^^^W^^K^^ mm^m^^^MM>> l^^fww/ ^^w: :^^rf2^^^ * wf^w fe^i ?^l^fe^ f ,m/.te &/^-ti ^,J ,p}:?^%Aga 4f^^rf % l&^-W fk*^to . ^olMsMfSl^ilt' -o^ v a isa/ r* i^, y r*-x;N\/- _> i V-~ iM/^-.-,i> ; , ^ 3 iT -'^ A\W~ I .^X'K W(_>~7_,.. *? " ' \ ''..... ;r< A v*iC~J- -;L A ,., \/'/-$L 7*Cj?'"-$L f^ \\it?dg''-< /K~H*?:w ' r^^VyJfc Vv? ^r v:^' > ^;' = ^\ >/ :] Ur- ^iCu^^l t^fei\& JK^ ! /*S ^^s^-W^m m^[.s 5 ^a^^;feiM^to a?f>g^^^:-^:;nf>^^^ : \WsR V\WFI^'' %^\ '^ i^:rfs^^ w ...^fe : ii LI B R.AR.Y OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS %^wm&%$fcn ^- .A \ ' .ii'., T \iy e -'^s>--^i. J .^A , v '';.,/" ,..-.v'>\]^.-^-.. .,- T"^- \ if . r 'vSMJ M 1 :^**^^*-^ r^ -"M i!/ i*W ' - ^*"; 5 X > f^*vS^> WOJ5r W^^^^fe^^t} >v ^% -iSK m^K&^lw w^m^U imlaM^ : /' '- ' M i , % , , AjT.ir- x ^ ^i MW&aiW ^%M : ^ ^y*:- BRIKF HISTORY OF THE Charitable Institutions OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 1893. JOHN MORRIS COMPANY, PRINTERS, 118 AND 120 MONROE STREET, CHICAGO. 1.2 PREFACE. To let the world know what a magnificent work the State of Illinois has done and is doing for her unfortunate people, the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb, the Feeble Minded Children, the Insane, her Disabled Sol- diers, and the Orphans of her Soldiers, the Committee on State Charitable Institutions of the Illinois Board of World's Fair Commissioners had prepared and published for gratuitous distribution a brief history of each of the State Charitable Institutions. These histories were prepared by the Superintendents of the several Institutions, and may therefore be considered as authentic and reliable. They have been given to all visitors to the exhibits of these Institutions who desired to read them. To put these histories in a more convenient and more permanent form, the Com- mittee on State Charitable Institutions ordered that 200 copies of these histories be bound in one volume, each volume containing one copy of each of these histories, for distribution to the State and County offices > and to the State Institutions, Charitable and Educational, and this vol - ume is the result of that order. JAMES M. WASHBURN, Chairman. } Committee on A. B. HOSTETTER. State B. F. WYMAN. -, T _. Charitable W. D. STRYKER. J. W. JUDY. Institutions. '^ u comprises a galaxy of brilliant names in the history of Illinois. Thomas Carlin, Thomas Cole, Joseph Duncan, each at different times governors of the State ; Samuel D. Lockwood, Sam- uel H. Treat, Cyrus Walker, eminent jurists and judges of the Su- preme Court; William Thomas, repeatedly a member of the Legis- lature, and many years a member of the Board; Julian M. Sturte- vant, President of Illinois College, and one of the foremost educators of the State; Otway Wilkinson, Dennis Rockwell, George M. Chambers, and Matthew Stacy, men who to the close of life enjoyed the highest confidence of their fellow citizens. In this connection there is but one cause o'f regret, which is that the name of Hon. Or- ville H. Browning does not appear. No name might more fittingly have appeared. But the act was drawn by Judge Browning, and the modesty that accompanies merit caused him, while naming others to omit himself. Strange that some one did not move to in- sert his name in the bill; but though never actively and officially 10 connected with the institution, he never ceased to entertain for it the liveliest interest as was manifested by his sending to it valuable public documents while lie remained in public life, and by his earn- est inquiries concerning its work until his earthly career terminated. Judge Browning's complete disinterestedness in the subject is manifested by his naming another place for the location of the institution than the city of his own residence. The best and most convenient location was the one he desired, and as Jackson- ville seemed in those days (preceding railroads) to combine most advantages, he named that city in the act, only stipulating that the citizens should provide a site comprising not less than five acres of land. The omission of his name is the more to be regretted since we may hope that had he been one of the Board of Directors seven years would not have elapsed before the school would have been opened for pupils, as was the case. On the 29th of June, 1839, a majority of the directors named in the Act of Incorporation met in Jacksonville and proceeded to or- ganize. Gen. Joseph Duncan was elected President, Samuel D. Lockwood, Vice-President, Otway Wilkinson, Treasurer, and George M. Chambers, Secretary. Gen. Duncan was a most suitable man to be placed at the head of any educational enterprise, having, in addition to his experience in Congress, and as a general in the Black Hawk war, had the honor of being the author of the first school law of the State of Illinois. He was a man of large views, of noble im- pulses and public spirit. Gen. Duncan continued President of the Board until his demise, when he was succeeded by Col. James Dun- lap, July 1, 1845. Col. Duulap had been elected a member of the Board February 16, 1842, vice Thomas Carlin, resigned. He had, at the incipieucy of the enterprise, shown a deep interest in the in- stitution, having made the largest subscription toward the purchase of land required by the Act of Incorporation. He was continued in the Presidency of the Board as long as he remained a member of it. His interest in the institution continued until the close of his life. One of the last acts of his life was on his death-bed, to send for the superintendent of the institution and talk with him upon matters connected with the institution. Col. Duiilap was a man who devised liberal things and undertook large enterprises. There have been but few, if any, more public-spirited citizens in Illinois than Col. James Duulap. With such men as have been named in the Board of Directors 13 it seems strange to us at this distance of time that two years and a half elapsed before a site had been secured for the institution, and that seven years should pass before any deaf-mutes had been admitted to its halls, or any instruction given them, and then to only four pupils. But it is due to the good men of those times to remember that the grand scheme of internal improvements which had been inaugurated in 1835 had collapsed, leaving the State overwhelmed with debt, its bonds and State warrants far below par, and hard times prevailing with a severity of which the active gen- eration of to-day have no knowledge. The first and uppermost thought of the citizen then was to extinguish the debt of the State, and of the people to secure their homes. It is also true that a great system of State institutions, such as now form so important a part of every State government, was then unknown. This was the first institution established by the State for the alleviation of misfortune, and upon it fell the task of arousing the public mind to the practicability and importance of public benefi- cence, and of the extent of the demand for it, as well as the una- voidable outlay necessary in its prosecution. Institutions for the education of the deaf and dumb have this distinction in almost all States of the Union. The American Asylum (for the education of the deaf and dumb) at Hartford, Connecticut, opened in 1817, was the precursor of all those great institutions for the Deaf and Dumb, the Blind, the Insane and the Feeble-minded, that form so large a department of the government of all the States of the Union, for whose support, in some States, more than half of the public expen- diture is made. In view of these facts it is not at all strange that, in the third dec- ade of this century, and only twenty years after the first institution had been established in the old and well-peopled east, that a new and young State should proceed in a manner that now seems to us, in the light of seventy years 1 experience, quite alow. But, though the progress of the first few years was slow, it was determined. That such a humane work should be commenced immediately on its suggestion, though at a time of most distressing financial depres- sion, is greatly to the credit of the men of those days. It seems to one reviewing it like a turning away from the wild speculation of a few years before, when, as a historian of the State says, "The fever of speculation rapidly advanced in intensity until the fever devel- oped into mania, reason was dethroned, and the folly of inflation 14 held high carnival/' to the more honorable work of caring for those who could not care for themselves, in practical obedience to the Divine command, "Thoushalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Obe- dience to the Divine command was speedily followed with the bless- ing of Providence, and the State of Illinois at once entered upon a career of prosperity, slow indeed at first, but unremitting in growth and increasing in rapidity that is the marvel of the world. " Them that honDi 1 me I will honor," has been shown to apply to the State as well as to individuals. The State can in no more forcible man- ner acknowledge the Creator than by beneficence to the needy and helpless. There are two beneficent results accruing from the instruction of the deaf and dumb by the body politic. First, to its subjects who are elevated to a plane of enlightenment in which they can enjoy the noblest pleasures of family ties and social life, and secondly, to the State which thus secures for itself intelligent, self-reliant citi- zens instead of ignorant dependents who, otherwise, for the term of their natural lives, would be an incubus upon society in some form. It costs less to educate the deaf child, maintaining him for a few years, than to care for and to support him for several decades as a man but little elevated above a brute. The sum of money expended by the people of Illinois in the support of its Institution for the Deaf and Dumb is large in the aggregate and is easily computed, but what the expenditures by society for its beneficiaries would otherwise have amounted to, being made in innumerable driblets, no one can compute with certainty, but certain it is that the sum of all these would far exceed the former. Let it not be supposed that between the incorporation of the institution in February, 1839, and its opening in February, 1846, that the Board of Directors had been unmindful of their trust. There were frequent meetings of the Board and its Prudential Committee during those years. A building, then deemed ample for many generations, was erected and paid for. To effect this result in times of financial depression, so severe that Auditor's warrants were sold as low as thirty cents on the dollar, was a matter of such difficulty as the present generation knows nothing of, when the State Treasury contains a surplus, the State debt is all paid, and holders of its bonds refuse to present them for payment. The building erected was eighty-six feet long, fifty wide, three stories and an attic high. The writer has been told that by some it 17 was then regarded as far beyond all the requirements of the next hundred years, and sometimes derisively styled the State's folly, so little was the demand for such an institution understood. Not a vestige of that building remained after thirty years. Could the men of that day, with prophet's ken, have looked down the vista of only forty years upon the great and beautiful structures that now suc- ceed theirs, it would have seemed to them that they were viewing the baseless fabrics of a dream. But in their day they planned and labored as hard as we have since, and practiced far more self-denial than has fallen to our lot. During the summer' of 1845 eight rooms of the building were finished. With these the Board of Directors felt that they would be able to open the school. They were now brought to the most serious and important duty that could come to them. In all that had thus far devolved upon them in their respect- ive spheres of life the members of the Board were as wise and as sagacious as any body of a similar number that could be gathered in Illinois or any other State. They were, as already seen, men eminent at the forum, in the halls of legislation, in agriculture, the pulpit and the arenas of trade. They were fully cognizant of the necessity of the greatest prudence in the selection of a principal whose success or failure in the conduct of the institution would make effective or paralyze all they had thus far done, thus bring- ing credit or mortification to them. There is probably no position in society in which a man more surely requires technical skill, based upon years of actual experience, than does the position of superintendent or principal of an institution for the education of the deaf and dumb. The gentleman who first, in America, under- took this peculiar work, prepared himself by long previous study, investigation and work in institutions of foreign lands, and then, not until he succeeded in inducing a man of still longer experience in a European institution to assist him in his new work, did he act- ively enter upon it. The first instructors of the deaf and dumb in America were all college-bred men of the most brilliant attainments, and of ability that would, and did in some cases, achieve success and distinction in the most exalted walks of life ; some in college faculties, some in divinity, some in law, and some in authorship. No profession for the instruction of the deaf is as truly a profes- sion as law, medicine, theology or art was ever inaugurated by a better class of men or style of mind than was this. Its pristine dignity it has maintained as well as any other profession. That 18 some individuals have been improperly admitted to it is not to be denied. Still more regretful is the fact that there have been foisted upon it some incompetent and unsuitable persons as a reward of party service. But this has not, in any case, been by the influence of members of the profession, but in spite of them. Repeatedly has the high-toned and expert instructor felt the tinge of shame and indignation when he has seen his loved and honorable profession made a shuttle-cock to be bandied back and forth by party heelers as though it was legitimate party spoils. If the " boodler " could be of some service, the case would not be so shameful, but he not only can do nothing in his new sphere, but he is actually an obstacle who can only strut around, hold down an office chair and draw a salary he has not earned. To direct the benefactions of a generous people, appropriated by them for a noble purpose to such use, lacks but little, if any, of the essential spirit of knavery and robbery, even though it is done under the forms of law. It is impossible to conceive of anything more absurd than to place in charge of a company of youth, to direct their morals, manners, instruction, and look after their welfare, one who can not even ask after their ail- ments in sickness, or give them a word of comfort in trouble. This iniquity, it is due to say, has not often been practiced anywhere, and never in connection with this institution. The Board of Trustees have from the first recognized and acted upon the principle that so sacred a work as superintending such an institution, should be intrusted only to one who was versed in the work of instructing the deaf, who could communicate with them in their own language since they can not use ours. Before the building was ready for occupancy the Board had ap- pointed a committee to seek for a thoroughly competent man to take charge of the new institution at its opening. Extensive correspond- ence was opened with institutions in other States with the result that Mr. Thomas Officer, who five years preceding had been en- gaged as a teacher in the Ohio Institution, was elected principal. It is quite surprising that the records of the Board and the reports of the institution make very little reference to Mr. Officer. So far as they are concerned it would only appear that he was employed at a meager salary, and after a period of nine years withdrew from the institution. The writer, as his successor and from some per- sonal acquaintance, and from inquiry of his coadjutors and com- rades both in the Ohio and in this institution is prepared to say 21 that the Board made a most happy and fortunate selection for their first principal. Mr. Officer was well posted in his profession, to which he was an ornament, was a good teacher, a fine executive, with pleasant, genial bearing, eminently becoming the Christian gentle- man. He had an urbane and winning manner that ingratiated him instantly with all well-disposed persons and soon fixed him in their confidence. While the earlier reports of the institution after his advent make very little reference to Mr. Officer, the subjects they discuss and the manner of their discussion, is so different from those preceding them as to clearly show that they are inspired by a mind such as previous reports have not felt the influence of. That mind could have been no other than Mr. Officer himself, though his name was not attached to them. In March, 1849, Mr. Officer was elected secretary of the Board, and in that capacity prepared and signed the last three reports of the Board before the time of his departure from the institution. This statement will readily explain the fact of so little reference to him in the printed 'reports of the institu- tion. Mr. Officer arrived in October, 1845. Necessary arrangements for opening the school were made, such as providing furniture and the appointment of a steward, and the first day of 'December fixed upon as the date for opening the school, notice of which was published in the newspapers throughout the State. The day for opening came, but no deaf-mutes came with it. Accordingly, Mr. Officer started out on a search for them. In the course of several weeks twelve were found whose parents promised to send them, but at the designated time they failed to put in an appearance. However, by the last of January, 1846, four had reached the institution, and in the month of February, seven years after the passage of the bill establishing the institution, it began its noble work. Accessions to the number of pupils were made during the next spring so that dur- ing the first term there were nine deaf-mutes admitted. This seems to us now a small beginning, but other institutions had before this been opened with small numbers; the American Asylum with but six; the Pennsylvania with seven; the Ohio Institution with three, only six more during its entire first year; the Tennessee Institution with nine, and the Indiana Institution with six. Hence, the direct- ors, nothing daunted, sent out on a tour of search the superintend- ent during the summer vacation. His success in securing promises of attendance were so encouraging that an additional teacher was 22 employed for the new term which was to open on the 17th of Sep- tember. During the fall and early winter there were five acces- sions, so that in its second term fourteen pupils were enrolled, some being quite tardy in their arrival. In their report made at this time, December, 1846, the directors state to the General Assembly that if the means to complete the building were supplied they could also admit the deaf-mutes of Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas and Wis- consin to a participation in its advantages. Except Arkansas, all of these States did, in a few years, send deaf children to this insti- tution for instruction. A regulation that seriously impeded the growth of the institu- tion in its early history was one which had a similar paralyzing effect on institutions in other States, namely, a provision that re- quired parents of deaf children who could not command the means to pay for their tuition and board to make an affidavit to that effect before a justice of the peace who should then certify to that fact. In recommending the repeal of this provision the directors say: " The only effect in requiring these certificates, so far as we can see, is to deprive many of those who are actually too poor to pay for the advantages of the institution. Many parents, though barely able to provide food and clothing for their families, can not bring themselves to submit to the disagreeable task of going before jus- tices of the peace and asking for certificates of poverty." Dur- ing the year 1846 earnest efforts were made to ascertain the num- ber, names and residences of the deaf and dumb within the State by personal exploration of the State, circulars of inquiry to census commissioners of 1845, and to clergymen of various denominations, by which means the names of one hundred and sixty were obtained of whom but six or eight were in circumstances to pay for their support at the school. These efforts in time bore fruit, though probably not as soon as was expected. In the fourth biennial report, December, 1848, only three years after the opening of the school, the directors find that the building that in their first report they had stated would answer for many years to come, and in their third report had intimated its adequacy for the deaf-mutes, not only of Illinois, but also for those of Mis- souri, Iowa, Arkansas and Wisconsin, was now quite crowded, though only sixty pupils had been received, ten of whom were from Mis- souri and one from Iowa. They accordingly applied to the General Assembly for an appropriation of ten thousand dollars to extend the 25 buildings by the erection of a main building to which the existing structure should be a wing. For most other purposes the building then in use would have been adequate for a much larger number of persons than it then served. Such a multiplicity of things must be done for the deaf and dumb in the course of their education that they require more room than any other class of people. Separate provision must be made in sitting-room, dining-room, bed-room, school-room, chapel and shop, so that at the very infancy of this institution, for each one six separate and distinct provisions had to be made, besides those provisions which can be used in common such as kitchen, bath-rooms and lavatories and laundry. With the coming of new classes at the opening of each school year it became necessary to employ additional instructors. At the outset the directors clearly determined that their policy should be to employ only competent instructors with previous experience in this peculiar work. The principle that had governed them in the selection of a principle they adopted as a governing one in the ap- pointment of subordinate officers. In the fourth biennial report, the second after the opening of the school, the directors wisely say, " In the employment of instructors the directors have endeavored as far as possible to engage none but those possessing the very best qualifications, and it is their design to continue in future to act upon the same principle. The difficulties to be encountered in teach- ing the deaf and dumb are such that persons possessing even the best common education could be of little service. We deem it, therefore, of the highest importance that the instructors be men possessing a thorough education." No profession or vocation in life more seriously demands skillful training and protracted expe- rience than the profession of deaf-mute instruction, and yet it seems impossible to make many people understand this. No one would seriously think of placing a piece of fine goods in the hands of a novice to make a garment, yet the importunities sometimes made to place a mere tyro in charge of a class of children to practice on their minds for a term of years until he acquires skill would be amusing were they not astounding. It is a pitiful scene to witness the blunders of a novice in his efforts to instruct a class of deaf- mutes. The intentions are good and the well-meant efforts are the best he can do. If the loss resulting from his mistakes was visited upon the tyro it might be patiently tolerated, but, alas, it falls upon the deaf-mute child whose golden moments are being wasted. A 26 thoroughly educated young person with a natural aptitude for teaching can not become fully equipped for this work in a shorter time than seven years, and even then will, if honest, confess that he has but just entered into acquaintance with the profession and is but beginning to get a view of its philosophy and scope and the immense difficulties it involves. The loss of a capable teacher is a calamity to an institution, while to gain one is a stroke of good fortune indeed. This institution has been compelled to train and induct some young persons into this work who, in process of time, have become thoroughly efficient, but whenever able to do so, has drawn them from elsewhere. Upon the institutions in ten States we have at various times made drafts. When the school was first opened the policy was adopted of en- trusting the domestic department to a steward, allowing him a stipulated sum for boarding each pupil. This plan was continued for two years, when, being found unsatisfactory, it was discontinued and the steward was made an agent of the Board. He was, how- ever, continued an independent officer amenable only to the Board. This arrangement makes an institution a double-headed affair, in which there will inevitably be conflict and misunderstanding. It has been tried in most, if not quite all public institutions with the same results. It has seemed almost as inevitable for an institution to pass through this experience as for children to be attacked with colic, measles and whooping-cough. It is a principle that every- where else is universally condemned as subversive of order and system. As well undertake to wage a war with two generals to an army, or send a ship on a voyage with two captains, as to under- take to successfully operate a public institution with two heads by whatever titles they may be called. This plan was followed in this institution for eight years with such friction that the Legislature by legal enactment, regardless of the Board of Directors, abolished the office of steward and placed the institution under the sole man- agement of one head. Had this sensible and reasonable plan been entered upon at the outset a vast amount of unnecessary animosity and wrangling would have been avoided. This action of the Gen- eral Assembly was upon a recommendation of a special committee appointed to inquire into the difficulties and troubles that had so long disturbed the institution. This was a joint committee from the Senate and House of Representatives, of which Senator Robert Boal, then of Marshall county, but later of Peoria, Illinois, was chairman. Dr. AN ARTICULATION CLASS-ONE OF THIRTY-NINE. AN ARTICULATION CLASS ONE OF THIRTY-NINE. 29 Boal was soon after appointed a member of the Board of Directors,, which relation he sustained for seventeen years, part of the time being President of the Board. Dr. Boal's influence on the institu- tion was most enlightened, helpful and progressive. The subject of industrial training secured immediate attention upon the opening of the institution. The pupils when admitted in those days had already become stout youth and were well able to perform physical labor. The boys were required to pass a portion of each day in doing such chores as sawing, splitting and carrying wood, and working in the garden. The girls were taught various kinds of housework and sewing, but there was soon developed the neces- sity for trades as a department of systematic instruction. The first teacher who was permanently employed, Mr. Nathan M. Totten, while a pupil of the New York Institution had acquired some knowledge of cabinet-making. In May, 1848, the Board purchased an inferior frame structure which they hauled upon the grounds of the institution. In the following month Mr. Totten, in addition to his labors in the school-room, began the instruction of male pupils in the cabinet-maker's trade. About this time some sporadic work- was done by pupils at shoemaking, but not till October, 1857, Avas the instruction in this trade systematic and regular. The directors in their fifth report, December, 1850, speaking on the importance of trades in an institution for the deaf and dumb speak so wisely that it is fancied a more lucid and satisfactory statement of the whole question has seldom, if ever been made. " The more we see of the practical workings of the plan of con- necting manual labor with mental and moral instruction, of calling into exercise the physical energies, and directing them to some definite and useful object, while the intellect and heart are being trained, the more we are convinced of its importance and practica- bility. Without some regular employment, requiring bodily exer- cise, many neglect to take such an amount of daily exercise as is necessary to a healthy condition of the body, or to a vigorous exer- cise of the mind. Although at times the ordinary games and sports of youth, in which the deaf and dumb engage with as much zest as others, would seem to afford an abundance of healthy exercise, yet these all in turn become wearisome to the most lively and play- ful, and frequently for weeks together they seem to take no pleas- ure in them. This want of exercise superinduces listlessness, low spirits, discontent, dissatisfaction, and other kindred feelings, which 30 are utterly incompatible with success in the great object for which they are assembled together. " Another advantage gained by the connection of manual with intellectual labor is, that there is much less liability to disturbances and irregularities of conduct among the pupils after school hours. This, among a large number of youth, is a matter of no small con- sequence. Possessing, as mutes do, all the varieties of disposition as exhibited by others, it would be unreasonable to expect harmony and good conduct among so many, if left without regular employ- ment during the hours necessarily devoted to exercise and recrea- tion. Frequent disputes and difficulties would unavoidably arise. Furnishing them with some stated occupation during a portion of those hours is the best security against these difficulties. No serious disturbance has ever occurred among the pupils at the Illi- nois Institution, and it is chiefly to be attributed to the fact that they are thus occupied. " But the chief advantage remains yet to be mentioned. It is that the pupils thus acquire habits of industry, which are of great value to them in after years. In comparison with this it is a small matter that a few dollars are saved annually to the institution by the labor of the pupils. The attainment of this object would, we think, justify the outlay of considerable sums, if necessary; for unless such habits are formed before leaving school, it is greatly to be feared that, in view of the difficulties which a mute has to encounter in getting employment, many of them will lack the energy and tact necessary in providing for themselves. Failing in this they will lose their self respect and will be too apt to become wandering beg- gars, living upon the charities of others. Wherever there is a mute in the family it almost universally calls forth the tenderest sympathies of the parents. Feeling that they can not reason with it as they can with their other children, about right and propriety, they too often allow it to grow up almost entirely without restraint, re- quiring of it no more labor than seems agreeable to its own feel- ings. If the habits of indolence which they thus form are allowed to continue during the whole period of their attendance upon school, by the time that they are ready to go forth from the institu- tion, these habits will have become so fixed that there will be little prospect of their ever being entirely eradicated. When, moreover, it is considered that the pursuits upon which a large majority of them must depend for earning a livelihood are of that class which re- 33 quires considerable physical exertion, we can not but regard manual labor, and the training to habits of industry, as a necessary part of the system of education which should be adopted in all such institu- tions. " In the accomplishment of this object, shops are an indispensa- ble requisite. Without them it would be impossible to furnish many of the pupils with regular employment, and besides, their energy should, as far as practicable, be directed to the acquirement of some useful occupation. The aim and purpose of every institu- tion for the deaf and dumb should be to prepare the pupils in every respect physically as well as mentally and morally for becoming good and useful citizens, supporting themselves by their own exer- tions, without being dependent upon the community at large or their friends. To this end not only should industrious habits be formed, but opportunity should be given for acquiring practical knowledge and skill in some honest and useful calling. An insti- tution which makes no such provision fails to discharge an impor- tant duty which it owes to the deaf and dumb. For, however good their education may be in other respects, when they go forth from the institution, unless they have also acquired some considerable knowledge of a trade, experience proves that few tradesmen will take the pains necessary to impart that knowledge to them. The diffi- culty does not arise from any want of aptness on the part of the deaf and dumb to learn trades; on the contrary, their ingenuity is proverbial ; but it arises solely from the inconvenience which neces- sarily attends the communication of ideas on the part of those un- acquainted with the sign language. This makes it important that trades be taught them at the institution, where, through the medium of their own natural language, instruction in mechanics can be imparted to them as readily as any other kind of instruction. " As there is the same diversity of talent and taste among mutes as among hearing and speaking people, it is important that several trades be established at the institution. Those who can not succeed in one trade may be found to excel in another, and it would be well to give them an opportunity to make a selection from several pursuits." In their fourth report the directors made two important recommendations to the General Assembly, which, by an act approved February 3, 1849, were carried into effect. The first, changing the name of the corporation from the Illinois Asylum for the Education 34 of the Deaf and Dumb, to the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, and the second, providing that section 7 of the act of incorporation which required certificates of poverty from all who were unable to pay tuition and board, should be repealed, and that the institution be made free to all within the bounds of the State. The Board, in urging the latter change, state: " The only effect of requiring these certificates, as far as we can see, is to deprive many of those who are actually too poor to pay, of the advantages of the institution. Many parents, though barely able to provide food and raiment for their families, can not bring themselves to the disagreeable task of going before two justices of the peace and asking for certificates of poverty." Funds for the support of the institution and for making improve- ments were supplied first by a provision of the act of incorporation which set apart one-quarter per cent, of interest upon the whole amount of the school, college and seminary fund, for the use of the institution, and secondly, by an act approved, February 23, 1847, making a permanent appropriation of three thousand dollars per annum for the same purpose, and thirdly, by special appropriation for specific purposes until the year 1851. In the meantime, the Illinois State Hospital for the Insane, and the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind, had come into existence and were sustained by a special tax which gave to them an assured stability very desirable, and one which this institution very greatly needed for its more confident progress. The vicissitudes that always attend an appropriation before a Legislature are seriously distract- ing, not only to a board of trustees and superintendent, but also to all subordinate officers who can not be oblivious to the fact that an oversight or a clerical error may subject them for two years to weighty inconvenience, if not to the entire loss of the means of sub- sistence; and to the pupils also, who are well aware that the entire course of their life may be changed to their very great and lifelong disadvantage and perhaps discomfiture. It is as true of deaf-mutes as of others, that for the best results of school work their minds require the absence of distracting anxieties and disturbing influences. It is entirely an error to suppose that the pupils of such an institution take no thought upon these subjects. Indeed no other class of students enter more fully into all that effects their instructors as well as themselves. The directors in the fifth report presented this subject to the General Assembly and recommended that the institution thereafter should be sustained by special tax. "The directors would respectfully urge upon your consideration the propriety of establishing the institution upon a more permanent basis. Although the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb was the pioneer of the three noble State charities amongst us, yet, while the other two have a permanent fund upon which to rely for their sup- port from year to year, this institution is obliged to solicit special appropriations at every session of the Legislature. We have no cause to complain of any want of liberality on the part of the Legis- lature toward the institution; on the contrary, we are proud in being able so say that no appeal has ever been made by the institution but what has been met by a hearty response from both branches of the General Assembly. Still we can not but feel that there is a degree of uncertainty and instability necessarily connected with this method of supporting the institution, which is a disadvantage to it. We would therefore beg leave to recommend that the institu- tion be supported either by an appropriation which shall be annual and sufficient to cover at least the ordinary expenses, or by a special tax, as is the case with the other two institutions. Of the two methods proposed, the Board would prefer the latter, as it would relieve them of the responsibility and embarrassment connected with the disposal of so large an amount of auditor's warrants, and as the institution would thereby become more extensively known throughout the State than by any means of publication within the power of the Board." This subject was favorably considered by the General Assembly and an act approved April 18, 1857, provided: " That for the purpose of defraying the ordinary expenses of the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, a separate fund is hereby created and established, in addition to the fund provided for in the act of incorporation to be denominated, ' The fund for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb,' which shall consist of one-sixth of a mill upon each dollar's worth of taxable property in the State, to be taken and deducted from the tax of two mills on the dollar, authorized to be assessed and collected for paying the ordinary expenses of government by the act passed on the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-five, entitled 'An act to provide for paying a portion of interest on the State debt,' and as the revenue of the State is collected and passed into the treasury, the Auditor shall direct the Treasurer to credit 36 the aforesaid fund by the amount of one-sixth of a mill, in a sepa- rate account to be kept for that purpose." Such a provision for the support of an institution is the ideal one, so far as the institution itself is concerned, but whether this does not in a measure estop the frequent exhibit to the people of its workings and prevent the recognition of the accountability which should never be forgotten by public officers, may be seriously questioned. As the manager of an institution, one should most unhesitatingly favor it, but as a citizen and taxpayer one would object to it. But whether the wisest or not, the law under considera- tion was continued in force only four years, being repealed by an act amending the revenue laws, February 14, 1855, since which time its necessities have been provided for by special acts of successive sessions of the General Assembly, with the exception of the small amount that accrued to the institution in pursuance of the act of incorporation, which set apart to it, as already detailed, a small portion of the interest of the school, college and seminary fund. This, however, was taken from it and turned over to the Ill- inois Normal University in the year 1872. Reference has been made to the conflict between the principal's and steward's departments, which resulted in the dismissal of three stewards by the Board and the abolishment of the steward's office in all the institutions of the State by an act of the General As- sembly, February 13, 1857. The events that led up to these dis- missals and this enactment were attended with very unpleasant controversies between the friends of the parties most interested. Bitter antagonisms, as was inevitable under such circumstances, were engendered which could not be suppressed. The consequence was that after the failure of repeated efforts to harmonize the dis- cordant elements in the Board of Directors, and in the institution, that on the 16th of October, 1855, Mr. Thomas Officer resigned the office of principal of the institution. This was shortly followed by the resignation of the secretary and treasurer, and by the with- drawal of two members from the Board. Rev. Thomas M. Newell, who had been one of the instructors for four years, was offered the office of principal, but declined to accept it or even to superintend the school until a competent principal could be found. The insti- tution being without a competent head was thrown into great con- fusion; the pupils most of them absconded, or were removed by friends; some teachers withdrew, and others, having nothing to do, were dispensed with, only two remaining to instruct the few pupils who had continued at the institution. Rev. Newton Cloud, a mem- ber of the Board, a gentleman held in the highest esteem by the entire community, was requested to accept the office of principal, and was by action of the Board clothed with all authority pertaining to that position. Mr. Cloud consented to do the best he could under the demoralized condition of affairs, but knowing himself not qualified for the position, and being too honest to hold a position he could not faithfully and efficiently fill, would only consent to oc- cupy it until a competent principal qualified by professional knowl- edge and actual experience could be obtained to discharge its duties permanently. Soon after Mr. Officer's resignation a com- mittee of five members of the Board was appointed, " to ascer- tain who can be employed to act as principal of the institution," but the withdrawal of the chairman of the committee from the Board and other causes prevented their doing anything in the matter. After reorganization and some futile efforts to act, the committee, upon their own request, were discharged, and the presi- dent of the Board was requested to visit various institutions in search of a competent man for the position. After a search of two months he returned and recommended to the Board Mr. Edward Peet, of New York, who was unanimously elected and notified thereof, and requested to enter upon his duties as prin- cipal of the institution without delay. Mr. Peet promptly ap- peared on the ground, and a meeting of the Board was convened at his desire to conclude' negotiations, but when the Board convened, to their surprise Mr. Peet had " quitely folded his tent" and re- turned to New York without waiting to meet the gentlemen of the Board, some of whom lived in remote places in the state. Mr. Peet, however, favored the Board with a letter from his home in New York declining to accept the appointment. The President of the Board was instructed to open immediate communication with Mr. Philip G. Gillett, of the Indiana Institution, with whom he had some negotiations while on his way to the East, and who had failed to receive an important communication forwarded him by mail sev- eral weeks before. The President carried out his instructions by deputizing Rev. Newton Cloud, the acting principal, to personally visit Mr. Gillett at his home in Indianapolis and close an engage- ment with him if possible. Mr. Cloud, who had grown weary of the novel labors he had undertaken and had become satiated with its 40 honors, lost no time in making the proposed visit and bringing back with him the young man in search of whom he was dispatched. Mr. Cloud having captured, wisely bagged his game and took him at once to the institution, where he was safe from any evil influences that might tend to scare him away. Mr. Gillett, after a few days' survey of the situation, and becoming assured that all requisite and proper authority and prerogatives, including the selection of all sub- ordinate officers, would be accorded him, and that he should be the sole head of the institution and the sole organ of communication between the Board and the subordinate departments, signified his willingness to accept the position of principal. Some of his friends thought it a rash thing for a beardless youth to do, but accounted for it upon the principle that " fools rush in where angels fear to tread." Mr. Gillett (derisively styled "that boy that's come to run the deaf and dumb") at once (April 26, 1856) entered upon the duties of the principalship of the institution. Of the one hundred and seyen pupils that had been present in the fall only twenty-two re- mained. The matron and all but two of the teachers had left the in- stitution, feeling, as one of the local papers said in announcing Mr. Gillett's coming, that " acceptance under such circumstances was proof positive of incompetence and untrustworthiness." To bring to- gether and organize a new corps of officers and restore confidence in former pupils and their parents, and overcome prejudice, was the difficult task to be done as soon as possible. Guilty of the " atrocious crime of being a young man," with a face innocent of down, he not unfrequently experienced amusing episodes as well as trying and vexatious unreasonableness. Time, however, rapidly healed the mis- fortune of youth, as Mr. Gillett promised it should if only a due amount of patience was shown him. The Board of Directors, in the eighth biennial report, December 26, 1856, eight months after Mr. Gillett's advent, in announcing the change of Principals* say: "The Board of Directors now have the pleasure to announce that they have been enabled to procure the services of Mr. Philip G. Gillett, of Indiana, as superintendent, and that the school opened this session with, and has now a larger number of pupils than at any previous session, the number being one hundred and nine. The Board of Directors deem themselves fortunate in having procured the services of Mr. Gillett. He is a gentleman of strong and vigor- ous mind, an accomplished scholar and experienced in teaching the sign language; indeed, he has made this his occupation for life, and 41 with him it is as much a labor of love as duty. Mr. Gillett comes to us highly recommended from the Indiana school and from dis- tinguished citizens of our neighboring State, and we are well satisfied that the people of Illinois will be content with the action of the Board in calling Mr. Gillett to the head of the institution." Twenty years later, in 1876, in preparing their report for the cen- tennial year, the Illinois State Board of Public Charities review the history of all the State institutions then in existence, and in their review of this institution, say : " With the advent of Mr. Philip G. Gillett to the superintendency, in 1856, the institution entered upon a new career of vigorous youth and expansion. His energetic spirit has driven the school, the public and even the Legislature before him. When this has been impossible, he has sometimes gone in advance himself and waited for the rest to come up." Three serious problems presented themselves to the new prin- cipal immediately upon assuming the responsibilities of his office. The first was to secure the return of the absent pupils and to gain the confidence of their parents and friends; the second to bring to- gether and organize a corps of officers ; and third to hasten the com- pletion and proper furnishing of uncompleted buildings. No parents are more chary of entrusting their children to strangers than the parents of deaf-mutes. This is reasonable, for the deaf child's every want has been the subject of parental solicitude in every hour of its life. Unable to make known its wants by ordinary methods, their anticipation has become the parental habit, and its limited gestures always appealing most touchingly to the sympathy of mem- bers of the family, are understood by them only. It is extremely hard for the parents to believe that another can or will do this bet- ter than themselves. The ordeal of committing a deaf child to strangers is one of the most trying that ever comes to a parent. After witnessing it continuously for forty years, and having been one of the parties in more than two thousand cases, it still remains to me an affecting scene. While of necessity it possesses an element of business, yet its element of sentiment is as decided as at first. Personal visits in the horned of the pupils were the means chiefly relied upon and found most effective in inducing the return of pupils to the institution at the beginning of the next term, which opened with a larger attendance of pupils than any previous term. Experienced teachers and a matron were secured in other states, some former teachers were continued or re-engaged and 4-2 a new one was taken under training in time to be of some avail when needed. Up to this time the profession of instructing the deaf and dumb had been practiced only by men, and solely by hearing and speaking men who were college graduates or by deaf men who were graduates from institutions for the deaf and dumb. No women to this time had been regularly appointed anywhere upon the corps of instruction, though there were a very few instances in which females who were born or reared in institutions had been for a time engaged to supply vacancies, but this had been regarded as unprofessional, irregular and not to be approved. Necessity sometimes drives us to the adoption of most excellent expedients, as was the case of the women alluded to. There are no other persons who so well know the deaf and dumb, and so fully enter into sympathy with them, and so clearly understand their inner life, as those who have been born and reared among them. In entering upon the work of instructing the deaf they have advantages at the outset that one differently reared can acquire only by long years of associa- tion with them. Indeed, it may be questioned if any others even as fully, accurately, and justly understand the deaf and dumb as they. Consequently it would seem as almost an imperative duty for such persons to devote their lives to the work of deaf-mute instruction. Mr. Gillett having seen some of these sporadic cases of women temporarily engaged in instructing deaf-mutes, and believing that as teachers of children none are superior to women, in organizing a corps of instructors appointed a woman upon it as a regular and permanent teacher. This has been followed by similar appointments in this and all the other institutions of America, until now more than two-thirds of the teachers of deaf-mutes in America are women. It is urged by eminent au- thority that in this the profession has deteriorated, but no one has yet shown that the work accomplished in the school-rooms of the institutions for the deaf and dumb is at all inferior to that of forty years ago. It is believed to be better. In select- ing women for instructors the same governing principles were recognized as in selecting men, that they should have a college education or its equivalent. On this subject, in his first report to the Board of Directors, the principal insisted. In the organ- ization of an institution nothing is of greater importance than 45 to secure persons of superior attainments to fill the offices of the intellectual and its cognate departments, and to make their sit- uations permanent. " No person is qualified for a situation in a deaf-mute institution who could not succeed in any profession, especially one which depended mainly on public speaking; nor will the ordinary duties admit of taking men worn out in other pro- fessions; nowhere does a drone succeed more poorly than teach- ing the deaf and dumb. For teachers we must look to young, enterprising persons in the prime of life ; and, as a general rule, the employment of young, active officers is desirable in all de- partments. If we expect persons in the prime of life, with the world opening before them its long vista of hopes and anticipa- tions, it must be perfectly evident that a remuneration corre- sponding with the emoluments of other professions must be af- forded, otherwise we shall be unable to procure and retain men of the right stamp; a result which would be extremely detriment- al to the literary character of the institution and of but slight advantage as regards its finances." These have been the ruling principles in the selection of officers to the present time. No in- fluence has ever been allowed to contravene them. In conse- quence its corps has always maintained a high standard of effi- ciency and honor. This is well attested by the fact that from its corps, ten have been called to superintend similar institutions in other States; two have been called to college professorships, and one to the acting presidency of an important college. To obtain capable, experienced officers has been no slight difficulty. Applications for situations have been numerous, but from indi- viduals who had no knowledge of the labors they were seeking to enter upon. Young men who would not trust their skill to cut a side of leather to make a pair of shoes, and young women who would not trust themselves to cut a piece of silk to make for themselves a dress lest there might be waste of material, have often thought it a very proper thing that they be entrusted with twenty plastic minds to practice on, in order to acquire skill in the intricate and difficult work of instructing the deaf and dumb. If the blunders and mistakes entailed loss only on themselves they might be tolerated for a time, but unfortunately upon the deaf-mute pupils are visited the evil consequences of inexperience in the teachers. In securing competent persons for its official corps this institu- 4G tion has, at various times, drawn from those of eleven other States. The only question that has ever been discussed with reference to proposed appointments has been capability and fitness. Party affiliations and sectarian predilections have never been considered in this connection. That practice that of late years has debased some institutions for the deaf and dumb in other States to party boodleism has never invaded the Illinois Institution. The subject that engaged much solicitude at the reorganization of the institution was the condition of the buildings. The mem- bers of the first Board of Directors were men eminent and success- ful in their own callings, and of great prominence in the State, but they are a striking instance of how important it is for any enterprise to be directed by a mind that understands what he has in hand and how to accomplish the work in contemplation. The first building erected, in three years after its occupancy, was proved in- adequate, which the directors explain in their fifth report, saying: "The original building was put up before any one had been em- ployed who was familiar with the wants of such an institution.' Some remodeling was done on this in connection Avith the construc- tion of a main edifice, which was completed in the year 1852. But in two years this latter was found to be insecure, and in the year 1854 its front was torn down to be rebuilt in connection with the erection of a north wing. At the time of the reorganization these buildings were incomplete, being unplastered and only partially floored. The plans for warming and lighting them contemplated ordinary wood stoves and lard oil lamps. This subject was accord- ingly urged upon the Board and the Legislature with the result that the appropriations were made to adopt steam heating and gas light- ing. In the first report he prepared, Mr. Gillett called the attention of the Legislature to the subject of the education of feeble-minded children. The processes of education practiced in this institution being the most elementary of any practiced in the State, such chil- dren were often brought here under the misapprehension that as they were speechless that they must be deaf. A mistake common even yet, a frequent concomitant of mental imbecility being absence of speech when the hearing faculty is perfect. At that time there was a general disbelief in the practicability of teaching the feeble- minded, though in the Eastern States a few institutions for this class were advocated by the most cautious and conservative citizens 47 as a wise measure of political economy, as well as a public duty. In this report (the eighth) Mr. Gillett stated: "It will certainly be a proud day for Illinois when she can boast of institutions whose blessings, like the rains and dews, the air and sunshine, are fes- tooned alike upon all her unfortunates." This subject was pre- sented from time to time till the Legislature, in 1865, was induced to make an appropriation for an experimental school for feeble- minded children, which was conducted by the trustees and princi- pal of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb until it was established upon the same independent basis as the other State institutions. It is with no little pleasure that that institution, in a sense the child of this, is seen to occupy a most honorable position among those of a similar nature throughout the world. Soon after steam heating was adopted as a means of warming the institution, a scarcity of water was experienced. Previous to this, wells and cisterns had been found adequate, but under the new sys- tem so much more water was required that they utterly failed to meet the requirements. Resort was had to hauling water from other sources, but this was expensive and laborious, and obliged the limited use of an element that should be used freely. An expedient was adopted of throwing out wing ditches on the north side of College Hill, to catch the storm water and conduct it to a reservoir on a piece of low ground on the institution premises, but this failed to meet the expectations that had been entertained. The subject became more serious until it threatened the life of the insti- tution. In the early winter of 1870 the Board of Directors decided to construct a water-works plant on a stream known as " The Brook," a mile south of the institution, and pump the water there- from to the reservoir they had already built. It would have been wiser had they abandoned that reservoir and constructed a new one on the high ground over which the water was pumped from the brook. This plan would have ever after placed the water in the building by gravity and saved the perpetual labor of pumping it. This was appreciated at the time, but, having as a dernier resort assumed the authority of constructing the water-works, the Board of Trustees, influenced by a desire to make the smallest possible outlay, continued the use of the old reservoir. The water- works were not finished until midwinter, the pipe being laid in trenches, dug through hard, frozen ground, much of the way the frost being driven out of the ground by fires along the line where it was pro- 48 posed to lay the pipes and the foundation for the pump and boiler house. This proved successful and had the effect not only to relieve the institution from its distress but demonstrated to the public the practicability of securing a supply of water for the city of Jackson- ville upon the same general plan. But a few years later the city constructed a system of water- works for its own use, from which the institution has since secured its supply of water, favorable terms having been offered upon which this service would be rendered. Only one who has passed through the experience of managing, with a limited supply of water, a large establishment, when the warmth, cleanliness, health and daily routine of work and study of a multi- tude of persons is involved, can fully appreciate the situation of one so circumstanced. The spectres that rise before one in thi s condition are truly appalling. The satisfactory settlement of the water question opened the way for the rapid growth and enlargement of the institution, which was at that time greatly needed, as an epidemic of cerebro- spinal-meningitis largely increased the number of deaf children in the state. The south wing, that had been completed in 1846 and remod- eled in 1850, was deemed unsafe and was, in 1871, rebuilt in a sub- stantial manner, and in style corresponding with the north wing and main building, as rebuilt in 1855 and 1856. Two years later a dining hall, one hundred by sixty-seven feet, and a hospital of six- teen rooms were erected. These were followed by the erection, in 1874 and 1875, of the school and chapel building, containing twenty-eight school-rooms and an auditorium capable of seating a company of twelve hundred persons. This building has been pronounced by competent judges one of the best school-houses in the country. Of the dining-hall it is an almost universal remai'k that it is one of the most satisfactory and pleasing anywhere to be found. In 1877 the present industrial building, with ample room for schools of printing, cabinet-making (with use of planing mill, cir- cular and scroll saw, with lathes for wood-turning), shoemaking, and a machine shop and gardener's room and engine and other steam machinery, was erected. During the year 1879 a large and well-equipped laundry was built. . In the year 1881 spacious horse- barns, and a cottage for boys, a store, bakery and library were constructed and occupied. In 51 1883 a large dairy barn was built, and in 1884 a splendid kitchen and a cold storage plant were erected; in 1886 a gymnasium, nata- torium and drill hall and a cottage for little girls were built; in 1888 and 1889 the electric light plant was extended through the entire institution, extensive street improvements were made and the grounds improved and extended; in 1891 a farm was pur- chased for the use of the institution, and the heating plant enlarged. Thus it is seen that the institution has been from its founding in 1839 an almost constant scene of building and extension. The improvements since the year 1855 have all been of a substantial and durable character, designed in the light of experience for the uses to which they were to be applied. Elaborate ornamentation has been avoided in all of them, yet all are handsome and tasteful. The buildings comprise twenty in number and occupy fifteen acres of ground. They have a mile and a half of cornice, eighteen acres of plastering, eight acres of flooring, fifteen hundred windows and seven hundred doors. A thousand electric light lamps are used for their lighting; seven large steam boilers, with several miles of steam pipe, are a part of their heating apparatus. The boilers are also used in culinary operations and furnish power for driving the machinery, which consists of a planing-mill, three turning lathes, a circular saw and a scroll saw in the cabinet shop; an engine lathe, a pipe machine and a small lathe in the machine shop; three presses in the printing office; five washing machines, a hydro extractor, a laundry callender, a shirt ironer and a Sturtevant blower in the laundry; a rotary oven and two cracker machines in the bakery. Until the year 1868 the sign system was the one pursued in this institution in the instruction of its pupils. That is to say, not that signs themselves were taught, but that in explanation of principles and truths, or the narration of events, and in ordinary conversation with the pupils the language of signs or gestures was used exten- sively and its use encouraged. At the same time it had always been the case that much use was made of writing and finger spell- ing, while comparatively little attention was given to articulation and lip signs. For be it remembered that for a deaf person there can be no articulation though there is articulation by him. Articu- lation or speech is a combination of sounds. It is as absurd to speak of seeing a sound or reading speech, as of hearing a color. The deaf person can produce the sounds but can not hear them. 52 To him they are as unreal as if they did not exist. Hence he is forced to substitute vision for hearing. A sign is a distinctive guiding indication to the eye, whether made by the hand, the arms, the body, the countenance or the lips. A spoken word is a distinct- ive guiding indication to the ear. That which is sometimes termed speech-reading is but the observation of lip, movements or lip signs much less distinct than manual or brachial signs. As one who understands several languages will use the one which pleases and aids him most, so the deaf person will use such class of signs as is most satisfactory to him. Signs made with the hands and arms, aided by the countenance, being more perspicuous, and often ideo- graphic, the deaf person, if left to himself, will almost universally adopt. Hence it is that children who lose hearing after speech has been acquired cease to talk and will not resume it until special efforts are taken to induce them to do so. To impart speech to one who does not hear, or for such an one to acquire speech, is one of the most difficult undertakings to which a human being can address himself, for he possesses only half of the organ of speech since the organ of hearing is as important an element in speech as the organ of voice. There is no speech of any race of men independent of the sense of hearing. In that large class of persons commonly known in the community as deaf-mutes, there are several divisions, whose conditions are quite unlike : 1st, those whose deafness is congenital, or supervened before speech had been learned; 2d, those whose deafness was ac- quired after they had learned to talk but at so early an age that their memory of speech is indistinct ; 3d, those who became deaf so late that they retain a distinct recollection of speech ; 4th, those whose deafness is only partial. The third and fourth of these divisions can, with comparative ease, use vocal utterance, though the fourth experience much less difficulty in reading the lip-signs of others. Many of the second and a few of the first division can learn to speak, though all of the first and second divisions expe- rience difficulty in reading the lip-signs of others. Just which members of these classes will be successful articulators and lip- readers no one can know until an opportunity is given all of them to test their ability. In the year 1868 classes in articulation and lip- reading were organized in this institution, and have been continued to the present time. The practice of the institution is to test all pupils who are admitted, to learn who give promise of success in 53 these classes, and continue such in them during their continuance in the institution. Some meet with very gratifying success while others but poorly repay the great labor involved in their instruction. Many enter upon it with avidity which some maintain to the end, but others, after a time, importune to be excused from articulation classes, urging that it is a lifeless, uninteresting procedure to them. The testimony of many of their friends as to its value to them when away from the institution is very encouraging, but some par- ents think it labor in vain and request its discontinuance with their children. In the estimation of the public generally it is regarded as marvelous, and calls to mind the time of the Savior of mankind to whom " The blind, the deaf, the dumb were brought Lepers and lame, and all were healed." This department of the institution has been continuously ex- tended until there are now eight instructors whose sole duty is to teach articulation and lip-reading. As this was the first of the State institutions of Illinois, which have become so numerous, and whose support involves so large an expenditure in recent years, comprising more than half the annual expenditures provided for by the General Assembly, it will not be a matter of surprise that there have been a number of changes in the law governing its support and management. The act of incorpora- tion approved February 23, 1839, empowered the directors, twenty in number, to fill all vacancies in their own body, whether occurring by death, resignation or otherwise. The Board exercised this pre- rogative until the year 1849, when by an act approved February 3d, the number of directors was reduced to twelve, to be appointed by the Governor for the term of two years, exclusive of the principal, who was to continue as a director, with the provision that vacancies occurring between the biennial appointments made by the Governor should be filled by the Board of Directors themselves. Under these two acts alwavs a majority and much of the time all the directors were residents of Morgan county. An act of February 12, 1853, provided that the directors should be divided into three classes of four, each holding office for six years, exclusive of the principal, who was continued ex officio a member of the Board, it being en- acted that a majority of the members of the Board should reside without the county of Morgan. February 13, 1857, following the dissensions already referred to, the General Assembly reduced the 54 number of directors to six, exclusive of the principal, who was con- tinued ex officio a member of the Board, no two of whom should be residents of the same county, with a provision that no member of the Board should be employed or appointed in or to any office or place under the authority of the Board, or should be directly or in- directly interested in any contract to be made by said Board for any purpose whatever. This law continued in force till April 9, 1869, when this insti- tution, with all the others belonging to or sustained in whole or in part by the State, were brought under the operation of one act intended to unify the institutional work of the State government. This last act and one supplemental to it, approved April 15, 1875, still in force, are founded in wisdom. The population and resources and improvements of the State of Illinois for three decades had been growing with unexampled rapidity. Along with this growth was a large increase of those classes of people found in all times and races, who by some physical or mental impairment require un- usual means of instruction, treatment or care. The humane and enlightened influences of the people of the State kept pace with the necessities of the times. The consequence was that the little Asy- lum for the Deaf and Dumb, chartered in 1839 and opened in 1846 with four deaf-mutes, had been followed by others, one at a time, until at the end of thirty years after the first legislative action they numbered thirteen, and their inmates were counted by the thousand with the outlook indicating that an increase of institutions and a large increase of their inmates were inevitable in the not remote future. Each of the institutions existed by virtue of enactments peculiar to itself, no two of them being very similar, and their man- agement as dissimilar as the laws bringing them into existence; of course there would inevitably be confusion if not conflict of interest from so many institutions in various localities throughout the State. It would not be considered at all strange if under such circum- stances the managers of the institutions felt themselves invited to the exercise of such adroit expedients as they deemed not improper for advancement of their several institutions. The systems of keep- ing accounts were so diverse that the citizen desiring to ascertain correct information as to the use of public funds appropriated to the various institutions could do so only with difficulty. The Acts of 1869 and 1875 embodied as much practical wisdom as any that can be found in any one of the United States; it has not, 57 in this respect, been surpassed by the act of any other state since its enactment, while it has been copied by many. Their adjustment of prerogatives and responsibilities between the boards of the re- spective institutions, and a board having powers of inspection, sug- gestion and recommendation, but no administrative power, styled the Board of Charities assures to the respective institutions all the advantages of the interest of its own board, and secures for it the advantage of frequent intelligent inspection, and regular .times of accounting for all expenditures. There is nothing more important for a public officer than the performance of this service often, regu- larly and systematically. It is the popular impression that the public interest demands this, but the officer himself is as much interested therein as the public. Another eminently wise provision of this law is the one that members of the local boards and the Board of Charities shall serve without compensation, the result of this being that the trusteeships are not sought after for mercenary reasons, and honorable high-minded men, actuated by a desire to advance noble, humane and educational enterprises, are chosen for members of all the boards. There can always be found such men in a community such as constitutes the population of Illinois. The character and wisdom of the members of these boards for the last twenty-three years is aptly illustrated by their reports. No more reliable, just and true compendium of the relations of the de- fective classes to the public and the obligations of the public to to them can anywhere be found than is contained in the eleven bi- ennial reports of the Illinois Board of Public Charities. Their dis- cussions and conclusions will be dissented from by different per- sons, and especially experts in various departments of institutional work, but these reports will surely stand as acknowledged author- ity upon the subjects they treat upon, and an honor to the members of that Board and their able Secretary, Mr. F. H. Wines, who has prepared them. That the system of institutional management tends to induce if not to cause controversy on projected improvements and methods can not be denied, but controversy, when conducted by earnest, sin- cere and capable disputants, can only result in good. The proper, eager interest of one whose life- thought and work has been given to a particular enterprise may preclude him from duly recognizing the just claims of others, and his schemes for future development may, for this reason, all the more fittingly be carefully scrutinized by 58 wise and discriminating persons who sustain advisory relations to many others. That there have been sharp differences between the officers of this institution and the Board of Charities upon the wis- dom of proposed policies, and animated discussions upon them is true, but, as should always be the case with high-minded men after the questions at issue were settled and the " smoke of the contest had cleared away," no personal animosities remained, and the gen- eral good had been advanced. All the operations of both the boards have been conducted with a view upon the part of each to do the best possible. The pleasant working of this system, so far as this institution is concerned, has been largely due to the fact that the members of both boards were men of honor, entirely above influ- ence of partisan or personal considerations. Only men of such character are suitable for such trusts. The State of Illinois may be congratulated that its executives have so wisely exercised their appointive power. The subject of a library for the use of the pupils and the officers of the institution received no attention worth naming in the first years of its ^existence. Some regard was had to it in thesecondxlec- ade of the institution, but it was not until the year 1870 thaOhe subject was systematically and energetically taken in hand. At every session of the General Assembly since that, the subject has been presented, with an application for a small appropriation to^be used in this way. It is a pleasure to say that this has met with the most ready and hearty approval of every session of that hon- orable body. An annual appropriation of five hundred dollars, for the purchase of books and repairs of the old and worn ones, has been made. A judicious use of the money, with the trade discounts, has brought together a collection of over thirteen thousand volumes, which are among the best productions of ancient and modern times. The greatest care has been exercised in the selection of these books to secure the works of the best authors. The departments of his- tory, poetry, fiction, travel, science, biography and art, with the best encyclopedias and other books of reference are each quite full. Nothing tends more to give an institution a good uplift than a good library. Its influence is not ephemeral but far reaching, affecting the taste and habits of the pupils to the remotest periods of their lives, keeping them upon a higher plane than they would, without it, ever have attained. The love of good books is one of the most 59 enobling traits that any one can possess, but to a deaf person it is of far greater importance than to any other person. Since the commencement of the school there have been two thousand, three hundred and eleven pupils enrolled, of whom one thousand, three hundred and seventeen are males, and nine hun- dred and ninety-four are females. They were members of two thousand and sixty-one families. In one family there were six deaf-mutes. In seven families there were four deaf-mutes. In fifty- four families there were three deaf-mutes. In one hundred and fifteen families there were two deaf-mutes. In one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-nine families there was one deaf-mute. Though there are, doubtless, some of whom the fact has not been learned, yet one hundred and ten of the pupils enrolled have been reported as the offspring of parents of consanguineous origin as follows: 79 children of first cousins. 12 children of second cousins. 11 children of third cousins. 8 children of fourth cousins. 1 the grandchild of first cousins. 1 the child of uncle and niece. It is worthy of note that in families where the parents were first cousins in one case there were four deaf-mutes; in three cases there were three deaf-mutes; in seven cases there were two deaf- mutes. In families where the parents were second cousins in one case there were three deaf-mutes; and in one there were two deaf- mutes. In families where the parents were third cousins in one case there were three deaf-mutes, and in two there were two deaf- mutes. In families where the parents were fourth cousins in one case there were four deaf-mutes, and in one case there were three deaf-mutes. The deaf-mute relationships reported among the 2,255 pupils enrolled (though there are probably others) are as follows: CASES. Father and mother 8 Father, mother and brother 2 Father, mother and two grandparents l Father, mother and two brothers, two uncles and two aunts l Father, mother, brother, sister, two uncles and two aunts 2 Father, mother, uncle and two grandparents 1 Father, mother, aunt and half-uncle l Father, grandfather and uncle 1 Father and brother 1 Father and sister 1 Father, uncle and aunt 1 Mother 1 One brother 101 Two brothers i.0 Three brothers 3 Two brothers and sister 9 One brother and one sister 52 One brother and two sisters 8 One brother and half-sister 3 Two brothers and one sister 1 Three brothers and two sisters l One half-brother 3 Three brothers and sister 3 Four brothers and one sister 2 One half-brother and half-sister 1 One half-brother and sister 1 Brother, sister and two grandparents 2 Brother, sister and uncle 2 Brother, uncle and aunt l One brother and one great-uncle 3 One brother, two sisters and one second cousin 1 Two brothers and one uncle 1 Two brothers and third cousin 3 One brother and three third cousins 2 One brother and one second cousin l One brother and two cousins 2 One brother and three cousins 2 Two brothers and one cousin 1 Two brothers and three cousins 2 One brother, one sister and three cousins. . . 2 One brother and one cousin 1 One brother and two second cousins l One brother, one sister, one uncle and two aunts 5 One brother, two sisters, one uncle and two aunts . 3 CASES. Two brothers, one sister, two uncles and four aunts 3 One brother, one sister and cousin 3 One brother, one sister and second cousin.. 2 Two brothers and two cousins i One half-brother and one sister l One brother and one niece i One brother, one great-uncle and one great- aunt i One brother and one fourth cousin 3 One brother and one great-uncle l One sister 92 Two sisters 24 Three sisters 2 One sister and one cousin i One sister and one second eousin 3 One sister and one third cousin 2 One sister and one fourth cousin l One sister and two second cousins l Two sisters and two second cousins 2 Two sisters and two great-grandparents ... 1 One sister and one great-uncle l One sister, one great-uncle and one great- aunt l One cousin 57 Three cousins ....'. 6 Five cousins l One second cousin 15 Two second cousins 8 Four second cousins 2 One third cousin 7 Two third cousins 2 One fourth cousin 2 One cousin and three second cousins 1 One second cousin and one third cousin 1 Three second cousins l Two fourth cousins 1 One uncle 1 One uncle and one great-uncle 1 One uncle and two aunts 1 One uncle and one niece 1 Two uncles and one aunt. l One great-uncle 1 Two great-granduncles 1 One niece 1 Two nephews and one niece 1 One aunt 2 Two groat-aunts 1 One niece 1 63 The assigned causes of deafness supervening after birth have been reported by friends, usually the parents, to be as follows: C erebro-spinal meningitis 347 Scarlet fever... 159 Brain fever 114 Sickness (not specified) 93 Fever 60 Gathering in head 65 Typhoid fever 58 Measles 57 Cold 33 Fall 31 Inflammation of the brain 28 Whooping cough 24 Spasms 21 Catarrh 20 Diphtheria 16 Quinine 17 Congestion of the brain 13 Dropsy of the brain 11 Lung fever , 10 Scrofula 10 Inflammation of the ear 10 Bilious fever 9 Mumps 8 Winter fever 8 Teething 7 Nervous fever 6 Spinal fever 5 Disease of the ear 5 Congestive chill 6 Paralysis 4 Catarrhal fever 5 Disease of the ear 4 Pneumonia 4 Cholera infantum 4 Fright 5 Sore mouth 4 Erysipelas 4 Intermittent fever 4 Fall into water 4 Eemitting fever 2 Congestion of the spine 2 Sunstroke 2 Malarial fever 2 Cramps 2 Seasickness ... .2 Small-pox 2 Cold water Stroke on the head , Hemorrhage Pernicious fever Heat... Sprain Chicken-pox Bronchitis Typhus fever Bronchial affection Shingles Worm fever Clap of thunder Water on brain '. Collection in ear Kidney disease Congestive fever Jaundice Cancer Absence of external ear and aural orifice. .. Perforation of tympanum Lye i 1 1 1 1. 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 i i i i r i. i i i r i i t i i i' i t i i > i. i i i Influenza 1 Salt in ear 1 Concussion of the brain 1 Vomiting 1 Inflammation of bowels 1 Cough 1 Cold plague Scald Ague Apoplexy Drinking lye Swelling in head . Fall on stove Scald head Burn... Chill Pneumonitis Rickets Cholera Shock of lightning. Weakness Cramp 64 A cause inducing congenital deafness which does not appear on the foregoing list is one upon which, from its peculiar nature, it IB exceedingly difficult to obtain information. Eeference is here made to prenatal impressions, popularly known as birthmarks. As oppor- tunity has favored, inquiries have been made of parents with refer- ence to this, causing the persuasion that it is an active cause, and may account for many cases of deafness otherwise inexplicable. The ages at which deafness has occurred, as far as information has been furnished, have been as follows: CASES. Congenital 602 Undertone year 302 At one year 219 At two years 226 At three years 131 At four years 86 At flve^years 63 At six years 35 At seven years 39 At eight years 19 CASES. At nine years 11 At ten years 16 At eleven years 14 At twelve years 4 At thirteen years 11 At fourteen years 11 At fifteen years i At sixteen years i At seventeen years i At twenty years i The reports received of pupils who have passed through the in- stitution and are engaged in the battle of life are of a very gratify- ing nature. They are in a great variety of occupations, including the clergy, teachers, artists, farmers, book-keepers, mercantile and all the mechanic arts. Thirty-three of them are known to have been engaged as teachers in schools for the deaf. An extended ac- count of their successes and difficulties might be written, but pres- ent limits will not admit. Their position in society is such that they enjoy the universal respect and esteem of the community wherein they reside. As heads of families many of them are rear- ing excellent and well-ordered households, bringing their children up to a condition of usefulness and respectability thaf is quite equal, if it does not surpass that of the average in society at large. Their intermarriage has been promotive of their happiness and comfort, and has not tended to the multiplication of deaf-mutes, as may be seen by a careful study of the preceding table of pupils. The institution is an honor to the State of Illinois, and has re- paid manifold all that has been expended in its upbuilding and support. BRIEF HISTORY ILLINOIS INSTITUTION EDUCATION OF THE BLIND, LOCATED AT JACKSONVILLE, ILL. 1849-1893. Presented by the ILLINOIS BOARD OF WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSIONERS. JOHN MORRIS COMPANY, PRINTERS, 118 AND 120 MONROE STREET, CHICAGO. SAMUEL BACON (Blind). 1849-1850. W. S. PHILLIPS. 1588-1890. DR. JOSHUA EHOADS, 1850-1874. KEY. F. W. PHILLIPS. 1874-1888. FRANK H. HALL, 1890-1893. HISTORY OF THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTION FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE BLIND. LOCATED AT JACKSONVILLE. The question is often asked, " How did it happen that three of the twelve State Charitable Institutions were located at Jackson- ville?" Briefly the answer is in the character and ability of the early settlers of that city. Here were men who were not only ex- ceptionally capable in the management of affairs but who were deeply interested in every public enterprise; who abounded in good works religious, political, educational, and philanthropic. A leader in benevolent and educational enterprises, was Judge Samuel D. Lockwood whose home was in Morgan county from 1829 to 1853. His name appears as a member of the first Board of Trust- ees of every state institution in Jacksonville, and to him, perhaps, as much as to any other man, is that city indebted for the location of these institutions within its borders. Associated with Judge Lockwood in philanthropic and educational effort were Judge Will- iam Thomas, Col. J. J. Hardin, Dennis Rockwell, Col. James Dunlap, Judge James Berdan, Dr. David Prince, William W. Happy, Gov. Richard Yates, Joseph Morton, Samuel Hunt, Dr. Nathaniel English, Joseph O. King, Matthew Stacy, Julian M. Sturtevaut, Dr. Samuel Adams, and Gov. Joseph Duncan. Had these men settled in Peoria county or in Madison county instead of Morgan county, it is altogether probable that Jacksonville would not have secured for itself in a period of twenty years (1830 to 1850) Illinois College, The Female Academy, Illinois Female College, Illinois Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, Illi- nois Hospital for the Insane, and Illinois Institution for the Educa- tion of the Blind. THE DEAF AND DUMB. In the winter of 1838-39, Hon. Orville H. Browning of Quincy, Illinois, prepared and introduced into the General Assembly of Illinois, a bill for an act to establish the "Illinois Asylum (now In- stitution) for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb." This bill passed the Senate without a dissenting Voice; passed the House of Representatives by a large majority, and was approved by Gov. Thomas Carlin, February 23, 1839. In securing the passage of this bill, Judge Browning was ably assisted by Hon. William Thomas, Hon. Newton Cloud, and Col. J. J. Hardin, of Morgan county. Presumably through their efforts, the school was located at Jacksonville. The " Asylum " was not opened for the reception of pupils until December 1, 1845. and no pupils were enrolled until January 26, 1846. This was the first of the great State Charitable Institutions of Illinois, provided for by legislative enactment, and the first to open its doors to the unfortunate. THE INSANE. In response to a most eloquent appeal made by the sainted Do- rothea Dix, a bill for an act to establish the "Illinois Hospital for the Insane " passed both houses of the General Assembly with little opposition. It received the signature of Gov. Augustus C. French, March 1, 1847. The second section of this act named nine gentlemen, all residents of Morgan county, as trustees. On March 20, 1847, the Board organized, electing Judge Lockwood as Presi- dent, and soon after agreed upon a site for the location of the Hospital about one mile south of the Court House in Jacksonville. The first patient was received from McLean county, November 3, 1851. What is now known as the Illinois Central Hospital for the In- sane was the second of the great State Charitable Institutions of Illinois, to be provided for by law, but as will appear from what fol- lows, the third to open its doors for the reception of inmates. THE BLIND. In the summer of 1847, Samuel Bacon, who had just graduated from the Ohio Institution for the Instruction of the Blind at Colum- bus and who had been employed there during the previous year as a "pupil teacher," determined to seek his fortune in the West. Accordingly he embarked at Cincinnati with the intention of going to Galena, Illinois. While on the steamboat below St. Louis, he became acquainted with a gentleman from Southern Illinois who was a member of the Constitutional Convention then in session at Springfield. By him Mr. Bacon was informed that a large building was about to be erected in Jacksonville, Illinois, in which, when completed, a school for the blind was to be opened. Thinking that he might obtain employment as a teacher in the new institution, he turned his course toward Morgan county and arrived at Jackson- ville, August 12, 1847. Here he learned that the supposed insti- tution for the blind was a hospital for the insane. Mr. Bacon remained several days in Jacksonville during which time he met Mr. John W. Lathrop and by him was introduced to Dr. English, Judge Lock wood, Judge Berdan, Dennis Rockwell, and others, by whom he was encouraged to attempt the establish- ment of a school for the blind. Concerning the visit of Mr. Bacon to Jacksonville, Mr. Lathrop relates several interesting incidents. On one occasion Mr. Bacon was in Mr. Lathrop' s store in consultation with Judge Lock wood, Dennis Rockwell, and others. A gentleman entered who desired to pay a note the amount of which was at that time due Mr. Lathrop. The note was produced and read in an undertone, but loud enough for the sensitive ear of a blind man to hear every word. The note bore an endorsement indicating that one partial payment had been made. " What is the legal rate of interest in Illinois?" inquired Mr. Bacon. " Ten per cent.," replied the holder of the note, and before Mr. Lathrop with paper and pencil could solve the problem presented, the blind man named the amount due which proved to be correct to a cent. Mr. Bacon inquired if there were any blind persons in the vicin- ity. On being informed that there was a family near Lynnville, eight miles distant, in which were one or two blind children, he immediately declared his intention of visiting them, and that he would go at once. Judge Lock wood suggested that without doubt he would find an opportunity to ride to Lyunville within two or three days. He assured the Judge that he would rather walk than wait one day ; and as soon as he could obtain the necessary directions, he started on his midday journey in the dark, afoot and alone. He reached Lynnville before sunset, spent the night with Mr. Hays the father of the blind children, and returned alone to Jacksonville next morning. Soon after this Mr. Bacon visited Springfield. The constitu- tional Convention was still in session and he had the opportunity of meeting many of the prominent men of the state. On all proper occasions he urged the necessity of a school for the blind of Illi- nois. From Judge William Thomas of Morgan county, who was a member of the Convention and also at that time one of the trus- tees of each of the two state institutions already located in Jackson- ville, he received some encouragement, although coupled with the remark that it would require a very skillful and persistent effort to succeed. It will be remembered that at this time the state was just emerg- ing from a period of very great financial embarrassment. In 1841 Illinois state bonds declined to fourteen cents on the dollar, and it was many years after this before the Auditor's warrants were always worth the amount named on their face. To interest an already overburdened people in the education of the blind to the extent that they would be willing to provide the necessary funds, seemed almost a hopeless task. But toward the accomplishment of this most humane object, Mr. Bacon had set his face and it was not for a moment in his thoughts to turn back. He left Springfield for Galena, going by stage through Peoria, Hennepin and Dixon. While on this journey and while in Galena, he constantly carried in mind the interests of the blind children of Illinois. He kept up a vigorous correspondence, gathering all pos- sible information concerning this unfortunate class and interesting the friends of the blind in the prospective institution. In the following spring he returned to Jacksonville and on April 1, 1848, met, at the office of Brown & Yates on the east side of the public square, a number of gentlemen who favored his enter- prise. It was then and there determined that Mr. Bacon should continue to gather information which would show the necessity of such an institution, and, as soon as practicable, open in the city of Jacksonville, a private school for the blind. To defray the ex- penses of such an undertaking a subscription paper was drawn up and circulated among the citizens of the town. Judge Thomas' name appeared at the head of the list with a subscription of $100 ; Col. George M. Chambers subscribed $50; Judge William Brown, $50; Richard Yates, $25; D. A. Smith, $25; Col. James Dunlap, $25; Harmony Lodge No. 3, A. F. & A. M., $40; Thomas Officer, $20. The original papers cannot be found, but it is known that the follow- 9 ing names in addition to those given above, appeared on the list, the amounts subscribed by each varying from $3 to $15 or $20: Samuel Dunlap, Prof. Sturtevant, Dr. David Prince, George Dun- lap, Matthew Stacy, Joab Wilkinson, Rev. Andrew Todd, Dennis Rockwell, E. Walcott, Dr. Samuel Adams, Judge S. D. Lockwood, J. W. King, J. Neely, Ira Davenport, James Jackson, J. J. Cassell, David Robb, Samuel Markoe, M. H. Cassell, F. Stevenson, J. H. Finch, A. Coffin, William D. Freeman, Cornelius Hook, A. F. Mil- ton, G. W. Harlin, J. O. King, and Robert Hockenhull.* Dr. English was appointed superintendent of the enterprise, J. O. King collector and treasurer, and Judge Berdan, secretary. Mr. Bacon was authorized to continue his work of securing information concerning the blind in the state and of interesting their friends in the establishment of a state school. For this purpose he visited many counties traveling on foot, by stage, on horse-back, by boat, and by wagon, more than two thousand miles. A PKIVATE SCHOOL FOB THE BLIND. When Mr. Bacon returned to Jacksonville he had nearly sixty names of blind children who were residents of Illinois, many of whom he had visited. Selecting four from this number, George Springer of Adams county, John Jones of Marion county, Joseph and Nancy Fielding of Pike county, a school was opened June 5, 1848, in a two-story frame building which stood on the ground now occupied by the Wabash depot. Mrs. Sarah Graves was employed as matron and Mr. Bacon was the teacher. Miss Sarah Graves a daughter of the matron did much reading for the pupils and for their teacher, and has continued to read for the teacher ever since that time. They were married July 12, 1849, and are now living at Nebraska City, Neb. Later one or two pupils came into the school, but the four named seem to be the ones upon whom Mr. Bacon depended to prove his point, namely, that it was worth while to attempt to educate the blind. The school continued in session for about seven months. Of the work done, Mr. Bacon says: "The pupils were taught to sing twenty quartettes. The geography was elementary as we had no maps. In arithmetic they were taught all forms of fractions, also cube root; and they were able to solve any arithmetical question." *These subscriptions were paid in installments and the entire amount was not collected as the sum subscribed was larger than was needed to pay the expenses of securing the necessary in- formation and conducting the school. 10 On the 3d or 4th of January, 1849, these four pupils were taken to Springfield, and on the evening of the 9th they were ex- hibited before the members of the Legislature in order "to satisfy them that the blind could be and ought to be educated." On the next day a bill for "An Act to establish the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind," which had been prepared by Judge William Thomas and introduced by Hon. (afterward governor) Richard Yates, passed both Houses and on January 13, 1849, was approved by Gov. Augustus C. French. The blind children were sent from Springfield to their respective homes. Much work had been done gratuitously by Mr. Samuel Bacon in order to convince the citizens of Jacksonville of the necessity of a school for the instruction of the blind in Illinois. To convince the public of the necessity of a state school, cost the citizens of Jack- sonville in money expended, about four hundred dollars; and in addition to this, prominent and philanthropic residents of that city devoted much valuable time and effort to this worthy cause. It need not then be a matter of surprise that the legislative enact- ment that brought the school into existence, named in its first sec- tion, five Morgan county men as trustees, and that section twelve provided that the school should be opened and continued in or near Jacksonville. THE STATE SCHOOL. TRUSTEES. SAMUEL D. LOCKWOOD, President. JAMES DUNLAP, W. W. HAPPY, DENNIS ROCKWELL, SAMUEL HUNT. SAMUEL BACON, Principal. On February 3, 1849, just twenty-one days after the bill pro- viding for the school became a law, the gentleman named in the first section of the Act, met and organized by electing Judge Samuel D. Lockwood president and Judge James Berdan secretary. At this first meeting of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Bacon was ap- pointed, principal of the school at a salary of $600 per annum, and it was determined that if a suitable building could be secured, he should begin work on the first Monday in April. A few days later Col. Dunlap's "Mansion House" situated a little south and west of Illinois College, was rented for one year, at $225. Five hundred circulars were issued and distributed among the friends of the blind, announcing the opening of the school at the date named. Mrs. Sarah Graves was appointed . matron. Mr. Bacon was in- 11 structed to procure the necessary books and apparatus, and at the appointed time the doors were thrown open for the reception of sightless students. No pupils came until the following Saturday, April 7th. On that day George Springer of Adams county, and Mary Stuart of Madison county, came to the "Mansion House" and were duly enrolled as students at the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind. From the foregoing it will appear that this institution was the third of the twelve state charitable institutions of Illinois to be provided for by legal enactment, and the second to open its doors for the reception of inmates. It is interesting to note that all the charitable institutions of Illinois that were established " before the war" were located in Jacksonville. As before stated the first term of the state school began in April, 1849. It continued without vacation until July 10, 1850, a period of fifteen months. The number of pupils, small at first, gradually increased, until on the 2d of July, 1849, there were fourteen in attendance. At this time Mr. Aaron Rose, a blind man who had been educated in the Ohio Institution, was employed as teacher of music, and Miss Lavinia Booth, a blind lady from the same school, was appointed "teacher of handicraft in the female department." By the end of the term the number of pupils had increased to twenty-three. After a public examination they were dismissed until the first Wednesday of October. ME. BACON'S RESIGNATION. On the 24th day of June, 1850, just before the close of the first term of the state school, the Board of Trustees ordered that $100 be allowed Mr. Bacon to defray his expenses during the summer while he should visit institutions for the blind in Boston, Phila- delphia and New York. Three days later, there being some dis- satisfaction in regard to salaries, Mr. Bacon, Miss Booth and Mr. Rose tendered their resignations to take effect at the close of the term. These were promptly accepted. A month after this Mr. Rose, at his request, was reinstated, and Mr. Dennis Rockwell was authorized to visit institutions for the blind in the East for the pur- pose of collecting information, of procuring needed books and apparatus, and of engaging a competent superintendent who should be "a seeing man experienced in the conduct of a blind school." After leaving Jacksonville, Mr. Bacon was instrumental in 12 establishing two other schools for the blind; one at Viuton, Iowa, and one at Nebraska City, Neb. He is now (1893) seventy years of age and is residing upon his own farm a few miles from the Nebraska school. He is a living proof that blindness, though very inconvenient, is by no means a bar to financial success. PREPAEATIONS FOB BUILDING. The legislative enactment establishing the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind, provided that " the proceeds of a tax of one-tenth of a mill upon every dollar's worth of taxable property in this State " should annually be paid to the trustees for the purposes set forth in the bill. To enable them to commence building at once, the sum of $3,000 was appropriated " out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated." On May 2, 1849, the Board voted to purchase twenty-two and forty-five hundredths acres of land that was a part of the Col. Hardin estate, and is situated about three-fifths of a mile east of the public square in Jacksonville. For this now valuable property they paid $75 per acre. Mr. Napoleon Koscialowski prepared the plans and specifications for the building. These were accepted and work was begun in September, 1849; but at the close of the first term, July, 1850, the foundation had not been completed. DR. JOSHUA RHOADS SUPERINTENDENT 1850 to 1874. In the summer of 1850, Mr. Rockwell visited several schools for the blind in the East, and succeeded in securing as Superintendent of the Illinois Institution, Dr. Joshua Ehoads who had formerly been Superintendent of the Pennsylvania School. Mrs. Rhoads was employed as matron. On the first Wednesday in October, 1850, school opened again in the " Mansion House " with eighteen pupils present. By the first of the following January (1851) the number had increased to twenty-three. In their report at that time, the trustees announced that "the accommodations of the building which is temporarily occupied for the purpose of the institution, are not sufficient and no more pupils can be received except as vacancies may occur in the present number." In Dr. Rhoads' first report to the trustees we find the following " Order of Business ": "Rise at 6; prayers and reading in Bible, 6:45; breakfast 7; literature and music, 8 to 12, with half-hour iutermssion; dine and 13 recess 12 to 2; literature and music 2, to 6, with three-quarters of an hour intermission; supper and recess, 6 to 7; history, 7 to 8; re- tire, 9:30." Of the progress of the pupils in their studies Dr. Rhoads says: " Two years only have passed since not one of the pupils of this institution knew the letters of the alphabet. Now, all the pupils but two, read the Inspired Word with pleasure and profit. The benevo- lent heart of the Christian must thrill with delight, when he beholds the blind enjoying, in their solitude and physical darkness, an inti- mate communion with the inspired penmen, and feel itself repaid for all the labor, time, and attention bestowed." During this term Mr. Rose continued in charge of the music while the superintendent himself did all the teaching in the literary department. The girls were taught sewing, knitting and bead work by the matron. As an indication of the difficulty in securing the necessary " help" at that time, it may be stated that the records show that Dr. Rhoads was allowed $55.80 "for expenses in bringing two servant girls from Philadelphia." FAVORABLE LEGISLATION. An act of the Legislature of 1851 provided that for two years (1851-1852) in addition to the tax already provided for, a tax of one-tenth of a mill on every dollar's worth of taxable property in the state should be assessed and collected, the proceeds to be applied to the completion of the building then in process of erection. It was also provided by the same act that the Governor should appoint five trustees for this institution, and biennially thereafter, should ap- point five. The persons appointed in accordance with this act met April 19, 1851, but did not organize until their second meeting which occurred April 29, after their bonds had been approved by the Governor. TRUSTEES. SAMUEL D. LOCKWOOD, President. JAMES DUNLAP, SAMUEL HUNT, \V. W. HAPPY, WM. B. WARREX. DR. JOSHUA RHOADS, Principal. There was the usual vacation in the summer of 1851, and with the walls of the new building less than half completed school opened again in the " Mansion House " October 1. Some additional as- 14 sistance was employed, and the superintendent took upon himself the instruction of the male pupils, in brush-making, basket-making, and rope-making. The writer is unable to learn the number of pupils in attend- ance during the third term of the school ; but at the close of the second biennial period (January, 1853), thirty-three pupils had been enrolled since the opening of the state school and twenty-five were present. The family in the "Mansion House" at that time consisted of Dr. Rhoads, Superintendent and teacher; Mrs. Rhoads, matron and teacher; four daughters of the Superintendent, the eldest being eleven years of age and the youngest under one year; Mr. Rose, teacher of music; Mr. Dunham, assistant in the literary de- partment; twenty-five pupils (eleven males and fourteen females) ; "a porter and three female domestics by whom all the washing, cook- ing, etc., for the establishment was done, with the exception of the hire of a washerwoman one day each week." MOEE LEGISLATION. An act of the Legislature which became a law in the spring of 1858, provided that the number of trustees of the Institution for the Blind should be six inclusive of the Principal who should, exofficio, be a member of the Board. It was also provided that a majority of the trustees should reside without the county of Morgan. In accord- ance with this law Gov. Matteson appointed a new Board of Trus- tees, and on March 15, 1853, they met and organized. BOAKD OF TRUSTEES 1853. SAMUEL D. LOCKWOOD, Jacksonville, President. NIVIAV W. EDWARDS, SAMUEL HUNT, MATTHEW STACY, SAMUEL MARSHALL, JOSHUA RHOADS, Principal and, ex offlcio, member of the Board. Afterward Judge Lockwood removed from Jacksonville to Ba- tavia, 111., and on July 11, 1853, Mr. Stacy became President of the Board. In the autumn of 1853, school opened again in the " Mansion House;" but in January, 1854, the work on the new building had so far progressed that it could be occupied, and accordingly the pu- pils with their officers and teachers took possession of their new quarters. It was not until January, 1855, that the building was fully finished and furnished. The Board of Trustees then announced that they were " prepared to receive as pupils all the blind of either 15 sex, capable of receiving an education, within our State, who may apply for admission." In the fall of 1853, James Dunlap was appointed as teacher in the Industrial Department. Soon after this Mrs. Dunham accepted a position as assistant teacher and Mr. Joseph Ramsey (blind) was employed as a teacher of music. LEGISLATION. In 1855, that part of the law of 1849 which provided for the levy- ing of a tax of one-tenth of a mill on every dollar's worth of taxable property in the state for the purpose of creating a fund for the In- stitution for the Blind, was repealed. The amount of money col- lected under the laws of 1849 and 1851, and paid over to the trustees was, including the $3,000, special appropriation made per section 14, of the act of incorporation, $99,431.90. The law of 1855 appro- priated to the Institution for the Blind for the next two years after its passage, the sum of $14,000 per annum. In May, 1856, plans were made, bids received, and the contract awarded, for building a work-shop sixty feet by thirty feet and two stories in height. The building was to be of brick and to cost be- tween three and four thousand- dollars. Soon after this, the build- ing was erected on the ground now occupied by the " East Wing." January, 1857, the Superintendent reported as follows: " Every pupil in our first class can make a good brush, a good broom, a tolerable basket, and a strong rope, in addition to his acquirements in literature and music." At this time there were fifty-six pupils in attendance. LEGISLATION. By a law in force February 13, 1857, the number of trustees was reduced to five, no two of the trustees to be residents of the same county. It was also provided that no member of the Board should be " employed or appointed in or to any office or place under the authority of the Board; and that no member of the Board should be " directly or indirectly interested in any contract to be made by said Board for any purpose whatever." It was further provided that the accounts of the institution should be so kept and reported as to show the kind, quality, and cost, and of whom bought, of every article purchased. The Board appointed under this law, met and organized April 8, 1857. 16 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1857. MATTHKW STACY, Jacksonville, President, S. D. LOCKWOOD, Batavia, WM. H. BROWN, Quincy. JOHN MAGOUN, WM. BUTLER, Springfield. DR. JOSHUA RHOADS, Principal. The law of 1857 also provided that "in all cases where the parents of pupils sent to the Institution for the Education of the Blind, are too poor to furnish them with good and sufficient cloth- ing, or where said pupils are without parents and unable to furnish themselves with such clothing, the judge of the county court of the county from which they are sent shall certify the same to the Principal who shall procure such necessary clothing and charge the same to said county and pre sent the account with the vouchers to the Auditor of Public Accounts who shall draw upon the county Treasurer for the amount so charged to the county." This law remained in force until the passage of a law now in force, that made the same provision for pupils, but changed the method of collecting the amounts due the institution from the several counties. To secure the attendance of pupils, notices were sent to the editors of newspapers throughout the state, informing the people that the doors of the institution were open to every blind child within the limits of the state. Once in two years, the Principal accompanied by a number of pupils (usually twelve), visited many large towns giving concerts and exhibitions. At the end of the fifth bienriium (January, 1859), fifty-eight pupils were present and ten more were expected to arrive. In 1857, the Jacksonville & Carrollton Railroad obtained and entered upon, for its own use, a strip of ground about thirty feet wide and nearly 1,000 feet long near the west end of the tiact occupied by the institution. February 3d of the same year, the trustees put on record the following declaration : " The Board can not concede permission for the railroad to pass through its grounds, and the President is appointed to attend to the interests of the institution in this case." The controversy growing out of this trouble continued, in and out of the courts, until 1869; when, the Board of Trustees protest- ing, the matter was settled by legislative enactment, the railroad company retaining the land and another and wider strip west of the strip before mentioned and paying therefor into the State treasury the sum of $5,700. A full account of this iinfortunate litigation can be found in the report of the Board of Public Charities, 1876, pp. 130-132. 17 Some building was done during the year 1857-8. The barn was enlarged and a brick smoke-house built. The latter is still standing, having been converted, several years ago, into an outside water-closet connected with the sewer. LEGISLATION. By the law of 1859, the annual appropriation for the institution was reduced from $14,000 per annum to $12,000. The latter sum was the amount appropriated for the annual expenses of the institu- tion from this date until 1865. BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1860. MATTHEW STACY, Jacksonville, President. 8. D. LOCKWOOD, Batavia, D. ROCKWELL, Jacksonville, SAMUEL LONG, M. D., JOHN MAGOUN. DR. JOSHUA RHOADS, Principal. In June, 1860, Dr. Samuel Long was instructed to procure an organ for the institution to cost not over $1,600. He visited St. Louis and purchased of Henry Pilcher an organ with twenty-four stops. This instrument was pronounced at that time by competent judges to be one of the best in the State. June 19, 1861, probably on account of restlessness on the part of the older pupils and a seeming lack of appreciation of the priv- ileges offered by the state, the Board ordered: "That the term of pupils be limited to five years unless for special reasons to be re- ported to the Board." 1861 TO 1865. During the seventh and eighth biennial periods, but little oc- curred outside the usual routine of earnest, persistent, and cheerful effort on the part of members of the Board, of teachers, and of pupils. During this period, James Magoun retired from the Board; Dennis Rockwell removed from the State, and Judge Lockwood asked to be relieved from further duties. The places thus made vacant were supplied by Robert Hill of , , E. B. Hawley of Springfield, William A. Grimshaw of Pittsfield, and William Coffin of Batavia. On the retirement of Judge Lockwood the Board caused the following tribute to be spread upon the records : 18 "Ordered, That the Board have learned with great regret of the resignation of Judge Lockwood on account of his advanced age. The Board feel that they have lost the leading spirit in the man- agement of the institution from its foundation, and have a high trust that they and their successors may continue to be guided by the same spirit which always guided him." His period of service was fourteen and one-half years. In October, 1861, Prof. John Loomis commenced his long and valuable service as a teacher of the blind. During the first few years his salary was $800 per annum; but in 1865 it was raised to $1,200; in .1871, to $1,400 and in 1878, to $1,500. This last figure is the highest salary ever received by any one employed as a teacher in the Illinois Institution for the Blind. Prof. Loomis was connected with the Institution until 1881, a period of twenty years. There is evidence that the pupils became very strongly attached to him, and, although the methods of instruction employed might not, in some particulars, meet the approval of modern teachers, there is abundant proof that the value of his instruction and influence can not be measured by the standards of worth that are usually applied to human effort. In 1862 Miss Alice Rhoads began work as a teacher in the primary department. She was employed uninterruptedly, part of the time in the literary department and afterward as teacher of music and leader of the orchestra, until 1874. In the summer of 1862, Oscar Butts, of Adams county, a young man who had left school without permission the previous year, made a written complaint to the Board regarding the general management of the Institution and charging the superintendent with inefficiency and " arbitrary and despotic exercise of power." A special meeting of the Board was called which continued two days (June 25 and 26, 1862), the members patiently listening to witnesses introduced at the suggestion of Butts. At a subsequent meeting the following statement was put on record: "The trustees present who heard the testimony against and for Dr. Rhoads, having carefully considered the subject, have unani- mously come to the conclusion that the charges exhibited against Dr. Rhoads have not been sustained. " Resolved by the trustees, that we affirm the decision of the Board made in December, 1861, that the Illinois Institution for the 19 Blind is entitled to the confidence of the public and is answering the purpose for which the institution was established. " Resolved, That hereafter no pupil shall be returned to the school for more than five years, unless the trustees, for good reasons shown to them, shall otherwise order." On the 16th day of June, 1863, the Board caused the following to be spread upon the records, and copies sent to the newspapers of Jacksonville, Springfield, Chicago, and elsewhere, with the request that it be published: " Resolved, That we have witnessed with pleasure and very great satisfaction, the exercises of the institution under the charge of Dr. Joshua Rhoads and Mrs. Rhoads assisted by able and expe- rienced teachers, in the respective branches of study in this institu- tion, and express our great satisfaction at the proficiency shown by the pupils and return our thanks to the Principals and their assist- ants for their able management of the institution during the past year, as shown by the progress of the pupils. Signed. MATT. STACY, E. B. HAWLEY, WILLIAM A. GEIMSHAW. Near the close of the year 1864, Supt. Rhoads stated as fol- lows : " This "institution now contains sixty-eight blind persons of good moral character, kindly in their deportment to their teachers arid to each other. About one-half of the number were either born blind or lost their sight in infancy; the other half of them became blind from various accidents to which all are subject. Thirty-two of the pupils are males and thirty-six are females. 1865 TO 1869. BOARD OF TRUSTEES-1865. MATTHEW STACY, Jacksonville, President, WILLIAM A. GRIMSHAW, Plttsfleld, E. B. HAWLEY, Springfield, M. SHAEFFEK, Salem, H. BUCK, Decatur. DR. JOSHUA RHOADS, Principal. LEGISLATION. The annual appropriation for ordinary expense was raised in 1865 to $20,000, and remained at that figure until 1869. In 1867 there was an especial appropriation of $1,000 per annum (1867 and 20 1868) "to pay for repairs of buildings and improvements." This was the beginning of a regular appropriation for repairs and im- provements, the amount received for this purpose being known as the K. & I. fund. Near the beginning of this period, furnaces were introduced into the building in place of stoves with which all the rooms had been heated up to this time. In October, 1865, Prof. A. E. Wimmerstedt was employed as a teacher of music. He continued to serve as teacher and musical director till the summer of 1879 a period of fourteen years. In January, 1867, the trustees reported eighty pupils inafctend- ance and " no accommodation for any more." It was a period of high prices and the Board recommended that the appropriation for ordinary expenses be increased from $20,000 to $25,000 per annum. In 1868 Miss Fannie Maginuis commenced a long period of service as teacher in the literary department. She resigned in 1879, on account of the illness of her mother; was re-elected in 1881, and continued in the work until 1887. 1869 AND 1870. LEGISLATION. In 1869 the appropriation for ordinary expense was increased to $25,000 per annum and $5.000 was appropriated for repairs and improvements. An act entitled, "An Act to provide for the ap- pointment of a Board of Commissioners of Public Charities" was approved April 9, 1869. Since that time the state charitable in- stitutions have been under the most vigilant supervision of that Board, the active officer of which, has been from the beginning up to the present time (April 1, 1893), their Secratary, Rev. Fred H. Wines. The act of 1869 further provided that the number of trustees for each of the state charitable institutions should be three. BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1869. MATTHEW STACY, Jacksonville, President. E. B. HAWLEY, Springfield, WILLIAM A. GKIMSHAW, Pittsfield. At ten o'clock on the morning of April 20, 1869, smoke and flames were seen issuing from various parts of the roof of the main 21 building of the Illinois Institution for the Blind. The following statement from the Superintendent's report dated November 30, 1870, gives a succinct account of the fire and of the rebuilding. " The citizens of Jacksonville rushed in haste to attempt the suppression of the fire. A profuse supply of water was at hand one hundred and twenty barrels being in tanks in the fifth story of the building; but the progress of the fire was so rapid that nothing availed to check its ravages. In a few short hours, the comfortable home for the blind had become a mass of smould- ering ruins. " The fire is supposed to have originated from a defective smoke flue in the attic of the building, and to have been making progress there for four hours before it was discovered. When first dis- covered, the flames were breaking through the roof, and the attic could not be entered from the scuttle in the fifth story ceiling on account of the heat and flame. " The citizens succeeded in rescuing all the inmates, and in re- moving their clothing. The books, papers, and much of the furniture, including seven pianos, were also removed in safety. The citizens of Jacksonville opened their houses to our pupils, and, in a few hours, they were all installed in comfortable homes, and well provided for until we could arrange to resume the charge of them. " Mrs. Eliza Ayers, without solicitation, at once proffered to us her property, known as the Berean College, and in a week we had our pupils comfortably domiciled in it, and in our workshops. The school was at once resumed, and our pupils re-commenced their studies with accustomed cheerfulness. The school was continued in session until the usual time for vacation, June 1, when the pupils returned to their homes. " The buildings being insured for $20,000, and some other funds being applicable to the purpose of rebuilding, it was determined to allow no unnecessary delay in providing a new building. Suit- able designs were procured, and work was begun on a new building on the site of the old edifice. This building was pushed forward with such industry and energy that it was finished and occupied by the officers and pupils on January 26, 1870. " The building is seventy-two feet by seventy-two feet, and is three stories high. It is placed on the site of the former building, and is planned so as to be the " west wing " to a future main 22 building and east wing, to be erected when the Legislature shall appropriate funds for its erection ." " The cost of the new building was $34,069.39. Of this amount $20,000 was received from the insurance companies, and, as the school was necessarily closed, a portion of the amount appropriated for repairs and improvements, and current expenses became avail- able for building." It may be here stated that the Board of Trustees in beginning to rebuild almost before the foundation stones of the old building were cold, and in applying, not alone the insurance money, but funds appropriated for ordinary expense, to this purpose, pushing the structure to completion in the space of nine months, acted without the sanction of law. They however did this under the advice of Governor Palmer, and of individual members of the Legislature of 1869. The responsibility was upon themselves; but so fully did their promptness of decision and energy of action in the interest of the unfortunate class placed in their care, commend themselves to the general public, that no one has been found to make complaint, either formal or otherwise, of their assumption of authority; though it has sometimes been said in an undertone that the desire to retain the institution at Jacksonville had something to do with their very commendable activity in providing the new building for the School for the Blind. The new building contained only about half as much available space as the former one; yet the school was continued in all its departments. In the autumn of 1870, there were seventy-four pupils present, and the Superintendent was obliged to refuse admis- sion to many others. 1871 TO 1874. BOARD OF TRUSTEES. MATTHEW STACY, Jacksonville, President, E. B. HAWLEY, Springfield, WILLIAM A. GRIMSHAW, Pittsflekl. DR. JOSHUA RHOADS, Principal. In 1871 the annual appropriation for the ordinary expenses of the institution was reduced from $25,000 to $20,00; and in 1873, from $20,000 to $17,500. On November 20, 1871, Miss Clara E. Greenleaf was employed as assistant matron and, in December, 1872, Avas promoted to the position of primary teacher. She resigned in the summer of 1878, 23 on account of poor health, after having been connected with the in- stitution six years and five months. The building erected in 1869, was designed as a west wing of a main building yet to be erected. Before the work was begun on this " wing," Messrs. Dilger and Jungerfeldt, architects, of Spring- field, 111., were employed to prepare the elevation and ground plans for a structure consisting of a main building and two wings. In 1872, the Board made a very earnest appeal to the Legislature then in session, for an appropriation sufficient for the erection of the central portion of the proposed structure. On May 3, 1873, a bill re- ceived the Governor's signature, which provided for an appropria- tion of |75,000 for this purpose. Within a month from that time the board advertised for bids for the construction of the "main building." On July 10 thirteen bids had been received. That of Loar & Bruce being the lowest, the contract was awarded to them, the sum named being $58,560. The work of building was immediately commenced and with the usual delays, changes in contract, and some additions thereto, com- mendable progress was made. It was apparent in the spring of 1874, that the building would be ready for occupancy at the begin- ning of the next term. In the meantime Hon. John L. Beveridge became governor of Illinois. A new Board of Trustees was appointed, and at the last meeting of the retiring Board (June 2, 1874), they caused the following tribute to the officers and teachers of the institution to be spread upon the records: Resolved, That at this our last meeting, as trustees of this institution, we part with the officers and employes thereof, yet feeling in them the same confidence which their zeal, integrity, and devotion to duty has caused us to repose in them in the past. Resolved, That we feel our hearts oppressed, in consequence of the painful illness of our long-time friend and faithful, upright, public servant, Dr. Joshua Rhoads, preventing him from being present with us, it being the first time in our official connection with this institution; and we now give to him our most cheering congratulations, that to him is the consciousness of a life spent in public service for twenty-four years in the education and training of the blind of Illinois, dis" charging with uprightness and with a genial heart and true manhood his impor- tant duties as Superintendent of this institution; and we, as trustees, sympathize most cordially with him and his amiable family in his present affliction; and we return to him our sincere thanks for his incessant labors and for his pleasant inter- course with us in our official capacity, in which his family so considerately co-op- erated. Resolved, That we especially present to Mrs. Rhoads, as Matron, our most 24 hearty thanks for her truly motherly sympathy and charge over the numerous children who have passed under her kind, considerate and useful training, during the long period she has presided over this institution, being from its foundation. l i Resolved, That Miss Alice Rhoads, has our sincere thanks for her exceedingly happy and efficient effort in training those of the pupils who have been under her charge, in literature and in music, and we feel it to be our duty to say that she can not be surpassed in her vocation as a teacher of youth. Resolved, That Mr. John Loomis, as senior teacher, has always merited and received our confidence, as he now fully possesses the same, and we commend him as unsurpassed if not unequaled in capacity as a teacher in the position he has occupied. Resolved, That Miss Frances Maginnis and Miss Clara E. Greenleaf, as teachers in this institution, has each discharged her duty in a highly acceptable manner and to our entire satisfaction. Resolved, That we, with pleasure, express our satisfaction in the progress of the pupils of the institution during the past term, and commend them to the public as worthy objects of public care, deserving the same by good conduct and entitled hereto as children of the great State of Illinois. On June 4, 1874, the new Board consisting of John Mathers, of Jacksonville; John H. Wood, of Virginia, and John H. Lewis, of Galesburg, met and organized. Mr. Mathers was chosen President, and Bazzil Davenport Secretary pro tern. The resignations of Dr. Joshua Rhoads and Mrs. Rosanna J. Rhoads, to take effect August 1, 1874, were read and accepted. On motion, they proceeded to the election of a superintendent. Several names were placed in nomination and on the first ballot Dr. F. W. Phillips received one vote; Prof. John Loomis, one, and Rev. W. H. De Motte, one. On the second ballot, Dr. Phillips received two votes and Rev. De Motte, one. Dr. Phillips was declared elected. Mrs. Lucy J. Phillips was chosen matron. Prof. Loomis, Miss Alice S. Rhoads, Miss Fannie Maginnis and Prof. A. E. Wimmerstedt were re-elected as teachers. At a subsequent meet- ing the resignation of Miss Rhoads was read and accepted. At the close of Dr. Rhoads' term as Superintendent, blind persons to the number of 443, had availed themselves of the privi- leges of the institution and seventy-two were present. 1874 TO 1876. BOARD OF TRUSTEES. JOHN MATHKRS, Jacksonville, President, JOHN H. WOOD, Virginia, JOHN H. LEWIS, Galesburg. DR. F. W. PHILLIPS, Superintendent. With very few changes in the corps of teachers and officers, Dr. Phillips commenced his long period (fourteen years) of service 27 as Superintendent of the Institution for the Blind. Capt. William A. Kirby was appointed foreman of the workshop, and Mrs. A. C. Kirby teacher in the literary department, while Prof. T. D. Nut- ting and Miss Fannie De Motte were employed as teachers of music. Immediately after the completion of the new building, circulars giving notice of the increased capacity of the institution, and requesting friends of the blind to see that those in need of the edu- cational privileges thus furnished by the state were induced to avail themselves of these advantages, were printed and sent into every county. As a result of this effort, the number of pupils was increased from seventy-two to one hundred and seven, the latter being the number in attendance December 1, 1 874. In 1875 B, B. Gray was appointed foreman of the work depart- ment in place of Captain Kirby, resigned. Mr. Gray had been em- ployed as a carpenter and builder at the institution during the super- intendency of Dr. Rhoads. He is yet (1893) an efficient officer of the institution, having served continuously for eighteen years. LEGISLATION. By an Act of the Legislature in force June 1, 1874, $5,000, which had before been appropriated and had not been drawn from the State treasury, was made available for building purposes, and Section 2 of the same Act appropriated $10,000 for furnishing. Adding this $5,000 to the amount appropriated by the Act of May 3, 1873, made a total of $80,000. The new trustees found that " contracts had been entered into and improvements made amount- ing in the aggregate to $82,332.34, being $2,332.34 in excess of the appropriations made." Disclaiming any responsibility for this, they declared the claims to be just and asked the Legislature to make appropriation for the payment of the same with ten per cent, inter- est from the first day of August, 1874. Two years later this request was renewed, and the General Assembly of 1877 appropriated a sum sufficient to pay these claims with interest at the rate named. The Board further declared that although the former board had, "by some mistake or oversight, made improvements in excess of the appropriation," additional improvements and repairs were needed which demanded the consideration of the Legislature. The "center building" was heated by steam, the boilers for this purpose being located in the rear part of the basement. The wing was imperfectly heated by four furnaces. The Board reported that 28 convenience, comfort, safety and economy alike demanded that there should be constructed a building for the reception of the boilers, the same to be connected by a tunnel with the main struct- ure, and that the wing should be equipped with steam-heating apparatus. In response to their request for $8,000, the Legislature appropriated $5,000 for building a boiler-house, stack and tunnel, and supplying the needed pipes and coils for the wing. The Board deeming this amount insufficient, it appears that they inaugurated the custom of regarding the amounts received from counties and individuals for clothing, as well as the amounts of sales of live stock and articles manufactured in the shops and sew- ing-room, as a " contingent fund " which they applied wherever it might seem to them desirable. (This custom was continued until July 1, 1881; the sum of the orders paid from this fund sometimes being more than $1,500 per annum. Since that time the receipts for clothing and sales of stock, etc., are returned to the ordinary expense fund from which the amounts paid for clothing, for feed, for live stock and for material to be manufactured, are always draAvn. ) In explanation of this the Board in their biennial report, dated October 1, 1876, make the following statement: "We asked the Legislature for $8,000 to build an engine and boiler-house, and to heat the wing with steam, and received $5,000. The building which we were able to erect after steam-heating had been paid for, is not such as we desire, but will answer our purpose for years. We could not have built as we did, and when we did, had we not been able to add our sales and receipts to the amount the state gave us. We did this when we wanted our sales and receipts for another purpose, because the amount given us was not sufficient to build, and the safety and health of the pupils and security of the buildings, required that the boilers should be removed." "The entire building is now uniformly and comfortably heated, and the tire removed from it, except in the kitchen." The ordinary expenses for the year 1874 were several thousand dollars more than the appropriation, and the Legislature, in the spring of 1875, appropriated $5,000 "to defray the increased ordinary expense of the Institution for the Blind," and provided that the act should " take effect and be in force on and after its passage." 29 In the Superintendent's report for the same year we find the following very courteous tribute to Dr. Bhoads: Since rny last report to you, my predecessor, Dr. Joshua- Rhoads, has died. His health, feeble at the time of his resignation, continued to fail until February 1, 1876, when death relieved him of his sufferings. A graduate of the Pennsyl- vania University of Medicine, he was engaged in the active practice of his pro- fession for a number of years. He was principal of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind for four years. In 1850 he was elected principal of this institution, which position he occupied for twenty-four years. Possessed of a good mind, which was well cultivated, he was qualified, both by nature and habit, for the work to which he gave so much of his life. Methodical, earnest, and in love with his work, the institution was well conducted and successful under his administration. At the time of his death he had entered upon his seventieth year. 1876 TO 1880. The appropriation for ordinary expense for the biennium be- ginning July, 1875, was $25,000 per annum, with $1,000 per annum, for repairs and improvements; for the biennium beginning July, 1877, the appropriation for ordinary expense was $28,000 per an- num, and the amount for repairs and improvements, $1,250 per annum. Early in 1877, Governor Cullom appointed a new Board of Trustees for the Institution for the Blind, and on June 4 the appointees met and organized. BOARD OF TRUSTEES-1877. A. C. WADSWOKTH, Jacksonville, President. N. W. BRANSON, Petersburg, A. G. BUUB, Carrollton. DR. F. W. PHILLIPS, Superintendent. For the term 1876-77 Dr. Phillips says in his report to the trustees " ninety-five permits have been sent out [to pupils], di- vided as follows: seventy-six returned, three re-admitted, and six- teen new pupils. An addition of $3,000 to the appropriation made for ordinary expense by the last Legislature, would enable me to admit twenty-five more pupils. I have on hand from which to select that number, eighty-nine applications. Four of these appli- cants are too old, nine are too young, and one is from another state. The remaining seventy-five are proper subjects for our care and instruction, but we can not now receive them." Mrs. Marion P. Wimrnerstedt was employed for half her time for one year, as music teacher, her term of service beginning Octo- ber, 1876. At the beginning of the next term (1877-78) Miss Lizzie B. 30 Simpson was employed as a teacher in the literary department, and Miss Hattie Hobbs as a music teacher in place of Mrs. Wimmer- stedt. Miss Simpson retained her position until her resignation was tendered and accepted July, 1885. Miss Alice Dickey was employed in place of Miss Greenleaf re- signed. Mrs. Alice Dickey Harsha resigned in the summer of 1884. In April, 1879, Miss Harriet B. Reed was employed as teacher in the junior division in place of Miss Maginnis; Prof. H. Breth- erick, in place of Prof. Wimrnerstedt as musical director. Miss Reed's term of service continued until January, 1886; Prof. Breth- erick's, until the summer of 1883. NUMBER OF PUPILS ENEOLLED. Terra of 1876-77 96 Term of 1877-78 123 Term of 1878-79 133 Term of 1879-80 142 In response to the request of the trustees, the Legislature of 1879 made appropriations in addition to the usual amount for cur- rent expenses, as follows: For new fronts to, and for resetting boilers $ 784 00 For stand-pipe, hose and connections 850 00 For dining-room and kitchen 2,400 00 With these funds the necessary work was done in the boiler- house, and a large water tank was placed in the attic of the wing and the necessary connections made to carry water to any part of the building. A kitchen was built and a dining-room provided that would accommodate one hundred and fifty pupils. 1880 TO 1884. In the beginning of this period, the Board of Trustees con- sisted of the persons appointed by Governor Cullom in 1877, namely: Hon. A. C. Wadsworth, Judge Branson, and Judge Burr; but on the death of Judge Burr, June 10, 1882, Dr. J. M. Davis, of Carrollton, was appointed to fill the vacancy. The following tribute to Judge Burr was prepared by his colleagues, and the same was published and spread upon the records: IN MEMORIAM. Hon. Albert Gallatiu Burr, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Institution for the Education, of the Blind, died at his residence in Carrollton, 111., June 10, 1882. We had known Judge Burr for years, and to know him long and well was but to know him with increasing esteem and admiration. 31 As a jurist, his integrity, his manliness, and his legal attainments commanded confidence and respect, and his death called forth universal grief in the judicial district over which he presided. Our association with him as trustee of the Institution for the Blind, which began June 4, 1877, and closed when his life ended, was characterized by unity of thought and action. We ever found him attentive to the duties of his office, inter- ested in the affairs of the institution, and anxious for its welfare. In our intimate acquaintance with him, we found him a Christian gentleman, easy of access, pleasant in social intercourse, affable in his demeanor, cheerful in mind, though at times a great sufferer, and always hopeful of the future. (Signed) A. C. WADSWORTH, N. W. BRANSON. LEGISLATION. The appropriations for current expenses were as follows: 1879-80, Ordinary expense, $21,000; repairs and improve- ments $1,000 00 1880-81, Ordinary expense, $25,000; repairs and improve- ments $1,000 00 1881-82, Ordinary expense, $22,000; repairs and improve- ments $1,500 00 1882-83, Ordinary expense, $25,000; repairs and improve- ments $1,500 00 In addition to the usual appropriations, the Legislature of 1881 made the following special appropriations: For building east wing $33,000 00 For school apparatus and musical instruments 2,500 00 For building barn, coal-house and shop 12,000 00 For engine and laundry machinery 1,440 00 The Legislature of 1883 appropriated as follows: For fence on east, north, and west side of grounds $1,200 00 For purchasing twenty-two acres of pasture land . '. 2,500 00 For steam mangle 550 00 With the funds thus provided, the east wing, containing twenty- eight rooms, the inside work being of yellow pine finished in oil and the openings between the wings and center building protected by iron fire-doors, was completed in time for the opening of the term of 1882-83. A brick workshop two stories high and containing eight rooms, was built, it being located a little northeast of the east wing of the main building. A brick barn was built a few rods in the rear of the boiler-house, and between the boiler-house and the barn, was erected a substantial coal-house. When these improvements had been made ajid settlements had been made with the contractors, there remained in the treasury, of the $12,000 appropriated, $1.08. Twenty-two acres of most excellent pasture land, about half a 32 mile northeast of the buildings, was purchased, and this continues to furnish ample summer feed for the eighteen to twenty cows necessary to supply milk for the inmates of the institution. Half a mile of substantial fence was built which is yet standing, and needs but little repair. The drain was provided and the neces- sary laundry machinery purchased. On June 9, 1881, Miss Susan Draper was elected teacher of music (piano), which position she has filled acceptably since that date. October 11, 1882, Miss A. L. Nichols (blind) was employed as a teacher in the primary division. She resigned in 1885. October 10, 1883, Miss Annie Martin was employed in the liter- ary department. She resigned in 1887. On the same date, Miss Kate Smith was employed half her time as teacher of vocal music, and Mrs. Annie Smith two-fifths of her time as teacher of organ. Mrs. Kate Smith Dummer and Mrs. Annie Smith resigned in 1885. The number of pupils enrolled was as follows : Term of 1880-81 120 pupils. Term of 1881-82. . .128 pupils. Term of 1882-83 .... 157 pupils. Term of 1883-84. . . 168 pupils. 1884 TO 1888. TRUSTEES. A. C. WADSWORTH, Jacksonville, President, N. W. BKANSON, Petersburg, J. M. DAVIS, Carrollton. DR. F. W. PHILI-IPS, Superintendent. On the death of Dr. Davis, in 1885, Hon. Benjamin F. Funk of Bloomiugton was appointed to fill the vacancy. In the report to Governor Oglesby. dated September 30, 1886, we find the following: " We have lost from our Board, by death, Dr. J. M. Davis of Carrollton, a man worthy and well qualified for the position he occupied, who was interested in the work of educating the blind and whose loss we regret." LEGISLATION. The appropriations for current expenses were as follows : 1883-84, Ordinary expense, $32,000; repairs and improve- ments $1,000 00 1884-85, Ordinary expense, $32,000; repairs and improve- ments $1,500 00 1885-86, Ordinary expense, $30,000; repairs and improve- ments $1,500 00 1886-87, Ordinary expense, $30,000; repairs and improve- ments .. $1,500 00 33 In addition to the usual appropriations, the Legislature of 1885 made the following special appropriations: For the construction of a refrigerator and storehouse $4,000 00 For the extension of the sewer 500 00 For the purchase of a pipe-organ 3,000 00 With the funds thus provided, the sewer was extended and a pipe-organ, a most excellent instrument built by Hook & Hastings of Boston, Mass., was put in place and used for the first time December 25, 1885. The amount appropriated for a storehouse and refrigerator was unsatisfactory to the trustees and to the Super- intendent. Nevertheless they proceeded to build as best they could, the building erected being of brick, twenty-two feet by sixty feet and two stories in height and situated northwest of the main building. TEACHEES. On the resignation of Mrs. Alice Dickey Harsha in the summer of 1884, Mrs. Mary Burr, widow of Judge A. G. Burr, was em- ployed to fill the vacancy. Of this appointment Dr. Phillips says in his report to the trustees: " It affords me the greatest pleasure to thus remember the kindness of Judge Burr in his intercourse with those connected with the Institution, and his faithfulness to his duties as a trustee." Mrs. Burr continued her work as a teacher until the summer of 1891. At the beginning of the term 1885-86 four newteachers were em- ployed: Prof. Blanpied who was musical director for one year and Mr. Ira William Davenport who was employed in the literary de- partment until 1887 ; George R. Parker, a former pupil of the Insti- tution and Mrs. Mollie Phillips. Mrs. Phillips resigned in 1887. Mr. Parker is still numbered among the teachers in the literary de- partment. At the beginning of the term 1886-87, Miss Anne Wakely was employed as teacher in the literary department and Miss Emma Des Plaines, a former pupil, as a teacher of music. Prof. Wallace P. Day was employed as musical director. Miss Wakely taught one year and Miss Des Plaines four years. |Prof. Day, who had previously had several years experience as teacher of the blind in Canada still remains at the head of the musical department. At the beginning of the term 1887-88, Mrs. Eliza Caldwell, Miss Mattie Bevans, and Miss Lydia Hamilton took their places as teach- ers. Mrs. Caldwell taught the girls of the intermediate division 34 till the summer of 1891. Miss Hamilton had charge of the senior division for five years. She resigned on account of serious ill health. Miss Bevans taught the intermediate class of boys until 1890. During the term of 1890-91, she taught mathematics to the pupils of all grades between the kindergarten and the high school, and since that time has taught geography to the same classes. NUMBER OF PUPILS ENROLLED. Term of 1884-85 150 Term of 1885-86 168 Term of 1886-87 186 Term of 1887-88 171 DEATH OF SUPT. F. W. PHILLIPS. On January 17, 1888, after a painful illness, Dr. F. W. Phillips passed to his reward. There was a special session of the Board of Trustees, called for January 19, to take appropriate action concern- ing the death of the Superintendent. Mr. W. S. Phillips was elected Secretary of the Board and the following tribute proposed and offered for adoption by Hon. N. W. Branson was spread upon the records: " The Board of Trustees convened in special session immediately after the sad but sacred duties pertaining to the final interment of the late Superintendent of this institution, feeling acutely the magnitude of our loss would pay our heart-felt tribute to the memory of the deceased." " Whatever honors can be paid to the memory of Dr. F. W. Phillips will be worthily bestowed. No tribute which affection may dictate can be worded in language too strong. The late super- intendent fully appreciated the responsibility resting upon him in ministering to the mental, moral, and physical welfare of the pupils under his charge; and he gave to the discharge of his duties his best energies. His heart was filled with sympathy for those whose misfortunes made them the worthy recipients of this noble public charity. With love for this special work and with a mind fully equipped by nature for the discharge of high pub- lic trusts, he gave himself up, with entire singleness of purpose, to the performance of duty." "In the management of pupils, he was quick to foresee and prompt to provide for their wants. Courteous, kind, and affectionate, in his intercourse with them, he yet could be firm as the occasion might demand, and was always just. His relations with all who were in any way associated with him were of the most kindly character." "As an executive officer he displayed rare ability. The institu- tion grew and expanded under his wise and prudent administration, and attained the measure of usefulness which its founders and 35 prompters had in view. The public funds were applied exclusively to their proper uses as contemplated by the law and were expended with economy, with sagacity, and with unquestionable integrity. Under his thoughtful and efficient management, the entire institu- tion in all its branches and departments worked like a perfect piece of mechanism without jar or friction." " Our Superintendent was a man of principle and of purity ; stain- less in character and spotless in reputation ; remarkable for the great variety and extent of his attainments; and he exemplified in himself the highest attributes of domestic life." "Although his life was lengthened out to three-score years yet the death of an upright and useful man, however long deferred, comes always too soon, but we are not without consolation in the recollec- tion of his many virtues and in the reflection that it was our happy privilege to have been so intimately associated with him in his labor of love; and we, the members of this Board, counting ourselves as not the least affectionate among the many friends of our departed brother, will cherish with unfailing tenderness and love, his precious memory and the priceless inheritance of his virtues." (Signed) A. C. WADS WORTH, B. F. FUNK, N. W. BRANSON. At the time of Dr. Phillips' death blind persons to the number of nine hundred and three had availed themselves of the privileges of the institution and one hundred and sixty-four were present. 1888 TO 1890. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, 1888. A. C. WADSWORTH, Jacksonville, President, N. W. BRANSON, Petersburg, B. F. FUNK, Bloomington. W. S. PHILLIPS, Superintendent. On May 27, 1888, Mr. W. S. Phillips, son of Dr. F. W. Phillips was elected superintendent. Fourteen years of the life of Mr. Phillips had been spent at the institution. He had been book- keeper and purchasing agent and was familiar with the details of the work in every department. To the arduous labors of his new position he devoted all his energies. He made apparent to the members of the Thirty-sixth General Assembly the needs of the institution the result of which was increased appropriations for ordinary expense and generous provision for necessary improvements. 36 LEGISLATION REGULAR APPROPRIATION. 1887-88, Ordinary expense, $32,000; repairs and improve- ments $1,500 00 1888-89, Ordinary expense, $32,000; repairs and improve- ments 1,500 00 1889-90, Ordinary expense, $38,000; repairs and improve- ments 2,000 00 SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS. Legislature of 1887: For paving one-half the width of street $3,400 00 For building laundry and purchasing appliances 5,000 00 For fire-escapes 1,200 00 Legislature of 1889: For repairs to cornice $ 1,000 00 For piano-tuning and repair department 3,000 00 For cottage for girls 18,000 00 For covered walk for girls 1,000 00 For repairs to chapel 4,350 00 With these funds, work was done and buildings erected as fol- lows: East State Street (to the center of the street), in front of the grounds of the institution, was paved with vitrified brick. A brick laundry, thirty by ixty feet was erected and equipped with all needed appliances; complete fire-escapes were provided for the main building. The cornice of the main building was thoroughly repaired. Of the $1,000 appropriated for this purpose, $455.97 reverted to the state treasury. A most elegant building was erected near the west end of the grounds. This edifice is of brick and is known as the Girls' Cot- tage. It is now (1893), occupied by four of our teachers and about forty blind girls, there being from two to four in each room. In this building the pupils do their own " room- work." The repairs to the chapel were made necessary by a serious set- tling of the floor, and a fear of dangerous imperfection in the walls themselves. The settling occurred when there was a large audience upon the floor, and through the presence of mind of the Superin- tendent, W. S. Phillips, a serious catastrophe was averted. Com- petent advice was secured and the chapel (and consequently the dining-room beneath it) was greatly enlarged and made thorough- ly substantial and secure. An attractive exercise walk was built with the $1,000 appropri- ated for this purpose. 38 With regard to the expenditure of the $3,000 appropriated for the piano-tuning and repair department, there was some slight mis- understanding between the Secretary of the Commissioners of Public Charities on the one hand, and the Superintendent and trustees on the other hand. It resulted in the expenditure of this money for the most part for tools to be used in tuning and repair- ing, and in the payment of the salary of a competent teacher in tun- ing, for several years. It is not improper to say that the special appropriations made by the Legislature of 1889, were secured largely through the ef- forts of Mr. Phillips, and that the improvements that were thereby made possible, a brief description of which appears upon the pages immediately preceding this, were largely due to his enterprise and administrative ability. The Board of Trustees, too, during this period (Hon. A. C. Wadsworth, Judge N. W. Branson, and Hon. B. F. Funk), were all men of exceptional worth and ability. Alive to the interests of the institution, they spared neither time nor ef- fort in its behalf. In spite of some unpleasant episodes, the his- torian is obliged is pleased, to declare that this was a period of unusual prosperity. TEACHERS AND OFFICERS. In October, 1888, Mr. Charles A. Hinchee was employed as boys' supervisor and teacher in the physical culture department. He resigned in February, 1890, and Maj. C. E. McDougall was elected to fill the vacancy. At the beginning of the term 1889-90 Thomas Dower, a former pupil who had been acting as assistant foreman in the broom-shop, was put on the pay roll. In the autumn of 1889 Miss Margaret Taylor was employed and put in charge of a kindergarten. The Superintendent selected the largest and best room at his command and caused it to be fitted up and furnished with every needed appliance. This was the begin- ning of the kindergarten work in the institution. It should continue as long as the institution lasts. Miss Taylor resigned in 1891. NUMBER OF PUPILS ENROLLED. Term of 1888-89 171. Term of 1889-90 188. At the close of this period, blind persons to the number of nine hundred and seventy-eight had availed themselves of the privileges of the institution. 39 1890 TO APRIL 1, 1893. BOARD OF TRUSTEES-1890. A. C. WADSWORTH, Jacksonville, President, N. W. BKANSON, Petersburg, BENJAMIN F. FUNK, Bloomington. FRANK H. HALL, Superintendent. On July 1, 1890, Mr. Frank H. Hall, who had had twenty-five years' experience as teacher and Superintendent in the public schools of Illinois, took his place as Superintendent of the Institu- tion for the Blind having previously made a brief visit to, and study of, the institutions of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Louisville. LEGISLATION REGULAR APPROPRIATION. 1890-91, Ordinary expense, $38,000; repairs and improve- ments $2,000 00 1891-92, Ordinary expense, $40,000; repairs and improve- ments 2,000 00 1892-93, Ordinary Expense, $40,000; repairs and improve- ments 2,000 00 SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS 1891. For constructing and furnishing a building to be used as a dormitory for blind shop-hands $12,000 00 For enlarging and repairing the boiler-house, etc 3,640 00 For constructing a kitchen and bakery 7,500 00 For extra repairs, improvements and appliances necessary to provide suitable accommodations for sick inmates 2,000 00 For purchasing apparatus, school and mechanical 3,000 00 These funds have been for the most part expended. A building in which are sleeping-rooms, sitting-room and read- ing-room, sufficient for fifty blind men, was erected a few rods east of the main building. It is now occupied by thirty-eight men, while two rooms are used for instruction and practice in piano-tun- ing. The foreman of the shop also has rooms for himself and wife in this building. A new sixteen-foot, sixty-inch boiler was set and the boiler- house enlarged, so that when it shall become necessary to cast aside the three fourteen-foot, forty-eight-inch boilers now in use, they may be replaced with boilers equal in capacity to the one recently purchased. A large double-acting steam pump was purchased, and so set and connected that water may be drawn from either of two wells or from the city water mains, and thrown into the boilers or into the pipes that supply water for ordinary use and for pro- tection against fire. 40 An ample kitchen and bakery were provided, a twelve-foot rotary oven was set in place, in which all our baking is done. At present we use one barrel of flour each day while school is in session. Near the new kitchen a convenient store-room was provided, and the old store-house converted into a hospital. This is now an iso- lated building two stories high with four rooms, besides halls and closets on the first floor. These rooms are a boys' ward, a girls' ward, a sleeping-room for nurses, and a kitchen. Ordinarily the rooms on the first floor furnish sufficient accommodation for our sick inmates; but in case of severe illness, epidemic or contagious disease, the second floor can be occupied. With the $3,000 for purchasing apparatus, we have provided valuable broom machinery for the shop, philosophical apparatus and physiological models for the high school, specimens in natural THE HALL BRAILLE-WRITER. history for all departments, and appliances for the kindergarten. A complete printing outfit has been provided. This includes movable type for printing ''Boston Line " (raised letters), New York Point (literature and music), and Braille music; a small "Army Press," and a large Kidder hand- press. Under the direction of the Super- intendent, a machine for writing Braille has been constructed by which the pupil can write many times as fast as he could write with a " stylus and tablet," with the further advantage of having what he has written in a convenient position to be read. This machine is known as the Hall Braille-writer. With these machines the pupils solve their problems in algebra and write their letters and school exercises. Although the first machine was not completed till May 42 27, 1892, twenty -five are now in use in this institution, and about seventy-five have been constructed and sold to other institutions and to blind people. Fourteen are in use in the Boston school, nine in St. Louis, twelve in Philadelphia, six in Alabama, two in California, five have been shipped to England, and the remainder to private individuals in different parts of the United States. A machine has also been constructed (the Hall Stereotype - maker, cut on page 43), by means of which work can be written on copper plates. These plates can be used as stereotypes for printin g with an ordinary press. Thousands of copies can be printed from each plate. Several hundred such plates have been made, most of the work of preparing them having been done by blind persons. Al- though this machine was not completed until January 4, 1893, a similar one is now in use in tile St. Louis School for the Blind, and another will be shipped to the Philadelphia school in a few days. This appropriation also enabled us to purchase two Hammond typewriters, three Remingtons and ten Merritts. Our " typewriting room " contains, besides the typewriters here mentioned, six Braille-writers; and nearly one hundred pupils receive instruction and practice on one or more of these machines daily. TEACHERS. Miss Edith Paxton was employed as assistant in the high school at the beginning of the term 1891-92. Before the end of the year her health failed, and her physician advised rest. She was not able to return at the beginning of the next year, but gradually be- came weaker, and on Saturday evening, January 21, 1893, a few hours after caressing a little blind boy that had called to " see " her, she fell asleep. It is no exaggeration to say that the blind chil- dren of Illinois lost a most faithful friend when Miss Edith passed to her long home. Mrs. Mary Redick Bayly, who had been employed as a teacher in the Ohio Institution many years ago, accepted the position of kindergartener in the fall of 1891. She served the blind of the state most industriously and conscientiously for one year. NUMBER OF PUPILS ENROLLED. Term of 1890-91 217 Term of 1891-92 241 AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE. Term of 1890-91 . . . . 186 Term of 1891-92 . . . . 216 43 THE HALL STEREOTYPE-MAKER. With this machine a copper stereotype may be written in Braille (either English or American) almost as rapidly as one can write on paper with the Hall Braille-writer. Either single plates, or double plates for interlining, may be written upon it. The machine is simple and substantial in its construction, and requires but little skill to operate it. One of the pupils of the Illinois Institution for the Blind, after a few hours' practice, wrote four lines of a familiar hymn, on a copper plate of sufficient thickness to " stand up " under thousands of impres sions, in one and one-half minutes. 44 MARCH 25, 1893 PRESENT CONDITION or THE SCHOOL. There are now 212 pupils in attendance. Of these, thirty-six are men in the shop department, and five are women in the sewing- rooms. Of the remaining 171, ninety-one are males and eighty are females. The entire enrollment from the opening of the school in 1849 up to the present time, is 1,141. LITERARY DEPARTMENT. In this department there are three divisions: First, the kinder- garten and primary grades; second, the intermediate and gram- mar grades; third, the high school. The second division is subdivided into four sections of boys and four sections of girls. The teachers and their terms of service are as follows: HIGH SCHOOL. Prof. L. M. Coates, one year. DIVISION 2. Teacher of geography, Miss Mattie Bevaus, six years; teacher of reading and history, Miss Tillie Johnson (blind), two years; teacher of arithmetic, Prof. George B. Parker (blind), eight years; teacher of language, Miss Eva Hewes, two years as assistant ma- tron and two years as teacher. DIVISION 1. Miss Harriet Rees assisted by the more advanced pupils, one year. Miss Minnie Bacon, term of service two years, is employed half of her time as teacher in the " typewriting room," and the other half as assistant in the high school. Miss Nina M. Hall, term of service one year, devotes half of her time to work in the " type- writing room." MUSIC DEPARTMENT. Prof. Day, of whom mention has been made before, is in charge of the music department. He gives instruction to several pupils on the pipe-organ, teaches the harmony and chorus classes, and arranges all the music work. One hundred and fifteen pupils 45 receive instruction regularly on the piano, fifty-two on the violin, ten on the pipe-organ, and several on each of the following instru- ments: cornet, violoncello, viola, piccolo, French horn, euphonium, etc. Thirty-five have instruction in harmony, twenty-five in vocal music, while the chorus class (taught always by Prof. Day) usu- ally numbers about forty. For all these subdivisions, most of the music is printed on our own press, and a copy put into the hands of each learner. Several teachers and pupils use the Stereotype- maker. A person with sight (or two blind persons) can prepare the stereotype for a page of music in fifteen minutes. Several hundred copies per hoar can be printed on our Kidder press. Prof. Day's assistants and their terms of service in the Illinois Institution are given below: Prof. M. H. Grist, teacher of violin and other orchestral instru- ments, three years; Miss Susie Draper, piano, eleven years; Miss Alice Clarke (blind), piano, three years; Prof. L. M. Hitt, vocal, two years; W. H. Jackson, teacher of piano-tuning and repairing, five years; Charles Tederstrorn (blind), assistant in piano-tuning, two years. WORK DEPARTMENT. The subdivisions of this department are as follows; 1. The broom shop. 2. The girls' work-rooms. 3. The boys' work-room. William R. Boyer has been for the past two years foreman of the broom shop. About thirty blind men are here employed mainly as apprentices in broom- making. The sales from the shop are now over $8,000 per annum, while during the last year ten men have been sent out to attempt to earn their livelihood as broom-makers. Some of these are successful. In the girls' work-rooms, chair- caning, sewing by hand and on machines, crocheting, knitting, the making of bead-work and horse nets and hammocks, are taught. The sales from these rooms amount to from $15 to $25 per month. Miss Jennie Clark, who has been connected with the institution for many years, is in charge of one of these rooms, and Mrs. Clyde H. Hall, whose term of service is three years, is in charge of the other. Mr. Thomas Dower (blind) is in charge of the boys' work- room. His term of service is four years. In this room the boys 46 are taught chair-caning, and the older ones receive instruction in horse-net and hammock-making. A "Sloyd-room" has been opened this year in which attempts are being made to give manual training by working in wood. The room is provided with a lathe and full sets of wood-working tools. Mr. Henry Edwards, a pupil in the high school, is in charge of this room. During the last two years nearly all the correspondence of the Superintendent's office has been done with a Remington typewriter operated by a blind pupil. Mr. Frank Stoddard, of Hillsboro, a member of the class of 1893, has done a large part of this work. He writes from dictation at the rate of thirty to forty words a minute, and his work is unusually free from errors. When several copies of a paper or a letter are required, he writes first from dic- tation upon the Braille-writer and, from the embossed copy thus provided, makes the requisite number of copies with the Remington. A large part of the work with the stereotype-maker has been done by Mr. Arthur Jewell, a young man who graduated from the institution in the class of 1886, and who returned for instruc- tion in piano-tuning. He writes in copper rapidly and accur- ately, reads and corrects his own proof, and operates the press without difficulty. His reading of proof, with the fore finger of the left hand on his embossed copy, and the fore finger of the right hand on his stereotype, thus reading simultaneously both the copy and the proof, called forth the expression from an observer, " It beats eyes all to pieces." Since January 4, 1893, Mr. Jewell, besides doing his work as a pupil, has written several hundred copper plates. Mrs. Frank H. Hall has been Matron for the last three years She has generously taken upon herself the employment and manage- ment of all the female help, and has personally apportioned and supervised the work done by twenty-six women. In this she has been ably assisted by Miss Jean Cunningham, who has been con- nected with the institution sixteen years, and has had charge of the kitchen and dining-room for three years. Her success in this work has been marked, and is due to her unusual good judg- ment, to her untiring zeal, and to her almost ceaseless energy and activity. Mrs. Hall has given personal attention to the purchasing of and keeping in order, the clothing of the younger pupils, and to 47 providing for the many wants of children in darkness and with- out a mother's care. In this work she has ever found a most competent assistant one whose worth can not be told in words in Miss Katie Halpin, who has been employed at the institution seven years, and who, during the last three years, has acted the part of mother to twenty-five or ,thirty blind boys. She has washed their faces, combed their hair and taught them to do these things for themselves. She has taken splinters out of fing- ers, attended to sprains, bumps, cuts and bruises; she has wiped away tears from sightless eyes weeping for a far-away mother, listened to childish complaints, bathed feverish brows, and in one instance, at the touching request of a dying boy, she took him in her lap, and held him in her arms while his spirit passed away from earth. Many a blind boy in Illinois will never forget " Miss Kathy." There are many others too who have been employed here who are worthy of honorable mention, did space permit. Miss Jennie Clark, who has been employed here since 1876, has shown much self-denial and patient devotion to duty. Miss Alice Smith, who has been in charge of the younger girls for the past two years has been very helpful, and attentive to the wants of those under her charge. Miss Titia Grant, continuously since 1885, and for many years prior to that time has alike served the interests of the blind and those who have given her employment. Maj. C. E. McDougall, as Boys' Supervisor; Byron Gray, as Superintendent of Construction and Repairs (oftentimes indeed usually not only superintendent but laborer as well); E. C. Schureman as bookkeeper, and Clyde H. Hall as store-keeper and purchasing agent, have all proved themselves competent in their several departments, and in a high degree worthy of confidence and esteem. The writer of this brief history is aware that it is wanting in a most essential part, yiz. : the record of what has been accom- plished after leaving the institution by those who have enjoyed the advantages so generously provided for them by the state. The records in the office of the Superintendent, bearing upon the subject, are so incomplete, and the time allowed for prepara- tion of this sketch so short, that no satisfactory account can be given, of the occupations and achievements of former pupils. This important work must be left for the future historian. 48 One of the results of the victory of the Democratic party in the elections of November, 1892, was the resignation of the mem- bers of the Board of Trustees. Early in the following March, Gov. Altgeld appointed their successors who met and organized, March 31, 1893. BOARD OF TRUSTEES-1893. HON. CHARLKS A. BARNES, Jacksonville, President, JUDGE HENRY PHILLIPS, Virginia, HON. A. L. LOWE, Robinson. By request of the new Board at their April meeting, Mr. Frank H. Hall tendered his resignation as superintendent to take effect July 1, 1893, and Rev. W. F. Short, D. D. was appointed to fill the vacancy. BRIEF HISTORY ILLINOIS SOUTHERN HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE, LOCATED AT ANNA, ILLINOIS. 1869-1893. Presented by the ILLINOIS BOARD OF WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSIONERS. JOHN MORRIS COMPANY. PRINTERS, Il8 AND 120 MONROH STREET, CHICAGO. SOUTHERN HOSPITAL FOR INSANE. In the year 1869, the same year in "which the Northern Hospital for the Insane was created, the General Assembly passed " An act to locate, erect and carry on an asylum for the insane," which was approved by Governor Palmer, April 16, the same day that he ap- proved the sister act. The two measures were, in fact, part of a single scheme, and were supported by the representatives both of the northern and the southern ends of the State. The title " Illi- nois Southern Hospital for the Insane " was not conferred until 1875, the date of the adoption of the act to regulate the State chari- table institutions. The act of incorporation provided for five commissioners, who were to select and purchase a site, adopt plans and have entire charge of the erection, organization and management of the institu- tion. These commissioners were allowed $5 each per day for their services until the asylum should be so far completed as to receive insane patients. Naturally enough, the work of construction dragged its slow length wearily along. The Board made a tour of inspection of eastern institutions, for which they charged $2,000 for necessary travelling expenses in addition to their salaries, and when they made their first report, in December, 1870, they 6 had expended only a little more than $50,000 out of an appropria- tion of $125,000, of which $17,000 had been paid for land, and but $15,000 on the contract for building. The location selected March 29, 1870, was a tract of land imme- diately north of the town of Anna and east of the Illinois Central Railroad. It contained 290 acres. Nominally, the owners deducted one-fifth of the price asked, and the town of Anna contributed an- other fifth; actually, the price paid was the full value, if not more, being at the rate of $60 per acre. The plans adopted were prepared by Messrs. Schwartz & Dilger. The contract for the erection of the north wing was let to Richard Shinuick, of Cincinnati, for $115,000, the preliminary excavations to be paid for by the cubic yard, in addition to the sum named, at an estimated cost of $10,000. The General Assembly, in 1871, legislated the commissioners out of office and provided for the appointment of three paid com- missioners to construct the Southern Illinois Insane Asylum and the Southern Normal University. The new Board took charge May 2, 1871; at that time the basement story was not yet finished. On the 25th of July, 1871, seeing no prospect of an early completion of the building, they notified the contractor's securities to meet them at Anna and either furnish means for a more rapid prosecu- tion of the work or surrender the contract. The securities there- upon took the building in hand, finished it at their own cost, and a final settlement was made with them in March, 1873. The contract for the rear building and the basement story of the center was awarded to N. L. Wickwire, of Cairo, June 13, 1872, for AC TQO 3pOo, to6. The appropriation for the center building was made May 3, 1873, but through an error in the wording of the act, instead of its being made payable from the levy of 1872, as designed, it was made payable from the levy of 1873, and so was not available for use before 1874, which occasioned a delay of one year in the commencement of work under the contract. Richard Shinnick was the successful bidder, and took the job for $84,000, except the finish- ing of the fourth story. The l.ast payment was made him in Sep- tember, 1875. With the completion of the north wing, trustees were appointed by the Governor in July, 1873, who elected Dr. Richard Dewey, as- sistant physician at Elgin, Superintendent. He at first accepted the appointment but subsequently, on the 23d of September, withdrew his acceptance, and Dr. A. T. Barnes, of Centralia was elected in his stead. The north wing of the asylum was opened for the reception of patients, December 15, 1873, the first floor being reserved for the accommodation of officers and employes. The center building was completed in November, 1875, furnished and occupied in January, 1876, and the entire wing was then surrendered to the use of the patients. It was the original intention of the Legislature that this institu- tion should be an asylum for the care of the incurable insane, but the act of May 2, 1873, placing it under the laws regulating the reception, care and treatment of patients at Jacksonville, changed its character in this regard. The plans for the center building and south wing were furnished by Messrs. Walsh & Jungenfeldt, of St. Louis. The contract for the south wing was taken by Thomas L. Kempster, of Chicago, July 25, 1875, for $89,723.65. His bid was believed at the time to be too low and so it proved. He failed to pay his employes, and on the 6th of June, 1876, the board sus- 8 pended payments to him, and made all payments on* his account directly to the parties to whom the same were due. By the 17th of May, 1877, he was unable to proceed further, the amount due him, under his contract, less the ten per cent, guaranty retained by the commissioners, having been exhausted, and all work ceased. The board then ordered Col. E. H. Sturgess, superintendent of construction, to complete the building at the expense of the contract- or and his sureties. No attempt was made to collect the excess in its cost, however, because it was known that the contractor had already lost money by his bargain and it was felt to be unfair to proceed against him. The building commissioners delivered the south wing to the trustees, November 8, 1877. Dr. Barnes resigned the superintendency, July 1, 1878, after nearly five years service and on the 6th of August, Dr. Horace Wardner, of Cairo, was elected to succeed him; he assumed the duties of the position in September. The greatest difficulty to be overcome in the organization of the Hospital was the securing of an adequate water supply. This was sought to be obtained at first by building a dam and catching the sur- face rainage in a large pond. In 1879 connection was made with a "big spring" about a third of a mile southeast of the building. A large settling basin and filter were constructed in 1883. A severe drought, in 1887, led to the sinking of an artesian well. About 1 o'clock on the morning of April 19, 1881, the north wing took fire, from some undiscovered cause, and was totally con- sumed. One patient perished in the flames; all the rest were res- cued. The General Assembly, which was in session at the time, made an appropriation of $12,000 for barracks for temporary use, and another of $90,000 for rebuilding the wing. Mr. L. D. Cleve- land, of Chicago, was employed as architect, and the work was done 11 by the Hospital itself without the intervention of a contractor. The result was entirely satisfactory. While the work was in progress the male patients occupied the barracks, the chapel and one section of the upper floor of the female wing. The patients liked the bar - racks and at the next session of the Legislature they were fitted up for permanent use, and are still occupied. By this means the ca- pacity of the Hospital was increased at a very trifling expense. Electrical lighting was introduced in June, 1886. In 1889 the General Assembly appropriated $120,000 for the erection of additional buildings at Anna, to accommodate three hun- dred patients. Plans submitted by Mr. I. C. Coleman, of Jacksonville, were adopted, and the building was erected without a contract, by the Hospital itself. Dr. Wardner resigned the superintendency in January, 1890, and was succeeded by D. E. B. Elrod of Flora. The change of ad- ministration resulted in a general reorganization, including the as- sistant physicians, matron, farmer and other subordinate officials. Since the political revolution in Illinois, last November, a new board of trustees has been appointed and Dr. Elrod has given place to Dr. W. C. Luce. The commissioners and trustees have baen as follows: John Dougherty Jouesboro, 1869 to L871. Benjamin L. Wiley, 1869 to 1871. George L. Owen, 1869 to 1871. Eussel Hinkley, 1869 to 1871. H. D. Kingsbury, 1870 to 1871. Elihu Palmer, Carbondale, 1871 to 1874. E. H. Sturgess, Vandalia, 1871 to 1877. Hiram Walker, 1873 to 1877. F. M. Malone, Pana, 1874 to 1877. 12 Amos Clark, 1875 to 1879. John C. Boyle, 1875 to 1877. C. Kirkpatrick, Anna, 1875 to 1881. W. P. Brunei-, Metropolis, 1877 to 1881. E. H. Finch, Anna, 1877 to 1891. John E. Detrich, Sparta, 1877 to 1883. James A. Viall, Carine, 1881 to 1887. James Bottom, Sparta, 1882 to 1893. William H. Boicourt, Golconda, 1884 to 1893. Marshall Gulp, Anna, 1891 to 1893. The following gentlemen have been employed as assistant phy- sicians: Dr. Frederick W. Mercer, - - to 1879. Dr. E. D. Converse, 18 to 1878. Dr. L. E. Stocking, 1878 to 1890. Dr. W. W. Hester, 1879 to 1890. Dr. A. B. Beattie, 1890 to 1893. Dr. N. J. Benson, 1890 to 1893. The entire amount appropriated by the General Assembly, from the beginning, for the use of this Hospital, has been $2,785,022, namely: $1,730,750 for ordinary expenses or maintenance, and $1,044,272 for other purposes, chiefly for construction and repairs. The total number of admissions, to June 30, 1892, the date of the last published report, as shown by the register, is 3,407. The actual number is less, on account of transfers and re-admissions, and can not be stated. Of this number, eight hundred and eighty- four have been discharged recovered, three hundred and nine much i mproved, two hundred and twenty-five improved, five hundred and thirty-four unimproved, and five hundred and eleven have died. The ratio of recoveries to total discharges has been thirty- six per 13 cent. ; improved, twenty-two per cent. ; unimproved, twenty-two per cent. ; deaths, twenty per cent. The average per capita cost of maintenance, last year, was $166.63; net cost to the state, $151.65. The average number of inmates last year was eight hundred and two. The number present, March 31, 1893, was eight hundred and seventy-eight. The general appearance of this Hospital is not so neat, and the discipline is not so strict, as in the other State hospitals, but the medical results, in the way of recoveries, have been superior. ILLINOIS STATE BUILDING-WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. BRIEF HISTORY ILLINOIS CENTRAL HOSPITAL INSANE, LOCATED AT 3?ICKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS, 1847-1893. Presented by the ILLINOIS BOARD OF WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSIONERS. JOHN MORRIS COMPANY, PRINTERS, 118 AND 120 MONROE STREET, CHICAGO. HISTORY OF THE ILLINOIS STATE HOSPITAL FOE THE INSANE. The Illinois State (now Central) Hospital for the Insane was estab- lished through the efforts of the eminent philanthropist, Miss Dorothy L. Dix. In the year 1846, she spent considerable time in visiting various parts of the State and examining into the number and needs of the insane with a view of presenting the matter to the proper authorities for action. The result of these investigations was the preparation of a memorial to the State Legislature which was presented to that body in January, 1847. The memorial as a whole forms a very able and convincing argu- ment in favor of the State assuming the care of its insane citizens. It was based upon ttye observations of Miss Dix and urged and backed by her personal efforts. The following extracts are from this interesting document: " Of the urgent necessity for a hospital in Illinois, many are sensible who will read these pages; but there are, perhaps, a larger number to whose minds this claim presents itself under the, view of no serious and positive obligation. A little inquiry will satisfy all who doubt, that this is either a great or an increasing evil. Illinois, according to the years since the country was settled, has a full pro- portion of insane, idiotic and epileptic patients ; not numerous enough merely to make it expedient to establish a hospital appropriate for their care and cure, for their own protection, and the protection of others, but an uncompromising duty, from the voice of whose warn- ings and admonitions there is 110 mode of escape or evasion. Here humanity, receiving impulse from woe, selfish motives, claiming re- lief from anxiety and perplexity, which never cease their distractions, and political economy, now more clamorous than ever, combine to hasten your efficient action upon this most solemn question. A few, the timid and superficial readers of their fellow-men, but a few, will plead against appropriations for this work on the unsound reasoning 4 that their constituents will disapprove the measure; but I believe that it can not be shown that the people at large ever manifest dis- pleasure when their representatives appropriate their money to such objects as these. The citizens of Illinois, as other States, will not be found backward to make even some sacrifices, should these be re- quired, when it is made evident that great sufferings exist within their borders which they have the ability to mitigate, to control, and to limit. In the poor-houses and county jails of this State, I have not found, at the periods of my visits, many insane persons; but I have seen many in private dwellings, in " cabins," in "pens," and wander- ing at large; often, very often, bearing the marks of rude assault, and the effect of exposure to storms and frost. In the poor-house at Galena the master showed me through a small apartment occupied by poor patients ill of fever, of consumption, and others confined merely through accident, broken limbs, etc., passing through the adjacent apartment, also small, I perceived a man -cage constructed on one side, with strong perpendicular bars, inclosing a space about six feet by three. "There, madam," said the keeper with emotion, "there is the only place I have for keeping the furiously insane, when they are sent to the poor-house a place not fit for a dog a pl.ice where they become daily worse, and where their cries, vociferations, and blasphemies, with other offenses, drive all peace and quiet from the place. The sick have no respite, and the family at large no rest. We want, madam, a hospital in our State, and the people ought to know it. It costs as much again and three-fold as much to keep them here as it would in an asylum, and when we've done our best, they are in a dreadful condition. We got up a subscription in town, and sent our last madman, under charge of keepers, home to his friends in Michi- gan he was furiously crazy, and I don't know how they can man- age him." The gentlemen who represent severally the counties of Menard, Mason, Fulton, McDonough, Schuyler, Cass, Pike and Morgan, can, I believe, render you such facts respecting the sufferings of the insane in their districts, as will not only sustain my im- portunity, but carry the conviction to the minds of any, if there be any, who may question the necessities of this class. I can not show you the numbers, by exact numerical computation, which claim your provident care. I am convinced that many cases have been overlooked, but I have seen more than enough to convince me that no appeals in behalf of these can at this time be too earnest. In the southern, as in the central and northern counties, most distress- ing cases, of persons whose limbs had been frozen, both through ex- posure while wandering in the country during inclement seasons and from being shut up in small cells or pens, without clothing or fire to temper the cold in the one, or protect from pitiless storms in the other. There is at this time in Morgan county a man who has been furiously mad, most of the time, for many years. Since he became insane, he has been supported at large expense by the county. His sister and brother-in law have chai'ge of him. A country officer writes to me concerning this poor creature, as follows : " Fanning is in a most wretched condition, being kept more like a wild beast than a human being." I have, together with several citizens of Jacksonville, visited this maniac. Those who are paid by the county for taking charge, seemed to me to err through incapacity and entire ignorance how to control him, rather than through wilful neglect and inhumanity. His sister said to me, "he is a sight of trouble, and costs a dreadful deal but we had rather take care of him, than to leave him to strangers, because we are kinder, and treat him better than they would." Now for the comfort, the situation, the treatment of this unoffending man, who, before the accident which induced insanity, was characterized, as is testified by those who knew him, for intelligence, industry and correct habits. It was an intensly hot day last summer, when I visited Fanning. He was confined in a roofed pen, which enclosed an area of about eight feet by eight probably a few inches over. The interstices be- tween the unhewn logs, freely admitted the scorching rays of the sun then; as they now afford admission to the frequent rains, the driving snow and the pinching frost. He was without bed and without clothing ; his food, of the coarsest kind, was passed through a space between the logs; "no better," said a neighbor, "than the hogs are fed.." Some sort of coarse bed-clothing and garments, at times were supplied, but usually not. His feet had been frozen, and had perished; upon the shapeless stumps, he could, aided by some mo- tion of his shoulders, raise his body partially against the side of the pen. This wretched place was cleaned " once in a week or fortnight," in mild weather ; not so in the wet, cold, wintry seasons. I was told that when the pen was opened for this purpose, the help of neighbors 6 was requisite: "We have men called, and they go in and tie him strongly with ropes, and get him on the ground, and then they clean the place and him, by throwing over pails of water." Of course no fire is here introduced in cold winter weather; but a singular expedient has been adopted, as horrible as it is singular Beneath the pen is excavated a pit about six feet deep and six on either side. This dreary, ghastly place is entered through a trap- door; neither light, heat, nor ventilation there; but there is to be found a pining, desolate, suffering maniac, whose piteous groans and frantic cries would move to pity the hardest heart. Gentlemen, as you read this terrible narrative, and if you choose may visit the miserable subject of it, place yourselves for a few dreadful moments in his situation realize, if you can, some portion, it needs will be a small part, of his sufferings; consider that these are spread over years gone by, and may drag through years to come, if no hospital unfolds its portals to receive and give relief for such deep distress. The Saviour, whose disciples we profess to be, left one simple, infallible rule, as a direction of the acts of man to his fellow-man, viz. : " As ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." I have laid before you one case, yet not reveal- ing half its horrors: it varies but very little from many I could ad- duce ; the list of which other persons can extend, both here and abroad. But one effective remedy for these woes is presented ; it can only be found in a well-established, skillfully-conducted hospital. Legislators of Illinois, upon your action on this question rest the peace and happiness, the usefulness and the lives of thousands of your fellow-citizens; nay, your own immediate interests herein are indissolubly intertwined. Who shall say that his mountain standeth firm, and that he is securely anchored upon the rock? Who shall say that the familiar friend, the revered parent, the child of his affections, the beloved wife of his bosom, aye, even he him- self, may not claim the guarding care now solemnly as urgently so- licited for others? Timely provide for maladies which can not be wholly averted, but whose dire distresses may be mitigated and oftener healed. Rise not from the grave and often perplexing deliberations, which claim your legislation, till you have added to acts bearing merely on the political condition of your State, this work of per- emptory obligation to humanity. Retire not from these halls, in which honor, integrity and justice should rule, till you have rendered this noble service to your fellow-citizens; a service which shall be commemorated long after you shall have passed from the active stage of this life ; a service,the holy recollection of which will assist to smooth your path through the " dark valley" ; and which the Record- ing Angel shall inscribe in the Book of Life: " For the memory of righteous acts shall never perish, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come ? Respectfully submitted, D. L. Dix. SPKINGFIELD, ILL., January, 1847. Hon. William Thomas of Morgan county, immediately introduced a bill providing for the appointment of nine trustees, who were au- thorized to select a suitable site, purchase land, erect buildings for the accommodation of two hundred and fifty patients and organize the institution under proper officers. This bill became a law March 1, 1847. One of the provisions of this bill provides that the pro- ceeds of a tax on the taxable property of this State of one-fifth of a mill on the dollar's worth to be continued for three years to consti- tute a fund for the construction of the hospital. On the 20th of March, 1847, seven members of the Board met in Jacksonville and severally agreed to execute the trust reposed in them by the General Assembly. The members of this first Board of Trustees are as follows: William Thomas, Samuel D. Lockwood, Joseph Morton, Owen M. Long, Nathaniel English, William W. Happy, James Dunlap, James Gordon, Aquila Becraf t. They pro- ceeded to organize by electing Samuel D. Lockwood as President and William Thomas as Secretary. On the 1st of May, 1847, tLe Board agreed upon the location of a building, and a committee was appointed to purchase a quarter section of land, which purchase was concluded in the month of June following at a cost of $3,631.42. The site selected was one mile south of the square in the city of Jacksonville, Morgan county. The members of the Board having received such information in re- lation to the Insane Hospital in Indiana as to induce the belief that the plan of that building might be safely adopted, Mr. M. C. Goltra was employed to proceed to Indianapolis and obtain the plans, drawings and specifications of that building. On the 10th day of July Mr. Goltra returned with these plans, which were adopted by the Board and are described as follows: "The principal building, one hundred feet in front by forty-eight deep, with a basement of 8 eight feet and three principal stories of eleven feet each, an attic of eight feet, a center hall ten feet wide, extending from front to rear and a transverse hall, ten feet wide extending the whole length of the main buildings, on the center to rise a plain dome, the front to be ornamented by a plain portico, rising two and a half stories from the platform of five feet elevation and supported by four doric col- umns. Two connecting wings, falling back thirty feet from the front of the principal building and parallel therewith. Each wing one hundred feet long in front and one hundred and eighteen in the rear, seventy-two feet of wing to be forty-two feet wide and twenty- eight feet to be forty-eight feet wide, with a basement story the same as in the principal building, with three principal stories and an attic of eight feet upon the above twenty-eight feet, each story to be traversed by a hall thirteen feet wide, extending the whole length of the wings and opening at each end with Venetian windows to the open air." On the 13th of November the Board adopted a code of by-laws, which, being approved by the Governor, took effect on the 19th day of December. At the same meeting of the Board, John Henry was appointed Steward and James Jackson was appointed Treasurer. On the 12th of August 1848, Dr. James M. Higgins, of Griggsville, HI., was appointed Medical Superintendent, but by a resolution of the Board he was not to enter upon the duties of his office before the 1st of the following March, nor until the Board should there- after direct. On the 29th of August, Dr. Higgins notified the Board of his acceptance of the appointment. The foundation of the building was commenced in the fall of 1847, and calculations were then made that during the summer and fall of 1848 the wall could be carried up to the second tier of joists; but this calculation was based on the ex- pectation that the Board would receive during the year 1848, from the special tax above referred to, at least $18,000, and the con- tracts were predicated upon this estimate. The failure to assess the special tax in several counties caused the difference between the estimate and ihe amount received, and it was not until all the heavy contracts had been made that it was ascertained that not exceeding $14,000 would be realized. The report of the Treasurer for the years 1847 and 1848 showed total expenditures of 313,121.54. Although the work was commenced so promptly, there seemed 9 to be a lack of vigor in pushing it forward, for the record of the years 1849 and 1850 show that the building operations were carried on with considerable deliberation. The treasurer reports, for the same biennial period, an expenditure of $38,619.65, most of which was for building. On the 3d of November, 1851 the first patient, Sophronia Mc- Elhiney, was admitted to the institution. She came from McLean county, and remained in the Hospital until December 31, 1867. On account of strife and differences and disagreements in the Board, an investigation was ordered by the Legislature of 1852-53, and resulted in a reorganization of the Board of Trustees. The dif- ferences in the views of the Board arose from the same source that has made many an institution trouble, and that was the question of local patronage. About half the Board were in favor of making all their purchases from the local dealers, while the other half wanted to throw their purchases open to the competition of other localities. Dr. Higgins did not meet with favor at the hands of the new Board and on the 6th of June, 1853, for various reasons, unneces- sary now to state, the trustees deemed it their imperative duty to make a change in the superintendency of the institution. Accord- ingly, with a single dissenting voice, they adopted resolutions re- moving the Superintendent from office and imposing his duties, while the appointment of a successor was pending, upon Dr. H. K. Jones, the assistant physician. The late Superintendent, however, declined leaving the institution and did not until the action of the Board was fully sustained by the action of the Supreme Court. Im- mediate steps were thereupon taken to procure the services of another Superintendent, and the Board delegated a committee, con- sisting of two of its number, together with the Governor of the State, who visited several of the principal institutions of the Eastern States for advice and council in the selection of a proper man for this office. This visit to the East terminated in the selection of Dr. Andrew McFarland, formerly Superintendent of the New Hamp- shire Asylum for the Insane and on the 16th of June, 1854, he ar- rived at the institution and assumed its superiutendeucy. The Treasurer reports expenditures for the years 1853-54, $100,680.93, while on the 1st of December, 1854, there were one hundred and sixty-six patients under treatment in the hospital. Eef erring to the fifth biennial report, which closes with the 1st December, 1856, we find the Board of Trustees consists of nine 10 members as follows: Fleming Stevenson, William Butler, Simeon Francis, Charles H. Lanphier, Benjamin Pyatt, William L. Craven, Richard Henry, Pleasant L. Ward, James Ward; Secretary and Treasurer, Alexander McDonald. Resident officers, Andrew Mc- Farlaud, Superintendent; Charles C. Cornett, M. D., Assistant Physician; Eliza M. Rague, Matron. Officiating Chaplin, Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, D. D. The number of patients has increased to two hundred and four- teen and the expenses were $73,730.37. In 1858, ten years after the commencement of the buildings, an appropriation was granted to construct an additional wing at either end of the Hospital, the result of which was to double its capacity. That part of the institution, known as the rear building, was com- pleted during this year, thereby affording enlarged domestic apart- ments and a chapel for religious exercises. Gas for illuminating purposes was also introduced into the building at this time. The biennial period closes with two hundred and twenty-nine patients, which were kept at a cost of $82,271.71. It should be understood that this matter of cost, wherever mentioned, covers a period of two years. The usual caution against undue haste in making these improve- ments available seemed to prevail and it was not until December 1862, that we noticed any special increase in population and then the number had only risen to three hundred and two, who were maintained at a cost of $110,551.82. It was in this year also that the first steps were taken toward a regular and permanent water supply for the Hospital. Up to this time cisterns and wells had furnished all that was to be had of this necessity. In 1862 the first reservoir was built on the banks of the creek, one-third of a mile east of the Hospital and a regular pipe line established from it to the institution. The six years following show a gradual increase in the popula- tion of another hundred, bringing the total number of patients in the Hospital December 1, 1868, up to four hundred and six. At this, the close of the second decade, we find the following organization: Trustees: Edward G. Miner, Joseph T. Eccles, Francis A. Hoff- man, Fernando Jones, Isaac L. Morrison. Secretary and Treasurer, E. P. Kirby. Resident Officers: Andrew McFarland, M. D., Superintendent; 11 H. A. Oilman, M. D., Assistant Physician; Mary Johnston, Matron; Charles A. Barker, Clerk; Rev. J. O. Roberts, Chaplain. This was, in some respects, an eventful period in the history of the institution. It was during this period that the lunacy laws of the State were changed to substantially their present form, and it was at the close of this period that Dr. Andrew McFarland tendered his resignation as Superintendent. His resignation was not ac- cepted at once, nor indeed for over a year. In the reorganization of the many matters connected with the insane in Illinois, which took place about this time, the Board of Trustees was reduced to three members, as follows: Isaac Scarritt, John Tilson, Jonathan B. Turner, with E. P. Kirby, Secretary and Treasurer. These gen- tlemen spent some time in correspondence and in visiting other in- stitutions, and as a result of their investigations, chose as the new Superintendent, Dr. Henry F. Carriel, of Trenton, N. J. Dr. Carriel had spent most of his professional life in this specialty, and his subsequent career as Superintendent fully justified the excellence of the judgment which elected him for the position. About this time also two new institutions for the care of the insane were established in the State, but of course this additional accommodation could not be made immediately available. On July 1, 1870, almost twenty years after the first patient was received at the institution, Dr. Carriel reached Jacksonville and assumed control of the Hospital. He immediately turned his attention to remodeling the system of ventilation, for which the sum of $7,500 had been appropriated by the preceeding Legislature. This was successfully accomplished at a cost of $3,500. The balance of $4,000 was expended in repair- ing the reservoir, which never was filled with water and never could be with the pumps in use, as the water would leak out as fast as it could be pumped in. Accordingly the loose bricks placed on the embankment were taken up and laid in hydraulic cement, covering both bottom and sides. The pump-house was doubled in size and an additional pump secured. In 1871 the Legislature appropriated $20,000 for a new boiler and wash-house, for procuring new boilers, for building a new fan duct two hundred and sixty feet long and for fitting up these buildings with suitable pumps, washing machines, etc., ready for use. In 1872 an additional reservoir was built near the Hospital buildings capable of holding two and a quarter million gallons. A brick building forty-two by twenty-four feet and two 12 stories high was put up for a paint shop and refrigerator. Thirty- five thousand feet of cast iron pipe four inches in diameter was laid to the east reservoir to replace the worthless earthen pipe. In 1874 the room originally intended for a chapel, but long used for a carpenter shop, paint shop and engineer's shop, was tastily finished for a chapel and furnished with a pipe organ. The same year an ice house thirty by sixty feet was built and a brick carpen- ter shop thirty-three by seventy feet was built and furnished with suitable machinery. During this period the entire outside walls of the main building were painted and a new sewer laid for the whole institution, requiring 1,741 feet of twelve and fifteen-inch pipe. The old wash-house was finished and furnished for a kitchen, and a thousand feet of food duct, six feet wide and six feet high, built for convenience in the distribution of food. Also a hydraulic elevator was provided for raising the food car to the kitchen floor. A building for a filter thirty by forty- five feet, and a filter bed thirty by thirty-four feet, was made. All the water for all purposes passed over this filter, the quality being greatly improved. In 1877 and 1878 two wings were added to the institution, increasing the accommodation one hundred and fifty patients, bringing the total up to six hundred. A building for ironing and sewing-rooms was erected. Twenty-three hundred feet of four-inch cast-iron pipe were laid around the building as a protection against fire. The front porch was rebuilt, two main stairways in the main building were renewed and modernized and several barns and sheds constructed for convenience in the care of the stock. In 1879 and 1880 a con- servatory was built, also a building thirty -two by eighty-two feet, two stories high, was put up between the engine-room and carpenter shop and a new engine was purchased. An amusement hall was completed from the old ironing-room and chapel and by building on a stage thirty by fifty-six feet. This hall was frescoed and supplied with appropriate scenery. In 1881 and 1882 a second filter bed was made the same size as the first one. A second refrigerating building, thirty-six by fifty- one feet, with a capacity for five hundred tons of ice was put up A wooden building for drying lumber by steam heat was built and an extension of twenty-six by thirty-four was made to the cow barn. Power was carried from the wash-house to the barn, a distance of 13 four hundred and fifty feet by wire rope, and a stone for grinding, a sheller and a feed cutter supplied. In 1882 and 1884 an extension to the center building was made, which has proved to be of great utility and convenience. A brick blacksmith shop was added to the engineer's department and a building thirty by forty-five, two stories high, was added to the car- penter shop. The office was fitted up with a Howard Electric Clock and the house wired and watch detector boxes put in. A separate building for the accommodation of three hundred patients and their attendants was provided by the Legislature of 1883 and $135,000 was appropriated for this purpose. This building was put up during the period now under consideration. After its completion a balance of $20,000 remained, which the suc- ceeding Legislature re-appropriated for the building of another res- ervoir, extending water pipes and improving the water supply. This improvement was carried out the next year and a reservoir holding 7,000,000 gallons of water, completed. In 1889 the Legislature appropriated $120,000 for a second build- ing to accommodate three hundred patients and their attendants, and this to include furnishing and heating. This building was completed and opened for patients August 21, 1891, and the build- ings above referred to are located in line about a thousand feet dis- tant from the main building. Between the two, a chapel and amuse- ment hall is so placed as to be very accessible to the patients from these buildings. This hall is a handsoire building, fifty by ninety feet, with a tower in front. The main auditorium is fifty by sixty- two feet, having a ceiling thirty-two feet high and provided with a gallery at one end. It is provided with ample stage room, dressing rooms and scenery, is handsomely frescoed and furnished with a pipe organ and has a seating capacity of six hundred people. The above is a brief sketch of the origin, growth and a few of the most salient points connected with this splendid charity. It cov- ers a period of a little more than forty years, and in that time has increased from the one patient received in 1851 to over 1,200 cared for now. There have been admitted since the Hospital was opened 10,370 patients. Of these 3,208 have been discharged recovered, and 2,660 improved. These are simple figures, but the benefits to homes, to communities and to the citizens of the State which these figures represent are incalculable. The plant embraces two large, and upward of twenty-five smaller buildings, over three 14 hundred and fifty acres of land, with gardens, lawns and airing courts, stock, implements and all appliances to the value of $1,250,- 000. It contains all the appliances of a first-class hospital for the insane, and is considered a fair sample of the congregrate and cen- tralized system of caring for the insane, as compared with the so- called cottage plan, and if the people of the State continue to af- ford it the generous and intelligent support which they have hith- erto manifested, prosperity and success .will always attend its min- istrations. The last biennial report gives the following roster of officers : Board of Trustees: President, David E. Beaty, Jersey ville, 111.; Edward P. Kirby, Jacksonville, 111. ; William R. Newton, York- ville, 111. Treasurer, Thomas B. Orear, Jacksonville, 111. Secretary, George E. Myers, Jacksonville, 111. Resident Officers: Medical Superintendent, Henry F. Carriel, M D. ; Assistant Physicians, Lewis A. Frost, M. D. ; Frederic C. Winslow, M. D. ; Frank P. Norbury, M. D. ; Frederick O. Jackman, M. D. Apothecary, Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard. Business Assistant, George E. Myers. Clerk, Edward L. Fry. Matron, Mattie L. McCaw. Since the publication of this report the above named trustees have either resigned or been removed and a new Board appointed consisting of the following: Owen P. Thompson, Jacksonville, 111. ; Joseph W. Page, Jer- seyville, 111. ; Delos Phelps, Monmouth, 111. ILLINOIS STATE BUILDING WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. BRIEF HISTORY ILLINOIS EASTERN HOSPITAL INSANE, LOCATED AT KANKAKEE, ILL. 1877-1893. Presented by the ILLINOIS BOARD OF WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSIONERS. JOHN MORRIS COMPANY, PRINTERS, 118 and 120 Monroe Street, CHICAGO. EASTERN HOSPITAL FOR INSANE. The act making the first appropriation for the Illinois Eastern Hospital for the Insane was approved by Gov. Shelby M. Cullom, May 25, 1877. Seven commissioners were appointed to select a suitable site "in that portion of the State east of the third principal meridian and included between parallels of latitude thirty-nine and forty-one and one-half." None of them were from within the territory thus described. From all of the tracts offered they chose, August 2, 1877, the " Cowgill farm," on the Kaukakee river, adjoining the town on the south, and lying east of the Illinois Central road. This farm contained two hundred and fifty-one acres, and the price paid was $14,000, or about $56 per acre. Trustees were then ap- pointed, who employed Maj. James R. Willett, of Chicago, as archi- tect and superintendent of construction. With the advice and assistance of Mr. Wines, the Secretary of the Board of Charities, Major Willett prepared plans which were accepted and adopted in January, 1878. It was uncertain whether the detached ward sys- tem would meet with favor from the trustees and the Legislature. For this reason the center and rear buildings, with the wings, were drawn after the old style ; but the grounds were laid out with refer- 6 ence to the creation of a village for the insane, and Mr. Wines' con- ception has been since carried out. The act authorized the commissioners of the penitentiary at Joliet to bid for this work. The bids were opened at Kankakee March 19, 1878, and the penitentiary commissioners presented the lowest bid, which was accepted. They sub-let the entire contract, except the cut-stone work, which they desired to secure for the convicts. In August, 1878, the International Prison Congress convened at Stockholm, in Sweden. The Governor of Illinois was authorized, by a joint resolution of the General Assembly, to appoint a special commissioner from this State to attend it. Governor Cullom ap- pointed Mr. Wines. One of the ends sought in this appointment was to enable him to make such studies of European hospitals and asylums for the insane as would be of service in planning the new hospital at Kankakee. A controversy over the " propositions " of the Association of Medical Superintendents of Institutions for the Insane in the United States and Canada, which were adopted in 1851, had been in prog- ress for many years. It was apparent to many of the friends of the insane that those propositions, admirably adapted as they were to the small, curative hospitals to which they were meant to apply, had proven a cast-iron fetter upon any real advance in hospital con- struction, and that the country had outgrown them. But they were regarded with a reverence which almost savored of superstition, aud dissent from them in any particular was regarded in the specialty as heresy. It required no small amount of courage to brave the hostility of the entire profession, and to risk reputation in the effort to demonstrate the feasibility of an experiment the fail- ure of which was loudly proclaimed in advance, especially because there was no actual precedent to serve as a guide in the new depart- ure. But Mr. Wines' observations at Gheel in Belgium, at Cler- mont in France, at Cheadle in England, and at Cupar-Fife and Lenzie in Scotland, gave him the courage demanded, and the Gen- eral Assembly in 1879 made an experimental appropriation of $30,000 for the construction and completion of detached wards to accommodate not less than eighty patients. Thirty-eight thousand dollars for detached wards was appropriated in 1881, and $400,- 000 more in 1883, as the Legislature saw the utility of the new method and acquired confidence in it. This undertaking marks an epoch in the history of the care and treatment of the insane throughout the world. Its success shat- tered the too exclusive adhesion to Dr. Kirkbride's "propositions," and opened the way for other experiments in architectural construc- tion in many of the States, in nearly all of which the Kankakee model has been more or less closely followed. It has had also a great indirect influence in the way of diminishing mechanical re- straint, promoting the freedom of patients, and increasing the amount of useful occupation in hospitals constructed on the Kirk- bride plan, much of which is due to the patience, intelligence, humanity and consecration of Dr. Richard S. Dewey, the excellent Medical Superintendent of the Kankakee Hospital. The plan adopted embraces, as its central feature, the " hospital proper," that is, a small center building for the accommodation of a limited number of officers, and one wing for patients of each sex; each wing built in two sections, containing one ward on each floor of each section, or twelve wards in all six for men and six for women. These wards are large, airy and light, with single dormi- tories and pleasant alcoves, used as day -rooms, dining-room, bath- room, etc. The windows are barred, and the doors have spring- locks, with bolts on the doors of all the sleeping apartments. This entire building is fireproof, having brick arches turned over all the 8 rooms as well as over the corridors. It is heated by indirect radia- tion from steam-coils in the basement. The rear buildings consti- tute the axis, or center-line, of the entire establishment, and mark the separation of the sexes throughout. The further extension of the wings connected with the center building is blocked by roads. Two broad avenues, parallel with a line at right angles to the line of the wings, present the appearance of village streets, bordered with side-walks, and shaded by elms and maples. On each side of each of these two streets, the laud is laid off in lots for building purposes. Along the side of the road are laid the sewer pipes, also the gas and water mains, connected by branches with the detached wards. The streets are lighted, and fire-plugs have been provided in case of a conflagration. The general appearance of the detached wards is similar to that of an English insane asylum upon the "block" plan, except that the wards are wholly detached, and not connected by corridors, as in England. They face each other, on opposite sides of the street, and resemble, to some extent, ordinary dwellings, with home-like surroundings, such as covered porticoes in front, shrubbery and flowers, the design being to get rid, to the utmost possible extent, of the air of an institution or any resemblance to ordinary asylum grounds. To a certain extent, they resemble the French asylum wards in this, that they are all two stories in height, and are so planned as to provide, in some form, day-rooms upon the lower floor and dormitories above. But the proportion of single dormitories is smaller than that usually found in American hospitals for the insane. A third street, running north and south, connects the two just described, at their western extremity. The number of detached wards now built is about twenty, with a capac- ity for seventeen hundred patients; in addition to which there are many other detached buildings, such as the Superintendent's residence, an amusement hall, bath-houses, general storehouse, 9 quarters for employes, a general dining-room, patients' workshops, etc. Dr. Dewey, the very accomplished and devoted Superintendent, under whose guidance and inspiration the entire plan has been brought in detail, since the date of his appointment, when but little had yet been done, thus admirably states the special aims of this establishment: This Hospital, while seeking the good results usually accomplished by such institutions, is especially committed to a course of careful experimentation and effort in the direction of determining First: How moderate the expense of erecting suitable buildings for the insane can be made. Second: Whether occupation which will be beneficial in every sense can not be secured for a majority of the inmates. Third: To what extent the rigor of confinement and restraint can be removed, and a natural and somewhat domestic mode of life be introduced among our patients. The trustees met and organized, August 8, 1877. Major \Vil- lett was elected architect, September 13. All of the buildings have been planned by him, and the Kankakee hospital may be regarded, in years to come, as in a sense his monument. The plans were approved by the Governor and by the State Commissioners of Pub- lic Charities, January 29, 1878. The bids for construction were opened March 19, and the work began soon after. Dr. Kichard Dewey was elected Superintendent at a meeting held June 13, 1879, and not until after the first appropriation of $30,000 had been made for detached wards. Mr. W. L. Cleveland, of Chicago, was employed to lay out the grounds. All the contracts for building, since the first, have been awarded, after due competition, to Mr. James Lillie. The Hospital was occupied by the officers and employes, Novem- ber 25, 1879, and the first patients were admitted, December 4. 10 In March, 1884, a purchase of one hundred and sixty additional acres of land was made, for $10,000. The Legislature, in 1885, granted $3,600 with which to buy a tract of seventeen acres for a railroad switch connecting the grounds with the Illinois Central road, and $15,000 for more farm land; the trustees bought three hundred and twenty-eight acres adjoining the hospital farm on the south. The Hospital now owns eight hundred acres, but needs still more in consequence of the great number of patients cared for. On the 18th of January, 1885, at 4 o'clock in the morning, a fire broke out in the south infirmary, heated by furnaces, in which seventeen patients lost their lives by suffocation. This unfortunate accident led to the perfecting of what is perhaps the most complete system of fire protection now to be found in any institution in the United States, in the development of which one of the assistant physicians, Dr. Prince, formerly connected with the Chicago Fire Insurance Patrol, rendered most valuable assistance. In this Hospital a lady physician was first honored with a place on the medical staff, when Dr. Delia Howe was appointed, in Feb- ruary, 1885, and given charge of the infirmary for women. A uniform dress for attendants was prescribed, in May, 1886. In November following, a training-school for attendants was organized, which has ever since been in successful operation. Cer- tificates are given to graduates. Workshops for the patients were opened in 1887, and have since been enlarged. About one hundred male patients and eighty female patients are now employed in them. During the past two years, Dr. Dewey reports seventy-three per cent, of the entire number of patients usefully employed in some capacity. In their report for 1890, the trustees say: "A great variety of useful trades are in successful operation, which tend to increase the self-sustaining 11 power of the Hospital. All the brooms, baskets, rugs, mats, har- ness, tinware, mattresses, socks and rag carpets, that are used in the institution are produced here from the raw material; and the raw material itself, of the brooms, baskets and mats is also grown on its farm. Almost the entire supply of underclothing for the men and women, outer clothing for the women, and a good share of the men's jean suits, are made in the institution. A scroll-saw, a turning-lathe, a blacksmith's forge, and a small printing-press are kept in constant operation by the patients. All repairing of boots and shoes is done by them; also the repairing and regulating of clocks. Three or four shoemakers, two tinners, one harness-maker, one clock-tinker, one or two type-setters, one copperplate engraver, two or three tailors, and one upholsterer and mattress-maker, are constantly at work. Rag-carpet making employs six or eight pa- tients, and preparing raw material in various ways as many more." Great progress has also been made in the removal of unneces- sary restrictions upon the freedom of the insane, by the non-use of mechanical restraints, the institution of open wards, and the paroling of patients. In 1892 the Hospital received a very valuable gift of about eighty oil paintings, presented by the artist, G. P. A. Healy all his own work. For this gift the institution is very largely indebted to the personal friendship of Mr. Healy for the President of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Ezra B. McCagg. A complete account of this very interesting and well-managed institution, in all its details, would take more space than can here be given it. It is a model and an inspiration. Since it was opened, in 1879, others have been erected on the same general plan, in the United States and Canada, as follows: 1885. Jamestown,. North Dakota. 12 1888. Toledo, Ohio. 1888. Logansport, Indiana. 1889. Central Islip, New York. 1890. Richmond, Indiana. 1890. Ogdensburg, New York. 1890. Mimico, near Toronto. Ontario. The entire amount appropriated by the General Assembly, from the beginning for the use of this Hospital, has been $4,066,119, namely: $2,410,250 for ordinary expenses or maintenance, and $1,655,869 for other purposes, chiefly on account of construction and repairs. In view of the predictions freely made that the institution on the de- tached ward system would be more expensive, both for construction and maintenance, than one on the Kirkbride or corridor plan, it will be of interest and value to submit the following comparative state- ment: The Hospital at Elgin with a capacity of one thousand beds has cost the State of Illinois, in special appropriations of all sorts $1,091,- 746, or $1,091.75 per bed. The Hospital at Anna, with a capacity of nine hundred and fifty beds has cost $1,054,272, or $1,109.76 per bed. The Hospital at Kankakee, with a capacity of two thou- sand beds, has cost $827.93 per bed. In respect to maintenance; the per capita cost at Elgin, from the opening of the Hospital to date, has been $197.71 or $116.84, net; at Anna $181.38, or $163.27, net; at Kankakee, $169, or $155.64, net. The utility of a State Board of Public Charities in Illinois is demonstrated by the saving to the Public Treasury effected in this single item of construction of one institution, which amounts, as compared with the Elgin stand- ard, to $527,640, or with the Anna standard, to $563,660 in either case more than four times the total cost of the State Board for twenty-four years' continuous service. Much of the credit of the successful financial record of thisHos- 13 pital belongs to Mr. John C. Burt, the business manager, and should be accorded to him. The trustees have been as follows: John H. Clough, Chicago, 1878 to 1882. William F. Murphy, 1879 to 1881. AVilliam Keddick Ottawa,* 1879 to 1885. John L. Donovan, Watseka, 1881 to 1893. Ezra B. McCagg, Chicago, 1882, to 1893. Lemuel Milk, Kaukakee, 1885 to 1889. Walter W. Todd, Kankakee, 1889 to 1893. The following gentlemen and ladies have been employed as as- sistant physicians: Dr. Harold N. Mayer, 1880 to 1882. Dr. Henry M. Bannister, 1880 to 1892. Dr.Elmore S. Pettyjohn, 1882 to 1885. Dr. Cassius D. Westcott, 1884 to 1886. Dr. Delia Howe, 1885 to 1888. Dr. L. H. Prince, 1835 to 1887. Dr. A. L. Warner, 1886 to 1893. Dr. Ludwig Hektoen, 1887, Dr. M. M. Crocker, 1887 to 1889. Dr. Edward Howard 1887 to 1889. Dr. Anne C. Burnet, 1888 to 1893. Dr. L. E. Head, 1883. Dr. B. L. Riese, 1888 to 1890. Dr. J. P. Houston, 1889. Dr. L. L. Skeltou, 1889 to 1891. Dr. J. Chambers Dodds, 1889 to 1891. *Died March 8, 1885. 14 Dr. Samuel Dodds, 1890 to 1893. Dr. Charles H. Bradley, 1891 to 1893. Dr. George Boody, 1891 to 1893. Dr. T. R. Foster, 1892 to 1893. Dr. Dewey, for fourteen years the able head of this Hospital, has recently been removed for purely political reasons, and has been succeeded by Dr. S. V. Clevenger of Chicago. ILLINOIS STATE BUILDING WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. BRIEF HISTORY ILLINOIS NORTHERN INSANE, LOCATED AT ELGIN, ILLINOIS 1869-189$. Presented by the ILLINOIS BOARD OF WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSIONERS. JOHN MORRIS COMPANY, PRINTERS, 118 and 120 Monroe Street, CHICAGO. NORTHERN HOSPITAL FOR INSANE. The act to establish the " Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane " was approved by Gov. John M. Palmer, April 16, 1869. It provided for the appointment of nine commissioners charged with the duty of selecting a location. The site chosen was on the Fox river, at Elgin. The citizens of Elgin gave to the new institution the Chisholm farm, containing one hundred and fifty- five acres, free freight over the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad for all material to be used in the construction of the asylum, and the use of a spring of water situated about three-fourths of a mile west, at an elevation of fifty-four feet above the site of the building. The Governor then appointed three trustees to erect the neces- sary buildings and organize the Hospital. They purchased three hundred and twenty-three acres of land adjoining the Chisholm farm for which they paid $100 per acre. Plans were accepted which had been offered, in competition with other architects, by Mr. S. V. Shipman, of Chicago. The contract for the north wing was let for $124,000 to the Messrs. W. F. Bushnell & Co., of Mendota. The work of construction was somewhat hindered by the great fire in Chicago, October 9, 1871. In September, 1871, Dr. Edwin A. Kilbourne, of Aurora, was elected Superintendent, and he retained his position for more than eighteen years, until removed by death, February 27, 1890. To his energy, efficiency, and good taste the beauty and excellence of this Hospital are very largely due. The first patient was admitted April 3, 1872. The Hospital, however, was not really opened until April, owing to the failure of the McElroy spring, on which dependence had been placed for the water supply. Water had to be hauled from the river and used with economy, until pipe could be laid and a supply obtained, by pumping, from that source. In the act creating this institution permission was given to the trustees to adopt the "Cottage System," but in their third biennial report they declare themselves opposed to it, for reasons which are stated at some length. On the 18th of June, 1873, a contract for the erection of the center building and south wing was made with Messrs. Fisk, Stephens, Sorensen & Co., of Madison, Wis., for $206,000. The center building was completed in April, 1874, and the south wing in the month of July following. A separate contract was made for heating and plumbing with Messrs. John Davis " ^m w**^af* * < Sfczaofc ,^,li*3?u^; * f\ ^*y fll\.' ^:" : ' , \. v :-,^, ^... r ^f\i;x*. ,-t. -....y.. JJSattV-^