Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-10-03
First Comparative Statistics Relat.
ing to Production Ever Made
Public in the State.
SOME FACTS AND FIGURES OF INTEREST
Prisoner Under Death Sentence seri-
ously Ill at Anamosa-New Police
and Fire System lnnuEurated i'm
Des Moines-Fnvors the Prohibi-
tioniats-Other Notes.
tspecia, Correspondence

| first comparative statistics relating to
| fruit production ever made public in
this state. He finds that there are
| 1O4 nurseries in Iowa and 100 farmers
who sell nursery stock incidentally.
| These nurseries footed up G,2s5 acres
and their business in 1900 amounted
| to $619,902. In 1893 there were but 3,205
acres in nursery stock, and the bust
mes amounted to but s203,033.
The secretary finds that the number
of trees in the state is 9,590,0o0. In
1898 it was but $500, 900. This refers to
fruit bearing trees exclusively. OF
these the apple trees number 6,S69, 5ss.
In 1895, owing to the extreme cold and
discouraging prices at which apples
had sold for many years, the number
of apple trees had fallen to 2,397,793.
Following are the number of Differ
| ent fruit trees now in the state, ac-
cording to Secretary Greene's tables:
Cherries, 791,327; peaches, 516,145;
pears, 104 ,046; plums, 1902, PIT; apricot,
$500.
The vineyards of the state yielded
we'll during the last quarter of cen
tnry. For 1000 there were 2,072, 101
vines in Iowa, yielding 76,3O1 gallons of
wine, the value of the product being
$166360
\ There are 81 florists in Iowa and 05
formers who deal in flowers incident
ally. The business amounted to $780,
600. 1t takes 1,436,260 square feet of
glass TO cover the florists stock.
| Sick in Prison.
| Harry Hortman, of Cherokee, who is
under sentence of death by hanging
next spring, is said to be seriously ill
with lung fever at the state prison at
| Anamosa. Warden w. A. Hunter, who
was here the past week, said he did
not believe that Hortman could live
to the date of his sentence. Gov. Cum
minis may be asked to commute it in
order to allow the young man to die
| naturally. He was convicted of the
murder of his sweetheart, Florence
Porter, in fit of jealousy. He is one
of half dozen men under sentence of
death who are confined at the states
prisons. Phillips and Brooks, the
Bnena Vista county bank robbers, who
| murdered two members of n posse
that was following them. are under
sentence to hang December Is. War
den Hunter says that they seem not
to appreciate the fact that they have
but three months to live.
system IpauEuratcd.
This week, in Des Moines, there went
into effect what is known as the met
ropolitan police and fire system. it is
the Inauguration of civil service meth
DDS in connection with city govern
ments in this state. A nonpartisan
board appointed by the mayor has
charge of the examination of appli-
cants for appointment to places on
the police and fire departments The
law applying this system to Des
Moines went into effect July /, but
the time since then has been consumed
by the commission in getting ready for
the inauguration of the system. About
100 places are to be filed by it on the
two departments. Once appointed an
officer or fireman can only be removed
for cause. Politics IS not a cause for
appontmentor dismissal
Much Work to Do.
Superintendent Voldeng. of the in
sane hospital at Cherokee. Ia. attend
ing the conference of state institution
| superintendent with the state board
of control here the past week, said that
much work remains to be done before
the institution at Cherokee is fin
ished. Several of the minor build
ings have only been begun. DR.. Vol
deng says that the management ran
great risk in permitting the institu-
tion to be occupied when it was. This
was on account of the fact that not
wheel of all the machinery had yet been
turned. The power in the institution
is electricity. and delay might have
been disastrous. As it happened every
thing went off well. There are now $40
patients in the institution.
Fnvors Prohibmionfsts.
Secretary of State Martin has 6ecid-
ed that the prohibition ticket can 20
on the official ballot this year in every
county of the state without the formal
ity of petition being filed, as in fot-
mer years. The state election returns
| in the hands of the secretary of state
show that the prohibition party last
year cast more than per cent. of the
total vote. Under the lazy this per-
mits the party to have it's ticket on the
official ballot without petitions there
for. Some of the counties of the state
insisted that while the state ticket OF
the prohibition party might be enti-
tied to go on the official ballot without
| petition in those counties in which the
| party cast less than per cent. of
the vote. in other counties where
it cast less than 2 per cent. of the
total vote last year the county ticket
Of that party could not go on the Of
fetal ballot without petition Sec.
rotary Martin has ruled against this
contention.
Gymnnxinms.
President III. II. Seerlcy, of the State
Normal school of Cedar Falls, is in the
east making Investigations with re-
spect to gymnasi,ms in connection
with the higher educational institu-
tions. The last legislature appropri.
ated money for two gymnasiums at the
State Normal school, one for men and
one for women. 1t is planned to put
$4,000 each into them. The State Nor
NAL school is the first Iowa state in
stitution in WHICH special provision
has been made for athletics as dis
tlnct branch, although all of them have
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