Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/241

 from Harrison County was nominated for Lieutenant-Governor. The other nominations were: Supreme Judge, C. M. Waterman; Superintendent Public Instruction, R. C. Barrett; Railway Commissioner, C. L. Davidson. The platform contained no new declarations of policy. At the election the plurality for Shaw was 29,876.

Upon the organization of his Cabinet President McKinley selected James Wilson of Iowa to be Secretary of Agriculture.

The assessment of the Iowa railroads for 1897 was fixed by the Executive Council at $44,405,196; sleeping cars were assessed at $150,607.

The Twenty-seventh General Assembly convened at Des Moines on the 10th of January, 1898, Lieutenant-Governor Milliman presiding over the Senate. J. H. Funk was elected Speaker of the House. Leslie M. Shaw was inaugurated Governor.

The committee appointed by the last General Assembly to investigate the State institutions made an elaborate report early in the session, showing that its investigation had been thorough. Many irregularities were found in the management, some extravagant expenditures, and much to criticise in the general methods of doing business. The committee came to the conclusion that the institutions could be better and more economically managed by a State Board of Control which should have supervision of all of the institutions. The facts stated and the arguments presented for the establishment of such a system made a powerful impression upon the members of the General Assembly and resulted in the enactment of a law providing for such a Board of Control, to consist of three members to be nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate; the members of the Board to hold their positions for a term of six years and not more than two members to belong to the same political party.

A joint resolution was passed to amend the State