ELECTION RESULTS IN 1880.

867

ships and a living chance for American commerce; no discrimination in favor of transportation lines, corporations, or monopolies.

The campaign of 1880 was full of life and "large endeavors." It was the eloquent and able statesman and soldier Garfield against a distinguished son of Pennsylvania and one of the bravest and most successful generals of the regular army. The pivotal point then, as it has been since, was New York which was carried for the republicans by a plurality of over 20,000. The result in Illinois was as follows: Garfield electors 317,879, Hancock 277,314, Weaver 26,191, scattering 493. For governor, Cullom 314,565, Trumbull 277,532, Streeter 28,898, scattering 1075; for secretary of state, Dement 317,421, Oberly 277,122, Thompson 26,687. The other state-officers received about the same aggregate vote.

CHAPTER XLV.

Progress-Gov. Cullom's Second Administration-Thirtysecond General Assembly-Laws-Politics in 1882Thirty-third General Assembly- Election of Cullom to the Senate.

IN

N 1880, Illinois had fairly assumed the position of an old state, whose land had all been taken up, and whose population no longer increased at the rapid rate incident to a new commonwealth. The percentage of increase throughout the entire country was 30.08 per cent; while in Illinois, it was only 21.18, about the same as in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, though exceeding that of New York and Ohio. A greater proportionate growth had, indeed, been shown by the returns from several southern states, notably Texas, Arkansas, and even South Carolina, which exhibited an increase somewhat in excess of the average. Illinois, however, had contributed a by-nomeans insignificant quota of her hardy sons and daughters to swell the growth of more recently-settled communities. She had helped to raise the percentage of the increase of population of Kansas to the phenomenal figure of 173.35, and of Nebraska to 267.82, and besides had aided in the wonderful augmentation of that of the western territories. Illinois, nevertheless, maintained her position as the fourth State in the Union, and gained an additional representative in congress.

But while she had fallen behind in the relative percentage of increase of population, she had exhibited an amazing growth in the development of her material resources-in agricultural improvement, in manufactures, in the accumulation of wealth; and in her moral and educational facilities. Of her 35,840,000 acres of land, over 15,000,000 acres were by this time planted in corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, flax, and hay, and 500,000 in other crops; 4,500,000 acres were in pastures, 5,500,000 in woodlands and uncultivated, and 300,000 in city and village lots.*

Agricultural report, 1881, leaving in round numbers over 9,000,000 acres unaccounted for.

ILLINOIS' PROGRESS, 1870 TO 1880.

869

The yield of the principal cereal crops of the State for the years 1860, 1870, and 1880, as computed in the census returns, which very nearly agrees with our State agricultural reports, is shown in the following table:

As may be seen from an examination of these figures, while there was an increase between 1860 and 1870 of 33 per cent, the succeeding decade showed the remarkable expansion of 114 per cent. In the yield of the four principal cereals, corn, wheat, rye, and oats, Illinois led all the other American states.*

The money value of the farm-and-orchard products of Illinois -as estimated by the department of agriculture at Washington and of the State board of agriculture for this year, 1880assumes the following magnificent proportions, exceeding five times the gold-and-silver product of all the mines of the entire country:*

The Prairie State also outranked all her sisters in the number of its horses, which was 1,078,000, a gain of 22 per cent; and stood next to Missouri and Texas in the number of mules, 133,900, an increase of 44 per cent. It had 695,400 milch-cows, and was the fourth state in the number of its oxen and cattle, 1,235,300, a decennial gain of 26 per cent.†

Immense, however, as was the growth of the agricultural * "The West," by Robert P. Porter.

Census Returns.

+ Her hogs numbered 3,202,600; the number of sheep had decreased.—Robt. P. Porter's "The West," 174.

interests of the State, it was exceeded by that of manufactures. Let the subjoined table tell tersely the wonderful story:*

1850 1860

3,162

1870 1880

11,599

$3,204,336

$8,559,327 $16,534.272

7,637,921 35,558,782 57,580,886 31,100,244 127,600,077 205,620,672 53,693,461 234,778,273 346,454,393

$6,217,765 4,268 27,548,663 22,968 12,597 94,368,057 82,979 13,347 117,273,585 135,419 Illinois led all the other states in the manufacture of agricultural implements, in flour-milling, in distilling, and in slaughtering and packing meat; other great industries were the manufacture of iron, carriages and wagons, men's clothing, doors and planed lumber, furniture, boots and shoes, malt, and printing and publishing. In Chicago, where were situated the greater number of her plants, over 110,000 hands were employed.

Her miles of railroads, which had been 4633 in 1870, had been extended to 7955-exceeding the mileage of the six New England States by 1958, and surpassing that of New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania by nearly as much—but four counties in the State-Calhoun, Hardin, Massac, and Pope-remaining untouched by the iron-horse.

Corresponding with her growth, manufactures, and railroads, had been the development of her mines of coal, which had increased from 3,000,000 of tons in 1870, to 6,115,377 tons, a greater output than that of any other state except Pennsylvania.

The commerce of Illinois can be measured only by her enormous resources. The transactions of the Chicago clearinghouse, for 1880, aggregated $1,725,684,898-much more than double those of 1870. But while the grain, live-stock, and other products handled in that great city assume such immense proportions, the cities of Peoria, Quincy, Springfield, Bloomington, and others show correspondingly rapid strides in both manufactures and commerce.

The assessed value of property, real and personal, in Illinois in 1880, was $786,616,394, being an increase over 1870 of over 70 per cent. This assessed value, however, represented only about one-fourth of its actual worth.

* As compiled in the "Second Report of Illinois Labor Statistics," by Col. John S. Lord, secretary.

THIRTY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

871

As stated by Gov. Cullom in his message to the legislature, Jan. 7, 1881, "On the first Monday of the present month, the last dollar of the state debt was paid." There was yet and still is, however, outstanding an apparent indebtedness, purely nominal, of $1,165,407, which represents the amount of schoolmoneys formerly used by the State for revenue purposes. The faith of the State is pledged to forever pay six per cent on the above sum for the maintainance of public schools. There were also evidences of indebtedness, amounting to $23,600, which had been due for several years, but as they had not been presented, the presumption was that they had been lost or destroyed.*

The period of resumption had indeed brought with it a period of great prosperity and growth, not only to the people of this State but to those of the entire Union. Business was now transacted upon the basis of a sound and uniform currency. The supply of money on hand, instead of being reduced, as had been feared, had been enormously increased by the addition of the bullion product of the country, and the enlargement of. the circulation of the national banks.

The thirty-second general assembly convened Jan. 5, 1881. The new senators were: George E. Adams, William R. Archer (reëlected), Andrew J. Bell, August W. Berggren, Horace S. Clark, Leander D. Condee, Frederick C. DeLang, to fill the unexpired term of W. T. Johnson, John C. Edwards, Joseph W. Fifer, John Fletcher, Louis Ihorn, George Kirk, William A. Lemma, Christopher Mamer, Thomas B. Needles-late state auditor, Henry H. Evans, Edward Laning, Isaac Rice, Conrad Secrest, Charles A. Walker who had formerly served in the house, Thomas M. Shaw, David H. Sunderland, John R. Tanner, George Torrance, William T. Vandeveer, and James S. Wright.

Only thirty-one of the members elected to the house had formerly served in either branch of the legislature, namely: William H. Allen, Charles Baldwin, Joseph N. Carter, John A Collier, Loren C. Collins, jr., Edward L. Cronkrite, Bradford K. Durfee, Alexander P. Dysart, John N. English, sr., James M. Gregg, James Herrington, John G. Holden, Thomas F. Mit• Governor's message, 1883.