Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/709

 WISCONSIN 685 nually) and Oshkosh (annually) in the eastern district, and at Madison (semi-annually) and La Crosse (annually) in the western district. Wisconsin is represented in congress by two senators and eight representatives, and has therefore ten votes in the electoral college. The constitution requires a state census to be taken every ten years ; the latest one was in 1875. On Sept. 80, 1875, the total state debt amounted to $2,252,057, viz. : bonds outstand- ing, $14,000; due to the school fund, $1,559,- 700; university fund, $111,000; agricultural college fund, $51,600; normal school fund, $515,700; currency certificates, $57. The to- tal receipts on account of the general fund du- ring the year were $1,136,483, and the dis- bursements $1,260,168. The chief sources of revenue were : state tax, $592,070 ; tax on rail- road companies, $436,414; on insurance com- panies, $67,859. Among the items of expen- diture were : interest on state debt, $157,820 ; legislature, $86,645; and state institutions, $565,030. The total valuation of property, as determined by the state board of assessments, with the amount and rate of state taxes, has been as follows : YEAR. Valuation. State tax. Rute per cent. 1871 . . $455,900,800 $629,148 10 1 T A milL 1872 890,454,875 765,291 55 i58 " 1878 390,454,875 671,532 88 ITHH " 1874 421,285,359 526,606 85 H 1875... 421,285,359 689,799 83 & " ' The total amount of property exempt from taxation was $14,174,721, including $1,655,349 common school, $3,951,783 church, and $4,- 301,753 railroad property. The general super- vision of the charitable and correctional in- stitutions is vested in a state board of char- ities and reform, consisting of five members appointed for five years by the governor. The institute for the blind, at Janesville, was opened in 1850, and in 1875 had a total of 82 and an average of 59 students. The cur- rent expenses amounted to about $18,000. The institute for the deaf and dumb, at Dela- van, opened in 1852, had in 1875 a total of 180 and an average of 132 pupils; the ordinary expenses of the institution were about $34,000. The state hospital for the insane, opened in 1860, is at Madison, and the northern hospital for the insane, opened in 1873, at Oshkosh. In 1875 there were in the former a total of 507 and an average of 364 inmates, and in the lat- ter a total of 351 and an average of 257. The current expenses of the former were $63,500, and of the latter nearly $55,000. According to the federal census of 1870, there were in the state 409 blind, 459 deaf and dumb, 846 insane, and 560 idiotic. According to the returns of the state census of 1875, the numbers of these classes were : blind, 503 ; deaf and dumb, 720 ; insane, 1,422. The state prison is at Wau- pun. The total number of convicts in 1875 was 357 ; average number, 240. Labor is per- formed in the prison on account of the state, the chief industries being the manufacture of chairs, wagons, boots and shoes, clothing, and stone work. The institution is not self-Bus- taining. The receipts from labor, &c., in 1875 amounted to about $53,000; the total dis- bursements were about $100,000; the state appropriation was $46,341. A school is main- tained in the prison, which also has a library. The present site of the prison is too distant from sources of supply and from a market for the articles manufactured. In 1875 a resolu- tion was passed by the legislature providing for the appointment of a commission to con- sider the expediency of a change, to recom- mend a more suitable site, and to report to the next legislature. It is recommended that the present prison be transformed into an institu- tion for the incurable insane, of whom about 500 are confined in the poorhouses and jails. The industrial school for boys was opened at Waukesha in 1860, where it has a farm of 233 acres, mostly cultivated. In 1875 there was a total of 412 and an average of 301 inmates. The ordinary expenses of the institution were about $45,000. Boys between the ages of 10 and 16 years are committed to this institution by the courts and magistrates, for vagrancy and other minor offences. The soldiers' or- phan home was organized as a state institution and opened in Madison in 1866. It continued in successful operation, with an average an- nual attendance of about 200, till 1874, when the legislature authorized the trustees to pre- pare for closing it. The total number of or- phans who have received its benefits exceeds 600; the total cost to the state for the pur- chase of buildings and maintenance has been about $342,000. In 1875 the legislature au- thorized the transfer of the buildings and grounds to the regents of the state univer- sity for a medical college. In 1875 the legis- lature appropriated $5,000, to be distributed among the following private charitable insti- tutions, which are thereby brought under the supervision of the state board of charities and reform: Cadle home, in Green Bay; St. Luke's hospital, in Eacine; and St. Rose or- phan asylum, St. Joseph orphan asylum. Mil- waukee orphan association, St. ^Emilian asy- lum, and home for the friendless, in Milwau- kee. The northwestern branch of the nation- al asylum for disabled soldiers is about 3 m. from Milwaukee, where it has a farm of 425 acres and a brick building with accommoda- tions for 700 or 800 inmates. The average number of inmates in 1875 was 642. The gen- eral management of the public schools is vest- ed in a state superintendent, 64 county su- perintendents, 27 city superintendents, and a school board in each district. The state and county superintendents hold office for two years, and the district officers for three years. In each independent city there is a board of education, and the larger cities have each a superintendent, who in some cases is also prm-