Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/613

 OHIO 599 (1875) in process of construction on a plot of 300 acres of land near the same city. For 15 years prior to its destruction the average daily number of inmates of this institution was 262. The other state hospitals for the insane are the northern Ohio, in Newburgh, Ouyahoga co. ; the southern Ohio, in Dayton, and the south- eastern, in Athens. The Longview lunatic asy- lum, near Cincinnati, belongs to Hamilton co., but state patients are received here, and the institution is supported in part by legislative appropriations, which in 1874 amounted to $81,856. Both white and colored insane per- sons are treated in this institution. The Lucas county asylum, known also as the Northwest- ern hospital for the insane, near Toledo, does not belong to the state, but receives state pa- tients. During the year ending March 31, 1874, 1,018 were sent to the hospitals for the insane. There is also a city institution for the insane in Carthage, opened in 1860. The state asylum for idiots in Columbus has been in existence since 1857. The present building was first oc- cupied in 1868. (See IDIOCY, vol. ix., p. 174.) The asylum for the deaf and dumb and that for the blind are in Columbus. The former had 24 instructors in 1874, and the latter 14. The soldiers' and sailors' orphans' home was es- tablished near Xenia, Greene co., in December, 1869, and was sustained by private contribu- tions till May 1, 1870, when it became a state institution. The state reform school is situated upon a farm of 1,170 acres 6 m. S. of Lancas- ter. The buildings, 15 in number besides barns and outhouses, with the yards, lawns, and play grounds, occupy 20 acres. Boys are sent to the institution by some court of record for crime or misdemeanor, and are here classed in families of 50, each family being under the supervision of an " elder brother," an assistant elder brother, and a female teacher. Besides receiving instruction, the boys are employed in farm work and other industrial pursuits. Since the opening of the institution in 1857, 1,984 boys have been admitted and 1,520 discharged, the average time of detention being 2 years. The industrial school for girls is at White Sul- phur Springs, where the state owns 189 acres of land. The state penitentiary is in Colum- bus. The convicts are employed in various manufactures on the direct account of the state, and their labor is let out to contractors. By good behavior and diligence in his work, a convict may diminish his sentence five days a month, and receive a portion of his earnings, not exceeding one tenth. If he passes the entire period of his sentence without violating the rules of the prison, he will be restored to citi- zenship. There is a separate department for insane convicts. The total receipts during the year ending Nov. 1, 1874, were $177,367, in- cluding $165,207 from convict labor; the ex- penditures were $171,955, not including $4,362 expended in the manufacture of gas for public institutions. During the year 509 prisoners were received, 371 were discharged, and there were 1,005 in confinement at the close of the year. The total disbursements by the state on account of the penitentiary amounted to $187,103, besides $61,576 for the prosecution and transportation of criminals. The condi- tion of the charitable and reformatory insti- tutions for the year ending Nov. 15, 1874, is given in the following statement : INSTITUTIONS. Opened. INMATES. Current expenses and ordinary repairs. Total disbursements by the state. Whole No. Average daily No. Central Ohio hospital for the insane 1839 1855 1855 18T4 1861 18T1 185T 1829 1887 1869 187 1869 $304,523 358,841 99,396 220,539 210,369 25,278 97,012 81,781 121,067 83,567 63,563 49,728 527 960 708 785 174 886 468 169 555 636 166 253 526 426 582 100 352 400 109 520 450 143 $57,741 99,396 94,725 119,424 25,028 69,903 81,781 40,763 61,051 49,901 20,202 Southern " " " " Southeastern Ohio hospital for the insane Longview asylum for the insane Lucas co. " " " " Asylum for idiots " for deaf and dumb for blind .. . Soldiers 1 and sailors 1 orphans 1 home Reform school Girls 1 industrial home. . . ..... In April, 1874, there were reported in the state, not in any of the above named institu- tions, 1,347 insane, 1,271 idiotic, 1,039 deaf and dumb, and 870 blind. During the year ending March 31, 1874, 4,066 paupers were supported in county infirmaries, besides 1,935 dependent persons otherwise maintained by counties. The first law assessing a school tax in Ohio was passed in 1825. In 1838 the school laws were revised, and a state common school fund of $200,000 was established, to be distributed among the several counties accord- ing to the number of youth therein. The office of state superintendent of common schools was established in 1837 and abolished in 1840. In 1853 the office of state commissioner of com- mon schools was created. In 1873 the school acts were consolidated into a general law, which provides for the division of the state into school districts of five classes. City districts of the first class include cities having by the census of 1870 a population of 10,000 or more, while cities having less than 10,000 inhabitants con- stitute city districts of the second class. Vil- lage districts embrace incorporated villages. The territory not within any of these classes is divided into special districts and township districts. In all of these districts boards of