INDIANA. which Sir Frederick Fryer was made Lieutenant 409 The State-tax levies were not changed in 1897, by royal proclamation into a British province, of pal from the general fund, were $2,174,554.78. Burmah.-In April, 1887, Burmah was converted ernment, exclusive of any payment on debt princiofficial and 4 nonofficial members, all nominated. General fund, 9 cents on the $100; benevolent inThe guerrilla warfare which the British combated stitutions, 5 cents on the $100; State-debt sinking Governor. The Legislative Council consists of 5 and remain as made two years before as follows: under the name of dacoity or gang robbery after fund, 3 cents on the $100; school fund, 11 cents on the annexation of the country by Lord Dufferin in 1886 ceased entirely, under the rule of Sir Alexander Mackenzie as Chief Commissioner in 1890-'95, and the frontier raids which succeeded the internal disturbances have given place to friendly durbars between the British officers and the Shan chiefs, whose tribesmen have been enrolled into a frontier police. The pacification of Burmah may be considered complete, and the military occupation has passed into a civil administration. Railroads, roads, irrigation schemes, the introduction of new agricultural staples, the extension of medical relief and vaccination, the provision of veterinary aid, cadastral surveys, public instruction, the cultivation of waste lands, the development of mines and quarries, the rice trade, forest conservation, increased facilities for obtaining judicial redress, the fair adjustment of public burdens, and the settlement of rural rights and obligations are the problems that now take up the attention of the administrators. A railroad is to be built into the center of the southern Shan States. On the northern border the Mandalay and Salween Railroad has been carried beyond Maymyo. The trade across the frontiers of Upper Burmah was Rx 1,860,000 in 1897, against Rx 1,360,000 in 1896. The trade with western China increased from Rx 280,000 to Rx 390,000, with the northern Shan States from Rx 470,000 to Rx 530,000, with the southern Shan States from Rx 600,000 to Rx 930,000, with Zimme from Rx 240,000 to Rx 390,000. There was a decline in the trade with Kareni and Siam. In Lower Burmah the overland trade increased from Rx 750,000 to Rx 820,000. A Burmo-Chinese frontier commission began on Dec. 1 the delimitation of the frontier of Yunnan, which has been altered recently in favor of Great Britain by an arrangement with the Chinese Government (see CHINA). INDIANA, a Western State, admitted to the Union Dec. 11, 1816; area, 36,350 square miles. The population, according to each decennial census since admission, was 147,178 in 1820; 343.031 in 1830: 685.866 in 1840: 988,416 in 1850; 1,350,428 in 1860 1,680,637 in 1870; 1,978,301 in 1880; and 2,192,404 in 1890. Capital. Indianapolis. Government. The following were the State officers during the year: Governor, James A. Mount; Lieutenant Governor, W. S. Haggard; Secretary of State, William D. Owen; Treasurer, F. J. Scholz: Auditor, Americus C. Daily AttorneyGeneral, W. A. Ketcham: Superintendent of Instruction, David M. Geeting; State Statistician, S. J. Thompson, resigned in April and succeeded by John B. Conner; Geologist, W. S. Blatchley; Adjutant General, Gen. Gore; Tax Commissioners, Ivan N. Walker and Thomas B. Buskirk; Fish Commissioner, Z. T. Sweeney; Factory Inspector, D. H. McAbee-all Republicans; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, James H. Jordan, Republican; Associate Justices, L. J. Monks, Republican, and Timothy E. Howard, Leonard J. Hackney, and James McCabe, Democrats; Clerk, Alexander Hess, Republican; Justices of the Appellate Court, W. D. Robinson, W. J. Henley, James B. Black, D. W. Comstock, and U. Z. Wiley, all Republicans. Finances.-The debt of the State at the beginning of the year stood: Domestic debt, $484,000; foreign debt, $6,436,615; total, $6,920,615. For the year ending Oct. 31, 1896, the net receipts were $2,413,100.10. The expenses of the State gov JAMES A. MOUNT, GOVERNOR OF INDIANA. the $100; for higher education, 1 cent on the $100. The total taxable property on tax duplicate of 1895 was $1,286,050,531. The bonded debts of the counties amount to $6,014,703, and the floating debts to $829,103. The Treasurer's report for the year ending Oct. 31 gives the following general statement: Balance in treasury Nov. 1, 1896, $525,694.69; receipts from all sources, $7,679,994.34; total, $8.205.689.03: disbursements, $7,808,964.52; balance, $396,724.51. Education.-The Legislature appropriated to educational institutions, for special purposes, the following sums: Purdue University, $18,500; State University, $5,000; State Normal School, $10,000. The income of each from the special tax for higher education under the law of 1895 was computed in July as follows: Indiana University, $46,780.72; Purdue University, $35.085.53; State Normal University, $35,085.53; total, $116,951.78. The Normal 'School graduated a class of 78 in June, and granted diplomas to 34 graduates of 1895 who had taught successfully in the public schools for two years. The biennial report shows that in 1895 there were 1,535 students in attendance at various times, and in 1896 there were 1,570. The average attendance for each term was 800. During the first year covered by the report the faculty cost $32,334.96, and during the second year $29,027.98. The total receipts were $87,209.57, and the disbursements $62,881.49. Earlham College graduated 25 students in June, and Butler 34. Coates College for Women, which has been running down for a number of years from lack of patronage, made an assignment in May. It was founded by the late Jane Coates, of Green castle, and had about 50 students at the time of the assignment. At the December meeting of the trustees of Wabash College a petition was presented asking that arrangements be made to educate women at the college. There were 278 alumni who signed this petition, and 128 alumni opposed the plan. The number that have been graduated is 753, of whom 149 are dead, 27 whose address is unknown, 24 not approachable, and 143 failed to reply. The Vincennes Presbytery passed a resolution in April which expresses the feeling of the friends of the denominational colleges as follows: "The Presbytery of Vincennes desires to record its disapprobation of the attempt in the late Legislature to displace the denominational college in the school system in our State, giving the preference to teachers who have taken a course of instruction in the State institutions, thus discriminating against the graduates of the non-State schools, discounting merit, and practically confiscating the valuable property and splendid equipment of the non-State schools. It is with deep regret that we learn this movement is to be continued in favor of State colleges, and we call upon good citizens who value merit, who believe in fairness, and who understand the debt, past and present, of our public-school system to the non-State schools, to oppose the encroachments." The school enumeration for 1897 shows a total of 749,860, an increase of 16,134 over 1896. The following summary shows the condition of the common-school revenues as computed for apportionment in June: Amount collected from counties, $1,073,576.07; amount in treasury from all other sources, $17,837.94; total on hand, $1,091,414.01; amount apportioned, $1,072,299.80; balance now remaining in treasury, $19,114.21; per capita, $1.43. The State Board of Medical Registration and Examination has adopted rules defining what colleges are qualified to give diplomas that will be recognized by the board. These rules will bar out graduates of certain medical colleges. Charities and Corrections.-An abstract of the report of the State Board of Charities gives the following statistics: "The number of inmates of the State charitable and correctional institutions upon the last day of the fiscal year five years ago was 6,264. Of this number 4,106 were in the charitable institutions and 2,158 in the correctional institutions. At the close of the past fiscal year the number of inmates of the State charitable and correctional institutions was 7,136, of which 4,654 were in charitable and 2,482 in correctional institutions. From these figures it is seen that the total population of both charitable and correctional institutions has increased 872 in the past five years. The increase in the charitable institutions has been 548 and in the correctional 324. While the population of the charitable and correctional institutions has thus increased, there has not been a corresponding increase in the cost of maintenance. The total cost of maintaining the institutions in the year just closed was smaller by $6,830.17 than in the year which ended five years ago. The report of the trustees of the State Soldiers' Home in December gives the population: Veterans, 312; widows, 36; married women with their husbands, 120. The home is crowded and the number of applications for admission is increasing. The report says that the veterans who receive over $8 a month pension willingly give up the excess to be sent to their wives or minor children. In an address before the State Conference of Charities and Corrections in November the Governor said, urging economy in the administration of State institutions: "The State annually expends $1,236,736.92 to maintain its benevolent and charitable institutions. It is a matter of congratulation that at the close of the last fiscal year, Oct. 31, 1897, some of the State institutions turned unexpended balances back into the treasury." The Governor had already in June made a move toward reducing the expenses of the institutions by suggesting the abolition of useless offices and more careful scrutiny of the prices paid for supplies. The last Legislature appropriated $8,000 for a new chapel, $15,000 for an "old men's home," and $10,000 for a dining room and "widows' home." The old men's home is in course of erection, and the other two are finished and furnished. During the year 11 counties made appropriations for cottages. The cost is about $150 a year for each inmate, of which the Government pays $100. The trustees of the Sailors' and Sailors' Orphans' Home, at Knightstown, submitted their annual report in December. During the year 122 children left the home. There are now in the home 639 children, of whom 363 are boys and 276 girls. The financial statement shows the expenditure of all the appropriation of $90,000. The report of the Central Hospital for the Insane gives: Patients at beginning of year, 1,543; received, 483; discharged, 306; died, 134; treated, 2,026; enrolled at close of year, 1,586; daily average, 1,478 4. The institution is overcrowded. The actual per capita cost is $138.63. At the Southern Hospital for the Insane, at Evansville, the cost of maintenance during 1895-'96 was $138,324.71, averaging 48 cents a day for each patient. The printing office and laundry at the State Reform School for Boys, at Plainfield, were burned June 1, with a loss of about $7,500. The Legislature this year passed a law making the Prison South, at Jeffersonville, a reformatory, and providing that all prisoners under thirty years of age, serving their first sentence, should be taken there, while the Prison North, at Michigan City, should be the State penitentiary for older criminals. Transference of prisoners took place April 12, when 291 prisoners were taken from Michigan City to Jeffersonville, and 368 from Jeffersonville to Michigan City. Great precautions were taken, special trains starting simultaneously from the two prisons. The men were shackled in pairs immediately after being fed at breakfast and marched on board trains that had been backed into the prison yards. A company of militia accompanied each train, and in each coach of convicts were three guards. After the exchange the penitentiary contained 980, while the reformatory had fewer than 800. In December there were in round numbers 900 at the reformatory and 840 at the penitentiary. Already the reformatory is badly overcrowded. The night school is attended by 225 inmates. All illiterates are compelled to attend this school. The wageearning system is now in full operation, and there is plenty of work for all prisoners under the exist ing contracts. The State Prison has been put into order, new buildings including a chapel and an administration building, have been erected, a waterworks plant put in, and shower baths provided. The following are the amounts appropriated by the Legislature for maintenance and special purposes at the State institutions: Central Insane Hospital, maintenance $225,000, special $38,200; Northern Insane Hospital, maintenance $90,000, special $7,000: Eastern Hospital for the Insane, maintenance $90,000, special $5,000; Southern Hospital, maintenance $82,000, special $9,800; Education of the Blind, maintenance $27,000, special $3,500; of the Deaf and Dumb, maintenance $58.000, special $14,560; Soldiers' Orphans' Home, maintenance $90,000, special $5,300; School for the Feeble-Minded, maintenance $75,000, special $12,213; State Prison North, maintenance $90,000, special $60,500; Indiana Reformatory, formerly Prison South, maintenance $56,100, special $55,000; Reform School for Boys, maintenance $56,500, special $6,000; Reformatory and Women's Prison, maintenance $40,500; State Soldiers' Home, special $61,355. Militia. The report of the adjutant general in November shows that the Indiana National Guard contains 2,822 officers and men, divided into 41 companies of infantry and 3 batteries of artillery. Insurance. The report of the Insurance Department shows that 280 insurance companies do business in the State. Of these, 42 are Indiana companies, 3 are Canadian, and 36 are European. The others have their corporate homes in various States, 55 being in New York. Banks. The report of the Banking Department shows an improvement in State banks, Oct. 30, 1897, over their condition a year before and a steady improvement during the year. The resources, Oct. 30, 1896, were $14.711,472.25, and Oct. 30, 1897, they were $17,325,534.28. During the year the State bank at Ambia became a private bank, the Kewanna Bank went out of existence, and one bank at Sullivan was discontinued, while another took its place, leaving 95 in operation. The reports of the five savings banks of the State show that their deposits have increased about $400,000 during the year. The State has 4 trust companies, 3 in Indianapolis and 1 at Terre Haute. The reports of these concerns show that the resources increased during the year from $2,742,724.33 to $3,647,220.79. The Logansport State National Bank failed May 20, and its failure caused that of the State Bank of Monticello, which was under the same president. The failure was due to the president, John F. Johnson, who had taken about $300,000 of its funds, and had borrowed on his personal paper $200,000 more. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years in the Ohio Penitentiary. The banks were reorganized in July. On Nov. 13 Crawford County was thrown into a high state of excitement by the failure of the Leav-, enworth Bank and the banks at English and Marengo. These institutions have been under the management of R. H. Willett, who disappeared before the condition of the bank was known. The deposits in each of the banks were heavy, including county and township funds. Loan Associations.-Fourteen building and loan associations went into liquidation during the year. The report compiled for the whole State by the land department of the Auditor's office, as of Oct. 31, shows that $6,635,708 of pass books and mortgage loans were repaid during the year, being $1,014,118.02 more than during the previous year. The withdrawals were $8,375,462.97, being $1,006, 236.74 more than the previous year, the bulk of this being in Marion County. There were 101,775 investing members in 1896 and 82,449 in 1897; 55,489 borrowing members in 1896 and 55,061 in 1897. An important decision in a suit brought against a nonresident association was handed down at Anderson in December. Judge McClure sustained a plea of abatement, holding that the building and loan association was an outlaw and had no standing in court, inasmuch as it had failed to file the necessary $100,000 bond with the State Auditor as required of all building and loan associations that are nonresidents. This relieves the borrower from all liability and payment can not be forced. Industries and Products.-The official report of the traffic manager of the Indianapolis Belt road and live-stock yards shows that in 1897 there were received at the yards 1,252,761 hogs, 147,740 head of cattle, 97,269 head of sheep, and 29,247 head of horses and mules. The deliveries to local packing houses in 1897 were the largest since the yards were established, in 1877, being 788,285 hogs, 90,402 cattle, and 4,107 horses to the sales stables. The report of the statistician for 1895-'96, rendered in February, gives statistics covering 40 industries, with 968 establishments in 128 cities and towns. The reports of the proprietors of these factories, shops, and mines show a capital of $42,507,737. The past year the value of materials used was $83,202,319, and the gross value of the merchandise manufactured was $132,788,421. Labor was paid $28.062,083. The number of persons employed was 80,184, of whom 9,735 were boys and 8,894 were women and girls. The State geologist shows that no State possesses clay deposits superior to those of Indiana, and that, instead of importing vitrified brick from other States, this State should supply the entire home demand and become an exporter as well. During the past year one large brick concern has began operations near Montezuma, and another new plant has been erected at Martinsville. A large pottery establishment has been constructed at Brazil. The geologist has discovered some new deposits of marl, and at Syracuse a plant costing. $75,000 has been put in for the manufacture of Portland cement. Waste of Natural Gas.-There is as yet no indication of the giving out of the gas supply, which has been in constant use for ten years. Besides the great amount consumed in the gas area proper, 26 pipe lines are transporting it to other places, much of it going to Ohio and Chicago. The pipe lines aggregate more than 1,000 miles, not including tributaries and feeders. The fuel is flowing from 2.000 wells, each well producing an average of 2,000,000 feet of gas a day. But the waste of the gas by oil companies and prospectors, who allow it to escape in order to get the oil beneath, has aroused apprehension, and the courts have been applied to for injunctions upon the oil operators. There is a State law which, if enforced will put a stop to the practice. Mob Violence.-Five men were taken from jail at Versailles on the morning of Sept. 15, and hanged by a mob. The men constituted a gang of desperadoes who had long been the terror of the county as robbers and burglars. At Decatur, on the night of Oct. 2, whitecaps dragged Constable James Parrish from his home and lashed him nearly to death with a cat o' nine tails. Officers made four arrests of suspects, and the grand jury returned indictments in December against them and two others who had fled. Labor Interests.-Reports that the miners in the State were suffering, and many were on the verge of starvation, led the Governor to appoint two commissioners-J. B. Conner and T. H. Terhune-to investigate their condition in July after the general strike began. One of the commissioners said on his return: "The treasury of the miners was depleted by the strike of last year, and they had not yet got out of debt when this one came. In most places they have had but three days' work per week, at 47 cents, the lowest price ever known, and thus they had no chance to pull out. Some of the operators with whom we talked admitted that the present state of affairs is all their own fault. During the past three years they have been cutting each others' throats by taking contracts at ruinous prices and then reducing wages to meet them." Legislative Sessions.-The session of the General Assembly began Jan. 8, and ended March 8. Lieut.-Gov. Haggard presided over the Senate, and Henry C. Pettit was Speaker of the House. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor were inaugurated Jan. 11. Charles W. Fairbanks was chosen by the Republican caucus as candidate for the office of United States Senator to succeed Daniel W. Voorhees. Other names before the caucus were those of Gen. Lew Wallace, W. R. McKeen, R. S. Taylor, John H. Baker, Benjamin Harrison, and Frank Posey. Mr. Voorhees was the Democratic candidate, and Leroy Templeton the Populist. The vote stood: Fairbanks, 85; Voorhees, 58; Templeton, 6. The number of acts passed and signed was 190, besides which were two joint and two concurrent resolutions. Seven measures were vetoed by the Governor, only one of which was passed over the veto. This was for dividing a court circuit. The apportionment law of 1885, which is the only one that has not been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, was repealed, and a new apportionment of senatorial and representative districts was enacted; it was drawn on the lines indicated by the decisions of the court. The ballot law was amended so as to prevent fusion of parties. It is provided that no candidate's name shall be placed on the ballot more than once, and requires that any candidate nominated by more than one political party shall make and file with the proper election commissioners his choice in writing, properly signed and acknowledged, stating which nomination he accepts. Unless he files this choice before the time arrives for printing the ballots, the election commissioners shall choose for him on which ticket his name shall be placed. The voter is to use a blue pencil furnished by the election officers, instead of a rubber stamp and ink, in marking his ballot, and a circle instead of a square is to be placed around the party device. Another political act relates to the business of taking a poll. It requires a person questioned to answer truthfully as to how many male persons inhabit the premises, whether they are of voting age, and how long they have resided in that particular place. The law does not require them to answer as to the politics of these persons. The metropolitan police boards in eleven cities are to be reorganized under an act requiring the Governor to appoint new boards with no more than two from the same political party; it applies to Elkhardt, South Bend, Muncie, Anderson, Terre Haute, Richmond, New Albany, Jeffersonville, Lafayette, Logansport, and Michigan City. A general street-car law was made which terminates all existing street-railroad charters in Indianapolis in 1901, provides a method for appraisement of the property of the existing company and its sale at such appraised value to its successor company, and gives the city authorities power to regulate fares in the franchise contracts. A three-cent-fare law was passed to reduce the limit of fares permitted to be charged in cities of 100,000 inhabitants to three cents. An important law affecting business interests is that on building and loan associations. The first section changes the cost of incorporating building and loan associations, making the fee to be collected by the Secretary of State $5 on every $50,000 of capital stock. Section 2 abolishes the expense fund and withdrawal fees. This section limits membership fees to 50 cents on $100, and gives the association the right to set aside a contingent fund not to exceed 5 per cent. of the assets. full, free competition in the importation or sale of articles imported into this State, and all arrangements, contracts, agreements, trusts, or combinations between persons who control the output of said articles of merchandise to control the cost of such articles to the producer, shall be unlawful and void. A violation of the act by a corporation shall operate as a forfeiture of its charter and right to do business. Next in importance in the way of business legislation is the antitrust law. It provides that all arrangements, contracts, agreements, trusts, or combinations between persons or corporations, who control the output of any article of merchandise, made with a view to lessen, or which tends to lessen, Several laws were passed in the interests of labor, of which three were of great importance-the arbitration law, the child-labor law, and the law abolishing prison-contract systems. The arbitration law creates a nonpartisan board of arbitration or conciliation, composed of two labor commissioners and the judge of the circuit court where the dispute arises. The labor commissioners are appointed by the Governor and hold office two years. One of the commissioners must, for at least ten years of his life, have worked for wages, and shall be at the time he is appointed affiliated with the labor interests. The other shall have been at least ten years an employer of labor in some similar department of industry, and shall be when apappointed affiliated with the interests of employers. The commissioners are to offer their services as mediators in case of any labor complication, and with the judge of the circuit court of the county where the difficulty arises are to form a board of arbitration. If the parties refuse to submit to arbitration the commissioners shall investigate the trouble, and make a report thereon, which shall be published for general distribution. The child-labor law, or factory-inspection law, provides for the appointment by the Governor of a factory inspector, at a salary of $1,500 a year. This inspector has charge of all manufacturing establishments in the State, which term is declared to include all establishments for manufacturing that employ ten persons or more. He may issue permits to carry on business without complying with the regulations of the act as to fire escapes or size of room in which a given number of persons are employed; may require a manufacturer to paint or whitewash his ceiling, and in various other ways exercise a discretionary power over the employers' affairs. The act forbids the employment of any boy under sixteen or any woman under eighteen in any factory for more than sixty hours in any one week. It also forbids the employment about a manufactur ing establishment of any child under the age of fourteen. And children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen can only be employed during the vacation of the public schools or after they have learned to read and write. The law forbids the manufacture of garments or cigars in "sweat shops." The prison-labor law provides that "the contract prison labor in the State prisons and reformatories be abolished, and authorizes the board of directors of the State penal and reformatory institutions to establish the public-accounts system, to institute in said prisons an industrial and labor system by which the convicts shall be employed at such trades and vocations as will be required to supply the institution as nearly as possible with all necessary articles of prison consumption, or as will, in the judgment of the directors, be expedient and wise." A law in the interest of miners makes it unlawful for any one to serve as mine boss, hoister, engineer. or fire boss without a certificate of competency from the State mine inspector. Another act provides for the construction of exits after mines have been worked a certain distance and for keeping these exits clear. The law on garnishment was amended, making the amount of exemption of wages $25; but to en title the householder to the $25 as exempt, he is to remain in the employ of the corporation or person garnisheed. It is provided that there shall be appointed by the Governor a State board of medical registration and examination of five members, upon which no school of medicine shall have a majority representation and not more than three shall be of the same political party, but all shall be graduates of medical colleges within this State and reputable physicians. The dependent-children law provides for the establishment of children's asylums by the commissioners of a county or of several counties joining together, and the making of arrangements with charitable societies for conducting these asylums. Another measure makes it incumbent upon each township to care for its own paupers. The only temperance legislation was the "antiquart-shop" law, including drug stores as well as quart shops. It provides that section 5312 of the Revised Statutes of 1881 be amended to read as follows: "It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to sell, barter, or give away, for any purpose of gain, any spirituous, vinous, or malt liquors, without first procuring from the board of commissioners of the county in which such liquor is to be sold a license. If said applicant desire to sell spirituous, vinous, and malt liquors he shall pay the treasurer of said county $100 as a license fee for one year before license shall issue to him. Such fees shall be paid into the school fund of the county in which such licenses are obtained." The act does not apply to any dealer who does not sell in less quantities than five gallons at a time. The life of the appellate court was extended four years. A compulsory education act requires that every child physically and mentally able shall attend school at least twelve weeks each year, and provides for the employment of truant officers in cities and towns. Five bills were passed for the purpose of securing better treatment of prisoners. The most important of these is the law converting what was formerly the Prison South into a Reformatory. Another important measure for prison reform is the indeterminate-sentence law, applying to all crimes except treason and taking of human life. A third measure with a like purpose is one establishing the grading already in use with good results at the Prison South. The power of appointment of the directors of the State Prison is restored to the Governor. The method of selecting boards for the State benevolent institutions was changed by an act which provides for their government by boards of three, appointed by the Governor, no more than two members of any one board being of the same political party. Another bill relating to State institutions provides that the Governor shall appoint a nonpartisan committee of three members-elect of the Legislature at least forty-five days before the meeting of each General Assembly to visit the penal, benevolent, and educational institutions of the State, and make a report to the Legislature of their con dition and needs. Many measures affecting insurance were enacted, of which the most important probably was that repealing the section of the old law which imposed a penalty of 10 per cent. upon home fire insurance companies for failure to adjust and pay losses within sixty days. Another provides for the organization and regulation of assessment life and accident insurance companies. An anticigarette law forbids the sale or gift of cigarettes to minors. A pure-food law declares unlawful all adulterations of food products or drugs. An impeachment law was enacted, which provides for impeachment and trial of State officers by the Legislature. For county officers the method is through the grand jury or by affidavit and trial by the circuit or criminal court. The special verdict law of 1895, which made it almost impossible for a plaintiff to secure a verdict in a damage suit against a corporation, was repealed. Another act declares that the standard halfbushel measure shall be the only measure used in testing wheat in less than car-load lots. Another was passed declaring the number of pounds to the barrel, bushel, ton, etc., of the principal articles of produce, and making it a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of from $1 to $25, for any one to buy or sell any of these articles by weight at a measure differing in weight from the standard. Two acts were passed for the protection of fish, and one to prevent the slaughter of quail or grouse by any other method than that of dog and gun. Another measure prevents the killing of Mongolian pheasants for two years. ing: Among other measures passed were the follow Appropriating $5,000 for a statue of Oliver P. Morton in the Capitol at Washington. Broadening the scope of surety companies so that they may serve where freehold surety has heretofore been required. Taxing transient merchants. Requiring certain county officials to execute pension papers free of charge. Giving to cities and incorporated towns power to tax and regulate clairvoyants, street fakirs, itinerant dealers, vehicles, branch stores, and trolley and telegraph poles. Authorizing the Attorney-General to institute suit to recover the claim of the State against the Vandalia Railroad Company for $1,000,000. A joint resolution declared "The Story of Liberty" an improper book for school children. It is a book put out for use in the schools, a story of the Inquisition, and is regarded by Catholics as slanderous toward their Church. Contested Laws.-The constitutionality of the law passed this year limiting street-car fares in Indianapolis to three cents was disputed on the grounds that it impaired the validity of contracts and was special legislation; but the State Supreme Court sustained the law. The Indiana and Ohio laws enabling the local State authorities to tax all the property of railroad, telegraph, and express companies were sustained in all their parts by the United States Supreme Court Feb. 1. This decision gives the State $100,000 from the express companies and $125,000 in the case of the telegraph company. The latter appealed only on the ground of the 50-per-cent. penalty which the State sought to collect for the company's failure to pay the tax when it was due. The law imposing the tax was declared valid in 1896; the company then tendered the tax without the penalty; the Treasurer refused to receive it, and the suit decided this year sustained the Treasurer in collecting the 50-per-cent. penalty. |