Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-01-15

miiiar become with the workings of each,
the greater Is my interest in its special mis-
sion, and the more | am convinced that the
management OF each is efficient aud faithful
do not presume to judge OF every detail of
administration, nor to inquire into all the rea
sous Tor appointments and discharges. Boards
oil management and control are clothed with
Important responsibilities, and of necessity
must be accorded correspondingly liberal
discretion IN the choice Of way and means
aud subordlnates. Unquestionably it is the |
duty Of the Governor to exercise such de- |
gree OF supervision as may be necessary to |
prevent mai administration, but further than /
that he cannot be expected TO go. Some /
complaints IN this direction have reached me |
during the past year, and in every such case |
| have deemed it my duty ;o.uake, or cause
inquiry TO be made have sometimes advised |
with the local board, and, had occasion re-
CURED, should have used the discretionary
authority conilded to The Governor FOR that |
purpose.
have every reason to believe that the ed
ucaiionai and charitable institutions in the
State, under private management and sup
ported by private benefactions, are in ali
ways meeting the Just expectation of their
founders and promoters. They supplement
and complete the work which the State can
DO only IN part. There ought to be, and
believe there is, cordial cooperation between
! ihem and the State institutions.
The labors OF the State Board of Charities
and Reform during the past year, as in those
preceding 1t, have been more arduous than
pleasant, and. as frequently happens to pub.
lie servants, the good that they do is not so
much talke about as the evil that may escape
their notice. In addition TO their customary
duties, they were required by my order to in
vestlgate INTO the management oil the House
OF Correction of Milwaukee county. The
details and results of that investigation have
been widely published in the public press,
and torbear to report them here. heartily
concur IN the recommendation of the Board
that the law authorizing the confinement of
| prisoners in that institution for offenses which
IN other counties would be punished by con-
| inement in The State Prison, should be re-
pea.ed.
! You will find the general report Of the
Board an interesting and comprehensive doc
umenf, well worthy your most studious PEE
rusal.
| The State Board of Health and Vital sta
ustics have been active and untiring 10 the
! discharge of the duties confided to them, and
l are entitled to the gratitude of the people for
/ the good they are accomplishing. | espec-
/ tally commend to your attention that portion
/ OF their report which treats of Illuminating
OILS Numerous accidents have oc CURED in
! Wisconsin dur,ng the past year, 10 conse-
| quence OF using inferior oil. The law should
be amended so as to prohibit the sale of "
OIL OF fire test below the point of practical
safety as determined by experts.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
BY the terms of the law, the 31st day of
| March last was designated..as the date for the
completion of the Geological Survey of the
State, but the functions of the Chief Geologist
were continued for the purpose of complet-
ing the publication of the report and the pay
ment OF fair compensation therefor author
! lied.
Thereport of this officer shows that Volume
8 is IN the hands of the Book Binder, and
that about half OF the material for Volume
is IN stereotype plates. Volume |, which by
the terms Of the law must embrace summary
of the general geology and the leading facts
and principles relating TO the material inter-
ests OF the State, and be so arranged as to
constitute key to the more perfect UNDER
standing of the whole report, must necessa-
rily await the completion of the other vol
umes. The manuscript of this volume, is,
| however, in part prepared, and the present
| year may witness the final summing I'D of
this work.
The expenses of the Survey from October
/, 1878, to March 81, 1879, the date of the
cessation of all fixed salaries, were $4,000.
Since that date there has been paid the sum
of S958S5.
FISH CULTURE.
| The report of the Commissioners Of Fish
cries is made direct to the Legislature. The
report for the past year, prepared by the
Secretary, will be found unusually full and
interesting, and, / trust satisfactory. Our
efforts in restocking lakes and rivers with |
the kinds OF fish best adapted to them, have |
! been emlnentIy successful, and the expert /
mental stage OF the enterprise has been safely |
passed. 1t only remains for the Legislature |
to determine from year TO year how much |
shall be done, and the results can be pre- |
dlcted with as much certainty as in any |
other branch OF industry. The expenditures |
for the last calendar year were So ,3O5. 95, |
the amount on hand for the present year is |
S5,73l.9 80, and an appropriation of $4,000 is /
requested for next year.
RAILROADS.
From the report of the Railroad Commits.
si9ner, it appears that SO and 80. 100 miles of |
new railroad have been completed in Wis /
consin during the past year, making the ag- |
gregate number Of miles now in operation, |
1923 and 40-l00 miles, inclusive of 107 and I
47-l00 miles of narrow guage track. The |
total number OF miles Of road operated by |
The companies reporting TO the Commits /
sioner, is 4,765 and 3100. The cost of these
roads and their equipments, as represented |
by capital stock and outstanding bonds, is /
$205, 1876, S0588, and the net earnings are re. T
ported at 1851 ,0C6. 80, being an average /
OF and 2-l0 per cent. on the assessed cost. |
The total number of passengers carried on =
all the lines, was 1886 688, aud the freight /
carried amounted to 1891, 399 tons. The /
number oil personal casualties in Wisconsin,
100 II.
On the entire lines OF the roads in all the
States, there were 284 casualties. The mum.
Der of passengers killed was two, (nei:her of
them in this State) and the number injured /
was eight. 1t seems hardly Incredible that
OF the whole humber of passengers carried,
only ten were injured, and this fact reflects /
the highest credit not only upon the care
and vigilance of the Managers and Superin- /
tendents, but also upon the skill and fidelity
OF the thousands of mechanics and workmen /
in the shops and along the lines, and upon /
the conductors and engineers and their as
sistaats who run the trains.
RIVER IMPROVEMENTS
During the past Year .wo important dele.
gate conventions have been held, one at I
Quilcy and the other at Louisville, to con.
sidsr the important sui jeets connected with
the improvement of the navigation of the
Mississippi River and its tributaries. Il is
oil vital Importance to the Northwest that /
these natural highways should be protected /
from unnecessary distractions, and their ca
paclty increased TO the utmost attainable
limit To accomplish this it is necessary
that some comprehensive, general system of
improvement should be devised and then
pressed upon the attention of Congress, TO
the exclusion of local clamor or prejudice.
lhe conventions referred TO were attended
by practical men, interested in the matters
under consideration, and their conclusions
and recommendations should be not without
influence with Congress and the people in
arrestIng the pernicious practices which
have hitherto obtained.
II has become quite the habit recently TO
refer to the Improvement of the Fox and
Wisconsin rivers IN any but complimentary
AID assuring terms Nevertheless, the work
progresses and will be completed. Despite
all claims and assertions to the contrary, the
experiments by government engineers in
enafge, nave demonstrated that il is practical
pie to guide and control the waters of the
Wisconsin, that they shall dredge nayiga-
pie channel from Portage to the Mississippi
Inc United States has undertaken this work,
The Chief of Engineers has been instructed
oy Congress 10 prepare and submit final plans
ana estimates, and under his direction a
Board OF Engineers has made careful survey
and filed their report, which will soon be
paohshed. Congress should be urged by
inis Legislature and BY the people, TO go on
WIN me work more vigorously than ever be-