Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 56

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1388

USA > Illinois > Knox County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56
USA > Illinois > Lake County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56
USA > Illinois > Mercer County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56
USA > Illinois > Kane County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56
USA > Illinois > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56
USA > Illinois > Coles County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56
USA > Illinois > Clark County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56
USA > Illinois > McDonough County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56
USA > Illinois > Schuyler County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 56

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

ALTGELD'S ADMINISTRATION. - The Thirty- eighth General Assembly began its session, Jan. 4, 1893, the Democrats having a majority in each House. (See Thirty-eighth General Assembly.) The inauguration of the State officers occurred on January 10. The most important events con- nected with Governor Altgeld's administration were the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, and the strike of railway employés in 1894. Both of these have been treated in detail under their proper heads. (See World's Columbian Exposi- tion, and Labor Troubles.) A serious disaster befell the State in the destruction by fire, on the night of Jan. 3, 1895, of a portion of the buildings connected with the Southern Hospital for the Insane at Anna, involving a loss to the State of nearly $200,000, and subjecting the inmates and officers of the institution to great risk and no small amount of suffering, although no lives were lost. The Thirty-ninth General Assembly, whichi met a few days after the fire, made an appropri- ation of $171,970 for the restoration of the build- ings destroyed, and work was begun immediately.

The defalcation of Charles W. Spalding, Treas- urer of the University of Illinois, which came to light near the close of Governor Altgeld's term, involved the State in heavy loss (the exact amount of which is not even yet fully known), and operated unfortunately for the credit of the retiring administration, in view of the adoption of a policy which made the Governor more directly responsible for the management of the State in- stitutions than that pursued by most of his prede- cessors. The Governor's course in connection with the strike of 1894 was also severely criticised in some quarters, especially as it brought him in opposition to the policy of the National adminis- tration, and exposed him to the charge of sympa- thizing with the strikers at a time when they were regarded as acting in open violation of law.

ELECTION OF 1894 .- The election of 1894 showed as surprising a reaction against the Democratic party, as that of 1892 had been in an opposite direction. The two State offices to be vacated this year-State Treasurer and State Superintend- ent of Public Instruction-were filled by the elec- tion of Republicans by unprecedented majorities. The plurality for Henry Wulff for State Treas- urer, was 133,427, and that in favor of Samuel M. Inglis for State Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion, scarcely 10,000 less. Of twenty-two Repre- sentatives in Congress, all but two returned as elected were Republicans, and these two were unseated as the result of contests. The Legisla- ture stood thirty-three Republicans to eighteen Democrats in the Senate, and eighty-eight Repub- licans to sixty-one Democrats in the House.

One of the most important acts of the Thirty- ninth General Assembly, at the following session, was the enactment of a law fixing the compensa- tion of members of the General Assembly at $1,000 . for each regular session, with five dollars per day and mileage for called, or extra, sessions. This Legislature also passed acts making appropriations for the erection of buildings for the use of the State Fair, which had been permanently located at Springfield; for the establishment of two ad- ditional hospitals for the insane, one near Rock Island and the other (for incurables) near Peoria; for the Northern and Eastern Illinois Normal Schools, and for a Soldiers' Widows' Home at Wilmington.

PERMANENT LOCATION OF THE STATE FAIR .- In consequence of the absorption of public atten- tion-especially among the industrial and manu- facturing classes - by the World's Columbian Exposition, the holding of the Annual Fair of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture for 1893 was

ENGINEERING HALL, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

VIEW FROM ENGINEERING HALL, (Looking South), UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

281

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

omnitted for the first time since the Civil War. The initial steps were taken by the Board at its annual meeting in Springfield, in January of that year, looking to the permanent location of the Fair; and, at a meeting of the Board held in Chi- cago, in October following, formal specifications were adopted prescribing the conditions to be met in securing the prize. These were sent to cities intending to compete for the location as the basis of proposals to be submitted by them. Responses were received from the cities of Bloomington, Decatur, Peoria and Springfield, at the annual meeting in January, 1894, with the result that, on the eighth ballot, the bid of Springfield was accepted and the Fair permanently located at that place by a vote of eleven for Springfield to ten divided between five other points. The Springfield proposal provided for conveyance to the State Board of Agriculture of 155 acres of land-embracing the old Sangamon County Fair Grounds immediately north of the city-hesides a cash contribution of $50,000 voted by the San- gamon County Board of Supervisors for the erection of permanent buildings. Other contri- butions increased the estimated value of the donations from Sangamon County (including the land) to $139,800, not including the pledge of the city of Springfield to pave two streets to the gates of the Fair Grounds and furnish water free, be- sides an agreement on the part of the electric light company to furnish light for two years free of charge. The construction of buildings was begun the same year, and the first Fair held on the site in September following. Additional buildings have been erected and other improve- ments introduced each year, until the grounds are now regarded as among the best equipped for exhibition purposes in the United States. In the meantime, the increasing success of the Fair from year to year has demonstrated the wisdom of the action taken by the Board of Agriculture in the matter of location.

CAMPAIGN OF 1896. - The political campaign of 1896 was one of almost unprecedented activity in Illinois, as well as remarkable for the variety and character of the issues involved and the number of party candidates in the field. As usual, the Democratic and the Republican parties were the chief factors in the contest, although there was a wide diversity of sentiment in each, which tended to the introduction of new issues and the organization of parties on new lines. The Republicans took the lead in organizing for the canvass, holding their State Convention at Springfield on April 29 and 30, while the Demo-

crats followed, at Peoria, on June 23. The former put in nomination John R. Tanner for Governor ; William A. Northcott for Lieutenant-Governor; James A. Rose for Secretary of State; James S. Mccullough for Auditor; Henry L. Hertz for Treasurer, and Edward C. Akin for Attorney- General, with Mary Turner Carriel, Thomas J. Sinyth and Francis M. Mckay for University Trustees. The ticket put in nomination by the Democracy for State officers embraced John P. Altgeld for re-election to the Governorship; for Lieutenant-Governor, Monroe C. Crawford; Sec- retary of State, Finis E. Downing: Auditor, Andrew L. Maxwell; Attorney-General, George A. Trude, with three candidates for Trustees.

The National Republican Convention met at St. Louis on June 16, and, after a three days' session, put in nomination William Mckinley, of Ohio, for President, and Garret A. Hobart, of New Jersey, for Vice-President; while their Demo- cratic opponents, following a policy which had been maintained almost continuously by one or the other party since 1860, set in motion its party machinery in Chicago-holding its National Con- vention in that city, July 7-11, when, for the first time in the history of the nation, a native of Illinois was nominated for the Presidency in the person of William J. Bryan of Nebraska, with Arthur Sewall, a ship-builder of Maine, for the second place on the ticket. The main issues, as enunciated in the platforms of the respective parties, were industrial and financial, as shown by the prominence given to the tariff and monetary questions in each. This was the natural result of the business depression which had prevailed since 1893. While the Republican platform adhered to the traditional position of the party on the tariff issue, and declared in favor of maintaining the gold standard as the basis of the monetary system of the country, that of the Democracy took a new departure by declaring unreservedly for the "free and unlimited coinage of both silver and gold at the present legal ratio of 16 to 1;" and this be- came the leading issue of the campaign. The fact that Thomas E. Watson, of Georgia, who had been favored by the Populists as a candidate for Vice President, and was afterwards formally nominated by a convention of that party, with Mr. Bryan at its head, was ignored by the Chi- cago Convention, led to much friction between the Populist and Democratic wings of the party. At the same time a very considerable hody-in influence and political prestige, if not in numbers -in the ranks of the old-line Democratic party, refused to accept the doctrine of the free-silver

282

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

section on the monetary question, and, adopting the name of "Gold Democrats," put in nomination a ticket composed of John M. Palmer, of Illinois, for President, and Simon B. Buckner, of Ken- tucky, for Vice-President. Besides these, the Pro- hibitionists, Nationalists, Socialist-Labor Party and "Middle-of-the-Road" (or "straight-out") Populists, had more or less complete tickets in the field, making a total of seven sets of candidates appealing for the votes of the people on issues assumed to be of National importance.

The fact that the two great parties-Democratic and Republican-established their principal head- quarters for the prosecution of the campaign in Chicago, had the effect to make that city and the State of Illinois the center of political activ- ity for the nation. Demonstrations of an impos- ing character were held by both parties. At the November election the Republicans carried the day by a plurality, in Illinois, of 141,517 for their national ticket out of a total of 1,090,869 votes, while the leading candidates on the State ticket received the following pluralities: John R. Tan- ner (for Governor), 113,381; Northcott (for Lieu- tenant-Governor), 137,354; Rose (for Secretary of State), 136,611; McCullough (for Auditor), 138,- 013; Hertz (for Treasurer), 116,064; Akin (for Attorney-General), 132,650. The Republicans also elected seventeen Representatives in Congress to three Democrats and two People's Party men. The total vote cast, in this campaign, for the "Gold Democratic" candidate for Governor was 8,100.

Gov. TANNER'S ADMINISTRATION -- The Fortieth General Assembly met Jan. 6, 1897, consisting of eighty-eight Republicans to sixty-three Demo- crats and two Populists in the House, and thirty- nine Republicans to eleven Democrats and one Populist in the Senate. The Republicans finally gained one member in each house by contests. Edward C. Curtis, of Kankakee County, was chosen Speaker of the House and Hendrick V. Fisher, of Henry County, President pro tem. of the Senate, with a full set of Republican officers in the subordinate positions. The inauguration of the newly elected State officers took place on the 11th, the inaugural address of Governor Tanner taking strong ground in favor of main- taining the issues indorsed by the people at the late election. On Jan. 20, William E. Mason, of Chicago, was elected United States Senator, as the successor of Senator Palmer, whose term was about to expire. Mr. Mason received the full Republican strength (125 votes) in the two Houses, to the 77 Democratic votes cast for John P. Altgeld. (See Fortieth General Assembly.)

Among the principal measures enacted by the Fortieth General Assembly at its regular session were: The "Torrens Land Title System," regu- lating the conveyance and registration of land titles (which see) ; the consolidation of the three Supreme Court Districts into one and locating the Supreme Court at Springfield, and the Allen Street-Railroad Law, empowering City Councils and other corporate authorities of cities to grant street railway franchises for a period of fifty years. On Dec. 7, 1897, the Legislature met in special session under a call of the Governor, nam- ing five subjects upon which legislation was sug- gested. Of these only two were acted upon . affirmatively, viz. : a law prescribing the manner of conducting the election of delegates to nomi- nating political conventions, and a new revenue law regulating the assessment and collection of taxes. The main feature of the latter act is the requirement that property shall be entered upon the books of the assessor at its cash value, subject to revision by a Board of Review, the basis of valuation for purposes of taxation being one-fifth of this amount.

THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR .- The most not- able event in the history of Illinois during the year 1898 was the Spanish-American War, and the part Illinois played in it. In this contest Illinoisans manifested the same eagerness to serve their country as did their fathers and fel- low citizens in the War of the Rebellion, a third of a century ago. The first call for volunteers was responded to with alacrity by the men com- posing the Illinois National Guard, seven regi- inents of infantry, from the First to Seventlı inclusive, besides one regiment of Cavalry and one Battery of Artillery-in all about 9,000 men -being mustered in between May 7 and May 21. Although only one of these-the First, under the command of Col. Henry L. Turner of Chicago- saw practical service in Cuba before the surrender at Santiago, others in camps of instruction in the South stood ready to respond to the demand for their service in the field. Under the second call for troops two other regiments-the Eighth and the Ninth-were organized and the former (com- posed of Afro-Americans officered by men of their own race) relieved the First Illinois on guard duty at Santiago after the surrender. A body of engineers from Company E of the Second United States Engineers, recruited in Chicago, were among the first to see service in Cuba, while many Illinoisans belonging to the Naval Reserve were assigned to duty on United States war vessels, and rendered most valuable service in the

283

IIISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

naval engagements in Cuban waters. The Third Regiment (Col. Fred. Bennitt) also took part in the movement for the occupation of Porto Rico. The several regiments on their return for muster- out. after the conclusion of terms of peace with Spain, received most enthusiastic ovations from their fellow-citizens at home. Besides the regi- ments mentioned, several Provisional Regiments were organized and stood ready to respond to the call of the Government for their services had the emergency required. (See War, The Spanish American.)

LABOR DISTURBANCES. - The principal labor disturbances in the State, under Governor Tan- ner's administration, occurred during the coal- miners' strike of 1897, and the lock-out at the Pana and Virden mines in 1898. The attempt to introduce colored laborers from the South to operate these mines led to violence between the adherents of the "Miners' Union" and the mine- owners and operators, and their employés, at these points, during which it was necessary to call out the National Guard, and a number of lives were sacrificed on both sides.

A flood in the Ohio, during the spring of 1898, caused the breaking of the levee at Shawneetown, Ill., on the 3d day of April, in consequence of which a large proportion of the city was flooded, many homes and business houses wrecked or greatly injured, and much other property de- stroyed. The most serious disaster, however, was the loss of some twenty-five lives, for the most part of women and children who, being surprised in their homes, were unable to escape. Aid was promptly furnished by the State Government in the form of tents to shelter the survivors and rations to feed them ; and contributions of money and provisions from the citizens of the State, col- lected by relief organizations during the next two or three months, were needed to moderate the suffering. (See Inundations, Remarkable.)

CAMPAIGN OF 1898 .- The political campaign of 1898 was a quiet one, at least nominally conducted on the same general issues as that of 1896, al- though the gradual return of business prosperity had greatly modified the intensity of interest with which some of the economic questions of the preceding campaign had been regarded. The only State officers to be elected were a State- Treasurer, a Superintendent of Public Instruction, and three State University Trustees-the total vote cast for the former being 878,622 against 1,090,869 for President in 1896. Of the former, Floyd K. Wbittemore (Republican candidate for State Treasurer) received 448,940 to 405,490 for

M. F. Dunlap (Democrat), with 24,192 divided between three other candidates; while Alfred Bayliss (Republican) received a plurality of 68,899 over his Democratic competitor, with 23,- 190 votes cast for three others. The Republican candidates for University Trustees were, of course, elected. The Republicans lost heavily in their representation in Congress, though electing thir- teen out of twenty-two members of the Fifty- sixth Congress, leaving nine to their Democratic opponents, who were practically consolidated in this campaign with the Populists.

FORTY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY. - The Forty- first General Assembly met, Jan. 4, 1899, and adjourned, April 14, after a session of 101 days, with one exception (that of 1875), the shortest regular session in the history of the State Gov- ernment since the adoption of the Constitution of 1870. The House of Representatives consisted of eighty.one Republicans to seventy-one Democrats and one Prohibitionist ; and the Senate, of thirty- four Republicans to sixteen Democrats and one Populist-giving a Republican majority on joint ballot of twenty-six. Of 176 bills which passed both Houses, received the approval of the Gov- ernor and became laws, some of the more impor- tant were the following: Amending the State Arbitration Law by extending its scope and the general powers of the Board; creating the office of State Architect at a salary of $5,000 per annum, to furnish plans and specifications for public buildings and supervise the construction and care of the same; authorizing the consolidation of the territory of cities under township organi- zation, and consisting of five or more Congres- sional townships, into one township; empowering each Justice of the Supreme Court to employ a private secretary at a salary of 82,000 per annum, to be paid by the State; amending the State Revenue Law of 1898; authorizing the establish- ment and maintenance of parental or truant schools; and empowering the State to establish Free Employment Offices, in the proportion of one to each city of 50,000 inhabitants, or three in cities of 1,000,000 and over. An act was also passed requiring the Secretary of State, when an amendment of the State Constitution is to be voted upon by the electors at any general elec- tion, to prepare a statement setting forth the pro- visions of the same and furnish copies thereof to each County Clerk, whose duty it is to have said copies published and posted at the places of voting for the information of voters. One of the most important acts of this Legislature was the repeal, by a practically unanimous vote, of the Street-

284

HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.

railway Franchise Law of the previous session, the provisions of which, empowering City Coun- cils to grant street-railway franchises extending over a period of fifty years, had been severely criticised by a portion of the press and excited intense hostility, especially in some of the larger cities of the State. Although in force nearly two years, not a single corporation had succeeded in obtaining a franchise under it.

A RETROSPECT AND A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE .- The history of Illinois has been traced concisely and in outline from the earliest period to the present time. Previous to the visit of Joliet and Marquette, in 1673, as unknown as Central Africa, for a century it continued the hunting ground of savages and the home of wild animals common to the plains and forests of the Mississippi Valley. The region brought under the influence of civili- zation, such as then existed, comprised a small area, scarcely larger than two ordinarily sized counties of the present day. Thirteen years of nominal British control (1765-78) saw little change, except the exodus of a part of the old French population, who preferred Spanish to British rule.

The period of development began with the occupation of Illinois by Clark in 1778. That saw the "Illinois County," created for the gov- ernment of the settlements northwest of the Ohio, expanded into five States, with an area of 250,000 square miles and a population, in 1890, of 13,500,000. In 1880 the population of the State equaled that of the Thirteen Colonies at the close of the Revolution. The eleventh State in the Union in this respect in 1850, in 1890 it had advanced to third rank. With its unsurpassed fertility of soil, its inexhaustible supplies of fuel for manufacturing purposes, its system of rail- roads, surpassing in extent that of any other State, there is little risk in predicting that the next forty years will see it advanced to second, if not first rank, in both wealth and population.

But if the development of Illinois on material lines has been marvelous, its contributions to the Nation in philanthropists and educators, soldiers and statesmen, have rendered it conspicuous. A long list of these might be mentioned, but two names from the ranks of Illinoisans have been, by common consent, assigned a higher place than all others, and have left a deeper impress upon the history of the Nation than any others since the days of Washington. These are, Ulysses S. Grant, the Organizer of Victory for the Union arms and Conqueror of the Rebellion, and Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, the Preserver of the Republic, and its Martyred President.

CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD.

Important Events in Illinois History.

1673 .- Joliet and Marquette reach Illinois from Green Bay by way of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

1674-5 .- Marquette makes a second Visit to Illinois and spends the winter on the present site of Chicago.

1680 .- La Salle and Tonty descend the Illinois to Peoria Lake. 1681 .- Tonty begins the erection of Fort St. Louis on " Starved Rock " in La Salle County.

1682 .- La Salle and Tonty descend the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to the month of the latter, and take possession ( April 9, 1682) in the name of the King of France.

1700 .- First permanent French settlement in Illinois and Mis- sion of St. Sulpice established at Cahokia,

1700 .- Kaskaskia Indians remove from the Upper Illinois and locate near the month of the Kaskaskia River. French settlement established here the same year becomes the town of Kaskaskia and future capital of Illinois.

1718 .- The first Fort Chartres. erected near Kaskaskia.

1718 .- Fort St. Louis, on the Upper Illinois, burned by Indians.

1754 .- Fort Chartres rebuilt and strengthened.

1765 .- The Illinois country surrendered by the French to the British under the treaty of 1763.

1778 .- (July 4) Col. George Rogers Clark, at the head of an expe- dition organized under authority of Gov. Patrick Henry of Virginia, arrives at Kaskaskia. The occupation of Illinois by the American troops follows.

1778 .- Illinois County created by Act of the Virginla House of Delegates, for the government of the settlements north- weat of the Ohio River.

1787 .- Congress adopts the Ordinance of 1787, organizing the Northwest Territory, embracing the present States nf Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.

1788 .- General Arthur St. Clair appointed Governor of North- west Territory.

1790 .- St Clair County organized.

1795 .- Randolph County organized.

1800 .- Northwest Territory divided into Ohio and Indiana Ter- ritories, Illinois being embraced in the latter.

1809,-Illinois Territory set off from Indiana, and Ninian Edwards appointed Governor.

1818 .- ( Dec. 3) Illinois admitted as a State.

1820. - State capital removed from Kaskaskia to Vaodalia.

1822-24 .- Unsuccessful attempt to make Illinois a slave State.

1825. - ( April 30) General La Fayette visits Kaskaskia. 1832 .- Black Hawk War.

1839 .- (July 4) Springfield becomes the third capital of the State under an Act of the Legislature passed in 1837,

1848 .- The second Constitution adopted.

1860 .- Abraham Lincoln is elected President.

1861 .- War of the Rebellion begins.

1863 .- (Jan. 1) Lincoln issues his final Proclamation of Eman- cipation.

1864,-Lincoln's second election to the Presidency.

1865 .- ( April 14) Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Washington.

1865 .- ( May 4) President Lincoln's funeral in Springfield.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 56

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1388

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1388