opportunity to officiate when giving the committee due notice of a desire so to do.

G. M. TITUS,

W. C. HAYWARD,

W. R. LEWIS,

Committee.

Adopted.

Senator Hayward offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to notify the House of Representatives that the Senate is ready to meet in joint session at 2 o'clock P. M. January 9, 1900, for the purpose of canvassing the vote for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor.

Adopted.

The following concurrent resolution was offered by Senator Titus:

Resolved, By the Senate, the House concurring, that the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House be and are hereby authorized to make requsition on the secretary of the Executive Council for stationery and supplies for each Senator and member of the House, as may be designated by each, in an amount not exceeding the following, to-wit:

Five hundred letter heads and 500 envelopes with names and addresses of senators and members printed thereon; six blocks of yellow paper, legal size; six quires of legal cap; pens, pen-holders, pencils, ink, rubbers, bands, paper fasteners, pins, blocks of scratch paper, amply sufficient for each member.

Adopted.

The President appointed the following committee on Senator Hayward's resolution relating to joint caucus:

Senators Hayward, Griswold and Porter.

The Governor's private secretary appeared and presented the Governor's annual message.

On motion of Senator Blanchard the Secretary began the reading of the Governor's message.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

The following message was received from the House:

MR. PRESIDENT-I am directed to inform your honorable body that the House has passed the following concurrent resolution, in which the concurrence of the Senate is asked:

Resolution in relation to appointment of mail carrier.

S. M. CART,

Chief Clerk.

On motion of Senator Garst, reading of Governor's message was discontinued and same ordered placed on file and printed in Journal.

GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of Iowa:

In obedience to constitutional requirement, I have the pleasure of submitting to your honorable body the following statements concerning the condition of the state, together with some recommendations for legislative consideration.

Never in our history has labor found more ready employment or more liberal remuneration; never has agriculture generally been more prosperous or yielded better returns; never has business been more universally active or reasonable profits for invested capital more secure; and never were the finances of the state in a more satisfactory condition than at the present hour.

At the beginning of the last fiscal term, there were unpaid warrants outstanding to the amount of $447,500.73. At the same time there was cash in the treasury $36,672.96, leaving the net indebtedness of the state $410,827.77. Of the outstanding warrants, the sum of $363,834.84 was drawing interest, the accrued amount of which at that time increased this indebtedness by an unascertained sum. Moreover, there remained of special appropriations made by the Twenty-sixth and former General Assemblies the following amount, against which warrants had not yet been drawn: $308,437.61. There was, therefore, to be paid out of the revenues of the then succeeding term $719,265.38, besides the interest on the outstanding warrants, in addition to the ordinary expenses of the biennial period and the extraordinary expenditures that the Twentyseventh General Assembly might authorize.

It is gratifying to know that the judicious provisions made by the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh General Assemblies, for the increase of public revenues on the one hand, and the reduction of expenditures on the other, enabled the state to meet all its obligations, past and current, and to accumulate in the treasury, at the end of the fiscal term under review, a

surplus of $414,294.02 over and above all outstanding warrants, subject, however, to the yet unexpended appropriations of the Twenty-seventh and earlier General Assemblies. Of these, less than $200,000 remained undrawn at the end of the fiscal term. With these amounts all expended, there will remain fully $220,000 to meet the expenditures of the current term.

The receipts of general revenues during the fiscal term from July 1, 1897, to July 1, 1899, aggregated.....

The treasury balance July 1, 1897, was.

Total revenues for the term..

$5,079,403.29

.$5,116,076.25

At the close of business on December 30, 1899, the treasury

The treasury is thus in better condition than it was two years ago by $1,008,580.50.

The surplus of $537,259.97, shown above, is subject to reduction by the special appropriations of past general assemblies, yet undrawn amounting to less than $100,000.

The auditor of state estimates the receipts for the current term at $4,564,200; and the expenditures, without any special appropriations made by the Twenty-eighth General Assembly, at $3,577,423; giving a surplus of receipts for the current term of $986,777. Adding to this sum the balance of $220,000 cash in the treasury at the end of the fiscal term in excess of outstanding demands and undrawn appropriations, gives fully $1,200,000, which this general assembly can safely appropriate for special purposes. The above estimate assumes that the annual levy will be continued at the present rate. I believe, however, this can be reduced to at most two and one-half mills for general revenue, and three-tenths of a mill special levy for purposes of higher education, making an aggregate of two and eight-tenths mills as against an even three mills at present. In view of the constantly increasing expenses of the state, incident to a rapidly growing population, and ever-multiplying number of wards of the state, coupled with a noticeable reduction in the aggregate assessments, the rate suggested is quite low-very considerably lower than in most states of the Union.

Iowa is exceedingly fortunate in her banking interests. She has more banks than any other state in the Union, and the condition of these institutions is very encouraging. At the date of the reports of incorporated banks nearest the first of October, 1897, the bank deposits of Iowa were as follows: State and savings banks.

.$ 50,491,525.61

27,502,301.25

25,000,000.00

$102,993,826.86

At the date of their last reports, the deposits were as fol

lows:

State and savings banks..

National banks....

Private banks (estimated).

Total......

An increase of over 55 per cent in two years.

$ 81,476,791.67

42,238,769.18 40,000,000.00

.$163,715,560.85

Of the more than $110,000,000 held by national, state, and private banks, investigation convinced me that certainly over one-half is owned by farmers; and the $51,000,000 on deposit

in savings banks is held almost exclusively by wage-earners and people of limited income. Unquestionably the proportion of unincumbered farms in the state exceeds that of any other period. In addition, the value of all agricultural lands and of farm animals has very materially appreciated within the last few years.

Under these favorable conditions, I think the Twenty-eighth General Assembly will be justified in making somewhat more liberal appropriations than in former years. Great care, however, should be exercised, for it must be borne in mind that it is easier for a state, as well as for an individual, to incur a liability than to discharge one.

The ever-present temptation to plan only for to-day, and to build temporary sheds where permanent structures are needed, should so far as possible be repressed. Iowa will appear on the map of the world forever, and her population will multiply with the years. Wise planning for the future distinguishes the statesman from the mere politician. I think, therefore, in expending the somewhat more than a million dollars now or soon to be available, at least a portion should be so placed as to furnish enduring evidences of your wisdom.

BOARD OF CONTROL.

The Twenty-seventh General Assembly made provision for a board of control, which, for nearly two years, has had the management of all our state institutions, excepting those purely educational. The policy thus inaugurated has resulted in a very considerable saving to the state, and in addition the service at most of the institutions, I am persuaded, has been improved. When the amount of work necessary to reorganize the operative force of thirteen state institutions, and personally examine the practical operations of each, to inaugurate a system of bookkeeping applicable to each institution separately and to all jointly, to install a main office at the capitol with its corps of untried clerks and assistants is considered, it must be conceded that the three men composing this board undertook, on July 1, 1898, an Herculean task. The results show more clearly than any words of mine how conscientiously this duty was undertaken and how earnestly, faithfully, and untiringly it has been prosecuted. To justify the board of control system, it is not necessary to defend each separate act, or to indorse