USA > Illinois > Illinois, historical and statistical, comprising the essential facts of its planting and growth as a province, county, territory, and state, Vol. II > Part 45
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1024
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
for its location at different points, a final selection was made of a farm of 251 acres near Kankakee, for which the trustees paid $14,000; 327 additional acres were purchased in 1881. Plans having been approved, building was begun in 1878, and work so far completed as to permit the admission and care of patients by December, 1879.
Of all the public buildings of this class in Illinois, those com- prising this institution have attracted the most attention at home and abroad. The plans embraced a building for a hospital proper-three stories in height, designed to accommo- date about 300 patients - with detached cottages, and the village system of management, which originated with, and was adopted upon the suggestion of, Dr. Andrew Mc Farland of Jacksonville. $200,000 was the amount first appropriated for this insitution, to which was added $400,000 by the legislature of 1883, for the construction of additional detached cottages-18 of these, two stories in height, have thus far been erected, in which 1250 patients are provided for. The system of cloister management has proved a great success and has since been approved by and copied in the states of New York, Ohio, and Indiana.
Dr. Richard S. Dewey was the first superintendent of this asylum, and has been continued to the present time.
The average number of inmates in 1888, was 1577, and their cost per capita, $154.80.
By a law of 1871, the Chicago Eye and Ear Infirmary, which was founded by Dr. Edward L. Holmes, and had existed as a private charity since 1858, was adopted into the system of state institutions. Its property was transferred to the State, the name being changed by the substitution of the word Illinois for Chicago. The building then occupied was burned in the great fire of 1871; a new one of brick with stone trimmings, four stories in height, was erected at the northwest corner of Peoria and West Adams streets in 1873-4, at a cost of $42,845. The legislature in 1877 added a dis- pensary to the original building and purchased 50 feet of land on Peoria Street.
The average number of patients in this institution in 1888 was 127, and the cost per capita to the State, $174.65.
1025
STATE REFORM-SCHOOL.
George Davenport was the first superintendent, who retained the position until 1884, when he resigned. Edgar C. Lawton was chosen his successor, and still remains at the head of the institution.
In accordance with a movement set on foot in that direction by the state teachers' association, the legislature of 1867 passed an act providing for the founding of a school for the reforma- tion of juvenile offenders and vagrants. The trustees, who were not appointed until February, 1869, after considering propositions from several points as to a site, decided the ques- tion in favor of Pontiac, which city had offered a donation in bonds and lands of a nominal value of $90,000. The land, given by Jesse W. Fell, was a tract of 64 acres, to which was added by purchase 146 acres at a cost of $22,250. The Living- ston-County bonds donated were declared by the supreme court to have been illegally issued and the deficiency had to be made up from the state treasury.
The first building was erected at a cost of $60,000, and, Geo. W. Perkins having been appointed superintendent, the school opened June 1, 1871. Mr. Perkins soon after resigned, and was succeeded by Dr. J. D. Scouller, who has continued in charge ever since.
The general assembly appropriated $15,000, in 1873, for enlarging the laundry, workshops, etc .; in 1875, it gave $9,000 for one family building; in 1877, $30,000 for another; in 1881 and 1883, $25,000 for changes in the wings, by which ventila- tion and drainage were greatly improved; in 1885, it provided $55,000 for a new kitchen, bakery, dining-room, and chapel; in 1887, $3,000 for an artesian-well, and $30,000 for a working capital, to enable the institution to carry on the manufacture of boots and shoes on public account instead of under contract, as before the adoption of the constitutional amendment.
The number of inmates has increased from 165 in 1872 to 308 in 1884, the average number, in 1888, being 324, and the ordinary expenses for that year $104 per capita.
The general assembly of 1885 established the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, and appropriated $200,000 for the purchase of grounds and the erection of buildings. Seven commissioners were appointed to decide upon a location; whose choice finally
1026
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
fell upon Quincy. Additional appropriations of $143,000 were made for the construction of cottages and other improvements in 1887. The home was opened for the reception of inmates March 3, 1887, and the total number admitted up to June 30, 1888, was 844. The ordinary expenses for 1888 were $72,216.
Gen. Charles E. Lippincott, formerly state auditor, was the first superintendent of the institution. He died soon after his appointment, and was succeeded by Major J. G. Rowland, who continues to occupy the position.
The legislature of 1889 made provision for still another institution, an Asylum for Insane Criminals, to be located upon the grounds of the penitentiary at Chester, and appropriated $50,000 for the erection of buildings and for the requisite furniture and fixtures .*
* The following is a complete list of trustees of the state institutions, with the duration of their terms of service, respectively :
NAME ADDRESS TERMİ
NAME ADDRESS TERMİ
Northern Hospital for the Insane, Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children,
David F. Barclay, -- Elgin, *1891 Benson Wood, Effingham, 1891
Charles W. Marsh, De Kalb, 1893 C. R. Gittings, .. TerreHaute, '93
Luther L. Hiatt, -- Wheaton, 1895 Aaron B. Nicholson, Lincoln, 1895 Soldiers' Orphans Home,
Eastern Hospital for the Insane,
Ezra B. McCagg, Chicago, 1891
James E. Morrow, -- Pontiac, 1891
John L. Donovan, .. Watseka, 1893
Edward Harlan, Marshall, 1893
Walter W. Todd, Kankakee, 1895
Duncan M. Funk, .. Bloomingt'n '95
Central Hospital for the Insane,
Eye and Ear Infirmary,
R. W. Willett, -- Yorkville, 1891 E. S. Fowler, M.D., Springfield, '91
Edward P. Kirby, Jacks'nville, '93 Wm. H. Fitch, M.D., Rockford, 1893
David E. Beaty, -- Jerseyville, '95 Daniel Goodwin, jr., Chicago, 1895
Southern Hospital for the Insane,
State Reform School,
Elizur H. Finch, Anna, 1891 Valentine Jobst, Peoria, 1891
William H. Boicourt, Golconda, 1893 A. D. Cadwallader, Lincoln, 1893
James Bottom, -. -- Sparta, 1895
R. M. John,
Pontiac, 1895
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb,
Soldiers' and Sailors' Home,
Stephen R. Capps, Jacks'nville, '91 James I. Neff, Freeport, 1891
J. G. Manahan, -- Sterling, 1893
Melvin A. Cushing, Minonk, 1895
Thomas W. Macfall, Quincy, I893
L. T. Dickason, .- Danville, 1895 Institution for the Blind : Benjamin F. Funk, Bloomington, 1891; Archibald C. Wadsworth, Jacksonville, 1893; and N. W. Branson, Petersburg, 1895; whose terms expire in March of the years named.
+ Terms expire in March of the years named.
IO27
STATISTICAL NOTES.
The following table shows at a glance the name, location, date of charter, and name of the superintendent of each of the twelve state institutions under the supervision of the State Board of Charities:
NAME
LOCATION
SUPERINTENDENT ERECTED
Deaf and Dumb Institution, * Jacksonville, Philip G.Gillett, LL.D., 1839
Blind Institution,*
Jacksonville, Frank H. Hall, 1849
Central Insane Hospital,
Jacksonville, Henry F. Carriel, M.D., 1857
Southern Insane Hospital,
Anna,
E. B. Elrod, M.D., 1864
Soldiers' Orphans Home,
Normal,
H. C. De Motte, Ph.D., 1865
Feeble-Minded Asylum,*
Lincoln, William B. Fish, M.D., 1865
Northern Insane Hospital,
Elgin,
Henry J. Brooks, M.D., 1865 J. D. Scouller, M.D., 1867
State Reform-School,* Pontiac,
Eye and Ear Infirmary,
Chicago, Edgar C. Lawton, 1871
Eastern Insane Hospital,
Kankakee,
R. S. Dewey, M.D., 1877
Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, Quincy,
J. G. Rowland, 1885
Asylum for Insane Criminals, Chester,
1889
These several institutions have received out of the state treasury, for all purposes, from the date of their organization up to and including the year 1888, about $15,000,000, and the value of property belonging to them, according to an inventory in the report of the State Board of Charities for 1888, was at that time $5,396,527, as will be seen by the subjoined table:
LAND AND BUILDINGS OTHER PROPERTY TOTAL
Northern Insane Hospital, $535,298
$114,115
$649,413
Eastern Insane Hospital,
1,211,105
125,182
1,336,287
Central Insane Hospital, 800,452
126,880
927,332
Southern Insane Asylum, 642,600
81,002 723,602
Deaf and Dumb Institution, 385,000
110,52I
495,521
Institution for the Blind,
170,893
29,37 I
200,264
Asylum for Feeble-Minded, 182,364
28,315
210,679
Soldiers' Orphans Home,
147,500
26,344
173,844
Eye and Ear Infirmary,
83,725
16,661
100,386
State Reform- School,
219,840
67,839
287,679
Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, 235,331
56,182
291,513
$4,614,108 $782,412 $5,396,520
* Educational.
1028
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The cost per capita for maintaining the inmates of these institutions has been gradually decreasing since 1875, the average for that year being $250 and for 1888, $181. Much the largest proportional cost is chargeable to the Institution for the Blind, and the least to the Soldiers' Orphans Home.
The annexed table exhibits the amount of the ordinary net expenses of the eleven institutions for the years 1887-8, the cost per capita, and the average number in attendance for each of those years:
EXPENSE
CAPITA COSTAV.ATTEND .-
1887
1888
1887
1888
1887
1888
Northern Insane Hospital, $89,877 $63,470$168$120 634
Eastern Insane Hospital, 224,884 183,047 148 116
1518 1577
Central Insane Hospital, 137,692 Southern Insane Hospital, 108,042
107,796
I18
918
907
76,829 167
122
646
630
Deaf and Dumb Institut'n, 97,098 Institution for the Blind, 36,618
23,170
295
158
124
146
46,245
172
119
362
386
Asylum for Feeble-Minded, 62,504 Soldiers' Orphans Home, 49,034
38,576
143
107
341
359
Eye and Ear Infirmary, 20,012
16,661
165
I30
I2I
127
State Reform-School,
40,668
39,996
I33
123
304
324
Soldiers'and Sailors' Home, 68,847
72,216 255
150
270
480
The total cost for 1887 was $935,279; for 1888, $740,524. The report for the two following years, received too late to particu- larize, shows a total cost for 1889 of $1,005,617, average $166.94, and for 1890, $996,601, average $160.84.
As compared with like expenditures in other states, the board say, in their report for 1888, that a careful examination of 78 hospitals for the insane in the United States shows that the average cost per capita for 1886 was $187.60, while the average cost in the four hospitals of this State for that year was $178.87.
The question of the duty, as well as interest, of the State to establish and provide for the maintenance of the charitable institutions is clearly shown in the same report, as follows: "If the State should refuse to expend one dollar for this special purpose, what would the people gain by such refusal? The number of insane, feeble-minded, the deaf and blind, is not increased by these appropriations and it would not be diminished if the appropriations were not made.
268
155
362
467
72,512
527
1029
STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES.
"The deaf and the blind would certainly cost the community more for their maintenance in idleness, if left in ignorance, than they cost when by giving them an education by which they are enabled to earn their own living. The insane and the idiots, if not cared for in the state institutions, must be cared for at their homes or in county alms-houses. Just as much money would be expended upon them as now, or if not, the treatment given them would be very much less humane. * * To give them anything like the comfort they enjoy in state institutions would cost far more on county farms than under the existing system.
"What difference does it make to tax-payers whether they pay the cost of tuition and treatment of these unfortunates in the form of a county or state tax? * The system of state care has one very great advantage, it is equitable. It distributes the social burden, entailed by the existence of these forms of mis- fortune, so widely and so evenly that no portion of the property owned by citizens of the State fails to contribute its just share toward carrying this load. * * The state tax constitutes but a small portion of the total assessment for governmental pur- poses which the people of the State have to pay. It is com- paratively almost unappreciable, and constitutes but a light rate of interest upon the actual value of property and a trifling sum per capita." The general verdict of mankind in all civilized countries has always been rendered in favor of the principles thus enunciated.
In 1869, following the example of Massachusetts and some other of the older states, and in pursuance of the recommenda- tion of Governor Oglesby, the general assembly passed an act creating the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. The commissioners are required to look into and examine the condition of all the charitable and correctional institutions of the State-except penitentiaries-financially and otherwise. Indeed, they are empowered and entrusted with a complete oversight of all these institutions, their management, expendi- tures, and internal administration.
The first board was composed of the following members: Wm. Thomas of Morgan County, president; Selden M. Church of Winnebago, Elmer Baldwin of LaSalle, Dr. John N. Mc- Cord of Fayette, and George S. Robinson of La Salle.
1030
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
On June 8, 1869, Rev. Frederick Howard Wines of Sangamon County, was appointed secretary. The commissioners were to receive no compensation, and the salary of the secretary was fixed at $3,000. The actual expenses of the board and its secretary were, of course, to be defrayed from the state treasury.
Few changes have been made in the personnel of the commission since its first organization, and those only in consequence of death or resignation. The following is a list of the additional commis- sioners up to the present time, 1891 : Z. B. Lawson of Macoupin, Dr. J. C. Corbus of LaSalle, George H. Hollister of Winnebago, William A. Grimshaw of Pike, John M. Gould of Rock Island, Dr. F. B. Haller of Fayette, Rev. Chas. G. Trusdell of Cook, Dr. J. L. R. Wadsworth of Madison. The board at present is organ- ized as follows : John M. Gould, president, and Messrs. Trusdell, Haller, Corbus, and Wadsworth.
It is due to the wise, discriminating, and thoroughly conscien- tious oversight and supervision of this board that Illinois can today point to the condition of her state charitable institutions with just pride. While the scrutinizing eye of the politicians has been frequently turned upon them with a view to criticise and if possible find fault, the board was able to state and, with- out any fear of successful challenge, in their report for 1888, in reply to the fault-finding of that year:
"So far as we know, no charge was brought against the integrity of the management of any one of them [state institutions]; no remediable defect in their organization was pointed out; no assertion was made that any inmate of any one of them has been in any way abused or neglected; and no scandal has been brought to light affecting the personal reputation of any one of their officers or employés."
Not the least important work of the board has been the supervision exercised over county-jails and alms-houses, which have been regularly visited, and which has resulted in great improvements in their construction and management. And it may be added that the searching investigation made by the board into the management and affairs of the Cook-County Insane Asylum in 1887, undoubtedly prepared the way for the celebrated "boodle" trials which followed soon after, and which. resulted in the conviction of five or six county- officials.
IO3I
STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
While the commissioners have uniformly been of high charac- ter, able, experienced, and indefatigable in the gratuitous dis- charge of their onerous duties, it must be admitted that a large amount of the credit due to the board for its efficiency and success belongs to its secretary, Mr. Wines, who has been so long . retained in the post for which he has shown such preeminent qualifications. To find a worthy successor for this hard-working official would not be easy. To him has been committed the task of preparing the biennial reports, eleven in number, which constitute in themselves a library, not only of the history of Illinois' treatment of her defective, dependent, and depraved classes, but also of profound and philosophical research into the causes of pauperism and crime, as well as into the best methods for the prevention and cure of these twin evils. To perform the duties of such a position requires mental and moral quali- ties of a high order, and the State is to be congratulated on having found, in the present incumbent, a man well trained in his profession, of rare native talent, singular executive ability, and incorruptible integrity.
Turning now to the consideration of the various state depart- ments and bureaus, the first in alphabetical order, as it was the first to receive legislative recognition, and as lying at the very foundation of the prosperity of any state, is that of the great industrial interest of agriculture. The act incorporating the Illinois State Agricultural Society-which had before that time existed as a private organization-became a law February 8, 1853. $1000 per annum was appropriated to the society "to be expended in the promotion of agricultural and mechanical arts." James N. Brown of Sangamon County, was the first president, Simeon Francis of the same county, recording- secretary, John A. Kennicott of Cook, corresponding-secretary, and John Williams of Sangamon, treasurer.
The first state-fair was held at Springfield, Oct. 1-4, 1853, and the first annual address was delivered by Prof. Jonathan B. Turner of Jacksonville. The society has continued to grow and prosper with increasing interest and power since its first organization. The twenty-six volumes of reports issued by it are replete with valuable information to the farmer in all his varied interests. Rooms for the accommodation of the officers
1032
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
and transaction of the business of the society have been pro- vided in the state-house. The appropriations by the State have increased until they now amount to $15,000 per annum. The premiums paid at state-fairs average about $15,000, and at the fat-stock shows in Chicago, about $10,000. The receipts of the fair at Peoria in 1890 were $42,000, and the amount paid in premiums, $20,000. In 1890, George S. Haskell of Rockford was president of the board; Samuel Dysart of Lee County, vice- president; W. C. Garrard of Springfield, secretary; and John W. Bunn, who has acted in that capacity for 20 years, treasurer. Hon. Lafayette Funk was elected president in 1891.
The first horticultural society in this State was incorporated and organized February II, 1857. In 1865, a special act was passed to incorporate The Illinois Horticultural Society, the names of the incorporators mentioned therein being, Smiley Shepherd, O. B. Galusha, S. J. Minkler, W. C. Flagg, J. T. Little, W. H. Van Epps, Lewis Ellsworth, Jason C. Ayers, W. A. Pennell, J. W. Fell, W. Dinley, and Samuel Edwards.
The society was reorganized under an act passed March 24, 1874. Its present officers are Jabez Webster, Centralia, president; H. L. Doane, Jacksonville, vice-president; A. C. Hammond, Warsaw, secretary; H. K. Vickroy, Normal, treasurer. The amount appropriated for the use of this society for the years 1889-90, was $4,000 per annum. The annual reports of the society constitute interesting and valuable documents.
The adjutant-general's office, which assumed a position of so much importance during the war of the rebellion, for the first time became an organized department of the State government by virtue of "an act to provide for the appointment, and designate the work, fix the pay, and prescribe the duties of the adjutant- general of Illinois," passed February 2, 1865. After the close of the war, however, and the preparation and publication of the eight volumes of war-records, this act was modified by the legislature of 1869, and the proportions of the department, as well as the amount appropriated for its maintenance, were somewhat reduced. The department as then organized com- prised the bureaus of militia, war-records, battle-flags, and trophies.
The incumbents of the office since the war have been as
-
IO33
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE.
follows: Isham N. Hayne, 1865-9; Huburt Dilger, 1869-73; Edward L. Higgins, 1873-5; Hiram Hilliard, 1875-81; Isaac H. Elliott, 1881-4; Joseph W. Vance, from 1884 up to the present time, 1891.
With the enactment in 1877, of the military code providing for the organization of the active militia of the State, desig- nated as the Illinois National Guard, and with the amendatory acts of 1879 and 1885, the military department has assumed something of its old-time activity. The adjutant-general is ex-officio chief of the governor's staff, commissary-general, and quartermaster-general, and his department is made the admin- istrative office of the organized militia. All orders with refer- ence to the state military organizations are issued by him, and all records in relation thereto required to be kept in his office. He is placed in charge of the state arsenal and grounds, with power to receive all ordnance and ordnance stores, and camp and garrison equipage. It is also his duty to preserve the colors, flags, guidons, and military trophies of war belonging to the State.
As now constituted, the Illinois national guard consists of not exceeding 4000 officers and enlisted men, divided into two brigades as follows:
First Brigade, Brig .- Gen. Charles Fitz Simons, Chicago.
Ist Regiment, Chicago, Col. Charles R. E. Koch.
2d Regiment, Chicago, Col. Louis S. Judd.
3d Regiment, Rockford, Col. Thomas G. Lawler.
Battery D, Chicago, Capt. Edgar P. Tobey.
Second Brigade, Brig .- Gen. Jasper N. Reece, Springfield.
5th Regiment, Springfield, Col. James H. Barkley.
6th Regiment, Moline, Col. William Clendenin.
8th Regiment, Greenup, Col. Reilly M. Smith. Battery A, Danville, Capt. Philip Yager.
The troops are armed with the latest-improved, Springfield, breech-loading rifle, calibre 45, and the equipments are the same in every respect as those issued to the United-States army. Each battery has four Gatling-guns, calibre 45, with necessary adjuncts. The appropriations for the ordinary and 66
IO34
ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
contingent expenses of the Illinois national guard for 1887-8, amounted to $135,000 per annum; and for 1889-90, $80,000; and the cost to the State per soldier, as is shown in the last report of the adjutant-general, was less than in either New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, or Pennsylvania.
The advances made in social and political progress in this country have not had the effect of dispensing with the use of the bayonet and musket to preserve peace and enforce the law. The necessity, indeed, of an efficient military organization to aid the civil authorities in maintaining order and protecting the lives and property of the citizens becomes more apparent as communities increase in wealth and numbers. In the good, old days of poverty and sparse settlements, the constable or town-marshal was amply able to preserve the peace. But as corporations, employing large forces of men, have multiplied, the aggregation of large mobs, mad with the fury of discontent or greed, intent upon destruction and murder, has become not only possible but of not infrequent occurrence. The immense value of the services of the Illinois national guard has been already demonstrated in more than one trying emergency and its conduct, when brought to the test in the face of rioters, frenzied with unbridled rage, has been alike prudent and brave. The improvement of the force in drill and discipline from year to year, no less than its good deportment in camp as well as in the field has repeatedly received the merited praise of the commanding officers and of the public.
The work of forming the militia into the organization called the Illinois national guard was commenced by Gen. Hiram Hilliard, and was continued with increased interest and effective- ness by Gen. Isaac H. Elliott; but under Gen. Joseph W. Vance, the present adjutant - general, with improved facilities, the organization has attained its highest development and greatest efficiency. Great progress has been made in those indispen- sable qualities of drill and discipline, improvements in camp- service and in the personal conduct of the troops, while at the same time, he has systematized the work of his office, and given it an orderly and intelligent direction.
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