The Indiana State sentinel. [volume], January 06, 1874, Page 2, Image 2

About The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895

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THE INDIANA STATE SENTINEL, TUESDAY, JANUARY 0, L874.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 6.
Seeing ai how Williams can't have it and
Conkling don't want it, Oliver and Tloscoe
are said to be devising a plan for the a boll
tion of the Chief Justiceship.
After thardtfoo duties ot the summer
campaign, Lieutenant Colonel irred Dent
rant, has been ordered to Washington
its disbursing and mustering officer.
(iae consolation left for the rejected Wil
liams tho president will write him a letter,
stronger than Murphy's and warmer than
t'oifax'a, and earlier than Carpenter's.
Minister Sickles' correspondence with
S-retary Fish reveals much delicate sensibll-
itis on the part of the General which Iiis
countrymen never suspected. lie had heard
that these pesky papers had criticised him
severely, and, cnlike General Butler, be
don't like newspaper criticism. Hence his
incontinent vacation of his diaairreeable
mission.
The Californian paiers relate with some
omplacency the fact that Cov.;Booth's trans
lation to the Senate will give a real Califor
niau the place of Governor for the first time
since the erection ol the State. This official
to the manor born is the Lieut. Gov. Ro
m.inoldo Pacheco, born within the State,
and allied to the native Spaniards and
Mexicans.
Twenty-one millions of the forty-four
milliorrs of legal tenders, called reserve by
Sectaries Richardson and Rout well, have
lieen expended. That is, the currency of the
oun try has been increased to that amount.
The-oe millions, however, have not gone into
th? business of the country. They are ab-
sorbed in Robeson's fool naval squander
in. 's.
A late dispatch says there is a likelihood
th.it all chances for an extended internation
al squabble between Spain and the United
States, in regard to the vexed Vfrginlus
question, are pretty definitely settled by the
sinking ofthat noble filibustering old craft,
stanewhere ofJT the Atlantic coast. At all
events the Ossipee, which had the Virginius
in tow, arrived at New York late Saturday
night all alone, and though rumor was busy
with her many tongues, no definite infor
mation was received up to the hour of going
to press.
That was a wise thought which suggested
a reunion of the school teachers, principals,
superintendents and presidents at the capi
tal during holiday week. If comparisons
are a safe guide, these annual meetings are
growing iu popularity. There are in the
crowd ol school people present last week
three distinct organizations, or wheels with
lii wheels. First, the General Association of
State Teachers, second, the Collegiate and
Right School Section, consisting of presi
dents and principals, and third, the County
Superintendents' Association. The last two
bodies met last Tuesday at the building of
the High School, while the first will con
tinue its sessions at the Y. M. C. A. hall. At
two o'clock v. M. the Rev. Dr. Cyrus Nutt,
President of the State University, will de
liver his inaugural address as President
elect of the Collegiate Section, at the High
School Building. The city is visited by a
perfect avalanche of educational literature,
yet if persons give no attention they may
uwss it all and lose some very good things.
A very preity complication is now threat
ened. President Cistelar, having quietly
submitted to the bullying of the Washing
ton war makers, and released the Virginius,
now comes forward to demand indemnifica
tion tor the insult put upon him by the un
founded charges and unjustifiable demands
of jts Government. He will demand the re
turn of the Virginias and money indemnifi
cation for all the trouble tho Spanish Govern
ment has becu put to during the complica
tion. Thanks to the bungling management
at Washington he has the matter in his own
hands, the opinion of the Attorney-General
alone giving him the needed groundwork
for his demands. This position on the part
of the Spanish cabinet has revived the
rumors of war so assiduously nursed a few
Weeks ago, and it is intimated that General
41 rant will be nothing loath to put the
ountry at war in order to regain some pf
his waning popularity. lie will, conse
quently, refuse any reparation under the
Spanish demands, fearing that anything like
a concession would be recognized by the
country and the world as an admission that
the recent war preparations were assumed
without a shadow of cause.
A very spirited meeting ot the District
G range of White, Tippecanoe and other
counties, was held at Lafayette last Satur
day. Tho farmers came out with a platform
of principles that ring as sharply, and per
haps, a little more so, than any expression
that has been made in the State before. They
distinctly say th it they do not aim to speak
for the Order In this or other States, but the
platform is the declaration of that district.
They assert tbe tint object in view Is clone
and thorocgh organization, so that they may
act in concert fr one well defined purpose;
they will keep their own counsel, and hold a
harp eye on applicants for membership, to
e that no wolves in sheep's clothing get
inside the Order. They deny emphatically
that they are a political party, organized for
political purposes, but the object of reform
is
in "the monster monopoly, railroads,"
and other leiser lights of that kind. Dis
honf-st men in office are warned that the day
of retribution i at hand. Resolutions were
passed ' opjoe 1 to all land grants
and subsidies, tho usual sentiments as
to public carriers and transportation
are endowed; ?,N', that legislation be ad
that will add more currency to tho" country;
the pet narne of 'hay seed," "fools," "Oxen
Äinell," ''chinch b'ig," etc., they joyfully ac
cept ; equity to all is their motto. Resolu
tions on the b nking question were adopted
which condemn the present banking system
as oppressive aud ruinous to the mechanical
manufacturing and agricultural Interests,
and demanding of congress a banking sys-
tem that will equalize labor with capital,
and give confidence to the people. The
Ilona. G. S. Orth and T. J. Cason, represen
tatives, are to have a copy of these ;resolu
tiona. The plow makers are attended to,
and pledged that until they lake back their
odious resolutions passed at Chicago, the
grangers wUl not buy of them, or their
agents. This district grange is located in the
richest agricultural portion of the State, and
Includes a powerful community of farmers
Their combined action will set aside entirely
the significance of the old party organiza
tions, and whether they so intend or not,
will put a new complexion on politics in the
old seventh and new ninth congress dis-
trict.
11 !' Jt!
It is utterly unjust to the officials of the
city and State to represent anything like
mutinous, murderous or riotous feeling in
or about Indianapolis. (Governor Hendricks
and Mayor Mitchell have acted with con
summate tact and proprietj'. They have
done all that becomes prudent officials In
such an emergency; to have done
more, would hare boon simply super-
serviceable to have done leas, would
have been to invite the turbulent elements
to outbreaks more or less mischiovious. The
tone of the city is as quiet and unapprehen
sive as it ever was, and any attempt to cre
ate an opposite Impression is an incendiary
appeal to the lawless to revolt. Tbe great
body of the striking engineers are quiet,
law-abiding men, bent only upon
a passive protest against what
they consider and justly too, a grievous
burden, put upon them by the railroads. It
is the duty of these men, however, to uphold
the lawful authorities by coming to the assis
tance of the legal authorities, and frown
down the extremeet element among them
which siezos this opportunity to in-
llge in depredations against the pub
lic peace. Tbe city and State au
thorities having taken all precau
tion against lawlessness, should bo as vigi
lant in punishing those who have been
guilty of any attempt on the lives or proper
ty of the companies. Acts of this sort can
not le too severely or promptly punished,
and the decent men of the brethern, and by
far the greater majority are civil, decent
men, should point out tbe criminals
and aid the hands ot justice to sieze them.
The situation for last Monday may be sum
med up briefly. At Logansport it " was
found engines had beon tampered with
boilers filled with water mixed with oil and
soap one engineer injured by stone thrown
by striker sixty engines tampered with
depot crowded with men and boys Gen.
Macauley calls for Chief Thompson and
twenty picked men, and 100 Spencer rifles-r:
sent the guards all on duty (Jen. Macau
ley calls on the Mayor for help Mayor is
sues proclamation for dispersing riotous as
sembliesto-morrow expected to bo the
crisis.
With the close of the year 1873, it may be
interesting to take a rapid retrospect of the
relations which this country holds to the dif
ferent nations of Europe, aud also their rela
tions with each other. Since the settlement
of the Alabama claims. Great Britain and
this country have got on smoothly aud ami
cably. The Joint Commission for the settle
ment of the claims of British subjects against
the United States, allowed, a little more
than two millions out of an aggregate claim
of about ninety-five millions. Great Bri
tain's foreign relations are in the main peace-
ul, if the Ashantee war be except
ed, which though it can have but one
issue, may entail the loss of
many lives and much treasure,
which mlcrht havo been more profit
ably expended. In Arabia, likewise, there
seemed at one time a possibility that a colli
sion wmld result from the encroachments
of the Sublime Porte on the territory of the
Sultan of Leheg, one of Great Britain's al
lies. Her dominions are so wide-spread that
collisions at the outposts with jealous powers
are well nigh impossible. Notwithstanding
the character for steady-going conservatism
and inflexible integrity which Great Britain
has hitherto enjoyed, the Canadian railway
developments have shown a state of legisla
tion on the part of the crown and its agents
almost unequaled for corruption. In Ger
many, the vexed question of Church and
State has absorbed every othor. Tbe expul
sion of the Jesuits has been followed np by
lagLslation which tends to bring the whole of
the ecclesiastical machinery under the
surveillance of tho State. The pros
ecution by the government of Archbishop
Ledochowski, shows that the legislation of
May last is not a mere form. The late elec
tions resulted In-large liberal gains, and cor
responding losses to the ultra-montanes.
The course of the Pope, too, has had the
effect to alienate German Catholics,
who are Germans first, and Catho
lics afterwards. The late exactions of Ger
many on the French government, in regard
to the French bishops, while it Is an evidence
of Germany's animus, and her power to dic
tate terms, is yet to be regretted, as the act
will not be forgotten in the day of wrath,
which sooner or later will come for France.
Tbe entente cordiaie has been strength
ened between Germany, Austria and
Italy, by the conferences which have
taken place during the year be
tween the sovereigns of those States.
Austria, like her neighbor Prussia, has bean
restricting the ultramontanes within nar
rower bounds. They have been beaten at
the rolls at every turn almost, and this
policy has formed the basis of Anstro-IIun-garian
legislation. The great international
exposition at Vienna, however, ha3, more
than anything, calls! public attention to
that conntry. That this enterprise was not
a success, is due to several causes. First,
came the panic in the Vienna bourse in the
early part of the year, the depressing effect
of which was plainly fell all over Europe,
and its outer waves of agitation touched the
shores of American finance. Then came the
outbreak of cholera which raged with terrible
severity iu Vienna during the progress of
the fair. Notwithstanding these bad fea
tures, the result aa a whole, to Austria, was
beneficial. The impetus given toindustries of
all kind?, by the exhibition of the best
products of the world, can not fail to be in
valuable. Russia is destined to figure more
and more prominently in the drama of
European history. Her record for. the past
year shows no event of a startling nature.
The chief incident was the Khivan expedi
tion, which was coolly planned and delib
erately executed with the most signal suc
cess. Whether the motive which impelled
Russia to the subjugation of Khiva, a petty
Khanate in Central Asia, was conquest aud
theconementaggrandizement of the territo
ry, or only a desire to clean out a nest of rob
bers, who from time immemorial liave been
the terror of the table lands, and a barrier
to commerce between Europe and
India the event, in the opinion of
most, will Justify the means employed. The
approaching nuptials ol Marie Alexandrov-
na, daughter of the Czar, to the Duke of
Edinburg, second son of Queen Victoria,
may be said to be the only other event of
general importance in the history of Russia,
for the year which has just closed. The
country seems to be eminently prosperous,
with the single exception of a famine which
is raging in the province of Archangel. The
people of that section have appealed to the
general government for aid. This will in
volve an expenditure of not less than eight
millions roubles, which is equivalent to
about the same number of dollars of our cur
rency. With France, the year has been full
of events. It Is a country which is great in
literature, science, art and arms, and it" is
not strange that its varying fortunes
and shifting policies should be closely watch
ed by the whole world. The administration
of M. Thiers came into unpopularity in the
beginning of the year. The Extreme Left
became alienated from the Government. The
contest between Barodet and Remusat for
the vacant seat in the Assembly, inaugurat
ed a series of defeats which ended in the vir
tual deposition of Thiers and the establish
ment of McMahon as as the ruler one might
almost say the sovereign of France. For
though but a tool In tbe hands of the Right,
ho is the exponent and representative of
roonarchial ideas: The by-play, during the
recess of the Assembly, between the
Counts dt Chambord and Paris,, and the
ultimate "rejection by the former of th6
propositions made him, are inter
esting ' and puzzling The blow to
the Monarchists was sudden and terrible,
but thev had the tact to met it by a clever
dodge, and McMahon's term Avas pro
longed to bridge the hiatus and give the rep
resentatives of feudalism time to gather up
their resources and perfect their plans. Yet
with the apparent triumph of monarchical
ideas, republicanism has made vast strides
during the year. The present arrangement
can only be regarded as a sort of truce.
ng before McMahon's nominal term ex
pires, the inevitable contest win recom
mence a Utmtrauec. The German indemnity
has bceu paid, and the invader has left the
soil, which speaks well for the energy and
enthusiasm of the French people, who have
borne their burdens joyfully to compass this
long wished for end. Tbe banishment of
Marshal Bazaine, the hero of Metz, forms a
rather dark setting to this otherwise fair pic
ture, for a feeling of sympathy w ill follow
the unfortunate victim of the fickle chances
of war. Spain, of all the KuropeanStates
has seen the most vicissitudes. Nearly a
year ago King Amadeo declined longer to
wear a crown that chafed bis gentle brow,
and almost Immediately the new republic
was heralded with Senor Figueras as its
President. His ascendency was brief, and
Salmeron and Pi y Margall followed in rapid
succession. The terrible uprisings of the
communards, or internationalists, which
culmiuated in the massacre of Alcoy ou the
12th of July, demonstrate the insecurity of
a republic based upon centuries of almost ab
solute monarchical rule and the long
sway ot a bigoted hierarchy. The
people, steeped in the most be
nighted ignorance, mistook liberty for
license, and gave loose rein to it. The in
surrection of Cartagena followed Alcoy, and
the conflict of Malaga followed a few days
later. Meanwhile the Carlist armies swept
the northeastern provinces with fire and
sword, and left ruin and desolation in their
track. Though the insurrections in the
south have been suppressed, Cartagena still
holds out, and the Carlist cause shows no
signs of weakening. Intimately connected
with events in Spain, comes the atrocity at
Santiago de Cuba, in which the greater part
of the crew of the Virginius were merci
lessly butchered by the volunteers, nomi
nally in the service of Spain.but really an irre
sponsible mob of ruffians, a terror alike to
their friends and enemies. The whole history
of the terrible affair is so recent, and has
been brought home so forcibly to the atten
tion of American citizens, that any recapitu
lation here is unnecessary. Suffice it to say
that complications with Spain which at one
time seemed probable, are now happllj'
averted, and the Virginius, the apple of dis
cord, went down in a gale off Cape Hatteras,
while being towed to New York by tke
Ossipee. The battle inaugurated In Ger
many, also engrosses Italy. While Pius
the IX still fills the Pontiff's chair,, the
secularization of church property still goes
on, and the priest party grows daily weaker.
It is a curious anomaly, that in Italy, the
cradle of Catholicism and its stronghold for
many centuries, the influence of the clergy Is
less than in any other European country.
All this, notwithstanding protests from
the Vatican and encyclicals without
eud. The Tope give no signs of
giving out soon, notwithstanding his great
age and late feeble health, and' it is likely
that the end of 1S74 will find him still filling
the chair of St. Peter. In Asia, as has al
ready been noticed, Khiva has fallen under
Russian rule; China has admitted ambas
sadors to an interview with the Son of the
Sun, which is certainly an advance in 'the
light direction. Japan has introduced
many American improvements in educa
tional methods and in modern machinery
for the advancement of industrial interests,
agricultural and manufacturing. In British
Iudia, a great famine has overshadowed the
country like a pall. The remedy will entail
an expenditure on the part of the Govern
ment of not less than ten millions sterling.
The home events of the year may be Bum
med up in a sentence, not that they have not
been important to many, but becauso they
have each made such destinctive marks on
the minds of the country that their
formal enumeration is not needed. The
Credit Mobilier investigation whicü
took up the entire session of Con
gress until the grab supplemented its
corrupt revelations worked a great change In
parties. Tho confession of Oakes Amps, and"
the leading Republican Congressmen began
the work of disintegration, tbe full meaning
of which was exhibited in the fall elections.
Meantime, while the dominant iarty was
shattering itself into fragments by its ex
posures of past criniinaities and present
baseness new organizations were eprinarinfr
up all over the West. Tho hardy workers
of the agricultural regions, impressed with
the hollow mockery of partisan struggles, of
party pledges, had been for a sea
son quietly banding toother and
finally the strength of the move
ment began to be felt. Formed at tirst for
self defense against home monopoly, the far
mers' organization came in time to stand for
an opponent of the bunded partisan power
which, in the course of a few years, has suc
ceeded in robbing tbe farm of its profits and
the farmer of all but his mere subsist
ence. In March tbe Congress ad
journcd, with a whirlwind of pub
lic execration beating upon it. The record
from the first day of the session to the last
had been a shameless parody on law mak
ing. The atrocious lawlessness of the
Louisiana outrage, alternated with the de
velopments which each day put some
loading Republican prostrate in the
mire of robbery and chicane,
son, Colfax, . Kelley, T)awes,
field, Bingham, Logan, Carpenter
Wil-Gar-and
the rest were in turn inculpated ot taking
Oakes Ames' bribes and the tribunal of their
fellows after full proof of their guilt dismiss
ed the scandal with a censure ou two of the
guilty. Tbe beat of public indignation
f cleared tho atmosphere, however, somewhat
and gave a chance for clear vision when
the October elections came on. Mean
time the natural sequence of Boutwell's
financiering came to pass. He had drained
the treasury of all the available gold to put
iu the New York market during the cam
paign to make the specious pretense of pay
ing the public debt, and instead of holding
the gold and retiring so much currency. A
tremendous crash was the consequence. The
government bankers, Jay Cooke fc Co., went
to the wall with a crash, and the government
was a great many millions the loser, directly
and indirectly. With this crash came the
panic, from the results of which we are still
suffering. But tbe crask brought something
more than the panic. It enabled the couc
try to get a glimpse at the misman
agement aud ignorance prevalent at the
national capital. It revealed a depth of pec
ulation and incompetency in all the great
offices, for which the opponents of the ad
ministration were not prepared, and it gave
an opportunity for such houest elements as
as still remain in the Republican party, to
set to work with the knife to cut
out abuses., This is the rapid epitome
that the historian would give to the past
year in this country, the mere events of
striking interest to attract public attention.
The Modoc massacro and murder of General
.Canby; the campaign in the lava beds; the
fierce contest with the monopolists iu Cali
fornia and the unexpected triumph of the
Independants. The Cuban excitement and
the attempted repeal ef the salary. These
however, are events which do not necessari
ly leave permanent results. The others will
extend their influences In many years and
re-appear in new forms in other and later
chronicles of dying years.
The action of the greater number of rail
roads centering m Chicago is at once a justi
fication of the action of the striking engi
neers and a criticism on the conduct of those
roads which have refused to be bound by
the terms of their contract. If the great
roads mentioned in tne dispatch see
no necessity to ask a reduction
of the wages of the engineers, the
public can see no good reason why
a great aud rich corporation like tle Penn
sylvania Central and its flourishing branches
should ask these hard-worked and poorly
paid men to accept less than the average
scale. If the road found it necessary to re
duce wages, it could have been made known
to the men in time, and consultation could
have been held, so that the mis
chievous alternative of a strike need
not have been forced upon the em
giueers. They are not men who delight in
impairing the industries of the country, and
from all the expressions they have made
thus far, it does not look as though they
were either malignant or blood thirsty. As
to the merits of the controversy the public
may properly hesitate to give opinion,
but that the railroads are disregard
ing the terms of their charters
In stopping public traffic, there
is no sort of room to doubt. It is the busi
ness of the postoffice authorities to demand
at every point why the mails are not carried,
why the contracts with the government are
not kept, and it is further tho busi
ness of those who are put to
inconvenience and los3 to prosecute
the railroads In the civil courts. It would
be just as well to learn whether the rail
roads are above the law. As the present
case stands, the railroads simply declare.
We will run so long as we can do it to suit
ourselves when we choose to try experi
ments In disciplining onr employes, we hold
the right to dolt. If they strike we shall
let them hold out as long as they
choose, and let them go to work when
they feel so disposed. If we can stand tbe
loss it is no affair of the public That is vir
tually the present attitude. An attitude,
which rightly forfeits the charter of every
road be unable to carry out its agreements.
Striking is an unreasonable and outrageous
thing in itself, , but is very. Vplain. that
however much the nineera ,inay bo
at fault, the companies stand before the
country aa grasping ' tyrants, who -neither
keep faith with the employer? or the public.
The companies claim sympathy and support
in this contest, clearly theydart not ' have it
they are law, breakers andhswerabje to
heavy penalties as well a -th-fatfeituxa of
their ch-arter.23J
their charter. 71 m .. -. .
i t
WOMEN AND GIRLS.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATE RE
FORMATORY.
RESULT OF THE ENTERPRISE FIRST GENERAL
REPORT OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .Or
THE HOARD OF VISITOR.- THROUGH FX
OOVERSOR BAKER A Q RATIFYING: KXH1BIT.
The close of tbe year, which has brought
about the completion of this new enterprise
of the State and the beginning of its opera
tions as a public institution of great impor
tance, gives interest to what niy now be
sam aoont it, ine board or visitors ap
pointed by the Governor, consisting of Ex
(Jovernor Baker, Mrs. Rhoda Coffin and
Mrs. Addison L. Rosche, have made to the
Governor a report, of which the following is
a copy:
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF YlMTOItS.
To J fin fCrrt-Urnc?, 77tfi. ,1. JlendritrJbr,
floccruor of Indiana:
The undersigned, one of the members of
the Board of Visitors of the Indiana Reform
atory Institution for Women and Girls, by
direction and on behalf of said Board, begs
leave respectfully to report that the Board
recently visited the Ileformatory and inspect
ed the "building and examined into the af
fairs of the institution iu the Re form a to rv, as
well as the penal, department thereof. There
are twenty prisoners in the penal depart
ment,nearly all of whom were on t heopening
of the institution, on the eighth day of
October last, transferred from the Southern
Prison at JetTersonville. It was very grati
fying to those members of the Board of visi
tors who had seen some of these same
women in the prisou at JetTersonville, to
observe how greatly their condition and
surroundings have been improved by the
transfer. In the short time of less than
three months they seem, judging from their
appearance and deportment, to have made
considerable pYogress toward the regaining
of their own self-respect, which is the first
step in the reformation of their lives and
characters. The unwomanly vice of tobaceo
smokhig, to which they were all addicted to
excess, was at once prohibited on their ad
mission to the Reformatory, and although
much murmuring was for a time the result,
the prisoners now seem to be reconciled to
this measure ot compulsory reform, and we
believe it will be the forerunner of other vol
untary reforms that will, in not a few in
stances, lead to a restoration of an effaced or
lost womanhood. Tbe cells and workrooms
ot the prisoners are comfortable and well
ventilated, and the women themselves are
constantly under the influence of pure
womanly'exampies, and the best moral and
religious training and influence. There is
every reason to hope and believe that not a
few of the prisoners will, with such sur
roundings and under such influences
as are now afforded them, be thor
oughly reformed and fitted for useful
ness in the world when they shall have
regained their liberty. It is already demon
strated that woman is competent to govern
tbe depraved and desperate of her own sex
by womanly measures and appliances, with
out a resort to tho rigorous means which are
generally supposed to be necessary in prisons
governed by men, and intended wholly, or
chietly, for male convicts. There are in the
reformatory department twenty-one girls,
whose ages range froniQen to fourteen years.
It is believed at least four-fifths of these can
be completely reformed, and become worthy
members of society when they are discharg
ed. A part of the time of each girl is em
ployed in the school room of the institution,
and a part devoted to industrial pursuits, the
object being to impart the rudiments of a
good elementary education, as well as in
dustrious habits I o every inmate.
rUACIICAL RESULTS.
The institution has been too recently
opened to say much about practical results;
but thus far we have discovered nothing in
its management to provoke or justify cen
sure. As long as there are so few inmates,
the expenses of the institution must un
avoidably be comparatively high, and it is
to be hoped that the different counties will,
in view ot this, avail themselves of the ad
vantages of the Institution, by committing to
its guardianship some, at least, of the girls
which are to be found in every community,
who need and are entitled to such guardian
ship. It is believed that the people, as
yet, do not generally understand
that a girl need not be an offender against
the penal laws of the State to justify her
committal to the guardianship of the re
formatory department of this institntion. If
tho fact could be generally made known that
vagrancy, or incorrigible or vicious conduct
on the part of a girl, coupled with the fact
that from moral depravity, or otherwise, her
parent or guardian is incapable or unwilling
to exercise tbe proper care over her, or that
she is destitute ot a suitable home and ade
quate means of obtaining an honest living,
or that she is in danger of being brought up
to lead an idle or vicious life, will iustify her
committal to the guardianship of the institu--tion,
it can not be doubted that many girls,
some of them mere children, that are now on
the sure road to ruin, would be placed nnder
the saving influence of tho reformatory de
partment of this institution. There is one
defect, as the Board of Visitors believe, in
tho law governing the reformatory depart
ment of the institution, which ought to be
remedied by amendatory legislation. We
allude to that portion ol the act which re
quires a girl to be under tbe age of fifteen
years to justify her committal to tbe reform
atory department of the institution, and
which compels her discbarge when she at
tains the age of eighteen years, whether she
is reformed or not. In the judgment of the
Board of Visitors, the law should be so
amended as to allow the committal of girls
up to the age of eighteen years, and so as to
justify their detention until twenty-one
years of age, if not sooner reformed. In this
regard, a reformitory for girls is very differ
ent to a reformitory for boys. At the age of
eighteen, many boys can not be governed in
a reform scnooi witnoui convening it inw a
prison, and thereby destroying its reforma
tory character; but with girls the case is very
different. We therefore submit for the con
sideration ef your Excellency the propriety
of an amendment of the law governing the
institution such as we have suggested, to the
end that the attention of the General Assem
bly may be directed thereto, if the sugges
ion should meet your approval.
Respectfully submitted,
Conrad Baker,
By direction and on behalf of the Board 01
Visitors.
December 27, 1873.
The reports of the Superintendent, Stew
ard and Physician of the Institution have
been made to the Board of Managors, and
will be incorporated in their report to the
Governor, required to be made Dy them to
day. They are as follows:
superintendent's report.
To the Board of Managers of the Indiana Ite
formatory Institution for fromcr and Girii:
On receiving the appointment, tenth of
seventh month, I vislt'jd the penitentiary at
Detroit, the better ta understand the work
in ns of a model nriFon. Manv similar insti
tutions had been visited in Englacd; yet the
American character, life and habits einer so
widely,' I thought best to have a precedent
riatir rmr finM rtr nnsntlnn. - On thn 18th we
occupied the unfinished building, the better
10 lupruiicaa Home newwary i-imutjs, buu
nrenaro fiMi.lnmotao Tim twelfth of ninth
, tlJ .UAVK. -
month the Reformatory Department was
opened, to case two gins oui oj jan, a moy
could be more profitably employed clear
ing the rubbish from the new building. The
prison department opened on the eighth of
tenth month with' seventeen prisoners re
ceived from Jeffersonville Penitentiary, ac
companied by the Warden, Chaplain and
Matron, all of whom feared we would havo
trouble, as the moral character of some was
below hope, and two were dangerous. Our
first great trial was the suppressing of to-
bacco. When told they could not use it in
any form, gloom and sadness settled like a
pall upon them, which taxed all our in
genuity to dispel. Our superior accommo
dations sank in utter insignificance, anil
with little exception they wished themselves
back to "old Jetl !' We soon got to work,
having reserved washing, sewing and house
cleaning tor them, aud, though our rules
seemed hard, they have complied more will
ingly and cheerfully than we anticipated.
There have been four added to the number,
and am Riad to state after the completion of
tbe laumiry, we were abla to procure wash
ing to keep those able employed. Sewing
and knitting have been furnished others.
Several have been on the w:k list since their
arrival. - There are twenty-one girls in the
reformatory taught halt the day in a well
organized school, the other half devoted to
cane-seating chairs and household duties In
rotation, borne of the girls are commit
ted for larceny, or incorrigible con
duct, and the change in aoine of
the worst is striking, convincing
us, that many of these little waifs go to ruin
from surrounding circumstances. We re
gret to find tbe ajto fifteen is preventing a
large number from entering the reformatory.
Having received letters from several coun
ties rnalting tho inquiry what steps to take,
to commit over fifteen, stating they must go
to ruin if not admitted. The only can bo
given, The law forbids," and the girl on
the brink of ruin is robbed of the care, re
straint, education, and proper training th
State has so wisely provided for her rescue.
ana our expenses are necessarily much
larger in proportion to care lor a small fam
ily. Our daily religious exercises havo
been greatly blessed. Sabbatn school en
joyed, and regular services on the Saobatit
conducted by the Young Men's Christian
Association, who express themselves highly
gratified by the apparent change from week
to week in the family, and we feel that it is
a problem no longer unsolved; that the
power of kindness with the religion of Jesus
is sufficient to subdue the most hardened. A
library is much needed. As the reading
prisoners had been supplied with the New
York Weekly, interesting -and nrofitablA
reading is wanted to supply its place. I can
thankfully record that in both departments
I am assisted by earnest Christian workers,
who labor faithfully lor the temporal and
spiritual improvement of thoe under their
charge. With gratitude for the kindness
with which my uiany wishes have been re
sponded to, Respectfully,
Sarau J. Smith,
Superintendent.
reformatory department.
Counties lrom which girls were received
since the opening of tho institution: Marion.
!: Wayne, 3: Parke. 5: Perrv. 1: Flovdl:
Johnson, 1; Vigo, 1. Total.il.
OXDITION OF INMATES.
Number of orphans, S; number of half or
phans, 10; number ot parents separated, 2;
number whose parents are living, 1; number
who can not read, 5; number who read in
differently, 11! number who it-ad pretty
well, o; number who can write, 5.
Then follows a tabular statement giving
the name, county, wbei convicted, when
received, crime, term and date of sentenco
of each of the convicts remaining iu tho
penal department at the close of the year.
The number in the department is twenty
one. Seventeen of thete were broughtrom,
the State Prison South, on the 8th of Octo
ber last. Their names were published at
the time. Of the four since received, ona
came by sentence of tho Bartholomew Cir
cuit Court, and three are from Marion
county. All four were convicted of grand
larceny. Two were sentenced for eighteen
months, one for two years, and the other
for three years.
steward's report.
The steward's report shows the following
account current of the expenses of the In
stitution for the past six months: Receipts
From State Treasury. $1075 WJ.
Disbursements--Expended in July, $167 8.";
August, ?282 iS ; Septem her, fciGO 87; October,
S1.2Ö0 11; Novemlier, $!40 21; December,
?,02 71. Total $4,0. Oti. Balauua, ?45 SO.
It also showt the payment into tbe Treas
ury yesterday of $77 DO, on account of earn
ings of the prisoners as far as collected.
A SUUUESTOX TO UUAllAXTVSS.
To the FAitor of the Sentinel;
Sir: Thinking it about time something
was done toward preparing for the manage
ment of an Exposition for 1871, allow me to
make the following suggestions, in view of
the fact that the regular meeting of the dele
gates to the State Board of Agriculture is to
be held next Tuesday. Taking tbe success
of our first attempt in the way of an Expo
sition, the benefit arising from it to the city
and city and citizens generally, and the ne
cessity of holding it again ; feeling as we all
do that to reap the full benefits of the enter
prise and outlay of money that a united effort
should be rrAde by the citizens generally in
connection with "the State Board, I would
suggest that the Board of Trade, or the guar
antors, select seven gentlemen from the city,
two of whom to be selected and recommended
to the delegates for election to the Board
and the remaining five to be appointed as an
Executive Committee to act with the State
Board as an Exposition Committee, who will
begin the work of preparation for the Expo
sition at once, and continue it unril the open
ing day. Success in this way will be ceit&in.
Unless there is such a movement on the part
of our citizens, the chance for a successful
show next fall will be very small. We have
no doubt but that the State Board will read
ily admit such an accession to their manage
ment, as the whole State is especially inter
ested in the success of the Exposition another
season. There is not a business man in this
city who is not more or less benefitted by
this yearly gathering of people and products.
Nor can we afford to lose interest in the en
terprise. If the panic h d not interferred at
the time it did, the praise ol the Exposition,
with its snlendid buildings, would have been
in everv man's mout b. They would havo
scarcely allowed the thirty days of the Ex-
EDsltion in October to close before they would
ave been making preparations for the next
one. Our peopleb ave been panic sick, but
the new year will find us all fully recovered
and ready for anything that will build up
and make attractive our beautiful city.
Expo.
Indian atoms, December 30.
REAL ESTATE TKASSFERU OF 1S73
AÜTOUSDiyO EX II I HIT.
During the year 1S72, there wcrs filed for
record in the Marion County Recorder's
Office, 6,056 real estate trur.ffrrs, mrving a
total consideration of f 16.32t!.3.V.) 73. During
the year just closod there were 8,756 deeds
filed, with an aggregate consideration ot
$32,579,250 76, giving 1873 an excess in num
ber of transfers of 2,700, and in considera
tion, $16,252,908 03, only $73 441 70 less than
one hundred per cent. Tbe computations
are made from a daily record of the year,
kept by Messrs. I It.fc Dan Martin, real
estate dealers of this city, and are perfectly
accurate. Columns might be written upon
this result, but finures are facts and Rpeak.
for themselves. In 1S72, Indianapolis trans
actions exceeded thoee of Chicago by $3,000,
000, and St. Louis by S7.000.00u. It will be
interesting to make comparisons this year
also.