Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-01-09

/ q TAX OH pnySlcaI strength. HAD sick
| ness interviewed. n large part of the
work of the legislature might not have
| received the consideration of the exc
| cutive department.
State Departments.
| In addition to the above recon-
| mendatiOnS. Governor Deneen devoted
considerable space to the different
state departments. He commended the
work that is being done at the Uni
versity of Illinois and urged the legis-
! lature to do everything in its power
| TO make it the greatest educational in
stitution i'll the country. IIa directed
| the attention of the legislature to the
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
He. said upon the investigation work
| of that department, depends the vigor-
Gus growth and development of all
other branches of the university. in
Guiding the agricultural. the engineer
ing ana the liberal arts. Practical
work. he said, is being done by the
engineering. experiment station, the
state water survey, the departments
of ceramics and applied chemistry.
In discussing the work of the geo
logical survey provided for under an
act passed by the last general assem-
bly,. he referred particularly to its in
vestigatiOns into mineral industries.
which amount to nearly S6O.000,0O0
per year. Twelve accurate maps COW
ering an area of 5.475 square miles,
have been completed. He called at
tentiOn TO the frequent and diSasterOus
explosions which occur in the mines.
In the fiscal year ending June so. 1906.
100 men were killed in coal mines.
twcnty-fOur as a result of explosions
and blasts. The survey is engaged in
investigating methods for the proven
ton of accidents.
State Highway Commission.
The governor reported that the state
highway commission had gathered
statistics showing that the cost of pub
l;c highways throughout Che state for
roads. are $4.62J.3G5; for bridges.
S1.SSS. 80. Speakers have been fur
nished for sixty-Seven county farmers
institutes and twenty-five requests for
the construction of experimental roads
have been received. The commission
is making Il census of road traffic on
forty roads to ascertain how the con-
dition of Il road affects its use.
Crushed stone has been asked for by
iifty-Sevcn counties. y new cruShCr
hes been installed at Joliet and an
other is being put in the southern Illi-
nOiS penitentiary ut Chester. The com
mission. he said. is simply trying to
devise methods for building roads at
the smallest cost to the road districts.
He recommended that the apprOpria-
ZION of the commission be sufficient to
carry OUT the plans it had matured.
In discussing the Internal Improve
ment Commission. the governor said
Illinois should be prepared to do it's
part in securing favorable action by
the national government for a deep wa
ter way from LockpOrt. H.. TO st.
Louis. Mo. He called attention to the
possibility Of developing electric power
from the proposed channel and said it
had been estimated an income OF
s3,0O0.0OO could sc derived annually
from ii. The commission now IS IN
vestigating the reclamation of $4,000 |
acres of land in the Illinois valley. sub |
ject TO overflow. He recommended that |
an appropriation be made for the con- |
tinuance of the commission.
Chicago Charter.
Under the head of Chicago Char |
ter" the governor related the work that |
had been done by the convention pro- |
vided for by the last general assembly. |
The convention has been engaged in |
drafting Il charter, granting to the city |
of Chicago the largest practicable |
measure O! home rule. He recon- |
mended th:t this charter be given care |
full consideration by the legislature.
The practice act which has been be- |
fore the general assembly for six years |
was called - the attention of the leg |
iSlature and 4 recommendation made |
that the gcGeral assembly pass the |
needed Legislation. He referred TO the |
necessity for change in the selection OF
jurors as demonstrated by the Shea |
conspiracy ca6e when 1900 men were |
summoned for s:Iry duty before jury
WAS selected IN the Gilhooley case |
$50 venireIncG were called. The hat
beas corpus law was another illustra-
ton used by lite governor as neces-
sity for reform. of the present Legal
system. He aid more criminals
have been relaa:=1 from Illinois prls-
ons than from tie combined prisons or
forty-One statcs.
The governor Erected the attention
of the Legislature 20 the report of the
state board of hyalth, which recon- +
mends legislation providing for the
free distribution 81 anti-toxin to all
classes of citizcns and the fixing of
penalties for the violation. Of the SAM