Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/27

 and support of the State. A board of trustees was chosen by the Legislature consisting of one member from the State at large and one from each Congressional District. Twenty-five thousand dollars was appropriated for its support and the Census Board was authorized to levy a tax each year thereafter for its maintenance. The main buildings of the institution were at Davenport with branches at Cedar Falls and Glenwood. The number of children cared for at these three homes was at this time eight hundred and sixty-four. The Legislature passed acts at this session making the Clerk and Reporter of the Supreme Court elective by the people for terms of two years.

The Eleventh General Assembly in March, 1866, passed an act to resume the Geological Survey making an appropriation of $6,500 annually for two years for carrying on the work and electing Dr. Charles A. White of Iowa, State Geologist. Dr. White appointed O. St. John, assistant and Rush Emery, chemist. Under this act and one of the Twelfth General Assembly the work was carried on for four years. As no appropriation was made by the next Legislature, the work ceased. The act of 1866 required the State Geologist to prepare reports of the progress of his work from time to time to be given to the newspapers of the State for publication, giving information as to the character of the soils, deposits of coal and other minerals, which might be of general interest to the public. It also provided that the various specimens found should be divided among the collections at the State University, the State Agricultural College and other educational institutions. The Thirteenth General Assembly authorized the publication of 3,000 copies of White’s report in two volumes and appropriated $18,000 for that purpose. The report was printed in two royal octavo volumes illustrated with maps, diagrams, engravings and views of geological formations in various parts of the State. When the act of 1855 was passed providing for a Geological