Ordered that the title be as aforesaid, and that the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof, and ask their concurrence therein. Senate Bill No. 146, for "An act to amend sections one (1) and three (3) of an act entitled 'An act to provide for fees of clerks of probate courts in counties of the third class,' approved May 29, 1879, in force July 1, 1879," having been printed, was taken up and read at large a third time. And the question being, "Shall this bill pass?" The further consideration of said bill was temporarily postponed on account of errors in printed bill, and the bill ordered to be reprinted correctly and to stand on the order of third reading until said bill is so reprinted. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS. By unanimous consent, on motion of Mr. Shutt, House Bill No. 299, a bill for an act entitled "An act to permanently locate the Illinois State fair," was taken up for consideration. Mr. Shutt moved to make the further consideration of said bill a special order for Wednesday, March 30, 1887, immediately after the reading of the journal. And, upon this motion, the yeas and nays being demanded, it was decided in the affirmative by the following vote, viz.: Yeas, 25; nays 3. Those voting in the affirmative are: Messrs. Adams Burke, Cantwell, Crawford, Darnell, Dean, Eckhart, Evans, Forman, Gibbs, Hadley, Higgins, Hogan, Johnson, McGrath, Monahan, Organ, Reavill, Seiter, Shutt, Stephenson, Strattan, Streeter, Wheeler, Yost-23. Those voting in the negative are: Messrs. Bell, Hill, Orendorf-3. The Senate then resumed the order of READING BILLS OF THE SENATE THE THIRD TIME. Senate Bill No. 74, for "An act concerning fees and costs," having been printed was read at large a third time. And the question being, "Shall this bill pass?" Mr. Johnson moved that the foregoing bill be placed back on the order of second reading for the purpose of amendment. Which motion prevailed. Mr. Johnson offered the following amendment, viz.: Amend printed bill in line 8 by inserting after the word "papers" and before the word "of" the word "not." The question being, "Shall the foregoing amendment be adopted?" it was decided in the affirmative. Mr. Johnson offered the following amendment, viz.: The question being, "Shall the foregoing amendment be adopted?" it was decided in the affirmative. Mr. Johnson offered the following amendment, viz.: "Amend by striking out all after the word 'error' in line 10 and before the word 'be' in line 12 of printed bill." And the question being, "Shall the foregoing amendment be adopted?" it was decided in the affirmative. Mr. Johnson offered the following amendment, viz.: Amend by inserting after the word "same" in line 14 the words "provided that in no case shall the fee for such services be less than one dollar, and he shall insert such copy in the record, and certify to the same as a part thereof," and also by striking out the words "and no more" after the word "same" in said line 14." The question being, "Shall the foregoing amendment be adopted?” it was decided in the affirmative. The question now being, "Shall the foregoing bill be engrossed as amended and printed, and placed on the order of third reading" it was decided in the affirmative. REPORT FROM THE PUBLIC CHARITIES COMMISSIONERS. By unanimous consent, Mr. Curtiss presented the following report from the president and members of the board of trustees of the State Board of Public Charities, which was read, viz.: STATE OF ILLINOIS, OFFICE OF COMMISSIONERS OF PUBLIC CHARITIES, SPRINGFIELD, March 23, 1887. SIR: We are informed that, at a meeting of the Senate committee on appropriations, held March 10, it was voted to allow to the State commissioners of public charities, for clerk-hire and incidental expenses of the board, the sum of $3,000 per annum. We ask, as a favor to us, that our formal protest against this action be communicated to the Senate. The appropriation for this purpose has heretofore been $4,000. Doubtless the committee was not aware that the board has, in its biennial report for the past two years, applied to have the allowance for clerk-hire and incidental expenses increased from $4,000 to $7,000. An increase of some amount is indispensable. A decrease will be fatal to the efficiency of the board, and very nearly equivalent to its abolition. We ask the attention of the Senate to the following facts: The salary of the book-keeper employed by us (whose accounts for the past two years aggregated nearly $2,700,000), is $1,800; and we pay for the services of a messenger, $400; making the yearly amount for clerk-hire $2,200. It, is not generally understood that the expenditure of considerably more than one-half of the general revenue of the State of Illinois is audited in our office, and the vouchers are filed with us. When from $3,000 the sum of $2,200 is deducted, the balance. allowed by the committee for incidental expenses is only $800. No person, who has ever given the subject any serious thought, can or will contend that this amount is sufficient to enable the commissioners to discharge the duties imposed upon them by law. The board is required to meet quarterly, at the capital, to receive, examine and pass upon the accounts of the State institutions; and without their certificate to the accuracy of these accounts, not a dollar can be paid to any institution for ordinary or special use. In addition, the law directs that they shall, at least twice in each year, and as much oftener as they may deem necessary, visit all the charitable and correctional institutions of the State; that they shall, at least once each year, visit and examine into the condition of each of the city and county alms or poor houses, or other places where the insane may be confined; that they, or some, or any one of them, shall attend upon the session of the legislature, whenever any committee of either house shall require their attendance; and that they shall, when necessary, make special investigations into alleged abuses in any of the institutions subject to their inspection; also, that the secretary of the board shall be allowed his actual traveling expenses. The appropriation heretofore made has not been sufficient to enable the board to comply literally and fully with these various requirements, yet the traveling expenses alone of the board and its officers average between $1,200 and $1,500 each year: they should be more. They would be somewhat less, but for the fact that no member of the board por its secretary has, nor has had, for years past, a pass on any railroad in the State; but the amounts charged for fares have been actually paid. The other incidental expenses of the office, including postage, express charges, telegraphing, use of telephone, extra clerk-hire, etc., amount to a considerable sum each year. In spite of the utmost economy that we have been able to practice, we have been falling behind, and we anticipate that, by the first of next July, when the new appropriation will take effect, the former appropriation will be entirely exhausted, and $1,500 then due. The balance in the State treasury on the first of March was only $738.02, and no bills paid since January. Part of the extra expense for the past year, it may be observed, is due to the cost of a special investigation into the management of the Cook county insane asylum in November, 1885. If the $1,500 which will fall due July 1 is deducted from the appropriation of $6,000 for the next two years, we shall have, if the Senate agrees to the recommendation of the committee, but $2,250 for clerk-hire and incidental expenses each year $2,200 for clerk-hire, as above stated, and $50 for incidental expenses, (which ought to be not less than $3,000, if the board is to do its work according to its own conception of its duty). This means simply the stoppage of our work altogether and if that is the purpose of the General Assembly, (which we have no reason to believe), it would seem to be better to repeal the act creating the board and the act to regulate the State institutions, and to reorganize the system of public charities on an entirely new basis. The institutions of this State have reached a point of economy and efficiency in their general management, which has attracted to them the attention and admiration of the entire country. Twelve years ago they cost $300 per capita for maintenance; now, we are able to submit to the legislature an estimate that they can be supported, for the next two years, by an appropriation for ordinary expenses averaging only $180 per capita,-equivalent to a saving, for 5,000 inmates, of $600,000 each year. The system which has brought about this result is the object of investigation and imitatation by other states. During the eighteen years that we have had the oversight and care of them, not a scandal of any sort has been circulated concerning any one of them. In that time they have disbursed $12,000,000 or $15,000,000; of which it is not charged that any person connected with their management has ever appropriated a penny to his own use. When this board was created, in 1869, there were but five State institutions in operation, with a total capacity of not exceeding 1,200 inmates; now, there are eleven under our charge, with a capacity of more than 5,000 inmates. Our labors have increased, and so have our responsibilities. No commissioner has ever been compensated for a day's service on the board; our work has been gratuitous, and a labor of love. Our actual travelling expenses are paid, but not until we have testified to the accuracy of our bills under oath. We have given a great deal of time and thought to the questions submitted for our consideration, and have introduced some great reforms, particularly the change in the mode of construction of our hospitals for the insane, by which the Kankakee hospital has been erected and equipped at a cost of $750 per bed, as against $1,400 per bed at Elgin and Anna. We respectfully submit that our word is entitled to belief, that we have no personal interest in the appropriation made for our office expenses, and that we have a claim to just and courteous treatment at the hands of the legislature. We need additional clerical help; we need some office furniture which we can not replace, when worn out; we need more money for traveling expenses,- the visitation of the counties, which should be made annually, according to law, can not be made more than once in two years, for want of funds. The business of caring for 5,000 inmates of eleven institutions of various descriptions, is а great business, a business by itself; it has to be learned, and it can not be learned by sitting in an office chair. It is necessary to see other institutions outside of the State of Illinois, and observe their methods and the results; it is necessary to hear and to take part in the general discussions of insanity, crime and pauperism, at the meeting of the National Conference of Charities, and other similar gatherings. The place to economize, if reduction is necessary, is not here. To cripple the central administration of the charitable and correctional system of the State is to cripple it in every part. We respectfully request that the appropriation for the necessary clerk-hire and incidental expenses of the State Commissioners of Public Charities, for the next two years be fixed at $7,000 per annum; and we are, with respect, Your obedient servants, W. A. GRIMSHAW, President; C. J. TRUSDell, J. C. CORBUS, Commissioners. To the Honorable Ira R. Curtiss, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations in the Senate. Mr. Curtis moved, that three hundred copies of the foregoing report by the State Board of Public Charities be printed for the use of the Senate. And the question being "Shall three hundred copies of the aforesaid report be printed?" it was decided in the affirmative. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS. By unanimous consent, on motion of Mr. McGrath, Senate Bill No. 263, a bill for "An act to amend sections one and two, of article ten of an act entitled 'An act to provide for the organization of the State Militia, entitled The Military Code of Illinois, approved May 28, 1879, in force July 1, 1879, as amended by the act approved June 26, 1885, in force July 1, 1885," was taken up and read at large a second time. And the question being, "Shall the bill be engrossed and printed for a third reading?" it was decided in the affirmative. EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS. A message from the Governor, by H. J. Caldwell, Private Sec retary: Mr. President: I am directed by the Governor to lay before the Senate the following communication: STATE OF ILLINOIS, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, To the Honorable the Senate: I hereby nominate and appoint as trustee for the Soldier's and Sailor's Home, Joseph G. Rowland, of Adams county, to be his own successor, and respectfully ask the concurrence of the Senate. R. J. OGLESBY. |