The Life, Public Services and Select Speeches of Rutherford B. Hayes Part 8

An annual appropriation of a small sum for this purpose, in the course of a few years, would probably save a large number, who, without such help, would again return to a criminal course of life.

The most defective part of our present prison system is probably our county jails. It is supposed about 8,000 persons pa.s.s through our county jails each year. They are generally persons charged with crimes and awaiting trial. But lunatics and petty offenders in considerable numbers are also confined in these places. The young and the old, the innocent and the guilty, hardened offenders and beginners in crime, are commonly mingled together in the jails, under few restraints, without useful occupation and with abundant leisure and temptation to learn wickedness. The jails have been fitly termed nurseries of crime. Plans of jails, not too expensive, have been furnished by the Board of State Charities, which provide for the absolute separation of the prisoners. It is recommended that the law shall require all jails to be so constructed as to entirely prevent this promiscuous and dangerous intercourse.

Your attention is particularly called to the recommendation of the Board of State Charities that the proper authorities of all of the cities of the State should be required to make full reports annually to the legislature, through the governor, of the statistics of vice and crime and of the work of the police department in such cities; and also to the suggestion that prosecuting attorneys should not be allowed to enter a _nolle prosequi_ in any case of an indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary or by death, without the written approval of the attorney-general first given upon a written report to him of the facts.

The importance of this is sufficiently shown by the fact that in 1869 the number of cases in which a _nolle prosequi_ was entered exceeded fifteen hundred.

The Girls' Reformatory at White Sulphur Springs contains forty-nine inmates, and it is now demonstrated that the number is likely to increase as rapidly as the welfare of the inst.i.tution will allow.

Whatever doubts may have been reasonably entertained as to the necessity for such an inst.i.tution prior to its establishment, the report of the directors and superintendent and a thorough investigation of the facts will, it is believed, satisfy you that the inst.i.tution is a very important one, and ought to be liberally supported.

The report of the superintendent and trustees of the Soldiers'

Orphans' Home will engage your earnest attention. The duty of providing for the education and support of the children of the soldiers of Ohio who fell in the war for the Union was fully recognized by the resolutions and acts of your last session. It is not doubted that your action was in accordance with the will of the people of the State, and they earnestly desire that the duty of caring for the soldiers' orphans shall be performed in a manner that will worthily express the affection and grat.i.tude with which these wards of the State must ever be regarded by a just and patriotic community. I therefore respectfully recommend that the legislation deemed necessary by the board and officers in charge of the inst.i.tution be enacted as promptly as practicable.

The report of the geological survey, to be laid before you, exhibits the encouraging progress of that work. The future growth of Ohio in wealth and population will depend largely on the development of the mining and manufacturing resources of the State.

Heretofore, our increase in capital and numbers has been chiefly due to agriculture. Important as that great interest will always be in Ohio, the recent census shows that we may not reasonably antic.i.p.ate, in future, rapid growth in population or wealth from agriculture alone. Without calling in question the great and immediate benefit to accrue to agriculture from the geological survey, it is yet true that the tendency of its exhibition of our vast mineral wealth is to encourage the employment of labor and capital in mining and manufacturing enterprises. Let the work be continued and sustained by ample appropriations.

It is necessary that the General a.s.sembly, at its present session, should adopt the requisite legislation to carry into effect the following requirement of the const.i.tution: Sec. 3, article 16, of the const.i.tution, provides that "at the general election to be held in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, and in each twentieth year thereafter, the question, 'Shall there be a convention to revise, alter, or amend the const.i.tution?' shall be submitted to the electors of the State, and in case a majority of all the electors voting at such election shall decide in favor of such a convention, the General a.s.sembly, at its next session, shall provide by law for the election of delegates and the a.s.sembling of such convention."

In conclusion, I feel warranted in congratulating you on the favorable judgment of your const.i.tuents upon your action on the important subjects which were considered at your last session, and in expressing a confident hope that what remains to be done will, under Providence, be so wisely ordered that the true interests of all the people of the State will be greatly and permanently advanced.

Without comments of our own, we will simply give the opinions of Democratic journals concerning this message.

The Cincinnati _Enquirer_, of January 4, 1871, said:

"The message of Governor Hayes is a plain, straightforward, and sensible doc.u.ment, and in every respect is creditable to him."

The Columbus _Crisis_ said:

"The annual message of Governor R. B. Hayes, printed in this issue, is a very fair and plain statement of the condition of the affairs of the State, and is especially commendable for its brevity and practical purport."

The Steubenville _Gazette_ characterized this message as--

"An excellent and appropriate doc.u.ment--short and comprehensive--and, as it should be, devoted wholly to State affairs."

The Cincinnati _Commoner, ultra_ Democratic, declared:

"The message is brief, but full of wisdom, and deserves the study of every citizen."

The correspondence of 1871 from the executive office reveals letters like these:

"I long since, in conversation, announced my wish and purpose to withdraw from the race for important positions in public affairs. I meant this announcement to apply both to the office I now hold and the senators.h.i.+p. That purpose remains unchanged."

A letter of May 5th, to a distinguished New York journalist, says:

"Your article on the Ohio governors.h.i.+p is of course satisfactory to me, but you will not object to two corrections. I have not been and shall not be a candidate for re-nomination. I probably could without effort have been renominated, but usage and personal inclination were against it. The more serious error is: You omit to name the Republican candidate who is nearly certain of the nomination and election. General Edward F. Noyes, of Cincinnati, a brave and popular soldier, who lost a leg in the Atlanta campaign; an eloquent and attractive speaker, and a gentleman of integrity and purity of character, will, I think, without question, be nominated. He is the sort of man you would support heartily if you lived in Ohio."

On the 6th of October, 1871, Governor Hayes delivered the striking address we give below, on the occasion of the inauguration of the celebrated Davidson fountain, in Cincinnati. This fountain, in design and execution, is a work of art of extraordinary merit.

_Fellow-Citizens:_

It is altogether fitting that the citizens of Cincinnati should feel a deep interest in the occasion which has called together this large a.s.semblage. It is well to do honor to this n.o.ble gift, and to do honor to the generous giver. This work lends a new charm to the whole city.

Longfellow's lines in praise of the Catawba that grows on the banks of the Beautiful River gives to the Catawba a finer flavor, and renders the Beautiful River still more beautiful. When art and genius give to us in marble or on canvas the features of those we admire or love, ever afterward we discover in their faces and in their characters more to admire and more to love.

This work makes Cincinnati a pleasanter city, her homes more happy, her aims worthier, and her future brighter.

But this fountain does not pour out its blessings for Cincinnati or for her visitors and guests alone. Cincinnati is one of the central cities of the Nation--of the great continent. It is becoming the convention city. Witness the National a.s.semblies in the interest of commerce, of industry, of education, of benevolence, of progress, of religion, which annually gather here from the most distant parts of America. This monument is an instructor of all who come. Whoever beholds it will carry away some part of the lesson it teaches. The duty which the citizen owes to the community in which, and by which, he has prospered, that duty this work will forever teach. No rich man who is wise will, in the presence of this example, willingly go to his grave with his debt to the public unpaid and unprovided for. Many a last will and testament will have a beneficent codicil, suggested by the work we inaugurate to-day.

Parks, fountains, schools, galleries of art, libraries, hospitals, churches--whatever benefits and elevates mankind--will here receive much needed encouragement and support.

This work says to him who, with anxious toil and care, has successfully gathered and h.o.a.rded--Do not neglect your great opportunity. Divide wisely and equitably between the few who are most nearly of your own blood, and the many who in kins.h.i.+p are only a little farther removed. If you regard only those reared under your own roof, your cherished estate will soon be scattered, perhaps wasted by profligate heirs in riotous living, to their own ruin, and you and your fortune will quickly be forgotten. Give a share--pay a t.i.the to your more distant and more numerous kindred--to the general public, and you will be gratefully remembered, and mankind will be blessed by your having lived!

Many, reflecting on the uncertainty of the future, will prefer to see their benefactions distributed and applied while they are still living. Regarding their obligations to the public as sacred debts, they will wish to pay as they go. This is commendable; perhaps it is safest.

But at some time and somehow the example here presented will and must be followed. All such deeds are the parents of other similar good deeds. And so the circle within which the blessings flowing from this fountain are enjoyed will forever grow wider and wider, and the people of distant times and places will rejoice to drink, as we now do, healthful and copious draughts in honor of its founder.

Here, this matchless structure will link together, in perpetual, grateful remembrance, the names of Tyler Davidson and Henry Probasco! Ever honored be those names in the city they have so greatly honored!

The message of Governor Hayes, on retiring from office at the close of his fourth year, calls attention to the encroachments upon the rights and interests of the people by railway corporations, and discusses at length the important subject of securing economy, efficiency, and purity in the administration of the local governments of cities and towns. For its able discussion of these and other subjects, this message of 1872 commends itself.

_Fellow-Citizens of the General a.s.sembly:_

The finances of the State government are in a satisfactory condition. The balance in the State treasury on the 15th of November, 1870, was $766,038.10; the receipts during the last fiscal year were $5,241,184.91; making the total amount of available funds in the treasury during the year ending November 15, 1871, $6,007,223.01.

The disburs.e.m.e.nts during the year have been $5,259,046.74, leaving a balance in the treasury, Nov, 15, 1871, of $748,176.27.

The estimates of the auditor of State of receipts and expenditures for the current year, are as follows:

Estimated receipts from all sources, including balances, $5,206,366.27.

Estimated disburs.e.m.e.nts for all purposes, $4,776,035.73.

Leaving an estimated balance in the treasury, November 15, 1872, of $430,330.54.

The public funded debt of the State November 15, 1870, after deducting the amount invested in Ohio stocks, was $9,730,144.36.

During the past year the debt has been reduced $729,415.

Leaving the total debt yet to be provided for, $9,000,729.36. Of this amount, the sum of $44,518.31 has ceased to bear interest, the holders thereof having been notified of the readiness of the State to pay the same. This leaves the total interest-bearing debt of the State, $8,956,211.05.

The taxes levied in 1870, collectible in 1871, were as follows:

State taxes $4,666,242.23 County and local levies 18,797,389.59 Delinquencies and forfeitures in former years 667,188.69 -------------- Total taxes, including delinquencies collectible in 1871 $24,130,820.51

The taxes levied in 1871, collectible in 1872, were as follows:

State taxes $ 4,350,728.28 County and local levies 18,604,660.12 Delinquencies and forfeitures 632,275.84 -------------- Total taxes and delinquencies collectible in 1872 $23,587,664 24

It will be noticed, with gratification, that the annual increase of taxation, to which the people have been long accustomed, has been checked, and that the taxes, both State and local, have been somewhat reduced.