Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-08
WARNS SCHOOL OFFICIALS
State Superintendent Informs Them Insti-
tute Fund Cannot Be Diverted.
ANDREW WILCOX HAS BEEN IN ASYLUM
Mrs. Ruby Britt DispOses Of Much of
Her Iowa Real Estate and De-
parts for Her Home In
Montana.
From a stan correspondent

Prom a Stan Correspondent
DIES MONIES, Jan. Especial 1.-THE
state department Of public instruction to-
day Issued two warning circulars to county
officers Of the highest import relating to
the safeguarding OF the funds which are
provided for the support OF teachers in
stitutes and other details Of the financial
management Of the schools. Addressing
the county auditors and the county super
intendents, Prof. Barrett states that the
annual reports now on nle in his once show
that in some countie it is a common prac-
tice to violate, unintentionally he thinks,
the law relating to the expenditure Of the
normal institute fund, and he calls at
tention to the fact that no warrant can be
drawn in excess of the amount Of institute
fund in the county treasury, that the bills
must be signed and sworn to by the party
In whose favor the order is made and VERT
fed by the superintendent, and that all
disbursements shall be on warrant drawn
by the county auditor on the written order
Of the county Superintendent. The prac-
tice Of paying lecturers from the institute
fund for addressing teachers associations"
says Prof. Barrett, lis clearly a violation
of law. We are required to hold also that
the institute fund may not be used to pay
assistants secured by the county superin-
tendent to aid in conducting examinations
or grading manuscripts. The examination
is no part Of the institute and anyone en-
ployed to aid in conducting the same should
be paid by the county In the same man
ner as others are who assist in general
county work. A voluntary association OF
teachers is not an institute in the legal
sense. The institute must In all cases be
conducted for at least six working days
and hn onnRAVa1 hy tho pnnNtpfCp1nn ~
public instruction" A similar circular ad-
dressed to the boards of supervisors calls
attention to the same facts and also ad-
vises checking UP the record books Of
the superintendent the same as other
o~flcials, and the requirement of complete
reports OF fees collected, etc. Settlements
should be made with county superintend-
ents the same as with other officers.
Storm Damage I'm Des MOines.
: The storm of last night, which covered
the entire northwest, did not strike Des
Moines until about daylight this morning.
During the night the wind had been blow
ing about thirty miles an hour, but early
this morning the speed rose rapidly to over
sixty miles an hour and a vast amount OF
small damage was done. Telegraph and
telephone wires were blown down, signs
torn off and chinneys destroyed. The
temperature was not low, however, and
only a small amount Of snow fell during
the day. The smokestack on a large heating
plant near the Rock Island depot was
blown down and nearly crushed the roof
Of a printing plant in the rear Of the
Iowa hotel. Many stormdoors and tempo
rary buildings were blown away. This aft
ernoon the weather cleared and the wind
grew less violent. It is believed that traflc
1 III M u--.-a -
WilcOxes Are from Des MOines.
The Wilcox boys, who have threatened
suit for damages because OF the arrest of
Andrew Wilcox at South Omaha on a
charge OF insanity, are former residents
Of Des Moines and while living at present
in Guthrie county, make some pretense OF
practicing law in Des Moipes. Andrew was
sent to the insane hospital from here a
year or so ago and it was supposed here
that he was still at the hospital. Both Of
the young men sought to take the mi
tion for Admission to the bar last summer
and it was with difficulty that they were
ruled out as not having shown the neces-
sary preliminary qualifications; at the
same time both have done some law busi-
ness in the petty courts Their father,
who was an eccentric character we'll known
In the state, died last year.
Fortune for an Heir.
Mrs. Ruby ]. Britt, heir OF the late Reu-
ben ]. Bennett OF Hamilton county, has
just closed up the matter Of the estate. has
sold a portion of the Iowa land which she
inherited for $25, 900 and has returned to
Montana. This closes a case which occupied
the attention Of the Iowa courts for several
years. The supreme court finally decided
49, NJ. IA .na ~ AIA IANa T. ~
estate OF the rich old bachelor. who had
lived nearly all his life in Iowa without
ever disclosing that he had a child. When
Bennett died distant relatives laid claim to
his estate, and they were astonished when
Mrs. Britt arrived from Butte, Mont. and
showed by letters and many documents that
Reuben Bennett had acknowledged her to
be his own child many years ago, Upon
this evidence she established her right TO
the property and the courts have awarded
It to her. 1t consisted almost entirely OF
land In Hamilton county.
Cost of Feeding Patients.
The reports which are made from time to
time of the cost OF feeding the patients and
: inmates OF the state institutions to the
Board OF Control show that the state gives
excellent food to the people who are being
cared for. The dietary reports from Inde>
pendence, just received, Indicate that the
patients have been supplied with abundance
, OF wholesome food, at small cost. The cost
Of the bare material for the food for the
7 patients was 5h cents each per meal. The
) cost Of the food for the officers was 6 cents
per meal each. The difference was entirely
in the fact that more than 1900 were fed
from the patients stores and only a few
from the supplies for the officers.
/ mitchell pEnpI e IIIpU ATE