantity of
Greenbackers." The platform adopted was broad enough to
include all these elements. It called for public ownership by
the government of " the resources of life," national control of
railroads and telegraphs, governmental issue of all money
" whether of paper, silver, or gold," abolition of " all monopoly
of land by individuals or corporations and its ultimate absorp¬
tion by the State for the benefit of the whole people," purchase
by the government of all inventions worthy of adoption and
their gift to the people, and the submission of constitutional
amendments on prohibition and woman suffrage to the vote of
the people. Candidates for county offices, state senate, and
congress were nominated, and the legislative candidates of the
Trades Assembly indorsed. In the November elections both
tickets went down to defeat, the antimonopoly candidate for
sheriff receiving only 364 votes; the legislative candidates of
the Trades Assembly made a better showing, but the most
successful of these received only half as many votes as the
winner.®" This movement was only a sporadic one and had
neither a permanent basis nor a lasting result.
When, after this temporary lapse into politics, labor again
began to concern itself with working conditions, it did so under
the leadership of a new organization — the Knights of Labor.
^"Chicago Tribune, September ii, 26, 1882; Arbeiter-Zeitung, July 5, 1879.
454
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
This organization had appeared earlier, but it now took the
dominating position in the field.
The spirit of trade-unionism was not so strong among the
American workingmen as it was among the foreign born.
For the most part the former were unskilled or, if skilled,
shifted their trades rather easily, while the latter were trained
mechanics with a highly developed trade feeling. This fact is
well illustrated by the racial composition of the trade-unions in
Illinois in 1886. According to the bureau of labor^^ only 21
per cent of the members were Americans, while 33 per cent
were Germans, 19 per cent were Irish, 10 per cent English,
Scotch, and Welsh together, 12 per cent Scandinavians, and the
remaining 5 per cent Poles, Bohemians, and Italians. It is
clear that the United States was drawing its supply of skilled
labor mainly from abroad, owing in large measure to the
breakdown of the apprenticeship system in this country. A
new form of organization was therefore developed in the
United States, peculiar to this country and growing out of the
conditions of the times, the principle of which was the amalga¬
mation of all workers in one organization. The interests of
all workingmen were held to be identical, and the ideal was to
have an organization that would embrace them all. To accom¬
plish this aim the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor was
founded.
This body was organized by U. S. Stephens among the
garment cutters of Philadelphia in 1869 as a secret society, and
from there spread to other parts of the country. It is not
known just when the order obtained a foothold in Illinois, but
by the summer of 1877 the local assemblies were numerous
enough to organize a district assembly. " D. A. 13," wrote
Powderly, long the head of the national organization, "wa,s
organized August i, 1877, at Springfield, 111., with assemblies
Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of Illinois, 1886, p. 427.
LABOR ORGANIZATION
455
Nos. 271, of Springfield; 346, of Hollis; 360, of Kingston
Mines; 415, of Limestone; and an assembly from Peoria."®^
It is noteworthy that Chicago does not appear on the list.
The only Knight of Labor in Chicago at this time was Richard
Griffith, a shoemaker and at one time officer in the Knights of
St. Crispin. Under his leadership Local Assembly 400 was
organized on August 19, 1877. In its membership it included
many men who later rose to prominence in labor and politics.
There were Thomas Kavanaugh of the workingmen's indus¬
trial party of the United States; George Rogers, who later
held the presidency of the Chicago Trade and Labor Assembly
for several years; Philipp Van Patten of the socialist labor
party; Miles Kehoe, at one time city clerk; and George A.
Shilling and Albert R. Parsons, the latter a participant in the
Haymarket riot. Besides these, hundreds of others "sojourned "
here until they split off and formed separate locals. Thus
Local Assemblies 522, 525, 800, 828, 852, 976, 1,307, and
1,483 had their origin in Local Assembly 400. The following
year more locals were organized and District Assembly 24, a
delegate body of locals, was established.®®
Nothing in the structure of these locals or the district
assembly was peculiar to Illinois or Chicago. It was prescribed
by the national body or general assembly, the local organiza¬
tions having the power to make by-laws only. Any ten persons,
three-fourths of whom were wage earners, could form a local.
Liquor dealers, lawyers, doctors, and bankers were specifically
barred from membership; later professional gamblers and
stockbrokers were added to the list of undesirables, but the
admission of doctors was made optional with each local.®^
32 Powderly, Thirty Years of Labor, iSfç-iSSç, p. 22i-zz2.
Knights of Labor, December 23, 1886, January 29, 1887; Arbeiter-Zeitung,
February 16, 1887.
34 Constitution for local assemblies adopted at Reading, Pennsylvania, Janu¬
ary 1-4, 1878; ibid., revised in 1881.
456 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
The purposes of the organization, as set forth in the preamble,
were " to bring within the folds of organization every depart¬
ment of productive industry" and "to secure to the workers
the full enjoyment of the wealth they create, sufficient leisure
in which to develop their intellectual, moral, and social facul¬
ties." To secure these objects they demanded the referendum;
the establishment of bureaus of labor statistics; cooperative
associations, productive and distributive; the reservation of
public lands for actual settlers; health and safety legislation
for those engaged in mining, manufacturing, or the building
trades; the abrogation of unequal laws; weekly payment of
wages; a mechanics' lien law; abolition of the contrac;t system
on public works; substitution of arbitration for strikés; pro¬
hibition of the employment of children under fourteen years
of age; abolition of contract prison labor; equal pay for
equal work for both sexes; an eight-hour day; and "a
purely national circulating medium, based upon the faith
and resources of the nation, and issued directly for the
people,—which money shall be legal tender in payment of
all debts, public or private."^®
The early years of the order in Chicago gave no hint of
its future prominence in that city. Its growth was slow so
long as it remained a secret order, but after the veil of secrecy
was removed in 1881, it entered boldly upon the work of
organization. Myles McPadden of Pennsylvania, general
organizer, came to Chicago and, with the assistance of at
least eight local commissioned organizers, in a short time
established fourteen local assemblies. Some of these were
among the less skilled workers, such as sewing women, dry
goods clerks, candy makers, butchers and packing house men,
brickmakers, quarrymen; others included the more skilled
ä' Constitution of the general assembly, district assembly, and local as¬
semblies, adopted at Reading, Pennsylvania, January 1-4, 1878.
LABOR ORGANIZATION
457
workers such as the bricklayers, iron molders, tin and sheet
iron workers, machinists, blacksmiths, assortment workers and
solderers, pattern makers, and bakers. In 1882 District
Assembly No. 24 opened headquarters and a labor bureau,
and the Progressive Age, the official organ of the Trade
and Labor Assembly, became also the official organ of the
Knights.^® The order was now definitely established in
Chicago, but during the next three years of depression it grew
slowly. District Assembly No. 57 was organized to cover
the towns of Lake, Cummings, Pullman, and a part of Chicago,
but as this drew from the same territory as did No. 24, there
was no real gain. Assembly No. 24 had 1,464 members on
October i, 1879; 1,518 in 1880; 766 in 1881; and 1,192
in 1882; the combined membership of the two assemblies was
1,715 in 1883; 1,607 in 1884; and 1,906 in 1885.
In 1886 there occurred a most startling and rapid growth
of the order. District Assembly No. 24, which in July, 1885,
had 13 locals with a membership of 551, had 88 locals a year
later with 14,019 members; while District Assembly No. 57
grew less rapidly from 6 locals with 1,355 members to 43
locals with 7,734 members. Two months later they claimed
164 locals in Chicago with "at least 45,000 members." The
Knights of Lahor was established as a monthly paper in Feb¬
ruary, 1886, and in May it was converted into a weekly. In
June the management of this paper bought out The Chicago
Daily Sun and devoted it also " to the interests of the laboring
people."®'^ Nor was the growth confined to Chicago alone.
In the state of Illinois as a whole there were 214 local assem¬
blies in July, 1886, with 34,974 members. Reckoned accord-
Progressive Age^ March 4, April 22, July 1, 1882.
3' Proceedings of the General Assembly, Richmond, Virginia, October 4-20,
1886, p. 326; Knights of Labor, June 12, September 11, 1886. This estimate is
considerably higher than the figures given belo\y for the state as a whole, taken
from the Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of Illinois, 1886.
458 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
ing to country of birth the membership was 45 per cent
American, 16 per cent German, 13 per cent Irish, 10 per
cent British) and 5 per cent Scandinavian. Distributed accord¬
ing to occupations they fell into the following groups: day
laborers, 7,498; coal miners, 3,557 ; garment workers, 1,987;
packing house men, 1,780; brickmakers, 1,394; machinists,
1,222; iron molders, 1,203; shoemakers, 934; coopers, 930;
painters and paper hangers, 816; box factory men, 506; roll¬
ing mill laborers, 404; watch factory workers, 394; the
remainder belonged to more than one hundred different occu¬
pations. Evidently the less skilled and those lacking in
bargaining strength flocked to the Knights as their deliverers.®®
The causes of the extraordinary growth of this order are
to be found in the general economic and industrial movements
of this period. The late seventies and early eighties were
years of marvelous industrial expansion. The rapid extension
of railways widened the market and brought new areas into
touch with each other, machinery was introduced on an unprece¬
dented scale into manufacturing industries, the tide of immi¬
gration swelled to heights beyond any previous level, and the
volume of our agricultural, manufacturing, and mining prod¬
ucts made new records. But this prosperity was interrupted
by the panic of 1884, and a period of depression set in, marked
by unemployment and reduction of wages. It was found,
moreover, that the very factors mentioned above exposed the
workers to new forces of competition and tended to create
large classes of unskilled and semiskilled labor with inferior
bargaining power. At the same time the disappearance of
the frontier about 1880 and the exhaustion of the best lands
in the public domain closed to the surplus labor of the cities
this outlet, which in all previous periods of depression had
afforded a safety valve and had helped to keep up wages.
Commons, History of Labour in the United States, 2: 382,
XX. ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST
The power secured by the laborers through organization
soon made itself manifest in an increased and successful
use of the strike. As a means of redressing grievances it
proved a far more effective weapon than political agitation
and encouraged in the workers generally a strong belief in a
policy of direct action.
Strike statistics have been gathered by the United States
commissioner of labor since 1881, and during the period from
this year to 1886 they showed a fairly steady increase in Illinois
except for a falling off after the panic of 1884.^ But the year
1886 saw almost as many strikes as any three preceding years,
the number having grown from 271 in 1881 to 1,060 in 1886.
In the first four years of this period most of the strikes were
for an increase of wages, but in 1885 the largest number of
strikes was recorded against a reduction of wages. Many
of these were among the unskilled, as, for instance, a strike
at Lemont and Joliet in 1885 of 2,000 quarrymen, a polyglot
mass of Swedes, Bohemians, Poles, Norwegians, and Welsh¬
men. In the six years ending with 1886 the stone quarrymen
to the number of over 9,000 took part in strikes throughout
Illinois. The workers who formed the center of the indus¬
trial disturbances were the unskilled packing house employees
and those engaged in allied occupations (with 36,744 persons
involved), the irregularly employed and poorly paid miners
(30,489), the turbulent workers in metals and metallic goods
(24,611), those employed in the unstable building trades
^ A few important data for Illinois are summarized in a table in the appendix,
p. 508.
459
46o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
(18,852), and those engaged in lumbering (12,011). Such
elements turned to the Knights of Labor as the champions of
the mass of workers, a rôle which the skilled trade-unionists
had never essayed. The Knights had, moreover, won great
prestige by their success in the strikes of 1885 on the two Gould
railways, the Union Pacific and the Wabash. In general,
throughout the state the great majority of the strikes had been
successful between 1881 and 1885, and such a spirit of con¬
fidence in their newly found power had been engendered among
the rank and file that they were inclined to use that power in a
reckless and even ruthless fashion.^
The year 1886 accordingly saw a widespread use of this
weapon. For the first time in the history of Illinois the number
of strikes within the year rose to over a thousand, of which
almost exactly half (501) succeeded in securing a reduction
of hours. A national movement was inaugurated this year
for a shorter working day, and in accordance with this pro¬
gram strikes were started in Chicago and other Illinois cities
on May i. It was estimated that 80,000 persons took part in
the strike at Chicago, which was the center of the movement.
In addition, some 35,000 Chicago packing house employees,
about 5,000 workers in the building trades, and 2,000 ma¬
chinists secured shorter hours from their employers without a
strike.®
At the very beginning of the struggle, however, there
occurred a catastrophe in Chicago which at once made its suc¬
cess impossible, alienated public sympathy, and set back the
eight-hour movement a decade. This was the explosion of
the Haymarket bomb. For this the anarchists were held
responsible. But to understand this event and their part in it,
2 Commons, History of Labour in the United States, 2:367; Report of the
Commissioner of Labor, 1887, p. 738-740. See table in preceding note.
^ Bradstreet's, volume 13, part r, 390, 394.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 461
it is necessary to trace somewhat more carefully the anarchist
movement in Chicago.
The International Working People's Association had been
organized in London in July, 1881, by European anarchists;
and in the fall of the same year an attempt was made to unite
the revolutionary elements in the United States. A convention
was held at Chicago on October 21, at which delegates were
present from fourteen cities. A national information bureau
was authorized to be established at Chicago, but this was not
organized until 1883. In this year it was decided to hold
another national convention in order to unify the movement;
this was held in Pittsburg in October. The delegates from
Chicago, Albert R. Parsons, August Spies, George Meng, and
Balthasar Rau, represented the trade-union wing of the revo¬
lutionary movement in the country, while Johann Most, the
New York delegate, represented the anarchists, most of whom
were centered in the east. The name International Working
People's Association was adopted,^ and a manifesto To the
Workingmen of America was framed along approved anarch¬
istic lines. It drew a passionate picture of the miserable
condition of the workers under capitalism and condemned the
state, the church, and even the school to destruction as barriers
to reform. "The political institutions of our time," it said,
" are but the means in the hands of the propertied classes to
support the predatory rights of your exploiters; any reform
in your behalf would curtail these privileges. To this they
cannot give their consent, for it would be committing suicide!
We know therefore that the ruling classes will not volun¬
tarily renounce their privileges and will make no concessions.
Under all these circumstances there remains but one recourse —
force ! "
The Pittsburg manifesto has been accepted by anarchists
* Arbeiter-Zeitung, February 26, August 7, October 22, 1883.
462 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
in this country as one of the clearest statements of their aims,
so that it is worth while to repeat their demands. These were
put with exemplary brevity.® "What we would achieve is,
therefore, plainly and simply:
"First: Destruction of existing class rule, by all means,
i.e., by energetic, relentless, revolutionary and international
action.
"Second: Establishment of a free society based upon
cooperative organization of production.
"Third: Free exchange of equivalent products by and
between the productive organizations without commerce and
profit-mongery.
"Fourth: Organization of education on a secular, scien¬
tific, and equal basis for both sexes.
" Fifth : Equal rights for all without distinction of sex
or race.
"Sixth: Regulation of all public affairs by free contracts
between the autonomous (independent) communes and asso¬
ciations, resting on a federalistic basis."
The indorsement of this program definitely committed the
Chicago workers to anarchism, and the city became the center
of the Black International, as it was called.® The particular
brand of anarchism professed by them was that developed by
Michael Bakounine, according to which society was to consist
of independent, autonomous groups of free workers. Both
in method and in spirit the Chicago anarchists were
Bakouninites. They were vituperative, relentless, fanatical.
Their arch enemy was the state, and force, their hope. From
the Chicago information bureau there soon radiated a lively
^ Alarm, October 4, 1884.
" It was given this name to distinguish it from the " Red International," or
International Workingmen's Association, a secret organization composed chiefly
of native Americans established in San Francisco in 1881.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 463
agitation, which bore fruit in the immediate vicinity. Clubs
sprang up in the different parts of the city and in the suburbs,
numbering fourteen by February. In addition to the Arbeiter-
Zeitung, Vorhote, and Fackel, which were already preaching
anarchist doctrines, two new papers were established—The
Alarm in October, 1884, and The Anarchist in January, 1886.
Of these The Alarm was the only one published in English,
the rest being German. Besides these there was a wholesale
distribution of books, pamphlets, and circulars; in the ten
months ending November i, 1885, the information bureau
reported that it had distributed 387,527 such items through¬
out the United States.'^ When to these methods of propaganda
are added the weekly open-air meetings held in Grant Park
during the summer months and the numerous club meetings
for discussion, some notion is gained of the forces that were
capitalizing the discontent of the workingmen and of the intel¬
lectual and emotional environment in which they were working
out their problems.
The gospel of the new movement was force. The military
Lehr- und Wehrverein, which had been organized in 1875,
was maintained as the armed contingent of the organization.
In the American group there was organized the International
Rifles. Articles on the use of dynamite began to appear in
anarchist papers. In these doctrines the Internationalists found
strong allies in some of the radical trade-unionists. A point
of contact between the two was found in the organization of
a radical city central union. Prior to 1884 the influence of the
revolutionary movement in Chicago upon the trade-unions had
been slight. The Amalgamated Trades and Labor Assembly,
in which most of the unions were centralized, was a conserva¬
tive organization, as was also the Knights of Labor, with which
''Arbeiter-Zeitung, March 3, 1884; Alarm, November 28, 1885; Chicago
Tribune, July 24, 1886.
464 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
it was on the friendliest terms. Some of the radical elements
were dissatisfied with this state of affairs; and in May, 1884,
the Progressive Cigar Makers Union No. 15, itself a split
from a more conservative parent organization, issued a call
to the trade-unions in the city to establish a central labor union
with a progressive policy. A meeting was held at which dele¬
gates were present from the unions of the cigar makers, made
up chiefly of Jews, Bohemians, and Germans, and the German
typographers, metal workers, cabinetmakers, and carpenters.
The Central Labor Union was organized, and a radical decla¬
ration of principles was later adopted.®
The Central Labor Union was from the beginning essen¬
tially anarchistic. It drew its membership from the foreign
elements of the city, who were under the influence of the Inter¬
national Working People's Association, and was on very
friendly terms with the International itself. Germans, Bohe¬
mians, and Jews organized the Central Labor Union, and
later there were added the Bohemian hodcarriers, lumberyard
men, and carpenters, German bakers, brewers, and butchers,
and an association of Young Polish Workers. About a year
after it was organized the Central Labor Union claimed some
12,000 members, as compared with 15,000 of the Trades
Assembly. In the spring of 1886, after the tremendous expan¬
sion of all labor organizations, the membership of the former
was given as 20,000 and that of the latter as 28,000.®
The local trade-unions belonging to the Central Labor
Union espoused without reservation the doctrine of force.
For some cigar makers the Progressive Union was not radical
enough, so in the spring of 1885 they organized the Revolu¬
tionary Cigar Makers Association. These bodies sent dele-
^ Arbeiter-Zeitung, May 24, June 6, October 23, 1884; Alarm, October
17, 1883; Chicago Tribune, July 25, 1886.
^Vorbote, May 20, 1885, March 17, April 28, August 12, 1886; Knights of
Labor, August 7, 1886, January 8, 1887.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 465
gates to the Black International and devoted their dues entirely
to the work of "Agitation, Organization, and Rebellion."^"
The metal workers were the most truculent ; and in April, 1885,
they carried out a successful experiment in violence at the
McCormick harvester plant. The occasion was a strike for
the restoration of their former wages, which had been cut 15
per cent in January. This was one in a long series of wage
reductions extending back to 1868. In that year the machinists
received 50 cents a beam and made ten beams a day. The first
cut was ID cents a beam. To meet this the men sped up their
production and turned out eleven beams a day. A further cut
of 4 cents was made, and the men again sped up, but again met
with cuts until in 1884 they were receiving 25 cents a beam and
making fourteen beams a day. That the increased productivity
of the workers was due in large measure to the introduction of
improved processes and labor-saving machinery was ignored by
the agitators. In the fall the price was further reduced to 17
cents, and in January, 1885, 15 per cent of that was taken off,
with a promise to restore this last cut on March i. When the
company failed to keep its promise the men struck, about 1,500
skilled and unskilled going out. The company hired strike
breakers and trouble began. After several clashes between the
strikers and the strike breakers and Pinkerton detectives, in
which the men were victors and claimed to have captured a
number of rifles and revolvers, the company offered to com¬
promise. The men, however, insisted on complete restoration
and the company finally yielded.^^
Force had apparently vindicated itself. At a jollification
meeting of the Metal Workers Union No. 2 one speaker
declared that the members should use the recently won 15 per
cent raise in wages and buy a good weapon with it. Shortly
Vorbote, May 27, June 24, August 19, 1885.
Ibid., April II, IS, 1885; Alarm, April 18, 1885.
466 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
afterwards the Armed Section of the Metal Workers Union
of Chicago was formed to secure weapons and learn to handle
them and so " prepare for the ever more approaching conflict
between labor and capital." Some of the carpenters also
favored arming, declaring that "'the arms question' is the
weightiest of the 'eight hour movement.'"
This was the situation when trouble began again at the
McCormick plant. After its defeat the previous year the com¬
pany had proceeded to discharge various objectionable charac¬
ters and had also made cuts in the wages of others. The
men, now thoroughly organized, demanded the restoration of
wages to the scale of the previous year and the reëmployment
of the discharged union men.^® The first point the company
conceded but refused to consider the second. On February i6,
1886, it declared a general lockout.
Thus began the long struggle which ended in the Hay-
market tragedy.^^ The loss of its leaders and the arousing of
antagonistic public opinion was too powerful a blow for the
Black International to survive; after this event it practically
collapsed. The workingmen who had supported it deserted
the movement, and it shrank to a mere handful of intellectuals.^®
After the. Haymarket tragedy two movements may be
traced in the history of labor in Illinois — one a return to
politics and the other the disintegration of the Knights of
Labor and the organization of labor along trade lines. Of
these the political movement may be noticed first. Several
factors combined to direct the efforts of the workingmen into
political channels. The year 1886 had seen the eight-hour
strike and the Chicago building trades strike end in failure;
Vorbote, April 22, June 24, 1885; testimony of Gustave Lehmann in
anarchist trial in Thomas J. Morgan files.
13 Vorbote, February 24, 1886.
11 For narrative of this event, see above, p. 168 ff.
Arbeiter-Zeitung, November 11, 12, 1887.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 467
after the explosion of the bomb the employers became better
organized and more determined in their opposition to the
unions; antilabor legislation was enacted by the legislatures
and many union members were convicted by the courts of
boycotts, conspiracy, intimidation, and rioting; and in the
mind of the public, little distinction was made between the
anarchists and Knights of Labor or trade-unions. There was
a general shifting of emphasis by labor throughout the
country from strikes and other industrial disturbances to
political action, and nowhere was this more marked than in
Illinois. Thus the number of strikes in the state fell from
112 in 1887 affecting 1,569 establishments to 60 strikes in 689
establishments in 1888, and to 43 strikes in 165 establishments
in 1889. But while the political movement turned to the single
tax in New York and to greenbackism in the middle west,
in Chicago it remained pure labor politics. The labor party
brought into existence at this time was the most successful that
had appeared in the city.
Already in the heat of the anarchist trial a call had been
issued for a conference of delegates " for the purpose of dis¬
cussing the situation and taking such independent political
action as our joint wisdom may dictate." On August 21 some
251 delegates representing 47 trade and labor organiza¬
tions, 41 Knights of Labor assemblies, and an organization
called the People's Party Club met and organized for inde¬
pendent political action. This body took the name of united
labor party and confined the membership to delegates from
trade-unions and Knights of Labor assemblies. It thus became
truly a labor party. Hardly was it organized, however, before
a split occurred between the radical elements — the anarchists,
socialists, single taxers, and other reformers — who insisted
upon independent political action, and the less radical repub¬
lican and democratic workingmen who wanted to bargain with
468 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
the old parties. The latter nominated a mixed ticket under
the name Cook county labor party.'® The radical group, which
had retained the original name, nominated an independent state
and county ticket made up, with but few exceptions, of working-
men. At the polls this party scored a victory; it cast 24,845
votes, elected seven members to the state assembly and one to
the senate, five judges out of six whom it indorsed, and fell
short of electing a congressman by only 64 votes. Moreover,
it defeated the democratic party and helped turn the country
over to the republicans.
The united labor party now organized anew so as to keep
itself free from old line politicians and to insure its management
by members of trade and labor unions and Knights of Labor
assemblies only. Thus closely guarded from intrusion by
other political parties, the united labor party went into the
spring campaign with a municipal labor ticket. This was
regarded as the most important contest of the year by an inde¬
pendent labor party, and the attention of the whole country
was directed to it. Four papers championed its cause — the
Knights of Labor, the Chicago Labor Enquirer, The Star, and
the Arbeiter-Zeitung. Its platform called for municipal owner¬
ship of public utilities, equal assessment of property for taxa¬
tion purposes, redistricting the city on the basis of population,
the election of the city council on the minority plan, abolition
of the contract system on public works, better school accom¬
modations, and the extension of public property in the hands
of the public. The two old parties, however, uniting on
city candidates and in some instances on others, made the
issue " the red flag versus the American flag," and violently
denounced labor candidates as anarchists. As a result the
labor party went down to defeat, receiving about 23,500 votes
Proceedings, August 21, 18S6, Thomas J. Morgan files; Chicago Tribune,
October 5, 1886.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 469
out of 75,000 and electing only one alderman in the fifth
ward."
This election marked the climax in the life of the party.
Its subsequent history is largely a record of its disintegration.
One of the chief factors contributing to its decline was the
dissension which split it into two opposing factions. One group
which appropriated the original name by securing a state
charter, but which was popularly known as the "free lunch"
party, bargained with the democrats and indorsed their candi¬
dates in the fall election of 1887. The other faction openly
advocated socialism ; it remained independent, but polled only
7,000 votes. After theTall election it changed its name to the
radical labor party.^®
The spring elections of 1888 were even more disappointing
to those who thought labor reform was to be secured by polit¬
ical action. The split between the socialists and the conserva¬
tives continued. The former ran their own radical labor
party ticket but secured only 3,600 votes. It is clear from
the light vote that the party did not receive the support of
even the socialists. The conservatives, under the name of the
united labor party, fused with the democrats where feasible,
but where it ran its own candidates it did no better than the
socialists. In the presidential election in the fall of 1888 a
further split among the labor forces occurred. A new party
appeared on the scene in the form of a national union labor
party, organized in February, 1887, at Cincinnati, and made
up largely of the old greenbackers. At first it did not attract
the workingmen of Chicago, and an attempt to combine the
united labor party and the union labor parties failed. But as
the presidential election drew on the former withdrew from
the campaign, and the latter nominated its own candidates for
Knights of Labor, March 5, April 9, 1887.
^^Arbeiter-Zeitung, January 30, 1888.
47o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
national, state, and county offices. The largest vote obtained
in Chicago was 2,183 president of the county board.
This marks practically the end of the independent political
movement of organized labor. Most of the conservatives voted
the democratic ticket, while the socialists returned to their own
organization, campaigning under the name of the socialist
labor party in the spring election of 1889. Their candidate
for mayor received, however, but 167 votes. The reform
element made one final effort to rally labor to the support of
an independent ticket under the name of the joint labor party,
but with the failure of this attempt the political movement
may be said to have ended. The socialists, however, made
one more effort in the spring of 1891, and issued a call for
delegates to a central nominating committee. Some of the
organizations that responded were the furniture workers,
cigar makers, tanners, metal workers, butchers, bakers, sash,
door, and blind makers, the Turner Society, and the Central
Labor Union. Thomas J. Morgan was nominated as the
mayoralty candidate but received only 2,300 votes.^® It was
evident that labor had lost faith in purely political action.
The second significant event in the labor world, which
may be dated from 1886, is the disintegration of the Order
of the Knights of Labor. Many factors contributed to this
end. The anarchist trial discredited the whole labor move¬
ment, and although T. V. Powderly endeavored to make clear
the disapproval of violence by the Knights by discountenancing
any resolutions of sympathy with the condemned men,^" the
Knights suffered along with the trade-unions in popular esteem.
More important in reducing the organization in Chicago
^"Knights of Labor, March i6, 23, 1889; Arheiter-Ze'itung, March 23, April
4, 1889, December 4, 1890, April 13, 1891.
2» Powderly, Thirty Years of Labor, iSsg-iSSç, 544-545; Proceedings of
the General Assembly, Richmond, Virginia, 1886, p. 228; ibid., Minneapolis,
1887, p. 1723-1724.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 471
was the condust of the packing house strike and lockout in 1886.
Some 35,000 men obtained an eight-hour day without a strike
in May. But shortly thereafter, upon the initiative of Armour
and Company, the packers formed an employers' association
and in October notified the men that beginning with the eleventh
of the month they would return to the ten-hour day. The men
yielded, but in November a strike broke out over the eight-
hour day. The packers not only refused to give up the ten-
hour day, but declared that in the future they would employ
no Knights of Labor. The Knights thereupon declared a
boycott upon the Armour products. The men seemed to be
winning the struggle, for on November 10 the employers had
rescinded their decision not to employ Knights, when on
November 15, Powderly sent a telegram ordering the men
back to work. Moreover, the message was an open telegram
instead of a cipher one, so that its contents were known to
the packers even before it reached the assembly. The men
returned to work, disgruntled over what they regarded as
Powderly's "treacherous act," feeling that he had wrested a
victory from them which was already within their grasp.
In other trades employers' associations, which had as their
main purpose the defeat of the Knights, were formed. Lock¬
outs began to be more generally employed and the use of the
"blacklist" and the "iron-clad agreement," according to which
the men were forced to agree not to belong to any labor
organization, was introduced in this policy of repression. As
they grew more powerful the employers refused even to arbi¬
trate disputes. Thus out of 76 attempts at arbitration investi¬
gated by the Illinois bureau of labor, 38 offers were rejected —
6 by the workers and 32 by the employers. Other causes for
the decline of the Knights were the failure of the insurance
schemes, the failures of cooperation, the recession of the inde-
21 John Siuinton's Paper, November 14, 1886.
472 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
pendent political movement in which the Knights participated,
and, finally and most important of all, the clash with the
trade-unions.^^
It has already been pointed out that the Knights were
composed largely of the unskilled and the trade-unions of the
skilled workers. Between the aims of these two groups there
was a fundamental antagonism. " The skilled men stood for
the right to use their advantage of skill and efficient organi¬
zation in order to wrest the maximum amount of concessions
for themselves. The Knights of Labor endeavored to annex
the skilled men in order that the advantage from their excep¬
tional fighting strength might lift up the unskilled and semi¬
skilled."^^ The Knights endeavored to absorb the existing
trade-unions in order to make them subservient to the interests
which they represented. This antagonism of interests led to
bitter conflicts between the two orders.
The struggle between the trade separatism of the unions
and the labor solidarity of the Knights found expression in
Chicago in a struggle within the latter order itself. The local
assemblies of the Knights, which were organized along trade
lines, began to demand that members in the trade belonging
to mixed assemblies leave these and join their respective trade
assemblies. A committee appointed in District Assembly
No. 24 to investigate this proposal reported in favor of it.
But as this would involve a complete reorganization of the
district assembly, it was voted to compromise by putting the
trade members belonging to mixed assemblies under the same
rules concerning initiation fees, dues, and assessments as
applied to trade assemblies. That this suggestion did not solve
the matter is indicated by the fact that several months later
it was reported that the mixed assemblies were waning, owing
Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of Illinois, 1886, pp. 419, 457-463.
'ä Commons, History of Labour in the United States, 2:396.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 473
to the insistence of the trade assemblies that their fellow crafts¬
men come into their organizations.^^
Another struggle, which had originally begun in New York
in 1886, broke out in Chicago in 1888 between the Inter¬
national Cigar Makers Union and the cigar makers of the
Knights of Labor. Fowderly ordered a Knights of Labor
cooperative cigar factory to cease using the blue label of the
International and to use instead the Knights of Labor label.
But when the Illinois State Federation of Labor met a few
weeks later it indorsed the blue label and declared the Knights
of Labor label a fraud. The Chicago Trades and Labor Assem¬
bly expressed a like opinion. Thereupon, District Assemblies
Nos. 24 and 57 of the Knights ordered all local assemblies to
withdraw from the other two organizations. A number of
them did so, but a large number instead reorganized into
trade-unions and continued in the Trades and Labor Assembly.
Some of the mixed locals even gave up their charters and
reorganized as federal labor unions in order that they might
remain in the Trades and Labor Assembly. All these strug¬
gles, internal and external, reduced the Knights of Labor
in Chicago to a mere shadow of their former strength. Where
there had been 25,000 Knights in District Assembly No. 24 in
1886, there were about 3,500 in 1887, and about 500 in 1889.^®
The Trades and Labor Assembly had been almost swamped
by the rise of the Knights of Labor and had opened its member¬
ship to the latter. When the latter disintegrated after 1886,
the former did also. As the membership of the two bodies
was much the same, their fortunes were closely linked. It was
not until about 1888, when the local assemblies were ordered
to withdraw, that the Trade Assembly began to lead an inde-
Arbeiter-Zeitung, August 6, 1887.
Knights of Labor, November 20, 1886, August 10, 1889; Arbeiter-Zeitung,
January 10, 1888.
474
THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
pendent existence. After this, and especially after the end of
the independent labor political movement the following year,
the Trade Assembly began to grow. By 1890 a large number
of trades, including the molders, car makers, machinists, gar¬
ment workers, woodworkers, brewers, telegraphers, freight
handlers, and women workers, had revived their old organi¬
zations or brought new ones into existence. By February,
1891, no fewer than thirty labor organizations were reported
to have been founded. The membership grew from about
15,000 in 1889 to about 50,000 in 1893.^®
To the various associations of organized labor already
described there was added during the early nineties the Trades
Council. This grew out of the increasing separation of occu¬
pations, so that as industry developed a trade was divided
into numerous lesser branches or new ones were added to those
already existing. While these trades were independent, they
were nevertheless closely related, and a controversy in one
disturbed all the allied trades. It seemed desirable, there¬
fore, to bring together in a single group these allied trades, so
that they could settle in their own organization their jurisdic¬
tional disputes and also present a united front against the
employers. As early as 18 82 Joseph Gruenhut, tenement house
and factory inspector in Chicago, had urged through the col¬
umns of the Progressive Age the organization of allied trades,
and a mass meeting of workers adopted a plan to organize the
transportation services, the building, the garment, printing,
teaching, jewelry and ornamental, food and provision trades,
and even the clerks " from cash boy up to bookkeeper." This
plan came to nothing, however, probably because of the rise
of the Knights of Labor, which proposed the amalgamation of
Knights of Lahor, September 4, 1889; Arbeiter-Zeitung, February 6, 1893;
Rights of Labor, February 28, 1891. This paper had formerly been the Knights
of Labor, but the editor, George E. Detwiler, fell out with Powderly and changed
the name in 1890.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 475
all labor in a single association. An appeal issued by the
Carpenters' and Joiners' Benevolent Association of Illinois
about the same time " to the workers in the building trades
of the city for the formation of a federation of those crafts "
also proved barren.^'' Five years later the question was again
agitated in the building trades, and this time the Amalgamated
Council of the Building Trades was organized. Its life was
short, however, and it was not until 1891 that a permanent
organization of this sort was established. From this time on
the Council of Allied Trades has held an important position in
the organization of union labor in Chicago.
The most important of the councils as well as the first in
point of time was that formed in the building trades. In 1886
the workers in this field had secured the eight-hour day, but
not an equivalent increase in wages. The reduction of two
hours in time was therefore tantamount to a reduction of one-
fifth in wages. In the spring of 1887 some of the trades sought
to increase their rates. Thus the carpenters wanted 35 cents
an hour instead of 30 cents, the plaster hodcarriers 30
cents instead of 25, the brick and mortar hodcarriers 25 cents
instead of 22, the painters 35 instead of 27^, and the lathers
2 H íirid 4 cents a yard in place of 2j/^ cents. The carpenters
were the most numerous and the most insistent in their demands
and were the first to strike. But their stoppage of work
involved a number of allied trades which had made no demands
of their own and rendered common action necessary. The
result was the formation of the Amalgamated Council of
Building Trades.
This body began with thirteen unions and declared its
object to be the centralization " of the united efforts and
experience of the various societies engaged in the erection and
alteration of buildings" in order to prevent that which was
^''Progressive Age, January 7, 28, 1882.
476 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
injurious and to secure that which was advantageous. The con¬
stitution described in detail the method of action. The
council was to be made up of three delegates " from all the
societies in the building trades." Any organization was allowed
to demand higher wages and shorter hours on its own respon¬
sibility, but if its demand involved the other members of the
council it had first to secure the latter's sanction by a two-thirds
vote of the societies present at any meeting. It was the special
duty of the council to impress " scabs " into the trade-unions
to which they naturally belonged, and for that purpose it could
by a two-thirds vote call off any and all trades employed on a
job of an offending employer. While a two-thirds vote was
necessary to involve the council in the case just cited, a mere
"demand of a union" obliged it to call a general strike to
secure the reinstatement of a striker who was discharged for
having participated in a strike. The council was to meet
weekly and to carry out its orders through committees and
walking delegates.^®
The carpenters' strike lasted about two weeks and resulted
in a doubtful victory due to the yielding of the smaller employ¬
ers. About 3,000 hodcarriers were still on a strike for higher
wages, when the United Order of American Bricklayers and
Stone Masons of Chicago, without consulting the employers,
adopted a resolution providing for the payment of wages on
Saturday instead of Tuesday. This trivial demand was the
culmination of a series of exactions which had marked the arro¬
gant policy of the union, and determined the master masons
to make it the occasion for a fight against the union itself.
The bricklayers had increased their wages from $1.50 a day
in 1877 to $4.00 on the ten-hour basis. In 1886 the union
secured the eight-hour day. It also insisted on the closed shop
and a limitation of the number of apprentices. It charged an
Knights of Labor, April 16, 1887.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 477
excessive initiation fee and kept down the number of brick¬
layers available. And now it wished to prescribe the pay day.
The Master Mason and Builders' Association decided to break
the union and to that end secured the cooperation of the other
associations of builders and material men. They ordered a
general lockout of all the building trades, affecting some 30,000
men. This lockout lasted from May 10 to June 11.
The new organization of the master builders was called
the Central Council of Builders and comprised the master
plumbers, steam fitters, plasterers, roofers, masons, painters,
carpenters, blacksmiths, stonecutters, cornice makers, brick-
makers, terra cotta and tile manufacturers, real estate agents,
architects, and the Traders' and Builders' Exchange. They
adopted a declaration of principles which avowed the indi¬
vidual agreement of each workingman with his employer
instead of a collective agreement and the abolition of restric¬
tions on apprenticeship. The master masons and carpenters
also announced that hereafter they would institute the nine-
hour day instead of the eight. The council of builders was
materially aided in this lockout by the National Builders Asso¬
ciation, whose executive committee came to Chicago to counsel
with it. The Amalgamated Council of Building Trades, on the
other hand, took alarm at this intrusion of the national organi¬
zation and issued a call for a national convention of working-
men in the building trades to be held in Chicago on June 28.
At that time the National Building Trades Council of North
America was organized.
Before this date, however, the lockout had been ended.
Some of the contractors were willing to make concessions, the
material men were unwilling to lose the whole building season,
and the bricklayers on their side withdrew their demand for
Saturday pay. Finally the master masons consented to arbi¬
tration. The outcome must be regarded as a defeat for the
478 THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
union. Although the principle of the organization on the
part of both employer and employee was affirmed and the
eight-hour day was retained, the closed shop had to be given
up, the powers of the walking delegate were curtailed, and a
standing committee of arbitration was provided for. This
board was to decide on differences that might arise between
the two parties involved, establish a minimum wage, name a
pay day, fix the rate of pay for overtime, determine the number
of hours of work per day, and lay down regulations for
apprenticeship; but during the period of arbitration it stipu¬
lated, "work shall go on continuously, and all parties inter¬
ested shall be governed by the award made or decisions
rendered."^® This system remained in force until 1897, and
was one of the earliest stable trade agreements in an impor¬
tant trade covering a local field. The settlement thus effected
between the bricklayers and the master masons emphasized
the value of the joint agreement as an antidote to strikes, and
the Amalgamated Council of Building Trades was allowed to
lapse the following year.
The stability thus secured for the bricklayers did not extend
to the other less skilled building trades. The carpenters were
at odds with their employers for years, and in May, 1890,
struck for higher wages; while they made a partial settlement,
friction continued during most of the summer and buildings
all over'the city were tied up, with consequent interruption of
work to other trades. The need for common action again
became clear. Then, too, the World's Fair was about to be
built in Chicago ; united action would be necessary to secure
the best terms. It was under these conditions that a union
of the allied building trades was again called into existence,
but this time under the name of the Building Trades Council.
Second Annual Convention of the National Association of Builders of
America, Report, 1888, p. 21.
ORGANIZED LABOR'S PROTEST 479
In point of purpose and organization this council did not differ
from its predecessor, though it assumed somewhat greater
powers. It was hereafter to give out all union cards; it was
to have one general inspector and two assistants, who were to
investigate and report on all cases that were not clear. There
was a considerable centralization of power in the council,
whose decision was final and could be revoked only by a two-
thirds vote of all the delegates present at a meeting following
eight days' notice.®"
Following the organization of the Building Trades Council
a number of other councils appeared in the period 1891-1893.
These were the United Mill Workers Council, Marine Trade
and Labor Council, Machinery Trades Council, Allied Printing
Trades Council, Woodworkers Council, and Garment Workers
Council. By 1894 the councils had become important enough
to elicit suggestions from some quarters that in the future the
Trades Assembly be made up of delegates from the trades
councils instead of from the trade-unions.®^
The statistics of strikes during the latter eighties and the
early nineties show the usual fluctuations. After the strenuous
years 1887 and 1888, during which the number of strikes in
the state rose to the highest figures yet reached, but which were
also marked by the greatest number of failures, the labor
movement entered upon a quiet stage in its history. The
number of strikes fell to the lowest point in 1889, perhaps as
a result of the stability introduced into the building trades by
the bricklayers' trade agreement. But the year 1890 made a
new record with 138 strikes affecting 2,496 establishments.
Of these some 385 were for reduction of hours alone, the
largest number for this cause in any year except 1886, and 496
for reduction of hours and increase of wages. This was the
so Constitution reprinted in Arbeiter-Zeitung, February i8, 1891.
^^Ibid., October 4, 1894.
48o THE INDUSTRIAL STATE
result of the effort made by the carpenters' union under the
direction of the American Federation of Labor to secure an
eight-hour day, not only in Illinois but throughout the country;
strikes were undertaken in 141 cities. The next two years
saw a return to more normal conditions, but in 1893 the number
of establishments affected again swelled to large proportions,
although the number of separate strikes was but little larger
than in the two preceding years. Most of the strikes were
successful.®^
"A table showing in brief the main facts concerning strikes in Illinois
between 1887 and 1893 is found in the appendix, p. 509.
APPENDIX
Percentage of Farm Population in Illinois of Given Nationality
Year
Native
German
British
Scandi¬
navian
Canadian
All other
1870
77.6
lo.o
7.7
1.9
1.2
1.6
1880
806
10.0
6.4
2.1
.7
.2
1890
78.5
ii.2
6.5
3-1
.6
.1
Farms and Farm Acreage, 1870-1890
Year
Number
of farms
Area in farms
(acres)
Improved area
in farms (acres)
Per cent of
land area
in farms
Per cent
of farms
improved
1870
202,803
25,882,861
19,329,952
72.2
74-7
1880
255,741
31,673,645
36,115,154
88.3
82.5
1890.
240,681
30,498,377
25,669,060
85.0
84.2
Value of Average Illinois Farm, 1870-1890"^
Year
Average
acres per
farm
Average value per farm
Average value of
land and
buildings per acre
per fárm
All farm
property
Land and
buildings
Implements
and
machinery
Domestic
animals,
poultry,
and bees
1870
127.6
$4.358
$3.631
$136
$591
$38.45
1880
123.8
4.598
3.948
132
518
31.87
1890
126.7
6.140
5,247
'43
750
41.41
' Thirteenth Census. Abstract. 653.
481
482
APPENDIX
Field Crops in Illinois, 1875-1894
Distribution (per cent)
Period
Average value of
field crops
North
Central
South
division
division
division
'875-79
$171,818,211
39-7
40.7
19.6
1880-84
195,192,505
45-0
36.5
18.5
1885-89
169,447,711
42. t
39.1
18.8
1890-94
163,382,170
50.7
34-4
14.9
PlRIOD
Percentage of field crops
Hay and
Horti¬
Miscel>
pasture
cultural
laneous
'875-79
73-8
20.6
4-3
1-3
1880-84
70.6
22.5
5-5
1.4
1885-89
67.3
27.0
4'3
1.4
1890-94
69.9
25-3
3.6
1.2
Cereal Crops in Illinois, 1860-1895
Distribution (per cent)
Average value of
cereal crops
North
Central
division
division
division
'870-74
$104,329,794
'875-79
126,766,445
36.9
42.7
20.4
1880-84
'37,990,605
42.3
38.6
'9.1
1885-89
"4,087,394
38.1
42.7
19.2
1890-94
114,157,166
47.2
37>9
14.9
Average
Percentage of cereal crops
Period
Corn
Wheat
Oats
Rye
Barley
Buckwheat
'870-74
59-1
27.4
10.7
1.2
'•5
.1
'875-79
62.4
23.9
II.6
'■3
•7
.1
1880-84
55-3
23.8
18.6
1.8
•4
a
1885-89
54-5
17.7
25.9
'•4
•4
a
1890-94
59.0
15.2
24-3
1.2
.2
a
o Less than one per cent.
APPENDIX
483
Corn Crop in Illinois, 1870-1894
Perio®
Average yield
(bushels)
Increase
(per cent)
Distribution (per cent)
North
division
Central
division
South
division
1870-74
1875-79
1880-84
1885-89
1890-94
180,732,000
265,872,785
199,760,138
213,784,400
178,671,877
29.4
47.2
- 24.8
7.0
- 16.5
32.7 fl
42.7 b
46.2
41.4
47.0
50.7 a
45-5 b
43-4
46.0
42.5
16.6 a
ii.8 ¿
10.4
12.6
10.5
Period
Bushels
per acre
Price per
bushel
Profit
per acre
1870-74
29
31
27.
30
29
$ .34
•30
•37
.29
•38
$ .47 c
1.22 C
.02
.76 C
2.x8
1880-84
1885-89
1890-94
a Estimated to follow acreage instead of yield.
b For last year in period.
c Signifies a deficit.
Winter Wheat in Illinois, 1877-1894
Period
Average yield
(bushels)
Increase
(per cent)
Distribution (per cent) a
North
division
Central
division
South
division
1877-79
1880-84
1885-89
1890-94
29,120,860
28,850,373
27,800,504
27,187,495
0.9 h
3.0 b
2.2 h
1.9
3-0
2.9
6-3
49-5
51.2
55.8
45-4
48.6
45.8
41.3
48.3
Period
Bushels
per acre
Price per
bushel
Profit
per acre
16
10
15
17
$1.10
1.09
.69
.62
$7.44
.96
.09
.14
a Given for last year of period, except for 1890—1894.
b Signifies a decrease.
484
APPENDIX
Spring Wheat in Illinois, 1870-1894
Period
Average yield
(bushels)
Increase
(per cent)
Distribution (per cent) a
North
division
Central
division
South
division
1870-76
1877-79
18S0-84
1885-89
1890-94
10,133,207
2,687,049
790,795
1.555,426
831,089
70.5 b
96.7
46.6 b
80.0
80.8
75-3
93-0
88.9
19.2
17-3
12.5
6-3
9.2
0.8
1.9
12.2
0.7
1.9
Period
Bushels
per acre
Price per
bushel
Profit
per acre
ii
9
16
15
$1.10
1.30
.69
.67
$2.54
1.43
.98
.16 h
a Given for last year only of period, except for 1890—1894.
b Signiñes a decrease or deficit.
Oats in Illinois, 1870-1894
Period
Average yield
(bushels)
Increase
(per cent)
Distribution (per cent) a
North
division
Central
division
South
division
1870-74
1875-79
1880-84.
1885-89
1890-94
37,463,400
58,456,821
87.467,958
126,184,456
103,551,443
ii.8
56.0
49-7
44-3
17.8^
58.3
59-7
55-7
63.6
28.3
29.0
32.4
29.1
13.4
ii.3
ii.9
7-3
Period
Bushels
per acre
Price per
bushel
Profit
per acre
1870-74
27
30
37
36
33
$ .30
•25
.29
•23
•27
$1.21 b
2.10 b
1.05
1.22 b
.19 b
1875-79
1880-84
1885-89
1890-94
a Given for last year only of period, except for 1890-1894.
b Signifies a decrease or deficit.
APPENDIX
485
Rye, Barley, and Buckwheat in Illinois, 1870-1894
Average yield (bushels)
Profit per acre
Period
Rye
Barley
Buckwheat
Rye
Barley
1870-74
2,151,800
2,138,000
151,100
$ .04 a
$5.27
1875-79
3,237,371
1,445,029
166,042
1.75 a
1.87
1880-84
4,192,158
807,344
50,056
.06
5.08
1885-89
3,532,503
981,927
51,584
2.08 a
1.10
1890-94
2,592,817
593,835
49,971
.38 a
•34'!
a Signifies a deficit.
Forage Crops in Illinois, 1875-1894
Period
Average value
of crop
Relative impor¬
tance ol
Distribution (per cent) 0
Hay
Pasture
North
division
Central
division
South
division
1875-79....
$35,426,173
63.0
37.0
52.7
32.8
14.5
1880-84.■■-
43,721,542
62.1
37-9
54.2
31.2
14.6
1885-89....
45,815,444
58.3
41-7
53-4
31.3
15-3
1890-94....
41,331,920
58.8
41.2
63.0
25.9
11.1
a Given for last year only of period, except for 1890-1894.
Vegetable Products in Illinois, 1870-1894
Period
Average yield
Percentage of all vegetables
in value
Irish potatoes
(bushels)
Sweet potatoes
(bushels)
Minor root
crops (value)
Irish
potatoes
Sweet
potatoes
Minor
root crops
1870-74.
1875-79.
1880-84.
1885-89.
1890-94.
7,641,000
8,733,351
9,506,702
10,542,632
6,365,154
130,467 a
212,040
287,842
295,610
$385,240
535,5"
347,956
213,689
88.7
87.3
88.7
89.8
2.6
2.8
4.1
5-2
8.7
9-9
7-2
5.0
o For 1877-1879 only.
486
APPENDIX
Orchard Fruits in Illinois, 1877-1894
Period
Average yield
Percentage of all
orchard fruits
Apples
(bushels)
Peaches
(bushels)
Pears
(bushels)
Apples
Peaches
Pears
1877-79.
1880-84.
1885-89.
1890-94.
5,398.284
6,106,057
3,437.046
1,398,308
345,206
242,328
86,355
103,746
11,987
14,277
8,108
7,675
93-3
947
96.4
90.6
6.1
4.9
3-1
8.7
0.6
0.4
0.5
0.7
Tobacco in Illinois, 1870-1894
Distribution (per cent) a
Period
Average
Increase
Pounds
Price per
yield
(per
per
pound
(pounds)
cent)
North
Central
South
acre
(cents)
division
division
division
1870-74
6,807,400
- 58.4
809
9
1875-79
6,379,081
-6.3
37-8
3-4
58.8
668
7
1880-84
2,548,729
- 60.0
28.6
17
69.7
648
8
1885-89
4,071,302
59.8
15-4
2-3
82.3
750
5
1890-94
1,691,344
-58.5
31.0
17
67.3
782
7
a Given for the last year only of the period, except for 1890-1894.
Broom Corn Production, 1877-1894
Period
Broom corn
(pounds)
1877-79
9,684,717
1880-84
19,801,718
1885-89
20,644,400
1890-94
17,157,600
APPENDIX
487
Miscellaneous Crops in Illinois, 1870-1890
Year
Hemp
(pounds)
Cotton
(pounds)
Flax fiber
(pounds)
Flax seed
(bushels)
Maple sugar
(pounds)
1870
348,000
186,000
2,204,606
280,043
136,873
1880
122,000
8,928 a
167,807
1,812,438
80,193
1890
1,112,000
57,776
35,013
13,260
Year
Maple
sirup
(gallons)
Sorghum
sirup
(gallons)
Clover
seed
(bushels)
Other
grass seed
(bushels)
Beans
(bushels)
Cow peas
(bushels)
1870
10,378
1,960,473
10,486
153,464
115,854
b
1880
40,077
2,265,993
156,599
263,788
64,317
4,931
1890
»3,978
1,110,183
375,648
518,062
21,308
6,264
a Crop of 1879 as given in Statistical Report of Illinois State Board of Agriculture, 70.
The crop was not reported by the census after 1870.
b Included under beans.
Growth of Livestock on Value Basis, 1870-1890
Census Year
Value of
livestock
Distribution (per cent)
North
division
Central
division
South
division
$118,205,358 a
132,437,762
180,431,662
42.7
44.2
44-4
41.0
40.4
41.8
16.3
15.4
13.8
a Reduced to a. gold basis, 80 per cent of currency values.
488
APPENDIX
Horses in Illinois, 1840-1870
Census
Horses
(number)
Rank
Increase
State
North
division
Central
division
South
division
1840
1850
i860
1870
199,235 a
267,653
563,736
853,738
8
8
2
1
34-4
110.6
51-5
17.4
194.5
69.2
21.1
85.2
53-5
2.1
61.6
33.1
Census
Distribution
Average number per farm
North
division
Central
division
South
division
State
North
division
Central
division
South
division
1840
14.5
47-5
38.0
b
h
h
b
1850
29.5
42.8
27.7
3-5
3.0
4.0
3-5
i860
41.2
37.6
21.2
3-9
4.0
4.4
3.2
1870
43-3
38.0
18.7
4.2
4.9
4-3
2.9
a Includes mules; figures are comparable for there were only 10,573 mules in 1860.
b Data on number of farms lacking.
Dairy Cows in Illinois, 1870-1890
Year
Number
Increase
(percent)
Distribution (pe
North Central
division division
cent)
South
division
Average
number
per farm
1870
640,321
22.5
52.3 30.0
17.7
3.2
1880
865,913
35-2
55-3 28.5
16.2
3-4
1890
1,087,886
25.5
60.3 25.3
14.4
4-5
APPENDIX
489
Dairy Industry in Illinois, 1877-1894
Distribution (per cent)
Period
dairy products
sold
North
Central
South
division
division
division
1877-79
$ 7,012,120
84-3
II.4
4-3
1880-84
12.491.99S
87.0
9.0
4.0
1885-89
12,876,725
85.4
8.3
6.3
1890-94
18,303,015
89.6
5-7
4-7
Percentage of total dairy products
Period
Milk
Butter
Cream
Cheese
1877-79
36.4
535
I.O
91
1880-84
45-3
42.1
6.9
5-7
1885-89
54-5
32.2
11.2
2.1
1890-94
69.9
21.7
7-7
0.7
Milk Sold in Illinois, 1877-1894
Period
Average
amount of milk
sold (gallons)
Increase
(percent)
Distri!
North
division
ution (pe
Central
division
r cent)
South
division
Price per
gallon
(cents)
1877-79
1880-84
1885-89
1890-94
26,450,588
42,727,402
57,359.014
97.692.247
61.S
34-2
70-3
94.4
96.5
93-S
93.8
3.8
2.5
2.3
1-7
1.8
1.0
4.2
4-5
9.6
10.7
12.2
131
490
APPENDIX
Butter, Cream, and Cheese Sold in Illinois, 1877-1894
period
Average
amount of
butter sold
Increase
(per cent)
Average amount
of cream sold
(gallons)
1877-79
20,665,368
146,827 a
1880-84
22,536,924
9.0
1,594,881
1885-89
20,695,281
-$,2
2,930,913
1890-94
17,747,601
- 14.2
2,385,123
period
increase
(per cent)
average
amount of
cheese sold
(pounds)
increase
(per cent)
1877-79
5,420,265
1880-84
673.0
5,401,038
-0.2
1885-89
83.6
2,403,958
-55-5
1890-94
- 18.6
1,172,211
-51-3
a 1878-1879.
Other Cattle in Illinois, 1870-1890
year
number
other cattle
increase
(percent)
distril
north
division
ution (per cent)
ceiitral south
division division
average
number
per farm
1870
1880
1890
1.055.499
1,515,063
1,968,654
8.7
43-5
29.9
47-5
50.6
51.3
39-0 13.5
35-6 13-8
36.6 12.2
5.2
5-9
8.2
APPENDIX
491
Character of Illinois Cattle, 1890
Kind
Percentage of kinds of cattle
State
North
division
Central
division
South
division
Pure-blooded (recorded)
One-half pure-blooded or higher
1.4
24.5
74.1
loo.o
1-3
234
75-3
icx).0
1.6
31-7
66.7
100.0
0.9
11.5
87.6
100.0
All neat cattle
Kind
Distribution of breeds
State
North
division
Central
division
South
division
Pure-blooded (recorded)
One-half pure-blooded or higher
loo.o
100.0
100.0
100.0
54-9
51.9
55-1
54-4
36.7
42.0
29.4
32.5
8.4
6.1
15-5
13.1
All neat cattle
Beef Cattle Sold in Illinois, 1879-1894
Period
Average
number
sold
Increase
(per cent)
Distribution (per cent) a
North
division
Central
division
South
division
Price
animal
Gain per
animal if
fed on
corn b
1870-74
1875-79
1880-84
1885-89
1890-94
357,262
403.524
463,607
545.314
422,069
25.8 c
12.9
15.0
17.6
- 22.6
49-5
43-5
52.0
51-3
56.4
34.8
43.8
34-5
36.7
31.3
15-7
12.7
13-5
12.0
12.3
55.90
43.25
50.10
3705
36.10
11.90
4.50
2.22
-.58
- 12.92
a Given for last year of period only, except for 1890—1894.
b The method used in estimating the comparative profitableness of feeding corn to
cattle or of selling it directly was as tollows: the average price of a bushel of corn and the
average price of a beef steer for the period 1860-1914 were calculated, giving 37 cents as
the average price of corn and $47.70 as the average price of a beef; that is, a beef was
worth 129 bushels of corn at these figures, which were assumed to be normal. The gain
or loss was then calculated for each succeeding period, on the basis of the changing prices
for both corn and beef. This method was worked out in IVallace's Farmer (May 12,
1916, p. 733) and the monthly results plotted on a chart.
c Gain over 1865—1869.
492
APPENDIX
Swine in Illinois, 1870-1890
Year
Number
swine
Increase
(percent)
Distrib
North
division
ution (pci
Central
division
cent)
South
division
Average
number
per farm
1870
1880
1890
2t703.343
5,170,266
5,924,818
8.0
9Ï-3
14.6
330
430
44-5
42.4
40.2
43-3
24.6
z6.8
12.2
13-3
20.2
24.6
Hogs Sold in Illinois, 1875-1894
Distribution (per
cent) a
Average
Increase
Price
Gain per
Period
number sold
(percent)
North
Central
South
per hog
hog if fed
on corn b
division
division
division
1870-74
2,104,955
39.3 c
39.0
44.0
17.0
$13.62
$2.75
1875-79
2,220,695
5-5
44.0
40.0
16.0
11.82
2.25
1880-84
2,538,262
14.3
40.5
41.6
17.9
12.11
.30
1885-89
3,088,399
21.7
44-5
43-3
12.2
9-33
.09
1890-94
2,530,928
18.5
47.2
39.6
13-2
9-75
2.39
a Given for last year of period only, except for 1890-1894.
b See note b, p. 491, for method of calculating.
¿■Gain over 1865—1869.
Sheep in Illinois, 1870-1890
Year
Number
of sheep
Increase
(percent)
Distri
North
division
3Ution (pe
Central
division
r cent)
South
division
Average
number
per farm
1870
1880
1890
1,568,286
1,037,073
922,631
103.8
-33-8
- Il.o
15.2
41.0
28.2
58.2
35-7
47-4
26.6
23-3
24.4
7-7
4.1
3-8
APPENDIX
493
Sheep Sold in Illinois» 1870-1894
Period
Number
sold
Increase
(per cent)
Distribi
North
division
ition (per
Central
division
cent) a
South
division
Price
sheep
Gain per
sheep if
fed on
corn b
1870-74
1875-79
1880-84
1885-89
1890-94
226,087
186,026
235,106
174,193
158,763
- 50.5 C
-17.7
26.4
-25.9
-8.9
36.6
38.4
31.3
28.2
34-2
33-0
35-8
39-8
47-4
41.8
30.4
25.8
28.9
24.4
24.0
$3.91
3.82
3-45
309
3.42
$ .20
•54
-•59
-.06
-•74
a Given for last year of period only, except for 1890—1894.
b See note b, p. 491, for method of calculation.
c Gain over 1865-1869.
Wool Clip in Illinois, 1870-1890
Year
Wool shorn
(pounds)
Average
of fleece
(pounds)
Distribution (per cent) a
North
division
Central
division
South
division
5.739»249
6,093,066
4,490,773
3.66
5.87
4.87
38.5
42.2
Ï9-3
a Average for 1877—1895.
494
APPENDIX
Business Failures in Illinois ^
Year
Illinois
Chicago
Number
Liabilities
Number
Liabilities
1872
185
$11,470,000
1873
329
7,109,000
1874
332
7,510,000
1875
409
8,218,470
1876
434
6,079,710
199
9,164,200
1877
454
8,117,091
206
10,065,300
1878
470
7.672,931
362
12,926,800
1879
194
3,396,480
83
2,237,300
1880
91
483,802
43
780,154
1881
108
585,718
37
1,980,700
1882
158
1,193,740
103
2,239,586
1883
328
3,188,733
277
13,203,279
1884
374
5,714,951
329
6,946,986
1885
372
3,510,241
312
2,348,612
1886
371
3,923,672
275
4,263,684
1887
308
2,459,744
320
5,997,478
1888
318
2,216,438
360
6,712,900
1889
376
2,428,798
341
4,857,567
1890
335
1,928,881
308
7,856,550
1891
342
1,545,246
289
4,758,568
1892
226
2,651,638
254
4,995,562
1893
566
»8,777,462
There was a steady decline in the number of liabilities of failed
establishments between 1877 and 1880, from $8,218,470 to the low water
mark of $483,802.
^Financial Review, 1875-1894, passim.
GENERAL NOTES TO TABLE ON PAGES 304-305
All figures for the table found on pages 304-305 are taken from the
statements of warrants drawn on the state treasurer in the reports of the
state auditor of public accounts.
The obscurity of some of the items in the auditors' reports, and
the grouping in many cases of unlike items, often made it difficult to get
exact figures for distinct items. In such cases the nearest possible approxi¬
mation to exactness was made which careful examination could give.
The biennium 1875-1876 was only twenty-two months in length,
owing to the fact that in 1876 the accounts were closed on September 30
instead of on November 30. Before 1876, the bienniums extended from
December i to November 30 of the even numbered years; after 1876
they extended from October I to September 30 of the even numbered
years.
The items included under the various headings in the table are as
follows :
Column I:
This column includes salaries of governor, lieutenant governor, sec¬
retary of state, treasurer, auditor of public accounts, and attorney-general,
and the salaries of their regular clerks and assistants. Casual expenditures
for " extra clerk hire " are not included, the object being to include only
those items which are continuous from the beginning to tbe end of the
period.
Column la:
This column includes all expenses other than salaries connected with
the administrative departments, together with the " contingent fund of
the governor," the state board of equalization expenditures, cost of the
civil service commission, and a few other minor administrative expenses.
Column 11 :
This column includes per diem, mileage, allowance for postage and
stationery of the members and officers of the general assembly, and the
expenses of those employees of the general assembly wbo were employed
by that body, but not those employees who were appointed by the secretary
of state on account of the general assembly. The salaries of the latter
are included in IIa.
495
496
APPENDIX
Column IIa:
This column includes all expenses connected with the general as¬
sembly, and not included in II. It includes the expenses of committees
appointed by the general assembly, expense of distributing the printed laws
and journals, and other matters.
Column III :
This column includes the salaries of all the judges in the state su¬
preme, appellate, and circuit courts, and those of the state's attorneys in
the several counties of the state, together with pay of stenographers, clerks,
and reporters of the state supreme court after 1895-1896. Salaries of
judges of the superior court of Cook county are also included during the
whole period.
Column Ilia:
This column includes the expenses of the reporter and reports of the
supreme court, expenses of the court of claims (costs and expenses of
state suits), and all other judicial expenditures not included in III.
Column IV :
This column includes expenses of " printing, paper, and stationery,"
" public printing," " public binding," publishing notices, cost of revision
of statutes, and expenses and salaries of state printer expert and his
assistants.
Column V:
" Educational institutions '' includes normal schools, state university,
state library, state historical library and natural history museum, and
the state entomologist. The latter is included because in the earlier period
the appropriations for his work are included with those for the state
university. " Current expenses " includes salaries, cost of supplies, etc.—
all those expenses which are used up once and for all time during the
year or what are commonly called " ordinary expenses."
Column Va:
This column includes all expenditures for grounds, buildings (con¬
struction and repair), and equipment, and all other expenses not included
in V.
Column VI:
" Charitable institutions" includes all insane asylums (except the asy¬
lum for the criminal insane), schools and homes for feeble-minded, deaf
and dumb, and the blind, the soldiers' orphans' home, soldiers' and sailors'
home, soldiers' widows' home, and all other charitable institutions main-
APPENDIX
497
tained by the state. The expenses of the state board of administration
and the state architect are also included in this group because the cost of
charitable institutions is the largest single item of expenditure which they
control.
Column Via:
This column includes all expenses for charitable institutions not in¬
cluded in column VI. These expenditures represent buildings, grounds,
equipment, and all other expenses for more or less permanent objects.
Column VII:
" Penal and correctionâl institutions " includes the two state peni¬
tentiaries, the state reformatory, the state school for delinquent boys, the
state home for juvenile female offenders, and the asylum for insane
criminals.
" Current expenses " includes the cost of labor and supplies in run¬
ning the state penal and correctional institutions, together with the ex¬
pense of conveying convicts to and from these institutions, and the expense
incurred in the apprehension and delivery of fugitives from justice.
Column VIII:
" Militia and military affairs " includes the salaries and office ex¬
penses of the adjutant general and his assistants, and all the expenses upon
the Illinois national guard.
Column IX:
This column includes all expenses of construction, repair, equipment,
and maintenance of the statehouse and the executive mansion.
Column X:
This column includes the expenditures from the special school fund,
plus the cost of the department of public instruction, which is paid from
the revenue fund. This expenditure is for the maintenance and support
of the common school system of the state and is separate and apart from
the expenditures for state normal schools and the state university.
Column XI:
This column includes all expenses incurred by the state board of
health, and a few other minor expenses connected with public health.
Column XII:
This column includes all expenditures for canal commissioners and
canals, money spent out of the canal redemption fund for bridges over the
Chicago river, which were destroyed by fire in 1871 ; cost of construction
of an armory, arsenal, and museum at Springfield, the geological survey
498
APPENDIX
and commissioners, expenses of the state highway commission and for
state aid roads, public lands and drainage commissioners, and the rivers
and lakes commission.
Column XIII;
This includes the expenditures of the state board of agriculture, and
the assistance granted to local agricultural boards.
Column XIV :
This column includes the railroad and warehouse commission, state
humane agents, commissioner of labor statistics, state board of livestock
commissioners and state veterinarian, mine' inspectors and mine examiners,
and various other boards, committees, and commissions, dealing in one
way or another with state regulation and supervision of private industries.
Column XV:
This column contains the amounts of taxes refunded by the state
treasury to the county and local officials, because such amounts had been
paid by mistake.
Column XVI:
This column includes the amounts paid by the state as interest and
principal on local bonds issued by cities, counties, drainage districts, town¬
ships, etc.
Column XVII ;
This column includes the expenditures for fish and game conserva¬
tion in the state.
Column XVIII:
This column includes all expenditures of Illinois for historical monu¬
ments, celebrations, and exhibits of all kinds. No expenditures of this
class appear before 1887-1888.
Column XIX:
This column includes the payments of principal and interest on the
state debt.
Column XX:
This column includes everything not included in one of the preceding
groups. The most important continuous groups placed in this column
are what are called in the reports " incidental expenses " and special appro¬
priations, which are unclassifiable elsewhere. The former varied from
$98,000 to $27,000, and the latter from $282,000 to $13,000, but there
was no regularity in the variations in either case. Another item which
began in 1871 and disappeared after 1884 was the expenditures for
APPENDIX
499;
"field notes and surveys," for the purpose of plotting new townships;
it ranged from $10,000 to $350, gradually decreasing until it disappeared.
Still another item was the " unknown and minor heirs fund," which began
in 1877-1878 and continued until 1907-1908; expenditures on this ac¬
count varied from $54 to $2,348 without any regularity.
Column XXI:
1871-1872: This large total is due chiefly to the payment of almost
$4,000,000 on the state debt, and the large expenditures on internal im¬
provements.
1873-1874 : Expenditures on state debt and internal improvements
will also account for this large total.
1875-1876: For ten years from this date there seems to have been
strict economy in the state expenditures, probably due to financial depres¬
sion during the seventies.
1885-1886 : Expenditures show on the whole a gradual and steady
increase for twenty years from this date.
500 appendix
Expenditures and State Taxes, 1870-1893 ®
Date
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
appropriations
amount state
taxes
$2,919,071
4,177,711
3,527,377
$6,648,188
3,793,270
2,578,422
6,475,207
2,861,374
2,755,978
6,562,653
2,961,773
2,917,047
6,584,364
2,123,239
2,840,807
6,605,399
3,706,323
2,847,810
7,342,742
2,534,028
2,739,799
7,776,458
3,142,307
2,707,327
7,940,412
4,083,618
3,358,693
7,396,737
2,884,876
2,823,504
8,757,901
2,630,930
2,948,569
9,032,314
2,524,131
^Report of the Efficiency and Economy Committee^ 117.
APPENDIX
501
Miles of Line in Illinois, 1839-1893 *
Year
Miles of
line
1839
1850,
i860.
1870.
1871.
1872.
1873
1874.
1875,
1876
1877
1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
22
22
III
59
2,790
9
4,707
666
5,904
1,197
6,361
457
6,589
228
«,759
170
7,109
350
7,285
176
7,334
59
7,448
114
7,578
130
7,851
273
8,260
409
8,676
4x6
8,868
192
8,908
40
8,904
-4
9,275
371
9,601
326
9,707
106
9,829
122
10,213
384
10,223
10
10,346
123
10,408
62
" Miles of line " includes main line and branches but not double track
or side track.
* Poor's Manual for successive years for the data up to and including 1887. Data for
the years since 1887 are from annual " Statistics of Railroads " published by the interstate
commerce commission.
502
APPENDIX
Freight Rates in Illinois, 1877-1895 =
Yeah
Rate
1877.
1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1883.
1883.
18^4.
1885.
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1891.
1892.
1893.
1894.
1895.
i.88j4
1.58
1.93
1.38
1.26
1.09
1.16
1.06
.836
.832
■877s
.8618
.931
1.213
1.232
average receipts per mile per ton
rates in cents per ton per mile for freight carried
by principal roads
rates in cents per ton per mile for freight carried
by principal roads
rates in cents per ton per mile for fréight carried
by principal roads
rates in cents per ton per mile for freight carried
by principal roads
(none given, see table p. 329)
average receipts per ton per mile
(no report published)
average charge per ton per mile
revenue per ton of freight per mile
' Reports of the lilinois Railroad and Warehouse Commission, 1877-1895.
APPENDIX
503
Livestock Receipts and Shipments at Chicago, 1870-1895^
(000 omitted)
Cattle
Hogs
Sheep
Year
Re¬
ceived
Shipped
Con¬
sumed in
city or
packed
Re¬
ceived
Shipped
Con¬
sumed in
city or
packed
Re¬
ceived
Shipped
Con¬
sumed in
city or
packed
1870
533
391
141
1,693
924
769
187s
920
696
224
3,912
1,582
2,330
1880
1,382
886
496
7,059
1,394
6,665
335
156
'79
1885
1,905
744
1,161
6,937
1,797
5,140
1,003
260
743
1890
3,484
1,260
2,223
6,663
1,985
5,678
2,182
929
1,252
'895
2,588
785
1,803
7,885
2,100
5,784
3,406
474
2,932
® Compiled from annual reports of Chicago Board of Trade.
Shipments of Meats from Chicago, 1870-1895^
Year
Beef
(packages)
Pork
(barrels)
Other cured
meats
(pounds)
1870
65,369
165,885
112,433,000
'87s
60,454
313.713
262,931,000
1880
117,203
367,324
958,036,000
1885
122,100
393,363
705,944,000
1890
1451897
392,786
823,801,000
1895
102,660
300,029
698,201,000
^ Compiled from annual reports of Chicago Board of Trade.
Lumber Trade of Chicago, 1870-1895®
(000 omitted)
Year
Lumber (in board feet)
Shingles
(number)
Receipts
Shipments
Receipts
Shipments
1870
1,018,999
583,49'
652,019
666,248
1875
1,147,'93
628,485
635,708
299,427
1880
',56',779
925,682
649,546
'34,375
1885
',744,892
8'8,474
795,248
55,654
1890
',94',39Z
812,655
5'5,S75
108,822
1895
',638,'30
773,983
352,313
298,835
® Compiled from annual reports of the Chicago Board of Trade.
504
APPENDIX
Value of Products of Main Industries, 1850-1890
Year
Manufactures
Agriculture
Mining
1850
$ 16,534,272
i860
57,580,886
1870
205,620,672
$210,860,585 a
$152,598,994 Í
1880
414,864,673
203,980,137
1890
908,640,280
184,759,013
17,110,317
a All farm products, including betterments and additions to stock.
b Mining, including quarrying, oil boring, and peat cutting.
Leading Manufactures in Illinois, 1870"
Rank Industry Value of product
1 Flour and grist mill products $43)876,775
2 Meat, packed, pork 19,818,851
3 Agricultural implements 8,880,390
4 Clothing—men's and women's 8,407,005
5 Liquors, distilled 7,888,751
6 Lumber, planed 7,290,465
7 Carriages and sleds, children's, wagons 6,106,291
8 Lumber, sawed 4,546,769
9 Boots and shoes 4,443,794
10 Liquors, malt 4,145,224
n Iron, castings (not specified) 3)788,953
12 Iron, forged and rolled 3,430,746
13 Furniture (not specified), chairs, and refrigerators 2,982,522
14 Machinery (not specified) 2,818,797
15 Woolen goods 2,725,690
16 Saddlery and harness 2,581,416
17 Cooperage 2,501,531
18 Sash, doors, and blinds 2,316,620
19 Tin, copper, and sheet-iron ware 2,194,812
20 Machinery, railroad repairing 2,183,013
21 Leather, curried 2,134,389
22 Leather, tanned 2,013,774
23 Confectionery 1,948,710
24 Bread, crackers, and other baking products 1,732,885
25 Brick 1,638,764
26 Marble and stone work (not specified) 1,559,675
27 Oil, animal 1,488,700
28 Grease and tallow 1,412,900
29 Printing and publishing, newspaper 1,400,314
30 Machinery, steam engines and boilers 1,396,984
31 Tobacco, cigars 1,313,947
32 Soap and candles 1,250,930
33 Oil, vegetable, linseed 1,154,033
34 Cars, freight and passenger 1,010,007
» Ninth Census, " The Statistics of the Wealth and Industry of the United States "
3:510-512.
Manufactures in Illinois, 1850-1890^''
Date ^
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
Number of establishments
3,162
4,268
12,597
14.549
20,482
Capital
$ 6,217,765
$27.548.563
$ 94.368,057
$140,652,066
$502,004,512
Average number of hands employed—
Males 16 years and over
11,066
22,489
73.045
120,558
270,760
Females i6 years and over
493
479
6.717
15.233
36,012
Children under i6 years
a
a
3.217
8.936
5,426
Total amount paid in wages during the year
$ 3.204,336
$ 7.637.921
$ 31,100,244
$ 57.429.085
$171.523.579
Cost of material
$ 8.959.327
$35.558.782
$127,600,077
$289,843,907
$529,019,089
Value of products, including custom work and repair¬
ing ;
$16,534,273
$57.580,886
$205,620,672
$414,864,673
$908,640,280
Net value of product
$ 7.574.945
$22,022,104
$ 78,020,595
$125,020,766
$379.621,191
Per cent of total population engaged in manufactures..
1-4
1-3
3-3
4-7
7-3
a Not reported separately.
»»United States Census, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890.
O
5O6
APPENDIX
Net Value Products of Manufactures in Illinois, 1870-1890
Net value of products
(in millions of dollars)
1870
1880
1890
30
4-5
48.0
2.9
13.2
30.4
a
6.4
2I.S
2.8
6.8
16.3
5-2
6.7
14.5
1.6
4-3
13.3
2.1
2. s
9.0
1.8
1.0
8.7
1.9
4.0
8.5
»5
S-S
8.1
•S
a
7.0
1.2
2.5
6.2
8.4
5-9
6.2
1.2
2.1
5-3
3.8
2.6
5-3
1.4
a
4-3
•7
2.0
4.0
2.3
2.4
4.0
.8
1.2
3-9
I.I
1.8
3-5
■3
•5
31
•5
i.t
2-5
•9
1.6
2.4
•3
■5
2-4
•3
•7
2.2
I.O
I.I
2.2
2.3
1.9
2.1
•3
•3
2.0
1.4
1-5
1-9
•S
.6
1-7
.1
.6
1.6
.1
•5
1.6
.1
1.0
1.4
.2
.2
1.2
.04
.1
1.0
.1
•5
1.0
Liquors, distilled
Slaughtering and meat packing
Foundry and machine shop products. ..
Clothing, men's, including shirts
Agricultural implements
Printing and publishing, newspaper...
Liquors, malt
Lumber, planed
Furniture and refrigerators
Iron and steel
Cars, steam railroad
Car and general shop construction
Flour and grist mill products
Brick and tile
Carriages and wagons
Gas, illuminating and heating
Tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes
Boots and shoes
Bread and other bakery products
Tin, copper, and sheet iron
Clothing, women's
Clocks and watches
Leather, tanned and curried
Soap
Paint and varnish
Marble and stone work
Lumber, sawed
Musical instruments
Cooperage and wooden goods
Confectionery
Glass
Brass and bronze products
Butter, cheese, and condensed milk
Patent medicines
Baking powders and yeast
Coffee and spice, roasting and grinding.
a Not reported.
APPENDIX
507
Gross Value Products of Manufactures in Illinois, 1870-1890
Industry
Gross value of products
(in millions of dollars)
1870
1880
1890
19.8
97.8
200.4
7.8
14.6
51-9
135
38.8
43-8
47-4
37-9
3-4
20.5
37.1
7-4
20.1
35-5
8.8
13.4
24.6
7-Ï
4.8
20.4
6.7
5-9
20.3
2-7
7-1
17-3
I.O
a
17.1
•3
2.9
i5'7
1.0
a
14.5
2-9
7.6
14.5
4-1
5-7
13.6
a
a
13-5
2.1
2-5
12.2
4.2
a
11.8
Z.2
3-9
9-3
•7
3.0
9-3
6.1
5.0
9.0
1-7
3.8
8.8
4-4
5-1
8.7
4.1
7-7
8.2
•5
3-8
8.0
3.0
3-7
6.9
2.1
3-9
6.8
.2
.8
6.4
•9
1-5
6.4
1.6
3.0
6.3
■3
1.8
6.2
a
•3
5-4
2.0
a
5.2
4-5
5.0
5.0
Slaughtering and meat packing
Liquors, distilled
Foundry and machine shop products
Flour and grist mill products
Iron and steel
Clothing, men's, including shirts
Agricultural implements
Lumber, planed
Carpentering
Printing and publishing, newspapers and periodicals..
Cars, steam railroad
Masonry, brick, and stone.
Printing and publishing, book, job
Furniture and refrigerators
Liquors, malt
Clothing, men's, custom work and repairing
Cars and general shop construction
Slaughtering, not including meat packing
Soap and candles
Coffee and spice, roasting, grinding
Carriages and wagons
Bread and other bakery products
Boots and shoes
Leather, tanned and curried
Cheese, butter, and condensed milk
Tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes
Tin, copper, and sheet iron
Plumbing and gas fitting
Clothing, women's
Brick and tile
Painting and paper hanging
Iron work, architectural and ornamental
Gas, illuminating and heating
Lumber, sawed
a Not reported.
5O8
APPENDIX
Growth of Coal Trade in Illinois, 1870-1890^^
Receipts of coal in tons at
Date
St. Louis
Chicago
Peoria
1870.
957,259
887,000
29,646
187s
1,378,666
1,641,000
57,034
1880
1,675,694
a,7o6,ooo
136,841
1885
2,135,483
3,979,000
339,381
1890
2,779,089
4,737,000
591,838
" Compiled from Reports of Trade and Commerce of St. Louis; Reports of Chicago
Board of Trade; Reports of Trade and Commerce of Peoria. The figures for Peoria are
for 1872 and each succeeding quinquennium.
A Summary of Strike Statistics 12
Year
Number of
establish¬
ments
affected
Results
Causes
Succeeded
Partly
succeeded
Failed
For increase
of wages
1881
271
154
35
82
237
1882
206
116
9
81
152
1883
576
454
28
94
381
1884
429
359
70
91
1885
226
106
10
110
148
1886
1,060
310
204
546
141
Total
2,768
1,499
286
983
1,150
Causes
For increase of wages
and reduction of hours
For reduction of
hours
Against reduction
of wages
All others
i
7
7
19
9
2Z
23
132
32
31
304
22
12
38
40
180
501
27
2iz
Total 626
50S
148
336
^ Taken from "Strikes and Lockouts," Third Annual Report of the Commissioner of
Labor, 1887, p. 690-691, 919-920.
Strikes in Illinois, 1887-1893
Yeae
Number
of strikes
Number of
establish¬
ments
affected
Results
Causes
Succeeded
Partially
succeeded
Failed
For increase
of wages and
reduction of
hours
Against
reduction
of wages
AH
other
1887
112
1,569
544
39
986
659
21
889
1888
60
689
499
2
188
261
12
416
1889
43
165
35
71
59
44
72
49
1890
138
2,496
855
509
Ï.I32
«,429
306
761
1891
119
i,iii
851
32
228
808
40
!•
263
1892
124
707
427
94
186
373
36
298
1893
129
1,382
1,047
154
i8x
546
47
789
Report of the Commissioner of Labor, 1894, 2: 1384-1385, 1673-1677; Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of Illinois, 1902, p. 514-516.
O
so
APPENDIX
Comparative Value of Mineral and Agricultural Products
Year
Mineral
production
Agricultural
production
Katio of value
of mineral to
agricultural
production
1905
$ 68,025,560
$272,794,107
24.9
1906
72.723.S72
253.409.404
28.7
1907
93.539.464
280,666,020
33-3
1908
92,765,688
276,614,637
33-5
1909
98.840.729
322,144,944
30.7
1910
9M91.759
297.976.709
33-2
1911
106,275,115
311,525,706
34.1
1912
123,068,867
285.249.557
43.2
1913
131,825,221
288,613,140
45-9
1914
117.145.108
289,781,140
40.4
5915
"4.704.587
486,561,355
23.5
1916
146,780,236
496,178,000
29.6
«917
238,186,690
854,896,000
35.8
Statistics of the Younger Mineral Industries
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
Sulphuric acid:
Quantity
..short tons, 60° Baume
144.805
160,378
195.1+5
243.457
Value
$958.591
$1,064,564
$1,303,986
$1.551.876
$2,036,311
$2.999.548
$3,902,831
Asphalt:
Quantity short tons
4,553
188,575
155.406
110,756
Value
$340,862
$1.041,378
$1,285,470
$1,317,855
Natural-gas gasoline:
Quantity gallons
a
a
581.171
1.164,178
1.035,204
2,260,288
4,934,009
Value
a
a
$67,106
$100,331
$80,049
$262,664
$866,033
Pyrite :
Quantity short tons
5,600
8.5+1
Î7i44i
27,008
11,246
22,538
14.849
20,482
24,596
Value
$17.551
$28,159
$47,020
$62,980
$31.966
$59.079
$22,476
$5',432
$89,998
Tripoli:
Quantity short tons
12,994
10,387
33,187
16,133
Value
$38,262
$33.390
$45,910
$27.339
$128,892
$59.394
$59.390
$82,968 h
$31,338
a Less than three producers; statistics concealed,
b Estimated.
512
APPENDIX
Statistics of the Older Mineral Industries, 1883-1917
Coal a
Mines
Mi
Year
Total
SO
c
S ®
num¬
ber
D.
a
"0
JS
c/5
J-
1
2
3
4
5
Per
Per
cent
cent
1883
639
209
1884
741
262
1885
778
286
1886
787
316
1887
801
320
1888
822
327
1889
854
321
1890
936
398
1891
918
402
1892
839
332
1893
788
39
61
282
1894
836
38
62
312
1895
855
37
63
319
1896
862
37
63
330
1897
853
36
64
346
1898
881
37
63
351
1899
889
36
64
346
1900
920
35
65
340
1901
915
3«
64
313
1902
915
36
64
314
1903
933
38
62
313
1904
932
41
59
301
1905
990
40
60
321
1906
1,018
41
59
336
1907
933
44
56
260
1908
922
44
56
248
1909
886
43
57
270
I910
881
44
5fi
261
1911
845
46
54
235
1912
879
43
57
266
1913
840
44
56
239
1914
796
43
57
236
1915
779
36
64
268
1916
0
00
35
«5
304
1917
810
40
60
226
Mines of specified tonnage
366
421
433
415
419
423
455
456
421
390
372
413
421
408
370
395
384
418
432
415
413
415
446
449
407
402
373
364
351
347
339
298
286
280
283
39
38
40
44
42
47
55
54
52
65
75
61
61
63
79
86
77
70
79
76
75
72
83
89
9'
98
66
87
82
70
66
64
56
48
52
00
o o
00
ID
16
13
II
18
20
20
24
37
46
47
44
45
45
41
42
57
65
58
72
87
98
88
97
95
93
90
94
ICI
91
82
95
65
60
70
*-0
00
M
15
4
6
3
2
5
3
4
6
6
12
6
9
16
'7
7
25
27
33
38
45
46
52
47
80
82
87
75
76
105
114
103
104
III
139
Tonnage
Total value
Total
_c
'S.
.S*
co
Local
10
II
12
13
Short tons
Per
cent
Per
cent
12,123,456
12,208,075
$13.164.976
11.834.459
11,456.493
II.175.241
10.263,543
12,423,066
11.152,596
14.328.181
13.309.030
12,104,272
12,496,805
15,292,420
12.883,548
15,660,698
13,069,090
17,862,276
15.158.430
19.949.564
97
3
17,827,595
17.I13.576
94
6
15,282,111
17.735.864
93
7
14.239.157
19,786,626
96
4
15.809,736
20,072,758
97
3
14.472.529
18,599.299
95
5
14.567.598
24.439.019
96
4
20,744,553
25.767.981
96
4
26,927.185
27.331.552
95
4
28,163,937
32.939.373
96
4
33.945.910
36,957.104
96
4
43.196.809
36,475.060
96
4
39.941.993
38,434.363
97
3
40.577.592
41,480,104
97
3
44,763.062
51.317.416
97
3
54.687.382
47.659.690
97
3
49.978.247
50,904,990
98
2
53,522,014
45.900,246
97
3
52.405.897
53.679,118
97
3
59.519.478
59,885,226
98
2
70.294,338
61.618,744
98
2
70,313.605
57.589.197
98
2
64,693.529
58.829,576
98
2
64.622,471
66,195.336
98
2
82,457.954
86,199,387
98
2
162,281,822
a Coal statistics, excepting columns 10 and 13, are based on data from the annual
published by the state of Illinois, department of mines and minerals. The remainder of the
table comes from statistical reports published by the United States geological survey.
coal reports
data for the
APPENDIX
513
Statistics of the Older Mineral Industries, 1883-1917—(Continued)
Coal (continued)
Men employed
Accidents
Machine
mining
Total
number
Shipping
mines
' Local mines
1
Tonnage
per man
Non¬
fatal
Fatal
Tons per
death
Deaths
per 1,000
men
Mines
Ton¬
nage
by ma¬
chines
Year
14
IS
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Per
cent
Per
cent
Short
tons
Short tons
Per
cent
33.939
506
231
134
90.474
5.6
1883
25.575
438
197
46
265,393
1.8
1884
25.946
456
176
39
303.448
1-5
1885
25,846
432
171
52
214,909
2.0
1886
26,804
463
180
41
303,002
1-5
1887
29,410
481
179
55
260,512
1-9
1888
30,076
466
20I
42
333,745
1.4
1889
28,574
535
294
53
288,203
1-9
1890
32,951
475
367
60
261,012
1.8
189:
33.632
531
370
57
313.372
1-7
1892
35.390
81
19
564
403
69
289,124
1-9
1893
38.477
81
19
445
521
72
237,688
2.2
1894
38,630
81
19
459
605
75
236.478
2.3
1895
37.057
76
24
534
672
77
256,969
2.3
1896
33.788
93
7
594
518
69
290,910
2.0
1897
35.026
92
8
531
438
75
247.991
2.1
1898
36.991
93
7
634
597
84
278,982
2.3
1899
39.384
92
8
639
611
94
267.595
2.4
67
2a
1900
44.143
93
7
603
422
99
269,044
2.2
63
22
I9OI
46.005
93
7
653
406
99
303.245
2.2
64
22
1902
49.814
94
6
702
410
156
224,073
3-1
68
22
1903
54.774
94
6
677
507
157
236,165
2.9
67
19
1904
59.230
94
6
628
535
199
186,851
3-4
76
22
1905
62,283
94
6
615
480
155
247,210
2-5
85
25
1906
66,714
95
5
717
636
165
289,689
2.5
lOI
33
1907
70.841
95
5
696
819
183
269,248
2.6
105
31
190S
72.733
96
4
676
894
213
230,816
2.9
107
33
1909
74.634
96
4
653
742
406
119.997
5-4
"4
38
1910
77.410
96
4
648
709
157
319.523
2.0
126
40
I9II
79.4"
96
4
724
8co
180
319.524
2.3
139
44
191a
79.497
97
3
778
1.025
175
353.407
2.2
140
49
1913
80,035
97
3
758
1.071
159
381,860
2.0
141
52
1914
75.607
96
4
762
1.013
180
320,009
2-4
131
59
1915
75.919
96
4
839
1.305
165
385.900
2.2
139
62
1916
•80,893
96
4
976
1.634
207
381.563
2.6
151
60
I917
514
APPENDIX
Statistics of the Older Mineral Industries, 1883-1917—(Continued)
Year
Num¬
ber
of
fírms
Clay Products
Petroleum
Total
value
Common brick
Drain tile
Pottery
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value
Value
V alue
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Thousands
Barrels
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1,460
$ 4.706
1890
900
1891
675
1892
521
1893
400
1894
697
$8,474.360
825,845
$4.495.613
$1.418,572
$8,414.360
300
1,800
1895
678
7,619,884
717.079
3.786.747
1,028,581
7.619.884
200
1,200
1896
566
5.938,247
586,506
2.831,752
517.684
5.441.765
250
1.250
1897
570
5,498.574
516.263
2,376.498
531.993
5.498,574
500
2,000
1898
616
6,866,715
573.450
3.205,674
823.847
6,067,856
360
1,800
1899
643
7,259.825
664,684
3.231,332
1,026,192
6,496,268
360
1,800
1900
569
7.708.859
685,161
3.981.577
734.249
6,932,086
250
1.500
1901
55°
9,642,490
930,561
5.188,654
694,588
8,960,041
250
1.250
1902
515
9,881,840
1,023,681
5.131.621
693.783
9.187.426
200
1903
502
11.190,797
1.015.541
5.388,589
892,807
10,291,064
1904
492
10,777,447
999.310
5.167.165
1,002,463
9,947.751
1905
469
12,361,786
1.125,024
6,259,232
1,051.852
".418,779
181,084
116,561
1906
466
12,634,181
1,195,210
5.719.906
1.052,588
11,651.278
4.937,050
3.274.818
1907
417
13.220,489
1.494.807
6,499.777
1,031,192
12,216,323
24.281,973
16,432,947
1908
400
".559.114
I.I 19.224
4.834.652
1.421.878
10,752,160
33,686,238
22,649,561
1909
379
14.344.453
1.257.025
5.927.054
1.613.593
13.505.898
30,898,339
19,788,864
1910
346
15.176.161
1.196.526
6,896,836
1,613,698
14.331.414
33.143.362
19.669.383
1911
330
14.333.0"
1.074,486
6,126,911
1.372.049
13.353,200
31.317.038
19.734.339
1912
301
15,210,990
1,210,499
6,437.331
1,189,910
14.279.031
28,601,308
24.332,605
1913
281
15.195.874
1.155.480
6,445,821
1.225,190
14,280,611
23.893.899
30,971.910
I9«4
263
13.318,953
941.343
4.898.698
1.041.927
12,538.374
21.919.749
25.426,179
«915
254
14,79',938
1.066,057
6,870,990
991.709
13,843.046
19.041,695
18,655,850
1916
225
17.633.351
1.182,473
6.738.152
1.200,465
16,507,845
i7.7'4.235
29,237,168
216
19.565.420
5,138,822
314^006
t3*»35®»0"7
APPENDIX
515
Statistics of the Older Mineral Industries, 1883-1917—(Continued)
Coke
Cement
Sand and gravel
Natural
Portland
Year
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Quantity
Value
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
Short tons
Barrels
Barrels
Short tons
13,400
$ 28,200
1883
13,095
25,639
1884
10,350
27,798
1885
8,103
21,487
1886
9,108
19,594
1887
7,410
21,038
332,055
1888
11,583
29,764
3 50,000
1889
5,000
11,250
363,117
1890
5,200
11,700
409,877
1891
3,170
7,'33
472,876
1892
2,200
4,400
522,972
1893
2,200
4,400
466,267
300
$ 540
'894
2,250
4,500
491,012
750
1,325
'895
2,600
5,200
544,326
3,000
5,250
1896
1,549
2,895
510,000
15,000
26,250
'897
2,325
4,686
630,228
d
d
1898
b 2,370
Í 5,565
537,094
53,000
79,500
'899
c
c
369,276
240,442
300,552
1900
c
c
469,842
528,925
581,818
1901
c
c
607,820
767,781
977,541
278,626
$ 148,317
1902
c
c
543,132
1,257,500
1,914,500
552.493
315,836
1903
4,439
9»933
360,308
1,326,794
1,449,114
1,206,671
689,740
'904
10,307
27,681
368,645
1,545,500
1,741,150
1,627,403
693,772
1905
268,693
1,205,462
365,843
1,858,403
2,461,494
2,657,559
',043,041
1906
372,697
1,737,464
284,599
2,036,093
2,632,576
4,550,99'
',367,653
'907
362,182
1,538,952
188,859
3,211,168
2,707,044
6,657,748
1,503,022
1908
1,276,956
5,361,510
c
4,241,392
3,388,667
9,'55,229
',949,497
'909
',514,504
6,712,550
c
4,459,450
4,119,012
8,586,508
',730,795
1910
1,610,212
6,390,251
c
4,582,341
3,583,301
8,488,683
1,990,922
1911
1,764,944
8,069,903
c
4,299,357
3,212,819
6,957,90'
1,929,822
1912
1,859,553
8,593,581
c
5,083,799
5,109,218
7,992,140
2,070,491
'9'3
1,425,168
5,858,700
c
5,401,605
5,007,288
7,696,130
',859,5'9
I9'4
1,686,998
7,016,635
c
5,156,869
4,884,026 e
7,708,012
',984,569
'9'5
2,320,400
10,619,066
c
3,642,563
3,386,431 e
8,365.225
2,587,437
1916
1,030,706
6,806,930
c
4,659,990
6,090,158 e
9,120,698
3,658,799
I9'7
h Includes Indiana.
c Less than three producers; statistics concealed. . t- .
d Factory of Chicago Portland Cement Company destroyed by fire, February 3, 1898.
e Value of shipments.
5I6
APPENDIX
Statistics of the Older Mineral Industries, 1883-1917—(Continued)
Yia>
Stone
Fluor spar
Natural gas
Lime
Mineral water
Value
Quantity
Value
Value
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
Short tons
Short tons
Gallons
1883
4,000
$ 20,000
1884
4,000
20,000
1885
5,000
22,500
$ 1,200 f
1886
5,000
22,000
4,000/
1887
5,000
20,000
6,000 /
1888
6,000
30,000
1889
9.500
45.835
10,615
1890
$2,208,503
8,250
55,328
6,000
1891
2,040,000
10,044
78.330
6,000
127,500
$13,725
1892
3,192,500
12,250
89,000
12,988
173,360
24,9 >7
1893
2,321,859
12,400
84,000
14,000
118,800
8,440
1894
2,566,684
7,500
47.500
15,000
$387,973
196.454
19,154
1895
1,694,220
4,000
24,000
7,500
164,785
164,550
29,375
1896
1,276,420
4,000
32,000
6,375
145,294
49.972
10,236
1897
1.497.407
2,500
18,300
5,000
228,220
228,330
17,662
1898
1,434,820
C
C
2,498
127,156
419.760
23,391
1899
2,082,616
8,500
75.000
2,067
194,773
858.950
101,090
1900
1,900,292
3.690
8,900
1,700
246,575
1901
2,302,703
c
e
1,825
504,018
738,300
59,670
1902
3.254,808
18,360
121,532
1,844
485,644
508,016
29,640
1903
3.232.564
II.4I3
57,620
3,310
479,801
1,118,240
149,978
1904
3.199.267
17.205
122,172
4,745
108,881
461,088
392,800
38,096
1905
3.541.005
33.275
220,206
7,223
98.907
421,589
425.756
47,995
1906
2.961.456
28,268
160,623
87,211
121,546
534,118
574,453
77,287
1907-
3.789.342
25,128
141.971
143,577
124,784
559,305
720,406
91,760
1908
3.134.770
31.727
172,838
446,077
92.549
393,951
685,763
58,904
1909
4,261,818
41,852
232,251
644,401
104,260
454.682
639,460
49,108
1910
3.853.425
47,302
277.764
613,642
113,239
503.581
1,117,620
83,148
1911
3.467.950
68,817
481.635
687,726
92,169
423,762
1,304,950
82,330
1912
3.841,504
114.410
756,653
616,467
98.450
394,892
1,143,625
74,445
1913
4.140.953
85.854
550,815
574.015
95.977
433,331
1,216,442
68,549
1914
2.934.078
73,811
426,063
437,275
87.603
383.989
1,760,030
81,307
191S
2.907.410
c
c
350,371
88,604
352,954
1,559,489
75,290
1916
3.403.094
c
e
396,357
80,012
369.038
>,777,741
94,056
I9'7
3,322,041
156,676
1.373.333
479.072
83,409
412,184
1,370,461
66,042
f Less than three producers, statistics concealed.
/ In terms of value of coal displaced.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I
Manuscripts and Unprinted Sources
Autograph album containing the signatures of the members of the con¬
stitutional convention of 1869-1870, also in many cases citing occu¬
pation, age, and political affiliation. Property of Mrs. William
K. Fox, Portland, Oregon, widow of the late William K. Fox.
John A. Logan scrapbook, owned by Mrs. John A. Logan, Washington.
McCormick manuscripts, in the McCormick Agricultural Library,
Chicago, a private library collected by the Cyrus Hall McCormick
family. There are about 1,070,000 papers, ranging in date from
1780 to 1902, relating to the personal and business affairs of the
McCormick reaper companies, giving much valuable data on agri¬
cultural, political, religious, economic, and social development.
Thomas J. Morgan scrapbooks, in Illinois Historical Survey, Urbana^
Illinois. A file of clippings on labor organization, 1870-1893.
William R. Morrison scrapbook, property of Charles Morrison, Water¬
loo, Illinois.
A variety of letters and records of interviews secured especially for use
in the Centennial History of Illinois and on file in the Illinois His¬
torical Survey, Urbana, Illinois.
II
Newspapers and Periodicals
Alarm, 1884, 1885, Chicago.
Alton Telegraph. 1874, Alton, Illinois.
American Artisan and Patent Record. American Artisan and Illus¬
trated Journal of Popular Science devoted to the interests, educa¬
tion, and advancement of the producing classes, both employees and
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S17
518
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Aurora Beacon, 1867, Aurora, Illinois.
Bankers' Magazine, volumes 15, 18-20, 28-29, 43, 1860-1861, 1863-
1866, 1873-1875, 1888-1889, New York.
Belleville Democrat, 1867-1868, Belleville, Illinois.
Bloomington Pantagraph, 1871-1874, Bloomington, Illinois.
Bradstreet' s ; a journal of trade, finance, and public economy, volume 13,
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Cairo Gazette, 1874, Cairo, Illinois.
Canton Weekly Register, 1867, Canton, Illinois.
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Champaign Daily Gazette, 1874, Champaign, Illinois.
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Chicago Daily Journal, 1870-1872, 1885, Chicago.
Chicago Daily News, 1872, 1886, 1890, Chicago.
Chicago Herald, 1886, Chicago.
Chicago Inter-Ocean, 1873-1874, Chicago.
Chicago Journal of Commerce, 1883, Chicago.
Chicago Post, 1871, Chicago.
Chicago Times, 1871-1874, 1885, Chicago.
Chicago Tribune, 1865, 1867, 1870-1893, Chicago.
Chicago Union, 1874, Chicago.
Chicagoer Neue Freie Presse, 1875, Chicago.
Cincinnati Commercial, 1872, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Commercial and Financial Chronicle and Hunt's Merchants' Magazine.
A weekly newspaper, representing the industrial and commercial
interests of the United States, volumes 15-17, 1872-1873, New
York. [Cited as Commercial and Financial Chronicle.^
Danville Commercial, 1874, Danville, Illinois.
Economist, see Investor's Manual.
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Farm Implement News, 1913, Chicago.
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Illinois State Journal, i860, 1867, 1870, 1872, 1874, 1885, Springfield,
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Illinois State Register, 1870-1880, 1882, 1884-1893, Springfield, Illi¬
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Railway and Engineering Review, i877i Chicago.
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520
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Ill
Federal Documents and Reports
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IV
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V
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VI
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County histories have in general been found useful for local information.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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and progress of the farmers' movement, embracing an authoritative
account of farmers' clubs, granges, etc. (Cincinnati, 1874).
Pinkerton, Allan, Strikers, Communists, Tramps and Detectives (New
York, 1882).
Poor, H. V. and H. W., Manual of Railroads of the United States,
1872-1880 (New York, 1872-1880).
Powderly, T. V., Thirty Years of Labor, 1859—1889. In which the his¬
tory of the attempts to form organizations of workingmen for the
discussion of political, social, and economic questions is traced. The
National Labor Union of 1866, the Industrial Brotherhood of
1874, and the Order of Knights of Labor of America and the
World (Columbus, Ohio, 1890).
Putnam, James William, The Illinois and Michigan Canal, a study in
economic history (Chicago, 1918) [Chicago Historical Society's
Collection, volume 10].
Report of the Directors of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Rail¬
road Company, 1874 (Chicago, 1874) [Cited as Chicago, Burling¬
ton, and Quincy Railroad Report^.
Reports of the New York Produce Exchange, 1881-1895 (New York,
1881-1895).
Rice, George S., "Mining Wastes and Mining Costs in Illinois," Illinois
State Geological Survey, Bulletin 14 (Urbana, 1909).
Rice, James M., Peoria, City and County, Illinois; a repord of settle¬
ment, organization, progress and achievement (Chicago, 1912).
Ringwalt, J. L., Development of Transportation Systems in the United
States. Comprising a comprehensive description of the leading fea¬
tures of advancement, from the colonial era to the present time,
in water channels, roads, turnpikes, canals, railways, vessels, vehicles,
cars and locomotives; the cost of transportation at various periods-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
531
and places by the different methods. . . . (Philadelphia,
1888).
Rutter, W. P., Wheat-Growing in Canada, the United States, and the
Argentine (London, 1911 ).
Sanders, Alvin Howard, A History of the Percheron Horse, including
hitherto unpublished data concerning the origin and development
of the modern type of heavy draft, drawn from authentic docu¬
ments. . . . (Chicago, 1917).
Sanders, Alvin Howard, The Story of the Herefords; an account of the
origin and development of the breed in Herefordshire. . . .
(Chicago, 1914)-
Sanford, Albert H., The Story of Agriculture in the United States
(Boston, 1916).
Schilling, "History of the Labor Movement in Chicago," in Parsons,
Life of Albert R. Parsons, q. v.
Second Annual Convention of the National Association of Builders of the
United States of America, Official Report, 1888 (Boston, 1888).
Smith, J. Russell, Commerce and Industry (New York, 1916).
Sobey, William, "Some Changes I Have Seen in Nearly Fifty Years,"
Farm Implement News, volume 34 (Chicago, 1913).
Sprague, History of Crises under the National Banking System, see
Federal Documents and Reports.
Stabler, Edward, Overlooked Pages of Reaper History (Baltimore,
1854, reprinted Chicago, 1897).
Stewart, Charles Leslie, Land Tenure in the United States, with Special
Reference to Illinois (Urbana, 1916) [University of Illinois Studies
in the Social Sciences, volume 5, number 3].
Swank, James M., The American Iron Trade in 1876. Politically, his¬
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report of the American Iron and Steel Association].
"The Tool Which Holds a World in Debt," Farm Implement News,
volume 34 (Chicago, 1913)-
Transactions of the Department of Agriculture of the State of Illinois,
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Transactions of the Illinois State Agricultural Society, 1861-1878
(Springfield, 1865-1879).
Transactions of the Illinois State Horticultural Society, içii, volume 44
(Springfield, 1911).
Tyson, Robert A., History of East St. Louis; its resources, statistics, rail¬
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1875)-
Usher, Ellis B., The Greenback Movement of 1875-1884 and Wiscon¬
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532 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Webster, Martha F., Seventy-five Significant Years: The Story of Knox
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Wells, David A., Practical Economics. A collection of essays respect¬
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White, Horace, Money and Banking, illustrated by American history,
second edition (Boston, 1902).
INDEX
Academe at Jacksonville, see education
Acme Harvesting Machine Company,
40sn
Adair, A. M., 134
Adams, Charles Francis, 71, 72
Adams county, 5, 13, 400
Agricultural organizations : Farmers'
Alliance, 178, 179; Farmers' Mutual
Benefit Association, organization,
178, political activities, 179-182;
Fruit Growers' Association of South¬
ern Illinois, 243 ; Illinois Farmers'
Institute, 361 ; Illinois state board of
agriculture, 231, 235, 237, 244, 288,
3S9t 360; Illinois State Dairymen's
Association, 361 ; Illinois State Farm¬
ers' Association, 82n, 92, 94, 1050,
356; Illinois State Grange, 179, 356,
361 ; Illinois State Horticultural So¬
ciety, 222n, 361 ; Illinois Stock Im¬
porting Association, 256 ; Illinois
Swine Breeders' Association, 259;
Legislative Farmers' Club, 90; Or¬
der of Patrons of Husbandry, 83, 84,
198 ; state board of livestock com¬
missioners, 309.
Agriculture, American Fat Stock Show,
2570 ; animal products, 232, 246-263,
487, 488, 490-493 ; apiarian products,
263; broom corn, 486; cereal crops,
482-485; Chicago Dairy Show, 250;
cooperative movements, 86, 88, 178,
456; dairy products, 218, 250-255,
399, 489, 490; drain tile, use of on
farm lands, 230; expenditures for,
305, 498; farm acreage, 481; farm
products, value of, 231, 232; farmers,
79. 86, 95, 97, 99. 109. 167. '74. '77.
178, 179. 184, 219, 220, 230, 231, 235,
239, 296, 297, 349, 367; farmers'
movement, 54,82-106; farms, 229,230,
241, 250, 297; farms, value of, 481;
field crops, 219, 223, 232-245, 288,
293, 294, 2950, 297, 364, 365, 372. 373.
482 ; fish and game conservation, 305,
498; forage crops, 485; granges, 35,
84, 85, 870, 940, too, 105, 106, 127,
178, 182, 198 ; Highland Stock Farm,
257; laborers, 219, 220; laws to pro¬
tect grain trade, 368; machinery, 219,
220, 222, 223-228, 380, 394, 399, 403,
405, 406, 4o6n ; miscellaneous crops,
487 ; orchard fruits, 486 ; plowing
matches, 227; population engaged in,
162, 163, 167, 217, 229, 481; poultry
products, 263 ; products of, compared
with mineral products, 510; Ross-
land Park Stock Farm, 257; tobacco,
486; vegetable products, 485
Alcott, Bronson, 197
Alexander county, 399
Alexander, John F., 2580
Allen, James C., 12, 21, 26, 76
Allen, William J. (Josh), 104, 154
Allerton Packing Company, 396
Allied Printing Trades Council, see
labor
Altgeld, John P., i67n, 1850, 186, 187,
1870; campaign methods, 184, 185;
candidate for governor, 182; policies,
183, 1830
Alton, 189, 194, 2990, 318, 345, 405, 418
Alton railroad, Chicago and, see trans¬
portation
Alton Savings Bank, see banking
Amalgamated Council of the Building
Trades, see labor
Amalgamated Trades and Labor As¬
sembly, see labor
Amalgamated Workingmen, see labor
Amateur Musical Club, see music
American Extravaganza Company, see
amusements
American Fat Stock Show, see agricul¬
ture
American Federation of Labor, see
labor
Amnesty Association, 187
Amusements, 34, 35, 39; American Ex¬
travaganza Company, 214; Barnum
and Company's circus, 34; baseball,
203; Buffalo Bill, 204; Camiilo-
Urso Troupe, 33; Chicago parks,
192; croquet, 203; Edison phon¬
ograph, 201 ; Forest City Base-
534
INDEX
ba]l Club, 203 ; in Chicago, 32 ; lawn
tennis, 203 ; League of American
Wheelmen, 204; National Archery
Association, 204; National League of
Baseball Clubs, 203 ; Negro minstrels,
214; roller skating rinks, 204; sport,
203, 204; theaters, 192; turner asso¬
ciations, 187, 204, 470; walking, 203
Anarchists, 168, 170, 171, 1720, 173, 174,
177, 185, 187, 461, 462, 467; Black
International, 462, 465, 466; Hay-
market Square riot, 170-172, 187, 455,
460, 466
Anderson and Findtey, cattle breeders,
357
Anderson, William B., 101
Anglo-American Provision Company,
396
Anglo - American Refrigerator Car
Company, 396
Anti-alien landlord act, 221, 22in
Anti-Ku-Klux law, 60
Antimonopolists, 99, 100, loi, 105, 106,
109, 174
Apollo club, see music
Appleby, John F., 225
Architecture, see art
Argo, 433
Armour and Company, 295, 471
Arnold, Matthew, 197
Art, architecture, 193, 208, 209, 213;
Chicago Academy of Design, 192,
215; Chicago Academy of Fine Arts,
200, 215; Chicago Art Institute, 200,
212, 2i2n, 214; Chicago Fine Arts In¬
stitute, 33; clubs, 200; Illinois Art
Association, 200; Japanese asym¬
metry, 200; landscape gardening,
194. See congresses
Arthur, Chester A., 145
Ashburn, 257
Aspern, Henry T., non
Asylum for the Incurably Insane, see
charitable institutions
Athletic clubs, see clubs
Atlanta (Ga.), 3720
Auditorium, see Chicago
Augustana College, see education
Aurora, 266
Austrians, see population
Avery Manufacturing Company, 405,
4050
Babcock, Stephen M., 253
Bakounine, Michael, 462
Baltimore (Md.), 281 ¡ democratic con¬
vention at, 73, 75
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, see trans¬
portation
Banking, bank capital, 269; bank
charters, 301; bank clearings, 296;
banks: Alton Savings Bank, 299n;
Bank of Montreal, 272; Belleville
Savings Bank, 299n; Decatur Mu¬
tual Savings Association, 291 ; East
St. Louis Bank, 3000; Elgin City
Banking Company, 3oon; Enter¬
prise Savings Bank of Cairo, 2990;
Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of
Galesburg, 3000; Moline Savings
Bank, 3000 ; Montgomery County
Loan and "Trust Company, 3oon;
Peoples' Bank of Bloomington,
3oon ; Peoples' Bank of Rockford,
2990; Pullman Trust Company,
3oon ; Springfield Marine Bank, 299;
Workingmen's Banking Company of
East St. Louis, 3000; banks of Chi¬
cago: Bank of Commerce, 283; Bank
of Illinois, 299; Central National
Bank, 289; Chicago Society for Sav¬
ings, 291 ; Chicago Trust and Sav¬
ings Bank, 2990; Cook County
National Bank, 283; Corn Exchange
Bank, 299n ; Dime Savings Bank,
2990 ; Fidelity Savings Bank, 289,
290; First National Bank, 1730;
German-American Savings Bank,
289; German National Bank, 289;
German Savings Bank, 289; Hiber¬
nian Banking Association, 30on;
Home Savings Bank, 2990; Illinois
Trust and Savings Bank, 2990, 3020;
International Bank, 2990; Manufac¬
turers' Bank, 283 ; Merchants', Farm¬
ers' and Mechanics' Savings Bank,
289; Merchants' Loan and Trust
Company, 3oon; Northwestern Bond
and Trust Company, 299n; Second
Bank, 283; State Savings Bank, 290;
Third National Bank, 283, 289;
Union National Bank, 283; Union
Trust Company, 274n, 30on; West¬
ern Trust and Savings Bonk, 3000;
bond deposit system, 26t'; bonds,
374. 375. 380, 305, 498; capital, 301;
city banks, 277; Chicago äanks, 271,
373, 283, 284, 2840, 285, 287, 296,
3990, 3oon ; Chicago savings bank
crash, 289; country banks, 277, 283,
384, 785, 286; credit, national, res¬
toration of, 113; discounts, 301; ena-
INDEX
535
bling acts, 266; English capital, 272;
federal bonds, 264; foreign loans,
275 ; free state banks of issue,
266, 267; funding, 264; general bank¬
ing act of 1887, 299, 301 ; interest on
deposits, 278, 279; interest rates, re¬
duction of, 178, 298 ; laws, 54, 102,
108, 130, 136, 264, 290, 292, 299, 300,
301 ; loan and trust companies, 267 ;
loans, 279, ^85, 292, 298, 301; local
bond payments, 305 ; mortgage loan
companies, 301 ; mortgages, 175, 297,
298, 302; National Bank Act, 109;
national banking system, 126, 264,
269, 270; national banks, 60, 264,
266, 267, 276, 2780, 287, 290, 296,
300; postal savings banks, 290; pri¬
vate banks, 267, 270, 2780, 279 ; re¬
demption cities, 277; refund taxes,
305 ; reports by banks, 268 ; reserve
banks, 277, 278, 279, 284, 285, 286;
reserve cities, 277, 278, 279 ; reserves
of Chicago national banks, 286; re¬
serves of Illinois national banks,
286; resumption, 54, 108, 130, 264;
savings banks, 267, 279, 440; savings
bank crash, 289; specially chartered
state banks, 267, 270, 299, 299n ; state
banks, 268, 269, 2780, 279, 290, 301,
440; state bank failure, 265; suspen¬
sion of payments, 279, 281, 283, 284;
trust companies, 301
Banks, General Nathan P., 33
Baptists, 189, 215
Baptist University of Chicago, see edu¬
cation
Barnard and Lease Manufacturing
Company, 404
Barnum, A. H., 1730
Barnum and Company's circus, see
amusements
Barnum and Richardson's Car Wheel
Works, 401
Bartonville, 186
Baseball, see amusements
Batavia, 404
Bateman, Newton, 8
Bates, Erastus N., I28n
Bayne, James G., 25
Beagley, J. H., 236
Beardsley, James M., 120
Beauregard and Johnson, 244
Beebe, Platteville farmer, 244
Beecher, 257
Beethoven Club, see music
Bell, Andrew J., 1750
Belleville, 4, 299, 393, 404, 420; kinder¬
garten, 195; musical life, 195, 196;
public schools, 19s
Belleville and Southern Illinois rail¬
road, see transportation
Belleville Savings Bank, see banking
Belvidere, 150
Benjamin, Reuben M., 19, 20
Bently, Cyrus, 2710
Bessemer steel, 322, 391, 421
Beveridge, John L., 64, 76, 950, in
Black International, see anarchists
Black, John C., 77n, 129
Blaine, James G., 119, 148; attitude of
republicans toward, 146, 149 ; candi¬
date for president, 112; defeated in
convention of 1880, 134, X35; popu¬
larity in Illinois, 145
Blair, Austin, 79
•Bloomington, 19, 93, 127, 134, i34n, 189,
190, 191, 205, 259, 283, 30on; revival
at, 40; temperance victory, 50;
Withers' Library, 203
Bloomington and Ohio railroad, see
transportation
Bloomington Philosophical Club, see
clubs
Bloomin^on Plato Club, see clubs
Bogue bill, 290
Bohemians, see population
Boies, L, 253
Bonfíeld, John F., 1700, ayin
Boone county, 251
Booth, Daniel, 118
Booth, Edwin, 32
Borden, Gail, 254, 255
Boston, 281
Boston Quintette, see music
Bourquin, A., 249
Bowman, William G., 140
Brewster, Dodge, and Hase, 404
Bridges, 361, 362
Briggs and Enoch, 404
Brookside, 426
Brown Corn Planter Works, 404
Brown, Elizabeth B., 1380
Brown, Gratz, 71, 73, 74
Browne, Francis F., 192
Browning, Orville Hickman, 5, 13
Brunswick and Balke, 45a
Brussels, 426
Bryan, Silas L., 12
Bryant, John H., loi
Buffalo (N. Y.), 213
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, see
amusements
Buford, B. D., and Company, 4x34
53&
INDEX
Building and loan associations, 289, 290
Building Trades Council, see labor
Bureau county, 222
Bureau County Normal and Model
School, see education
Bureaus of labor, see labor
Burlington (Iowa), 317
Burlington and Quincy railroad, Chi¬
cago, see transportation
Burnham, Daniel H., 213
Burrill, Dr. Thomas J., 194, 211
Bushnell, 404
Butler, Benjamin F., 1470
Butler, E. K., 87n
Butterworth, Thomas, 1350
Cairo, 114, 151, 205, 243, 266, 2990, 317,
3i8n, 341, 342, 366; crime in, 28;
democratic barbecue at, 116
Cairo and St. Louis railroad, see trans¬
portation
Cairo and Vincennes railroad, see
transportation
Cairo Board of Trade, 366
California, 296
Calumet Club, see clubs
Calumet Iron and Steel Company, 391
Calvinism, 41
Cameron, A. C., 445, 446
Cameron, Daniel, 73
Camillo-Urso Troupe, see amusements
Camp Butler, 360
Camp meetings, see religion
Campbell, William J., 150
Canada Southern railroad, see trans¬
portation
Canals, see transportation
Candee, F. E., and Company's Car
Works, 401
Cannon, Joseph G., 154, 1820
Canton, 226
Capitol, new state, 188
Carbondale, 190
Carlin, Walter E., i47n
Carlinville, 40
Carnegie, Andrew, 203
Carpenter, George B., 202
Carpenters' and Joiners' Benevolent
Association, see labor
Carr, William F., 870
Carroll, Charles, 105
Carterville, 426
Cary, S. P., 108
Cassady, W. L., 226
Catholics, 166, 167, 183; criticism of
state education, 36; opposed to read¬
ing of Bible in schools, 26
Catholic Total Abstinence Union of
Illinois, see temperance movement
Caton, Judge John D., 8
Centennial exposition at Philadelphia,
198. »99
Central Club, see clubs
Central Congregational Church of
Galesburg, 210
Central Council of Builders, see labor
Central Labor Union, see labor
Central National Bank of Chicago, see
banking
Centraba, 317
Chambers, E. J., 134
Champaign, 201, 256
Champaign county, 92, non, n6, 190,
236,244,263
Charitable institutions, 304, 306; Asy¬
lum for the Incurably Insane, 186;
blind, 306; deaf and dumb, 35, 306;
feeble minded, 35, 306; insane, i86,
3060 ; state charitable institutions,
197, 306; expenditures for, 496, 497
Charleston, 187
Chatsworth disaster, 3260
Cheney, Reverend Charles E., 41
Chicago, 4n, 9, 11, 51, 114, 119, 125, 133,
147, 149. »55, 164, »68, 171, 172, 173,
»77, 183, 189, 2»o, 226, 243, 244, 250,
266, 272, 273, 280, 295, 2990, 30on,
308, 310, 317, 3290, 332, 333, 344, 346,
347, 348, 349, 352, 353, 357, 363, 364,
365, 3650, 367, 371, 372, 373, 374, 378,
393, 408, 427, 429, 433, 438, 443, 445,
448, 44?, 455, 456, 457, 4«», 470, 472;
animosity toward, 9, it; Auditorium,
202; bank failures, 283; boulevards,
192; Central Music Hall, 202; church
property in, 25; Coliseum, 202; Co¬
lumbia Theater, 200; crime wave,
28; Crosby's Opera House, 196; dele¬
gates to labor convention, 175; dis¬
tributing center, 376; fire, 29-32, 67,
»88, 193, 196, 270-273, 307, 376, 401;
German theater, 214, 2i4n; Gilmore
Jubilee, 196; grain market in, 373,
374; Home Insurance Building, 209;
Hotel Richelieu, 200; interests pro¬
vided for in constitution of 1870, 24;
legal congestion, 22, 23 ; Libby Fpison
brought to, 202 ; manufacturing cen¬
ter of, 400; market gardening, 242;
market in, 237; meat packing center,
260, 374; meeting of Knights of
Labor, 1884, 164; milk supply, 25b,
251 ; national convention, June, 1884,
146; opera house, 192, 214; packers.
INDEX
537
370, 397; packing house strike in
1880, 163 ; panic of 1873, 282 ; paro¬
chial schools in, 25 ; police force, 167,
168; press, 205; public library, 193,
202, 215; public school system, 192;
railroad center, 315; railroad rates
from, 93 ; reading of Bible and
Lord's Prayer in schools of, 38 ; real
estate, 289 ; republican meeting, 1890,
180; revival, 40; sanitary district,
2x50; site of McCormick reaper fac¬
tory, 224; social improvement meas¬
ures, 34; speculators, 295; temper¬
ance agitation in, 44, 45; warehouse
system of, 366-369; wholesale trade,
377, 379, 380. See commerce
Chicago Academy of Sciences, see edu¬
cation
Chicago and Alton railroad, see trans¬
portation
Chicago and Milwaukee Breweries'
Association, 402
Chicago and Rock Island railroad, see
transportation
Chicago Board of Trade, 59, 351, 367,
368
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy rail¬
road, see transportation
Chicago Clearing House Association,
264
Chicago Club, see clubs
Chicago Dairy Show, see agriculture
Chicago democratic organization, 143
Chicago drainage canal, 12, 2150
Chicago Federation of Labor, see labor
Chicago Fine Arts Institute, see art
Chicago, Galena and, railroad, see
transportation
Chicago Heights, 401
Chicago Historical Society, see educa¬
tion
Chicago Interstate Industrial exposi¬
tion, 210
Chicago Iron Company, 390
Chicago Labor League, see labor
Chicago Labor Union, see labor
Chicago Literary Club, see literature
Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul rail¬
road, see transportation
Chicago Musical Festival Association,
see music
Chicago-Omaha pool, 332
Chicago, Pekin, and Southwestern rail¬
road, see transportation
Chicago river, 307, 346
Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific rail¬
road, see transportation
Chicago Rolling Mill, 321, 390
Chicago Shipbuilding Company, 392
Chicago Society for Savings, see bank¬
ing
Chicago Stove Works, 401
Chicago Temperance Alliance, 48
Chicago Trade and Labor Assembly, see
labor
Chicago Trust and Savings Bank, see
banking
- China, 378
Christian Brothers of the Catholic
Church, see religion
Christian county, 220, 222n, 423
Church, Lawrence S., 6
Cicero, 401
Cincinnati (O.), iSan, 281, 364, 371,
372, 407, 469; democratic convention
at, 1880, 135; liberal republican con¬
vention at, 1872, 65, 68, 69, 70, 71,
.73. 75, 79
Civil War, aliens during, 15, 16;
"bloody shirt," 112; effect on for¬
eign indebtedness, 275 ; effect on
labor, 222, 388 ; problems, 55 ; stimu¬
lant to greater production in north,
243, 261, 382
Clark, Thomas, 257
Clay, C. M., 77
Clay county, 234x1
Clearing House Association, 281, 283
Cleveland, Grover, 147, 158, 182
Clinton, Gilman, and Springfield rail¬
road, see transportation
Clubs, 207 ; Calumet, 200 ; Chicago Ath¬
letic, 208 ; Chicago, 193, 207 ; Chicago
Woman's, 208; Central, 445; ethical
culture societies, 207; farmers', 88,
89, 90, 94, 941 ; Fortnightly, 194, 201 ;
German-American Press, 214; Ham¬
ilton, 208; Illinois, 200; Illinois Pla¬
tonic Association, 197; Iroquois, 207,
210; Jacksonville Plato, 197; Mar¬
quette, 208; People's Party, 467;
Philosophical, 197; Plato, 197; Press,
208; Sorosis, 197; Sunset, 208;
Union, 207; Union League, 144; 208;
Young Men's Christian Association,
204
Cobb, Emory, 256
Coles county, 222n, 244
Colfax, Schuyler, 33
Collinsville, 433
Collyer, Reverend Robert, 194
Colorado, 432
Columbian exposition, see World's Co¬
lumbian exposition
538
INDEX
Columbian Iron Works, 401
Combinations, 162, 403
Commerce, Chicago, 372, 378, 379 ; com¬
mercial situation, 275 ; exports, 275 ;
imports, 275 ; interstate commerce
commission, 372; interstate com¬
merce, regulation of, 134. See con¬
gresses
Commissioner of labor statistics, 309
Committee on banks and currency, 268,
269
Committee on revenue, 269
Communism, 125, 163, 439
Concordia, see music
Congregationalists, 189
Congresses, art, 212; commerce, 212;
education, 212; finance, 212; litera¬
ture, 212; philosophy, 212; science,
212; social reform, 212; woman's
progress, 212
Connecticut, 3n, 298
Consolidated Packing Company, 396
Constitutions, see government
Contract system on public works, 440,
456
Convict labor system, 185, 440, 446, 449,
456
Convicts, 3o6n
Cook county, 4n, 6, 7, 9, 22, 64, 9in,
lion, 104, 132, 177, 249, 250, 251, 297,
400, 403, 406, 428, 445, 446; anti-
temperance agitation, 45 ; courts of,
10; criminals in the penitentiary, 11
Cook county labor convention, see labor
Cook county labor party, see labor
Cook County National Bank, see bank¬
ing
Cook County Normal School, see educa¬
tion
Cooke, Jay, and Company, 274n
Coolbaugh, William F., 6, ayin
Cooper, Peter, 108, 117, 1170, 118, 445
Copperas creek, 344, 348
Corcoran, "Professor," 447
Correctional institutions, 304, 306 ;
Northern Illinois penitentiary, 3o6n;
parole system,. 186; penal institution,
304, 306, 497; Southern Illinois peni¬
tentiary, 3o6n ; state reformatory, 306
Counties, see government
County fairs, 207
Cox, Caleb B., 64
Cox, J. C., 256
Coy, W. S., lion
Crafts, Clayton E., 152
Craig, Alfred M., 98
Craske, Henry, 157
Crawford county, 21
Crebs, J. M., 104
Creighton, Jacob R., 1750
Crerar, John, 2710
Crime, 28
Criminal law code, revision of, 145, 147
Criminals, i83n, 3o6n
Cronkrite, Edward L., I28n, 150, 151,
153
Crowder, Thomas J., 259
Cubbertson, C. M., 2570
Cudahy, John, 396
Cullom, Shelby M., 135, 138, 176, 2io,
357i 358, 360; gubernatorial candi¬
date, III, 118, 120, 130, 132, 133, 137;
senatorial candidate, 139, 145
Cumberland county, 245
Cumberland river, 341
Cummings, 457
Currency, 103, 109, iii, 167, 174, 272,
2790; bond issues, 109, no; certified
checks, 280, 281, 283, 284; clearing
house certificates, 280, 281, 282, 285;
distribution, 60; fractional paper
money, 264, 265 ; gold standard, 55 ;
government issue of all money, 453 ;
greenback, 276, 445 ; inflation bill of
1874, 108, 265; issues growing out of
the currency in Illinois, 112; legal
tender, 102, 134, 456; legal tender
notes, 113, 134, 280; national bank
notes, 276; paper money, 109, 123,
13s, 264, 265, 382; remonitization of
silver, 136,446; resumption, 103, 104,
105, 1X2, 265; resumption act of 1875,
108, 109, 113, 123, 446; silver bill,
126, 127; silver purchase act of 1878,
448 ; silver question, 54, 179, 446 ;
specie payments, 103, 109; 265, 280;
treasury notes, ^6; United States
notes, 276; unlimited coinage of
silver and gold, 134
Dakotas, 237, 364
Danes, see population
Danville, 283, 433
Darrow, Clarence S., i72n, 1870
Davenport, F. S., 226
Davis, David, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 121,
122, 138, 190
Daws, Chester, .1730
Decatur, 185), 196, 201, 2o6n, 318, 444;
conventions, 109, no, 174
Decatur and State Line Company, see
transportation
Decatur Mutual Savings Association,
see banking
INDEX
539
Decatur, Sullivan, and Mattoon rail¬
road, see transportation
Deere, John, 226
Deere, John, and Company, Plow
Works, 226, 404
Deering, William, and Company,
403
De Kalb, 187, 235, 251
Dement, Henry D., 1330, 1450
Dement, John, 5, 15, t6
Democratic party, see politics
Democratic Press Association, 73
Der Allgemeine Deutsche Arbeiter¬
verein, see labor
Der Sozial-Politische Arbeiterverein,
see labor
Des Plaines, 2o6n
Detroit (Mich.), 390
De Witt county, 263, 399
Dexter, Wirt, 72
Dick, John, 257
Dill, James M., 152
Dime Savings Bank, see banking
Distillers' and Cattle Feeders' Trust,
40S
Dixon, 198
Dooley brothers, 228
Dougherty, Michael J., 1470
Douglas county, 244
Douglas, Stephen A., 9, 60, 115, 215
Dowdall, W. T., 1350
Drainage canal, see Chicago
Duluth (Minn.), 364, 3650
Duncan, J. C., 257
Du Page county, 251
Durfee, W. P., 321
Dwight, 134, 1340
Eastlake, Charles Locke, 200
East St. Louis, 3000, 308, 315, 317, 369,
393. 433
East St. Louis Bank, see banking
Economic conditions, 58, 59, 162; busi¬
ness failures, 494; communication fa¬
cilities, 188; extravagance, national
and state, 185; internal improve¬
ments, 305, 497; land issues, 109;
land speculation, 275; modern in¬
dustrialism, 382; monetary situation,
175, 181, 276; municipal problems,
162; overcrowded city conditions,
162; panic of 1873, 108, 273-281, 315,
3t9. 325. 33t. 376, 383. 400, 438, 448:
panic of 1884, 296, 336, 337, 379, 383,
459; panic of 1893, 337, 383 ; poverty,
162; public health, 305; public util¬
ities, ownership of, 308, 440, 453 ;
public works, 305, 307, 308; specu¬
lation, 27s, 277, 294, 295, 317, 369;
speculators, 175, 179, 279, 295; state
debt, 305, 498 ; trade expansion, 162 ;
trusts, 162, 163, 178, 185, 408, 409
Edgar county, 222n
Edgerton, Lillian, 33
Education, 10; aided by John P. Alt-
geld, 186, 187; apportionment of
school funds, 26; Chicago Historical
Society, 215; Chicago public schools,
192; college funds, 189; colleges,
academies, and normal schools:
Academe at Jacksonville, 197; Aug-
ustana College, 189; Baptist Univer¬
sity of Chicago, 189, 192; Bureau
County Normal and Model School,
190; Chicago Academy of Sciences,
192, 215; Cook County Normal
School, 190; county normal schools,
190; Illinois College, 189, 201;
Illinois Industrial University, 33,
189, 199, 306; Illinois Wesleyan
University, 189; Illinois Woman's
College, 189, 193; Knox College, 189;
Lombard College, 189; Loyola Uni¬
versity, 192; McKendree College,
189; Millikin University, 189; Mon¬
mouth College, 189 ; normal schools,
187, 190; Northwestern University,
189; Peoria County Normal School,
190; St. Ignatius Jesuit College, 192;
Shurtleff College, 189; Southern Illi¬
nois State Normal University, 190,
306; State Normal University, 189,
190, 191, 197, 198; University of Chi¬
cago, 215; University of Illinois, 187,
188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 199, 211,
236; University of Wisconsin, 253;
Wheaton College, 189; common
schools, 306; compulsory, 35, 125,
440; compulsory school law of 1889,
183; distribution of school fund,
it; expenditures for, 36, 303, 306,
496; high schools, 36, 207; industrial,
35 ; institutions, 304; kindergartens,
35; manual and technical training
schools, 207; night schools, 35; paro¬
chial schools, 25 ; public schools, 25,
305; school equipment, 188; school
fund, 305, 497; seminary funds, 188 ;
State Historical Library, 191 ; State
Laboratory of Natural History, 191,
192; State Natural History Society,
191
Edwards county, 399
Edwards, Dr. Richard, 198
540
INDEX
Edwards, W. F., 357
Edwardsville, 4
Egypt, 248
Elgin, 250, 254, soon
Elgin Butter Factory, 253
Elgin City Banking Company, see
banking
Ellwood Manufacturing Company, 404
Engle, George, 173
English, see population
English, William H., 135
Enterprise Savings Bank of Cairo, see
banking
Entomologist, state, 191
Equality, 426
Erie canal, see transportation
Esterly, George, 224
Ethical culture societies, see clubs
Etter, Samuel M., 102, 105, i28n
Europe, 234, 2790, 293, 2930, 352,
3781 384> 395, 408, 4« I
European war, 419, 435, 436, 437
Evanston, 201
Expenditures of the state, 303-309,
495-500
Fallows, Dr. Samuel, 38
Farmers, see agriculture
Farmers' Alliance, see agricultural or¬
ganizations
Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, see
banking
Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association,
see agricultural organizations
Farmers' Savings Bank, see banking
Farms, see agriculture
Farnsworth, John, 116
Farwell, Charles B., 120, 154, 159, 1590,
I73n, 180, 181, 27in
Farwell, John V., 43, 159
Fayette county, 5
Fayette county (W. Va.), 426
Federation of Trades, see labor
Fell, Jesse W., 69, 189, 190, 194
Fenton, Reuben E., 64
Fidelity Savings Bank, see banking
Field, Marshall, ayin
Fielden, Samuel, 173
Fifer, Joseph, 176, 177, 183, 184
Fine Arts Institute, see art
Fire insurance companies, 271
First National Bank, banking
Fischer, Adolph, 173
Fish commission, 309
Flagg, W. C., 92, 96n, loi, 1050, 109
Flotow, Friedrich F.'A. von, 195
Forbes, Stephen A., 191
Ford county, non, 220, 357, 399
Foreign know nothings, see politics
Forest City Baseball Club, see amuse¬
ments
Forney, John W., 64
Fortnightly Club, see clubs
Fowler, Reverend Doctor, 44
Fowler Brothers Limited, 396
Fox river, 351
Fox River Junction, 316
Fox River Valley, Ottawa, Oswego,
and, railroad, see transportation
France, 298
Franklin county, 422, 423
Freeport, 870, 134, 1340
French, see population
French government, 395
Fruit Growers' Association of Southern
Illinois, see agriculture
Fulghum, J. P., 228
Fuller, C. E., 150, 151, 152, 153, 154
Fuller, Melville W., 1350
Fulton county, 400, 422
Funk, Isaac, 259
Furniture Workers' Trade Union of
North America, see labor
Fürst and Bradley Manufacturing
Company, 403
Gage, Lyman G., 1730
Galena, 317
Galena and Chicago railroad, see
transportation
Galesburg, 189, 194, 196, zoi, 210, 30on,
404
Gallatin county, 140, 105
Galva, 51
Garfield, James A., 134, 135
Garment Workers' Council, see labor
Georgeites, 185
Georgia, 379
German-American Press Club, see
clubs
German-American Savings Bank, see
banking
German National Bank of Chicago, see
banking
German Savings Bank of Chicago, see
banking
Germania Männerchor, see music
Germans, 45, 450, 77n, 168, 219, 444,
454, 464; attitude toward repub¬
lican party, 47, ii/-,.; democratic
sentiment, 1876, 114, 115; musical so¬
cieties, 195; press, 62; Republican
clubs, 119; sentiment toward Greeley,
INDEX
541
77 ; sentiment toward temperance, 45,
46, 50. See Chicago and population
Germany, 395, 435
Gibson, 360
Gilman, Clinton, and Springfield rail¬
road, lee transportation
Gilmore Jubilee, see music
Glidden, J. F., 228
Good Templars of Illinois, see temper¬
ance movement
Gore, David, 102
Gould's Cheese Factory, 254
Government, apportionment of the
state, 137, 138; appropriation bill,
137, 140, 141; caucuses, influence of,
142; civil service, 55, 65, 66, 67, loi,
102 ; constitutional convention of
1862, 2, 3; constitutional convention
of 1869, delegates to, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10-27;
constitution of 1848, i, 2, 309; con¬
stitution of 1870, 56, 299, 303, 308,
309, 316, 354; constitution, state, 5,
188; counties, 27; electoral commis¬
sion, 122; fifteenth amendment, 9, 13;
franchise, 10, 13-18; general as¬
sembly expenses, 495, 496 ; highway
commissioners, 355; internal im¬
provements, 305, 307; judiciary, 10,
22, 1830, 303, 304; law courts, 23,
expenses of, 496; law enforcement,
185; laws, unequal, 456; minority
representation, 10, 17, 18, 27; na¬
tional debt, reduction of, 300 ; owner¬
ship, 175, 453; state finances, 302,
304, 305; suffrage, 10, 14, 134, 175,
177. 453! woman's suffrage, 10, 13,
14. 15. 17
Gowdy, William A., 1730
Grafton, 344, 345
Grand Army of the Republic, 129
Grand Crossing, 401
Grand Detour, 226, 4040
Grand Tower, 391
Granger laws, 331, 349
Granges, see agriculture
Grant, Ulysses Simpson, 9, 54, 65, 67,
75, 79, 1040 ; administration in¬
dorsed, 56, in; character of admin¬
istration, 6r, 70; réélection of, 73,
74, 80, 81 ; third term candidate, 130-
134, 135, 145; veto of inflation bill
of 1874, 265
Grantism, 78, 113, 131
Great Lakes, 351, 363, 378
Great War, see European war
Greeley, Horace, 65, 70, 770; nomina¬
tion for president, 71-75, 78, 80, 81
Greenbackers, see politics
Greenebaum and Company, Henry, 289
Gregory, Dr. John M., 33n, 191
Gregory, S. S., 1730
Gresham, Walter Q., 176
Griffith, Richard, 455
Griggs, Clark Robinson, 190
Gross, Jacob, 1450
Gruenhut, Joseph, 474
Grundy county, 220, 222n
Gulf of Mexico, 315, 346
Haines, Elijah M., 4, 6n, 9, 106, 156;
candidate for speaker of the house,
150-154
Hall, Frank H., i28n, 1380
Hamilton Club, see clubs
Hamilton, John Marshall, 1330, 144,
145, I52n, 154
Hammond, David S., pin
Hammond (Ind.), 401
Hancock county, 8, 400
Hancock, Winfield S., 135, 136
Hanna, Robert P., 18
Hapgood Plow Company, 405
Hardin county, 390, 431, 435
Harmon, Lawrence, i35n
Harper, Jesse, I47n, 1490
Harper, William H., 140, I49n
Harper, William Rainey, 215
Harris, B. F., 256
Harris, Dr. William T., 197
Harrison, Benjamin, 176, 182
Harrison, Carter H., 147, 1490, 150,
154. 155, 170
Harrison Manufacturing Company, 404
Hately Brothers, 396
Hately, J. C., 396
Havens, S. R., 120
Hayes, Rutherford B., 114, 119; con¬
tested election of, 120, 122 ; nomina¬
tion for the presidency, 112; reelec¬
tion of, 130
Hayes, Samuel S., 7, 64
Haymarket Square riot, see anarchists
Hegewisch, 401
Henderson, C. M., 27in
Henderson, Thomas J., 138, 139, 154
Hendricks, Thomas A., 147
Hendricks, William, 115, 118
Hennepin, 350
Hennepin canal, see transportation
Henry, G. W., 257
Henry, 343, 348, 349
Henry county, 42, 51, 221, 222n, 244
Herndon, W. H., 890
542 in:
Herschel, R., Manufacturing Company,
40511
Hesing, Antone, 47, 51
Hewett, Dr. Edwin C., 198
Hibernian Banking Association, see
banking
Highland Stock Farm, see agriculture
Hillsboro, 30on
Hise, John, iion, 113
Hitchcock, Charles, 6, 7
Hobbs, J. B., 1480, 1490
Hollanders, see population
Hollis, 455
Holmes, Charles B., 1730
Home Savings Bank, see banking
Hooton, M. M., non
Hovey, General Charles E., 198
Hoyne, Thomas, 116
Hull House, 208
Hunt, George, 1450
Hunt, G. W., 226
Hussey, Obed, 223
Illinois and Michigan Canal, see trans¬
portation
Illinois Art Association, see art
Illinois Central Railroad, see transpor¬
tation
Illinois Club, see clubs
Illinois College, see education
Illinois Conservatory of Music, see
music
Illinois Farmers' Institute, see agricul-
ture '
Illinois Industrial University, see edu¬
cation
Illinois national guard, 307
Illinois Platonic Association, see clubs
Illinois Railway Freight Association,
333
Illinois river, 229, 245, 255, 260, 308,
308n, 341, 343-3481 351, 375, 414
Illinois Society of Engineers and Sur¬
veyors, 359, 361
Illinois Southwestern railroad, Spring¬
field and, see transportation
Illinois state board of agriculture, see
agriculture
Illinois State Dairymen's Association,
see agriculture
Illinois State Farmers' Association, see
agriculture
Illinois State Federation of Labor, see
labor
Illinois State Horticultural Society, see
agriculture
EX
Illinois State Labor Association, see
labor
Illinois State Normal University, see
education
Illinois Steel Company, 391, 392
Illinois Stock Importing Association,
see agriculture
Illinois Swine Breeders' Association,
see agriculture -
Illinois Tile Makers' Association, see
labor
Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, see
banking
Illinois Wesleyan University, see edu¬
cation
Illinois Woman's College, see education
Independents, see politics
Indiana, 30, 237, 266, 285n, 317, 385,
390. 393. 396, 416, 43«
Indianapolis (Ind.), 237
Indianapolis and St. Louis railroad,
see transportation
Industrial commission, see labor
Industrial education, see education
Industrials, see politics
Inflation bill of 1874, see currency
Ingersoll, Eben G., 57
Ingersoll, Robert G., 119, 206
Insane, hospitals for, see charitable in¬
stitutions
Institutions of Illinois, management of,
1850
Insurance companies, 267, 268
International Bank of Chicago, see
banking
International Cigar Makers' Union, see
labor
International Packing and Provision
Company, Limited, 396
International Packing Company, 396
International Rifles, see labor
International Working People's Asso¬
ciation, see labor
International Workingmen's Associa¬
tion, see labor
Interstate Commerce Commission, see
commerce
Interstate Industrial Exposition, 200,
207
Iowa, 234, 237, 239, 248, 255, 2850, 291,
317, 375
Irish, see population
Iron mountain district, 390
Iroquojs county, 317
Iroquois Club, see clubs
Iroquois Furnace Company, 391
Irwin, John G., 1380
INDEX
543
Italian Opera Company, see music
Italians, see population
Jackson, "Professor," 447
Jacksonville, 33, 189, 190, 193, 194, 196,
197, 201, 256
Jacksonville Plato Club, see clubs
Japan, 378
Jasper county, 245
Jefferson county, 234n
Jo Daviess county, 399, 400
Johnson, President Andrew, 69
Johnson and Beauregard, 244
Johnson, Thomas M., 1970
Joliet, 39, 347, 370, 391, 459
Joliet Iron and Steel Company, 322,
347, 391
Jones, Hiram K., 197
Jones, M. E., 2570
Jones, W. W., 175
Jones and Stiles, 396
Kampsville, 344
Kane county, 450, 250, 251, 254, 316,
399, 400
Kankakee, 40, Syn, 93, 2o6n, 256
Kankakee counQ^, 22n, 428
Kansas, 234, 237, 255, 285n, 291, 364,
370
Kansas City, 364, 369-370, 375
Kansas, Missouri, and Texas railroad,
see transportation
Kaskaskia valley, 414
Kavanaugh, Thomas, 455
Keene, J., 294
Kehoe, Miles, 455
Kelley, Florence, 186
Kelley, O. H., 84
Kemp, J. S., 228
Kendall county, no, 316
Kentucky, 3n, 256, 431, 436
Kenyon, Cox, and Company, 274n
Keystone Manufacturing Company, 404
King, Hamilton, and Company, 404
Kingman Plow Company, 404n
Kingston, 455
Knights of Labor, see labor
Knights of St. Crispin, see Order of St.
Crispin
Knowlton Manufacturing Company,
.
Know nothings, see politics
Knox College, see education
Knox Conservatory of Music, ree music
Knoxville (Tenn.), 3720
Koerner, Gustave, 62, 63, 69, 71, 72,
^^a, 79n, 910
Kronthal Liedertafel, 196
Ku-Klux, 29, 69
Labor, 75; agitators, 164; arbitration,
175. i83n, 446, 456, 471, 477, 478 ; boy¬
cotts, 59; bureaus of, 446, 449, 456;
child labor, 125, 163, 164, 388, 440,
446, 449, 456; Cook county labor con¬
vention, t73 ; Cook county labor
party, 468; eight-hour day, 147, 1630,
164-169, 1830, 446, 451, 452, 456, 466 ;
Eight-Hour League, 451 ; employers'
liability, 163, 164, 449; foreign labor,
2950; hours, 125, 449; industrial
commission, 374; industrial condi¬
tions, I, 58, 59, 162, 163; industrial
supervision, 305, 308, 498 ; inspection
of factories, mines, and workshops,
449; labor convention, 173; legisla¬
tion, 165; lockouts, 166, 2950, 4.SZ,
471 ; national bureau of labor statis¬
tics, 125; opposition to unions, 165;
organization of, 147, 163, 164, 165,
185; organizations: Allied Printing
Trades Council, 479; Amalga¬
mated Council of the Building
Trades, 475, 477, 478; Amalgamated
Trades and Labor Assembly, 463;
Amalgamated Workingmen, 441 ;
American Federation of Labor, 480;
Building Trades Council, 478, 479;
Carpenters' and Joiners' Benevolent
Association, 475; Central Council of
Builders, 477; Central Labor Union,
464, 470; Chicago Federation of
Labor, 448, 450; Chicago Labor
League, 445, 446 ; Chicago Labor
Union, 444; Chicago Trade and
Labor Assembly, 455, 473, 474; Der
Allgemeine Deutsche Arbeiterver¬
ein, 439; Der Sozial-Politische Ar¬
beiterverein, 439; Federation of
Trades, 165; Furniture Workers'
Trade Union of North America, 451,
452; Garment Workers' Council,
479; Illinois State Federation of
Labor, 473 ; Illinois State Labor As¬
sociation, 174; Illinois Tile Makers'
Association, 359n; International
Cigar Makers' Union, 473 ; Interna¬
tional Rifles, 463 ; International
Working People's Association, 46t,
464; International Workingmen's
Association, 51, 168, 441; Knights of
Labor organization, 124, 164, 1640,
165, 167, 171, 173, 174, 179, 449, 453-
458, 460, 463, 466, 467, 468, 470-474:
544
INDEX
Lehr- und Wehrverein, 444, 463 ; Ma¬
chinery Trades Council, 479; Marine
Trade and Labor Council, 479; Mas¬
ter Mason and Builders' Association,
477; Metal Workers' Union, 465,
46$; National Builders' Association,
477; National Building Trades
Council of North America, 477; Na¬
tional Workingmen's Organization of
Illinois, 446; Order of St. Crispin,
450, 455; Progressive Cigar Makers'
Union, 464; Revolutionary Cigar
Makers' Association, 464; St. Louis
Trade Assembly, 451; Sons of Free¬
dom, 450; Sons of Vulcan, 449;
Trade and Labor Assembly, 450,464,
479; Traders' and Builders' Ex¬
change, 477; Trades Assembly, 453;
Trades Council, 449,451, 474: United
Mill Workers' Council, 479; United
Order of American Bricklayers and
Stone Masons of Chicago, 476 ;
Washington Benevolent Society, 449;
Western Wagon Makers' Associa¬
tion, 402; Woodworkers' Council,
479; Workingmen's industrial party
of the United States, Working-
men's League of Illinois, 445 ; Young
Polish Workers, 464; Pinkerton
strike breakers, i68n, 169, 171, 176,
177, 465; propaganda, 449; publica¬
tions, 457, 468 ; safety devices, 163,
186; safety legislation, 456; "scab"
labor, 164, 169, 171, 476; strikes, 59,
163, 165, 171, r75, 1830, 289, 2950,
438. 442, 443. 452. 459. 460. 467. 47'.
480, 4800, 508, 509 ; sweating system,
398; trade unions, 167, 174, 447, 448,
450. 45». 454. 463. 467. 479: trade-
unionism,_ 447, 450, 451, 453, 454;
union principles, 449; unions, 166,
167, 169, 174, 187, 449, law for in¬
corporation of, 164; votes, 177, 178;
wages, 1640, 440, 442, 449, 452, 456;
workingmen's associations, 440
Laborites, 177
La Grange, 344
Lake, 457
Lake Bluff, 2060
Lake county, 6n, 9, 150, 153, 251, 261,
399
Lake Forest, 257
Lake Michigan, 315, 343, 349, 35°. 4» 5
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
railroad, see transportation
Lake Superior region, 389, 390, 394
Lane, John, 225
Lane, John, Jr., 226
Lanphier, C. H., ^^n
Larrabee, William, 33a
La Salle, 266, 343, 344, 346, 348, 43°.
433 ,
La Salle county, 222n, 316, 400, 4»''.
422, 430
Lassalle, Ferdinand, 439, 440, 441
Lawrence, Charles B., 94, 98, 99, 121
Lawson, Victor, 1730
Layton, " Judge," 447
League of American Wheelmen, see
amusements
Legislative Farmers' Club, see agricul¬
ture
Lehr- und Wehrverein, see labor
Leland, Charles G., 323
Lemont, 459
Leverett, Frank, 415
Lexington, 93, 223, 360
Libby, McNeill, and Libby, 3950
Libby Prison, see Chicago
Liberal Republicans, see politics
Lieb, John, 47, 51
Liederkranz, see music
Lincoln, 201
Lincoln, Abraham, 60, 66, 77, 190, 195,
.309
Linegar, D., 151
Lingg, Louis, 1720, 173
Literature, 194, 197; Chicago Literary
Club, 194; literary clubs, 194; liter¬
ary publications, 194; periodicals,
34, 197, 205, 206, 208. See congresses
Liverpool, 365, 396
Livingston county, 220
Loan and trust companies, see banking
Loans, see banking
Logan, John A., 62n, 63n, 79n, 112, 119,
121, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 148, 149,
'57. »570; failure in reëlection, 129;
presidential candidacy of, 145, 146,
150; senatorial contest, 62, 134-161
Logan, Mrs. John A., 63, 1570
Logan county, 220, 221
Lombard College, see education
London, 273n, 334, 337, 396, 461
Louisiana bill, 60
Lowell, James Russell, 2o8n
Loyola University, see education
Lutherans, 183, 189
McAllister, Judge William K., 1670
McCartney, James, t33n
McClernand, John A., ijy, J35n
McConnel, Samuel, 1730
INDEX
545
McCormick, Cyrus Hall, 73, 78, 114,
166, 223, 224
McCormick, Cyrus H., Company, 870,
169, 170, 223, 401, 404, 46s, 466
McDowell, Charles E., 140
McHenry county, 6, 239, 251, 254
McKaig, Reverend, 41
McKendree College, see education
McKinley bill, 180, 182
McKinley, Robert L., 1470
McKinley, William, iSan
McLaughlin, Daniel, I38n
McLean county, 9in, 92, 94, 98, 152, 236,
248
McNally, William, 446
Macomb, 194
Macon county, non
Macoupin county, 422
McPadden, Myles, 456
Machinery Trades Council, see labor
Madison county, 109, 220, 232, 400, 422
Madison County Ferry Company, 334
Maine, 3n, 145, 266
Maison Dorée, 193
Männercbors, see music
Manny, John H., 224
Manufacturers, 217, 298, 371, 381, 382,
398; combinations and trusts, 162,
403, 409 ; concentration of, 400, 401,
402; corporations, 27, 104, 164, 181,
301, 310, 311, 312, 381; domestic in¬
dustries, 218, 385; factories, 162,
1830, 186, 218, 385, 398; gross value
of products of, 507 ; growth in estab¬
lishments, 386, 387, 403 ; industries of
the state, 75, 163, 171, 218, 270, 296,
370. 379. 380. 383, 390-399. 401. 403-
410, 503, 504; labor saving machin¬
ery, 386; leading manufactures in
1870, 504; localization of, 399, 400;
manufacturers, x, 162, 165, 223, 383,
452; monopolies, 103, 104, 185, 440,
444. 453. n®' value products of, 506;
number of establishments, 386, 387;
number of wage earners, 387; pools
of industries, 332-335, 402, 408; re¬
lation to natural resources, 383, 384,
389; scattering of industries, 409,
410; utilization of by-products, 396;
value of products, 382; wages paid
employees, 388 ; women and children
employed, 387, 388
Manufacturers' Bank, see banking
Marengo, 253 i
Marine Trade and Labor Council, see
labor
Marion county, 12, non, 399
Marquette Club, see clubs
Marsh, Charles W., 224
Marsh, William W., 224
Marshall county, 220, 316
Marx, Karl, 441
Maryland, 3n
Mason county, 220
Massachusetts, 3n, 91, 190, 250, 385
Master Mason and Builders' Associa¬
tion, see labor
Mattoon, Decatur, Sullivan and, rail¬
road, see transportation
Maywood, 401
Mechanics' Savings Bank of Chicago,
see banking
Medill, Joseph, 30, 6, 7, 25, 64, 65; at¬
titude on Negro suffrage, 15; attitude
toward canals, 12; attitude toward
naturalization, 16; railroad extor¬
tion, 19, 20
Meng, George, 461
Mercer county, 235
Merchants' Loan and Trust Company,
see banking
Merchants' Savings Bank, see banking
Messick, Joseph B., 150
Metal Workers' Union, see labor
Methodists, 37; amusements, 39; min¬
isters, 38; observance of Sunday, 39;
schools, 189
Mexican War land scrip, 220
Mexico, 56
Michigan, 241, 2850, 291, 375, 380, 383,
385
Michigan Southern, Lake Shore and,
railroad, see transportation
Military affairs, 304, 307, 497
Military Tract, 4
Mill, John Stuart, 41
Miller, T. L., 257
Millikin University, see education
Milwaukee, 366, 391
Milwaukee, and St. Paul railroad, Chi¬
cago, see transportation
Milwaukee Breweries Association, Chi¬
cago and, 402
Miner, G. W., loi
Mining, 184, Z17, 275, 296n, 393, 394,
423-425; accidents, 425; geologic
conditions of Illinois, 4x3, 414; mine
inspectors and examiners, 309 ; min¬
eral industries, 4xx, 416, 417, 42X,
422. 425.-430, 432, 433. 434. 508. 512-
516; mineral products in Illinois,
412, 415-422, 427,.429. 430-437. com¬
pared with agricultural products,
510; mineral resources, 411, 4x3,
546
INDEX
414; mineral supplies during the
war, 435, 436, 437; number of mines,
423 ; slow development of, 413 ;
younger mineral industries, 511
Minneapolis (Minn.), 238
Minnesota, 237, 2850, 291, 375, 396
Mississippi railway, Ohio and, see
transportation
Mississippi river, 229, 236, 245, 255,
259, 260, 335-345, 349, 350, 351, 365,
376, 377, 414, 4t6, 423, 428
Missouri, 30, 65, 66, 234, 255, 258, 291,
31S, 390, 393, 422
Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railroad,
see transportation
Missouri river, 337, 341
Moline, 1340, 228, 30on, 404, 405
Moline Plow Company, 227, 404
Moline Savings Bank, see banking
Money Creek, 360
Monmouth, 194, 209, 236, 247, 266, 404
Monmouth College, see education
Montgomery county, 3000, 423
Montgomery County Loan and Trust
Company, see banking
Montgomery Ward and Company, 87,
88
Montreal (Can.), 272, 352
Moody, Dwight L., 40
Moore, Gilpin, 226
Moore, Stephen H., 93
Moran, Thomas A., 1730
Morgan county, 193, 2220, 240, 258,
400
Morgan, Richard P., gin
Morgan, Thomas J., 470
Morris, Clara, 32
Morrison, William R., 73, 104, 120,
"35, "47, "5°, "54, "55, "56, "59
Morrow, George E., 236
Mortgage loan companies, see banking
Morton, Levi P., 176
Most, Johann, 461
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 195
Munn and Scott, gon
Munn v. Chicago, 3300
Munn V. Illinois, 308
Music, 194-197; Amateur Musical Club,
201; Apollo Club, 196; Beethoven
Club, 196; Boston Quintette, 33; Chi¬
cago Academy of, 33 ; Chicago musi¬
cal festival, 19s; Chicago Musical
Festival Association, 201 ; Chicago,
musical life, 192, 194, 195, 201 ; Con¬
cordia, 195; Germania Männerchor,
195; Gilmore Jubilee, 196; Illinois
Conservatory of, 201; Italian Opera
Company, 32 ; Knox Conservatory
of, 201; Liederkranz, 33, 195; light
operas, 214; Männerchors, 195;
North American Sängerbund, 195;
Northwestern University School of,
201 ; opera companies, 201 ; opera
festival, 201; philharmonic society,
19s; Sängerbunds, 195; Sängerfest
at Springfield, 33, 195 ; schools, 196
National Archery Association, see
amusements
National bank notes, see currency
National banking law, see banking
National banks, see banking
National board of trade, 351
National Builders' Association, see
labor
National Building Trades Council of
North America, see labor
National Editorial Association, 205
National League of Baseball Clubs, see
amusements
National Workingmen's Organization
of Illinois, see labor
Nauvoo, 8
Nebraska, 234, 2850, 291, 364
Neebe, Oscar, 173
Nevada, 379
New England states, 17, 237, 291
New Hampshire, 30, 432
New Jersey, 30, 266, 291
Newman, agyn
New Mexico, 432
New Orleans (La.), 281, 365
New river, 426
Newspapers, 34, 163, 166, 205, 398; at¬
titude toward labor reform, 163,
166; change in character of, 205; op¬
posed to inflation, 2650
New York City, 209, 210, 277, 278,
2780, 279, 280, 281, 2850, 287, 371,
378, 396, 461, 467
New York state, 30, 237, 248, 250, 266,
291. 298, 370, 385, 398
New York Stock Exchange, 280
New York Warehouse and Security
Company, 2740
Nihilists, 168
Nixon, William Penn, 1730
Nokomis, 249
Noonan, J. A., 447
Normal, 190, 257
Normal Schools, see education
North American Sängerbund, see music
North Chicago Rolling Mill Company,
390, 391
INDEX
547
Northern Illinois penitentiary, see cor¬
rectional institutions
Northern Pacific railroad, see trans¬
portation
Northwestern Bond and Trust Com¬
pany, see banking
Northwestern University, see education
Norwegians, see population
Oberly, John H., i35n
Ogden, W. B., 310
Ogle county, 239
Oglesby, Richard J., 62, 63, 145, 1490,
29in; candidate for governor, 132,
144, 1490; candidate for senator,
1871, 76, 79, 111, 128, 129, 130, 138,
139; candidate for vice president, 176
O'Hara, Daniel, 77n
Ohio, 3n, 237, 241, 250, 256, 262, 2850,
291, 341. 380, 38s. 393i 416
Ohio and Mississippi railway, see
transportation
Ohio river, 315, 372, 393, 428
Omaha (Neb.), 332, 364
Omaha pool, Chicago-, 332
Orange county (N. Y.), 253
Order of Patrons of Husbandry, see
agriculture
Order of St. Crispin, see labor
Orendorff, Alfred, 1380, 1470
Orient, 378
Oswego, and Fox River Valley rail¬
road, Ottawa, see transportation
Ottawa, 48, 224, 351
Ottawa, Oswego, and Fox River Valley
railroad, see transportation
Ozark ridge, 229
Pacific, Northern, railroad, see trans¬
portation
Pacific railroad, Chicago, Rock Island,
and, see transportation
Palmer, John M., 9, 31, 44, 66, 67, 79,
960, 101, 116, 120, 121, 146, 147,
i52n, 1820; appeal to the laboring
man, 176 ; candidate for governor,
1888, 175, 177; candidate for United
States senate, 180, 181, 182; nominee
for presidency, 68, 70, 76, 182; wel¬
come to Grant, 192
Palmer, Potter, 1730
Palmyra (Wis.), 225
Paris, 193
Paris, exhibit of Illinois Industrial
University at, in 1878, 199
Parliament of Religions, 212
Parlin, William, 226
Parsons, Albert A., 1720, 173, 449, 455,
461
Parsons, Lewis B., 135
Peabody, Francis, 2710
Peabody, Dr. Selim Robert, 211
Peck, Ferdinand W., 202
Pekin, 319
Pekin and Southwestern railroad, Chi¬
cago, see transportation
Pennsylvania, 3n
People's Bank of Bloomington, see
banking
People's Party Club, see clubs
Peoria, 45, 48, 57, 127, 146, 174, 186,
205, 206, 213, 250, 283, 308, 317, 318,
32911, 343. 344. 345. 349. 352. 364, 3^7.
369. 370, 380, 394, 397, 400, 4050,
406, 408, 409, 455
Peoria Board of Trade, 380
Peoria county, 406, 422
Peoria County Normal School, see edu¬
cation
Peoria, and Warsaw railroad, Toledo,
see transportation
Peoria, and Western railroad, Toledo,
see transportation
Periodicals, see literature
Perkins, " Eli," 33
Perry, H. B., 236
Peru, 404, 433
Peru City Plow Company, 405
Philadelphia, 281, 323, 454
Philadelphia Press, 65
Philadelphia Republican Convention,
74
Philharmonic society, see music
Philosophical Club, see clubs
Philosophy, see congresses
Piatt, John T., 221
Pickrell, Jarnes H., non
Pickrell, Jesse A., 262
Pierce, Hiram L., 221
Pierreport and Tuttle, 404
Pike county, 222n
Pittsburg (Pa.), 371, 422, 461
Plato Club, see clubs
Platteville, 244
Politics, ballots, 143 ; congressional
campaign, 57; corruption in office,
28, 65, 66, 70, 116, 142; democratic
party: i, 4, 60, 61, 62, 78, 98, 103,
108, 113, 117, 120, 124, 151, 152, 158,
445, 446, 447, 470 ; and liberal repub¬
licans, 70, 71 ; anger over elections of
1876, 73, 74, 120-130; attitude toward
farmers, 97 ; attitude toward green-
backers, ro9; attitude toward labor.
548
INDEX
165; Baltimore convention, 1872, 73,
74. 75. 78; campaign of 1880, 135,
136, 137; campaign of 1888, 175;
campaign of 1892, 182; convention of
1884, 147, 148; criticism of school
system, 36; election of 1872, 100;
election of 1876, 118; general atti¬
tude toward new movements, 55, 56;
in state legislature of 1890, 180; on
the temperance question, 43, 47;
platform, 103, 104; repudiated by
labor party, 174; section where
strongest, 17; Springfield conven¬
tion, 1872, 76; state convention, 1874,
102; state convention, 1880, 135; vic¬
tory in choice of president, 7; vic¬
tory, means of securing, 185; elec¬
tion frauds, 145 ; election law reform,
18, 144; election of 1878, 128, 130,
135.136.137.447; greenbacks, 96, 103,
105, 107, 108, 109, no, 1X2, 113, 116,
117, 118, 121, 126, 134, 162; green-
backers, I, 54, 124, 174, 453, 469;
greenbackism,.n3, 122, 123, 467; in¬
dependents: I, 102, 149, 151, 153, 162,
174, 180, i82n; convention at Decatur,
1876, 109, no; delegates to the con¬
stitutional convention of 1869, 4, 6;
election of 1872, 100; policy in 1874,
103 ; victory in choice of president, 7;
independent reform party, 440, 441,
444; industrial-greenback party, 447;
industrials, 447; know nothings, 51;
know nothings, foreign, 52, 184, 185 ;
labor party, 174, 175, 183, 468, 469;
liberal republicans: i, 54-81, 65, 67,
68, 69, 84; and farmers, 79; conven¬
tion at Springfield, 1872, 76; defini¬
tion, 54; platform of Illinois labor
party, 175 ; platform of Illinois lib¬
erals, 65, 66; platform of Missouri
liberals, 65; "mugwumps," 149; na¬
tional greenback party, 106, 108, 117,
118, 126, i37n; Negroes in, 115, 119;
people's or populist party, 198; pro¬
hibition party, 43, 48, i38n, 175, 453 ;
republican legislation, 185; republi¬
can party: i, 3, 35, 108, 120, 124, 151,
152, 446; attack on financial policy
of, Î13; attitude toward farmers, 97;
attitude toward Grant, 61 ; attitude
toward greenbackers, 109-111; atti¬
tude toward Logan, 62 ; attitude to¬
ward the new movements, 55; cam¬
paign of 1872, 79; campaign of 1880,
135. 136. 137: campaign of i888, 176;
campaign of 1892, 182; convention
of 1870, 64, 68, 70, 71 ; convention of
1872, 74, 75 ; convention of 1884, 164;
election of 1872, 100; election of
1874, 106; election of 1876, 117, 118,
119, 123; election of 1878, 128, 130;
exodus of Germans from, 47; " gum¬
shoe" campaign, 157; on the temper¬
ance question, 43, 46; platform of
1874, 102; reform measures, 58, 59;
repudiated by labor party, 174; sec¬
tion where strongest, 17; sins of,
114, 1x6; state election of 1884, 149;
success of early eighties, x62; sup¬
ported by Illinois farmers, 80; sec¬
tionalism, 9, xo, XX, X7, 23; senatorial
election campaigns, X62; senators.
United States, election of, X75, X79;
united labor party, X74; United
States senators, election of, X75, X79;
workingmen's party of the United
States, 439, 44X, 442
Population, aliens, xo, 13, X5; Aus-
trians, 5x; Bohemians, 5X, xx5, x68,
44'. 454. 459. 404: Danes, 770; Eng¬
lish, 219, 439, 454; French, 5X, 115,
439; Germans, 439, ^x, 442, 449;
Hollanders, 5x; Irish, 5X, xx5,
454; Italians, 454; Jews, 39, 464;
naturalization, x6, XX5; Negroes, 10,
13. '4. 16. 17. 37. 38; Norwegians,
77". 459 : Poles, 51. '68, 398, 439, ^x,
454. 459; Russians, 398; Scandina¬
vians, 5x, 442, 443, 454; Scotch, 454;
Swedes, 450, 520, 770, xx5, xxg, 439,
459; Welsh, 454, 459
Postal savings banks, see banking
Powderly, Terence V., 164, 454, 470,
47'
Powell, John W., X9X
Powell, William B., xo2
Presbyterians, 38, 39, 4X, 189, 197
Press Club, see clubs
Princeton, 98, 99, X27
Progressive Cigar Makers' Union, see
labor
Prohibition party, see politics
Protestants, 36, x66
Pullman, 208, 40X, 457
Pullman Company, 323
Pullman, George A., 323
Pullman Loan and Savings Bank, see
banking
Purkapile, John, x57n
Quincy, 45, X27, 257, 405
Quincy railroad, Chicago, Burlington,
and, see transportation
INDEX
549
Raab, Henry, i38n
Railroad and warehouse commission,
79n, 91. 93> 94, 9Sn, 308, 3i9. 320,
322, 324, 327, 3270, 330, 333, 334,
33Än, 337, 349, 368
Railroad and warehouse commission¬
ers, board of, 175, 368
Railroads, see transportation
Randolph county, 252
Rantoul, 92
Rau, Balthasar, 461
Raum, G. B., 138, 139
Reconstruction, 9, 55, 136, 162
Reform school, see correctional instis
tutions
Reformed Episcopal church, 38, 41
Relief and Aid Society, 438, 439
Religion, 10; Bible, 25, 26, 34, 38, 41;
camp meetings, 206, 2o6n ; Christian
Brothers of the Catholic Church, 38;
church organizations, 205, 206; insti¬
tutional churches, 207 ; orthodoxy,
40; religious liberty, 183; revivals,
39, 40; Rock river conference, 39n;
separation of church and state, 24;
Sunday achool union, 206 ; theologi¬
cal publications, 206 ; theological
schools, 206 ; see various denomina¬
tions
Republican, liberal, see politics
Republican party, see politics
Resumption, see banking
Revenue, 302, 309; act of 1872, 310,
3iin, 312; code, reconstruction of,
178; state, 309
Revivals, see religion
Revolutionary Cigar Makers' Associa¬
tion, see labor
Reynolds, Governor John, 420
Rhode Island, 30, 266
Ricaby, "Colonel," 447
Rice, Wallace, 1720
Richmond, 202
Ricks, N. Douglas, 1750
Ridgeway, Thomas S., 102
Rinaker, General John I., 133
Rivers, see transportation
Rivers and harbors bill, 351
Roads, see transportation
Roberts' Station, 357
Robinson, James C., 116
Rockbridge county (Va.), 223
Rockefeller, John D., 215
Rock Falls, 404
Rockford, 119, 134, 1340, 203, 225, 2990,
404, 40s
Rockford, Rock Island, and St. Louis
railroad, see transportation
Rock Island, 189, 266, 350, 400, 404
Rock Island, and Pacific railroad, Chi¬
cago, see transportation
Rock Island county, 222n, 403, 422
Rock Island Plow Company, 404
Rock Island railroad, Chicago and, see
transportation
Rock river, 239, 245, 250, 255, 260
Rock river conference, see religion
Rogers, George, 455
Romanists, 39
Root, John W., 213
Rossland Park Stock Farm, see agri¬
culture
Rugg, George, 224
Rumrael, Edward, 8, 770
Russia, 29S
Russians, see population
Rutz, Edward, i33n
St. Clair county, 24, 26, 910, 150, 152,
19s, 220, 252, 400, 422
St. Ignatius Jesuit College, see educa¬
tion
St. Johns, John P., 1480
St. Johns, 426
St. Lawrence river, 352, 363, 378
St. Louis (Mo.), 210, 242, 250, 251,
252, 281, 315, 318, 322, 333, 340, 342,
344. 345. 365. 391. 393. 397. 4i8, 420,
426
St. Louis Bridge and Tunnel Company,
335 .
St. Louis Grain Association, 365
St. Louis Merchants' Exchange, 340
St. Louis railroad, Indianapolis and,
see transportation
St. Louis railway, Cairo and, see trans¬
portation
St. Louis Trade Assembly, see labor
St. Louis, Vandalia, and Terre Haute
railroad, see transportation
St. Paul (Minn.), 3350, 364, 408
St. Paul railroad, Chicago, Milwaukee,
and, see transportation
Saline county, 248, 423
Saline river, 416
San Domingo affair, 56
San Francisco (Cal.), 213
Sandwich Manufacturing Company,
404
Sangamon county, 132, i86, 2220, 236,
400, 422
Sangamon Loan and Trust Company,
see banking
550
INDEX
Sangamon river, 360
Sängerbunds,- see music
Sängerfest, see music
Sankey, Ira, 40
Savings bank act, see banking
Savings banks, see banking
Saybrook, 360
Scandinavians, see population
Schilling, George A., 1720
Schnaubelt, Rudolph, 1720
Scholfield, John, I52n
Schools, see education
Schurz, Carl, 33, 64, 79, 119
Schuyler county, 399
Schvrab, Michael, lyzn, 173
Scotch, see population
Scott county, 222n, 235
Scully estate, 221
Scully, William, 220, 221
Second Bank of Chicago, see banking
Seiter, Henry, i47n
Seymour, George Franklin, 81
Shaffer, John H., 870
Sharp, James M., i4n
Shawneetown, 318
Shelby county, 222n
Sheridan, General Philip, 67
Sherman, John, 134
Shilling, George A., 455
Shufeldt and Company, 409
Shurtleff College, see education
Sibley, 236
Siddons, Mrs. Scott, 33
Silver convention, 127
Simonds, Dean William, i89n
Sittig, Eugene A., 151, 153, 154, 155,
159, 160
Slade, James P., i28n
Smith, John C., i28n, I45n
Smith, J. Russell, 421, 422
Snyder, William H., 26
Socialists, 125, 1250, 131, 163, 167, 170,
174. 439. 440. 443. 444. 44<5. 451. 453,
462. 467. 470
Socialist periodicals, 443, 463
Sons of Freedom, see labor
Sons of Temperance, see temperance
movement
Sons of Vulcan, ree labor
Sorosis, see cluBs
South Chicago, 426
South Chicago Steel Works, 391
Southern Illinois penitentiary, see cor¬
rective institutions
Southern Illinois State Normal Uni¬
versity, see education
Southwestern railroad, Chicago, Pekin,
and, see transportation
Spain, 435, 436
Spaulding, George H., 225
Special chartered banks, see banking
Sperry, P. R., 236
Spies, August, 173
Sprague, Oliver Mitchell Wentworth,
278
Springer, Charles F., 4
Springfield, 28, 33, 37, 45, 52, 56, 57,
76, 77, ICI, 102, III, 127, 132,
135. 176. 17911. 186. 191. 193. 195.
201, 205, 237, 258n, 30on, 318, 360,
441. 444. 454. 455
Springfield and Illinois Southwestern
railroad, see transportation
Springfield, Gilman, Clinton, and, rail¬
road, see transportation
Springfield Marine Bank, see banking
Springfield ring, 66
Starkel, Lewis C., 1350
State administrative offices, 303, 304,
307; expenses of, 495; salaries of,
495
State bank, see banking
State bank act of 1887, see banking
State board of agriculture, see agri¬
culture
State board of equalization, 310, 312,
31211. 313 .
State board of livestock commissioners,
see agriculture
State Laboratory of Natural History,
see education
State Line Company, Decatur and, see
transportation
State Natural History Society, see edu¬
cation
State reformatory, see correctional in¬
stitutions
State Savings Bank of Chicago, see
banking
Steger, 401
Stephens, Uriah S., i64n, 454
Stephenson county, 239, 399
Sterling, 33, iyn, 318, 404
Stevens, Bradford N., 57
Stevenson, Adlai, 182
Steward, Ira, 451
Steward, Lewis, no, 113, 119
Stewart, A. T., and Company, 3770
Strattan, Charles T., I38n
Streator, 316, 426
Streeter, Alson J., 134, i37n, 156, 181,
182
INDEX
551
Sullivan, and Mattoon railroad, De¬
catur, see transportation
Sulphur Springs, 40
Sumner, Charles, 64
Sunday School Union, see religion
Sunset Club, see clubs
Swan and Claries' Furniture Factory,
401
Swedish, see population
Sweigert, Charles B., 1330
Swett, Leonard, 69, 72, 79
Swing, Professor David, 33, 4r, 194
Sycamore, 404
Tammany Society, 143
Tariff, 55, 56, 65, 66, 70, 72, 102, 137,
148, 162, 180; act of 1833, 148; ex¬
cise duties, 407; for protection, 75,
95. 96. 13s. 136. 145, 147, .148. 174,
177; for revenue, 104; high, 176;
McKinley bill, 180
Taxes, assessors, 310; capitation, 309;
exemption from, 310, 312; federal,
65; grab law, 316, 319; income tax,
175, 179, 309, 440; indirect, 440; law
revision, 1872, 310, 3iin, 312; poll,
314; property, 309, 310, 311, 440;
rates, 310; redemptions, 310; reduc¬
tion of, 147; refund, 305, 498; road,
314; sales, 310; special assessments,
310; special modes of taxation, 314;
state, 500; state system, 309
Taylor, Abner, 120, 153
Taylor, "Doctor," 447
Tazewell county, 98
Tefft, Dr. Joseph, 253
Temperance movement, 42-50; action
of convention of 1884, 147; action of
thirty-third assembly, 139, 140; atti¬
tude of Governor Beveridge toward,
III; bill of 1872, 44; Catholic Total
Abstinence Union of Illinois, 48;
democratic attitude toward, 104, 114;
German sentiment toward, 45; Good
Templars of Illinois, 48; license re¬
strictions, 43, 44; liquor traffic: 139,
140; prohibition of, 147; prohibition
camp meeting, 2o6n ; Sons of Tem¬
perance, 48; Sunday closing, 44;
Woman's temperance crusade, 48;
Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, 48; Women's Temperance
Association of Illinois, 48 ; political
candidates, 42, 43
Tennessee, 3n, 379
Tennessee river, 341
Terre Haute, St. Louis, Vandalia and,
see transportation
Texas, 255, 258n
Third National Bank, see banking
Thomas, Dr. Hiram W., 194
Thomas, Theodore, 195, 196, 201
Thompson, Reverend C. L., 39
Thompson, J. L., 2710
Thompson, J. M., 179
Thompson, N. C., 404
Tilden, Samuel J., 112, 113, 114, 115,
117, ii7n, 118, ii8n, 120, 122
Tiskilwa, 348
Toledo (O.), 366, 367
Toledo, Peoria, and Warsaw railroad,
see transportation
Toledo, Peoria, and Western railroad,
see transportation
Toledo, Wabash, and Western rail¬
road, see transportation
Toulon, 236
Towanda, 360
Trade and Labor Assembly, see labor
Traders and Builders' Exchange, see
labor
Trades Assembly, see labor
Trade unions, see labor
Transportation, bicycle, 204; canals:
II, i3n, 27, 343, 497; conventions,
350, 351; Erie, 353, 363; freight
carried, 347; Hennepin, 349, 350,
35'. 352; Illinois and Michigan,
10, II, 12, 138, 307, 308, 3o8n, 346,
347. 348. 350. 351. 375. 429; Weiland,
352. 353 ; convention to discuss, 95 ;
effect of panic of 1873, 284; lake
trade, 352, 353, 354; railroads: 162,
181, 270, 419, 420; abuses of, 54;
accidents, 324, 325, 326; act of
1871, 90; aid for, 316, 317; bonds,
274; cars and equipment, 399; com¬
panies, i; competition, 329, 330, 331,
332, 340. 349. 353.. 424. 425; con¬
struction and equipment, 320-325,
338; discrimination, 82, 83, 331;
earnings, 336, 337n; expansion, 273,
274. 275, 287, 294, 296n, 315, 316,
318. 336n, 337, 354; extension, 204;
freight rates, 328, 329, 335, 337, 340,
342, 344. 348, 349..371. 502: freight
traffic, 327, 336; issues, 109; laws
concerning, 324, 325, 330, 331; mile-»
age in Illinois, 315, 339, 501; mu¬
nicipal subscription to, 27; narrow
gauge, 3i8n, 3190; passenger rates,
328, 329, 336; preferable to canals,
12; rates, 92, 134; railroad lines:
552
INDEX
Baltimore and Ohio, 3180; Belleville
and Southern Illinois, 318; Bloom-
ington and Ohio, 319; Cairo and St.
Louis, 318 ; Cairo and Vincennes, 318 ;
Canada Southern, 274n; Chicago
and Alton, 93, 94, 3X7, 322, 323, 333,
334i 335"; Chicago and Northwest¬
ern, 250, 251, 274, 2940, 322, 332,
438; Chicago, Burlington, and
Quincy, 96, 250, 2St, 294n, 317, 3170,
319, 32a, 332; Chicago, Milwaukee,
and St. Paul, 274, 294n ; Chicago,
Pekin, and Southwestern, 319; Chi¬
cago, Rock Island, and Pacific, 2940,
317. 332, 347; Decatur and State
Line Company, 319; Decatur, Sulli¬
van, and Mattoon, 319; Galena and
Chicago, 420; Oilman, Clinton, and
Springfield, 318; Iljinois Central, 10,
21, 22, 94, 243, 244, 313, 315, 3i6n,
317, 322, p3, 332, 334, 335n, 337;
Indianapolis and St. Louis, 318; Lake
Shore and Michigan Southern, 274n;
Michigan Central, 369, 442; Mis¬
souri, Kansas, and Texas, 2740;
Northern Pacific, 274n ; Ohio and
Mississippi, 252, 318; Ottawa, Os¬
wego, and Fox River Valley, 316,
3170; Pacific, ici, Rockford, Rock
Island, and St. Louis, 318; St. Louis,
Vandalia, and Terre Haute, 318:
Springfield and Illinois Southwestern,
318; Toledo, Peoria, and Warsaw,
317; Toledo, Peoria, and Western,
317; Toledo, Wabash, and Western,
3x7, 3x8; Union Pacific, 460; Wa¬
bash system, 3x8, 332, 46Ö; regula¬
tion of, xo, x8-22, 54, 79, 83, 84, 89, 90,
96, 99, 308, 330; riots of X877, 445;
repairing machinery, 399; strike of
X877, X24; taxation of property, 3x0,
3x3, 3x4; traffic, 327, 328, 338; re¬
duction of cost of, X78 ; resolutions
relating to, 94; river: aid by state
and United States, 344; , river com¬
merce, 34X-346; improvements, 343-
345; roads: 354-362; legislation, 354,
355. 35«, 357, 358, 360, 36X
Treat, Judge Samuel H., 6
Treaty of Washington, X87X, 352
Tree, Lambert, x59
'Tripoli, 4x2, 433
Trumbull, Lyman, 60, 66, 72, 76, 77,
78, 79, 1x6, x20, x22, x35; candidate
for governor, x35, x36, 1370; nomina¬
tion for presidency discussed, 68, 69,
70, 71
Trust companies, see banking
Tuley, Murray F., X73n
Turner associations, see amusements
Turner, Jonathan B., xoi, X90
Turngemeinde, X95, 204
Underwood, William H., 4, 24
Union Club, see clubs
Union county, 242, 243, 435
Union League Club, see clubs
Union National Bank, see banking
Union Pacific railroad, see transporta¬
tion
Union Trust Company, see banking
Union Works, 39X
Unitarians, 4X
United Labor Party, see politics
United Mill Workers Council, see labor
United Order of American Bricklayers
and Stone Masons of Chicago, see
labor
United States, x6, 273, 275, 29X, 298,
316, 344, 38a, 389, 39X, 40X, 408, 409,
419, 436, 454, 455, 461
United States commissioner of labor,
459
United States fuel administration, 436
United States railroad administration,
436
United States Supreme Court, 331
United States Wind Engine Company,
404
Universalists, X89
University of Illinois, see education
University of Wisconsin, see education
Urbana, x90, x91, 193, 202
Utah, 379
Utica, 429, 430
Vandalia, St. Louis, and Terre Haute
railroad, see transportation
Vandiver Corn Planter Company, 405
Van Horebeke, Dr. A. J., 244
Van Patten, Philipp, 455
Vasey, Dr. George, X9X
Vermilion county, 263, 422, 434
Vermont, 3n
Vincennes, 318
VinCennes railroad, Cairo and, see
transportation
Virginia, 30, 223
Vorhees, Edward, n6
Vulcan Steel Company of St. Louis,
322
Wabash, 140
Wabash river valley, 245, 428
INDEX
553
Wabash system of railroads, 318
Wabash, Toledo, and Western rail¬
road, see transportation
Wacker, Charles H., ijjn
Waiden, Lawrence, yyn
Wanzer, J. H., 254
War, see Civil War and European
War
Ward, E. B., 390
Warehouses, 27, 79, 83, 89, 90, 308,
367, 368 ; commission, 790, 91, 93
Warren county, 235
Warsaw, 8, 317
Warsaw railroad, Toledo, Peoria and,
see transportation
Washburne, Elihu B., in
Washington (D. C.), 60, 210, 221, 240,
281,351
Washington Benevolent Society, see
labor
Washington county, 252
Waterways convention, 352
Waukegan, 401
Wayne county, i8
Weaver, James B., 134
Weaver, William H., isyn, 159
Weber, Friedrich Ernst, 195
Weir Plow Company, 404
Welch, Andrew, 1750
Welland canal, see transportation
Wells and French Bridge and Car
Works, 401
Wells, T. E., Company, 396
Welsh, see population
Wentworth, "Long John," 69, 79, 256,
262
West, Simeon H., 152
Western Freight Association, 332
Western Pig Iron Association, 402
Western railroad, Toledo, Peoria and,
see transportation
Western railroad, Toledo, Wabash
and, see transportation
Western Trust and Savings Bank, see
banking
Western Wagon Makers' Association,
see labor
West Virginia, 416, 426, 436
Wheatland, 227
Wheaton College, see education
Wheeler, William A., 114, 119
Whisky ring, in, 118
White county, I4n
White, Horace, ¿4, 71, 78
Whiteley, William N., 224
Whiteside county, 8
Whiting, L. D., 82n, 155
Wholesale Liquor Dealers' Association,
45
Wiggins Ferry Company, 334
Will county, 257, 263, 400, 422
Willard, Frances E., 48
Williams, Reverend E. F., 38
Williamson county, 29, 422, 423
Williamsville, 257n
Winnebago county, 400, 403
Wisconsin, 241, 28sn, 291, 298, 351, 375,
383 . .
Wisconsin line counties, 9
Withers' Library, see Bloomington
Woman's Club, see clubs
Woman's temperance crusade, see tem¬
perance
Women's Christian Temperance Union,
see temperance organizations
Women's Temperance Association of
Illinois, see temperance organizations
Woodford county, 25
Woodworkers' Council, see labor
Workingmen's Banking Company, see
banking
Workingmen's industrial party of the
United States, see labor
Workingmen's League of Illinois, see
labor
Workingmen's party, see politics
World's Columbian exposition, 188,
200, 2ioff., 309, 310, 478
World's Congress Auxiliary, 212
World's Exposition Company, 210
Worthen, Amos H., 8
Yates, Richard, 60, 62
Yorkville, 49
Young Men's Christian Association,
see clubs
Young Polish Workers, see labor