6110'*







BIENNIAL MESSAGE




1)




J. A. [ABADI[,
OF
74 BUha*"j et,
DIETROIT  iii5H
tJOHN     F. ALTEGOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS,
TO THE




I


39TH


GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
oJANUARY 9, 1895.
SPRINGFIEILDILL.
ED. F. HARTrXAmI, S'rA'tPRIlXmB
1895.






[4 2 9
4 1


*






BIENNIAL MESSAGE


OF
JOHN P. ALTGELE,
GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS,
TO THE
39TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.


JANUARY 9, 1895.
SPRINGFIELD, ILL.
ED. F. HARTMANN, STATE PRINTER
1895.








BIENNIAL MESSAGE.


EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
SPRINGFIELD ILL., Jan. 9, 1895.
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:
In compliance with the requirements of the Constitution, I respectfully submit the following information in regard to the condition of the State, and also such recommendations as seem to me
to be expedient:
As the affairs of the State had been continuously controlled by
one political party for thirty-six years, both the reasonable expectation of the public and the existing political conditions called for
great changes in the personnel of the administration. In consequence of this, so large a number of new men became connected
with the management of public affairs that it was deemed wise
to lay down the general principles which this administration
aimed to carry out, and also such definite rules as would facilitate
the carrying out of these principles.
As there was great pressure for place all along the line of the
public service, the following specific instructions were given to all
of the trustees and superintendents of public institutions:
First-Do not put a man upon the pay-roll who is not absolutely needed.
Second-Do not pay higher salaries in an institution than the
service or ability which you get would command outside.
Third-Do not keep a man an hour after it is discovered that
he is not just the right man for the place, no matter who recommended him, or what political influence he may possess.
Fourth-Require vigilance and careful attention of every employ6,
and promptly discharge any appointee who is guilty of brutality
toward patients, or who is guilty of any serious neglect of duty.




4


These instructions have been reiterated at various times with
emphasis, and, I believe, have, in general, been observed.
CARE OF PATIENTS.
The trustees and superintendents were instructed that our great
institutions were not founded to make comfortable homes for
officials, but to take care of the unfortunate, and that the energies
of the management must be directed toward giving the inmates
the very highest degree of care and comfort that is possible.
Further, that the people of this State are liberal and want all who
are thrown upon public charity to be properly fed and clothed
and that therefore the standard of diet and of clothing must in
no case fall below that of the average self-supporting citizen of
this State, and I will say here that I believe the standard in most
of our institutions is higher than this.
PURCHASE OF SUPPLIES.
The system prevailed in this State, which is still found in most
other states, of having in each institution an officer who was
known to the public as a purchasing agent. This man went into
the market and bought where and of whom he pleased, and no
matter how honest he may have been, he was still under suspicion. It was observed a number of years ago that the great corporations which have to buy large quantities of supplies had
entirely abolished this system, and had introduced in its stead a
system of buying on bids of the lowest bidder. Good economy
and the highest moral consideration, as well as public policy, required that the State should purchase its supplies in the same
way, and   thus reduce the possibility  of favoritism, corruption and scandal to the minimum. Therefore the following instructions to govern all institutions in this State were given:
First-Make out a list of articles that will be needed for a
given time, describing each article fully, and have the typewritist
make ten or twelve copies of this.
Second-Send these copies to as many different business houses
dealing in the line of goods required for bids, to be accompanied
by samples where necessary. Then accept the lowest and best
bid, reserving in each case the right to reject any goods that may
be deemed unsatisfactory.




5


Third-File these bids, together with the list upon which they
were based, for a reasonable time, so that they can be inspected
by any State officer, if desired.
In a number of institutions the old superintendents remained
in charge until the expiration of the quarter ending July 1, 1893,
and, as the other officers were new, no general effort was made
to carry out these rules until after that time, and in some cases
the new officers were reluctant to introduce them, but they were
told that this was the policy of the administration, and that if
they were not in harmony with it a new set of men would have
to be appointed who would be in harmony. By degrees the
new methods were generally adopted and are now fully grounded
and established in every public institution in this State. We
have been running for nearly a year and a half under the new
system, and the result has been a surprise to all, and a gratification to every one favoring business methods. It was soon found
that the bids from the most responsible houses upon articles that
were considered staple varied from  10 per cent. to 25 per cent.
This difference was, in nearly all cases, a net gain to the institution, and I have to report the following general results of the
new method:
First-The office of purchasing agent has been abolished in
every institution in the State, thus effecting a saving in salaries
of nearly $25,000 a year.
Second-The appropriations made by the last legislature for
current expenses of all of the State charitable institutions was
only $3,800 in excess of the appropriation made for the same
purpose two years before. But owing to the hard times or to
other causes there was an average increase of 1,114 in the population of all these institutions over the average.of the prior two
years, and the cost of maintaining these 1,114 for eighteen months
was $237,282. Yet, notwithstanding the cost of maintaining the
increased number of persons, there was on January 1, 1895, a
surplus in the treasuries of the various institutions amounting to
$243,000. This sum added to the cost of caring for the increased
number makes a total comparative saving of $476,482. Several of
the treasurers have been directed to retain a small amount of the
surplus for possible contingencies, and all of the remainder,
amounting to $233,482, has been turned back into the State treas





6


ury. The physical condition of the various institutions is better
than it ever was, while the standard of living is not excelled anywhere. It is apparent that no matter what the State may desire
to buy in the future, whether cheap goods or expensive goods,
the new system of purchasing if adhered to is going to make an
annual saving to the State for all time to come of nearly half a
million of dollars, and I respectfully recommend that this money
be expended in providing for our people the means of higher
education, a subject to be referred to later.
SCIENTIFIC METHODS.
After the new business methods were fully established, early in
December, 1893, the superintendent of each institution was requested to make a thorough examination of the methods, the most
advanced theories, and the results of the experiments in similar
institutions in this country and in Europe, and to see wherein such
institutions differed from ours, and if anything was found elsewhere that was thought to be an improvement upon the methods
pursued here, to at once adopt it; also to submit a full report of
such investigation on or before April 1st, 1894. Accordingly, last
spring each superintendent submitted his report, giving the result
of his investigations.  These reports have been printed in a separate volume, and I herewith submit a copy of them.  A number
of them   are very able, and contain valuable suggestions which
have been, so far as possible, acted upon.  It is confidently believed that our institutions are conducted on as high a scientific
plane as any in the world, and that, while some of the European
institutions have the advantage of more elaborate and expensive
buildings and equipments, yet in other important particulars, relating to the care of inmates, ours are superior.
There was also established at Kankakee a laboratory, and a
pathologist was employed, who gives all of his time to making
microscopical and other scientific investigations, and who devotes
at least one hour a day to a general discussion with the physicians
of that institution.  The result has been to arouse a new interest
and create the highest aspirations throughout that great institution. There is every reason why Illinois should lead in this line
of scientific work. I believe this pathological work to be of such




7


importance that the trustees of each of the other insane asylums
have been requested to establish a laboratory and employ a pathologist for the benefit of said institutions.
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' HOME.
In this Home there has been friction between the superintendent
and  the trustees, due, in part, to the discipline which the
superintendent enforced and which the trustees regarded as being
too severe. In consequence of these differences, the superintendent resigned early in November, and the trustees appointed a
successor. The business affairs of the Home, however, as well as
the physical condition of the Home, are practically perfect, and
it should be said, that prior to taking charge of the institution
by the outgoing superintendent, more than 160 of the inmates of
the Home had been expelled for insubordination, for persistent
violation of the rules of the institution and for bad conduct.
After being thus expelled they found themselves penniless by the
wayside and nearly all drifted into the almshouses of the country.
Believing that this condition of affairs ought not to continue, the
superintendent re-admitted all of the men who had been so
expelled and nearly all of them are still in the Home. Many of
them have been a constant source of annoyance and trouble and
made discipline a necessity, yet I believe that the act of taking
them back was humane and right. The trustees have shown the
greatest vigilance and care in watching over this institution, and
have done everything in their power for the relief and comfort of
the old soldiers. I recommend a liberal policy toward the Home.
This great State owes these unfortunate veterans a debt of gratitude and we must see to it that their declining years are not
only peaceful but comfortable.
INDUSTRIAL HOME' FOR THE BLIND.
The last General Assembly made an appropriation to found an
Industrial Home for the Blind, in which these unfortunate people
could earn a living and thus cease to be beggars on the street or
inmates of almshouses. In pursuance of this object, ground was
secured near Douglas Park in Chicago, and a four-story shop
with a steam plant attached has been erected, and near it a large




8


four-story brick building, arranged for residence purposes, has
been completed and opened. This will enable many of the blind
of the State to become self-supporting.
REFORMATORY FOR GIRLS.
The last General Assembly also made appropriations to establish a Reformatory for Girls. To carry out this provision a
board was appointed, a building was rented, and a reform school,
in harmony with the act, was opened, and steps were taken to
erect a new building. A charming site for this purpose was secured on the banks of Fox river, near Geneva, in Kane county,
and the new  building is now  under roof and will be ready to
be opened in the spring.
FIRE AT ANNA.
On the night of Jan. 3, 1895, a fire destroyed a large part of
the main building of the Southern Hospital for the Insane. No
lives were lost ard all the patients have been properly housed
and cared for. I have not the exact data at hand, but recommend that the necessary appropriation be made at once to rebuild
the part destroyed.
REPORTS OF TRUSTEES, ETC.
It would make this message entirely too long for me to refer
in detail to the salient features of each State institution, and I
am, therefore, obliged to refer you to the reports made by the
trustees, and also to the report of the State Board of Charities,
all of which are herewith submitted. I must, however, direct your
attention to the fact that, with the exception of the school for the
education of the deaf and dumb, at Jacksonville, every State
institution is over-crowded. I am informed that there are several
thousand insane persons in the almshouses of the State. The
institution for the feeble-minded at Lincoln, has between 600 and
700 inmates and there are iow that many applications for admission by people for whom no room can be found.
We need, at once, more room for the feeble-minded and a new
asylum for the insane.  Those who have given the matter most
consideration advise an asylum for epileptics and the hopelessly
insane, to which this class of patients from the other four institutions should be removed, their places being filled by those for
whom there may yet b3 hope3-that is, make the new institution an
asylum and have the existing institutions do the work of the hospitals.




9


In the fall of 1893, and again in the spring of 1894, all of the
superintendents and trustees were convened  in convention  at
Springfield, for the purpose of being more fully advised as to the
policy of the administration, but more especially for the purpose
of discussion and interchange of ideas. While this was a new departure, it was a pronounced success, the discussions in particular
being of great benefit and assistance to all present, both in the
dissemination of new ideas and the creation of higher aspirations.
STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES.
The last General Assembly passed an act for the appointment
of three local visitors in each county, to serve without fee, but
having power to inspect both the jails and the almshouses in the
county. The State Board of Charities made these appointments and
already the condition of many of these places has been greatly
improved. It is found that there can not be too much light thrown into
the almshouses and jails; while many of them are kept in the very
best condition, others are sickening in their filth and wretchedness. In one of the almshouses a member of the State Board of
Charities found a number of children that were not sent to school
and were growing up in utter neglect.  In another, this member
found a number of insane men and women practically living in
one apartment-and that filthy.  It is believed that with the
added machinery for inspection, those conditions will soon disappear from our fair State.
STATE BOARD OF HEALTH.
This board has held two conventions of the local health officers
of the State with a view of getting in touch with every neighborhood, so as to be in the best position possible to arrest the spread of
any epidemic or contagious diseases. These conventions have been
very instructive and beneficial.  The board has also raised the
standard of education necessary before beginning the study of
medicine. The State has, for a number of years, been laboring
to raise the standard of the medical profession, and now it is regarded as the highest in the Union.
PRINTER EXPERT.
The State Printer Expert has revised the methods of estimating
the amount to be paid the printing contractor so as to make
them conform  to the law. and has thereby saved to the State
about $10,000. I call your attention especially to his recommendations as to the revisions of the law governing State printing.




10


INSURANCE DEPARTMENT.
The Insurance Superintendent has at the cost of a great deal of
labor prepared a revision of the laws relating to both fire and
life insurance, and I commend this for your consideration.  He
has also collected- as fees, since taking charge of his office, about
$15,000 during the balance of the year 1893, and $135,000 for 1894,
making $150,000--which has just been turned into the State
Treasury.
FACTORY INSPECTION.
As our population increased and new machinery was added, a
great many thousands of children were employed in certain factories of large cities to do the work formerly done by adults.
They received only a pittance; and while the work in some cases
was light, they all worked long hours and it was soon found that
they became dwarfed in both body and mind, often being already
old before reaching the age of maturity. In some factories there
were no safeguards against accidents, and employes were being
crippled and sometimes killed.  In others the sanitary conditions
were such as not only to breed disease but to foster immorality,
boys and girls being often obliged to use the same filthy closets.
Again it was found that the working of long hours in a factory
by women in the end unfitted them for the duties of home and
of motherhood, in consequence of which their children were weak
and often deformed and there was growing up a generation of
young men and women who were inferior both physically and
mentally, and the standard of American womanhood and manhood
was being lowered.  These conditions called for a remedy.  The
question was not new.  All civilized countries have had to deal
with it. England found all these conditions seventy-five years ago
and Parliament passed acts to remedy them.  Those acts were
based on the ground that it is the duty of government to prevent
degeneration of its people, that the law of self preservation alone
requires this, for an inferior people must go down before a superior, both on the field and in civil life.  These acts of. Parliament were resisted by nearly all the wealth and by the Church of
England.  It was claimed they would ruin the British Empire,
but Parliament made new   investigations and passed still more
stringent measures, until after a struggle of fifty years it had perfected the most comprehensive system of factory legislation in the




11


world. Some of her greatest statesmen now consider this one of
the grandest achievements of the empire. All the civilized countries of the old world, and the older and more advanced states of
our country have adopted similar legislation.
Following these examples the last General Assembly passed an
act to remedy the evils complained of. It has now been in operation a little over a year and a half, and while it is in many
respects crude and imperfect, and may, in a few exceptional cases,
have done an injustice, yet it has accomplished much for humanity.
The foul sanitary conditions have almost been wiped out. More
protection against accidents has been enforced, and the scene of
thousands of little children stunting their lives by working ten
hours a day in a factory, doing the work of adults for a mere
pittance, no longer disgraces the State.
HISTORICAL LIBRARY BOARD.
This board has prepared a complete list or catalogue of all the
papers and books in the library, and realizing that on account of
the romantic history and wonderful achievements of this State,
and its rapidly increasing greatness, its history must soon attract
general interest, the board has made zealous efforts to procure all
the papers, books and documents that tend to throw any light on
the early development of our State and the Northwest country;
and it now invites correspondence from all who have any documents of this character in their possession.
BOARD OF LIVE STOCK COMMISSIONERS.
This board has been exceedingly vigilant, and has been able to
prevent the spread of any contagious diseases among the horses
and other animals of the State. But it was found that the State
inspection which we were maintaining at Chicago for the purpose
of preventing traffic in diseased cattle was a farce. The inspection
was largely for its effect on foreign markets, the city of Chicago
having its own inspectors, who were supposed to look after the
meat used by the city. Owing to the vast extent ot the Union
Stock Yards, and the hostility of many of the merchants there to
any interference by the State, but little could be done without an
army of men. In company with the board I attended a meeting
of the stock yard merchants, and they were informed that as this




12


inspection was largely for their benefit, they must either cooperate
with the State or the inspection would be withdrawn entirely.
Thereupon the Stock Yard Exchange adopted new regulations and
proceeded to cooperate with the State authorities, and it is believed
the traffic in diseased cattle has been substantially broken up.
Some legislation, however, is urgently needed to enable the board
to deal more effectively with men who defy the authorities; also
to enable the commissioners to inspect all places wherein any
cattle are confined.
WOMEN IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE.
This administration has taken a new departure by appointing a
number of women on important boards and to other positions.
While this was not good politics, from  either a personal or
party standpoint, it was believed to be eternally right, and was
done solely on the ground of justice. The army of women who
are obliged to earn their own bread is constantly increasing. At
best they have a hard struggle to maintain themselves. Justice
requires that the same rewards and honors that encourage and
incite men should be equally in reach of women in every field of
activity. And I am glad to report that they have met every reasonable expectation. As a rule, they have done their work well.
PENITENTIARIES.
Owing to the panic and the consequent paralysis of business,
every state in the Union has met with very great difficulty in
keeping its prisoners employed. In a number of states in which the
convict system still prevails, convicts have been offered at forty
cents a day without meeting with any employer. Some of the
officials of this State visited a number of the large penitentiaries
in the states east of us, and everywhere found hundreds of convicts idle. The health of the prisoners, as well as the highest
moral and economic considerations, require that they should work.
In Illinois every convict has been kept steadily at work with the
loss of scarcely a day. The contract system has been prohibited
by the Constitution, but before this was done a number of contracts
had been made which did not expire until October, 1894. Formerly,
from  250 to 400 men were sometimes employed in one industry, thus producing an amount of goods which seriously
affected the market, and thus competing directly with outside free
labor. The commissioners and officers appointed in the spring of
1893 were instructed that they must: first, comply with the Constitu



tion and abolish the contract system entirely; second, that the prisoners must be worked on Stale account, and, third, that enough new
industries must be introduced into the prisons so that the number of convicts working at any one industry might be reduced to
as nearly 100 as possible, thus making the competition with outside free labor the minimum.  This policy has been carried out.
Owing to the severe business depression it was exceedingly difficult to establish new industries; the great majority of manufacturing establishments outside of prisons were obliged to shut down
because they could find no market for their products; but in spite
of these obstacles, the prison officials were obliged to go ahead
and they have met with a remarkable degree of success.
It is to be deprecated that convict labor should in any way,
even in the slightest degree, be brought inii competition with free
labor. To reduce this competition to the minimum, the present
system has been adopted. Every consideration of humanity emphasizes that the convicts should not be allowed to remain in
idleness, and if this consideration dlid not control it would be unjust to the tax-payers to make no effort to secure some revenue
from the work of the prisoners. If the legislature can suggest a
plan better than the one now in force, and which will make less
the competition with free labor, we will be most happy to co-operate in its enforcement.
The present commissioners have given to the discharge of their
duties more time than was ever before done in the history of the
State. At Joliet one of them has given all of his time, and the
other two from a third to a half of their time.
CHESTER.
The prison at Chester has never been self-sustaining. The
annual deficit has always been about $100,000. A number of industries are carried on there, brick-making being one of them, and a
superior quality of brick is manufactured. New ovens have been
put in for this purpose, and the entire prison has been remodeled
and is now in excellent condition. There are at present 694 convicts
confined there, and the commissioners report that by the introduction
of better business methods they have so far reduced the expense
of the management that they will need only $50,000 a year to meet
the deficit, instead of $100,000, as heretofore, and they believe
that in the near future the prison can be made self-sustaining.
The insane asylum connected with this prison has been entirely
remodeled. A new water supply has been put in and it is now




14


lighted by electricity and heated by steam. Formerly it was
lighted by oil lamps and heated by stoves, which stood in the
rooms occupied by insane criminals.
For a better understanding of the present condition of this penitentiary and the changes made there, I refer you to the report of
the commissioners herewith submitted.
JOLIET.
The former commissioners of this prison on October 1, 1892,
reported to the Governor as follows: "Balance of cash now on
hand and in banks, $63,494.91. This institution is self-sustaining."
They then continued in charge of the prison until toward the
end of January, 1893, and before retiring they spread a statement
upon the records. of the prison. Among other things they said:
"There was, as on October 1st, 1892, cash on hand and in banks,
$63,494.91, and on January 24th, 1893, cash on hand and in banks,
$39,017.70, a falling off of $24,477.70."  And the January bills
were still unpaid. They also spread on the records an explanation
of this difference, claiming that about $1,850 was spent in repairs,
but the principal reason was "the expiration of high-priced contracts," meaning contracts for convicts.
In other words, the prison was running behind. Making allowance for the sum   of $1,850, which they claimed had been put
into permanent improvement, it still left a deficit of $22,627.70
between the earnings and expenses of the penitentiary, which had
accrued during the months of October, November and December.
They did not pay the bills for January, but the same conditions
existed during that month, so that during the last four months
that the old commissioners had charge of the prison there was a
monthly deficit between the earnings and expenses of the prison
of about $7,542 per month, making in the neighborhood of $90,00C
a year if continued, or $180,000 for two years. It is true thai
the prison had once been self-sustaining, and among other reasons
given by the old commissioners in attempting to account for thiL
deficit, was the fact that since the prohibition of contract laboi
contractors felt insecure, and therefore the commissioners couh
not get as high wages for the convicts as they formerly did. Th
present administration took charge of the prison toward the en'
of January, 1893, and found nearly all the prisoners at work a
prices which had been fixed by the former commissioners, an




15


found that under this arrangement the prison  must continue to
run  behind  more than $7,000 per month, just as it had during
the last four months that the old commissioners ran it. At that
time there were 1,372 convicts in the prison, and at present there
are  1,566  convicts there.  The   business  depression  already
referred to was felt most keenly in the prison. The city of Joliet
itself is filled with  manufacturing establishments, all of which
were idle; yet, in spite of this, the commissioners have introduced
five new industries and changed five others to State account, so
that there are now ten industries carried on there on State account, and two are still in the hands of contractors. Under contracts which were let eight years ago, 539 convicts were bound to
contractors until some time in October last. Owing to the want
of funds with which to start new industries, 321 convicts are still
working under old contracts. The introduction of new industries
involved for a time a loss to the institution.  It took time to install them, time to make the necessary arrangements, to get the
right kind of material, and time for the convicts to learn the new
work, so that there was necessarily a falling off in the earnings
during that period. Again, the first work produced by the convicts working at a new trade was not of the highest order, and in
consequence had to be sold as inferior goods. This also seriously
affected the earning capacity of the prison, but all of these obstacles have been overcome in connection  with the industries now
established. 'It appears from  the report of the commissioner
herewith submitted, that the difference between the earnings and
the expenses of the prison from October 1, 1892, to October 1,
1894, is $129,144.48. Of this sum, $76,807.10 accrued from October 1, 1892, to October 1, 1893, and $52,337.38 during the last
year. Of the $76,807.10 of shortage which accrued during the
first year, about $29,872.18 accrued during the months of October,
November, December and January, during which time the old
commissioners had charge. The present commissioners believe
that with a revival of business the prison will be made entirely
self-sustaining under the new system. In their report they say
they will need about $100,000 for this purpose. If this is granted
them they will put the last convict in the institution at work on
State account, and thus finally put an end to the old convict
contract system, a system which made reform impossible by degrading and hardening the convict into a brute, while it yielded
fortunes to the contractor.




16


The penitentiary having been long in charge of contractors who
could not be expected to spend any money in improvements, it was
found that very expensive repairs in the way of making new floors,
roofs, etc., were necessary. Then it was found that the State had no
steam plant to speak of and no power plant whatever. The new
commissioners have put in a shop, have built a power house, and
have built a complete steam and electric light system. The State
now  has at Joliet one of the very best power plants to be
found in the country. The power used in the shops is electricity.
I respectfully suggest that in accordance with the custom, your
honorable bodies will appoint a commission to visit this, as well
as the other institutions, and make a special inspection of the
changes and improvements which have been made.
PARDONS AND INEQUALITY OF SENTENCES.
In connection with what is said about our penitentiaries I feel
it my duty to urgently call your attention to the subject of pardons, and of the inequality of sentences, growing out of the present
method of administering our criminal laws. The present system
of having a fixed, ironclad sentence for each offense, without regard to the age or character of the offender, or to the degree of
his criminality, is a relic of barbarism. Under this system it
frequently happens that the young are sentenced for a long term
of imprisonment because they happen to be poorly defended, or
there is a vigorous prosecution, while the hardened criminal, tried
in another county, receives a short term of imprisonment for the
same offense, because he happens to be well defended or there
is a weak prosecution. As each case is tried by a different jury
it is impossible to have system or regularity about it. My attention
has been repeatedly called to cases where boys not yet twenty
years old were sentenced to the penitentiary for fifteen years,
while scores of hardened and very dangerous criminals were sentenced for two or three years for the same offense, and were then
turned loose upon society. At present all are turned out of the
prison without reference to their ability to maintain themselves.
It is difficult for a man who has not been in prison to get work,
and it is infinitely more difficult for him who is weakened by the
degradations and humiliations of a prison experience. If he tells
where he last worked he is jeered at and ordered away. He is obliged
to lie at the start. If he gets work he is found out and discharged.




17


Sometimes he is blackmailed, very frequently he is literally forced
back into crime, and with this his hope of an honorable life dies
out. At this point there is born for society a desperate criminal,
whose bloody hand will always be near its throat and when it
thereafter shivers at the sight of his awful deeds, can it then
truthfully say it did not help beget him?
The entire system should be changed. The court and jury
should do nothing except ascertain the guilt of the defendant and
simply sentence him to prison, and the release of the prisoner
should then depend upon circumstances. The young and those who
are not yet hardened, who sinned in a moment of temptation or
excitement, or in a moment of weakness, should be detained the
minimum length of time and then released, but not until after
employment and a home has been found for them. Experience
shows that prison officials can get work for discharged prisoners
when the latter can not. The hardened criminal and those who
are natural enemies of society should be detained the maximum
length of time. This system was strongly urged by my immediate predecessor in office, in language more eloquent than is at
my command, but I wish to urge it with the same earnestness.
NUMBER OF PARDONS.
During the twenty years immediately preceding my administration there were, altogether, 1,673 pardons and  commutations
granted, making an average of 83* pardons and commutations for
each year. Governor Cullom, during the six years of his incumbency, granted 447 pardons, or an average of 74- per year.
During the two years of my administration I have granted 144
pardons and commutations, being an average of 72 per year. I
have thus fallen below the average in the granting of pardons
and commutations. On the other hand, the number of prisoners
and consequently the number of applications for pardons have
greatly increased. We frequently receive from three to five applications for pardons a day, and the work this entails is so great
that it can not be properly attended to by one man. Besides, in
many cases, this is not the proper method of getting relief, whereas, if prisoners were released under a system of parole already
discussed, every prisoner would stand on his own merits.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
During the past two years there have been seven men hanged
in this State, and I have commuted the death penalty to imprisonment for life in two other cases. I respectfully submit for your
consideration the question as to whether the death penalty does
-2




18


any substantial good, whether we are any better off than they are
in those states where they long ago abolished it, whether it is
not barbarous and degrading in its effects, and whether it would
not be better to have a more rational system  of managing our
prisons, and then abolish capital punishment entirely.
STATE REFORMATORY AT PONTIAC.
Formerly this was a reform school for boys who did not exceed
sixteen  years of age. Four years ago the General Assembly
passed  an act making it a State reformatory for all offenders
under twenty-one years of age.
Under the new law, prisoners are sent there under an indeterminate sentence: that is, the court simply determines whether
they are or are not guilty and sentences them to the institution,
where they have to remain at least a year or may be held for a
number of years. The managers are put in possession of all the
information that can be had touching the previous character and
career of the young offender, his education, habits of industry,
etc. After the expiration of one year they may parole a prisoner
for a time, provided they first find him a home and suitable employment. If, during this parole, he does well, he is ultimately
released, if not, they have the power to take him  back. If the
prisoner is vicious or for other reason it is not deemed for the
best interests of society to put him on parole, he is kept in the
institution for the maximum number of years the law fixes as the
penalty for the offense he has committed.
In this institution the aim is to give every young man the
rudim-ents of an English education, such higher and moral instruction as may be practicable, and also, as far as possible, to teach him
a trade; above all to inculcate habits of industry and morality.
Owing to the want of harmony in the board and the failure of
some contractors, practically nothing was done toward changing
the institution until about eighteen months ago. Since that time
three new buildings have been erected and the old ones have been
considerably changed and remodeled. &here are now nine schools
and nearly twice that many workshops or schools for mechanical
training, in operation. Every inmate is compelled to devote certain hours to study and recitation, and certain other fixed hours to
work in a shop learning the use of tools. In addition to these
hours of study, the older prisoners are required to work at the
manufacture of articles for sale, so that the institution is at once




19


a large prison, an English school, a collection of workshops in
which instruction is given, and a manufacturing establishment.
A good band has been organized among them and the superintendent
and  managers have been requested    to  employ  a competent
officer to drill the boys in militaty exercises every day, first as a
means of physical exercise, but more particularly for the development of a higher spirit and a better tone among them.
There are now 812 boys and young men there. During the
last year 266 prisoners were paroled under the provisions of the
law. Homes and employment were found for all of them before
leaving the institution and the officers of the prison continued in
correspondence, both with the prisoners and with their employers,
and the results have been gratifying beyond the hopes of the
friends of the institution. Out of the 266 paroled 231 are reported as doing well. The remaining are reported as follows:
Returned to prison, 10; ran away or ceased to report, 24; died, 1.
The theory upon which this reformatory was founded, while not
entirely new, had had no trial in the west, and only a limited
trial anywhere in the world. Feeling that Illinois should have a
reformatory that was second to none, the aim has been to place
on the board of this institution men imbued with the highest
motives, who are familiar with the literature relating to reformatories and the experiments which have been made, and who felt
an enthusiasm on this subject. And the aim has been to keep a
man in immediate charge who should not only be familiar with
all the learning relating to the subject, but who should bring to
the institution the experience of a business man, a prison manager, an educator, and of a man thoroughly familiar with the practical methods most successfully employed in modern reformatories.
As a result of the,'ombined efforts of these men, we now have a
State reformatory which is the equal of any in this country, and
is moving along lines which will soon, make it one of the very
best in the world. In this connection, I recommend that the
maximum age of young men eligible to this institution be changed
from  twenty-one years to thirty years, so as to make it in this
respect correspond to the New York Reformatory, at Elmira.
NORMAL UNIVERSITIES.
The excellence of the public schools of the State has for years
been a matter of congratulation with our people, and some years
ago the General Assembly provided for establishing in this State




20


two normal universities in order to furnish the young men and
women of the State, who desired to follow school teaching as a
profession, an opportunity to prepare themselves for this work.
One was located at Carbondale and the other at Normal, and
both of them have been maintained at State expense, and have
been in fairly prosperous condition. Some complaint was made
that too many children were admitted, merely because they paid
tuition, and there was a tendency for the institutions to become
neighborhood high schools rather than normal universities. It
was deemed proper to impress upon the officers of these institutions the importance of arresting this tendency, and of admitting
only such children from the neighborhood as were necessary to
form model schools, and outside of this, to invite the attendance
only of such as expected to follow teaching. Both of these institutions are now in a more prosperous condition than they were
at any prior period in their history, and as they have much to do
in determining the character of the common schools of the State,
I recommend a most liberal policy toward them.
HIGHER EDUCATION.
While we have laid broad and deep the foundations of our
educational system, and have built well thereon, we have thus far
not afforded the young men and women of the State the means of
a higher education that other states offer, and as a consequence,
thousands of our young men and women annually go away to
neighboring states, or to eastern states, to get these advantages.
We have a large number of private colleges which are doing excellent work, and should be encouraged, but they have not the
necessary means to procure the extensive equipment that is now
essential to a higher institution of learning. This can only be
supplied by institutions which have been richly endowed by private munificence, or which receive support from the State. Most
of the large educational institutions in the Mississippi Valley are,
at least partially, maintained by the state. This is notably so in
Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.
For many years there has been maintained at Champaign, in
this State, partly at state expense, a university, now  known as
the University of Illinois. For some reason our people do not
seem to know much about it. By many it is regarded as an agricultural school. It has, however, for years, had some of the most




21


eminent men in the country among its faculty and has been doing
a high grade of work. There is an agricultural experiment station maintained there, which is only incidental to the university
and gives the students that much of an additional advantage, giving them facilities for acquiring knowledge in regard to tree planting and in regard to everything pertaining to agriculture, without
extra expense. A United States military officer is stationed there,
who gives instruction in military science, so that the student gets
the benefit of military training in the form of exercises, without
additional expenditure or loss of time. The equipment of the
University for teaching the modern sciences is very good, and the
number of students in the engineering department has so increased
that the last General Assembly made a large appropriation for
constructing an engineering building. This building has been
completed and is now in use, and I am   informed by men who
have examined the equipment of other large educational institutions of this country that the University of Illinois has now the
best arranged and the best equipped engineering department,
especially electrical engineering department, that there is in the
Mississippi Valley, and as good as any in the country. The University had large scientific collections and obtained a very large
addition to its museum from the World's Columbian Exposition,
but it has not now the room to place these specimens. Large
quantities have to be kept in boxes, and there is urgently needed.a library and museum building. The number of students at:he
University has now reached nearly 800 and is rapidly increasing.
Steps have been taken to bring the institution more fully to the
knowledge of the people of the State, and it is believed that the
number of students will double in a very short time. Inasmuch
as Illinois is now one of the wealthiest and greatest States on the
globe, as its people lead all others in nearly every field of human
activity, and as we have not only invited the attention but won
the admiration of the world by our achievements, I submit that
Illinois should have one of the greatest educational institutions on
earth. We have the wealth, the people and the enterprise to
make it. We should have a university that will remain free from
the dilettanteism now found in some sections of the country; that
will continue to inculcate those principles of a rugged, sturdy
manhood and honest devotion to country, those principles of civil
liberty and of free government which have made our country




22


great and glorious in the sight of the world, and I most earnestly urge a liberal policy toward this institution of learning.
NEW BUILDINGS.
During the last two years 13 new buildings have been erected
for the State, the most important being the Engineering Hall at
the University.
A BETTER CIVIL SERVICE.
I would here suggest that there is urgent need of legislation in
regard to the civil service that will relieve executive officers, both
state and municipal, of the constant and overwhelming importunity
for place. In a great State like ours, and in a great city like Chicago, this importunity is so constant as to test the powers of physical endurance, besides taking up so much time as to seriously
interfere with public business. Owing to the large number of men
who were out of employment, the last two years have been especially trying in this respect. I doubt the wisdom of a system that
forever keeps the same men on the pay-roll, for it is not calculated
to produce the highest degree of efficiency. Every executive officer or head of department, whether state or municipal, being responsible for the conduct of his office, should, subject to some
general rules, have the power of discharging any employe when,
in his judgment, it is best for the service; but when he does so
the place should be filled by taking the first from a list of names
selected on the ground of merit by an examining board. This
would take away the temptation to remove in order to make room
for favorites, and, at the same time, it would relieve the officer of
the embarrassing importunities on the part of that limitless number of good men who want to find places for friends. We must
strike a mean between the retention of incompetents and the distribution of spoils.
PUBLISHING OF PAY-ROLLS.
The trustees and superintendents have all been instructed to
include in their reports the complete pay-rolls of their institutions, giving the name of every man or woman to whom has been
paid, the amount paid each, and what service has been rendered.
These reports are printed, so that every tax-payer in the State can
s-e who is drawing money from  the State Treasury. This never
before has been done, but it is believed that when once firmly established it will be a great protection to the public.




ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL.
It gives me pleasure to report that the canal commissioners
have offered to pay $50,000 into the State Treasury, which will be
done at once. Nothing of the kind has occurred for nearly twenty
years.  The canal depends largely on the carrying of building
stone to Chicago.  This business was good until about two years
ago, but almost dead for more than a year, yet the commissioners
have effected such a saving in the operating expenses that the net
earnings of the canal greatly exceed those of more prosperous
years, so that after turning $50,000 into the State Treasury they
will still have a surplus of $38,000 to meet possible contingencies.
This $50,000 added to $150,000 from  the Insurance Department,
$233,484 by the charitable institutions and $92,000 by the Illinois World's Fair board, hereafter mentioned, makes over $525,000 that has been or is ready to be turned in the State Treasury
since January 1, 1895.
EXTENDING LINCOLN PARK.
As land becomes more valuable there is a constant effort on the
part of speculators to make new land in the lake along the shore
on the north side at Chicago, and some riparian owners in violation of law build piers into the water for this purpose.  This
shore should be saved for the public. so far as possible. As Lincoln Park is already much too small to accommodate the multitudes
of people who seek pure air and recreation there, and as it can only
be extended by utilizing the shallow waters of the lake for that
purpose, I recommend such legislation as will enable the park
commissioners to acquire the riparian rights and to extend Lincoln Park and the drives to Evanston.  This would protect the
shore and make the grandest park in the world.
ELECTION LAWS.
Our election machinery has been greatly improved during the
last ten years, but there are yet very grave defects in it. Until
we place every candidate for office before the public on his own
merits, and enable every citizen to cast his ballot without any
hin,rance or embarrassment of any kind, we will not have done
our duty. This State should have the most perfect system for
giving expression to the popular will that can be devised, and I
recommend a careful revision of our election laws.




24


ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN LARGE CITIES.
The condition of business in the courts of Chicago almost
amounts to a denial of justice. It takes years to get a case finally
settled by the courts, while the expense, annoyance and loss of
time involved in watching it are so great that the poor cannot
stand it and business men cannot afford it. Litigants are worn
out and the subject matter of dispute often becomes useless before
the courts get done with it. This is not the fault of the judges,
but of the system, which in its practical workings often discourages the honest man and encourages the dishonest one, for it
enables him to wear the former out.
Urged by the bar, the number of judges was greatly increased
by the last General Assembly, but the conditions are almost the
same. We now have twenty-eight judges in Cook county alone,
while there are only thirty-four in all England, Ireland and Wales.
In England, most cases are disposed of at once. The dishonest
man does not find it to his interest to go into the courts there,
while we, with our system of distinctions and delays, almost offer
him a premium to do so.
We borrowed our system of jurisprudence from England more
than a century ago when it was loaded down with absurd distinctions and formalities. We have clung tenaciously to its faults
while England long ago brushed them aside. Three quarters of a
century ago that country began to reform its judicial procedure by
wiping out all useless distinctions and formalities and making all procedure simple and disposing of each case promptly on its merits, and
their appellate courts now revise cases only when it is shown that
an actual injustice has been done and not simply because some
rule or useless formality has been disregarded. As regards the
administration of justice we are to-day three quarters of a century
behind that country from  which we borrowed our system. We
may be great in politics but do not yet lead the way in statesmanship. The whole system should be revised and simplified so
that it will give our people more prompt and speedy justice and
less fine spun law.
JUSTICE COURTS.
I must again call attention to the conditions surrounding the
police and justice courts of Chicago. They are a disgrace, and
we will not rise to the demands of the occasion if we do not devise some remedy for these evils. I also again call attentionl to




25
the subject of permitting any officer connected with the admiLristration of justice to keep fees. This is the very foundation
upon which the whole structure of fraud, extortions and oppression rests. No man's bread should depend upon the amount of
business he can "drum up" around a so-called court of justice.
Both of these subjects are discussed at length in my message to
the last General Assembly and I refer to it for further discussion.
WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
In June, 1891, the General Assembly passed an act to enable
the State to. participate in the World's Columbian Exposition, at
Chicago, and it authorized the State Board of Agriculture to
erect a building and make such exhibit as would illustrate "the
natural resources of this State, together with the methods employed
and results accomplished by the State in its municipal capacity
throughout its various departments, boards, commissions and other
agencies in the work of forming the moral, educational and material
welfare of its inhabitants." Under this law the board was authorized only to make an exhibit. Subsequently, when it was more
fully realized that we were in a sense the host, some of our
people regretted that provisions had not been made for the social
and hospitable amenities. A very complete and magnificent exexhibit was made, however, of the resources and products of the
State, and of the workings of our civil institutions, and the whole
enterprise was conducted with such fidelity on the part of the
board that, contrary to the usual experience in such cases, instead
of ending with a deficit, the board has on hand nearly  $89,000
of the moneys which were at its disposal, and this is now ready
to be turned into the State Treasury. The same law which created
this board also provided for the creation of an Illinois Woman's
Exposition Board for the purpose of exhibiting the industries of
the women of the State, and 10 per cent. of the $800,000 which
was appropriated for exposition purposes, that is $80,000, was set
apart for their use. The women on this board worked hard for
several years, and succeeded in making a collection and an exhibition which reflected great credit upon them   and upon the
women of the    State, and  they  managed the business part
of it with such care and ability that they have left over $3 000(
to be turned into the State   Treasury. Special boards were
created to exhibit the dairy, clay, fruit and apiary products of the State.
Many of the exhibits made by the State of Illinois were the lest




26


on the ground. Since the Columbian Exposition the State Board
of Agriculture has permanently located the State Fair at Springfield. It has already erected one very large building, and is
about to erect others, and a very successful fair was held by it
this last fall. This State Fair has become a State institution and
promises to be one of great importance. It may be a satisfaction
to our people to know that, owing to the vast extent and great
variety of our resources and of the high order of our exhibits, the
State Fair of Illinois is now regarded as the best in this country,
and the dates for holding the fairs of other states of the Union
are fixed so as not to clash with the State Fair of Illinois. The
State Board of Agriculture hlias also recently held in Chicago a
Horse, Fat Stock and Poultry Show, which was very successful.
The effect of these industrial exhibitions, displaying not only our
products and the superior character of our domestic animals, but
to a certain extent thl)e skill and the genius of our people, can
scarcely be estimated as an educative force which constantly elevates our standard and creates that emulation which seeks still
greater and greater excellence. The World's Columbian Exposition brought us to the attention of the whole civilized world and
won for us the admiration of all men. In consequence of this we
now occupy a position where the eyes of the world are upon us,
and where we can neither retrograde nor stand    still without
experiencing a sense of deep humiliation. We must move on in
order to hold the high position we have taken. In this connection I would suggest that we need, in Chicago, a large building in
which to hold expositions, conventions, and for accommodating
other great gatherings that are of a semi-public character and
outside the line of mere entertainments. Tho State now   pays
annually a large sum as rental for the use of armories for the First
Brigade of the Illinois National Guard. If the city of Chicago
will give enough ground on the lake front for that purpose, and
if the public-spirited citizens will contribute enough money to
meet any deficit, then I would recommend an appropriation for
the purpose of erecting such a building of an amount equal to
that upon which the rental we now pay would yield five per cent.
interest. This, of course, with the understanding that the National
Guard have priority in the right to use such building for armory
and other purposes, and to use it exclusively in times of trouble
or public disturbances.




27


REVENUE SYSTEM.
Whatever may be said of the theory of our revenue system in
this State, it is, in its practical workings, a giant of injustice.
Under it the great concentrations of wealth contribute comparatively little, while the owners of small and moderate sized properties are forced to bear nearly,all the burdens of the government.
The personal property of the very rich is scarcely taxed at all.
There are thousands of men in this State who have great fortunes
invested in stocks, bonds, and other forms of personal property,
upon which they do not pay a dollar, yet they enjoy all of the educational facilities, all of the protection and other advantages of
the government just as much as their neighbors do; and, curiously
enough, these are very often the men who have most to say about
patriotism and the duties of citizenship.  The failure to assess
personal property is due in part to the fact that there is no
method of compelling every man to honestly state what he has.
Again, in the assessment of real estate the greatest inequality is
found between the assessments of small and the assessments on
valuable pieces of property. For example, in Chicago the store of
the small merchant and the home of the mechanic or man of
moderate means is assessed at from 25 to 40 per cent. of its cash
market value, while large business blocks held by very wealthy
men are assessed at from 15 to 20 per cent. and the large and
magnificent residences are assessed at from 8 to 15 per cent. of
their cash market value, while their luxurious contents often worth
from  $50,000 to $100,000, are scarcely  mentioned   upon  the
assessor's books at all. Most of the injustice in the assessment of
tangible property, such as real estate, is directly due to corruption. It is found that large holders of real estate first employ
agents to manage it and to keep the taxes down.   These agents
have a go-between who arranges with some assistant assessor,
whereby, for a consideration, the assessment on certain pieces of
property is lowered so that the property owner saves from five
to ten times the amount he advances to the assessor. The result
of all this is that the men of moderate means, the men of small
holdings, pay from two to four times as much in proportion   to
their ability as do the very wealthy, who do more in every way
to increase the expense of the government. The moderate propertyholder rarely ever calls for extra police protection, and never for




28


military protection.  The large property-holders use both.  It is
always a most difficult matter to legislate against corruption, but
it is believed that if greater publicity could be given to assessments it would have a good effect.  I am  informed that in some
cities assessments are published in the newspapers by blocks,
giving in each case the name of the owner and a description of
the property together with the amount of the assessment.  This
has been found to work well.
Another source of great injustice is the fact that almost every
great interest has managed to get special legislation changing the
method of listing its property. This makes uniformity of assessment between different kinds of property impossible. If the present
system could be entirely wiped out, and a simple statute enacted
providing that everything that has a market value shall be
assessed, either at that market value, or at a certain fixed per
cent. of its market value, it would, at least, make fair assessment a
possibility.  It is the wilderness of legislation as to detail that
has produced the present monstrosity.  A   prominent citizen of
Chicago has prepared a statement which I attach as an exhibit
because of remarkable facts it contains and because it suggests a
plan for uniform assessments that may be of value.
ASSESSING CORPORATIONS.
Under our law the corporations are assessed by the State 1Board
of Equalization.  This board is composed of one member from
each congressional district of the State.  Theoretically a board
thus composed is supposed to labor simply for a fair and equal
assessment throughout the State and then to levy an assessment
upon the corporations which will be in keeping with the assessment levied upon other property; but in practice the board has
been almost the opposite of this, and has demonstrated conclusively that a fair equalization between the different counties of
the State by a board thus composed cannot be had, and second,
that a fair assessment of corporate property, by such a board,
seems to be an impossibility.  So far as it does anything on the
subject of equalization it is simply an effort by one or more sections of the State to throw the burden onto some other portion
of the State.  Upon this subject I respectfully submit -that, the
State tax being now only 31 cents on $100, while the local taxes






2t


iii the various counties range from  350 to 750 cents on $100,
there is lio longer any need of the Boai-d of Equalization. If the
assessment of property in some counties were to be a little lower
than in others, the difference made in the State tax would be'
scarcely perceptible, and, as nearly all the counties in the State
are obliged to keep their assessment up to a reasonable point in
order to raise the needed local revenue, if the State tax were
levied directly upon whatever assessments the counties made, very
little, if any, injustice would be done, while the present system has from
the beginning been a source of wrong. Again, while the property of
most of the corporations of the State, especially of the smaller
ones, may be assessed its fair proportion, large amounts of property belonging to the more wealthy and powerful corporations are
shielded from taxation by this Board of Equalization. A few of
the members do their best to make an honest assessment, but the
majority ignores them. There are in Chicago alone a few corporations which between them   possess more than $200,000,000
of property, over and above what is assessed, that escapes all taxation of every kind and character-property, the value of which
can be ascertained just as readily as if it were real estate, and
there is not a farm in the State but what is taxed. One corporation alone, which subjected the State to a large expense last
summer to protect its property, has in the neighborhood of
$40,000,000 of property upon which it pays no taxes whatever.
Indeed, it is the corporations that shirk the payment of their
taxes that are the first to call upon the State or the local
authorities for protection. When an officer elected as a member
of the Board of Equalization, and sworn to do his duty, comes to
the Capitol and labors night and day, resorting to every means
within  his power to shield some particular corporation from
assessment, and, by making combinations with other members, is
enabled finally to save a corporation anywhere from $100,000 to
$400,000 in taxes, the public must form its own conclusions as to
the character, the color and the size of the argument which led
to the betrayal of an official trust. Most of the business, the
manufacturing and the other great interests of the State are now
carried on in the name of corporations. These corporations should
be treated with the same consideration that is shown private
individuals. They should not be excessively taxed because they




30


are corporations. On the other hand, they should not be permitted to escape bearing their share of the public burdens simply
because they are great and powerful. Experience has shown that
a division of responsibility is the mother of corruption. As long
as a dishonest man feels that the public gaze is on him individually, he will keep up at least a semblance of honesty, but
when a dozen men are associated with him     he will brazenly
pocket the wages of corruption. So far as the assessment of corporations is concerned, some State officer should be designated to
ascertain and place upon his books the fair market value of the
stock of corporations and upon this such an assessment should be
made as would harmonize with the assessment placed upon other
property in the State. But in any case it has been demonstrated
that the State Board of Equalization is not only a failure, but an
obstruction, and it should be abolished.
FOREIGN CORPORATIONS.
At present there is no adequate provision for taxing corporations that are organized in other states. There are a number of
such corporations that do an enormous business in our State and
make money off our people, but contribute scarcely anything to
support our government. Under the law, as it now stands, we can'
only assess such tangible property as they see fit to keep here.
I am informed that there are several corporations that were once
organized under our laws and after some years they surrendered
their charters and organized under the laws of another state in order to escape their share of the taxes here, and as nearly all of
their business is done here they pay but little tax in the state
where they are now   organized, thus escaping almost entirely.
This should be stopped. While the men who manage these corporations are all honorable men, it will require carefully drawn
and stringent legislation to make good citizens of them in this regard.
NEWSPAPER PROPERTY, ETC.
While most corporations are assessed by the State Board of
Equalization, there is upon the statute books an act which provides that companies formed for certain purposes, one of these
being the publication of newspapers, shall be assessed as the property of private individuals is assessed. This at first blush looks




31


harmless, but when more carefully examined it is found that only
the tangible property, such as presses, etc., can be assessed, and
under this clause many corporations which have not much tangible property, but do have a large business good 'will that would
sell for cash in the market, and which make enormous profits,
practically escape taxation. If their capital stock were assessed
its market value would have to be considered, and that would be
partially determined  by the dividends. For example, one of the
oldest daily morning papers of Chicago has for very many years
annually earned net profits amounting to upwards of $250,000,
which would be large dividends on between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000. During last summer the owners of this paper refused to accept a cash offer of $3,000,000 for that property, thus showing that
they valued it at a still higher figure. Yet the company which
owns this paper pays taxes on an assessment of only $18,000.
In the case of small papers this law may not work so great an
injustice, for the tangible property may represent nearly all there
is of value, but in the case of corporations having an established
business which has a market value and could be sold in the open
market, this is not the case. The publishers of this great paper
assume the right, almost, to dictate to the community upon every
public question. They assume the right to denounce whomsoever
they please. They are in a sense above and beyond the law, for
a poor private individual has no practical remedy against an unjust attack upon its part, and yet they manage to throw the burden of supporting our government upon the shoulders of others.
INHERITANCE TAX.
A number of the older states of the Union, notably Pennsylvania and New York, recognizing that large concentrations of
capital, especially personal property, do not pay their share of
taxes, have adopted what is called an inheritance tax, whereby
the estate of a deceased person has to pay a certain per cent. into
the state treasury before it can be distributed, this per cent.
being generally on a sliding scale, small estates being entirely
exempt and large estates paying a high per centage. Under the
operation of this law these states annually collect large sums of
money. In the state of New York nearly a million of dollars
was collected from one estate. I respectfully urge the adoption -
of similar laws here, and the abolition of all State taxes.




32


REPORTS OF STATE OFFICERS.
I call your attention to the reports of the various State officers.
The Auditor has weeded out the rotten building and loan associations, and the examination of State banks is so thorough that not
one out of the 126 State banks failed during the late panic, while
many private and National banks did. Under new legislation the
Secretary of State turned about $40,000 more fees into the State
Treasury last year than ever before. Both of these officers make
important recommendations.
THE RAILROAD AND WAREHOUSE COMMISSION.
The railroad interest is one of the most important in the State.
They represent so much capital and employ so many men that
they call for special consideration at the hands of the government.
The last two years have been, in a general way, unprofitable for
railroading, and the State administration has aimed to pursue a
liberal policy toward them. It was not considered a good time
to meddle with carrying charges. While the Railroad and Warehouse Commission has made a thorough inspection of all the
railroads, and has insisted on a prompt compliance with the law,
it has endeavored to avoid everything that had the appearance of
being of a harrassing character. But numerous cases of unjust
discrimination arose, which were ruinous to some of the citizens
of Illinois. For example, the rate allowed in this State on a
certain class of goods from Chicago to Rock Island and Mississippi river points is 28 cents per 100 pounds. But some of the
eastern roads made an arrangement with parties in Cleveland to
carry the same line of goods froni Cleveland via. Chicago to Rock
Island and Mississippi river points for 20 cents per 100 pounds.
This discrimination must in time drive the Illinois man out of
business. Cases of this character arose all over the State, the
railroads giving such an advantage to certain merchants and manufactors in cities east of us as to make it almost impossible for
our merchants to do'business in our own State. The railroads
were appealed to to stop this discrimination, but they replied that
it was an inter-state matter and did nothing about it. The Federal
government tried long ago to stop discrimination on inter-state
roads, but a powerful railroad lobby and the Federal courts have




33
00


hus far rendered that government almost impotent to deal with
the problem or to give any relief to the public. Thousands of
men have been ruined by this railroad discrimination and many
of the   great private fortunes of the country have been made
through it. The Railroad and Warehouse Commission determined to
protect our people against this wrong if possible. The fact that
roads running through our State are carrying the goods for the
eastern roads and prorating with them on reduced rate of freight
and have been doing so for a long time seemed to warrant the
conclusion that these rates must be profitable. At the expense of
a vast amount of labor the commission is now revising the entire
schedule both as to classification and as to rates. They are
endeavoring to fix a rate that shall be just between shipper and
carrier, and  stop  the discrimination against our people. The
commission expects to render its decision in a few weeks, and it
is hoped that this will put an end to the wrong complained of.
So far as I am at present advised no legislation is needed to
regulate the relations between the public and the  railroads in
their capacity of common carriers. The laws now on the statute
book are believed to be sufficient, if enforced. But I do recommend such farther reasonable legislation as will tend to give the
highest possible protection to the lives of the operatives as well
as of passengers.
SLEEPING CAR CHARGES.
During the last twenty years the prices of all commodities as well
as the carrying charges of railroads have been reduced from 30 to 60
per cent., but our people still have to pay the old extortionate
rates for sleeping car service, which has become a necessity of
modern travel just as much as railroads are. The travel on sleeping cars has increased so enormously that this fact alone, aside
from the general fall in prices and carrying charges, long ago
called for a large reduction in sleeping car rates. The people of
this great State should long ago have been protected against this
extortion and I recommend legislation on this subject and the
establishing of rates that shall be just to both the carrier and the
public.


-3




34


THE SETTLEMENT OF LABOR TROUBLES.
Owing to the division of labor, the building of railroads and
the great consolidations that have taken place in the mercantile
and industrial fields, many of the theories of government appLcable fifty years ago are now  utterly inadequate. In the great
division of industries each has become dependent on the other and
none can shut down without effecting all. The whole American
people have adjusted their affairs to the continued operation of
railroads. Any interruption affects the entire public. Again, all
of our industries depend on the regular supply of coal, and if
this is interfered with it injures not only those connected with
some mine, as was once the case, but the whole community. Our
civilization  makes us all inter-dependent. Government must
keep pace with the progress of the age and meet the changed
conditions, for it is the duty of government to protect all. Whenever any men are pursuing a course injurious to the rest of the
community the government should deal with the question on the
lines of justice and not simply j.in hands with the strong to
crush the weak. In recent years we have repeatedly had labor
disturbances in the form of strikes and lock-outs that almost paralyzed the country. It will no longer do to say that this is the
business of employer and employe, for while these are fighting,
innocent non-combatants may be ruined. The question of dealing
with these conditions is a most difficult one, and no complete
remedy has yet been devised. Many advocate compulsory arbitration, but no practical method of enforcing a decree or award in
every case of this character has yet been found. There is, however, no difficulty in the way of making a compulsory investigation in every case, and this alone would be a great preventative
as well as corrective. This method has been tried elsewhere and
has worked well. Promptly ascertaining and making public the
actual conditions in each case arouses a moral sentiment that
often forces a settlement, and the fear of such an investigation
will sometimes do this. I strongly urge legislation on this subject, and I would suggest that the law would provide for a new
board in each case, allowing each party to select an arbitrator and
the two thus selected to name the third, or, if they disagree, then
let the county judge name the third. If a permanent board was
created, the more powerful interests would soon seek to get their




35


friends appointed on it, and no matter what it did it would soon
lose the confidence of the workers and of the public, and with
this its usefulness would be gone. Again, nearly all the great
interests of this country, except farming, are controlled by combinations. Often one of these combinations collects together
thousands of laborers, representing many thousand people, at a
point where it is almost the only employer and where they would
otherwise not have settled. These are absolutely at its mercy.
If for any reason it turns them out they become a charge upon
the State, that is, upon the public; the corporation at once washing its hands of all responsibility. The public, being the State,
has the same right to protect itself that individuals have, and
these evils must, in some way, be met, for a government that cannot deal with new problems as they arise is unworthy of a free
people. There should be some legislation to prevent laborers being brought into the State by squads, for they generally have to
displace an equal number, who, being suddenly thrown out, become a charge upon the public. Some years ago a number of
non-resident capitalists bought large tracts of coal lands at Spring
Valley, in this State, and opened a number of mines. Several
thousand miners were induced to move there, a very large pei
cent.! of whom were Americans, many of whom   were induced to
buy lots of the company. The company then pursued so greedy
and unconscionable a course towards its employes, through truck
stores and other devices, that the men became restless. Thereupon
it displaced almost every American laborer with foreigners, who
had been brought or induced to come there. This left the former
employ's out of work in a locality where none was to be had, and
naturally led to disturbances. By degrees the new men, finding
themselves reduced to intense poverty by the exactions and greed
of the company, became sullen and discontented, and last summer
the public heard much about the dangerous foreigners at Spring
Valley. Last year the company      employed   a  large  number of negroes, who are displacing that many of the former
employes, who now find themselves without work and without
bread, for no matter how hard they worked they could barely
keep their families alive and could save nothing. This company
has been a curse and a bill of expense to the State from the
time it commenced operations. Almost every administration for a




36


number of years has had to send a military force there to preserve order and protect the property of this concern that was
really causing the trouble. Although it has nearly 40,000 acres
of coal lands and its property is estimated at over $3,000,000, it
is assessed at only $136,084, and pays taxes on this sum. While
we welcome every honest enterprise and industry, we cannot allow
our State to become merely a foraging ground for wolfish greed.
We want no more enterprises of this character.
ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD.
The events of last summer have again demonstrated what was
brought to the attention of the world in the sixties, that is, that
a volunteer soldiery, coming from the walks of civil life, imbued
with the spirit of free government and of free institutions and
having an appreciation of the duties of citizenship, is the best
in the world, because made up as rule of a higher grade of men
than can be found under any other circumstances. They are
steady; they are energetic; they are brave; they have a high sense
of duty and they obey orders. In times of peace, even more than
in times of war, the most important feature of military service is
celerity of movement. Our State is nearly four hundred miles
long and two hundred miles wide. It cannot maintain a great
army, and for a small force to be effective it must move quickly.
We have less than six thousand men on the rolls.   They draw
no pay except when on active duty.      They are all engaged in
private business pursuits just as other citizens.  This being the
case, there was impressed upon the officers the importance of
making their arrangements for calling their men together so perfect that they could be collected at any hour of the day or night
from their homes and places of business, without the loss of a
minute, and I am    proud to say    that the  highest requirements in    this  regard  have  been  met.   During  the   coal
strike and the railroad  strike we sent troops to more than
fifteen different points in the State.  It often happened that
the situation had become suddenly threatening, and the local
officers called for immediate assistance. Orders have been issued
repeatedly at eleven o'clock at night for certain companies to report to a sheriff at a point 100 miles away, and they never failed
to be at the seat of trouble and on duty the next morning. In
several instances entire regiments were mobilized and carried to




37


the seat of trouble from  two hundred to two hundred and fifty
miles away in from fourteen to sixteen hours after orders were
issued at Springfield, and the bearing of both officers and men
was in the highest degree commendable. In many cases, especially
in Chicago, the conditions under which they had to do duty for
many weeks were very severe, but they bore all hardships like
veterans. It may be a satisfaction to the people of Illinois to
know that they have one of the best military establishments in
America, and that it is maintained at small expense. In this connection I must call your attention to the fact that the expenses
incurred during, first, the coal strike, and then the railroad strike
were far in excess of the appropriation which had been made, the
appropriation not covering any such contingencies as arose. When
the trouble was over in the summer, while there was money in
the treasury, there was no   appropriation under which these
expenses could be paid. To have convened the legislature in
special session to make such appropriation would have entailed an
expense of upwards of $50,000 upon the State, and, as the regular
session would convene in a little over four months, I was naturally
anxious to avoid this extra expense; and as many of the men
to whom the State was indebted for service, were dependent upon
their wages for the support of their families and needed their
money, the money was finally advanced by private individuals for
the payment of a large part of these bills. This was done with
the understanding that there should be no discount to the men, but
that the State would pay interest. Inasmnch as'the liberality and
patriotism of these men has saved the State a large amount of money,
I respectfully submit that the honor of the State requires that an
appropriation be made immediately to pay these bills, together
with six per cent. interest from  the time they accrued. There
was a time    during  the  strike  when it seemed    that the
trouble might spread and be protracted. Deeming it wise for the
State to be prepared for any emergency, the Adjutant General was
directed to at once purchase enough arms to put ten or twelve
more regiments in the field if necessary. Although arms could
not be found in large quantities in any one place, in less than
forty-eight hours over 6,000 stands were in the possession of the
State in Chicago, and we have these in addition to those the
troops have. In my judgment the State is now prepared for any
emergency.




38


COAL STRIKE.
In the spring of 1894, the now     famous coal strike in the
bituminous coal fields of America began, started for the purpose
of establishing living prices for the mining of coal and more uniform rates for the sale of it.  The mining population had found
its condition getting steadily worse for a number of years, until
those who had worked hard all their lives and had been sober men
found their families in rags and often without bread.  They vainly
hoped to be able, by means of a universal strike, to bring about a
change whereby they and their children might be able, by honest
effort, to at least make a living. Work was suspended in most of
the mines in this State, as well as in other states.  Many of the
operators were anxious to make an adjustment upon a basis where
both operator and miner could live.  Other operators would have
been glad to effect such an adjustment, but found insurmountable
difficulties in the way of doing so, while still other operators
cared nothing about the miner and his family, but looked upon
miners as tools with which to make money.   These resolved not
to shut their mines, but to defeat the strike by importing other
men. The strike continued until the country was almost paralyzed
for want of coal.  While the majority of the miners were anxious
to preserve law and order, a very small per cent. of them, recruited
by the more vicious elements of society, created disturbances. In
some states these lasted for weeks and were so extensive as to
paralyze the operation of certain railroads and do serious damage.
Our coal field is the largest in America, being 250 miles long and
over 100 miles wide, having mines all over it, yet during the entire strike both the local and the State officers were so vigilant
that there was no interference with the operation of a railroad
but what was at once stopped, and there were only two serious
cases of destruction of property, one at Centralia and the other
near Pekin.   In both of these cases the mob had slipped in
stealthily from an adjoining county and committed the acts of
violence almost before the local peace officers learned that there
was any trouble.   But in these cases, as well as in every other
case where there had been any violation of law, the offenders were
promptly arrested and lodged in jail.  No difficulty was experienced anywhere in maintaining the supremacy of the law.   Considering the desperate condition in which most of the miners




39


found themselves and their families, they displayed a remarkable
love of order and respect for the law by everywhere discountenancing these acts of violence. During this strike arms were sent
to every civil officer in the State who asked for them, and troops
were sent promptly to every point where it appeared that there
was any reason for sending them. We endeavored in all of these
cases to send a personal representative onto the ground in order
to be correctly advised of the situation.   While troops were
refused many places, it was because it was known that there was
absolutely no danger there, and events showed that in all of these
cases we were correctly advised.
RAILROAD STRIKE.
Toward the end of June, when the country was beginning to
rally from the effects of the coal strike, one of the most extensive railroad strikes ever witnessed in this country was begun.
The operatives on almost every railroad in the Mississippi Valley
simultaneously stopped work, thus completely paralyzing nearly
all of the great railroads upon whose daily operation the welfare
of our people depended. Illinois being the greatest railroad state
and  Chicago the greatest railroad centre in the union, the
effects of the strike were felt more severely here than anywhere else.
The railroad managers soon endeavored to replace their old men with
new ones. The old employes, partly out of respect for the law
and partly because they believed that violence must defeat their
ends, not only abstained from violence, but everywhere counselled
against it. The National Commission, which has investigated this
strike, found that only a very small per cent. of railroad men
were guilty of violating the law, but the conditions were such as
to attract crowds of idle people, and soon the lawless element, always found in great centres of population, resorted to rioting and
destruction of property. Again, arms were sent at once to all civil
officers who asked for them, and, on the application of the respective sheriffs and civil officers, troops were sent to almost
every railroad centre, outside of Chicago, in the State, and order
was everywhere maintained, and the railroads were operated wherever they could get men to man their trains. The majesty of the
law was everywhere promptly and thoroughly maintained.




40


A  large number of telegrams coming from         all parts of the
State were received    and   answered  every   day. The following
few dispatches are fair specimens and show the attitude of the
State government at that time.
On the evening of July 1st, a telegram, signed on behalf of five
hundred passengers, was sent from     Decatur; it stated that five
hundred   American citizens were at Decatur on tied-up W1abash
trains, no effort being made by      company   to  move them, and
demanded    immediate assistance.    The   following telegram    was
promptly forwarded to the sheriff:
SPRINGFIELD. JIuly 1. 1 94.
Peter Perl. Sheriff, Decatur. Ill:
I have dispatch purporting to come from live hundred passenger.- now
detained at the depot in Decatur because trains are obstructed by strikers, and they ask for assistance. Wire me the situation fully. Are railroad officials making proper efforts to move trains, and are you able to
furnish the traveling public the necessary protection and to enforce the
law?
JOHN P. ALTGELD,
Govenior.
To which the sheriff replied that he had been able to preserve
order so far, but could do so no longer, and asked for troops, and
the following reply was sent:
SPRINGFIELD. Julvy 1. 1894..
Peter Perl, Sheriff, Decatur,, llI:
Have ordered troops to your assistance. They should reach you 1blfore
sunrise. See that all trains unlawfully held are released at once.
JOHN P. ALTGELD
The Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railway Company, on July 1st,
sent the following telegram:
CHICAGO. July 1, 1 94.
Governor" Altgeld:
For more than forty-eight hours past all mail trains on Eastern Illinois road have been tied up at Danville, forcibly prevented from moving
by crowd of strikers and sympathizers. Sheriff seems utterly paralyzed
and will do nothing, although repeatedly called on. We have full crews
of competent men on mail trains and are trying to move trains now. but
crowd of two thousand persons surround train and prevent its moving.
Will you not help us?
W. II. LYFORD.
Gew'ral Counsel Chicoago & Easter) Illinois IRailroa(d Comnpany.




41


To which the following reply was sent:
SPRINGFIELD, ILL, July 1, 1894.
W. H. Lyford, General Counsel of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois By. Co.:
We can furnish assistance promptly if the civil authorities show that
they need it. Thus far there has been no call for assistance from any of
the officials of Vermilion county, either sheriff, coroner, mayor of town.
or the county judge.
JOIN P. ALTGELD.
Governor.
At the same time, the following was sent to the sheriff of Vermillion county, at Danville:
SPRINGFIELD, July 1, 1894.
Sheriff of Vermilion County, Danville, Ill.:
Officials of the E. I. R. R. complain that their trains have been tied
up at Danville for forty-eight hours by strikers, and that they cannot
get sufficient protection to move them. Please wire me the situation.
fully. Can you enforce the law and protect the traveling public with
such forces as you can command.
JouN P. ALTGELD.
Governr(,
A similar telegram was sent to county judge and other local
officers.
The following reply was received from the sheriff:
I)ANVILLE. J uly 1, 1894.
Governor J. P. Altgeld:
Your message received. Send me one hundred rifles and ammunition':
by first train and I will try to protect the C. & E. I. It. 1. Co.'s men
and property. As to the situation, there are from three hundred to seven.
hundred strikers on the ground and oppose the movement of any and all
trains or cars excepting mail cars. They are usually quiet and duly sober
but very determined. I will advise you if I am not able to afford pr,I ection.
J. W. NEwrVTON, Sheri'f.
On receipt of above the following telegram was sent:
SPRINGFIELD, ILL., July 1, 1894..7. A. Newton, Sheriff, Danville, Ill.:
We have not got 100 stands of arms left here. From  information w%
get, we consider situation serious at.Danville and, therefore, send you
troops. They will be there early in the morning. All those trains unlawfully held should be moved before noon.
JOHN P. ALTGELD.




42


Where a railroad could not get men to man its trains, the State
could give it no help, and in several instances where a road had asked
military protection for its men, and troops were promptly furnished, it was found that the road had no men willing to work,
and we had to find soldiers who could act as engineers and brakemen in order to transport the troops.
In Chicago nearly all of the large railroad yards are out on the
prairies adjoining the city, some of the most extensive of them
being some miles away from the city limits. The sheriff of the
county applied for arms, and arms were promptly sent him. He
swore in a large number of deputies and the mayor of the city
greatly increased the police force, but the sheriff never asked for
any other assistance and the mayor did not apply for assistance
until the 6th of July. The strike did not seem  to be any more
serious than numerous others had been in prior years, when the
local officers found themselves amply able to control the situation.
This fact, together with the unexpected appearance of the Federal
troops, as hereafter explained, is no doubt the reason why the
democratic mayor did not sooner apply for aid from the State and
why the republican sheriff never applied for it. Finally the mob
resorted to rioting and the destruction of property, and, as the
railroad yards were scattered and covered so many square miles
that it would be difficult for a very large army to protect them
in such a manner as to prevent men from stealthily committing
incendiarism, it followed that numerous cars were burned. While
the rioting was no more serious than was witnessed at Buffalo,
New York, several years ago, and at different points in Ohio during last year, and was not half act bloody as numerous disturbances that have occurred in the state of Pennsylvania, still there
was a systematic effort macde by a portion of the press, for partisan and sensational purposes, to exaggerate everything and make
it appear that the city itself was in danger and that there was
scarcely a limit to the destruction of property. The United States
Labor Commission, which investigated this strike, heard the evidence of railroad men and of all others who knew any of the facts
on the subject, and reported as follows: "According to the testimony the railroads lost in property destroyed, in the hire of the
United States deputy marshals and other incidental expenses, at
least $685,783." It will be observed that this sum  includes the
"hire of deputy marshals and other incidental expenses. Conse



quently the actual destruction of property was very much below
this sum. The Chicago fire department, which officially investigated every case where there was a car or any other property
burned, reports as follows: "During the first three days of the
month of July no efforts were made to damage the property of
corporations. After that the    destruction  of property   was  as
follows:
July 4............................  $2,150  July  10..........................  $850
July............................  3,435  July 11......................... 2,100
July 6............................. 338, 972  Jinly  12.....................  565
July........................ 3,700  July13........................  115
July  S:........................  575  July  14......................  2,300
July 9.............................  1,150  Total....................... $355, 612
Subsequent examinations have shown that even this sum is exaggerated.   It will be seen by the table that nearly all of this
occurred on the 6th of July and was due to the fact that a fire
had broken out in a very large railroad yard south of the city,
where there was no water and where the fire department was consequently powerless. It seems that most of the burning occurred
in the evening after the rioting of that day in that locality had
been suppressed and after both the police and     the State troops
had arrived on the ground, but owing to the absence of water but
little could be done to arrest the flames. One fire engine put out
over half a mile of hose, but was unable then to reach the cars.
A mere glance at the facts shows that the reports that were sent
out as to the actual condition in Chicago during the strike were
malicious libels upon the city. They have created an unfavorable
impression in the east and abroad and    have done our people    a
great wrong. In some cases this was due to partisan malignity.
In other cases men who knew little or nothing of the facts and
who had very little, if any, practical knowledge of our institutions, slandered the city and our institutions for no other apparent
reason than  that it seemed   to be popular for.a while to do so,
and that by doing so the smiles of a class could be won.
In order to understand the significance of some things that
happened at Chicago the dates of the various events are of vital
importance. It will be noticed that according to the report of the
fire department it was not until the 6th of July that the rioting
became extensive. As it has been claimed that the intervention




44


of the federal government by the appointment of a special counsel to represent the government at Chicago in this strike and the
subsequent sending of troops was largely for the purpose of moving and protecting the mails, I call attention to the following:
On June 30th the superintendent of the Railway Mail Service at
Chicago sent the following dispatch to Washington:
"'No mails have accumunilated at Chicago so far. All regular imail 1 ra is
are moving nearly on time with a few slight exceptions."
Yet notwithstanding this dispatch, on the very next morning, before anything more had happened, Mr. Walker, a distinguished corporation lawyer, was appointed special counsel to represent the
United States government by Mr. Olney, the Attorney General
of  the United    States.  After this, when    the  trouble  became   more   serious,  there   was   some    delay  in  getting
the mails in and out of Chicago, but the officials in chargedisplayed  such  ability  and  vigilance that the delay at no
time was great.  The superintendent of the railway mail service,
upon whom the duty of getting the mails in and out of Chicago
rested, when lately interrogated upon this point writes, that while
there were interferences and delays during a number of days, yet
that
"'With the exception of some trains that were heldl at Iammnuod, In(d.,
Washington Heights, Danville and Cairo, 11l., the greatest delay to any
of the outgoing and incoming mails probably (lid not exceed fromn eight.
to nine hours at any time.
'Louis L. Tiuov.
' Supe!( nf<  (b,t. "
Whatever may      have been   the   delays and    interferences
at other points, it is apparent that there was nothing        in
Chicago in connection with the mail service that called for federal
intervention. In fact, the strikers made it a  point not to interfere with mail trains, but only to cut off Pullman sleepers, and in
a number of cases, outside of Chicago, where a mail train was
delayed it was because the strikers had cut off a Pullman sleeper
and the railway officials then flatly refused to move the train until
they could carry the Pullman sleeper. On July 2d, the d(lay after
the appointment of a special counsel and when there had been
little, if any, destruction of property, the United States troops at
Fort Sheridan were already under orders to be ready to march to
Chicago at a moment's notice. Some days prior to this, the managers of all of the railway lines centering in Chicago, formed an




45


organization to fight the strike and they were in daily conference.
At (i o'clock P. M. of July 2d, after the troops at Fort Sheridan
had been ordered to be in readiness, the managers of the various
roads gave out a detailed report showing the conditions on their
lines:
WISCONSIN CENTIRAL All passenger aid freiglht trainis nioviing and business resumed its on01 al condition.
('I ICAGO A)ND NORTHERN ]PACIFIC -Suburban traills all ruinning about
on timue; freight moving without interruption; night suburban trains disco'ntiniued for tfear of being stoned by loafers.
(HICAGo(, IURLINGTON & QUINCY- Thirty-seven car-loads of dressed
Iwef loaded irn Kansas City yesterday morning have passed over this road
safely and delivered to eastern lines this afternoon and are now moving
all right.
(CHICAGO. IlILWAIKEIE & ST. PAUL--All passenger trains have arrived
and departed on time: no freigut moving here, but it is moving on other
parts of the line.
C(HICAG  & NIORTHI WESTERN--All through.passenger tratfic has been
(conttinnued without interruption; suburban service practically suspended
for Ille niglht:: not tryinig to handle freight.
LAKE SHIOE &:    ( MICHIGAN SOUTHERN--N  interruption to business; both
l)pssenger and freight trains have come and departed as usual.
ItALrTIMOIE & OHIO.-All passenger trains with full equipment met with
no delay and all very nearly on time.
(CIA(.' o  (& GREAT  \'ES'TEltN- ----Passenger trains moving as usual with
1 lie regular Pullnian equipPment: freight service partially resumed on the
Chicago division.
CHICAGO & ERIE-- All p)asseger trains are running out on time; not
attelmptilng to do freight business; have had trouble at Marion, 0.
At 10 o'clock on the morning of July 3rd a consultation was
held between the special counsel for the United States, the United
States District Attorney and several others, in which it was decided to urge the sending of Federal troops, and a dispatch was
dictated by the special counsel for the government for this purpose and was sent to the Attorney    General at Washington, and
in the afternoon of that day the United States troops at Fort
Sheridan were ordered to Chicago and they     arrived in that city
that evening and ostensibly went on active duty. Up to this time
no application had been made to the State authorities by anybody
for assistance in maintaining order in Chicago. Both the local
authorities as well as the State government were entirely ignored
and neither was asked whether it could     enforce the law or not.




46


Several weeks prior to this date, during the coal strike, the
United States Court for the Southern District of Illinois issued
an injunction against some of the coal strikers and then issued
process for their arrest. The United States Marshal met with
resistance in attempting to serve these warrants. The United States
Judge wrote to the Attorney General in reference to having
United States troops assist the Marshal, and the Attorney   General telegraphed an answer reading as follows:
"WASHINGTON. IJUNE 16. 1S94.
Allen, U. S. Judge, Springfield. Ill.:
Understand State of Illinois is willing to protect property agaiinst lawless violence with military force if necessary.  'lease advise receivels to
take proper steps to procure protection by (civil authorities of the State.
If such protection proves inadeq(uate the (Governor should 1e applied to
for military assistance.
( )LNEY, AttorneA y Gemv."
This laid down the correct doctrine. Immediately after the date
of this telegram and again on several occasions thereafter, during
the coal strike as well as during the railroad strike, the United
States Marshal for the Southern District of Illinois, finding that
the local civil authorities could not furnish the needed assistance,
applied to the Governor for military aid to enable him   and his
deputies to execute these processes of the United States Court,
and in each instance troops were promptly sent to his assistance,
and inside of a few  hours after being furnished the Marshal disdischarged his duties promptly and thoroughly and without the
loss of a    single life,  and  in  no   case  was   there   any
delay   in  enforcing  the  law, and     the  State   administration  stood  equally  ready  to   furnish  the   United    States
Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois any assistance he
might require.    As the Attorney General had     stated he understood the State of Illinois would furnish     military  assistance    where    necessary,  and    that   civil  authorities  of
the  State   must first   be  applied  to  for   protection, and
if they  could not furnish it, then the     Governor should   be
asked for military assistance, and further, as a number of such
applications had just been made to the Governor and had in each
case been promptly granted, and all the assistance necessary had
been furnished without a moment's delay, and the Federal officials
had in every case been enabled to discharge their duty thoroughly,
it is apparent that the Attorney General would    naturally refer




.47


the F-1ederal officials of Chicago to the State authorities if they,
needled assistance. Aiid it is reasonable to assume that if the
protection of property and the enforcem-ent of the law was all
that was aimed at, this would have been done. And the fact that
it was not done, andloon the contrary all State authorities were
ignoredl and. an entirely new an,' revolutionary policy was pursued, warrants the conclusion that some other and ulterior object
was aimedl at. The special counsel for the government apparently
directed matters for the railroads, and assistance from the State,
was niot wanted, but every energy was bent andl every possible
step taken to establish a new precedent that might be useful in
the future, that is, to have the Federal government step in and
take the corporations of the country directly under its immediate
protection, so that no matter whether the local authorities were
in any case amply able to enforce the 'law or iiot, the corporations could in the future ignore themn and deal directly with   the
Federal goverument andl have Federal troops at pleasure.
At about 6 o'clock on the evening of July 3, after the United
States troops had been ordered to Chicago, the managers of the
different railroads reported the conditions on. their railroads
briefly as follows:
SANTA VE S--iX regu a1  a pssenigerIrt ia is mon ii ue: linoNvi ugfi-e gut.
ChicR.AGo, M ILW AIREkE AND) ST. PAVL----All pa011e ntime 8and
wvithouit interference.: moving freight.
CHICAGO AND A LToN\ý----*-Traijl; stop for wvant of tuiemlen.
i3ALTEMORE' AND (boo1----Trains moving; one engine (letached by wNithdrawal ofJ couipling phi: police detai led anld protected traiui a.t Onice.
(JIICAO. -buiN(ToNANDQuIcv--I~ssegertraiins, running as uisual:
no freigh-t haud(led. becauise firemeni and euii rneers refuised to work wAithi
new Menl.
LAKE ' Su'iouF: ANI)D  IA  SuiiuN--Taismoving as usual; freight
trains dlelayedi at Englewood, ltut prompt action by the police dep~artneat ia is-ed the blockade.
Cume(,A(To ANM) EASTERN ILLINOIM-Situlact ion is better thian yesterd~ay.
ILLINOIS C'ENT1'RAL--Ties found on track nearing crossing,. but did ndt
dela ~airiu: iatters gietting along as nicely (as, couild lie expected under
the circumlstanlces;.
CHIIeAGO AND (bLEAT WEuSTRiuN-4*-assenger tr-ains all m-o-ving: freight
trains stlarted: went-,thirouigh~ witliout trouble.
Cmnc-JAGo AND GRAND )TuuNia--Completely.blockaded at I3--attle Creek-,
in Mlichiigaui; will scud out no trains from Chiceago until that is raised.


4




48


iOENON RoI TE Men cannot be tad to take strikers' places.
(CHICAGO AND EIIE P.assenger trains moving all right on time.
WVABASII- Account (of trouble at other places, buitt none at Chicago.
PANHANDLE- Trains moving all right: none more than twenty minutes.lam e.
CHICAGO AND NORTHERN PACIFIC- All day suburban trains on tinme
business being handled without interruption.
ROCK ISLAND- Trouble at DesMoines, Iowa; at Blue Island and at
other places, but none at Chicago.
On the 4th day of July there was some disturbance, and on the
evening of that day the managers of the railroads again reported
the conditions on their roads briefly as follows:
CHICAGO AND ALTON-Local trains between Chicago, Joliet and Dwight
are running; through trains are held at Bloomington by strikers.
SANTA FE- -Everything in pretty good shape; passenger trains on time:
ran five freight trains in Missouri and eleven in Illinois in past twentyfour hours, and have resumed local freight service between Chicago arid
Streator.
CHICAGO, 1MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL--Trouble with firemen running on
Council Bluffs line; with exception of a local train, all passenger trains
departed and arrived on time; no trouble on the line between C(licago
and St. Paul.
B)ALTIMORE & Ontl-Passenger trains on fairly good timlte: no delays
due to strikers.
NICKEL PLATE--Regular passenger trains left and arrived on tile:
freight switching business is at a stand-still.
CHICAGO & NORTHIIWESTERN-All through trains on the (lalena division
gotten out last night, but suburban traffic on that division was hanipered by the inability to find engineers; are ()peratting all passengers in
and out of Chicago on Wisconsin division and are rapidly getting subu)rban traffic oni Galena division running; handled no freight yesterday but
resumed to-day; brought in a train of fruit from the west and have several trains of beer coming in fromn Milwaukee: no acts of violence on our
lines in city.
WISCONsIN CENTIRAL LINEs S- Passenger and freight trains moving and:bout on time.
CHICAGO & NORLTHERN PACIFIC--All suburban trains running regiular
except night trains; freight business is being handled promptly.
MICHIGAN CENTrAL--Handled all freight thlat is tender; moving all
trains and doing regular work; a train of beef, consisting of forty cars,
which was held at IIalsted street has been pulled through the jam and
is moving eastward.
ILLINOIS CENTRAL--The conditions on this line are more favorable
than since the beginning of the strike; there is no suburban service
to-day; but this service will be resumed to-morrow morning; handled 100
cars of merchandise and coal yesterday, placed on tracks for unloading.


A




49


CHICAGO & EASTERN ILLINOIs-AMoving So.me passenger tr~ains afnd resumning business gradlually.
CHICAGO AND GrRAND TLWNK-St~arted out mail train for the east this
morning: have. no equipment at Chi;c-ago with which to make uip throug'i
trains, a.s this iss tied up by the strikers, at Battle Creek-, M ich.
CHICAGO, BURLINGTON AND QUINCY--l l(l1 trouble iii attempting to
move a freight train: last night Pullman cars were cuit from at passen.ger trtain, but with assistance of police were promptly recouipled and
train moved forward; ' all other trains of lcast night and to-d~ay are running
without interference of any kindl. The entire force of switchmen ini
St. Louis left the service of the road yesterday evening. We are not
tryiirig to handle freight to-day; everythhing is quiet.
On the 5th of July the con1ditions appearedI to have been very
much the same as on the 4th, but there were rumiors of au extension of the strike. On the morning of the 6th of July I sent
word to the mayor of Chicago that if hie could not easily control
the situation the State. would furnish him any assistance that
might be needed. About the same time I telegraphed the officials of the Illinois Cenitral Railroad Company, who complained
that their property was being destroyed by a mob, to apply to
the local authorities, and that if neither the mayor nor the sheriff
could maintain order, and if both of these officials should refuse
to apply to the State for aid, they should advise. me of this fact
aind the State w-ould then promptly do what was necessary to restore, order and assist the local officers in executing the law.
Toward noon of the 6th the rioting having become more serions
than on any previous day, the mayor applied for assistance. At
this time the Federal troops had been on the gro'und three days.
The effect of their presence instead of overawing the mob and prevenitingy trouble had served as an irritant. On receiving the mayor's
dispatch five regiments of infantry, two troops of cavalry and two
batteries were at once ordered to the scene, and before midnight
they were nearly all on duty, although some of them had to go
150 miles, and in thirty hours after the arrival of the State troops
all serious rioting had been suppressed and the destruction of
property practically ended, except where it was committed stealthily. It is a matter of gratification to every patriotic citizen of
Illinois who isl proud of his State that it was our own troops who
assisted the -civil"authorities and restored law and order in C hicago. While they were not petted by fashionable society they did
deal directly with the mob. IDuring the trouble thousands of men


-4




50


all over the State tendered their services to the Executive and I
am  satisfied that an army of 200,000 men could have been mustered in a few days if they had been called for. This spirit of
patriotism was especially manifested by the old soldiers of the
State. Inasmuch as there was at no time, according to the statement of the railroad managers above quoted, even on the worst days
of the strike, any serious delay in the coming in or the going out
of the mails, and inasmuch as the special counsel for the Government had been appointed the next morning after the superintendent of the railway mail service had telegraphed that there had
been practically no delay in receiving or sending out trains, and
as the United States troops were brought on the ground three
days in advance of any serious rioting, and at a time when the
local officers believed themselves absolutely able to control the
situation, it is evident that there had to be some other pretext on
the part of the Federal Government for its action than the mere
protection of the mails or the suppression of riots. That pretext
was the enforcement of the processes of the Federal courts. Although the United States Marshal at Chicago had sworn in 4,402
deputy marshals, mostly on the recommendation of the railroads,
still this did not answer the purpose that was apparently aimed at,
that is, to establish a precedent for using the Federal army. They must
have Federal troops, and these had already been applied for and
were specially asked by the counsel for the Government, who represented both railroads and Government, on the morning of July
3rd, and the processes of the courts which'these troops were to
enforce were not the legitimate processes of the United States
court, for it does not appear that any special trouble was experienced in serving any process of the courts issued in accordance
with the constitution and laws of the country, but these processes
were warrants for arrest issued by Federal judges charging men,
not with the commission of a crime and not with the violation of
a law, but with being guilty of a contempt of court.
Government by Injunctions. During the last two or three years
the usurpation of power on the part of the federal judiciary, which
had been steadily going on for -a long time, has assumed a form
where it is destroying the very foundations of republican government.   The Constitution divides the powers of government into
the legislative, judiciary and executive, and contemplates that no
two of these shall be lodged in the _same person, but during the




51


last two years the people of this country have repeatedly witnessed the operation of an entirely new form of government, which
was never before heard of among men in either monarchy or republic, that is, government by injunction whereby a Federal judge
not content with deciding controversies brought into his court,
not content with exercising the judicial functions of government,
proceeds to legislate and then administrate.  He issues a ukase
which he calls an injunction forbidding whatever he 'pleases and
what the law does not forbid and thus legislates for himself without limitation and makes things penal which the law does not
make penal, makes other things punishable by imprisonment which
at law are punishable only by fine, and he deprives men of the
right of trial by jury when the law guarantees this right, and he
then enforces this ukase in a summary and arbitrary manner by
imprisonment, throwing men into prison not for violating a law,
but for being guilty of a contempt of court in disregarding one
of these injunctions.  During the last two years some of these
judges actually enjoined men from quitting the employment of a
railroad.  These injunctions are a very great convenience to corporations when they can be had for the asking by a corporation
lawyer, and these were the processes of the court to enforce which
the President sent the Federal troops to Chicago.
During the coal and railroad strikes last summer the United
States Marshal for the Southern District of Illinois swore in altcgether over 300 deputies, chiefly for the purpose of enforcing
injunctions of this character issued by the United States court and
directed to the Marshal to enforce, and about 191 men were arrested at Cairo and other points in the State and brought to
Springfield in charge of officers, a distance of from 100 to 200 miles,
and lodged in jail. Nearly all were charged with contempt of
court and were tried not by a jury but by the court whose dignity they were said to have offended; 121 were convicted, and most
of them sent to jail for from thirty to ninety days. Many had to be
set free when it came to a hearing because it did not appear that
they had even violated an injunction, let alone committed a crime,
and nearly all when set free found themselves on the streets from
100 to 200 miles from their homes without money and without
friends. In very many cases the United States Marshal, prompted
by the instincts of humanity, gave them something to eat and




52


secured transportation for their return, while some of the corporation agents who were responsible for it all appeared to regard the
proceedings as a good lesson for the men. During the railroad
strike the Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois, who had
already the necessary deputies to serve the regular and legitimate
processes of the courts, swore in 4,402 deputy marshals almost for
the sole purpose of enforcing some of these injunctions. Some of
these injunctions were obtained as early as June 29th and 30th. They
were issued without notice, they ran against all of the inhabitants
of the three States comprising that judiciary circuit, and were not
served personally, but in some cases were simply posted on some wall
and in others attempts were made to read them to a vast mob under
circumstances that made the whole proceeding look farcical and
indicated that the mob was not expected to obey them, but that
these proceedings were had simply to lay the foundation for
another step. After these injunctions had been issued the United
States marshals, according to their own statements, arrested about
450 men, nearly all on the mere charge of being guilty of contempt of court, and so far as can be learned not twenty men
have been convicted on any charge. These injunctions served as
a sort of side-door convenience, and were used in some instances
to terrorize the men. At different times men who could have
been found at any hour of the day were arrested toward evening,
in some cases on a Saturday evening, when the officers who could
admit to bail had gone home, so as to compel the men to spend
a night or a Sunday in jail. George Lovejoy, a trainmaster at
LaSalle, was a member of the A. R. U., and when the strike
began he simply quit.work but did nothing more. A warrant was
sworn out for his arrest. He was taken 100 miles to Chicago in
charge of officers and remained in their custody two days and was
then bailed out, and when the case was about to be heard it was
dismissed with the simple statement that 'they did not care to
prosecute. Had the machinery of justice been left in impartial
hands and had there been no other object in view than merely
the enforcement of the law and the protection of property, it is
manifest that these abuses would not have happened. The federal
government had already the complete machinery of justice in
Chicago which had been found to be sufficient for every and all
purposes.  It had never interfered on similar occasions in the




6   53


past. Consequently the fact that it should interfere at all here
was    remarkable,   and    that   it   should   step   in   at
such  an  early  date was still more    remarkable, but more
significant than all these things was the selection which it made
of a representative. There were in Chicago at that time thousands
of able lawyers who had no personal interest to serve, but they
were not wanted.   The administration claimed to be democratic
and there were hundreds of democrats capable of filling any office
in the government, but they could not be trusted.   A man was
selected who was not only of opposite politics, but who was one
of the most prominent corporation lawyers in the country, who
was at that time the hired attorney of one of the railroads involved in the strike, and who was at that time personally engaged in
fighting strikers, and therefore had an interest in the outcome, yet
this man was clothed with all the powers of the government and
he brought to the use of himself and his clients, without expense
to them, the services of over 4,000 United States marshals, of a
specially picked United States grand jury, of several United States
judges, and of the United States army.  Never before were the
United States government and the corporations of the country so
completely blended, all the powers of the one being at the service of the other, and never before was the goddess of justice
made a mere handmaid for one of the combatants.      Surely, if
there had not been a special object to attain, if there had been
nothing wanted except to preserve order and enforce the law, then
common decency would have suggested that the machinery of
justice remain in impartial hands. It is evident that if the Attorney General of the United States did not outline and advise the
policy that was pursued, it received his approval and was carried
out through his assistance.
Referring again to Government by Injunction: Some of the
Federal judges based these remarkable orders on the Inter-State
Commerce Law. This was an act passed by Congress some years
ago for the express purpose of protecting the public against unjust charges on the part of the -ailroads, and particularly of protecting the farmers and th,._ippers of the country against ruinous discriminations. T _  railroads refused to obey this law and
carried it into the Fed  al courts, and these same Federal judges
proceeded to hold seciil>n after section of the law to be unconsti



54


tutional, until they had absolutely destroyed it for the purpose for
which it was enacted and had made it as harmless as a dead
rabbit. Then, after having thus nullified an act of Congress intended for the protection of the people, they turned around and
made of it a club with which to break the backs of the men who
toil with their hands-men whom     Congress did not think of
legislating against. Others of these judgeo have recently held that
they have the power to make these orders independently of the
Inter-State Commerce Law.
Another innovation is the operation of railroads by courts of
chancery, whereby a court carries on a vast business enterprise,
not simply for a short time, but frequently for years, and by an
astounding fiction in the line of usurpation of power, the dignity
and the sacred presence of the court is supposed to extend over
the whole line of the road, and the road is said to be not in the
hands of the receivers, as otIter property is in the hands of the
owner, but in the actual possession of the court, and anything
done to the railroad is treated as a contempt of court. If you
commit an offense against a railroad that is in the hands of
its owners you will be prosecuted in the county where the offense
is committed, tried by a jury, and, if proven to be guilty, may be
sent to the penitentiary. But if you tread on the grass or throw
a stone onto a railroad that has been robbed by speculators and
then put into the hands of a receiver to freeze out some stockholders, you will be guilty of a contempt of some court sitting
several hundred miles away, and you will be liable to be arrested and carried to where it is, there to be tried, not by a jury
or a disinterested tribunal, but by that court whose awful dignity
you have offended. If the courts must go into the business of
operating railroads, then these absurd fictions should be abandoned
and the roads held to be in the hands of the receivers just as
other roads are held to be in the hands of their owners. It is in
connection with bankrupt roads in the hands of a court that
most of the outrageous orders or injunctions were issued during
the last two years. These injunctions are outside of the regular
machinery of government. So far as they are outside the law
they are usurpations, and where not usurpations they are wrong,
for the Constitution has created other machinery to enforce the
criminal law. Courts of Chancery were not created for this




55


purpose. Further, they do no good. In Chicago they were issued
long in advance of any serious rioting or disturbances; yet they
did  not prevent the burning    of a single freight car, nor
the ditching of a single train. Our country has existed for more
than a hundred years. During this time all our greatness and
our glory has been achieved. Property has been protected, and
law and order has been maintained by the machinery established
by the Constitution; this machinery has at all times been found
to be more than sufficient for every emergency. If both   the
Constitution and our past experience are now to be disregarded,
and the Federal courts are to be permitted to set up this new
form of government, then it will be equally proper for the State
courts to do so, and we shall soon have government by injunction
from head to toe. All of the affairs of life will be regulated, not
by law, but by the personal pleasure, prejudice or caprice of a
multitude of judges.
Formerly, when a man charged with contempt of court, filed an
affidavit purging himself of the contempt-that is denying itthe matter ended, except that he could be indicted for perjury
if he swore to a lie. But after thus purging himself lie could
not be tried for contempt by the very judge whose dignity he
was charged with having offended. In other words when a man
denied his guilt he could not be sentenced to prison without a
trial by jury. But this protection of the citizen is now brushed
away.
Federal Troops: The placing of United States troops on active
duty in Chicago under the conditions that existed there last summer presents a question of the most far-reaching importance and
should receive the most serious consideration of every patriot and
of every man who believes in free institutions. As already shown,
they were pat there without calling on the local authorities to enforce the law or making any inquiry as to whether any assistance
was needed, and at a time when the local authorities felt they
could easily control the situation. While the dates and the facts
show that it was done in this case for the purpose of setting a
precedent for having the federal government take the corporations
under its immediate protection, the principle involved is much
broader than even this violation of the Constitution, and contemplates the exercise of a pDwer that cannot exist in harmony




56


with republican institutions. This act was an entirely new departure in the history of our government, and a great constitutional writer of the country in complimenting the President upon
having taken this step speaks of it as a great step taken in constitutional construction and is thankful that it cost so little bloodshed, thus practically stating that this new departure was a violation of the constitution as it had been understood for a century. The old doctrine of state rights is in no way involved.
Nobody for a moment questions the supremacy of the Union.
But it does involve the question whether, in connection with federal supremacy, there does nbt go hand in hand the principle of
local self-government. These two principles, i. e., Federal union
and local self-government, have for a century been regarded as
the  foundation upon which the    glory  of our whole governmental fabric rests.  One is just as sacred, just as inviolable, just as important as the other.   Without Federal union
there must follow  anarchy, and without local self-government
there must follow despotism. Both are destructive, not only of
the liberties, but of tile higher aspirations and possibilities of a
people. The great Civil War settled that we should not have
anarchy. It remains to be settled whether we shall be destroyed
by despotism. If the President can, at his pleasure, in the first
instance, send troops into any city, town or hamlet in the country, or into any number of cities, towns or hamlets, whenever and
wherever he pleases, under pretense of enforcing some law, his
judgment, which means his pleasure, being the sole criterion, then
there can be no difference whatever in this respect between the powers
of the President and those of Emperor William o-" of the Czar of Russia. Neither of these potentates ever claimed anything more. It is
not a question as to whether the President must first get the permission of local authorities before he can interfere, but the question is whether the local and State authorities should first be
called to enforce the law and maintain order, using for that purpose such local agencies and forces as the law has created, or
whether he can ignore all these and bring a foreign force and
station it in any community at pleasure. In this respect Federal
civil officers and the Federal army do not stand on the same footing. The Federal civil officers always have acted directly in the
matters within their jurisdiction, but the American people, as




57


well as all other free and intelligent people, are jealous of a central military power, hence great precautions have been taken to
limit the use of such power, and these limitations have always
been recognized in this country, and were recognized by the
Attorney General so late as June 16, 1894. Again, the Constitution provides that the  military shall be subordinate to the
civil authorities, and in all cases where State troops are ordered out they are subject to the control of the local civil authorities and act under their direction, but the Federal troops
ordered to Chicago last summer did not act under any civil officer
whether Federal or State.   They did not act under the United
States Marshal, but directly under orders from  military headquarters at Washington and were subject only to those orders.
So far as they acted at all it was military government.  Local
self-government is the very foundation of freedom and of republican institutions, and no people possess this who are subject to
have the army patrol their streets and interfere in the affairs of
government, acting not under but independently of the local authorities, and do this at the mere discretion of one man, or of a central power that is far away.  Such local self-government as would
be possible under these conditions may be found all over Russia.
We grew great and powerful and won the admiration of the world
while proceeding under a different form of government, and if we
are to go on in the same line, then the American people must arrest
and rebuke this federal usurpation. In all history no power possessed  by  government was ever allowed to lie dormant long.
Either the   man    or  the   class soon  appeared  who,  for
selfish  purposes,  proceeded  to  exercise it.  If the acts
of the  President are to stand unchallenged   and  thus form
a precedent, then we have undergone a complete change in our
form of government, and whatever semblance we may keep up in
the future, our career as a republic is over.  We will have a
rapidly increasing central power controlled and dominated by class
and by corporate interests.  Holding these views and knowing
that the law had been enforced, property protected, and older
maintained for a whole century by Constitutional agencies and
feeling that the miglity State of Illinois needed neither assistance
nor interference from any outside source, I considered it my duty
as the Executive of the State, to protest against the presence of


-5




58


Federal troops under the existing circumstances, and requested
their withdrawal, and I herewith submit the correspondence upon
that subject.
It is a matter of special regret to many of our patriotic citizens
that this blow at free institutions should have been struck by a President who was placed in power by a party that had made local
self-government a cardinal principle for more than a century. It
was a stabbing of republican institutions and a betrayal of democratic principles.
ANARCHY AND THE PRESERVATION OF GOVERNMENT.
The marked feature of this age has been consolidation. The
large concerns swallowing the small ones or destroying them. This
done, the large ones formed trusts, thus destroying all competition
as to the public and as to labor. They arbitrarily fix the prices
of goods on the one hand, and the rate of wages on the other, and
neither the public nor the laborer have any remedy. The one is
compelled to pay what is asked, for necessity is at its throat; the
other is compelled to accept what is offered, for hunger is in his
home. The Scotch brigands never had more effective weapons.
The amassing of millions under these conditions is an easy matter,
and as they grow more powerful these trusts get beyond the control of the government. Prompted by the instinct of self-preservation, the laborers of the country are endeavoring to form combinations. They see that standing alone as individuals in the
presence of the mighty combinations of capital, they will be
ground to atoms. That unless they can meet combination with
combination they and their children must soon be reduced to
abject poverty and hopeless slavery, differing from African slavery
in this, that while the African had a master who had to feed and
in the end to bury him, the white slave will have only a master
to take his earnings.   Now the    men who formed the great
combinations of capital are opposed to combinations among laborers, and the Federal courts that have been the special gaurdians
of corporations  and   combinations  seem   to  be determined
to  crush  labor organizations. Some    of  these  judges, not
being content with   their decisions, drag  their ermines over
the  land  to pieach   against  united  action  by  the toilers.
In   recent  years  the Custitntio.  seems   to have bacome
an insurmountable barrier to every measure intended for the pro



59


tection of the public, while its most plainly expressed provisions
for the protection of the liberty and the personal rights of the
citizen are blown away with a mere breath. This subservincy on
the part of the Federal judiciary when dealing with powerful
corporations followed by usurpation of power, and the assumption of an awful dignity when    dealing with the men    who
have to earn their bread by the sweat of their brows, is not calculated to create respect for either the law or its machinery, and
does tend to create unrest among our people, for it is the height
of folly to imagine that the people do not understand the character of these acts. At present the status seems to be this: Combinations by capital against the public and against labor have
succeeded, no matter by what means, and the men who accomplished it are now patriots; while combinations among laborers
for self protection have failed, and the men who advocate it are
enemies of society.  If these conditions are to continue, then the
fate of the American laborer is sealed.  He must be reduced to
the lowest conditions of existence, and this must destroy that very
capital which is now pushing him down; for with the destruction
of the purchasing power of the American laborer will disappear
our great American market, and whenever this happens--whenever the American laborer, like his brother in the poorer countries of the old world, can only buy a little coarse clothing and
some poor food and cannot afford to travel, then many of our great
manufacturing and railroad properties will not be worth 50 cents on
the   dollar.  Further, this   process   must   produce   discontent,  disturbance  and  hatred  and   will  increase  the
expense  of   watching  property, and   greatly  increase  the
expense of government, and consequently the taxes. Russianizing a government is an expensive business and has never yet
succeeded-not even in Russia. It has always resulted in choking
enterprise, and in the end destroying capital. Capital to-day does
not seek investment in any country where the laborers are slaves,
and where there is an ever present system of police and espionage, for the taxes are destructive and there is no market. Capital
seeks those countries where liberty stimulates activity and enterprise. Again, the government is interested in preserving the highest order of citizenship. This is impossible where the laborer is
too poor to educate his children and is kept in the condition of a
beast of bhrden. The spirit of self preservation alone requires




60


the government to take notice of these conditions. If the government is impotent in dealing with combinations of capital, then it
should at least give the laboring men of the country a fair chance
to protect themselves by peaceable means. It will be a sorry day
for our country when we shall have only the very rich on the
one hand, and a crushed and spiritless poor on the other. These
conditions, if not arrested, will change the character of our government, and give us in time a corrupt oligarchy, the worst form
of government known to man. For several years there has come
from certain classes a loud cry of anarchy intended to cover every
man who protested against the destruction of American liberty
with obloquy. It was a cry of "stop thief" by a class that apparently wished to direct attention from what it was doing. Even
if we had anarchists in our country, they could accomplish nothing, for men in rags never yet destroyed a government. They
can sometimes destroy some property, but never a government.
We have our fair share of criminals of every grade and kind,
and the law is amply able to deal with these. Our government
never has been and   is not to-day in the slightest danger
from the anarchy of a mob.   Our people are loyal, and no government can be found on earth that is stronger than ours in this
regard, for it is as yet entrenched in the hearts of our citizens.
Half a million men would rush to the defence of the government
in our State alone in a day if it were in the slighest danger from
any violence.  Our danger lies in another direction.  It comes
from that corruption, usurpation, insolence and oppression that
go hand in hand with vast concentration of wealth, wielded by
unscrupulous men; and it behooves every friend of republican institutions to give these things most serious consideration.  Being
required by the Constitution to report the condition of the State,
and seeing that the ground is being dug from some of its foundation, I have felt it to be my duty to call attention to it, earnestly
hoping that a remedy will be found for all of the evils that
threaten us.  Let us bear in mind in all we do that we are
legislating for one of the greatest states on earth, a State that is
yet in its infancy, and has already won the admiration of mankind; a State which if guided by those principles of liberty and
true republican government ordained by the fathers, must have a
career of unparalleled grandeur and glory.  Therefore let us
build for the centuries.
JOHN P. ALTGELD.




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EXHIBIT.
The following Institutions have turned into the State Treasury
surplus funds on hand January 1, 1895:
Northern Hospital for Insane, at Elgin.................... $23,555 77
Central Ilospital for Insane, at Jacksonville..................  51,900 59
Southern ilospital for Insane, at Anna.......................    81,299 36
Asylum for Insane Criminals,( at Chester......................    4,540 00
Home for Feeble Minded, at Lincoln.........................      12,373 55
Soldiers' Orphans ' Hlome, at Normal..........................    6,218 92
Eye and Ear Infirmary, at Chicago...........................     14,520 93
Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, at Quincy........................   13,073 68
Reformatory for Female Offenders, at Chicago................    16,000 00
T otal........................................................  $233,482  80




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