I have been handed the tenth biennial report of the board of trustees of the charitable institutions, which, in addition to the information I have already received, gives me the basis for the recommendations which I shall make for the different institutions; however, there are several of them, and their wants are many. It is a custom for the committees of the two houses on penal and charitable institutions to visit, during the sessions of the legislature, the different state institutions and report their conditions and wants to their respective bodies, and I would esteem it a favor if any suggestions they might see proper to make to the two houses be also made to me, for of all the responsibilities I am charged with by the suffrages of the people of this state, none appeals more deeply to me than the welfare of the inmates of these institutions.

The Insane Asylums.

At the last session of the legislature appropriations were made for the rebuilding of the central building at the Osawatomie asylum, erection of boiler house, electric light plant, and several minor improvements. These improvements have all been made, yet from the reports of the superintendent I find that there are several matters that need your consideration. The principal one is that the property has sustained serious damage which demands repairs, and unless these are accomplished at the earliest possible moment great injury will be done the institution. Not having had an opportunity to visit and make a personal examination of this matter, I would call the attention of your committees who visit the different state institutions to this report. It would not only be neglectful but an unsound business policy to allow any of our state institutions to be ruined by the elements on account of not taking proper precautions for their preservation. It is also asked that a new laundry building be given the institution. One of the strongest pleas is that the present laundry building is detrimental to the health of the institution, owing to its lack of sanitary arrangements. It is said to be a standing menace, constantly increasing the risk of the institution being destroyed by fire. Several times during the last few years the public mind and conscience have been disturbed by awful reports of burning institutions of this kind. Often the helpless inmates were cremated, and horrible scenes have been enacted. I believe it our duty to do all in our power to protect our state institutions from the elements, and if upon investigation the complaints made are valid, I believe it would be proper and right to grant the request. While we are pledged to economy, we are not pledged to that economy which risks not alone the state's property, but the lives of our fellow beings. This institution, like the Topeka insane asylum, is overcrowded, and every possible means should be employed to give additional room for those who are at present unable to gain admittance.

It is a noteworthy and lamentable fact that the percentage of the

insane people compared with our growth is increasing, and that the accommodations we have to-day for their care and maintenance are inadequate to the demand made by the people of the state on these institutions. One of the largest appropriations that will have to be made by the present legislature is for the care of the destitute insane over the state who could not be accommodated at the Topeka and Osawatomie asylums. It is not alone the extra cost of keeping these unfortunate people at home, compared with the cost of keeping them at the asylum, that enters into the argument for more room at these institutions. It is impossible to give them the same care, or as good care, in their respective counties as at an institution which is peculiarly fitted for their reception and maintenance. In many cases insane people are kept in the county poorhouses, and in some cases in the county jails. The reports of institutions of this kind bear me out in saying that a large per cent., if placed where they have proper medical attendance and pleasant environment, recover their reason. Not so large a per cent. recover when isolated or confined with criminals. Hence, it is not only a matter of economy, but a matter of humanity and right, that we should give additional room at our state institutions for the care of this class of people. For the present, I believe that the asylums at Topeka and Osawatomie should be completed in accordance with the specifications of the architect who formulated the plans for their building, but it is evident that in the near future another institution will have to be established. However, I am of the opinion that if the two asylums we now have were completed, we could tide over until the next session of the legisla ture. It might be well to make arrangements for the future, looking to the building of another institution of this kind, so that if the occasion demands it, at the next session of the legislature appropriations could be made and the buildings completed as quickly as the circumstances and conditions demand.

Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth.

According to the report of the superintendent of the Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, at Winfield, there are 117 pupils at present in this institution. The object of the institution is to care for those who through accident or from birth have been deprived of the faculties that make manhood and womanhood pleasant and useful, not only to themselves but to society and civilization. There is no more worthy institution in the state than this, and while it is in a great measure hoping against hope to attempt to bring them up to a standard which will make them useful citizens, yet this is not a valid reason why our efforts should be abated or why we should fail to do our whole duty in their care, maintenance, and education. The last legislature made appropriations for certain improvements, which I am informed have been completed. There are a few recommendations made by the superintendent which will need your con

sideration, and I would ask for the inmates of this institution, which appeals so much to our humanity, the same considerate treatment accorded those who have brighter futures and are possessed of faculties that make life worth living.

Soldiers' Orphans' Home.

This institution was founded and endowed for the purpose of caring for the orphan children of the veterans of our civil war, but years have rolled by since that event and the orphans of the soldiers have in most instances become citizens and capable of caring for themselves. Since that time, however, the doors have been opened to the orphan children of the state who are needy and who were looked upon by society as waifs. It is very pleasing to a citizen of the state to see these foundlings placed in an institution where they can enjoy in a measure all that goes to make home happy, instead of being in a poor-house. The report shows that since the opening of the home 329 children have enjoyed its benefits, 151 of whom have been restored to the care of parents or relatives who have recovered their ability to provide for them. In another part of this message something is said on the question of pauper children of the east being sent to the state. I am in full accord with the plan of caring for the poor and needy children of our own state, but when it comes to a question of caring for the children of people of other states, that is a different proposition. Any reasonable demands made by this institution should receive attention, to the end that throughout the borders of our great state no child be allowed to suffer from hunger or the need of raiment.

Soldiers Home.

This home has been established and maintained for years for the care and enjoyment of the indigent of our civil war. Its board has been established and kept separate from that of all other institutions of this state. I would recommend that this policy be continued, in order that those who risked their lives in their country's defense may have the advantage of the best treatment possible from our people. Kansas is known as the great soldier state of the union, and while we have within our borders a national home, the state home at Dodge City is a matter of pride to the citizens of our state. Any reasonable request that may be made for this institution should be granted. In a few years the men who now inhabit the home will have passed over into the unknown, and anything we might do at the present, unthinkingly, in the interest of economy which we feel at this time, might be a cause of regret in after years.

Educational Institutions.

The public-school system of Kansas is the best evidence of the character of our people and the best promise of our future. That the percentage of illiteracy is lower and the average of general intel

ligence is higher in Kansas than in New York and the New England states, where great wealth commanded admirable educational facilities before our state was founded, is most gratifying to our people. We should indeed be a most diffident commonwealth if this admirable system, crowned by the several institutions of higher learning, did not appeal to our state pride. Ignorance and freedom never go hand in hand. The founders of this commonwealth were determined that Kansas should not be ignorant and should be free. In order to achieve that general Intelligence which is essential to successful citizenship, it is absolutely necessary that we should maintain a system of public schools that shall give the youth of this state ample opportunity to fit themselves for the duties of citizenship. In dealing with the educational institutions of the state, no niggardly hand should be used, whether you touch the humble country school or enter the halls of the great state institutions. The conditions of the times demand strict economy, but the economy that would take from any child the right and privilege of receiving an education is false economy, against the best interests of society and detrimental to the future of our state. Some of the chief educational institutions, notably the State University and the State Normal School, which are reported crowded, will ask for certain improvements and additional buildings. Several localites will ask that normal schools be established. Should you conclude that another normal school is necessary I would suggest that it be located in some portion of the state of the largest population, and in some central city of that section.

The report of the superintendent indicates that there are 9,284 schools in the state, with a school population of 495,771. Of these, 378,339 were enrolled in the schools, while there was an average attendance of 252,727. Eleven thousand seven hundred teachers were employed, with an average salary for men of $43.82 per month, and for women of $35.58 per month. The average number of mills levied for all school purposes was 11.19. The school property of Kansas, including buildings and grounds, is valued at $10,145,631. The bonded indebtedness of the school districts was $14,545,708. Sixteen thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven persons were examined for teachers' certificates, of whom 11,468, with an average age of 20 years, received certificates. Only 356 districts have failed to maintain public schools three months. One hundred and five counties held teachers' institutes, each of which had an attendance of over 50 members. These institutes cost $38,776.60.

The public-school system of Kansas is the pride of our state. As Sparta's strength was not in her walls, but in her men, so the wealth of Kansas lies not in her treasury, but in her storehouses of general intelligence. We may not have amassed such vast fortunes as are boasted by the country's metropolis, but we can thank God that every boy and girl in Kansas can go to school. The children of

Kansas are not shipped to eastern states to be quartered upon others, that our name shall become a byword and a hissing in the ears of the republic.

The schools for the blind, the deaf and the dumb are classed in the statutes as charitable institutions. In fact they are educational institutions, and should be so classified. Careful economy must be practiced, but our schools must be maintained. Kansas has not changed her motto, and though the difficulties still remain, the stars are there also.

Permanent School Fund.

The state permanent school funds have reached the munificent sum of $6,853,987.79, the greater part of which has been invested in bonds. The intent and purpose of the law governing the purchase of bonds with this fund was to buy none but the best ahd those on which the interest and principal would be promptly paid. Unfor tunately, many thousand dollars of this fund have been invested in worthless bonds, on which not even the interest has been paid. I would suggest that the attorney-general, if necessary, be empowered to collect the interest and principal on these delinquent bonds, if possible; and if not possible to collect in full, by and with the consent of the executive council, to compromise on the best terms possible for the interests of this fund, the proceeds to be turned into the permanent school fund, as provided by law.

There is another evil worthy of your attention in connection with the investment of the funds by the school-fund commissioners. It has been the practice for this commission, instead of dealing directly with the authorized authorities of the different counties and municipalities, to do business with some third party, and in several cases to which my attention has been called, unnecessary commissions have been paid the third party, which has left the matter open to suspicion that there was a conspiracy to defraud the county, municipality, township or school district which has sold its bonds to this fund. My attention has been called specifically to one transaction where, in a transfer of $107,000 of a certain county's bonds, the taxpayers were made to pay over $16,000 which went into the hands of some intermediate parties. I would recommend that it be made a penal offense for the school-fund commissioners to transact their business with the different counties, townships; municipalities and school districts through third parties. They should deal directly with each other. The past history of this fund shows that more stringent legislation should be enacted to protect it, to the end that our different divisions of the state can procure the funds on good security without being held up by dishonest individuals.

University of Kansas.

The University of Kansas has a faculty of 54 instructors and an attendance of 915 students. The institution utilizes six buildings for educational purposes, and enjoys an income of $108,000 per an