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HIS POLICY. Outlined by Gov. Tanner to the Illinois Legislature. TEXT OF HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS. KcMi of the Public Schools--Koform of the Revenue L«w«--C»re of Convicts-- Abase of the Pardoning Power . --Other Topics. 8prlngflit;id, Hi., Jan. 12 --Following is the text of Gov. John R. Tanner's inaugural message: ^ "Gentlemen of the Fortieth General As­ sembly and Fellow Citizens; In pursuar ee of an established custom 1 nbw address a lew words to the assembled representatives of the people before entering upon my du­ ties as governor of this state. A gov­ ernor's inaugural address is expected to foreshadow something of what the policy of his administration will b^. It will not be. expected, however, that I could upon j the very threshold of my term, before ac­ quainting myself more fully with the condi­ tions of state aftairs, make any elaborate or detailed recommendations looking to legislative action- As your present ses­ sion progresses, If facts concerning the condition of public affairs should com- to my knowledge which, in my judgment, re­ quire your legislative action, it will be entirely proper for me to make from time to time such recommmendations as may seem proper in the exigencies of each case, that may arise, and 1 may yet lind occasion before your final adjournment to avail my­ self of this constltutionarprivllege. "I can assure you that I enter upon the duties of this Important office with a due sense 6f gratitude to the people^ whose suf rages have so greatly honors me, and with B high appreciation of the responsibility Which is inseparable from high office in a republic. My reliance for success in ad- erty--such valuation to be ascertained by some person or persons to be elected or appointed In such manner as the general assembly shall direct, and not otherwise." "The revenue laws of our state provide that property of every description (subject to taxation) shall be assessed at Its fair cash value. "This part of the law Is not carried out, as the assessment of the state plainly shows: The total assessment on all prop­ erty of the state (subject to taxation), except that of rail­ road and other corporations, for the year 1S93 $750,41S,295 The assessment upon railroad property. $82,270,091 That upon other corpo­ rations --.. 14,503,129 i JOHN ministering the affairs of this great rem monwealth Is chiefly placed in the kind for­ bearance and charitable judgment of my fellow citizens, and In the hearty coopera­ tion whicn 1 confidently expect from the chosen representatives of the people I take my oath of office, realizing fully that the governorship of Illinois is no rr.n.n's mere property to be arbitrarily useii a,nd •enjoyed, but is rather a trust to be sanrtd- ly discharged. At the same time 1 do not lose the feelings of a man by being elevated to high oiuce, and 1 must be per­ mitted t« declare that 1 can never for­ get, and 1 shall certainly never ignore those near anu dear trienas scau'.-rt-u throughout the state, to whosej kindness alid partiality 1 am so uiuuu lxideLncj ioi my nomination and election, and who, in every exigency oi the contest, have stjou su Utruicuiiy uuu ia.ii.niuuy by my slue, 1 tiUOuid be unwortiiy ui me peu^ue s i:on- Jiaence it 1 couia, in success, uesert my Irienus, and i. suuulu be ei^uauy unwortiiy Of mat coiifideiice if 1 Were lucapabit ol inaiuug any i-usoiuie test ui liuie&s tor the pUUllc Service pai'amuuul to Uic good oi ;Uio people, wiiooe bci'Vuui i now am. "Our government is me lustrunjent oi public opinion, xi was estatiusned alia BCouid oe administered lor Hie good of all. it received us impress and character Xrom ine people wno esiablisneo it anu vvno are its impelling torce. It is essentially acsponsive io tiie demands if! public opinion, as its founders meant that it should be, and, while it is perhaps far from being perfect, it Is uevertiieie&s what tne average political thought of its citizens maae^ it How good our government wu; be and how well administered will always depend in the main upon the average sense and vir­ tue of the people, who, through thoir elect­ ed and appointed agents, make, interpret, and execute the laws. If American voters through ignorance, prejudice. «»r mere neg­ lect, attend badly to their political duties they are likely to have officials who will In turn attend just as poorly to theirs Higher than Its source in the intelligence and character of its citizens our govern­ ment can never rise: lower it will not per­ manently fall Pnblic Schools, . these trite observations it follows that those educational forces and agencies which are relied upon to develop the mental and moral character ot the youth of the state and nation should always be the first concern of those Intrusted with power. It WjSe vplce which iong ago sounded the warning tbat America must either edu­ cate or perish. It ;s our theory, and a theory which we confidently believe, that lu!1 01Juniv 'ersal education, proceeding hand in hand with universal suffrage, Is to prove our siiield and buckler k*??6 ev; i ls and that l inal destruc­tion which have been so freely predicted for tis by the believers in more despotic forms of government. Our fathers built upon the *i^> t fJ? Popular Intelligence, and we should SMI Be the government of each State, more than to the general govern­ ment, in our peculiar division of legislative powers, fails the duty of providing th* means of a liberal education to each citizen of the state and nation. The states thi-s a fundamental way, have become the guardians of the nation, and the trust Is eurely a sacred one. 1 ls "It Is not my purpose to here discuss and .^ucational ins­ures. gard in expSidTturesvfor ^'^ducathTna? nu?" poses; and I am proud to be able to say that her teachers as a class are men and women of large attainments, consecrated to their noble calling and justly esteemed wl°il?.o the edVcators of the counTr?v Whether or not and how far the present very embarrassed condition of the mJhiir thS-S 'irr3L«K111 hamper us in adopting fur- th,?,r.Practical measures for our schools will be better known as your session Dro gresses, and I shall defer all leaded dis- ni)i il fii/iiiep H Bpe,cif ic recommendations until further developments shall have placed us in a position to proceed with the business more intelligently. ' 'One question nearly connected with school management may. however, claim the attention of the present session ofthe legislature. There is an earnest and grow­ ing sentiment throughout the state in favor Of uniform text books in our comm,?£ «tnt0i3lSwt10tw>,fUrnls^ed at ,he cost ™ " state. With this sentiment I am In henrtv sympathy, and I hope the subiect mav havl your earnest attention before the present session adjourns. 1 u •J.'1 lh ,Jlk I1 5r°Per t0 add hefore quittin" this subject of our pubuic schools that too much care cannot be taken to completely<h vorce the teaching of the legitimate studies Of our state schools from those teaches ence and prestige which'a'ccrue^o them solely from their positions as teachers in organizing and carrying on a propaganda among the students for partisan pufposes or to win converts to mischievous economic Vagaries not believed in or recognized bv any party I recognize everv citizen's sov- fn^^T B t0 do his own political think- lug; No man or official is the judge of What 5? tho f.- ?vs a cj tj_zren shall entertain or freedom with which he mav as a mere citizen express those views 'But :i teacher as such cannot with propriety wri­ ter the political arena as a party advorato under such circumstances as to transfer the legitimate influence of the schoolroom to the securing of recruits for his party s ' l l^e,1ts whom he is accus­ tomed to Instruct, and over whom, for P?.S8e!*'»e» large inrluence, and to do this ndirectly is just as perm clous as to do it directly. 1 promisi that any abuses of this character which may wTn f>rown V.P 'n an>' of our state schools Ml ShSU Be speedily corrected. _ *. Revenue. "There is widespread dissatisfaction with our revenue laws. Taxpayers generally be­ lieve them to be. In their practical opera­ tion, unequal and unjust, in that the pro- Visions for the assessment of nronertvare- such that the wealth of the state" and uar- ticularly that wealth which is aggregated in large enterprises and corporations es­ capes its Just share of taxation. I am con­ strained to believe that these complaints are largely true, and that the facts call for a lull and just revision of the law providing for the assessment of property and the collection of taxes. "Our present constitution provides: "The general assembly shall provide such reve­ nue as may be needful by valuation, so that «v*ry person and corporation shall pay a tax in proportion to his. her or Its prop­ Making a tot;al upon corpora­ tions of...:. ., 9fi.773.220 And a grand total for 1S93 of f847,191,Rlii "1 find that for the same year there was charged, as taxes, upon the various tax books in the state, against the taxpayers, $10,071,159.24--very nearly, live per cent, upon the assessed value of all property of the state. "Now, if the provisions of our constitu­ tion ' and revenue laws were fairly carried out this extremely low assessment Wwiild not exist. From the best authority I can obtain'the real and personal property of this state, owned by individuals, is worth at least ?4;000,000,000; the railroads are worth S-iOU.OCU.WK), and other corporations JTHOCO,- 000, making a total value of ail the'prop^rty of this state, subject to taxation, $4,475,- 1*00,000. "If all the property was assessed at •hese figures the average taxes would only be 90 cents on each Jiou of assessed property in place of $4.75 on our present assessmen t If all classes of property are assessed equally it is of less Consequence what the total as­ sessment may be. But it is understood that, in our large cities, .proportionate values are not adhered to, and that valuable property is assessed at a vastly less proportion tn-in medium and poorer classes of property. This is a clear violation of our present .'aw, and it seems to ine that some amendments should be made to our revenue law that wbuld compel its enforcement. If the law were properly enforced there would i>o no reason for complaint. , - .. "In the first, place I would reccmrrend lengthening the time for making the assess­ ment, beginning on the.first day of March,' in place of the first day of May.. 1 hen in cities Of over 25,000.inhabitants 1 shouW re­ quire the assessment of each ward, as soon as made, to-be.published in pamphlet fjrm, and a copy left either at.the.place of busi­ ness or the residence of each person as­ sessed in the ward; each assessment should give the description of lot and block, by number and street, with the number of teet front and depth, and also the amount of personal property. There should be a board of review, consisting of three per­ sons, appointed by the county judge, who should have full power to raise or k wer individual assessments. Publication oi as­ sessment would expose to public view both under and over assessments, and the orig­ inal assessor would be more particular to secure uniformity of values in his assess­ ment. In the country and smaller towns and villages there is not the same inequal­ ity in assessments: they are generally more uniform. "if the uniform assessment could be en­ forced in our cities and counties, the county and state boards could easily equalize as­ sessments so that each county and city wculd pay its just proportion of ta>:es. L,oeal assessors have, from year to year, been reducing their assessments until the valuation is not 20 per cent, of a fair essh value. It seems to me that after assess­ ments are mad,e and properly equalized by county and stale boards, if the whole does not amount to fi.utw.uOO.'JUO, the auditor of public accounts should be compelled to raise the entire assessment by percentage up to that sum. \vith this fixed.miniMiim assessment it would be easier' to iix the maximum of levies for the different ob­ jects of taxation. ; 'ji each piece of property in the state contributed its equal share in taxes the burden of taxation Would not be heavy on anyone. But the citizen of small capital generally ' has his property in such form that it falls readily under the eye of the as­ sessor, while it is often true that the very wealthy can conceal a large part of their wealth from the assessor's notice. One whose property consists of a small home in the city or a farm in the country is sure to be taxed on his entire property, but one whose holdings are principally in shares of stock or in bonds, notes and mortgages can, if disposed to do so, conceal his prop­ erty and thus escape a large part of his just share of taxes. Furthermore, it is gen­ erally believed ihat in large cities practices have grown up under which assessors are prevented from doing their duty In the fair and equal assessment of property. I think a full investigation should be made of the wdrkings of our present revenue law and of the practices which have grown up under it, particularly as respects the current methods oi valuing property in large cities. Such an investigation would furnish the best means of determining what is neces­ sary for the proper amendment'of our stat­ ute on revenue. The present legislature should take hold of this subject with a strong hand and push it until the evils of our present system of assessing property have been corrected. We cannot expect to have our state and national institutions re­ spected and cherished by our citizens so long as those who are only moderately well off are compelled to pay a disproportionate share of the expenses of the state govern­ ment. Our Penal Institutions. wv?-. "The management of our state prisons is a matter of great importance, and the particular phase ot the subject which just now compels the greatest attention of the public has reference to the proper manner of employing state prisoners. The two pen­ itentiaries of the state contain, in round numbers, 2,200 convicts. It was long claimed that under the old contract sys­ tem our prison labor was permitted to come into destructive competition with the free labor of our state. The agitation of this question resulted In the adoption in IS'ju of the following amendment to the con­ stitution : " 'Hereafter it shall be unlawful for the commissioners of any penitentiary or other reformatory institution in the state of Illi­ nois to let by contract to any person or persons or corporations the labor of any convict confined within said institution.' "It seemed to be supposed at the time this amendment was adopted that if the system then in force of letting the labor of convicts by contract was abolished it would free outside labor from competition with convict labor. But it is now made evident that a system under which convicts are e-mployed in various lines of manufacture upon state account involves competition more disastrous to free labor than was ever experienced even under the old con­ tract system. "One great question to be answered in determining upon a system of prison man­ agement seems to be this: 'How far Is pro^' ductlve labor essential in prisons to that letonnation of the convict which the law makes it the duty of t.. j state to seek while punishing him for his crimes?' To protect society against the lawless and criminal we must have officers and courts, a police force, for great emergencies a militia or­ ganization which can be relied upon when ordinary agencies rail. As a part or this great and necessary machinery of justice devoted to the protection of property and life and the preservation of the peace w have our penitentiaries, where convict­ ed law-breakers are confined. All this aiachinery is properly regarded as a charge upon the citizens, the expense of which they pay in exchange for protection. jNo ] art of these government agencies has ever been regarded » legitimate source «.f revenue. People to pay for them rather than that thev shall be used to produce revenue for the state? "The lav/ under which convicts are sen- 1 tenced commands that they shall je kept at hard labor while serving their sentences, and the higher law of humanity and justice forbids that they shall either be main­ tained in idleness at t he expense of honest taxpayers or forced to the debasing drudg- ei-y of the treadmill or the crank which rjarked the barbarism of early attempts io deal with crime. These convicts, with few Exceptions--in case of liff* sentences- must be returned to society either Uetter or worse than when received into prison, &nd this fact, ot supreme importance, must enter into and determine to a great extent all questions concerning their treatment and employment while In prison--because :f they are released worse than when re­ ceived the prison becomes a menace in­ stead of a safeguard to society. At the sjame time I firmly believe It to be the plain duty of the staLe to reduce the competition cf convict labor with free labor to the low­ est point which is compatible with good government and proper protection of so­ ciety. During the late canvass 1 took oc­ casion to thus declare my position. At the tit me time 1 said--and 1 now repeat--that '.lie whole question :s burdened with many cilllcuities, and 1 have never pretended to scvj my way clear to c. proper solution of all the problems involved, in the nature of things there must be some competition, ano it si\ould always be remembered in dealing with this question that if every able-bodied mail in our penitentiaries was now discharging the duties cf a good citi­ zen instead of paying, the penalties of his crime there would be at this moment ex­ actly that number of men more than there are In full and active competition with the good citizens of our state a^ong all the vari­ ous linesof industrial effort. But, neverthe­ less, our best thought should be given to the question of how the competition of Prison labor may be minimized and made as little injurious as possible to all honest workers in the various callings that may be affected by it. "Great changes have oeen made in the last four years in the condition and man­ agement of our prisons as respects manu­ facturing, with the details of which 1 am not familiar. A' f,ull acquaintance with and study of these conditions will be essential before any definite plans can be formu­ lated,. The people of the state haVe lately been taxed to pay the cost of purchasing expensive machinery and fitting up elab­ orate factories in the prison at Joltet, and It would be unfair to the people, who have paid this expense, to sacrifice all'this out­ lay before something adequate to take its place has been provided. I am informed that in some states the labor of convicts is largely devoted to the manufacture of supply •*** --*i>er state institutions. 1111- : » i;v\ ' nols has numerous public institutions, which Consume large quantities of sup­ plies, for which the state pays cash. If our convicts can be wholly or In part em­ ployed in manufacturing supplies for state consumption the competition thus created would seem to be more legitimate and less disastrous than that which exists under our present system- "Should the general assembly adopt my suggestion that text books bo provided for our common schools at public expense it nnght be found practicable to employ a large number of our convicts in the manu­ facture of school books. "It may not be practicable to make any immediate or violent change from the sys­ tem now m vogue, established and In­ trenched as It is by'so great an expendi­ ture from the public, treasury, but f trust the present legislature will at this session, through proper committees, investigate this whole subject thoroughly; with a view to reform. "\\ ithout attempting to dictate a course of action to this body, I beg to assure von that the officers who shall be chosen to ad­ minister these great trusts shall be in hearty sympathy with every reasonable ef­ fort that may be put.forth to remove, as far as it can be done, all just cause of com­ plaint against convict labor. The prisons > and asylums of this state must be tlie last places where cupidity shall have a voice in management, and in all legislation wisely di­ rected to these ends 1 promise vou the cor­ dial cooperation of the executive. The Pardoning Power. "The constitution provides that 'the gov­ ernor sr.all have power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after convic- tion tor all offenses, subject to such regu* latlons as may be provided by law, relative to the manner of applying therefor.' The pardoning power thus lodged in the gov­ ernor is one whicn in its very naturfe is subject to abuse. All governors, I am persuaded, haye used that power more or reciprocal relations to each other ought not again be draWn in question, and I hope even partisan advantages will never again be expected from agitation of this once vexed but now. happily settled question. Intelligent friends of our Institutions could not. if they would, tear away these foun­ dations whioh. aften long, contention, were laid In a people's anguish and cemented In their blood. To the proposition that our national government Is sovereign and su­ preme in all national affairs and in the exe­ cution of national laws we, as a people, are now thrice committed by interest, by bal­ lots and by blood. We are proud of our state and would be quick to resent an In­ fringement upon its Just rights. On the other hand, w*e love our common coun­ try, which represents that sovereignty and dignity which alone give us place and prestige among the nations of the world. In its-sphere our nation is as distinctly and completely sovereign as Russia or Ger­ many, though without any" admixture of Russian or German despotism. Its powers are distinctly defined, but no outside stato authority can suspend those powers on any Inch of American soil, and while the mon­ umental ,labors of our great nationalists remain as landmarks of American history, appealing to our national spirit, to our pa­ triotism and our pride; while Anderson- ville and Libby are not quite forgotten and Appomattox >is still rapturously re­ membered, no puffed and bustling repre­ sentative of the. slaughtered heresy of state sovereignty can ever again order Uncle Sam to 'keep off the grass' with the approval of the American people. Courts of Justice. "Again, our courts ot justice, state and national, have, from their first establish­ ment, deserved and enjoyed -the tlncere respect of our people. To wantonly destroy this respect would endanger our institu­ tions. Courts are not infallible, and could not be, because they are composed of falli­ ble men. Fortunately It is only upon rare less arbitrarily and without .due regard -to"! occasions that they are thought to make the real merits of the cases passed upon, ! mistakes. To merely disagree with the This has oeen more often the fault of the i legal conclusions reached by courts ls a system than of the individual, for a wrong very different thing from impeaching their result is nkeiy to be reached when the gov- i motives, crying down their integrity before ernor is honestly and fearlessly seeking to ! the public, and seeking to place them in a do.his duty. The abuses of the system are position* where their decisions may be dic- .. tated by the' clamor of the multitude; Such an effort is beyond the limits of legit­ imate and decent politics. Our courts are au able as any .in the world. Only, on the .rarest occasions have they been suspected ot corruption or of partisan motives. Pub­ lic opinion, though not holding courts to be infallible or above legitimate criticism, should be taught to sustain rather than to angrily assail them; and all the more is this true, because conrts cannot. Without a total loss of dignity, defend themselves against political assaults. They cannot stoop to notice assailants, who appsal to ignorance and seek to incite passion against them, and because they cannot defend themselves, without destroying their own usefulness they should lind protection in that settled opinion of all fair and able minds, which r.as so iong held them sacred from partisan assaults. Maintenance of Law and Order. "It ls now, l think, also settled, that the American people are in favor of the com­ plete protection of private property and the firm maintenance of law and order 1 he teachings of a class of politicians' lately arisen, seem to imply that free pop­ ular government favors a species of com­ munism. While clamorous for popular rule and alleging great devotion to free institu­ tions, there is in all their utterances an un­ expressed assumption that the successful members of society are no part of the peo-r ] Simh mf»n fl f oronf inherent in it, as a very little considef-ation ?viU show. . •' . . v »• - "Nearly every cofivlct who has one or more trienas of standing or influence- sooner or later makes an.application for a pardon. 1 he applications are thus made verv numerous, and the papers accompahvtng each case are generally voluminous. The work ol minutely examining all the par­ don cases coming to a governor would, I am told, in itself be sufficient to occupv all his time, leaving none to be devoted to" other important duties. Unable, for want ot time, to make a full original investiga­ tion of each case for himself, the governor is very naturally inclined to pardon '>.OSP whose fribndS are most urgent and plaus­ ible, and, in numbers, most imposing. But we all know the fact of being able to make' a strong showing of influence to the gov­ ernor is by no means a safe criterion for judging the merits of a pardon case be­ cause it may be for the very reason tint a convict is comparatively friendless tha* he proved unable to resist conviction in a case where the palliating circumstances would have been marshaled and made into a posi­ tive vindication had the accused possessed influential friends. On the other hand, the fact that' a man has received sentence of punishment In spite of the fact that he y.-id many strong friends to stand by him !n the day of his trial is often a circumstance strongly persuasive of his guilt. And yet those who, though active, were unable to secure the acquittal of the accused in a ju­ dicial investigation, often succeed in secur­ ing the governor's clemency after guilt has been legally established. "The pardoning power is Itself an an­ omaly--a survival from the davs wi-f-n a man could be lawfully gibbeted for stealing the worth of ten shillings. At this time when the humanities have found expression in a far mor.e lenient criminal cooe and a more enlightened procedure, when ail pre­ sumptions are indulged in favor of inno­ cence, when severe punishments have been abolished in all except the most heinous crimes, when the technically guilty general­ ly escape, and when the highly guiltv are only convicted after a long and heated t-ial, it seems illogical and most arbitrary that one man should be endowed with power through mere caprice if he chooses t-j in­ dulge it, to overturn all the results of a long and expensive adjudication. "I do nor say the pardoning power should be entirely abolished, even if the constitu­ tional provision 1 have quoted would per­ mit it, but it should certainly be regulated, and I think it is competent for the legisla­ ture to materially regulate It by statute The practice of late indulged of assuming to rc-try cases in the governor's office upon their merits, or. application for pardon, t^e governor thus constituting himself not a dispenser of clemency but a high court of- appeal, which assumes to reverse judg­ ments without the formality of a trial or of hearing or reading a word of evidence, cer­ tainly emphasizes the great necesssity of some legislative action to curb and jet bounds to this extraordinary power, which arose in the days when the executive was absolute. Board of Pardons. "Boards of pardon have been established in a number of sister states, whose duty it is made to investigate all applications for pardon and make recommendations of ap­ propriate action to the governor. Under the provision of the constitution, reserving to uhe legislature power to control the -man­ ner oi applying' for pardons, it is, I am ad­ vised, competent to provide by statute that all applications for pardon shall be first made to the board of pardons to be so es­ tablished, and thus no case would come to tho governor until it had been thoroughly investigated by the board and appropriate re-commendation made; and this "investiga­ tion should only be had upon due advertise­ ment and notice to all parties concerned 1 seriously and ardently favor some action by the present legislature for the establish­ ment of such a board in this state. Its exact functions and powers and its methods of procedure are matters of detail which could be fixed after examining the workings of the system in sister states, where it has been tried. ,'fy. - - State Charitable Institutions. "There are embraced under this head at present in the state of llinois: "Northern insane hospital, Elgin. "Eastern insane hospital, Kankakee. "Central insane hospital, Jacksonville. "Southern insane hospital, Anna. "Asylum for insanfe criminals, Chester . "institution for the deaf and dumb, Jack- fonville. "Institution for the blind, Jacksonville. "Asylum for feeble-minded, Lincoln. "Soldiers' orphans' home. Normal. "Charitable'eye and ear infirmary, Chi­ cago. "Soldiers' and sailors' home, Qulnc-y. "State home for juvenile female offenders Geneva. "Illinois Industrial home for the blind, Chicago. "There have been a total of nearly 9,000 inmates, costing the state per annum about $1 ,2o0,0U0. As the state becomes more pop­ ulous there is h more constantly increasing lemanel tor larger capie-uy «.nu grcatei la­ bilities for additional inmates each ot the3e institutions in now under the con­ trol of three trustees, appointed by the governor, who serve without compensa­ tion, their expenses only being paid. Over all is a state board of commissioners of public charities, composed of five members, who also serve without comjpensation. The state thus receives for nothing the serv­ ices of these various boaids of commis­ sioners and trustees, and that kind of serv­ ice is always the most expensive the state can receive. Trustees do not and ought not to be expected to devote the time, under these circumstances, required for a proper discharge of the duties imposed. Superin­ tendents are left practically without any controlling head. Recommendations for ap­ propriations, while made in the name of the trustees, have been those of the su­ perintendents. They are often made upon tne theory that the amount asked to be ap­ propriated will be reduced by the legisla­ ture, the amount recommended for any given object being correspondingly raised beyond that actually required. Su­ perintendents have thought It necessary to make frequent visits to the legislature when in seslon to secure what they re­ gard as proper legislation to the manifest neglect of their duties. "The state has outgrown this method of controlling ihese important trusts The en­ tire scheme now In vogue is unwieldy, cum­ bersome, inadequate and expensive. Some better system ought to be adopted. I there­ fore recommend to the legislature that the iaw providing for the appointment of a board of commissioners of public chari­ ties, and also the law for the appointment of three trustees for each institution be repealed, and In the place of these statutes a law be passed dividing the state charita­ ble institutions into two classes and author­ izing the governor, by and with the con­ sent of the senate, to appoint three com­ missioners for each class, who shall receive such compensation as will secure the serv­ ices of thoroughly-competent business men, who shall be clothed with such powers, as far as practicable, as are now given by law to the board of commissioners of public charities and the local trustees. The law should also provide that the com­ missioners make, annual reports to the governor and at the proper time prepare a careful and explicit statement of what leg­ islative appropriations are required for the various institutions under their charge. It is believed that the adoption of this system or something similar to it will pro­ duce a more economical and efficient man­ agement .than that now in force. National Supremacy. "Our people are blessed with a dual citi­ zenship arid double allegiance, but these are not, as some suppose, hostile and incom­ patible relations. They are harmonious and work together for our good. We are citi­ zens of Illinois, but in becoming such -we also become cltlzen-j Of a pottnt and sover­ eign republic, the greatest and freest that history has known. Our state bears a near relation to us, and touches our lives at every point, but our commoprScountry ho less appeals to our patriotism, our prida and our true love of national glory. "There are certain great subjects, hith­ erto constituting matters of partisan con­ troversy in thi§ country, that ought now to be regarded as settled. For Instance, th£ now oft-registered conviction of our people concerning the powers and duties of our na­ tional and state governments and their Tie. Such men affect great solicitude for the rights of what they are pleased to term the 'common people.' This phrase they do not in terms define, but from their harrangues the meaning may be deduced that those who have done nothing, those who have nothing, and those who do not ex­ pect to have anything, through the exercise of either their labor or talent, are the com­ mon people, while all other are ranked among favored classes--'plutocrats,' whose prospective despoilment in some way is held up as a political lure to the destitute t;,j ignorant, and the dissatisfied. A polit­ ical "Cive of Adullam,' like that of old is thus opened by these men, where everyone who Is In distress ai.d everyone who is In debt and everyone who is discontented may gather themselves together, to the end that some archdemagogue may become a captain over them. JFree Popular Government. "These false teachings render it not tnv undertaken, and, in the nature of thif°-s couid not undertake to make any man rich' or to give any man a competence, or to even keep any man out of the poorhouse, pro­ vided Ills personal sloth, Intemperance or tolly render him a fit subject for that place All the law can do, even In the freest coun­ try in the world, is to give to each citizen an equal opportunity with every other citi­ zen. An equal chance and equal protection to all Is the motto of free government How well and with what judgment these oppor­ tunities will be improved is necessarily ar. individual matter. It is only the visiotia-y and impractical socialist who dreams of a community of goods and of effort whertbv the individual, it is claimed, will be relieved from the fierce competitive struggle through which alone human progress has come in the past. "It is certainly very desirable that those who have much should be generous toward those who, for any cause, have little or nothing: that those who are fortunate should open their hearts to all the children of misfortune, and that the strong should be swift to protect and succor the weak. But I am not aware that a popular govern­ ment, any more than any other kind, can set bounds to what thrift and industry may acquire under Its laws, or can so change human nature that some of its citi­ zens will not fall into poverty and degrada­ tion In the intense struggle of life. 1 ad­ mit that progress through competition is often a severe ordeal, and many good men fall by the way. Their sad lot appeal to all the kindness, philanthropy and charity of the human heart, but what can law, act­ ing within the domain of recognized jus­ tice, do in such cases? "To illustrate, two young men start on equal terms in the business of farming. One, exercising a natural shrewdness which he is so fortunate as to possess, contracts for a productive farm in a health­ ful climate. He is an industrious and su­ perior husbandman, and, uniting good judgment and good sense with energy and skill in the business, he, of course, pros­ pers. The other, through bad judgment, or. we will say, bad fortune, locates a farm in a place where floods will wash out half his crops and the proceeds of the other half will be needed to cure his family of malaria. He lacks energy, Is not so good a husbandman as the other, and the cockle- burs are found growing In his corniield. Now, the first of these men will be almost certain to pay for his farm and improve and stock it, while the other will, of course, lose his farm to the mortgagee, who fore­ closes and takes it. What could the gov­ ernment have done to equalize the results of the labors of these two men and to make their respective lots in life equally pleas­ ant? The law cannot stay floods or stop fevers, or supply lacking personal energy. or endow the foolish with judgment. Shall it then undertake in some way to make the more prosperous farmer divide his abun­ dance with the other? If the latter is to be done, then why should one husbandman ever try to procure a better farm than an­ other, or to till it in a better manner, since all the fruits of -superior judgment, skill anu energy are to be taken from his any­ how. leaving htm in the end no better off than if he had been thriftless or1 foolish? A policy which should attempt fo do this would certainly degrade the higher mem­ bers of society, but could neyer raise up those who are at the bottom. It would be a leveling downward, and nothing more. "My Illustration will apply to all other occupations as well as to farming, and I give it for the sole purpose of showing that a free popular government no more under­ takes to make men equal in the amount of property they acquire than any other form of government. It simply proposes that every, man shall have an equal chance, and that -ha man shall rob, despoil or defraud another, or shall be favored above another. Exercising these legitimate functions, it does, as a matter of fact, indirectly tend to make men equal in the good things of this world. "The flippant demagogue will not fairly meet these problems, because his purpose is not honest. He is cunning e nough to know that the man who, for any reason, fails in lite is generally quite willing to believe that he has been cheated or oppressed by law, or that the law has unduly favored his more prosperous neighbor. The discontent of the unfortunate portion of society thus be­ comes an instrument to be played upon by every conscienceless demagogue who wishes to gain power and place, and who has no scruples as to' the manner of ob­ taining them. Protection of Life and Property. "Every man ,has a legal right to hold what he can lawfully acquire, and it he has this right the government must fully pro­ tect him in It. The power of the state ls lodged in an executive, a judicial, and a leg­ islative department for the sole purpose of protecting life, liberty and property. It is the province of the executive department to enforce the law as made by the legislature anu construed by the courts. When law­ lessness lays jts hands upon its neighbor's goods it Is to be repressed by force when­ ever and so often as may be necessary to render private ^property absolutely secure. "When men go forth to toll upon the farm, or Into the marts cf trade to em­ bark in commerce, or when they set up manufacturing enterprises, they must have the absolute guaranty, that what they ac­ quire by lawful means shall be secured to them by all the power of the government. Unless this ls done our government is a Jarce, and should give place to one that will perform the first functions demanded by civilized society. 1 will only add that while 1 am governor It ls my purpose to make private property as secure within the limits of this state as anywhere on the civilized earth, so far as my personal efforts ct-n secure that end. "But we should not forget that property is not represented alone by large accumula­ tions Many good citizens have but little, and the man wno has but little must be pro­ tected as well aa he who has much. N&y, more, the man who has nothing In the way of accumulations still has property, for th» right to labor 1s to him property. The op­ portunities Inuring to him from free and equal laws, which Invite him to effort and inspire, him with hope, are to him proper­ ty, and, If possible; a more sacred property than any other, for labor and opportunity, as has been well said, are antecedent-to property and creators of It. FIfesh and bloods are far more precious than silver ana Cold. Labor Organizations. "A just care for the rights of our labor­ ing Reople Is one of the highest objects of government. Of late years the mechanics and laborers of our country have formed extensive organizations, through . which they have secured to themselves important rights and beneih*. The object of these or­ ganizations is entirely legitimate, and re­ sults have demonstrated their great value to the wage-earners of the country. When capital aggregates itself and forms vast combinations, surely labor has a right to do the same, and all legitimate efforts of the wage-earners of our country to better their condition should receive both moral ana legal encouragement. This is particu- larly true, for the reason that It Is much more difficult for laborers to combine for industrial and moral ends than it is for capital. "The fact that there have been In the past abuses growing out of labor organizations ouJy u /I. t° blind us to the great value which they have often conferred upon their m^P?ers through that concerted action which organization enables,them to take Of course, where combinations of labor de­ generate into mere agencies of oppression, where they listen too much to the voice of socialism and anarchy, which are, in fact, their worst and most dangerous enemies; where they seek to dictate that others who desire to do so shall not accept employ­ ment, or where, in more extreme oases, their more violent members wantonly de­ stroy private property, they are to be curbed and suppressed by all the force of the government, exactly the same as those who engage in other forms of lawlessness. The jLesson of Our Late Election. "Faith ill the stability and permanence of American institutions receives a power­ ful support, from the grand spectacle wit­ nessed during the late campaign, and at the ejection which concluded it. Such deep in­ terest in the event of an election has not be­ fore been seen in our generation, lt'ls not too much to say that at the beginning of the campaign a large majority of even the more Intelligent voters- were uninformed upon the main Issue of the canvsiss -ind their conclusions were matured durinr the progress of the campaign. A more hntlv contested pdlitical battle has never been fought upon American soil. Each <-dde' seemed persuaded that the triumph ot its opponent meant the ruin of business. The excitement when the time came to vote had almost reached the point of frenzy. Almost every voter who could get to the polls cast his ballot. Yet all this intense heat and pent-up vehemence subsided at the polling booths, and the day on which 13,000,000 of intent and eager American voters reg­ istered their enlightened, judgment at the ballot box was as serenely peaceful as any other day In American history. Thovg*« all were excited, no one thought of appea'-' ln£ to force, and no man has been foun^ hardy enough to counsel resistence to fh„ verdict of a sovereign people. The day fol­ lowing the election found us all united as brethren, with our faces turned tovard new and higher achievements. an<J over us all, as our common Inspiration and shield still floated that noblest, most revered of em­ blems, the sacred flag of our fathers. Such a spectacle as this exhibiting so wholesome a respect for law and order could be wit­ nessed in no land but ours, and by it we are given just ground to be proud of Amer­ ican Institutions. "Of course, atter every political contest there will be heard the voices of a few Ill- natured counselors of discord, disappoint­ ed politicians who will not be comforted tor the loss of office which seemed within their grasp. Such men affect to believe in tne anguish of defeat that the country ls ruined, because their plans of personal am­ bition have be>en thwarted. But the dis­ cordant notes of these political night- ravens no more resemble the sane voice of the American people than the howl of a famishing coyote resembles the enchanting strains of a popular melody. .Let no one be alarmed by such selfish outcries, for In this glorious land even croaking, like every­ thing else, is free. "I would speak no bitter or unkind word here of any man, because of political dif­ ferences. The bond of common citizenship ls far stronger than the bond of party. We are all citizens of a great commonwealth, we are all proud of the title 'American citizen/ We have a common Interest, far higher than mere partisanship, in the per­ fection and perpetuation of free institu­ tions. .Let us resolve that in all great emergencies we will, as in tne past, forget that we are republicans und democrats, and remember only that we have a common country, In whose destiny are bound up the most sacred interests ot all the Ameri­ can people." THE GERMAN CHARACTER. A Pretty Little Love Story Which Ended in a Tragedy. To an American the simplicity of the German character is ever a wonder. How people can see so much of the world as they necessarily must and yet retain so many primitive habits and ways of living is incomprehensible tc our country folk, who are nothing- if not adaptive, and who have assumed in few decades the civilization of the cen­ turies. An American maid a.nd a German man make a very interesting couple, and such international matriages ar° apt to be happy, although nothing would be more unlike in disposition than an up-to-date American girl and the typical German madchen. It is funny to see the pride of these simple gentlemen when their promised wives astonish them by performing any little housewifely action. "My bride sewed these orders on their ribbons herself," said t Prussian officer, pointing proudly to his decora­ tions, "and yet they say the American- ische madchen cannot use a needle!" When the visitor laughed at this proof of her skill he exclaimed, rather vexed: "But that is sewing, nicht wahr!" Kindly, simple heart which was long ago stilled in the battle! What a "serio- pathetic jumble" the whole story was of their courtship and marriage, fol­ lowed so soon by the tragic end of the* young husband. Their first meeting at a dinner in Dresden; her mischievous fun after leaving the table and the men presumably safe at their smoking. How she put on one of the Prussian hel­ mets and danced in the hall, and how its owner solemnly stalked up and kissed her although he had never seen her before. What a temper she was in. and would not be appeased until sht was finally made to understand that i' was a German custom and she hail brought it on herself. How the big of­ ficer tumbled wildly in love with her then and there, and proposed, in his broken English, the very next week a* a cotillon; his neighbor meanwhile heard the whole declaration and told of it in the dressing-room to the great amusement of everyone. How thf.pretty little American first refused him and finally consented, and how funny it a!) seemed to her family, to whom "Unser Fritz" was a»perpetual joke. y "What in the world are you doing?" exclaimed his sweetheart, as, after an evening gathering in her mother'^ apartment, he proceeded to blow out the lights. "You surely would not continue to burn them after the gesellscliaft lias de­ parted!" he remonstrated, quite aghast at such extravagance. After their marriage they went tn live on his ancestral estate. "A horrid old castle," she described it, "without any plumbing." And then, after a y:»ar of great happiness (as she afterward said), the Franco^Prussian war broke out and his regiment of dragoons was ordered to the front. The last picture is a most touching one. A halt of the regiment for a mill* ute at midnight before his home in Ber­ lin. Without leaving the ranks, he took a last look at his wife and child; tha former, with the baby in her arms, ran to her husband. He lifted up the littl« fellow and kissed him* "A;uf wieder* sehen," and they were off.--X. Y. Trifr uffe. Little Willie's Age. „ Teacher--How old are you, Willie? I'm 5 at home, 6 at school and 4 in the cars.--Washington Tiniest ALL •THE "RAW MATERIAL" MEN NOW SEEK PROTECTION. A Protective Tariff No Longer Synonymous in the Minds of Ita Foea with Advantage of Manu­ facturers. ---- • -... All "Tariff Bobbers" Now. None but those-wliom free trade has left born without sight and the desire to see can fail to notice, as the tariff hearings proceed, how far we have got from the old days when protection was synbnyinous in the minds of its foes tyith the advantage of manufacturers. With a few exceptions, the insistent demand for relief, the note of acute dis­ tress, have come from the "raw mate­ rial" men--the planter, the forester and the farilier. We have noted before that the sugar question was in its most im­ portant bearing an agricultural, not an industrial oue. We have observed since then that--much to the distress of Gen­ eral Wheeler, .who fought four years for ^slavery and now announces that "free trade, free institutions, free ev- erytlAig, are the birthright of the South"--the Southern cotton grower is quite as much alive to the competi­ tion of Egypt as the New England cotton spinner to that of Manchester. We have observed that the loudest com­ plaint came from a representative of West Virginia land owners, who point­ ed eloquently to the tall pines rotting on the mountains for lack, of a market, which, with the Democratic party's compliments, had been handed over to our good Canadian neighbors. We have observed most lately that the farmers of Kentucky and Missouri are fairly clamorous for a duty on hemp--a most interesting revelation, in view of the fact that four years ago thousands of farmers' votes were captured by the promise of the fortunes that lay in the cheap twines and bagging of free hemp and jute. We have observed all these things, and yet some of the most im­ portant agricultural staples the protec­ tion of which was either destroyed or decreased by the Wilson bill, are yet to be heard from. Such are wool, bar­ ley and potatoes. Our friends the enemy will do well to notice these things. The beginnings of them were plain enough last spring, when the farmers forced upon the po­ litical organizations of the towns the nomination0 of William McKinley. They are so plain no>v that it will be "bad politics"--if the free-trade Democracy still considers itself in politics--to aVoid seeing them. "It was always criminal to raise the cry of "robber", against the one producing class which was suppos­ ed to be chiefly benefited by protection. Bryanism was the result of that crim­ inality. Now that so large a .portion of all producing classes are seeking that benefit, it will be fatally foolish to raise the same cry against any class.--New York Press. The Defective Silver Theory. The report of the Department of Ag­ riculture for the month of November Ives the average farm price of wheat as 72.7 cents a bushel. The price for November, 1895, was 53.2 cents; in 181)4. 49.8 cents; in 1893-, 52.1' cents,' &nd in 1892 the farm price was 63.2 cents a bushel. In 1891 the price was about the same as at the present time, but the present price is an average of 20 cents a bushel above the average No­ vember price of the three years im­ mediately preceding 1896--a difference, strange as it may seem, of nearly 40 per cent. With corn the prices are the"reverse of those of wheat. The farm price of corn has not been so low in many years at this time. Corn is not worth much more than half as much as it was'two years ago, while the average price of the past three years is 15 cents a bush­ el above the present price, which makes the decline in corn about the same per cent, as the advance in wheat. Those who have no theories, but ac­ cept fact!?, will have no trouble in as­ certaining the cause of the wide fluc­ tuations in the prices of these cereals. Turn to the agricultural reports, and it will be seen that the highest prices go with the smallest crops, and, converse­ ly, large crops and low prices go to- ether. In other words, tlie unrepeala- ble law of supply and demand makes the prices. It is easier to understand, if one will, than it is to learn the mul­ tiplication table. But while these causes are so easily understood by average people, they must be extremely hard riddles for those men who claim to be wiser than most of us--those self-styled econo­ mists who insist that the prices of ag­ ricultural staples are governed by the market value of silver or legislation affecting its coinage. For three years previous to last autumn this brand of statesmen have paraded the low price of wheat and solemnly declared that an abnormally large crop does not af­ fect prices, but the fact that the money sharks have destroyed half the redemp­ tion money of the world by refusing to coin all the silver which would be presented at the mints. Now that Wheat- has leaped from 53.2 cents to 72.7 cents a bushel, they must aban-" don the -wheat illustration. Still, they can find consolation in corn equal to that which many people are said to find in the liquid extract of that cereal. They can harp on the fall of the price of corn. But what will they do when some disagreeable person in the local forum at the cross-roads store or postoffice asks the silver statesman to reconcile the rise in wheat and the fall in corn to fit his silver theory?--Indianapolis Journal. _____ Bryan's Latest. In a free silver convention held at Lincoln, Neb., a day or two ago William J. Bryan was present and made a short speech, the tenor of which was that it was better to have run for office and lost than never to have run at all. There is no doubt but this correctly expressed Mr. Bryan's real views of the last Presidential campaign. It'was not so much the welfare of the country, or sympathy for the "toiling masses," or the laudable desire to bring about the greatest good for the greatest number that nerved him to make 700 speeches In the canvass, but the hope of office and personal glory. The sentiments ascribed to Mr. Bryan might do for a crossroads constable to utter, or even a justice of the peace, but emanating from the lips of a< than who has been pictured alongside Lincoln, Washing­ ton and jTefferson, as the equal of those ?great statesmen, they sound ridiculous, although doubtless characteristic. Possibly Mr. Bryan took the occasion, to thus give his views as^ to officerseek- ing. If it was better to have run in 1896 and lost "than never to have run at all," the same idea will hold good for 1900, when he hopes for better luck, and if he fails again the same sourc® of comfort is still open to him. Mr. Bry&n, however, is declining so rapidly, in public estimation that the chances of, his ever having an opportunity to run again for office are exceedingly re-, mote.--Kansas City Journal. Ex-Lecturer Bryan. It is impossible for any kind-hearted person to avoid feeling sympathy with Mr. Bryan on account of the collapse of his lecturing enterprise. There is no just reason for saying censorious things of him in that connection. If his idea tluit he could get $1,000 each for fifty lectures was too absurd for sane belief, he was no more to blame for entertaining the foolish notion than were tlie experienced, and presumably business-like, managers, who promised him that golden reward for the wag­ ging of his silver tongue. The disillusionizing process is, cf course, painful; but he. appears to be bearing it like a man, and therein de­ serves our respect. It is hot strange at all that, after such an experience as he liad last summer and autumn; when "all" outdoors" vas hardly big enough to hold the crowds who flocked to hear him, he should im­ agine that 1 per cent, of as many peo­ ple would pay 50 cents each to hear him le6ture in great public halls. . If they really would do so his $50,000 dream would be easily more than real­ ized." What he has learned, to his chagrin, is that such frantic enthusi­ asm as his presence everywhere excite ed a few months ago, is no proof at all of a genuine and abiding interest in him. A great many other temporarily; famous men have learned the same bit­ ter lesson in the same hard school.-- Boston Advertiser. Grover's Charges False. • President Cleveland, in the part of his message relating to pensions, said that "the abuses which have been al­ lowed to creep into our pension system have done incalculable harm in demor­ alizing our people and undermining good citizenship." That there should not be cases of fraud in a pension roll con­ taining 970,078 names would be impos­ sible; but Mr. Cleveland's insinuation finds no support in the figures relative to prosecutions for frauds in getting pensions which are also found in his message. During the fiscal year only 339 indictments were reported for vio­ lation of the pension laws, and under these indictments only 167 were con­ victed. Either the President's prosecut­ ing officers and pension inspectors are not faithful in the discharge of their duties or the President is making false charges. Here's Argument. The New -ork Journal »millionaire free silver paper), argues that a rich woman's $300 dress would buy i,000 loaves of bread for the poor. Let *.is see: 'MtvBtyanfgets JjM,000 for a lecture. That would buy 33,333 1-3 loaves of bread for the poor. . If one wants to play the demagogue, it can be played in various ways. As a matter of fact, the $300 for a gown goes to the dress­ maker and the dress goods maker, and 75 per cent, of it probably goes to those who labor for a living. It is better to give them work than money.--De& Moines Register. v ettle the Currency Problem. This country has a currency problem of its own. It is, while preserving the gold standard, to provide a uniformly safe and sound currency, adapted to the needs of our people, expanding and contracting with the legitimate demand for it in all sections and by all classes. The problem is a plain one, and, politics apart, not a difficult one. Until we shall have solved it, we shall not have solid prosperity.--New York Times. Will Grover l)o This? By the way, will President Cleveland kindly call Attorney General Harmon's special attention to the bold acts and robberies of the sugar and coffee trusts. Present laws are ample to de; stroy all trusts, if vigorously enforced, and it is time that Attorney General Harmon was beginning to do some­ thing to earn his salary. . We hope that President McKinley will select an At­ torney General who will make unceas. ing warfare upon all trusts. Pointed Paragraphs, It is still a most important and most helpful duty of all the people to pay off their old year debts. Scratch an advocate of free trade and you will find a friend of foreign inter- ells' against American. One of the defects of the Bryan lec­ ture tour which caused its failure was the box-office attachment. e Which shall we congratulate--De' for leaving the Populist party, or tha latter, for getting rid of him? " V : £ ' A protective tariff on every product Which qan be successfully grown on American soil is the only way to make farming aud manufacturing equally re­ munerative. The coal mined in the United1 States last year was worth .$250,000,000. That is about ten times as much as the sil­ ver product was worth. What a fuss about the trifling item of silver. Sam Jones, who ?s a Southern free silverite himself, after hearing the At­ lanta effort says that Bryan's lectures are not worth 10 cents a dozen. What a pity he did not'cloale more contracts for §3,0Q0 appearances.0 The banks which have failed are nine out of ten either boom banks or mis­ managed banks, or smaller banks tied up in a business sense with the larger ones which failed. There has been nothing in such failures to cause un­ easiness. . The Atlanta papers are now scold­ ing Mr. Bryan. They say he had no right to endanger a great cause by be­ coming the hireling of theatrical specu­ lators. They say that Mr. Bryan ought not to have had an ambition to earn $50,000 in fifty nights. And that after he had earned it, he might have chang­ ed his theories on national finances. Poor Bryant! Poor free silver cause!