LIBRARY OF THE University of California. GIFT OF W?0-AA/Vv^ ^wAj\AA^-r". Class ' ' Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/centralizationofOOortliricli THE CENTRALIZATION OF ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO BY SAMUEL P. ORTH, B. S. University Fellow in Administration SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE Faculty of Political SasNCE OF Columbia University •flew l^orh 1903 THE CENTRALIZATION OF ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO BY SAMUEL P. ORTH, B. S. University Fellow in Administration SUBMITTED IN PARTUL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE Faculty of Political Soence OF Columbia University View l^orft 1903 er^ ji^^fifc 1^/ TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PACB I. Historical statement »... ll 3. Traditions against centralization II 3. Relation of governor to local units la 4. Municipal government previous to 1902 13 5. Municipal government under the new code 1 8 6. Movement toward centralization in recent years ao 7. Object and outline of this inquiry 21 CHAPTER I Public Education L The Public School System 23 I. Introductory statement 23 3. The School Lands 24 a. Their distribution 24 (1) "Section Sixteen" 24 (2) " The Connecticut Western Reserve " 24 (3) " The Virginia Military Tract " 24 (4) « The U. S. Military Tract " 24 (5) The " Ohio Company " and «' Symmes Purchase " Tracts. 25 b. Their disposition 25 (1) By lease 25 (2) By sale 27 c. Summary and results 30 3. School Taxes 32 a. Local Taxation 32 b. State Taxation 34 4. The School District 34 a. The early district 35 b. The « Akron law " . - 36 c. The township and sub-district 37 375] S 117337 6 CONTENTS [376 PACK d. Recent district legislation 39 (1) The centralizing of rural districts 39 (2) The law of 1890 40 5. School Supervision 41 a. State superintendence 41 (1) The first state superintendent and his work 41 (2) The Secretary of State as superintendent of schools . . 47 (3) The State Teachers' Association acts 48 (4) The State commissioner of common schools 48 b. Local superintendence 50 (i) City superintendence 50 (2) County superintendence 50 6. Compulsory attendance 53 7. The training and examining of teachers 55 a. Examining boards 55 . (i) The county board 55 (2) The city board 57 (3) The state board . . . 57 b. Teachers' institutes 58 8. Other centralizing influences 59 a. The " Ohio Teachers' Reading Circle " 59 b. State traveling libraries 59 c. The " Boxwell " and " Patterson " laws 60 d. The state school book board 61 e. The revision of school laws, 1902 63 II. Higher Education 65 1. The State universities 65 a. Ohio University 65 b. Miami University 66 c. Ohio State University 68 d. Normal and Industrial Department, Wilberforce University . 69 e. Normal Departments at Ohio and Miami Universities .... 69 2. Private colleges 70 III. Tables showing Growth of the School System 73 CHAPTER II Taxation and Local Finance I. The General Property Tax 75 1. The first period, 1802-25 — no appraisements 75 2. The second period, 1825-46 — appraisement of land 79 3. The third period, 1846-present — appraisement land and personalty . 82 4. Results of the general property tax 85 377] CONTENTS y FAGB II. Equalization 88 1. The state board of equalization 88 2. The new municipal board of equalization 89 III. Special Tax Laws 93 1. The liquor tax 93 2. The inquisitor or delinquent tax 94 3. The collateral inheritance tax 95 4. The excise tax 96 5. The franchise tax 97 6. Summary 98 IV. Central Control over Local Finance 100 1. Independent treasury act lOO 2. Uniform auditing system I03 3. Conclusion 104 CHAPTER III Charities and Corrections I. 72* Institutions 105 1. The poor laws 105 2. Penal and reformatory institutions 108 a. County jails 108 b. Work houses 109 c. State penitentiary 109 d. State reformatory iio e. Reform school for boys no f. Reform school for girls no 3. State charities Ill a. Lunatic asylums ill b. Other charitable institutions 112 II. The Board of State Charities 113 1. Organization and powers 1 13 2. Problems 114 a. County jails 114 b. County infirmaries 116 c. Childrens' homes 1 18 d. State penitentiary 119 e. Other State institutions I2i f. Out-door relief • • 121 g. Bettering of public buildings 122 h. The correlation of local effort 122 3. The gradual increase of its legal powers 123 8 CONTENTS [378 PACS 4. Attempted co-operation between state institutions 124 5. Summary of results 125 Tables 127 CHAPTER IV Stats Health ADMimsTRATroN I. Early Legislation 130 II. State Board of Health 131 1. Organization and powers — Law of 1881 131 2. Law of 1888 133 3. Law of 1893 »33 4. Plumbing inspection 135 5. Results attained 136 a. Conditions prior to 1881 136 b. Contrast present conditions 137 c. Control over water supply and sewerage systems 138 Summary 139 CHAPTER V Miscellaneous Functions Introductory — Four groups of authorities 142 Deal only with the fourth group 143 1. Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs 144 2. Superintendent of Insurance and Inspector of Building and Loan Associa- tions 145 3. Inspector of Mines 147 4. Live Stock Commission 149 5. Inspector of Workshops and Factories and Bureau of Labor Statistics . . 150 6. Dairy and Food Commissioner 154 7. Inspector of Oils 156 8. Fish and Game Commission 157 9. State Fire Marshal 157 Conclusion and summary 161 CONCLUSION I. Dilatoriness of Ohio in Administrative Matters-^Cauies 163 1. Early settlements, eight centres 164 2. Territorial government 166 a. Policy of Gov. St. Clair 167 b. The first legislature 167 379] CONTENTS g r&as 3. Struggle for admission to statehood 168 4. Legislative supremacy illustrated 169 a. " Sweeping resolutions " 170 b. Attitude toward U. S. Bank 170 c. Internal improvements 171 5. Atwater's account 172 6. Constitution of 185 1 173 7. Subsequent policy of legislature 173 II. IVAy Legislature not competent Administrative Body . 174 III. Tendency is towards Centralization 176 INTRODUCTORY Ohio was admitted to the Union February 19, 1803. It was the fourth State to be admitted, and the first to be carved out of the Northwest Territory, It was governed as part of that Territory, under the Ordinance of 1787, until 1800, when the Territory of Indiana was formed of the western portion. The State has had but two Constitutions in the century of its history ; the one framed on its admission, and the Constitution of 185 1. The latter provides for a constitutional convention to be called by the electors every twenty-five years. Such a convention was authorized in 1876, but the people refused to ratify its work at the polls. There has been but little change wrought in the organic law. The growth of the State has antiquated many of the constitutional provisions. This has naturally resulted in deterring progress in certain lines of State authority; in- deed, some of the sections, notably those that deal with taxation and finance, have actually worked hardship upon the people. The tradition of the State has always been against cen- tralization.^ The first Constitution, formed very soon after the bitter political struggle between Jefferson and Adams, and at a time when there was great antagonism against the territorial Governor, St. Clair, who had ruled with an arbi- trary hand, provided for an executive shorn of all power. The second Constitution did not greatly add to the execu- tive authority. » Vid. infra, p. 148. 381] II 12 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [382 But these traditions have not alone affected the position of the executive. The entire history of administration in the State reveals a constant struggle against giving authority to a board, or a commissioner or any other administrative officer. This is especially true of those administrative func- tions that were developed earlier, such as State charities, State finances and public education. The increased com- plexity of life has created in the past forty years a growing demand for increased diversity in administrative details. For most of these no direct provision is found in the Con- stitution, and the Legislature has from time to time created new administrative bodies. In these newer functions, that are the direct outgrowth of the more recent necessities, a greater degree of centralization has been attained. There has been, thus, a sustained tendency toward decen- tralization. The Governor, for instance, may appoint State officers and the members of the newer administrative boards, but he can do so only with the consent of the Senate. And his power of removal is limited to " cause." He has prac- tically no power of direction over any administrative au- thority in the State. ^ County officials are also immune from the executive's direction, nor can they be removed by him even under the most urgent conditions. But the new municipal code gives the Governor the power to remove the Mayor of any municipality in case of misconduct, bribery or other gross and apparent violations of law. The action of the Governor is final. ^ This subordination of the Gov- ernor is reflected in the subordination of the State to the localities in administrative details. The State, for instance, as a financial unit is greatly inferior to the municipality. ' The governor may ask certain state officers for information concerning their department; and upon complaint being made by private citizens, can direct cer- tain boards to investigate the charges made. ' Municipal Code, sec. 226. 383] INTRODUCTORY 13 The State revenues are less than one-eighth as great as local revenues. The hesitation of the Legislature to delegate authority to administrative boards has resulted practically in local autonomy even in matters wherein State direction might be most effective. The county has developed a large degree of self-direction in taxation, the administration of poor laws, and the care of roads and bridges. Cities also, with one exception, were left autonomous in administrative matters. It seems paradoxical, but the great amount of special legislation designed to interfere with local municipal government did not thrust upon the cities any central direction over administrative details. It is perfectly evident that as the population of a given area increases, the amount of necessary local administrative details grows in complexity. And when such an area be- comes densely populated a higher degree of administrative efficiency is necessary, and popular administration should be replaced by expert administration. The growth of population ^ has been so rapid in Ohio that it has attained the fourth rank among the States of the Union. While there are no cities of the first magnitude, there are two of great importance, Cincinnati and Cleve- ' Cincinnati Qeveland Other cities over 8,000. Total urban popula- tion Population of the State Per cent, of urban population No. of cities with over 8,000 inhabitants.. 1810. 1830. 2,540 2,540 230,760 I.I 24,831 1,000 42,831 937.903 4-S I 1850. 1870. 1890. "5.435 17,034 2 216,239 92,829 14 296,908 261,353 27 i5i»375 517,909 1,159,342 1,980,329 2,665,260 3.672,329 7.6 19.4 31.6 4 16 29 1900. 325,902 381,768 36 1,599.840 4,157.545* 38.5 38 * 45 towns of over 4,000 with population of 364,669. This added to above makes the urban population 44.8 per cent, of population. ' The following table shows the urban growth of the State during the century. 14 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [384 land. The latter has developed so rapidly in the last thirty years that it is now the second city on the Great Lakes. This development of cities has largely taken place in the last forty years. Until 1830 Cincinnati was the only city in the State with more than 10,000 inhabitants, and until 1880 it was the only city with more than 100,000 inhabit- ants. To-day there are four such cities. The urban popu- lation of 1890 was over three times as great as that of 1870. There are at present thirty-eight cities in the State with more than 8,000 inhabitants, and they contain 38.5 per cent, of the population of the State, and there are forty-five municipalities with over 4,000 inhabitants. The total urban population in municipalites over 4,000 is 44.8 per. cent, of the population of the State. Excepting the two largest cities, this urban population is quite evenly distributed among cities of from 20,000 to 80.000 inhabitants. This makes the conditions of the prob- lem of city government less unequal than in those States that have one city of overshadowing size, like New York or Pennsylvania. About one-half of the population live in rural districts and villages, which enjoy a considerable de- gree of self-government. But while there is no such great diversity in urban condi- tions as exists in some of the other States, there has been by no means a uniform development of centralization in city government. On the contrary, the greatest diversity has resulted. This is due to special legislation. The first Constitution of the State did not provide for the organizing of corporations of any kind. Municipalities were chartered by special act. Many minor municipalities had been thus chartered, and foreseeing the results the makers of the Constitution of 185 1 dictated that "the Gen- eral Assembly shall provide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages by general laws, and restrict their 385] INTRODUCTORY 1 5 power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contract- ing debts, and loaning their credit, so as to prevent the abuse of such power," ^ and in another section they declared that "all laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation throughout the State." ^ It is also provided that " the General Assembly shall pass no special act conferring corporate powers." ^ In the face of this reiterated command the Legislature began to pass special laws. In the first session following the adoption of the new Constitution an act was passed providing for the organi- zation of cities and incorporated villages. The cities, how- ever, were subdivided into two classes, the first class includ- ing those with a population of over 20,000, and the second class including all others. This was the unassuming beginning of a classification that grew to absurd propor- tions as the number of cities multiplied. To avoid the constitutional limitations against special legislation all the charters were enacted to apply to cities with a certain popu- lation, instead of naming the cities.* Strangely, the Supreme Court of the State gave its sanc- tion to this circumlocution as a means of evading the obvious intent of the framers of the Constitution. The following table exhibits the complexity of classifi- cation attained by this method of special legislation : Cities. Class I. Grade 1 Over 200,000 inhabitants. Grade 2 From 90,000 to 200,000 inhabitants. Grade 3 From 31,500 to 90,000 inhabitants. Grade 4 those promoted from Class II. » Article XIII., sec. 6. ^Article II., sec. 26. * Article XIII., &tc. I. * Delos F. Wilcox, Municipal Government in Michigan and Ohio. S. P. Ortb> Municipal Situation in Ohio, Forum, June, 1902. l6 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [386 Clau II. Grade i From 30,500 to 31,500 inhtbiUatt. " 2 " 20,000 to 30,500 " " 3 " 10,000 to 20,000 " " 3» " 28,000 to 33,000 •' •• 3b " 16,000 to 18,000 " *• 3c " 15,000 to 17,000 " " 4 " 5,000 to 10,000 " " 4* " 8,000 to 9,500 " INCORFOKATED ViLLAGKS. Class I. From 3,000 to 5,000 inhabitants. Class II. From 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants. Hamltts. All villages under 2,000 inhabitants. This patch-work was pieced together largely for the pur- pose of covering local political conditions. No uniformity was sought in the framework of local governments. The Constitution was disregarded. While mere uniformity in municipal legislation is not a virtue, for the local needs are various, still such an extreme of classification as was here indulged in led to great abuse. Party politics, rather than local needs, dictated the form of legislation. There resulted therefrom every degree of administrative authority, from centralization to complete decentralization. The charters of the two largest cities were antipodal. To one city the Legislature granted home rule; the other it deprived of all autonomy. In Cleveland the federal plan was developed. The Mayor was made a responsible execu- tive, appointing and directing the heads of the city depart- ments. He had the power of removal, a considerable con- trol over local finance through his appointing power, had a veto on all acts of the Council, and through the large dis- cretionary power granted to departments practically man- aged all of the city affairs. On the other hand, Cincinnati 387] INTRODUCTORY 1 7 was governed by the Legislature. The Mayor was a mere figurehead. The City Council and Board of Administration ruled. There was nowhere a responsible authority. At one time even the Governor appointed the administrative boards, and some years ago a special act of the Legislature gave the Board of Administration the power to grant for fifty years a practical monopoly of street railway franchises, without the right of interference of the people or even the City Council. This has been the extreme limit reached by the Legislature in its interference with local administration. Among the lesser cities the diversity was as great. As a general rule responsible centralized administrative authority was wanting. Very rarely was power given to one official or to a department, but administration was entrusted to boards. A favorite resort was the " bi-partisan " board. This had the semblance of taking administration out of politics. It only resulted in one faction of a party playing into the hands of a faction in another party and intensifying the political aspect. An extreme example of the decentral- ized, irresponsible administrative board is seen in the form of government assigned to the cities of Youngstown and Akron. Here the Probate Judge, an officer elected by the county, and the Mayor appointed a " bi-partisan " board of four Commissioners, who had complete charge of city ad- ministration. Under this form of government no one was responsible. The Mayor, the Council, and the Board of Commissioners dodged responsibility by thrusting it from one to the other. It was impossible to fix the blame for administrative shortcomings. The merit system of appointment, as a means for securing efficiency in either municipal or State administration, was virtually unknown in the State;* except in certain cities, in 'The code prescribes it now for all cities, sees. 146-187. l8 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [388 which the police and fire departments were controlled by a modified merit system. But the entire municipal situation was suddenly changed in June, 1902, by the revolutionary and commendable course of the Supreme Court in sweeping aside its long line of for- mer decisions and holding that classification is special legis- lation, and therefore unconstitutional under the present Constitution. The immediate cases calling forth this deci- sion were brought against Cleveland and Toledo.^ The new code is not a step toward centralization. On the contrary, it deprives those cities which had adopted the federal plan of their centralized government and substitutes the decentralized board plan. It provides a Council, whose functions are purely legislative. The executive power is " vested in a Mayor, president of Council, Auditor, Solicitor, Department of Public Service, Department of Public Safety " and several minor boards. Of these officers all except the Board of Public Safety are elected. The Mayor's principal power is legislative. He can veto ordinances. He appoints, usually with the concurrence of the Council, certain minor officials. The heads of depart- ments consult with him. He fills vacancies, and has the power of preferring charges against any officer, the Council acting as a court upon the charges. But while it is " made the duty of the Mayor to have a general supervision over each department and the officers," it is not clear how his power of supervision will amount to much, since he is not a member of the principal administrative boards and since the principal officers are elected, and his power of removal must be exercised with the sanction of the Council. Administration is centered principally in two boards. A Board of Public Service, elected for two years, has super- estate ex rel. Kinsley tt al. v. Jones et al., 66 Ohio Slate, 453; State ex rel. Attorney General v. Beacom et al., 66 Ohio State, 491. 389] INTRODUCTORY ig vision of most of the business usually conducted by a munici- pal corporation. The law declares the board to be " the chief administrative authority of the city, and it shall man- age and supervise all public works and all public institu- tions," except a few, for which special provision is made. This board is an authority unto itself. It is limited by the Council only in the expenditure of money. It appoints as many laborers and inspectors as it sees fit, and fixes their pay. The other department created by the law is the Depart- ment of Public Safety. This is in charge of a board appointed by the Mayor, with the consent of two-thirds of all the members elected to the Council. This board has a general oversight over the Police and Fire Departments, but the scope of its authority is limited by civil service rules and by the powers of the chief of police and the chief of the Fire Department. These chiefs have a considerable degree of autonomy, and can be suspended only by the Mayor. Thus the Directors of Public Safety are confined to matters of business routine rather than to real supervision. The minor administrative boards are the Library Board, the Board of Health, and the Board of Tax Commissioners, who also have charge of the sinking fund. These boards are all appointed by the Mayor, the former with the consent of the Council. The Board of Tax Commissioners and Sinking Fund Trustees is created as a check upon hasty financial legislation. They serve without pay, and approve all tax levies before the same can be valid. They also have full control of the sinking fund. The Tax Commissioners and Library Board are bi-partisan. Executive and administrative powers could hardly be more scattered than they are by this plan. The scheme reveals its ancestry, the long line of special acts passed 20 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [3Q0 during the last fifty years. A bit of each plan was put into the new one, and the result is decentralization. The Legis- lature was handicapped by the constitutional provision enjoining a universal application of the code. It was neces- sary to act for small cities and large ones, and thus strike a general average which will fit only a few. The universal inconvenience which has arisen from the readjustment of all municipal governments to this law, and the conduct of the special session of the Legislature that framed the new code, have aroused considerable agitation throughout the State for a constitutional amendment, allow- ing more flexibility in municipal matters, and especially for providing a greater degree of home rule. The Missouri plan of letting certain of the larger cities frame their own charters is mentioned with favor. In spite of the traditional tendencies against centraliza- tion that have clung to the State through its century of existence, there are certain well-defined movements toward centralized administration. Some of these are not well marked, others are merely in the formative period, while a very few instances of strongly centralized control are found. The movement toward centralization has been greatly accelerated in recent years, and has found greatest favor among those activities more recently undertaken by the State. A considerable degree of centralization has been effected in the election laws and in the control of private corpora- tions. Moreover, there has been a rapid increase in the number of duties imposed upon existing State officials. Thus considerable authority has been centralized in the office of the State Treasurer, the Secretary of State and the Attorney-General. The State Auditor has evolved into a powerful administrative officer. He is at present a member of twenty-two boards and special commissions entrusted with certain governmental details. 391 ] INTRODUCTORY 21 This inquiry was begun originally with the idea of ascer- taining what tendencies are manifest toward the centraliza- tion of administration in those duties that formerly were exercised by localities, and of determining what causes compelled such centralization and what results have fol- lowed. It soon became apparent that Ohio's situation in the matter of administration was anomalous as compared with that of other great States. Her progress toward efficient administrative authority has been slow, while her commercial development has been rapid and her political prestige great. Thus a secondary object of inquiry was provided, viz., to ascertain, if possible, the causes of this delinquency. It will be natural to begin with a study of the State school system, for its history reveals best the tendency and policy of the State in administrative matters. This will entail, first, a study of the piiblic school system, including the school finances; an account of the disposal of the school lands; an analysis of the school district, its officers and functions; and of school supervision, both State and local ; as well as a study of other tendencies that make for centralization in educational matters : second, a study of the higher educa- tion; this will include the development of the State univer- sities and their correlation with the private colleges of the State. The second chapter deals with the development of the State's system of taxation and local finance. This includes a discussion of the general property tax, equalization, the special tax laws of more recent years, and State control over local finance. A third chapter endeavors to trace the centralizing ten- dencies in the administration of the Charities and Correc- tions of both the State and the localities. This naturally suggests the treatment of poor relief, penal and reformatory 22 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [392 institutions, the State charitable institutions, and all of them as influenced by the Board of State Charities. The fourth chapter treats of health administration, first under decentralized local authorities, and second under the control of the State Board of Health. The final chapter enumerates the administrative authori- ties that have been created in more recent years, and under whose supervision the State has centralized many functions. Some of these do not fall strictly within the sphere of this essay, because the functions which they exercise never were discharged by the locality. They have been added because they indicate a tendency to create new centralized authori- ties rather than to follow the old plan of delegating to the municipalities the power to exercise such new functions as can now properly be administered by State authority. In the conclusion are set forth, as nearly as they can be ascertained, the tangible causes that have retarded the de- velopment of centralized administration in the State, while all of the neighboring States have made considerable pro- gress in this direction. There is also added a summary of the conclusions that may be deduced from this inquiry. This research was made difficult because of the nature of the sources. While the State Library contains a full set of the State reports and the Assembly journals, they are in themselves very unsatisfactory because of their barrenness. The journals are mere records of motions made and passed. The reports, as a rule, have little to say concerning the pre- vailing conditions that called them forth. And there is a notable dearth of court decisions upon points pertaining to administrative law. Ohio Laws, i, p. 61. 26 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [396 in which the land was situated. This confusion was not lessened by the estabhshment of a separate administrative board in each of the " original surveyed " townships/ This board consisted of three trustees and a treasurer elected for one year, and had the power to lease the school section and apply the proceeds to the use of the schools. This separate organization of the " original " townships has prevailed almost continuously to the present time in those townships wherein the school section has not been sold. The term of ofhce has been altered at intervals, and is now three years. For a few years subsequent to 18 15 the Common Pleas Court appointed the " school land commissioners." In 1809 ^ the United States military tract school land was surveyed into quarter sections, and these were leased to the highest bidder at not less than two dollars per acre, in addition to the cost of sale and survey, said costs to be paid down. The principal was, however, not to be paid, but in lieu thereof a yearly rental of 6 per cent, forever, " subject, however, to alteration by any succeeding Legislature, so as to enable the purchaser to make such commutations as said Legislature may think expedient." This perpetual lease was altered the succeeding year,^ the Legislature agree- ing to accept a cash payment of ten dollars per quarter section as a commutation of the cost and five years' rental. This robbed the schools at once of eighty-six dollars per quarter section, for the rental would have been at least ninety-six dollars. The time for making the required im- provements was extended in 181 3 * and again in 1814.° In 1835 section sixteen was appraised by order of the Legislature,® and provision made for appraisals every twenty years thereafter, the improvements not to be considered. ' O. L., iv, p. 25. * O. L., vii, p. 108. " 0. L., viii, p. 253. ♦ii c.z.,p. 161. * 12 a z., p. 51. 'ssaz.,?. 15. 397] PUBLIC EDUCATION 27 The law of 1810^ was amended in 181 7, requiring leases to be made for ninety-nine years, renewable forever, the annual rental remaining at 6 per cent, of the appraised value. The first appraisal of the school lands was really made under this act, but owing to the laxity of officials the majority of the sections remained unappraised until the law of 1835. Various acts made provision for the leasing of the un- disposed school lands. In 1824 ^ leases were limited to fifteen years. In 183 1 ' this term was reduced to seven years, while the power of leasing lands was vested in the township trustees. The statute of 181 7 * provided that the county commissioners alone could renew the leases and should appoint three appraisers. Despite these general laws the Legislature passed at every session numerous special laws, granting various localities the privilege of disposing of their school land. So unsatis- factory was this method of utilizing these lands that Gover- nor Brown stated in his message in 1821, " So far as my information extends, the appropriation of the school lands in this State has produced hitherto (with few exceptions) no very material advantage in the dissemination of instruc- tion — none commensurate with their presumable value." ^ The lessor often sub-let his land at great profit. In 1824 the State petitioned Congress for the right to sell the lands. After three years' waiting, without formal assent, the Legislature passed in 1827 two separate acts providing for the sale of section sixteen,® and for securing by ballot the assent of the Virginia ^ and the United States military districts for the sale of their school lands. The subsequent year * provision was made for the sale of the ^15 0. Z.,p. 202. * 22 0. z., p. 419. * 29 0. z., p. 492. * 15 O. L., chap. 46. ' Senate Journal, 1821, p. 13. • 25 O. Z., p. 103. ' 25 O. Z., p. 45. 8 26 O. Z., p. 10. >- 28 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [398 lands in the Virginia and United States tracts. One-sixth was to be paid down, and the rest in five annual installments. Section sixteen ^ was to be sold, one-fourth down and the rest in annual installments, to the highest bidder, but not for less than the appraised value. But the leased lands could not be sold. If the lease was permanent the lease- holder could surrender the lease and obtain a title in fee simple by purchasing, paying one-eighth down and the residue in seven annual installments. In the United States military district the purchase price was divided into ten installments. Since 1852 ^ the holders of perpetual leases who desire to obtain title in fee must obtain permission of the township trustees to buy the land. But these provisions were subject to annual fluctuations, induced by the leaseholders or pur- chasers of the school lands. In 1843,' and again in 1852,* there were general revisions without making substantial change. The process of sale now in vogue is practically the one inaugurated in 1828. The sale is conducted by the township trustees, the voters of the township having first signified their willingness that the lands be sold. The Court of Common Pleas appoints three appraisers who are resi- dents of the township, and these, with the county surveyor, divide the land into convenient parcels and appraise each parcel. The Court reviews the proceedings, and if found correct the auditor sells the land to the highest bidder, but not for less than the appraised value. Since 1873 " one- third of the price is paid down, the remainder in two annual installments. If the land is not sold in two years it is re- appraised. The lands in the United States district were all sold by 1840. In the Virginia military district about * 27 O. Z., p. 32. * 50 O. Z., p. 1 68. » 40 O. L., p. 20. •50 O. L., p. i68. '70 O. L., p. 230. 399] PUBLIC EDUCATION 29 nine thousand acres remain under perpetual lease at twelve cents per acre annually.^ The school lands of the Western Reserve were subject to less legislation, as no perpetual leases had been granted. In 1829 the inhabitants voted to sell the lands, and by 1837 all were sold. An additional strip of land had been granted by Congress in 1834 to the Western Reserve, because the former grant had been insufficient. This land was sold, after the consent of the voters had been given, in 1850. Nearly all of section sixteen has been sold. In 1898 thirty- seven counties still reported incomes from rentals, but the total amount was only $17,514.75.^ The same act of Congress that set aside school lands in Ohio gave several sections of lands that contained salt springs to the State for the use of schools. The State early attempted to work these lands, and appointed an agent ' to have charge of the salt wells, but no success ever attended the experiment. In 1810 * the monopoly of working one of the sections was granted to three parties, but this arrange- ment lasted only four years. Subsequently agents were appointed by the Governor. In 1824 Congress granted permission to sell the salt lands, and they were sold the following year. In 1850 the United States granted " swamp and over- flow " lands along the several rivers of the State for school purposes. The 25,720 acres in Ohio were soon sold. Ohio's share in the public lands granted by Congress for the establishment of agricultural colleges in 1862 was 630,- 000 acres. This was sold for $342,450, but this sum was not utilized until it had increased to one-half million dollars. > Education in Ohio, p. 29. Centennial volume. » Auditor's Report, 1898, p. 1 1. »iaZ.,p.2l. ♦8aZ.,c. 56. 30 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [400 The various funds thus created form the " irreducible school funds" of the State. In 1901 they aggregated as follows: Section sixteen ?3.405,335-43 Section 29, ministeriallands 142,154.60 Virginia Military Tract 195.596.47 United States Military Tract 120,272.12 Western Reserve 257,499.21 Ohio State University — "Agricultural College " 555,588.26 Ohio University — " Symmes Purchase " 14,999.58 Swamp lands and salt lands 24,772.09 Total ^4,716,219.76 The income ^ from this sum is $305,327.78. The common school fund derived from the sale of the original school lands is $4,120,857.83, and its annual proceeds $247,389.65; not an encouraging income from a princely estate embrac- ing 750,000 acres, one thirty-sixth of the entire area of a great Commonwealth. The school lands were grossly mismanaged, both in the leasing and the selling. No careful oversight was main- tained, the Legislature carelessly enacting laws without in- quiry into their effect. Much of the land was early occupied by squatters, who had no title whatever to it. They con- tinued to control legislation for their own benefit, and secured leases for merely nominal sums. Members of the Legislature even had acts passed in their own behalf grant- ing leases to themselves, and enabling them to obtain pos- session without adequate pay. One case is recorded of a Senator who managed to secure seven entire sections for himself and his family.^ The amount of this special legislation was really enor- mous. Nearly one-third of the acts passed between 1802 and 1835 pertained to the disposal of school lands. Amend- ^ Auditor's Report, 1901, p. 1 2. * Atwater, History of Ohio, p. 253. 40 1 ] P UBLIC ED UCA TION 3 1 ments were made at every session, and the provisions grew so complex and the conditions so alarming that a committee appointed in 1821 by the House of Representatives reported, after one year's inquiry, that the lands must be sold, else " no good and much evil will accrue to the State from the grant of these lands by Congress." " Shall we proceed on, legislating session after session for the sole benefit of the lessees of school lands at the expense of the State? Or shall we apply to the general government for authority to sell out these lands as fast as the leases expire or are for- feited by the lessees? Or shall we entirely surrender these lands to present occupants with a view to avoid in future the perpetual importunity of these troublesome peti- tioners?" ^ As a result of this report the Governor was empowered to appoint a commission of seven, who investigated the condition of the lands and formulated a system of education. The commission reported great waste committed in the school lands by the destruction of timber and the practical inutility of attempting to secure adequate returns under existing laws; they admitted that many of the acts passed were unconstitutional, and that the State was the trustee, not the owner, of the lands. They recommended that the lands be sold, and that general provisions be made for the organizing of public schools.^ The report was tabled, but its contents were made a political issue in 1824, and a large majority of the newly elected legislators were friendly to its proposals. But the Legislature soon lapsed into its old habits, and the selling of the lands was conducted on the same principle of private gain as the leasing had been. In many of the townships, especially in the poorer and sparsely settled portions of the State, where the money was most needed for schools, the lands were sold for trifling sums. ^ House Journal, 1822. ' Senate Journal, 1825, p. 218. 32 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [402 The first report of Samuel Lewis, the first State Superin- tendent of Schools, cautioned the Legislature. " The ten- ant (of school lands) may surrender his lease, and on pay- ing the former appraisement take a deed in fee simple for the land, sometimes worth six times as much as he pays. Cases have come to my knowledge where land has been taken at six dollars per acre worth at the time fifty dollars ; the tenants, to be sure, make their fortunes, but the schools are sacrificed." ^ " School lands have been sold at less than a dollar, and in some cases at less than fifty cents an acre." * And he recommended that lands be placed in charge of one State officer, who should devote his time to the proper dis- position of the lands. ^ Had this only been done the State might to-day have a splendid endowment for her public schools. But there was no disposition on the part of the lawmakers to place so much authority in the hands of one man. SCHOOL TAXES The income from the school lands has always proved inadequate for the support of the schools. There are two other sources of revenue for the common schools of the State, local taxes, and the State common school fund, raised by a State levy. Local taxation was first developed. In 1821 * all prop- erty in any township or school district was made liable for school taxes, and the tax was limited to one-half the amount of county taxes. In 1831 ° non-resident property holders were also taxed for the maintenance of schools. Amend- ments were made to this law in 1825,* authorizing the build- ing of school houses, in 1827 ' limiting the sum to be spent > First Report Supt. of Schools, p. 41 . * Ibid. • Ibid., p. 42-3. * 19 a Z., p. 51. •29aZ.,p.4i4. • 23 O. L., p. 36. » 25 O. L.. p. 65. 403] PUBLIC EDUCATION 33 in repairing to three hundred dollars, and requiring a two- thirds vote to authorize even this expenditure. This was re- duced to a simple majority in 1838/ This law also allowed the purchase of a site for school buildings, the custom having been to receive such site by gift. The purchase of furniture and fuel was likewise authorized by the same statute. It was usual, and made a duty in 1834, for each person sending a child to provide his portion of the fuel. However, no child was refused because of his parents' delinquency. In 1840 ^ the price of the fuel became a charge upon the parent or guardian refusing to furnish his quota, the directors being empowered to collect the money in the same manner as the district taxes. Until 1838 the district taxes were collected by district collectors, but in that year the directors were empowered to authorize the county treasurer to collect them. But this provision lasted only one year, and a district collector was chosen until 1853,^ when the township treasurer was made district tax collector. Previous to 1853 the directors had power to commute any tax for labor or material used in building the school houses, and by the act of 1827 * two days' labor could be taken in lieu of one dollar tax. This was reduced to fifty cents in 1831 ' and to twenty-five cents in 1836." The law of 1838 established no minimum. Previous to 1838 there was no provision for an annual budget. Subsequent to that year it was prepared by the town clerk and voted on at the annual district meeting. Since 1848^ the district clerk makes the estimates; the maximum of the tax has usually been fixed by law, and has fluctuated greatly. In 1873 * it was fixed at seven mills, and subsequent legislation has practically maintained this » 26 o. L., p. 21. * 38 o. L., p. 39. » 51 o. L., p. 429. « 25 O. L., p. 65. » 29 O. L., p. 414. • 34 O. Z., p. 19. » 46 O. L., p. 83. • 70 O. L., p. 195. 34 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [404 limit in all except city districts, and all districts may now vote to bond themselves for the purpose of erecting school houses. From 1825 to 1853 a county school levy was customary. It fluctuated in amount from one-half mill to one mill. In 1839 ^ this was made optional, and less than one-fifth of the counties took advantage of it. The first State school tax was levied in 1838.^ The levy was one-half mill on every dollar of taxable property, and aggregated $200,000. In 1842 ' it was reduced to $150,- 000, but raised in 185 1 * to $300,000. The rate is now two mills. At various times revenues from sundry sources have been applied to the school fund, such as a tax on lawyers, physicians, peddlers and auctioneers." The following table exhibits the total receipts for school purposes in 1901 : From State school tax $1,783,258.32 Income from lands 242,256.75 Local school taxes 1 1,351,986.77 From sale of bonds 1,067,493.19 From all other sources 860,250.06 Total ;$i 5,305,245.09 This same year the average tax in township districts was 5.10 mills; in separate or special districts, 7.98 mills. The State levy was two mills. THE DISTRICT The simplest unit of Ohio's school system is the district. It remains to this day an almost independent unit, with complete authority vested in its School Board. The process of centralization has affected it only in the unifying of city schools and the creation of township districts. The latter »37az.,p.6i. « 360./., p. 85. »4oaZ.,p.62. * 49 o. Z., p. 40. » 42 o. L., p. 38. 405] PUBLIC EDUCATION 25 are not at all numerous, and the former constitute inde- pendent municipal districts. The history of the legislation enacted for the government of the districts is not simple. No definite policy was ever adopted by the State of Ohio for the regulation of its school system. Indeed, the policy of the State has hardly produced a system. Segregation of administrative functions and a continually fluctuating mass of legislation characterize the treatment of the problem of school administration. But through all the mutations of the laws the district has practically remained intact. Only the more important laws can be here cited. Fifteen years before the first general school law was passed, the General Assembly provided that the trustees of " original surveyed " townships divide the same into suit- able school districts in a manner " best suited to the con- venience of the inhabitants." ^ In 182 1 the trustees were made to submit the question of districting the township to the people, and if no vote was taken a neighborhood con- taining twelve or more households could petition for the creation of a district.^ The administrative machinery of this primitive district consisted of a school committee of three, a collector, who also acted as treasurer, and a clerk, all elected at the annual district meeting. The law was optional, and Governor Morrow stated that this rendered it " nugatory." ' This was cured in 1825 by making the law obligatory and withholding the school money from every township not properly districted.* The obligation remained unheeded, for this law was re-enacted ten times in the next twenty-six years, several of the acts setting time limits within which townships must be redistricted, but these hints were scarcely noticed, and the next session of the Legisla- ture usually extended them to suit the delinquent trustees. * 4 O. Z., p. 69. ' 19 O. L., p. 51. ^Annual Message of 1823. *33 (?.Z.,p.36. 36 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [406 The administration of school districts was not simpHfied by the acts authorizing the formation of districts from parts of different townships, and even parts of different counties, by joint action of the several boards of trustees. The first of these acts was passed in 1825/ and five subsequent acts continued the powers of the trustees to create or alter dis- tricts, so that considerable confusion has resulted. At pres- ent any district of the State can be altered by consent of the citizens of the district to be affected. It was at first the duty of the town clerk to furnish the county auditor with a map and census of the districts of his township, but in 1853 * this devolved upon the School Boards. The officers of the district remained as in 1805, until 1825, when only three directors were chosen for one year. The term was extended to three years in 1842, and they were empowered to appoint a treasurer. Subsequently a clerk was chosen from among- their own number, and the duties of the treasurer were performed by this clerk. In 1854 the office of treasurer was restored, but only for two years. Until 1853 all school offices were made compulsory upon those who had been duly elected, a fine being levied upon all who refused to serve. During the first half century a great mass of special legis- lation was enacted, organizing all manner of special school districts. No attempt at uniformity was made, neither was classification undertaken. An exception, however, to this rule was the law of 1847,' passed for the city of Akron, and hence called the " Akron Law." It was made general the following year. This law made provision for the organiz- ing of districts in all incorporated towns. It provided a Board of Education of six members, elected for three years, to have complete control of the schools. The entire cor- poration was made one school district. The board reported * 23 O. L., p. 36. '51 O. L., p. 72. '45 Loeal Laws, p. 187. 407] PUBLIC EDUCATION 37 annually to the City Council and to the county auditor. The acceptance of this form of school management was left optional with the municipalities, and only about one-half of them voted to organize under its provisions. In 1 851 ^ a general revision of the school laws wrought some changes in the country or township district. The annual district meeting elected three directors for three years, a clerk and a treasurer for one year ; the directors had corporate powers and general supervision of school affairs and property and the school taxes. The clerk was the keeper of records, took the yearly enumeration of school children, and furnished the county auditor with the required statistics. The treasurer collected the taxes and reported to the county auditor, instead of the township treasurer. This law also was optional. Up to this date, then, there existed three varieties of districts. First, the special act districts, depending upon special legislation. These comprised about one-third of the districts of the State. Their forms of administration were as various as their number. Second, the School Board districts, organized under the Akron Law. These com- prised about one-half of the incorporated towns and a few unincorporated, for in 1849 the act was extended to all villages of two hundred inhabitants or more.^ Third, town- ship or director districts. These included mostly the rural districts, as well as many towns that had failed to take advantage of the " Akron Law " and were not organized as special districts. The " original surveyed " townships may be included in this group. As the law of 1847 attempted to centralize the adminis- tration of the town schools in one School Board, so the law of 1853 ^ attempted to unify the schools of the township by creating one district of every township. The townships » 49 0. L., p. 27. » 47 O. Z., p. 45. » 5 1 O. L., p. 429. 38 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [408 were termed districts, and the previously organized districts were called sub-districts. Each sub-district held an annual meeting as before and elected three directors, one of whom was to act as clerk and one as chairman. These were to have charge of all local or sub-district matters pertaining to the schools. The township board consisted of the township clerk and the clerk of each sub-district. These were a body corporate, and had charge of all the school property in the township. They could create new sub-districts, had control of the town- ship or union high school, where one had been organized, and had supervisory powers over the sub-districts. All the teachers in the township reported to the town clerk, and all the boards reported the required statistics to the county auditor. The consent of the electors was needed before a township high school could be established. A township budget was prepared by the board, and all funds were paid through the township treasury. This was a step toward centralization, but it was a compromise measure and never worked well, though it has not been wholly repealed. The schools were practically under the control of two boards. " The constant conflict of authority between the members of the Board of Local Directors and the Township Boards was a constant annoyance and hindrance to effective work in the schools." ^ The hope that many township high schools would be organized under this act was not realized. Subsequent changes lessened the powers of the township boards, and by custom they became merely perfunctory bodies, the sub-district retaining the control of its schools. For a time the Township Board even appointed all the teachers for the township schools, but in response to popular clamor against " one man power " this provision was soon repealed, and the sub-district system continued under the *j^A Report State Commissioner 0/ Schools, p. 34. 409] PUBLIC EDUCATION 39 anomalous form of a township organization. Concerning the county schools, the State Commissioner affirmed in i860, " Those best acquainted with these schools have little hope of improvement, to any great extent, so long as this sub- district system is continued." ^ In that year there were 3200 local directors and 1300 members of Township Boards, an unwieldy number of officials. Many of the schools were so small that both the hiring of efficient teachers and the continuing of school for the legal number of weeks seemed almost impossible. Often there were only eight pupils en- rolled, almost one school officer for each pupil. ^ In 1892 * the Township Board was given the powers of the local directors, and thus the friction between the sub-district and township officers was stopped. The Township Board was especially authorized to appoint township superintendents and erect township high schools. The law was successful, and in three years several hundred townships had responded to the provisions for the organizing of graded schools. But the people again feared that the power given to the Township Board was too great, and in compliance with a general demand the law was revised in 1897, and so modi- fied that the Township Board is now more an advisory than administrative body. Three standing committees are re- quired by law, one on teachers and text-books, another on buildings and grounds, and a third on supplies. These committees can only recommend; the power of the Town- ship Board is gone. A more encouraging attempt to solve the problem of the rural school is the entire abandonment of the sub-districts and centralizing all the schools in one central building. ^2jth Annual Report, p. 53. 'As early as 1851, there were 1,000 more districts in Ohio than in New York, though the latter State was older, and larger both in area and population. •89 a Z., p. 93. 40 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [41O This was first attempted by Kingsville township, Ashtabula county, under special act of the Legislature. Later this act was made permissive for five counties enumerated in the law, and finally, in 1898, the law was made general/ It was amended in 1900, committing the question of consolida- tion to the voters. A Township Board of five members is elected at large for three years; the township clerk and treasurer are ex-officio members of this board. The board has complete charge of the schools, and awards the contract for conveying the children to the school house. The com- missioner reports the satisfactory operation of this law.' It insures better schools, longer sessions, better attendance, more efficient instruction, better apparatus and libraries, and greater economy. It is, of course, optional with the communities whether they will consolidate their schools. The movement has not become at all general. In 1873 ^ a new movement toward intricate and meaning- less classification began, and this has reached a culmination in the law of 1890.* The following table exhibits this complexity of districts: City Districts — First class, first grade, cities of 250,000 or more — Cincinnati.* First class, second grade, cities of 150,000-250,000 — Cleveland. First class, third grade, cities of 100,000-150,000 — ^Toledo. First class — 10,000-100,000. Second class — under 10,000. Village Districts. Special Districts. Township Districts. Sub-Districts. The city districts are all organized under their own re- > 96 O. Z. * 48th Report, p. 1 8. • 70 O. Z., p. 195. * 95 O. Z., p. 1 1 5. *This classification is not based on census of 1900, but on the classification of cities. Vid. Introduction. 41 1 ] PUBLIC EDUCATION 4I spective charters. The village districts have a board of three or six elected for three years. The special districts usually have a board of three directors. The township and sub- district organizations have been explained. This classifi- cation is evidently an attempt to create general order out of a chaos of inconsistent special legislation.^ In the district legislation and administration two weak- nesses stand out prominently ; the more advanced provisions were usually made optional, and there has been little attempt to create a responsible administrative head with consider- able power to enforce the laws or encourage advanced methods. While purely permissive legislation in school organization may be better than none, it requires the vigi- lance and interest of a competent overseer to give it wide- spread acceptance. Few of the permissive laws relating to school betterment have had a general adoption. Many were re-enacted, often a score of times, the laws of the State being congested with statutes relating to schools; but with- out adequate supervision their provisions have remained useless. SCHOOL SUPERVISION This leads directly to the vital point in school adminis- tration, viz., adequate and competent superintendence, both local and State. In both respects Ohio is found wanting. STATE SUPERINTENDENCE The first attempt at State supervision was made in 1837,' with the establishment of the office of Superintendent of Common Schools. The Legislature appropriated five hun- dred dollars for the salary and defined the duties of the officer. These were mainly the gathering of information * In 1850, there were passed 58 local school laws; a fair arerage of the Legiila- tvre's work. «35 0.Z.,p. 82. 42 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [412 and the suggesting of a plan for the betterment of the schools. The first superintendent appointed by the Legis- lature was Samuel Lewis. He entered upon his duties the same year that Horace Mann assumed a similar office in Massachusetts. His strong personality, great industry, comprehensive mind and winning eloquence allied him to the famous New England champion of free schools. And there can be no doubt that his influence has to a large degree shaped the school system of the State. His first and second reports take rank among the educational papers of our coun- try, and they were printed in a number of the Eastern States. They emphasized at once the faults of the schools and their remedies, and outlined a system of education well in advance of the ideals of that day, and unto which the State has not yet attained. Excepting the disposition of the school lands and the enacting of special school laws, very little had been done toward establishing a State school system prior to 1836. The act of 1821 was so indefinite in its provisions, and purely optional upon localities, that it remained a dead letter. In 1826 the Governor complains of the delinquency of the State in educational matters. " Measures for improvement in their regard have been a standing theme of executive communication, ever since the commencement of our gov- ernment." ^ This complaint was repeated annually, and ten years later the Governor's message affirmed that " Our system of education is languishing in proportion to our other improvements," ^ and he recommended that the mem- bers of the Legislature read Victor Cousin's report on Euro- pean education, which had recently been published, and that they act accordingly. This was a lofty ideal for that body, accustomed to playing with educational matters. It however authorized the publishing of the school laws; and learning » Senate journal, 1 826, p. 8. » Ibid., 1 836, p. 1 1. 413] PUBLIC EDUCATION 43 that Professor C. E. Stone, of Cincinnati, was about to start for Europe they requested him to gather information con- cerning the school systems of the Continent. His report was pubHshed by the State in 1838. It dealt with the train- ing of teachers and school discipline rather than adminis- tration. It had no direct effect upon the Legislature. At the time, then, of the creation of the office of State Superin- tendent of Schools, such public schools as had been estab- lished were practically waifs, neglected by the State and poorly cared for by the localities. There was no standard of education. Every locality was an authority unto itself, and since there were no means provided for the enforcement of such laws as had been enacted, they were allowed to remain unenforced. There were very few localities in the State where the free schools provided proper instruction even in the common branches. The better schools were not free. " In one town a free school is taught three months in the year by one teacher in a district where more than one hundred children desire to attend; they rush in and crowd the school so as to destroy all hope of usefulness ; the wealthy and those in comfortable circumstances seeing this, withdraw their children or never send them ; the school thus receives the name of a school for the poor and its usefulness is destroyed." ^ This was typ- ical of nearly all the schools of the State. It was the rule to keep school as long as the State money lasted, and then those who desired their children to continue, were charged a tuition, and the children of the poor were left uncared for. In most of the districts accommodations were not large enough for all and the poor were crowded out, the teacher naturally favoring those who paid tuition. In other localities the teachers received a portion of the public money at a fixed rate per scholar, which they de- » First Report Supt. of Schools. 44 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [414 ducted from the price of tuition. This virtually made a private school. In other districts the school money was kept for several years, until enough had been accumulated for conducting a free school from three to six months in one year, so that the school was taught only one year in two or three. The average number of weeks that school was conducted was less than twenty. The education of women was almost entirely neglected. The provisions of the law granting power to the districts to tax themselves for school purposes were rarely availed of, and the money derived from the school lands was wholly inadequate for the support of the schools. The State fund was distributed according to the valuation of the district, not according to the number of pupils ; thus a few of the townships received four dollars per scholar while others received less than ten cents per scholar. The administrative machinery of the districts was irre- sponsible and inordinately clumsy. In 1836 there were 7,748 districts and 38,740 school officers. Their power was very limited, both in regard to locating schools and hiring efficient teachers and levying taxes. Yet the amount of ministerial detail prescribed for them was so great that " the amount of time now required by law, if the officers did their duty, will, if computed at the average price of a day laborer, amount to a heavier tax than is assessed in money for the support of the school." ^ Neither was there uniformity in the size of the districts. Many were too small, and their boundaries so loosely fixed that it was difficult to properly tax them for school purposes. Whenever a school house became crowded it was the custom to divide the district. Many of them were formed of parts of several townships in adjoining counties, so that some district treasurers were compelled to go to two county seats, sometimes traveling one hundred miles to get ten or twenty dollars. 1 First Report Supt. of Schools. 415] PUBLIC EDUCATION 45 It was the custom to depend on gifts for school houses and sites, or if these were not forthcoming to wait until enough money had accumulated to pay for a building, which was usually miserably built. There was no public interest in the schools; the directors were accustomed to hold office without re-election, and district treasurers often received funds for their districts when no schools were kept in those districts. In some localities elections had not been held for years, the old officers continuing to serve, and no reports were made by them to any one as to the disposal of the pub- lic moneys entrusted to their care. All of these conditions led to the establishing of private schools and academies. In Cincinnati alone there were one hundred such schools in 1837.^ The first report of the superintendent recommended that these defects be remedied by specific legislation. His principal suggestions were: a. That the schools be made free. b. That the number of school officers was too great and their powers too limited. c. That the school districts should be uniform and their boundaries fixed. d. That the township be made the unit of school adminis- tration; the township clerk to be the clerk of a Township Board to be elected ; the township treasurer to have in charge all the school funds; and the Township Board to be em- powered to establish a high school or academy and night schools, and adopt uniform text-books for the entire town- ship. e. That a school fund be created by direct tax. f. That the building of school houses be simplified by permitting each district to borrow the money necessary for that purpose. » Atwater, Hist, of Ohio, p. 297. 46 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [416 g. That the office of County Superintendent be estab- lished. h. That the County Courts appoint Boards of Examiners to examine teachers, and that a Normal School be estab- lished. i. That the powers of the State Superintendent be in- creased to give him centralized control over the entire sys- tem of education. j. That the legislation enacted be final for a definite period of time, the fluctuating policy of the Legislature working much harm throughout the State, k. That the law prescribe the number of weeks the schools should be in session, and compel the attendance of children. As a result of this report the law of 1838 was passed. It embodied only a few of the above suggestions. The schools were declared free. The district officers were to be elected at an annual district meeting. The township treasurer was made responsible for the school funds. The districts were allowed to borrow money to build school houses. The town clerk was made superintendent of schools in his township, with power to visit each school at least once a year and examine it, and he could fill vacancies in local boards. He reported to the county auditor, who was made the County Superintendent of Schools. The salary of the State Super- intendent was raised to twelve hundred dollars, and he was invited to suggest a plan for establishing a State Normal School. The superintendent the following year visited every county in the State, no small task in those pioneer days, and what influence the law withheld he more than supplemented by his personal enthusiasm and tireless energy. The results showed what even limited supervision can ac- complish. Mr. Lewis resigned after three years of labor. His work had not been appreciated, and his health was broken down 417] PUBLIC EDUCATION 47 because of the constant exposure to which his work committed him. During his term of office 3,265 school houses were built, the number of schools increased from 4,336 to 7,295, and the value of their property from $61,890 to $206,445. The enrollment was doubled, a State school tax was levied, the amount paid for tuition increased from $317,730 to $701,691, teachers' institutes were organized, the State school laws were codified and printed, a State educational journal was published, a uni- form reporting system was inaugurated, and public interest awakened in the free schools. There was much agitation against the law of 1838 because of its radical nature, and this favorable beginning was checked in 1840 by the abolition of the office of State Super- intendent,^ the duties of the office being transferred to the Secretary of State, who was allowed four hundred dollars annually for extra clerk hire. In reality the additional clerk became the head of the State schools, and his activities were chiefly the gathering and compiling of statistics. The other duties of the Secretary of State were ample enough to engage all his time. There wa's an immediate falling off in school efficiency and interest. By 1844 only a little over half of the counties reported; the lack of State supervision was reflected in the inefficiency of township and county superin- tendence. Teachers' institutes declined.* Samuel Galloway was the first of the Secretaries to face the problem. He clearly describes the situation in his first report : " No other interest of the State has been so fearfully neglected, and any other visited with such chilling indiffer- ence would have hopelessly perished. The common school system was started under favorable auspices, and enjoyed, during the earlier stages of its infancy, the kind protection of ' nursing fathers and nursing mothers.'- But -for a few * 38 O. Z., p. 130. ' Executive Document, 1844, No. 31. 48 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [418 years past it has been doomed to an orphanage — gradually deepening into the bitterness of its destitution. Condemned by many, neglected by all, and actually patronized by but few, it must sink into insignificance, unless it is speedily quickened by the impulse of a new life . . . . the principal obstacles .... are the inefficiency of township and dis- trict superintendents, the incompetency of teachers, and the absence of action, sympathy and interest on the part of the parents." ^ Mr. Galloway proved that even a superintendent without legal powers can do great things in school organization if possessed of ability and enthusiasm. The response came from the teachers and parents, not from the Legislature. The teachers of the State organized a State association in 1847. They repeatedly petitioned the Legislature to re- create the office of State Superintendent. Failing in effect- ing this they raised the money among themselves to pay for State supervision, and elected one of their number as State agent, or missionary, to work principally in arousing the parents to co-operate with the teachers. In contrast to the salary paid Samuel Lewis were the three thousand dollars they paid to this voluntary superintendent. Thus was the lack of State centralized control supplemented by voluntary action on the part of private individuals. In 1850 the Leg- islature created a State Board of Instruction, to be appointed by the Legislature, which should have thorough supervision over the schools, the examination of teachers and the dis- bursement of the school fund. But the law remained a nullity for the peculiar reason that the L^islature never appointed the board. In 1853 ^ the office of Superintendent of Schools was re- newed under the name of " State Commissioner of Common Schools." The Commissioner is elected for a term of three » Xefert Stc. State, 1844, p. 5. • 51 O. L., p. 429. 419] PUBLIC EDUCATION ^g years, and his salary at present is $2,000 a year. He is re- quired " to spend annually at least ten days in each judicial district of the State, superintending and encouraging teach- ers' institutes, conferring with township Boards of Education or other school officers, counseling teachers, visiting schools, and delivering lectures on topics calculated to subserve the interests of popular education." ^ He is given power to purchase libraries for township schools, to prepare forms for making school reports, to distribute the school laws, to require county auditors or any other school officers to fur- nish him with such information regarding schools as he may require, and to have general supervision over the school fund. He reports annually to the Governor, and appoints the State Board of Examiners. In 1872 he was empowered to order a new enumeration of school youth whenever he thinks that errors in previous enumeration make it essential.' His most important duty is the supervision of the State school funds. The act of 1872 requires ^ that he shall exercise " such supervision over the educational funds of the State as may be necessary to secure their safe and right application and distribution according to law." Upon complaint being made under oath by three freeholders of a district concerning a wrongful use of school funds, the State Commissioner must institute an investigation. An adverse report is given to the grand jury. Since the revision of the compulsory education act in 1893 * the State Commissioner sends to the local boards throughout the State " regulations and suggestions for the instruction and guidance " of the local board, teachers and officers charged with the enforce- ment of the law. Although the issuing of these regulations is obligatory upon the commissioner, the officers are not bound to follow them. ' 51 O. L., sec. 50. * 70 O. L., p. 195. » Jbid., sec. 106. * 90 a L., p. 285. 50 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [420 The State Commissioner is in reality not a superintendent at all. His title is not a misnomer. His power is moral. He cannot compel obedience. The high degree of central- ized supervision as developed in New York, Massachusetts and nearly all other States has not been approached in Ohio. LOCAL SUPERVISION Nor has the State evolved an eflficient system of county and township supervision. Since the passage of the "Akron Law," municipalities have had city superintendents. The laws now in force place the schools in the complete control of the Boards of Education, and these prescribe the powers of the local superintendent. No doubt much of the efficiency of the Ohio schools is due to these local superintendents. They aid in training their teachers, thus supplying a need the State has long neglected; they are the skilled advisers of their Boards of Education on all matters pertaining to schools; they conduct teachers' institutes, and they set the standard for teachers' examinations, a function not yet undertaken by the State. The plan of making the township clerk the superintendent of the township schools, as attempted in 1838, did not work. The reports of the State Super- intendents are uniform in their complaints that the town clerks do not visit the schools, and fail to exercise any super- vising influence. In later years, in those townships that have adopted the township plan and have centralized their schools, centralized supervision is secured through the town- ship principal. County superintendence has been the continual demand of the educators since the establishment of free schools in the State. It is significant that from the first report of Samuel Lewis to the last report of the present State Commissioner, the one request made of the Legislature, persistently and earnestly, has been for adequate county supervision. Gov- 42 1 ] PUBLIC EDUCATION ^I ernors have joined in the demand, often devoting many paragraphs of their annual messages to the subject. The State Teachers' Association and the various county associa- tions have repeatedly petitioned for it. But to all these influences the Legislature has remained irresponsive. The law of 1847 ^ is the one exception. This authorized the county commissioners to appoint a county superintendent of schools, if they wished. Only three counties ever availed themselves of this opportunity. Perhaps the Legislature is not so much at fault as the local authorities. The county commissioners are an elected board, and hence dislike to incur the displeasure of their constituents by increasing the tax to the amount necessary to pay for county supervision. This law has not been repealed. I find no record that any county auditor ever actively supervised the schools of his county as provided by the law of 1838 and several subse- quent enactments. The auditors even neglected the making of required reports to the State Superintendent. In order to secure statistics it became necessary to compel the teachers to report to the district treasurer before they could draw their quarterly pay.^ Concerning the situation, Governor Cox made the follow- ing recommendation in his message of 1866, after careful personal investigation : " I believe that a great majority of the most active and intelligent friends of our common school system have become convinced that the administration of school affairs should be separated from the ordinary town- ship and county offices, and that county superintendents of schools are necessary to give the greatest validity to the system, not only by guiding the general instruction and dis- cipline of the several schools, but in personally attending to the collection of those reports of facts upon which gov- * 45 o. z., p. 67. » 46 o. L., p. 28. 52 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [422 emmental action is based." ^ Reference is continually made in the reports of the commissioners to the educational sys- tems of New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Per- haps no better evidence can be gathered of the need of cen- tralized supervision in school matters than the reports of the commissioners. Their general tenor is shown by the fol- lowing extracts : " The weakness of the Ohio school system, so far as the county schools are concerned, lies in the lack of system and superintendence." * " Responsibility of school management should be fixed somewhere." ' " Other States have gone on improving and perfecting their school system while Ohio, from this date of mark (1838) has seemed almost to stand still. In essentials she has done nothing in the way of legislation within the last thirty-five years. Indeed in one important particular, the township schools have retrograded; for under the law of 1853, each school district was entitled to a free library." * " Intelligent friends of education, from all parts of the State call for something to be done in this direction." ° " The two imperative needs of the rural school are pro- fessional training for its teachers, and intelligent and effi- cient school supervision." ' " The fact that Ohio is to-day almost the only State in the Union without some kind of supervision for the county schools is due very largely to the fact that for forty years these schools were under the control of two Boards of Edu- cation — the result of a compromise between those favoring the sub-district as an educational unit, and those who be- '^ Executive Documents, 1866, vol. i, p. 278. • j/f/ Report of Slate Commissioner, p. 5. *32d Report of State Commissioner, p. 3. * Ibid.^ 35, p. 17. • md., yit p. 15. • Ibid., 44, p. 34. 423] PUBLIC EDUCATION c^ lieved that the township should be the unit of organiza- tion." ^ ** Ohio can never have a school system commensurate with her greatness as a State, until she has placed her country schools under intelligent supervision." ^ This lack of legal supervision is somewhat offset by the activity of county teachers* institutes and the exercise of careful judgment by the Board of County Examiners.^ COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE The problem of school attendance was not attacked by the State until 1827, when the first compulsory educational law of the State was passed.* It required parents to send their children between the ages 8-14 to a common school at least twelve weeks in a year, unless excused for certain reasons by the Board of Education, but its exceptions were broad, and no proper authority was designated to secure its enforce- ment. The result was that it was only partially successful in reaching the large number of truants. The revision of 1889 ® made the law more comprehensive. All children between the ages of eight and fourteen are now compelled to attend school twenty consecutive weeks in the year in city districts and sixteen weeks in the township districts, unless excused by the superintendent of schools in the city or Board of Education in the county. All minors over fourteen and under sixteen who cannot read or write are compelled to attend school at least one-half of each day, or such evening schools as may be provided by the Board of Education. All habitual truants are deemed juvenile delinquents, and may be sent to the State Reformatory. Failure on the part of the parents or guardian, or of employers of children, to ^S4lfi Report of State Commissioner , p. 6. ' Ibid., 36, p. 5. *Ibid., 29, p. 17. * 74 O. Z., p. 57. » 86 O. L., p. 333. 54 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [424 comply with these provisions is made a misdemeanor. The enforcement of the law is entrusted to the Boards of Educa- tion. In cities truant officers are elected who have the powers of constables. In villages and townships the Boards desig- nate a constable to enforce the law. These officers have power to enter the home or place of employment and compel the child to attend school. The truant officers report daily to the superintendent of schools and the clerk of the board. All teachers likewise report all cases of delinquencies to the clerk. An amendment the following year made all youth between the ages of eight and sixteen, who are not engaged in regular employment, subject to the law.^ In 1893 appeal was granted, in case the superintendent of schools or the Board of Education refuse to excuse a child from school, to the Probate Judge. ^ Employers may now make provision for private instruc- tion of minors employed by them, subject to the supervision of the local superintendent of schools or the clerk of the Board of Education. The fines for violations have been greatly increased, and have been extended to teachers and salaried officers who fail to comply with the provisions of the law. The truant officer, instead of the Board of Educa- tion, now institutes proceedings against parents, guardians, employers and juvenile delinquents. Over the latter the Probate Judge has final jurisdiction. The other cases may be heard before any magistrate. The results of the law are shown in the table on page 74. Since 1894 ' women have been eligible to positions on the Boards of Education, and allowed to vote for members of the board. They evince a keen interest in all matters pertaining to the schools, and their influence has been particularly potent and wholesome in the organization of city boards. » 87 O. L., p. 316. » 90 O. L,, p. 285. »9i O. L., p. 260. 425] PUBLIC EDUCATION 55 THE TRAINING AND EXAMINING OF TEACHERS Until 1825 no fitness for teaching seems to have been required, unless the parents themselves established the stand- ard. In this year the Courts of Common Pleas were em- powered to appoint three examiners. The number of ex- aminers fluctuated until in 1836 ^ there were three in each township. But scarcely any attention was paid to these provisions, as they were purely optional. There was con- stant complaint that good teachers could not be found. Teaching was not looked upon as a profession, and the compensation was so slight that " men of learning, talent and moral character " would not engage in it.^ Reading, writing and arithmetic were the only branches taught in the district schools, and when, on the recommendation of the State Superintendent, English grammar and geography were added, there were only a few districts in the State that could find teachers prepared to give instruction in the new branches. The majority of the district directors disregarded the law, and many forbade any branches being taught except reading, writing and arithmetic' The examinations were not rigid or systematic. They were provided merely because a cer- tificate from the examiners was necessary before the teacher could draw pay. There were very few teachers' associa- tions or institutes. There was utter lack of method in teaching, barbarous methods of punishment were in vogue, attendance at school was very irregular, and the changes of teachers were frequent. In 1849 * ^ re-enactment of the law requiring directors to add grammar and geography to the curriculum, under pain of withholding their district's share of the State fund, * 34 O. L.. p. 330. "* First Report Supt. of Schools. * Executive Documents, 1845, ^i*'* '» P* 33 J School Report, Sec. of State. *47 C».Z.,p.43. 56 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [426 produced considerable hardship, and deprived many districts of schools because of the difficulty of obtaining qualified teachers.^ This was the low water mark of Ohio's public schools. The average monthly salary of the district school teacher at this time was $14.33% for men and $1.82 for women. ^ The superintendent of schools in Cincinnati re- ceived $700 a year, and the superintendent of schools in Akron $500 a year. Attendance was rapidly falling ofif and private schools were multiplying. The State had forgotten its pledge to the National Government in accepting the school lands. The condition of the schools reacted upon the quality of the instruction and the status of the instructor. In 1853, after the adoption of the new Constitution, the Board of School Examiners, composed of three members, was appointed by the Probate Judge, and orthography was added to the requirements for a teacher's certificate, and, as has been mentioned, State supervision was restored and a limited township system was introduced. This marked the beginning of a new growth in the schools and a gradual betterment in the qualifications of the teachers of the State. In that year the average yearly wage of teachers was $59.72. This had increased to $99.44 in 1858. In 1865 the average monthly pay for male teachers was $36.25 and for female $21.55. I"^ 1864^ theory and practice of teaching was added to the requirements for a certificate. The law of 1873 provides for examinations in special branches, and physiology, United States history and civil government are now required with the common branches. Between the various county boards of the State there is no uniformity, except in the subjects required by law. A cer- tificate granted in one city is not valid in another. Often ^ School Report, Sec. of Stale, 1850. » Ibid., 1848, p. 36, » 61 O. L., p. 37. OF 427] PUBLIC EDUCATION 57 candidates who have failed to pass the examinations in one county are successful in an adjoining county. In 1892 a law was passed empowering the commissioner of schools to prepare uniform questions for all the counties of the State, but the Legislature that passed the law failed to appropriate money for having the questions printed, and the law remains inoperative. County certificates are granted for one, two, three, five and eight years. About fifty per cent, of the applicants for certificates are rejected. In incorporated cities the Boards of Education appoint boards of three examiners to examine teachers for the schools of the corporation. A county certificate is not valid in municipalities, even if located in the county wherein the examination was taken. About 10 per cent, of the appli- cants fail. In 1864 ^ the State Commissioner was empow- ered to appoint a State Board of Examiners to be composed of five members ; they were to receive five dollars a day and traveling expenses. Three grades of certificates are granted, common school, high school and special. These certificates are for life, and the applicant must have had fifty months* experience in teaching. The board was unpopular at first, and its examinations were poorly patronized. Only about twelve applicants were examined yearly. The number has gradually increased, and now about one hundred are exam- ined annually. Of these rarely any fail to pass. The percentage of failures is the only index we have of judging the efficiency of the examinations, and this is not a satisfactory method, for it depends quite as much on the preparation of the applicant as on the thoroughness of the examination. It still remains true that " the history of leg- islation in Ohio regulating the examination and certification of teachers is a dreary history — evidently to be continued." ^ ' 61 o. z., p. 33. ^44iA Report of Commissioner of Schools , p. 2)Z- 58 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [428 There had been no State training in normal work until the year 1902, when there were created normal departments under State tutelage at Ohio University and Miami Univer- sity. Many of the large cities have established normal schools, which are more properly training places for recent high school graduates. The need for a State normal school has also been continually set forth in the Commissioner's reports. " Ohio still remains one of the five or six States out of the forty-two that have no State normal schools." ^ Teachers' institutes offer some training for teachers and help in centralizing school sentiment and creating a standard of work. The first institutes were voluntary associations, main- tained by the teachers of the more populous counties. In 1837^ the excess moneys of each county's share of the United States surplus funds, distributed by Congress among the States, were devoted to teachers' institutes. The distribu- tion of surplus ceased in two years, and with it county aid for institutes, until in 1849 the county commissioners were empowered to appropriate one hundred dollars for teachers* institutes.^ This provision was repealed in 1873, and the only county moneys that were appropriated for institute purposes until 1890 were the fees paid by applicants for the county examinations. In 1890 the dog tax was placed to the credit of the school fund, and in 1896 the organization of county institutes was made more permanent, and received the sanction of law by provisions that detailed the manner of organization. An executive committee is elected annu- ally, and the members of said committee are placed under bonds for the proper use of the institute moneys.* The larger cities provide annual institutes for their teachers. Attendance upon these is required. ^S6th Report of Commisiioner of Schools, p. I2. * 35 O. Z., p. 97. »47 O. £,, p. 19. *92aZ., p. II. 429] PUBLIC EDUCATION 59 The State Teachers' Association, organized in 1847, ^^s been a very important centralizing factor, supplying to some degree the needed superintendence, and co-ordinating the school work of the State. But its influence has been mainly with the city schools, from which it draws its officers and attendance. No State funds are available for its use. There are also several district educational associations. All of these teachers' meetings have to some extent supplied the want of normal training. OTHER CENTRALIZING INFLUENCES A larger centralizing factor is the " Ohio Teachers' Read- ing Circle," conducted under the care of the State Commis- sioner. In 1894 this circle had 2,500 members, and eighty of the eighty-eight counties were organized. Each circle elects a secretary and president, and these keep in touch with the State officers. Diplomas are issued by the State Board of Control, after four years of study, but only on recom- mendation of the county Board of Examiners. Another centralizing factor is the traveling library sys- tem of the State. From 1854 to 1859 the State invested $300,000 in township libraries. Owing to lack of super- vision nearly all of the 400,000 volumes purchased were lost in a few years. The law creating the library fund was repealed in i860, and no provision was made for supplying the rural districts with books until 1896, when the State librarian inaugurated a system of traveling libraries that has had a phenomenal growth, as shown by the following table : Traveling libraries issued from Ohio State Library : Libraries. Volumet. Prior to Nov. 15, 1896 2 50 Nov. 15, 1896, to Nov. 15, 1897 62 1,331 Nov. 15, 1897, to Nov. 15, 1898 379 9,887 Nov. 15, 1898, to Nov. 15, 1899 445 12,812 Nov. 15, 1899, to Nov. 15, 1900 711 »9.505 Nov. 15, 1900, to Nov. 15, 1901 762 20,689 6o ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [430 Traveling libraries issued within the year Not. 15, 1900, to Nov. 15, 1901, were distributed as follows : To schools 251 To independent study clubs 224 To women's clubs 118 To religious organizations 50 To granges 100 To libraries 19 Total 762 The report of the Hbrarian shows that each book is issued about ten times. The circulation for 1901 was therefore 206,890. " More than three-fourths of these Hbraries have been sent to rural communities and small villages that have no libraries. Many have gone to schools or granges remote from city or town." ^ " Its influence has been felt in every county. It is gradually taking an important place among the educational agencies of the State." ^ Any library in the State may now borrow books of the State library, and many of the lesser towns find this provision very helpful. Still another indication that the State is tending toward more centralized administration in school affairs is the " Boxwell law," and its recent amendment, the " Patterson law." The Boxwell law,^ passed in 1892, provides for an examination, held by the county Board of Examiners, in all the common branches, the examination to be of such a char- acter as to enable the successful applicant to enter any high school in the county. The examination is open to all pupils of the public schools, but is meant especially for children in the rural districts. To every successful applicant, who " shall deliver an oration or declamation, or read an essay in some public place provided by the Board of Education, a diploma shall be formally presented," which shall admit the pupil to any high school in the county, and his tuition is ^S4/i Annual Report Commission of State Library. ' Ibid., 56. "89 O. Z., p. 123. 431 ] PUBLIC EDUCATION 6l paid by the Board of Education of the township in which he lives. The " Patterson " amendment ^ made provision for uniform examination questions, to be prepared by the State Commissioner of Schools, the local board to pay for the printing. The diploma admits to any high school of the State without examination, and free tuition is provided for the pupil only if no high school is located in his own township. In that case, however, the Board of Education may enter into contract with any high school for the pay- ment of such tuition. If such an arrangement is not per- fected the pupil may select any high school he desires. The State Comissioner is also empowered to determine what schools are " high schools." The following table exhibits the working of this law : Year. Nitmbtr Examined, Number Passed. 1892 2,131 1,341 1893 4.434 2r43I 1894 4,653 2,289 1895 5.829 2.735 1896 5,739 3.077 1897 7.572 3,314 1898 8,936 3,966 1899 10,256 4^487 1900 11.623 4.693 1901 13.243 5.372 Total 74,416 33,705 In 1890 a singular measure passed the General Assembly that also indicates a tendency toward unification of school matters.^ The Governor, the Commissioner of Schools, the Supervisor of Public Printing and two men appointed by the Governor, one to be a " practical educator " and the other a " practical business man," one from each of the two leading political parties, were constituted a " State School Book Board." They were required to receive bids: First, » 95 a Z., p. 71. »87 0.Z.,p. 377. 62 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [432 from publishers to furnish books to the Boards of Education of the State. Second, from authors who have manuscripts not yet pubHshed. Third, from such persons who think they can " compile " a text-book or series of texts " similar or equal to that of the best books now in use." The publishers were to furnish sample books with their bids; the two other classes of bidders were to present the merits of their pro- ducts to the board in the form of an analysis. The required bond of $10,000 probably prohibited any prospective authors and compilers from bidding, as proposals were received only from publishers. The following year it was attempted fur- ther to tempt prospective authors by enumerating specific- ally what text-books were wanted, and stating what specifi-' cations of his work the prospective compiler should exhibit. The series was to be called " The Ohio Series," and " a por- tion of the illustrations, designs or pictures in said series of books shall be of Ohio scenery, schools, school houses, school rooms, in complete illustration of our public school system." * Despite its anomalous character, the law has been a suc- cess. The board has dealt only with publishers, and enters into contract with any firm that gives the required bond and reduction in its prices. There is really no uniformity in the books used, as in 1899 eighty-five firms agreed to comply with the requirements of the law. The purposes of the law are not so much the establishing of uniformity as the lessen- ing of the cost of the books and the protecting of the public against frequent and unnecessary changes. A School Board having once adopted a book must retain it for five years. At present the clerk of every Board of Education in the State makes a list of the books required for the ensuing year. The State Commissioner arranges a " List of State Con- tract Prices " every year, from which local boards make their selection. The board then has its choice of three meth- » 88 o. z., p. 568. 433] PUBLIC EDUCATION 63 ods of proceedure: it may order the books direct and dis- tribute them to the pupils at net contract price, or it may choose an agent to secure the books, who is to charge a price not exceeding 10 per cent, of the contract price; or, finally, the board may allow retail dealers to furnish the books, in which case also 10 per cent, of the contract price may be added. In 1893 the State Commissioner said this law " has proved one of the most satisfactory in the history of the State." ^ One more indication of the trend toward more centralized administration in school affairs remains to be considered. It is perhaps the most important, as it is also the most recent. At its last session the General Assembly revised the school laws. While the administrative officers and their duties re- main as formerly, an attempt was made to classify the schools of the State, as well as the districts;^ they are divided into elementary schools, high schools and colleges. An elemen- tary school is one " in which instruction and training are given in spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar and composition, geography, history of the United States, including civil government, and physiology. Boards of Education may add drawing, music and other branches. A high school is " a school of higher grade than an ele- mentary school, in which instruction and training are given in approved courses in the history of the United States and other countries; composition, rhetoric, English and Ameri- can literature; algebra and geometry; natural science, polit- ical and mental science, ancient or modern foreign languages, or both; commercial or industrial branches, or such of the above named branches as the length of the curriculum may make possible, and such other branches of higher grade than those to be taught in elementary schools, and such advanced studies and advanced reviews of the common branches as ' 41st Report State Commissioner, p. 8. * 95 O. L., p. 115. 64 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [434 the Board of Education may direct." High schools are divided into three grades, according to the length of the curriculum : Grade one, having a four years' course, not less than thirty-two weeks a year. Grade two, having a three years' course, not less than thirty-two weeks a year. Grade three, having a two years' course, not less than twenty-eight weeks a year. Any holder of a diploma from a high school of the first grade is entitled to entrance, without examination, to any college of law, medicine, dentistry or pharmacy in the State, if the holder has completed the necessary work in natural science and languages usually required by such schools. Privately endowed schools are excepted from this law. And any holder of a diploma from any high school, or of a teach- ers' certificate, when he has studied under private tutelage, may take the bar examination, or may be examined for admission to any technical school in the State, excepting privately endowed institutions. The State Commissioner of Schools has the power to classify high schools, and with- hold certificates of classification from any he deems unfit. A college is defined as " a school of a higher grade than a high school, in which instruction in the high school branches is carried beyond the scope of the high school, and other advanced studies are pursued, or a school in which special or technical studies are pursued, and when legally organized has the power to confer degrees in agreement with the terms of the law regulating its practice or its charter; or in the want of legislative direction in agreement with the practices of the better institutions of learning of their respective kinds in the United States." While these definitions are crude, they indicate a distinct desire for system and control, not only of the elementary 435] PUBLIC EDUCATION 65 schools, but also of the secondary schools and even the col- leges. The same statute has given important powers to the local Boards of Education. Any Board of Education has now authority to establish one or more high schools whenever it deems it necessary. Township boards have the same power over high schools as city boards, and may assess a tax not to exceed ten mills on the dollar for school purposes. And the Boards of Education in any special or township district may suspend school in any sub-district when deemed wise, and provide transportation for the children to some adjoin- ing district or districts. This will help dissolve many of the smaller sub-districts. HIGHER EDUCATION The development of higher education in the State evi- dences the same decentralization, indifference, substitution of private for State initiative, and a later tendency toward more uniform control, that is seen in the history of the pub- lic schools. The two townships in the Ohio Company's Purchase set apart for higher education formed the endowment of Ohio University, organized at Athens in 1804.^ The Legislature appointed the Board of Trustees and regulated the leasing of the land. At first the land was leased for 6 per cent, per annum on its appraised value, appraisals to be taken every thirty-five years, and the leases to cover ninety years. The rentals never were adequate to supply the needs of the school, and the trustees were authorized to take farm pro- ducts in lieu of money for the yearly rent, and to establish a lottery in order to raise money for a new building,* and after various other attempts to put the college on a good financial basis the lands were sold in fee simple in 1826.' They did not bring their market value, the sale being grossly * 2 o. z., p. 193. ' 16 o. L., p. 16. • 24 o. z., p. 52. 66 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [436 mismanaged/ and the Legislature was petitioned yearly to help its struggling university. Occasional appropriations were made, but these were few and never large. The re- port of the trustees in 1827 shows a total income of $3,672.58 and a total expenditure of $4,066. In 1837 $5,ocx) was loaned the university, and it later became cus- tomary for the trustees to ask for appropriations to cover the yearly deficits. The townships in the Symmes tract set aside for an academy formed the original endowment of Miami Univer- sity, organized in 1809 ^ in the town of Oxford. The land was made a trust fund, the Legislature acting as trustee. The first school was opened in 181 6, after much bickering, about the disposal of the lands. The customary method of renting was tried, at first on a re-valuation every fifteen years. In 1810^ the appraising clause was repealed, and in 1812a law was passed providing that the actual settlers, from a given date and forever after, pay an annual rental of 6 per cent, of the purchase money.* This almost criminal piece of legislation forever debarred the university from securing a just revenue from its 22,638 acres. By 1866 the univer- sity, weary of having its annual petitions ignored by the Legislature, devised a plan for raising endowments, inviting the various religious bodies of the State to establish chairs, thus adding one more to the already numerous denomina- tional colleges. There was but slight response to this ap- peal.** The university attempted to secure at least a portion of the United States grant for an agricultural and mechan- ical college, and thus establish an agricultural department, but the Legislature did not approve of this plan." ' Executive Documents, 1850, vol. i, no. 19. •70. Z., p. 184. » S O. /., c. 22. *The law provided that no land was to be sold under $2.0C an acrr, and the entire tract sold at practically this rate. 7 C. L., p. 184. » Executive Documents, 1866, vol. ii, p. 540. ^ Ibid., 1SC9, vcl. i, p. 924. 437] PUBLIC EDUCATION 67 These two State schools now became the object of execu- tive solicitude. The Governor's message in 1872 affirmed that they " are now in a very feeble condition, and unless something is speedily done for them by the State their doors must soon be closed," and he suggested that they be trans- formed into normal schools. The following year Miami University was compelled to suspend for want of funds, and remained closed until 1885; during the interval its annual rentals were placed at interest and its buildings used as a private academy. The State had never appropriated any money to this institution, not even paying the expenses of the trustees. The theory seemed prevalent that after the Legislature had permitted its cestui que trust to be robbed of its lands it fulfilled its entire obligations by appointing a Board of Trustees. Ohio University was by this time likewise on the verge of ruin. Its buildings had so fallen to decay through the neglect of the State that it was doubted whether they could be repaired. There were as many members on the Board of Trustees as on the Faculty ; the attendance had dwindled to 102, and only 38 of these were in the college department.^ The president in his annual report asked if it were " wise for Ohio to neglect her university, the oldest in the whole family of State universities. Can she afford to sit with folded hands while her sister States on every hand are pass- ing forward with such rapid and determined strides ?" ^ He adds that " for the purpose of producing men of influ- ence and maintaining a position of eminence among the States, one great institution, distinguished by learning, by intellectual power and by the highest order of intellectual training, is of more value than a score that do not rise above the common level." ^ In 1883 the Governor asked that all the State universities ^ Executive Documents, 1881, p. 1415. ^ Ibid. 68 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [438 be brought under the management of one Board of Trustees, and reiterated this suggestion the following year. The alumni of the two older universities objected to the plan, fearing the identity of their schools might be destroyed. In 1890 the Governor's message called attention to the fact that Ohio stood twenty-sixth on the list of States in the encouragement of higher education, and advised that a tax of a fraction of a mill be levied on the grand duplicate for university purposes. A levy of one-twentieth of a mill was made for the Ohio State University, the older institutions being omitted. The third university to be called into being by State action was the Ohio State University. It was organized in 1870 as " The Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College," and was based on the act of Congress of July 2, 1862, granting 30,000 acres of public land for each Senator and Representa- tive to which the State was entitled by the census of i860. The proceeds from the sale of this land, together with accu- mulated interest, amounted to over half a million dollars, and forms a perpetual endowment. In 1878 the school was reorganized under its present name, " The Ohio State Uni- versity." It is located in Columbus, and from the beginning has been more prosperous than the older institutions. The first State appropriation was made in 1878, and since 1890 a permanent levy has been made. This is at present one- tenth of a mill.* In 1901 the total income of the university was $337,401.45; of this amount $182,704.23 was from the State tax. There were 1,465 students, a gain of 413 over the previous year. All except 482 of these were in the pro- fessional schools, and 94 per cent, came from Ohio, while 27.5 per cent, came from Franklin county, in which the university is situated. These figures indicate that the school »92 az., p. 59. 439] PUBLIC EDUCATION 69 is peculiarly a State institution, and that a proper application of State aid insures a ready response from the citizens. In 1896 a State levy of one-thirtieth of a mill was made in favor of the two older universities, seven-twelfths of this amount to go to Ohio University and five-twelfths to Miami. In 1887 ^ the State established a normal and industrial department in Wilberforce University, a school for colored pupils. Five trustees are appointed by the Governor and four by the trustees of the university, including the presi- dent of the university. An annual State levy is now granted these departments. In 1902 the State established a normal department at Miami and Ohio Universities, to be under control of the trustees of the respective schools, and offer instruction co- ordinate with existing courses.^ A levy of one-thirtieth of a mill was made for the support of these departments, to be divided as the general levy for the universities, seven- twelfths for Ohio University and five-twelfths for Miami. The same act enabled the Governor to appoint a State Normal School Commission of four, two from each of the leading political parties, to investigate the need and advis- ability of establishing one or more normal schools, and to determine how State aid can make more efficient, in normal work, existing schools not supported by the State. The last clause was instigated by the clamor of numerous pri- vate colleges against the increasing efficiency of the estab- lished State universities. Thus Ohio has a discrete system of higher education under State tutelage. It is not the function of this paper to inquire what influences have tended to perpetuate this segregation of forces. Denominational, political and sectional interests have all aided in the decentralization. The facts have been pre- sented in such detail in order to emphasize the belief that had » 84 o. z., p. 127. ' 95 o. z., p. 45. 70 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [440 a firm centralizing policy been maintained from the beginning the State might to-day possess a system of higher education commensurate with that of other States, created from the Northwest Territory, and whose history has been in other respects similar to that of Ohio. The establishment of nor- mal schools at the older State universities, and the over- shadowing influence of the university at Columbus, together with the provision of the law cited on page 60, favoring high school graduates in admission to the State universities, portend a centralization that has been strangely delayed. It seems probable that the energies of the State will be cen- tered in the youngest of the universities ; that the two older will be consolidated into a Normal College, and the high schools of the State be made feeders for these institutions. PRIVATE COLLEGES The policy of the State has been powerfully influenced by the privately endowed colleges. Of these there are thirty- seven, betokening a scattering of educational energy that has made Ohio the home of the small college. While size is by no means a measure of efficiency, yet proper equipment and financial well-being are essential to a modern college. What consolidation may be needed among the denomina- tional colleges of Ohio can be seen from the following sta- tistics, taken from the report of the State School Commis- sioner for 1902 : ^ The total attendance for that year was 7,147. Only two colleges had over five hundred students in the college depart- ment, nineteen had less than one hundred, five had less than fifty, and the smallest of the small colleges had fifteen stu- dents. The equipment of some of these colleges is inferior to that of many of the better high schools. One-fourth of them ' The totals include the three State Universities. 44 1 ] PUBLIC EDUCATION 7I have less than 5,000 volumes in their libraries, one-half have less than 10,000, and only three have more than 50,000, while one reports a college library of 70 volumes. Six of these private colleges have property aggregating more than $1,000,000 each. The yearly income of six is over $50,000. Only three have an income of over $100,000. The Ohio State University has the largest income, $300,000 a year. Twelve have incomes of less than $10,000 a year, and one struggles somehow through the year on $900. There has been practically no supervision in the granting of college charters. Numerous plans have been laid before the Legislature for such supervision. The earliest was made in 1837 by Caleb Atwater, the chairman of the first committee that drafted an educational bill for Ohio. He thought there should be a Board of Education which should have the superintendence of all the colleges, academies and common schools of the State. ^ The College Association of the State has made several attempts to bring the question to the attention of the Legislature, but without success. Uniform requirements for admission to the colleges that are members of the association have been formulated, but they are not obligatory, and not all of the colleges are members of the association. Recently the Supreme Court has decided that " when the trustees of an educational institution, incorporated under the laws of the State, sign diplomas in blank and leave them in control of one of its officers, who sells them, and thus confers degrees without regard to merit, there is such a mis- use of the power conferred as requires the dissolution of the corporation." ^ The occasion for the decision was the fla- grant violation indicated, by one of the obscure colleges. While but very few of the institutions might be reached in ' Atwater, History of Ohio, p. 285. *Ohio ex relAtVy Gen. vs. Mt. Hope College, 63 O. S., p, 341. 72 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [442 this drastic manner, it does appear reasonable that some State control should be exercised to make a college diploma indicative of merit. The facts detailed in this chapter may be thus summar- ized: Lack of centralization is evidenced: i, by the want of uniformity in district organization, in the curricula, in the qualification of teachers; 2, in the establishment of three State universities; 3, in the want of local and State super- intendence. Centralization is evidenced: i, in the classifying of the districts, in the creation of the township unit, the consolida- tion of the township schools. 2. In the classifying of high schools, the " Boxwell " law providing uniform examinations for high school en- trance, in the power of State Commissioners to determine what is a high school. 3. In the establishing of State normal schools and the supervision of county institutes by the State Commissioner. 4. In the increased levy for the Ohio State University. 5. In the gradually increasing authority of the State Commissioner, the centralizing of township schools, the option of the township board to elect a township principal. It is important to note that private initiative has taken the place of State initiative, in the establishing of voluntary State supervision by the State Teachers' Association, and in the power of the county Board of Examiners over the quali- fication of teachers and the courses of study in the counties. In a recent report of the State Commissioner the situation was thus stated : " The Ohio school system as a State organi- zation is radically defective. It lacks effective centralized power and authority. It is home rule carried to excess. M^hat our school system most needs is reorganization on a definite and comprehensive plan." ^ ^46th Report of Commissioner 0/ Schools, p. 14. 443] PUBLIC EDUCATION 73 The following tables set forth the development of the common school system of the State. The returns in the earlier years were quite incomplete. The enumeration of school children included, up to 1853, all between the ages of four and twenty-one; from 1853 to 1873 ^^^ between the ages of five and twenty-one; since that time the school age has been from six to twenty-one. The history of the school system may be divided into the following periods : 1. According to State superintendence. a. 1837-40. State Superintendent. b. 1840-53. Secretary of State acted as Superin- tendent of Schools. c. 1853-present. Commissioner of Common Schools. 2. According to State taxation. a. Until 1839, no State tax. b. 1839-53. Common school fund of $200,000. c. 1853-present. State tax rate fixed by legislation annually. 3. According to local taxation. a. Until 185 1, no regular system of local school tax- ation. Money was raised by tuition and returns from the school lands. During the latter part of the period assessments were allowed for building purposes and maintaining high schools. b. 1851-present. Local taxation, limits fixed by statute. 4. According to compulsory attendance. a. Until 1877, no compulsory law. b. 1 877- 1 889, first compulsory school law. c. 1 889- 1 893, second compulsory school law. d. 1893-present, third compulsory school law. 74 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [444 All of these periods are clearly indicated in the tables. The effect of each step in school legislation is apparent. Table Showing the Development of the PimLic School System fkom its Inception hi 1837 to 1865 Year. 8 . is o o H 1837 1838. »8?y. 1840. 1841. 1842. 1843. 1844- 1845. 1846. 1847- 1848. 1849. 1830. x8ji. 1852. 185-?. 1854. »85S- i8;6. 1857. i8;8. 185Q. i860. 4.336 4.030 7.'95 3,181 3.627 4,284 3.320 5,385 4.332 4,882 5,ofa 11,075 12,279 12,664 9,916 5,894 10,572 12,246 »i.3i9 ".339 12.602 11,673 13.584 19^ i§& 6a 54 65 14 45 53 45 45 52 O 3 to V 20.44 16.64 16. 13-32 13.48 12.48 134 12.64 55 I 1416 56 57 80 81 70 70 77 81 8S 87 87' 88 22.24 12.44 14.56 14.04 17.7a 10.4 23.92 22.5 24.6 24.6 25.4 2>:.2 24.8 4,378 468,81a 393 I 588,590 731 ; I 618.746 "3 I 153 ! 125 : "5 j 145 I 712,159 164 I 728,638 175 I 754,193 153 158 I 796,109 248 810,163 300 ; 878,583 171 ' 838,669 8Tr,957 770 816,408 740 820,674 627 ' 810,166 570 838,037 589 843,227 475 865,914 446 892,854 146,440 109,207 254,612 137.870 9.511 44,742 48.870 J9.314 34.863 e?,858 94,6?o 367,608 421.733 445.597 437.7" 358.417 551.939 5*51.315 fo3.?47 611,720 6co,c84 €85,117 8 73.505 51.514 61,430 74,807 .56.517 84,476 78.750 78,863 90,696 318.556 337,875 263,247 266,267 !28 277,196 3'5.85l 322,643 35c,8f7 352.145 350,3C9 405,952 $300,C00 CO 2CO,OCO CO 200,000 CO 20O,OCO CO 151.837 42 20O,COO CO 2CC,OCO CO sco.cco 00 2C0,C01 00 200,614 54 199.804 60 200,C00 00 200, coo CO 2CO,OfO CO 1,186,793 69 1,118,089 02 1,046,284 10 1,113,918 8s 1,070,767 72 1,212,855 52 1,125.574 07 1,224,155 39 $102,837 35 109,474 9« 115,015 s6 40^,878 81 351,210 93 441.33* 12 .'30.353 19 887,268 81 1.335.751 8a 1.139.539 99 ' Until 1851, local taxation was authoiized only for biiilding purpose.^. The inccme was in form of tuition and interest on local land funds, and rentals from local school lands. Table Showing the Development cr the Puelic Echcols from 1865-1501 Year. 1865, 1870. 187s 18R0. 188s 1890 1805 1900 1901 944.852 1,041,680 1,017,726 1,046,225 1,095,465 1.123.895 1,159,258 1.226,366 1,319,919 1 2 8 III m I. c 2 u v c ^ < ^%-^ < 702, ■;5' 391.945 41 56 724,896 446.147 43 6a 712,129 435,349 44 61 747.138 476.279 46 6S 774,660 517.5^9 48 (7 797.439 549.269 48.8 f5.5 817.490 59'.465 51.1 72.S 1 829,160 616.365 ro.a 7-;. 35 } 829,857 610,63a 50.0 76.25 $1,325,013 1,452.445 1.5^0,397 1,558,207 1,630,768 1.738,74s 1.740,227 1.765.420 1.783,258 -5 $1,634,607 4.889,880 6,153.442 5.155,878 7,213,354 8,itb,839 9,682,334 10,830,111 ".351.986 CHAPTER II TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE The general property tax has been from the first the foundation of the State's income. The history of taxation in Ohio is largely the story of the gradual disintegration of this tax. This disintegration is due to the inability of the system to reach personal property, which has grown to form the vast bulk of the wealth of the State, and to the recogni- tion of the principle that not all methods of taxation are alike eflfective for State and local purposes, but that the State and the municipality properly form separate tax areas, and certain taxes are peculiarly adapted to each. Centrali- zation in tax administration has progressed pari passu with the incorporation of this principle into law. The development of this movement toward centralization will properly include (i) a discussion of the general prop- erty tax, which reveals three distinct periods of growth; (2) the equalization of assessments^ and (3) the special tax laws devised in more recent years. The central control of local finances is confined mainly to the operation of the inde- pendent treasury act and the uniform auditing system. THE GENERAL PROPERTY TAX The first period. The earliest tax laws of the State were adopted from the territorial laws, which were in turn a tran- script from the Kentucky Code.^ There was no provision for a general valuation. All lands were divided by law into three grades ; these were taxed arbitrarily at rates vary- * Territorial Laws, 1792, p. 16. 445] 75 76 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [446 ing from twenty to sixty cents, and latterly from seventy- five to one hundred and fifty cents on each one hundred acres. The assessments were fixed annually by the General Assembly. All the moneys derived from the tax on land were paid into the State treasury. At first the Court of Common Pleas appointed assessors and collectors in each county. Later this court appointed a Board of County Commissioners, who appointed collectors and had final jurisdiction in equalizing assessments. The county treasurer was appointed by the Governor of the terri- tory, and reported semi-annually to the county commis- sioners.^ When Ohio became a State the county was made a more important unit of taxation. The commissioners were elected for three years. They appointed one lister to list all the lands in the county, and make yearly returns to the State auditor.^ They, at their discretion, appointed one county collector, or permitted each township to elect a col- lector.^ All moneys were paid by the collector to the com- missioners. They retained their capacity as a Board of Equalizers. For collecting taxes belonging to non-residents the State was divided into six districts, the General Assem- bly electing one collector for each district annually.* Taxes for local purposes were levied on town lots and buildings according to appraised value; and on a few ani- mals, specified by law, valued at definite rates per head, without appraisement; and by license taxes on business. The county commissioners fixed the amount of the license tax, the law merely prescribing the maximum and minimum rates. Peddlers' licenses were issued by the county clerk, and in 1822 the entire license tax was taken from the com- missioners and placed in the hands of the Common Pleas 1 Territorial Laws, 1796, p. 107. '8 O. L., c. 75. »4 0.Z.,p. 35. ♦8az.,c. 75. 447] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE 77 Court. ^ Township taxes were levied by the township trus- tees and collected by township collectors. If the local taxes did not suffice, the L^islature annually disbursed the State moneys among the counties. During this period the powers of the State auditor over local tax administration gradually increased. All dupli- cates and lists were reported to him by the county officials. As early as 1809 the State auditor recommended that all the listing of lands be centralized in that office.^ It was the rule that land should be listed by the owners. But no pro- visions had been made for recording transfers, and so it came about that many lands were transferred and never listed. More frequently the land remained charged to the former owner, and was listed as delinquent by the county listers. This naturally wrought confusion. To correct any such errors in the listing of property it was necessary to journey to the State capital; the law of 1820 remedied this. Frequently taxes were collected from former owners after transfer had been made, and this necessitated the re- funding of large sums that had been unjustly collected. There was no uniformity in the listing of property among the several counties, nor in the classifying of land, nor in the making of returns. To remedy these defects the State auditor was empowered to refund moneys improperly paid for taxes, to enter lands upon the lists not returned by the proprietors, to prosecute delinquent collectors, to make ab- stracts of public lands as they became subject to taxation for the first time, and to correct all duplicates.^ He was later made the sole judge as to errors made in levies on land, and empowered to correct the same,* and supervised the making of county duplicates.'' He had the supervision of the district collectors, preparing their duplicates and receiv- * 20 O. L., p. 40. * Senate Journal, 1809, p. 16, '8 0. Z., c. 75. * 10 O. L., c. 5. ' 15 0. L., c. 60. 78 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [448 ing their annual reports/ prosecuting delinquent district collectors, as well as delinquent taxpayers, and acting as a district equalizer.^ The plan of dividing the land into three classes, and tax- ing each class at a fixed rate, proved as unsatisfactory as it was arbitrary. The gathering of all the moneys into the State treasury and redisbursing them to the various counties proved clumsy, even in the early days when population was sparse and business not complex. The relative amount of first and second class land returned gradually diminished, for property owners classified their land as low as possible. As there was no State Board of Equalization, and no means were at hand for co-ordinating the values of different coun- ties, great hardship and injustice resulted. In 1824, e. g., the State taxes levied on Hamilton county, in which Cin- cinnati is located, and which was then the only town of any size in the State, were $2,080, while Athens county, a purely agricultural community, paid $2,142 on land of the same description. Thus even a general tax on land was not equitably levied. The following table shows the diminution in the relative amount of first and second class land returned, and the rate of taxation and total taxes collected. It is seen that first class land, located mostly in the towns, and the most fertile farming regions, paid the least amount of the entire moneys collected. ""0 "a-a S B Co I'd eg •0 J J5 ■gTJ Rate of taxation per 100 acies. Total Taxes. Ybaks. ■Si §1 ■0& it tSo^ x8o8. x8io 1815 X820 »83j 7,353,856 10.479.029 9.933,099 11,090,214 J3.3'9.043 13,025,073 $090 X 00 ! 1 35 3 Co 1 50 X 50 $065 75 I CO 3 68>i 1 CO X 13^ $040 JO 6S I 78 75 $43,513 95 67,501 Co 85.9''4 39 259.486 19 1 =05,346 95 300,405 35 147,393 5,^80,131 129,741 4.I77.9SO 174,819 4,8,6,997 2^c,c8^ , 7,^04,6:3 178,9^8 ■ s.672,277 5,035,183 5,63^,408 6,058,398 5.759.323 7,173.798 > 8 O. L., c. 75. * 14 O. Z., p. 79. 449] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE yg The fixed assessments upon various classes of personal property proved quite as arbitrary as the tax on land. All carriages and all horses, mules and certain cattle were taxed alike, regardless of their real value. Petitions poured into the Legislature from all parts of the State praying for the enactment of more just measures. The second period was inaugurated in 1825. Real prop- erty remained the basis of the tax. Provision was made for its valuation at " its true value in money." Little attempt was made to reach personal property. Merchants and brokers were arranged into eight classes by the Common Pleas judges, according to the amount of capital invested, and a definite sum was assessed upon each class. This amounted practically to a license. The assessments upon animals subject to taxation were still fixed by the General Assembly without appraisement. The list of exempted property was very large, including not only realty used for educational and religious purposes, but until 1831 also mills and factories. The county officials whose duty it was to administer these laws were : I. The county auditor. This office was created in 1821, the auditor being elected for a term of three years. ^ He has become the principal local administrative officer in the tax system. Many of the functions formerly exercised by the county commissioners were immediately assumed by him. He prepared the county lists of lands and corrected the township lists. He settled accounts with the collectors, proceeding against any delinquents; prosecuted all delin- quent taxpayers, sold land for delinquent taxes and made deeds for the same, reporting all such sales to the State auditor; he apportioned the taxes among the townships of his county;^ he sold the school lands, when the inhabitants » 19 o. L., c. 62. * 23 0. i., p, 58. 8o ADMimSTRATION IN OHIO [450 of a county so directed; collected the taxes from non-resi- dents, formerly collected by the district collectors,^ and pros- ecuted all violations of the license laws.'* 2. The county treasurer, who in 1827 assumed the work of collector.' He reported to the State auditor through the county auditor. 3. The Court of Common Pleas, that at first made the list of merchants and brokers,* this duty devolving after- wards upon the assessor, and that continued to grant all licenses to ferryboat owners, tavern keepers, auctioneers, peddlers, physicians and lawyers. ° 4. The county assessor, first elected in 1827,' with the power to appoint township assessors, listed and assessed all taxable property. 5. The county commissioners had now been completely deprived of tax administration, excepting as they formed, together with the county auditor and assessor, a county Board of Equalization.'' This subject will be developed in a later section. The township tax remained under the charge of the town- ship trustees. The administrative functions of the State auditor were also extended. In addition to his former duties he had complete supervision of realty owned by non-residents." He became supervisor of insurance companies in 1830," and of the State common school fund, derived from the sale of school lands." All taxes paid into the State treasury were listed by him, and he furnished every county auditor and treasurer with a copy of such lists. This gradual enlarge- ment of the powers of the State auditor was due to the com- « 27 o. £., p. 32. » 29 o. L., p. 310. « 25 o. L., p. 73. * 23 0. L., p. 58. • 29 0. L., p. 310. • 25 0. L., p. 21. » 23 0. L., p. 58. • 24 O. L., p. 19. • 28 O. L., p. 43- " 24 O. L., p. 59. 45 1 ] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE §i pulsion of conditions. This was fully recognized by the State officers. In 1820 the auditor asked that all local tax officials be required to report in detail to him, thus ensuring in the tax administration " harmony, responsibility and regularity." ^ The reason for this request was the rapid growth of local taxation and the lack of provisions " for- the concentration of information relative to the sums col-' lected and expended for county and township purposes." Congress had granted 3 per cent, of the proceeds of the sale of public lands to the State for improving roads. This was usually distributed with manifest lack of system among the various counties. The road commissioners were an irresponsible board, and the Governor in his message of 1819 complained that this money was practically wasted,^ and recommended that a centralized control be exercised over it. The auditor the following year reiterated this sugges- tion, adding that the State auditor could most efficiently act as such official. This was never done, and the moneys appropriated by the Legislature for improvement of roads, as well as the " three per cent, fund," remained in irresppn- sible hands. In 1839 an exhaustive report on the financial system of the State was made to the Legislature by the auditor. " It is an unfortunate feature of our whole financial system," recites this report, " that upon no one department is devolve^ either the ability or the duty of presenting in one document the whole character and condition of our financial affairs," and this lack of unity in the reports merely reflected the lack of centralized control in the respective officers. It was sug- gested that the State auditor be made the administrative head of the financial department. Half a century elapsed before this was done. Indeed at this period a new financial au- thority was created, " The Sinking Fund Commission," tp * Senate Journal, 1820, p. 12. * Senate Journal, 181 9, p. 12. 82 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [452 take care of an enormous debt that had been contracted for the purpose of building canals and turnpikes. This com- mission has existed from its initiation as an entirely inde- pendent board, reporting only to the Legislature. In 1851, however, the State auditor was made ex officio a member thereof. The act of 1825 sought to equalize the tax upon land values. It did not attempt to reach personal property. But as the State developed and towns multiplied the amount of personal property rapidly increased, land ceased to be the principal kind of property, and could not therefore remain the basis of an equitable tax system. The third period was accordingly inaugurated in 1846.* "All property, real and personal, money and credits," was made subject to taxation. Stringent methods for the listing and appraising of personal property were adopted. As this law was practically embodied in the Constitution of 1851, and is even now in force, I will state its provisions in the amended forms, as they are enforced at the present time. Real property is appraised once in every ten years * by appraisers elected in each ward and township. The State rate is fixed by the Legislature and the local rate by the county commissioners, township trustees and city council. Personal property is returned annually. Every citizen over twenty-one years of age is furnished with an elaborate blank, upon which he must list all personal property owned by him and its value. This report is made under oath and handed to the assessor. If any person refuses or neglects to make the required returns the assessor makes the returns * 44 C?. L., p. 85. The principal revision of the law was made in 1878. 75 O. Z., p. 436. •From 1826 to 1846 the legislature authorized general appraisements by special act. Six such appraisements were made in that time. From 1846 to i860, ap- praisements were made every seven years; since i860, every ten years. 453] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE 83 from such information as he may be able to obtain, or from his own personal knowledge. All corporations, except ex- press, telegraph, telephone and railroad companies, are re- quired to make return of all their personal property to the auditor of the county in which their business is located. The taxes are collected by the county treasurer. The county auditor has general supervision of county taxes and their collection. He has the power to revise the lists, and to compel attendance before him of any one sus- pected of fraud or delinquency, and upon being convinced of a willingness to omit property for returns he may add as a penalty 50 per cent, of the total sum of the property found. If he thinks personalty undervalued, he has limited equaliz- ing power, appeal being allowed from his decision to the county Board of Equalization. He supervises the listing of all property and compiles the " grand duplicate " for these returns. He has supervision over the local assessors, and it is now customary for these to secure their formal instruc- tions from him, provision being made for this procedure by law. He can inquire into the manner the assessors are prosecuting their work, and they report to him weekly. He has power to add realty to the duplicates in the interim of the decennial appraisements, and to have the same appraised. All sales for delinquent taxes remain under his supervision. Since 1859 ^ all bankers, brokers and railroads are com- pelled to report annually to the county auditor. In the case of railroads the county auditors of the counties through which the line passes constitute a Board of Appraisers for the railroad property. They are not required to report their proceedings as such a board to any higher authority, and have full power of inquiry, including the usual right to sub- poena witnesses, administer oaths and take depositions. An appeal from their decision now lies to the State Board of •56 az.,p. 175. it\ 84 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [454 Appraisers and Assessors. These provisions were extended to express and telegraph companies in 1878/ the auditor, in case of the latter companies, having the sole power to correct returns, appeal being allowed to the county Board of Equalization. The auditor, however, is a member of the board. These administrative powers have been augmented by the special tax laws passed in recent years; these will be enu- merated later. Besides these general supervisory duties over tax administration, the county auditor was given im- portant powers over the county treasury by the independent treasury act of 1858.^ No money could be drawn from the county treasury, except for State purposes, without the written order of the county auditor, and, together with the county commissioners, he examined the treasury quarterly. This provision was altered in 1869, lessening the restriction concerning the drawing of money from the treasury and authorizing examinations semi-annually.^ Thus the county auditor has gradually evolved into an important administrative officer in the execution of the general tax laws. The other officers entrusted with tax duties are subordinate to him, the assessors being directly under his control, and the treasurer subject to his examining power. The Board of County Commissioners, so important as tax administrators in the first period, have now no other tax power than that of fixing the county levy and sitting as a Board of Equalization. Centralization is as evident in the increased powers of the State auditor. He receives all returns from the county auditors, and his directing authority over them not only includes the transmission of forms for their reports, but he can revise their returns and order a re-valuation, or an ex- amination into any details he may see fit to question. He » 75 o. L., p. 436. » 55 o. z., p. 44. • 71 0. L., p. 137. 455] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE g^ prepares the State duplicates and transmits instructions to county auditors for the decennial appraisement of realty. He apportions the State taxes amongst the various counties and notifies the county auditors of their counties' share. He is a member of the State Board of Equalization, and his instructions and advice, though not obligatory upon the board, are usually very influential in determining their decisions. Ohio has had the usual experience with the general prop- erty tax. The law utterly fails to reach personal property. Though all the processes known to the courts are open to the tax officials, yet they are not adequate to compel a man to be honest in listing his personal property. The law is constantly evaded. It seems to be expected of a man of large possessions that he submit only a small portion of his wealth to taxation. The tax commission of 1893 found that " intangible property pays but 9.4 per cent, of the taxes of the State," and that " tangible property is grossly under- valued." ^ The fault, however, lies not entirely in inefficient admin- istration. It is simply impossible to reach intangible prop- erty for purposes of taxation by means of a general tax. The details of the Ohio laws are on the whole probably as well administered as are the laws in other States. The fal- lacy lies in the theory underlying the law, that citizens will actively co-operate with the State in the enforcement of tax measures. In order to meet these weaknesses the State has practically separated the two kinds of property for tax purposes. To reach intangible property new laws have been enacted.'' To cure its inequality the realty tax has virtually beai * Report of the Tax Commissioner of Ohio, pp. 69, 70. ' Vide infra. 86 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [456 assigned to county and municipal purposes. The inequality in this tax has been in large measure due to the failure of the present system of equalization. Appraisements taken at intervals of ten years cannot register the gradual shifting in values, because land values change a great deal in a decade, especially in cities. Again, the greater the interval between appraisements, the more difficult the task of equalization. And no realty tax, even if confined to a small area, can be equitable if efficient equalization is not provided. In Ohio equalization is inefficient. The boards of equalization pro- vided are too clumsy, the tax area too large, and the interval between appraisements too great. The following table shows the growth of the general property tax. It is evident that the growth in population, especially urban population, has been much more rapid than the increase in the assessed value of taxable property reveals. The value of personalty has never been even one-half that of the realty. The appraisements in the more recent years have not augmented the totals as much as these of the earlier period. 457] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE 87 rt fit 51. o o H o» o\ o» t^ 10 0\ 11 •«*- "^ 85 = S « VO >-< M M M N 00 O mf^O r^r~0 rot^>-i trtoo •*00 ■«»• ►^ n O t^— O u^^O^OO M vO^OO^vO f*^ 0_ f^ ^^ "^ 'C 000 U-) O\00 Tl- C4 CT> I-" »OvO »/^ O^ O fOvO O CO rr> t^aO t^oo 1^00 00 OOOvO >ltO^O^O^O00 O O^ 8888888888888 88v2-2^SS ION t^^P* 't'-'vO t^ f*5vO O O fOOO 00 >-' vO vO O r^ ^'O ■^ « CO M N O u^vO u^ •-. o^ O^00 '- 00 M ^ M u^\0 N too O "^O^ roii^u-»t^N4 f*^vO 1- n m fT) t ro O Tl-00 O 00 0\ C^ «^vO .-_ "1^ ^^ Q,^ C^vd" f^ fO fOvO ^ rT d" I-"" tI" N U-) On\0 On ts O "". fO ^ *t? ^2 1 '^ '^ *^ ^'^, '^ vo fToo o rovood ci t^ ONI M ui« CT^OOO Q\vO ►- w i- Tl- inoo 00 ec 11 •H 10 On r».vo 00 O t^vO t^ t^ t^ N O O; On 1^ -^ fO N O^ ^ LT) r^oo f^ ro cT «s »- o <^ o "^00 M «N| N M N O N rtoo tCoO r^ 'TOO O 1000 t^ O fOvO U-) irj 10 t^ r^OO On IS ON fO '. 5n f,vO ro fO OnvO t(- O ►< i°9> '^ '^ ^ 'd 'C*! ^ 1 " "^ T "C*^ vnoooaS •-? cT ■>?iAi-«'odNo' "^cTno" o fO'rc-NcT rO O 00 ro O »^nO O^O OvOOO i->no i^ cOnO ■* W O '^■-" O iOf«10N0N0'«l- OnvO m >- t^OO m 00 O wrowt^tCcTf^o^ t^od 00 e^ ^ NO 10 roNO on ►- w N N M M irOO C^ On Tj- Tj- 10 t~» u->00 ■^ m to 0\ O r^ t>> M r^NO OHOiNNO^i-irONi-iMro ^t-»ONONfnfOrOO >- I- iO<*»rO rOOO w ro N 00 00 u-it^NOOvO t^ON'**^ vonO O On r«1 f^ on ^^ ■-• ^ ^ '^ 1°^ ^ *^ "1;*^*^*^^^ *t^ «^ M M ro ro lONO n0000'-i«-'N>-'N.r<^' J to 00 1 •pajonpaa ^ 00 N Ov « «o JO pappv '1U33 "J •g + 1 1 1 1 ^ t^ ^ M Ov ^ M M VO *^ n ■<1- •pazi -psnba SB snqoinio^ ^ 00 On N vO VO \n rn N N f^ "W W ■5 so VO " t^ JO pappv 'IU33 J3J 4 - 4 - + + + 1 + T 1 00 M fO 0\ r«. VO u- fO ro ■* t^ »o ^. 11- •pazfiBnba 0^ to «o 10 00 VO 6« spueq uuBj 00 \r, vO 00 ^ VO ro to VO m w N t-» VO fO ir <» w "^ "* "^ M M »>. ■<*• «0 »«. »o M 00 00 VO M « |i4 N vO M 00 VO •snqmnio3 ^ 00 'i- fO o\ 10 00 r^ •^ u- VO 'If "1 ^ »o 1^ «» •>*- u% ^ ^ 1 C *^ t^ «^ tr> 00 ? ^ m o> rj- ^ VO N V ■> c »o VO »o N 00 •iC;p83H UMOi anjBA \ ^ > ^ oST VO VO VO 00 fo VO OC i I r Ov ro o\ i: o» r, ti ) t ^ VO VO VO VO N r 1 >. e \ N 00 \r> to •* r « 1 l; ■> « fO 00 10 N iri •spuBq mj« J 9n\v\ ^ ^ J > c i i2 o\ VO to 00 00 ro ^ h t ^ *< n 00 N ro 00 u-> *>. »■ 1 ^ 1 1 ■> M »4 10 VO 10 vr > n r\ *■ « fO cjv 6 i i »4 r 1 ^ r "1 10 t^ o\ oc > 0( > OC > 00 00 00 «0 00 92 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [462 o S .a a § w .« II 5 f W * ft •§ M 8 « o\ 10 CO t^ ^ c< , t^ CO »o t^ »^ t>. VO •satjano^ N qv 10 Ov t^ 0. VO m snoipnpaQ 00 8 1^ 8 o> VO vo a ajBSaaSSy F?oj, ro VO CO VO CO dv d ^ "^ « N CO « CO fO M u-i CO t>. VO N to ■>*• VO OV 00 VO Tf CO •sapuno^ 00 m P» « t^ ni suoijippv i VO I ^ CO v8 ^ 3}b33j33v I^JOX fO 00 0" vo" 0. 1 «% ** HH CO 1^ 00 ~lf Tf VO t^ VO VO VO po Ov o\ Tj- Ov 00 N «r> VO l^ Tl- CO ■<1- •^ •3SB3JD 'I- 1 N VO J? vS -3Q JO dSBSJOaj 4- VO 1 00 __L CO VO *1 VO 1 qv w 1 VO •XJIB3H ro VO ON 00 00 5 CO 00 VO VO CO •n" C>) l^ vd CO CO CO JO aniB^ sjbS to Ov 00 VO VO -3j33v p32i[Bnba[ VO vO CO dv M cT d VO VO 1-4 M CO 5- VO t^ X;i3 puB UMox "^ Ov N 5 1-4 VO 00 VO rj VC « O; Ov ON W >lO oc VJT VO i vd 00 • VO "* ^ t^ ■ CO •* 10 t^ Tj- 00 N vO vg Tj- N fO 10 00 M VO VO l>. VO CO Ov Ov M 00 t^ •3SB3J3 ^ VO VO VO 00 4 VO *-4 ^ cT CO vd -3Q io asBaJouj 4- 1 CO VO J_ VO 00 _L 00 VO J xrt VO t-» ov 00 VO Ov o\ N fO TJ- N VO 00 •pazjiBTibjj SB VO CO q. CO VO 00 0^ 00 »o vd O; VO 4 snjBA 3}b33j§3v I>4 ^ V? VO vO CO CO C>) 00 % t^ 6\ t-t VO n- ■^ OS t^ fO VO N 00 00 00 VO vS «% fj ■^ ■* VO VO VO m ~^ r 1 Ov VO ~~^ •«*• VO CO W a\ u ■> VC ) 00 CO ^ N t>. l^ 0\ -* f ^ r ^ N Tf t>. t^ N •p3UJni3>J SB r T C d" 00 CO N ^ k-i sniB^ a}B33j33v t^ i: }; VO 0, M VO q> t-i CO 0* CO qv "^ f f :' v8 c^ CO OV vO VO 00 vO «a M •^ "*■ t^ t^ VO VO - g.-^ u ■> r ri' CO •<*• r^ CO 10 VO li T r VO VO CO Ov VO «^ «: C Th M Ov Ov •pnBq ro oc 1/ vo" d vd cT vd 00 00" OIIBjI jo S3JDV ■* ^ c >- « CO VO CO CO VO CO CO VO . vo ^ i C CO •- r 1 N M N W CJ N N VO C4 r" < VO CO »o OV VO g. & §v 8 ^ 00 OC « ) 00 1 M 00 00 00 00 00 ov 463] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE 93 SPECIAL TAX LAWS The Liquor Tax. The gathering of revenue has become a secondary object in the Hquor Hcense. The primary ob- ject is to restrict the traffic. This differentiates the Hquor tax from the other sources of revenue enumerated under this division. Previous to 18 18 the county commissioners granted tavern Hcenses. In that year the Court of Common Pleas was given the power. ^ The tax was collected with the other county taxes, and was devoted to local needs. A local option law, passed in 1847, ^^'^ meant to apply to only ten named counties of the State, was repealed the following year,'^ and the liquor tax was placed under the control of the Probate Judge until 1883,' when a general license law was passed. The county auditor made a special duplicate for this tax, and he, together with the prosecuting attorney, was entrusted with the enforcement of the act. The license fee was two hundred dollars a year, distributed between the county and city funds. The law was amended in 1886, its provisions being made more stringent.* In 1888 the tax was raised to $250 a year,** and two-tenths per cent, of the tax was reserved for the State treasury. In 1896 it was again raised to $350 a year,* and a redistribution made, and in 1900 it was applied to buffet cars running in the State.' Several local option laws have been passed in recent years ; the most important one was enacted in 1897.* The effort to tax personal property has resulted in the enactment of numerous laws that reach the individual indi- rectly, either through an assessment upon collateral inherit- ance or through the profits of corporations. A final attempt was made, however, to secure adequate returns from individuals in the passage of the * 16 o. Z., p. 44. *45 o. L., p. 39. ' 80 0. z., p. 164. * 83 o. z., p. 157. • 85 0. z., p. 116. « 92 o. z., p. 79. » 95 O. L., p. 564. "95 O. Z., p. 87. 94 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [464 DELINQUENT TAX OR INQUISITOR LAW This singular and stringent measure was enacted in 1888,* It had previously been in force as a local measure in Cincin- nati ^ since 1880, and in Cuyahoga, Lucas and Franklin counties (containing the cities of Cleveland, Toledo and Columbus) since 1885.' The law empowers the county commissioners, county auditor and county treasurer, or a majority of them, " when they have reason to believe that there has not been a full return of property within the county for taxation, to employ any person to make inquiry and fur- nish the county auditor the facts as to any omission of prop- erty for taxation, and the evidence necessary to authorize him to subject to taxation any property improperly omitted from the tax duplicate." This officer is called the tax in- quisitor, and his pay is not to exceed twenty per cent, of the amount he actually turns into the county treasury, except in the four counties named, where he may receive twenty-five per cent. The inquisitor has the usual powers for examining wit- nesses, and acts as prosecutor in all cases of delinquency, placing the testimony before the auditor, who decides each case. If the delinquent refuses the inquisitor's summons, the auditor requests the Probate Judge to issue process, but even in such instances the auditor determines what sums shall be placed on the duplicate. The auditor is thus the final judge, and the efficiency of the law depends upon his rulings quite as much as upon the activity of the tax spy. A commission of five per cent, of all the moneys thus col- lected is paid to him. The Supreme Court of the State has ruled that the inquisitor can compel the auditor to act upon information furnished by him.* This is in reality the only » 89 o. L., p. 170. » 77 o. L., p. 204. » 82 o. L., p. 152. * State vs. Crites, 48 O. S., p. 142. 465] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE 95 new function the law adds to the State tax system, as the act of 1 86 1 authorized the auditor and assessors to compel testimony of all delinquents before a regular law court/ and it had been decided by the United States Supreme Court that under this act even the cashier of a bank may be sum- moned and compelled to testify and to bring his books to show the individual deposits in the bank.^ Perhaps one reason why this power was not more frequently exercised by the auditor was because the office is elective, and the official would not seek to incur the displeasure of formidable constituents. There is no greater degree of centralization in the in- quisitor system than in the former methods of reaching delinquents. In practice the system has reached the dead level of mortgage hunting; unrecorded personalty is not found. The practical result is that a function that should be performed by the auditor is shifted upon an additional officer. Under State supervision the measure might be more effi- cient. Local political influences would then be less potent. At present less than two per cent, of the tax on intangible personalty is derived from the inquisitor's efforts, a ridicu- lous sum considered in the light of the relative returns of personalty and realty. THE COLLATERAL INHERITANCE TAX This tax was inaugurated in 1903,' and makes all estates above the sum of $10,000 that do not descend to a direct heir liable to a tax of 3^^ per cent, of their value. The Probate Judge appoints three appraisers, who report to him ' 58 o. L., p. 47. • First National Bank of Youngstown vs. Auditor Mahoning County, 106 I/. S., P- 523. •90 C>. L., p. 14. 96 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [4615 the value of the property and the amount liable to the tax. The Probate Judge reports semi-annually to the county auditor the property within the jurisdiction of his court that has become subject to the tax. A direct inheritance tax, passed in 1898, was declared unconstitutional the following year. These laws are primarily local in their administration and effect, the county auditor exercising considerable admin- istrative authority in each case. Beginning in 1889, a series of laws were enacted attempt- ing to adjust tax methods to the fact that the vast body of property had become corporate. The basis of industry had shifted from the individual to the corporation, while the basis of taxation has remained the individual. These taxes were in the nature of fees, franchise taxes and excise taxes. In 1902 they were all gathered into two measures. They ^.re administered by State officers. THE EXCISE TAX ^ This statute embraces in its operation the following cor- porations : electric light ; gas, natural gas companies ; pipe lines, water works; street, suburban or interurban railways; express, telegraph and telephone companies; messenger and signal companies; union depot companies; railroad com- panies. These are to report, under oath, annually to the State Auditor. The report is to set forth the nature of the company, the names and addresses of its officers, the prin- cipal officers in Ohio and their addresses; if express com- pany, the gross receipts of each agent in Ohio, and of the entire company outside of the State; if a telephone or tele- graph company, the gross receipts of each office in the State, and of the entire company ; if a railroad wholly within the State, its gross earnings ; if partly within the State, the gi:QS5 ^9S o.L. 467] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE gy earnings of the entire line, with total mileage and mileage in the State; if a street, suburban or interurban railway, the gross receipts, and if doing business outside of Ohio, the gross receipts and total mileage and mileage within the State; all other companies, the gross receipts of business done in Ohio; and such other facts as the auditor may require. These returns are laid before the State Board of Ap- praisers and Assessors, composed of the State Auditor as chairman. State Treasurer, Attorney-General and Secretary of State. This board can compel attendance of witnesses and ex- amine them under oath, can order officers of any company to appear and bring the company's books, and may impose very heavy penalties, designated by law, upon all delin- quents. The board reviews its own findings " as it may see fit." It determines the gross receipts of each company, upon which the auditor imposes a tax of one per cent. THE FRANCHISE TAX ^ Every corporation for profit organized under the laws of Ohio is compelled to report annually to the Secretary of State. The report is to set forth, among other things, the authorized capital stock and par value of each share, the amount of capital stock subscribed, issued and paid up. The Secretary of State is to collect a fee of one-tenth of one per cent, upon the " subscribed or issued or outstanding capital stock." The tax is not to be less than ten dollars in any case. Every foreign corporation organized for profit, and doing business in the State, reports in addition the value of the property used in Ohio, and a similar tax is collected upon the proportion of the capital used in the State. » 95 O. L, p. 134- 98 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [468 Corporations not for profit are also required to report annually, but no tax is imposed. Besides the above taxes many companies are required to pay annual fees/ These are applied to the maintenance of central bureaus of supervision, e. g., the office of Fire Mar- shal and the Superintendent of Insurance are maintained by insurance company fees. The reason vv^hy these fees and the franchise tax are col- lected by the Secretary of State instead of the auditor is because all articles of incorporation are issued by him, and in his office is kept a list of all corporations in the State. He reports monthly to the auditor. The corporations have a right to be heard before the Secretary of State, and may. appeal to the auditor, Attorney-General and Treasurer, who act as a sort of equalizing board. All corporations that pay an excise tax are exempt from this act, as are all that are required to fill out special reports. These latter are insurance companies, building and loan associations, fraternal insurance companies and banks. Insurance companies and fraternal insurance orders are subject to the scrutiny of a State Insurance Commissioner, and pay heavy fees for the support of that department. Building and loan associations are likewise controlled from a central office, and pay an excise tax upon their capital stock. The Constitution of 1852 provided special means for taxing banks ; they are placed under strict State surveillance. As noted, the gradual separation of the State from the municipality, as a tax unit, is very apparent. The more recent laws have tended toward this segregation. Real estate has become the basis of local revenue, while the fran- chise and excise taxes produce the greater part of the State's income. 1 Vid. Revised Statutes Ohio, sect. 148a. 469] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE 99 The last installment on the funded debt of the State is due in 1903. When this has been cancelled the State author- ities expect the corporation tax, delinquent tax, liquor tax, and collateral inheritance tax to be adequate to meet the annual State budget. Then all of the taxes collected from realty will remain in the counties wherein they are levied. This will remove one of the most serious objections to the general property tax, for the smaller the tax area, the easier the problem of equalization. But this isolation of the mu- nicipality, as a separate tax entity, has not checked the ten- dency toward centralization, for the State Auditor has super- visory powers, not alone over the various special taxes, but over the general property tax, and the new uniform audit- ing system ^ places him at once at the head of municipal tax administration. Every step in the disintegration of the general property tax stands out clearly. At first there was no attempt at valuation; then land only was assessed, and finally all prop- erty was levied upon according to its money value. This proved effective only for such property as could be found by the assessor. As intangible property increased in im- portance the inequalities resulting from the law became more glaring. The powers of the tax officials were multiplied, but they failed to find the concealed property. Before abandoning the antiquated method, however, one more attempt was made to compel individuals to place their personal property upon the tax lists, and a system of rigorous tax inquisition was inaugurated. It proved futile from the first. The tax on corporations, levied in various forms, remains the only successful method of reaching personal property for tax purposes. ^ Vid. supra., p. 90. lOO ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [470 CENTRAL CONTROL OVER LOCAL FINANCE Besides the duties of State officers, as shown in the pre- ceding pages, a large measure of central control has arisen from two acts. The first of these is The Independent Treas- ury Act of 1858/ Previous to this time the State moneys had been loaned to various banks or been deposited in the several county treasuries of the State. It was now declared that the office of the State Treasurer should be the place of deposit for all the State moneys, and the office of the county treasurer the place of deposit of the county funds. A comp- troller of the treasury was appointed, for a term of three years, " for the purpose of securing a more full and perfect system of accountability among the officers of the fiscal department." His duty was practically that of a treasurer. He collected all claims of the State. No money could be paid into the treasury except on his draft, drawn in favor of the State treasury, on the person making the payment, and no money could be drawn out of the State treasury except on the warrant of the Auditor of State, drawn upon the treasurer and countersigned by the comptroller. Direct appropriations by the Legislature were excepted from this clause. The comptroller had under supervision the securi- ties deposited in the treasury by the banking companies of the State as collateral guaranty for the redemption of their circulation. He received and destroyed their mutilated notes and issued new blank notes for registration and cir- culation. The auditor and comptroller examined the treasury quar- terly, and reported to the Governor, the Governor in turn being empowered to appoint, at his option, an accountant to examine the books of the treasurer, auditor and comp- troller. The provisions regulating the manner of payments, vouchers, keeping of books and similar subjects were very ' 55 o. L., p. 44. 471 ] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE jqi explicit. The immediate cause of the measure was an em- bezzHng treasurer. The partial cause of its repeal in 1876 * was an embezzling comptroller. The principal reason, how- ever, was the inutility of the office. It made very cumber- some the least details of business with the State, and led to much annoyance. The comptroller became practically a duplicate auditor. The Governor's message in 1863 stated that "no practical good results from maintaining this office." Auditors continually complained that the machinery of State finance was too complicated, and that there were too many officers. The office of comptroller practically degenerated into that of State House Commissioner, whose duties were transferred to the comptroller in 1871.^ His reports had dwindled to mere summaries of the auditor's annual state- ments, and the examination of the treasury was purely perfunctory. Upon the abolition of the office the auditor became " the chief accounting officer of the State," and his duties were thus defined : " He shall keep in his office full and accurate accounts of all moneys, bonds, stocks, securities and other property and effects paid into or deposited in the State treasury, and of all moneys, bonds, stocks, securities, prop- erty and effects paid out of or drawn and transferred from the State treasury, and manage and direct all negotiations and correspondence concerning the same." He is to keep accurate account of all appropriations made by law, and of moneys drawn to meet the same. No money can be taken from the treasury except on his warrant. His books should show at all times the exact status of the treasury, and together with the treasurer, with whom he compares statements weekly, he reports quarterly to the Governor. The extent to which this has transferred to the auditor the control of the State's finances is seen from the fact that the treasurer > 73 O. L., p. 79. ' 68 O. L., p. loi. I02 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [472 has practically ceased to make an annual report, his state- ment merely including the totals of the exhaustive report required of the auditor.^ The Comptroller of the Treasury had the power to appoint accountants to examine the county treasuries at his pleasure. This power was, however, rarely used. When the office was abolished the State Auditor was given the power to examine the county treasuries upon complaint being made by the county commissioners or county auditor. This is in practice a very great check upon the local treasuries, and cases of such examinations are frequent. THE UNIFORM AUDITING SYSTEM By far the greatest step taken toward centralized admin- istration in financial matters, and one of the most marked instances of centralization in the State's history, is the uni- form auditing act passed by the last General Assembly.^ This act creates a bureau of inspection and supervision of public officers, with the Auditor of State ex officio at its head. The auditor appoints not over three deputies, no more than two of them to belong to the same political party, and one clerk. The deputies receive a salary of $2,000 a year and their necessary expenses. The clerk receives $1,500 a year. The auditor shall " formulate, prescribe and install a system of accounting and reporting that shall be uniform for every public office and every public account of the same class," and shall show all the details of all the transactions consummated in the office. Separate accounts are to be kept for every appropriation *Upon the State Treasurer were laid the duties of State Statistician in 1872. He is also at the head of the State board of elections, and the compiling of statis- tics and election returns are his principal duties. As a fiscal officer, his position is reduced to that of custodian of the public funds. »95 O. Z., p. 511. 473] TAXATION AND LOCAL FINANCE 103 and fund, showing in detail how such funds were used. Separate accounts are also to be kept for every public service industry, " which shall show the true and entire cost, the ownership and operation thereof, the amount collected annu- ally by general or special taxation for services rendered to the public, and the amount and character of the services rendered therefor, and the amount collected annually from private users, if any, for services rendered to them, and the amount and character of services rendered therefor." Every taxing body and public institution of the State is required to report to the State Auditor such accounts and statistics as he may demand. This report shall contain a full statement of every public service industry owned and operated by municipalities, a statement of the debt of every taxing body showing the purpose for which the debt was created and what provisions are made for its payment. " It shall be the duty of every public officer and employee to keep all accounts of his office in the form prescribed, and to make all reports required by the Auditor of State." Every collector of public revenues is required to report once every day to the depository of funds in his city or county. After the bureau has established its system the auditor shall appoint additional assistants to administer the provi- sions of the act. These are termed State examiners, and receive five dollars a day and expenses. The auditor, deputy inspectors and examiners have the power " to examine into all financial affairs of every public office and officer, and shall make such an examination at least once every year." It prescribed that this examination shall be thorough, and the examining officers have the power to call witnesses and administer oaths. Each examination is reported forthwith to the State Auditor. The expense of maintaining and operating the bureau is 104 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [474 levied upon the counties and municipalities in proportion to the population. The Auditor of State is empowered to levy and collect each corporation's share. This law practically centralizes the administration of State finances in the State Auditor, and gives him firm control over the local finances. The system has not yet been per- fected, and will not be in operation until 1903. It cannot be said that the State has developed a fixed system of taxation and finance. This is no doubt due to the great economic changes that have taken place within the century. There is, however, manifest a distinct tendency toward the localization of the realty tax and the centraliza- tion of the personalty tax. The latter takes upon itself more and more the form of a tax upon corporations rather than upon individuals. Through all the mutations that have resulted from the State's effort to establish an equitable and stated system of taxation there has been a constant and gradually increasing tendency toward centralization in finance administration in every department excepting that of equalization, and in this practically no change has been made since the first State Board of Equalization was author- ized. The county auditor has developed into the principal local tax administrator, and the State Auditor has evolved into a powerful supervisor of the State's finances, and now oversees the financial methods of every county and town- ship, city and village and school district in the State. He is at present the most important administrative officer in the State. CHAPTER III CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS POOR LAWS Under the territorial regime the justices of the peace nominated to the Court of Quarter Sessions " two substan- tial inhabitants " in every township as overseers of the poor. These overseers nominated their own successors. They could, with the consent of two justices of the peace of the county, levy an assessment, limited by law, for the support of the poor; could contract with private parties for the keeping of the paupers ; on receiving the consent of two justices of the peace they could apprentice the poor children, and could remove any persons likely to become a public charge who had not yet attained legal settlement. The records of the overseers were audited annually by three men selected at the annual township meeting. This committee also fixed the compensation of the overseers. The overseers were also under the supervision of the justices of the peace, who could commit them to jail for malfeas- ance.^ These provisions remained in force until 1805, when the overseers were elected, and reported all needy cases to the township trustees, upon whose warrants alone the overseers could grant relief. The township meeting voted the neces- sary taxes. ^ In 18 1 6 the Governor recommended that the poor, instead * Laws of the Northwest Territory, 1796, p. 107. * 3 O. L., p. 272. 475] 105 I06 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [476 of being a township charge, become a county charge, and that the custom of farming out the poor be abandoned, each county to provide a poor house/ Accordingly it was provided that the county commis- sioners might build a poor house, and appoint a board of seven directors to have the supervision of it.^ As the mat- ter, however, remained optional few counties responded, and the Governor was again moved to suggest a revision in 1826. The township system produced great inequality. Litigations were numerous concerning the settlement of paupers, and the settlement laws were cruel, allowing non- resident poor to be transported out of the State.' When in 183 1 the poor laws were revised * the people of the county were permitted to vote a tax for the building of a poor house. In counties where poor houses were found the township system was abandoned. A board of three directors of the poor was appointed by the county commissioners.'' These had charge of the poor houses; could bind out poor children, and could grant temporary relief to non-resident paupers. Township trustees could order the directors to admit paupers, and were required to give warning to non- resident poor to leave the township. If such warning was not heeded within one year they could be transported beyond the State. In counties that had no poor house the township system remained as before. In 1853 the office of overseer of the poor was abolished, and the township trustees were given their duties. ° The Probate Judge was empowered to appoint three trustees for the erecting of a children's home, so as to enable the sepa- ration of the poor children from the adult paupers. ' Senate Journal, 1816, p. 17. '14 a Z,, p. 79. » Senate Journal, 1826, p. 12. *29 O. Z., p. 316. * Since 1841, the directors are elected. 39 O. Z., p. 26. "51 O. Z., p. 466. 477] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS 107 The first step toward centralized control was taken in 1857, when the Court of Common Pleas in each county- having an infirmary appointed three commissioners, one of whom was a physician, to thoroughly inspect the infirmary and report to the Governor/ A commissioner appointed by the Governor examined these reports, and prepared a bill " for the better establishing, regulating and managing of infirmaries." The bill was never reported from its com- mittee. Numerous revisions of the poor laws have made no sub- stantial changes in their administration. The reforms in- stituted have been confined to details of supervision, the laws prescribing definite rules of procedure. These will be enumerated in the discussion of the Board of State Charities. At present there are three departments of local poor relief. I. The county infirmary, supervised by a board of three directors elected for a term of three years. They report annually to the county commissioners and to the county auditor. They have complete control of the county poor fund, and if it proves insufficient they may levy an additional tax not to exceed six-tenths of a mill. Their duties are carefully detailed by the law.^ 2. The children's home. Fifty of the eighty-eight coun- ties have established these. The county commissioners appoint a board of four trustees, not more than two to belong to the same political party. They serve without pay and have charge of the home. The law prescribes the details of their duties.® 3. The township out-door relief. This is in the hands of the township trustees and infirmary directors, and is limited by law to only such cases as cannot be provided for in the infirmary or children's home. > 54 O. Z., p. 217. »93 O. Z., p. 261. »95 a Z., p. 80. I08 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [478 In several cities there are district overseers for the care of the poor. PENAL AND REFORMATORY INSTITUTIONS County Jails. The territorial statutes provided for the erection of jails in each county under the management of the sheriff, and if they were insecurely built and the pris- oners escaped, the county was assessed for the sum for which they stood committed.^ The sheriff remained in practical control until 1843, when the Court of Common Pleas established rules for governing the jails.^ These regulations covered the sanitary condition of the jails, the classification of prisoners, the discipline of prisoners, the providing of medical and legal assistance, and moral instruction for the inmates. The sheriff remained in charge of the prison, administering the rules laid down by the court. He reported to the court the conduct of the prisoners, to the county auditor and commissioners the cost of maintaining the jail and the amount of his fees, and to the Secretary of State such statistical information as would be required. He likewise appointed the jailor and provided food, nursing and all other necessities for the prisoners. The county commissioners were made a sort of financial board to pass on all items so furnished, and to supply heat and furnishings for the jail. The most important section of the law created of the grand jury a board of visitors, with power to condemn the jails and order improvements. The authority to enforce the grand jury's findings was not granted to any one, and except for its moral force it re- mained a dead letter. The revision of 1877 ' left the administration of jails • Laws of Northwest Territory, 1792, p. 29. » 41 O. Z., p. 74. ' 74 O. Z., p. 365. 479] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS loo practically unchanged, and there is now no general or central authority exercised. Workhouses. There are eight workhouses in the State. Four of these are in the larger cities, and may properly be called municipal institutions. They are controlled by boards created under special acts. Four are more properly county institutions, because they are maintained by a number of counties that have united in their construction and mainte- nance.^ Their management and control are vested in a board of directors, consisting of two persons from each county, appointed by the county commissioners of the dis- trict. Their term of ofifice is six years, and they are equally divided between the two predominant political parties. They receive only their expenses, and are subject to the orders of the county commissioners.^ State Penitentiary. The State penitentiary at Columbus was completed in 1816. It has been the subject of much legislation and frequent investigation. No definite policy for its control or the betterment of its inmates has been evolved. Its management has been in the hands of a board of directors, appointed at first by the Legislature and later by the Governor and the Senate. Practically the only changes in administration have been in the number of mem- bers of this board, their method of appointment, and the designation of the subordinate officers they may appoint. These changes have been dictated by party politics, the penitentiary being a fruitful source of party manipulation. Eleven times has the Legislature changed the complexion of this board. The number has varied; usually there have been three, five or six members, and at one time a l^islative commission of three nominated three directors, two of whom were to be residents of Columbus. The commission had ^ These counties form " workhouse districts." * 90 C7. Z., p. 193. no ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [480 the power of removing their nominees.^ Complete changes were made in the management in 1858, i860, 1864, 1867, 1877, 1878, 1886 and 1890. Such fluctuations were not productive of sterHng administration. Each change usually wrought complete alteration in the prison employees, from the warden to the guards. Since the organization of the Board of State Charities there has been a decided improvement in the methods of dealing with the prisoners. These will be mentioned later. The only supervisory power exercised over the manage- ment of the penitentiary is the auditing of the accounts by the State Auditor and the power of the Legislature to inves- tigate by special committee. This has often been resorted to. A State reformatory was begun at Mansfield in 1883. Its management has been under the control of a board of directors, their number fluctuating. At present there are six members on this board, appointed for six years, and they are equally divided between the two political parties. They receive a salary of five hundred dollars a year. Under the act of 1856 ^ a reform school for boys was established at Columbus. Its first board of directors was not only appointed by the Governor, but all the rules and regulations that it formulated were made subject to the Governor's approval. This authority was taken away two years later, and the directors have since then been subject only to the supervisory powers of the Legislature. The Girls' Industrial Home was authorized in 1869,^ and was established at Delaware the following year. It is gov- erned by the usual board of directors, appointed by the Governor and the Senate. There is also a board of visitors, composed of three women appointed by the Governor, who visit the home every three months and report under seal to the president of the board of trustees. 1 55 O. Z., p. 136. » 53 O. L., p. 66, » 66 O. L., p. no. 48l] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS m The Governor has the power to remove inmates from the State penitentiary to the reformatory, and from the reform- atory to the Girls' Industrial Home or the Boys' Industrial Home, also to remove incorrigibles from the industrial homes to the reformatory. It is thus evident that no degree of centralized control has been established over the State penal institutions. There is neither harmony between the local and State institutions, nor among the various State institutions, except such accord of action as has been established by the influence of the Board of State Charities. State Charities. In 1821 the " Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum of Ohio " was established in Cincinnati. It was intended primarily for a county institution, but the State from the first has contributed toward its support. The name has been changed several times, as well as the method of appointing its trustees. The majority are now provided by the city council and county commissioners. This institution never supplied room for many of the State's insane. These were confined in the county jails until 1838, when provision was made for an asylum for curable cases only.^ This hos- pital was not large enough to admit all the cases. In 1844 there were still twenty-one insane persons confined in the jails. Here the accommodations provided were utterly in- adequate. After the establishment of county infirmaries it became unlawful to confine the insane in the jails, the county commissioners providing quarters for them in the infirm- aries. The State has never provided adequate room for all its insane. In 1834, before the establishment of the first asylum, there were one thousand insane persons in the State. In 1850 there were four thousand, and provision was made for only four hundred of them.^ In 1870 there were two thousand insane in the infirmaries. It was not until the ^ 36 O. Z., p. 51. * Executive Documents, 1850, vol. i, no. i. 112 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [482 Board of State Charities formulated a comprehensive plan that the State adopted measures for caring for all of its insane. The number of hospitals for the insane now established is seven. Each one has its separate board of trustees, appointed by the Governor and Senate. There has been a great amount of fluctuation in the number of these trustees, in the require- ments as to their places of residence and the minutiae of the instructions prescribed by law. For many years there was not even uniformity in the number of trustees for the various hospitals, but since 1876 ^ the number has been uniform. The State is now divided into districts, one for each asylum, and the Governor appoints a board of six trustees for each hospital, these trustees to be residents of the district, two of them of the county in which the hospital is located. The laws prescribe in great detail the powers of the boards, the number of officers they may employ, the maximum salaries they may pay, and what appointees they may remove without cause. They are subject to the reviewing power of the Governor, who may at any time order an investigation of any of the State charitable institutions. The State has also established a Hospital for Epileptics and one for Feeble-minded Youth. Other State institutions are the Institute for Deaf and Dumb, authorized in 1827;^ the Institute for the Blind, established in 1837;' the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home in 1875,* and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in 1886.° The Governor appoints, with the consent of the Senate, the trustees of these institutions. They report annu- ally to the Governor, and are subject to his investigating power. » 73 o. L., p. 80. • 25 o. L., p. 87. • 35 o. L., p. 1 16. • 72 O. L., p. 163. » 83 O. L., p. 107. 483] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS nj THE BOARD OF STATE CHARITIES Whatever degree of centralization has been attained in the administration of the State charities has been due to the influence of the Board of State Charities. Its power has been confined to investigations and recommendations, but it has exerted a powerful moral influence over the institu- tions of a local nature as well as those of the State. Previous to 1866 there had been much complaint of the loose manner in which the benevolent institutions had been maintained, and the lack of one supervising authority.^ In that year Governor Cox recommended that a State Board of Charities be organized, modeled after that of Massachu- setts.^ The board was created, but it fell far short of its model in the ix>wer granted. In a fit of legislative economy the board was abolished in 1871, but was recreated in 1876. As the personnel of the board remained substantially un- changed, and its powers practically unmodified, I shall treat the history of its work as though this break of five yeai^ had not occurred. The board consists of six members, appointed by the Gov- ernor and the Senate for a term of three years. No more than three are to belong to the same political party.* The Governor is ex officio president of the board. The members receive no compensation, but their expenses are paid and they may hire a secretary, who receives $i,20Q a year and his expenses. The board is instructed to " investigate the whole system of public charities and correctional institutions of the State, examine into the condition and management thereof, espe- cially of prisons, jails, infirmaries, public hospitals and asy- lums, and the officers in charge of all such institutions shall ' Vide, Governor' t Reports, 1850 and 1865. ' Executive Documents^ 1866, vol. i, p. 272. • 77, O. L., p. 227, 114 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [484 furnish to the board, on their request, such information and statistics as they may require," and the board prescribes the forms for such reports. The powers of the board are circumscribed. They are practically limited to investigations of State and local insti- tutions, with the power to report the findings to the Gov- ernor, to approving plans for local and State penal and charitable institutions, and suggesting legislation. The efficiency of such a board depends largely upon its personnel. In this the Ohio State Board has been most fortunate, and it has been the policy to reappoint the members. Only once, in 1890, did politics interfere with the efficiency of the board. One member of the board served from its organization in 1867 until 1899, when he resigned because of ill health. Another member served twenty-one years, another thirteen years, another eleven years, one ten years, and one has served five years. Three of the latest appointments were made to fill vacancies due to the death of members. The most im- portant member of the board is the secretary, for upon him devolves the work of visiting the county institutions, gather- ing statistics and preparing the annual report. The first secretary was the Rev. A. J. Byers, and he served constantly until his death in 1890, when his son was elected to the posi- tion. The energy of these secretaries has contributed in a particular degree to the good work of the board. The board first addressed itself to the problem of securing efficiency in the local institutions and co-operation between the local and State authorities. The secretary of the board visited in person every city jail, infirmary and workhouse in the State. Apparently no attention had been paid to the condition of the county jails and infirmaries, for the first reports of the board reveal conditions too loathsome to put in print. The jails were miserably built, and totally unfit for the keeping of persons. ^L^FORHlb* 485] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS 115 " Children, youth, the young man, the middle aged, the old, all at first simply accused of crime, and more or less wrongfully accused, * * are found congregated in our jails. And to perfect the wrong they are crowded often in an ill-ventilated, dirty, dark prison, where the whole being, physical, mental and moral, is soon fitted to receive all un- cleanness with greediness." ^ " It is a startling and terrible proposition, sustained by this report, that Ohio is to-day supporting at public expense as base seminaries of crime as are to be found in any civilized community." ^ Often there was but one cell, and no provision for separating the sexes.' Many of the jails had been repeatedly condemned as unfit by grand juries, but the public refused to vote funds for new buildings, and the condemnation was made void. There was no classification of prisoners, the rules made by the Common Pleas Court never being carried out. Nor were registers kept of the criminals nor adequate discipline en- forced. Witnesses were detained in the jails and often locked up with the prisoners. City prisons were no excep- tion to the rule. The exposing of these evils had an immediate effect. Definite remedial legislation was not attempted until 1881, in spite of the annual protests of the board. In that year a county board of visitors was created, to consist of five per- sons named by the Judge of the Common Pleas Court, three of whom were to be women,* They inspect all charitable and correctional institutions of the county, and it is their " duty to keep themselves fully advised of the condition and management of all such institutions, especially the infirmary, county jail, municipal prisons and children's home." These * II. Report Board of State C arities, p. 20. * Jbid. ' " A young woman once confined for any cause in our county jail is well nigh consigned to go from bad to worse." Jbid. * 79 0. L., p. 107. Il6 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [486 institutions they shall visit once every three months, and file a report of their work and recommendations with the county clerk and the Board of State Charities. The law was merely permissive, and only the vigilance of the State Board saved it from being a nullity/ Public sentiment has been so well directed, through the various agencies established by the board, that at present nearly all of the counties have modern jails, and even the poorer class of prisons are humanely kept.^ Because of the greater number and the miscellaneous character of inmates, and the utter carelessness and often heartlessness of the superintendents, the county infirmaries were in a much more deplorable condition than the jails. Tlie details described by the secretary of the board as pre^ vailing in the majority of these institutions are so revolting that one can scarcely believe that such conditions could exist without arousing an indignant public conscience.' The neglect of the superintendent was partly due to the lack of oversight exercised by the county and State, and partly to the fact that the office was used for political purposes, al- though it was looked upon with contempt " by even the better class of politicians ;" " men notoriously lazy in habits, selfish in nature, socially, intellectually and morally unfit, are now occupying these positions, not only to the detriment of the institutions over which they exercise superintendency, but to the degradation of the office." * There have been constant recommendations for taking the institutions out of politics. No change has been made. The infirmary di- * Thirty of these local boards were established the year after the passage of the act. In 1883 there were 6fty; by 1892, seventy-two counties had responded, and since 1893 every county has such a board. * " A dirty and badly kept jail is now the exception instead of the rule." Jte- port, 1880. ■ Vide, Especially the first five reports of the Board. * III. Report State Board, 487] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS Ji^ rectors are elected, and they appoint the superintendent. They report to the county commissioners every six months and inspect the infirmary every month. " We do not expect any further improvement in our county infirmaries until the present system of their administration is radically changed." * However, there has been a complete change in the attitude of the directors, responding to an alert public opinion. The newer buildings are well planned and the management is humane,^ the people having thoroughly reformed the abused that then existed on their attention being called to them by the disclosures made in the reports of the secretary of the board.' The other causes of the early misery are more neart^ remedied. They are the housing of the insane and of infants in the infirmaries with the county paupers. The first reports describe the treatment of the insane as " simply brutal," and their condition as " sickening in its detail of filth, neglect, immorality and unthriftiness." In 1869 there were 7,401 inmates in the infirmaries, and of these 12.5 per cent., or 1,131, were insane, 4.8 per cent, were epileptic and 4.6 per cent, idiotic, and 12.9 per cent, were children. Most of the institutions had absolutely no means of separating the insane from the sane, excepting a few miserable sheds or outbuildings, where the more violent cases were confined. Nor was there in many cases provi- sion for separating the sexes of the insane. The county's unfortunates were simply given over to an inhumanity that was worse than neglect. The census of 1870 showed the number of insane in th6 State as 3,414. In the State asylums there was room for ^Executive Documents, 1885, i, p. 117. * "The infirmaries almost without exception'have been improved in the past ten years. Some of the best are now found in counties which then had the worst." Ibid. * Report, 1880, p. 20. Il8 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [488 only 1,346. The rest were in county infirmaries and private institutions. Under pressure of the State Board, reinforced by the recommendations of the Governor, other asylums for the insane have been built. The board has prepared a plan which contemplates the care of all the State's insane wards in proper hospitals. The cottage system has been adopted, and this allows of great elasticity in the number of inmates accommodated. It was thought that by 1900 room would have been provided for the removal of all insane from the infirmaries. But construction on the new hospital was de- layed, and the time limit was extended to 1903,^ after which date it will be unlawful to house insane persons in the in- firmaries. The insane confined in private hospitals are not under State surveillance. In 1866 it was left optional with the counties to establish children's homes. These were open " to all persons resi- dent of the county where such home is located, under sixteen years of age, and such other persons under such age from such other counties in this State where no home is located, as the trustees of the children's home and the party or par- ties bringing them in custody may agree upon." ^ By 1880 eleven had been built. This number was increased to twenty-five in four years, and at present there are fifty. In 1880 there were 1,978 children in the infirmaries, by 1892 the number dwindled to one hundred and fifty, and at present there are none. Since 1886 ' it has been unlawful to place any child in an infirmary who is admissible to a children's home or other charitable institution, no child over one year of age being allowed in the infirmaries, and if there is no home in the county, the infirmary directors are to place the little ones in suitable families by indenture or adoption. If this is not * 94 O. L., p. 166. See also table of statistics at the end of this chapter. « 63 O. L., p. 45. • 83 O. L., p. 196. 489] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS ng possible, they shall be maintained at the expense of the county in the nearest children's home at which they can be received, or in some other proper charitable institution, " which may have the approval of the Board of State Chari- ties." The law carefully details the treatment of these chil- dren, and defines who are eligible to the homes. The county board of visitors is given power to investigate all cases, and recommend any officer of the home for dismissal. The board of visitors also supervises the children that are bound to private families by indenture, recommending the termi- nation of the contract in all cases where abuse is apparent. In the management of the State institutions no such flagrant violations of decency were found. They were open to public scrutiny. The penitentiary, however, has not shared in the general progress made by the other institutions. Its management has changed too often. In the thirty-five years preceding 1869 there had been fourteen wardens, giving each one a term of less than three years. Since that date changes have been scarcely less frequent. In 1822 the penitentiary was put in charge of a keeper, appointed by the Legislature. He reported annually to the Legislature, and was quite inde- pendent of the board of managers. The penitentiary was practically neglected by the Legislature. The walls were allowed to fall to ruin, and it became easy for prisoners to escape, in some years quite as many leaving the prison by that method as by regular discharge.^ There was lack of discipline. A fire destroyed a portion of the buildings in 1830, but no adequate repairs were started until three years later. In 1828 the Governor reported that because there was no room for all the prisoners he was compelled to par- don many.^ In 1834 a new prison was erected, and new regulations produced somewhat better results. ^Report of Keeper, 1828, p. 160. ' Senate Journal, 1828, p. 15. t20 AtyMlNISTRATION IN OHIO [490 " For eighty years the Ohio Penitentiary has been the only prison in the State for high grade criminals. The first year of its history closed November 15, 181 5, with seven prisoners. The last closed November 15, 1894, with two thousand and twenty- four prisoners. During all these years, so far as shown by annual reports, the general prin- ciples adhered to in the management of the prison have remained unchanged." ^ In 1884 a special commissioner, Jlppointed by the Governor to investigate the condition of the penitentiary rq)orted " that financial results rather than reformation of the prisoners always was, and still is, the dominating idea of the prison." As late as 1884 public hangings were conducted, the parole system was unknown, and physical torture still pre- vailed. The system of prison labor was antiquated; crim- inal insane were confined in the penitentiary. The admin- istration of the prison's affairs was strictly partisan. Even prison labor was suspended for a time in response to a demagogic demand for a cessation of " competition be- tween convict labor and free labor." ^ The persistent efforts of the Board of State Charities have been successful, for since 1886 many reforms have been instituted. Among them are the substitution of the solitary cell for the ancient forms of corporal punishment, the institution of the Ber- tillon system, the abolition of the lock step, the enlargement of prison labor, the introduction of parole and the indeter- rhinate sentence, electrocution, night schools. The board has continually opposed the enlargement of the penitentiary, and recommended the erection of intermediate prisons. The establishment of workhouses and the State reformatory was directly due to these constantly reiterated suggestions.' > igth Report Board of State Charities. •81 O. L., p, 72. • See Executive Documents, 1877, vol. iii, p. 293. 49l] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS 121 So also have they materialized, through constant agita- tion, their suggestion for a State Home for Epileptics,^ the Asylum for Feeble-minded, and the Home for Aged and Infirm Deaf and Dumb Persons. To this latter institution they have the power to remove such persons as they deem necessary.^ In general matters the board has gradually assumed mor6 and more central control. Out-door r elief had become a burden under a system which placed the poor fund in the hands of the township trustees, and if they failed to provide for the poor, the county infirmary directors were authorized to do so. Thus the pauper retained his residence in the township, and was provided for at the expense of the whole county. This removed the vigilance of the local tax-payers. Each township struggled to get its quota of the county poor funds. It practically meant that the township officers found the paupers and the county paid for their support. " In many counties the expenses incurred by infirmary directors for out-door relief are more than the expenses incurred by them for paupers in the infirmaries, and to a great extent the effect of this system is to pauperize those who receive it and those who can hope to get it, when with manly inde- pendence they could support themselves." ' The board succeeded in bringing about the united action of nearly all the infirmary directors of the State to ask for the abolition of this system. This was done in 1897.* No person is now entitled to out-door relief who can be pro- vided for in the county infirmary, and the poor fund is under the direct control of the infirmary directors, and they are responsible for its administration. The law effected an immediate saving of $250,000 a year."^ * Exec. Doc, 1878, vol. i, p. 533. * This home is not yet completed. * igiA Report State Bd. of Charities, p. 75. '93 O. L., p. 265. ^ ijth Report Sd. 0/ State Charities, p. 168-9. 122 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [492 One of the evil results of the system of irresponsible man- agement was the erection of wholly unsafe and poorly adapted buildings for county and State institutions. Fire destroyed the Northern Insane Asylum in 1872 and the Institution for Feeble-minded Youth in 1880, and a number of the inmates were burned to death. Most of the county jails and infirmaries were mere fire traps. Fire-proofing was universally discarded. In 1864 the building of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum had become so dilapidated through neglect that a new building had to be provided. In 1870 the board published plans for a county infirmary, hoping that the county commissioners would profit by it, but no attention was paid to these plans. Later the county authorities were made to submit such plans to the board for " suggestion and criticism," ^ and this did not insure proper buildings. In 1896 the board was given the power to reject or amend the plans of all penal and charitable State, county or municipal institutions.^ It is now customary for the authorities to consult the board before provisional plans are made. Plans for State institutions are practically designed by the board. The result is seen in comparing the buildings of recent years with those of the earlier period. The state asylums and penal institutions especially reveal the wisdom of this provision. The cottage system has been adopted for the new asylums and the reformatories. This allows a proper expansion to meet the growing needs of the State without incurring the inconveniences and dangers accompanying the overcrowding of such institutions. There is no State control over local charities, but the board has encouraged the organization of associated chari- ties and the co-operation of the local poor authorities with such boards. County and city officials may now accept the 1 77 0. z., p. 227-8. »93 o. Z.,p. 105. 493] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS 123 results of investigations made by associated charities or other local charitable societies and grant relief thereon. The board has thus created a voluntary co-operation between private charitable organizations and the local authorities. This is particularly true of the cities, where much economy and efficiency have resulted from the united efforts of the private and public charitable agencies. The voluntary co-operation of State and local authorities has been secured through various agencies. The thorough annual reports ; the monthly " Ohio Bulletin of Charities and Corrections," published by the secretary of the board; a constant correspondence maintained between the board and the local authorities; annual conventions of all the offi- cers of local and State institutions, and the encouragement of attendance of national bodies, such as the Prison Confer- ence and the National Conference of Charities and Correc- tions, these are some of the means that the board has em- ployed, in the absence of legal authority, to perfect a harmony of action between the local and the State institutions. But there has been a constant increase in the legal powers of the board. It has several times been recognized by the Legislature as the proper body for framing laws for the regulation or establishment of State institutions under its surveillance, as when in 1877 ^^ framed the law by legis- lative request for establishing workhouses.^ In 1880 ^ the board was reorganized and its powers enlarged, making it necessary that all plans for jails, infirmaries and children's homes be submitted to them for " criticism and suggestion," and the Governor was given power to order an investigation at any time by the board of any State charitable or penal institution, they to have the usual power of sending for and examining witnesses. A number of searching examinations have been held under this provision. It was also made the * Executive Documents, 1877, vol. iii, p. 293. * 77 O. L., p. 227. 124 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [494 privilege of private citizens and officers to make complaint to the board of any mismanagement known to them. This has Hkewise led to a number of investigations, A subse- quent amendment in 1895 §^ve the board the power to " approve " plans for jails, infirmaries and workhouses.^ The importance of the Board is reflected in the poor laws of the State. These were codified in 1896, and no amend- ments were found to have been made except such as had been recommended directly by the board. The Governor usually seconds the requests of the board in his annual message. While the board has thus wrought many beneficent changes in the local institutions and produced a certain degree of centralization, it has not been so successful in instituting harmony of action between the State institutions. These remain quite as decentralized as formerly, although there are several slight tendencies toward centralization manifest even here. The first is seen in the attempt of the board to wrest the State institutions from political control. I have several times alluded to the change in the administration of the State Penitentiary. Other institutions have undergone many isuch fluctuations, but as there was less opportunity for job- bery, and as the nature of the institutions did not admit of such flagrant violations of the principle of steady manage- ment, the internal changes were not as frequent as the changes in the governing boards. Again and again have both the Governor in his annual messages and the board in its annual reports urged the Leg- islature to take radical action in the matter. There has been some approach to uniformity since 1895. Nearly all the boards governing State institutions now consist of six mem- bers, appointed by the Governor and the Senate; they are > 93 o. L., p. 105. 495] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS 125 equally divided between the leading- political parties, and the Governor is ex oificio chairman of each board. The term of office is six years, and there is usually no salary. In 1896 provision was made for an interchange of the commodities of the various institutions. The products manufactured in the asylums and those grown on the vari- ous farms of the industrial schools were by this measure to be used to supply the needs of a number of the State insti- tutions. This law has not received the sanction of the State Board, nor has it ever been put into successful operation. The board has organized the Conference of the Boards of Ohio Hospitals, which meets at stated intervals, and forms a means of voluntary co-ordination between the several State institutions. At its meetings plans of administration and technical matters are discussed. Many modifications sug- gested by these discussions have been adopted by the various institutions. Two facts deserve special emphasis in this review of the State charities and corrections. The first is the moral influ- ence of a well organized and earnest board with only inferior legal powers. A summary of the principal achievements of the board would include : 1. The grading of the prison system, including the reform schools for juveniles, the State reformatory, the workhouses, and the enacting of the indeterminate sentence law, parole law and habitual criminals law; the creation of an Advi- sory Board of Pardons, to recommend cases to the Gover- nor's clemency, and the purging of the county and city jails. 2. The removal of children from county infirmaries and the establishing of children's homes. 3. The removal of the insane from the infirmaries and the building of four State insane asylums. 4. The building of an asylum for epileptics. 126 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [496 5. The building of an asylum for adult idiots. 6. The establishment of boards of county visitors. 7. The inauguration of the State Conference of Charities and Corrections, this being a potent co-ordinating force between State and local institutions. 8. The establishment of the Conference of the Boards of Ohio Hospitals, a co-ordinating factor between the various State institutions. 9. Creation of a public conscience on all matters relating to local and State charitable and penal matters. The board recognized from the first that its greatest work would be in the making of this public sentiment. In the second report it declared that " the only safeguard against the continu- ance and recurrence of these abuses is the constant super- vision of all public institutions by the State through her authorized agents." " Let it be understood that all public institutions are liable to visitation and examination at the most unexpected times, and that abuses will be unsparingly exposed, and how soon the evils now existing will dis- appear." And in the twenty-fifth report : " It has been the constant aim to educate the public mind, and to enforce reforms only when the people of the State have themselves seen reasons therefor." The actual influence of the board through extra legal methods, largely the personal ability and application of the members, has been rapid in its devel- opment. The public tesponse was immediate and effectual. The second fact is the slow yet constant tendency of the Legislature to yield to the influence of the board. In recent years this has grown more apparent. However, the L^is- lature still maintains an unyielding attitude toward many very important suggestions that have annually and patiently been reiterated by the board for twenty-six years. Some of these should soon be crystalized into law. Such influ- ence as the Legislature has allowed the board to exercise over legislation has been productive only of good results. 497] CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS 127 The legal power of the board, as shown above, has been slightly increased. The drift toward centralization is evi- dent, though the current moves very sluggishly. The bene- ficial results attained are manifest. I will add that the Legislature has consistently refused to be liberal with the board. The meagre appropriations have hardly covered necessary expenses. The work of the board is not easy. In order to visit all of the State institu- tions monthly, as the statute prescribes, the board is divided into committees, each committee taking charge of a given group of institutions. The niggardly salary of twelve hun- dred dollars paid to the secretary is utterly incommensurate with the work he has to do.^ The Legislature has shown a disposition to ignore the constant requests of the board and of the Governor for an increase in the appropriations. The sum appears the more unjust by comparison with ap- propriations made for other departments and the fees re- ceived by other officers. The State inspector of oils, e. g., receives ten thousand dollars a year, and many other State officers receive four thousand dollars a year. Table Showing the Amount of Poor Relief, Both in Infirmaries and OuT-DOOR Relief.* Year. Inmates in Infirmaries. Cost of Keeping Infirmaries. Number Receiving Out-door Relief. Cost of Out- door Relief. 1875 1880 1885 1890 1895 i898» 1900 5.879 7-363 14,918 » 2,293 14.310 16,281 15.346 $547,197 00 505,429 00 620,058 16 640,811 67 731,776 68 836,648 53 886,091 63 4.300 30,689 22,268 31.613 43.521 22,757 12,597 $2^1,269 00 381,165 10 40»,858 76 451,748 69 228,728 5a 236,242 OI *New law abolishing out-door relief. * Exectdive Documents, 1890, 1, p. 480. * Compiled from reports of the Secretarj of State and the Board of State Charities. 128 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [498 Table Showing Condition of State Charities and Corrections, 1900.* Name of Institution. Location. Athens State Hospital for Insane. Athens Cleveland " " " I Cleveland Columbus " " " j Columbus Dayton " " " 1 Dayton Longview Hospital " " Carthage Massillon State Hosp. " " Massillon Toledo " " " Toledo Ohio Hospital for Epileptics Gallipolis Institution forFeeble-mindedYouth Columbus " for Deaf and Dumb. • . Columbus " for Blind Columbus Soldiers' & Sailors' Orphans' Home Xenia Soldiers' and Sailors' Home Sandusky Boys' Industrial School Lancaster Girls' Industrial Home Delaware Ohio Penitentiary Columbus Ohio State Reformatory Mansfield Total State Institutions. Number Inmates. 1.257 1,466 1,925 1,071 1,369 907 1,891 1,164 1,168 570 389 988 2,056 1,267 392 2,789 492 21,162 Current Expenses. vO t^ •• fo « « 0> '"i- ""f 0\ « ~ »^vO vO N 1^ Ox vo \n t^NO vo »>■ r^ t^ t^xo o\ N Measles, Scarlet Fever and Whooping Cough. «r> Hi CT« « « to m t>.oo fOOO N Q\ r^OO vO •*fONvO Tj-O rOiON Ox fr)fo«nfO*'«orOfn'r»n* Diarrhoeal and Dysentery. W ■*t^O r^uiN N NVO « -00 Croup and Diphtheria. 00 *^>H <^ . N <^ H OxOO M (^ t^OO Ox N4 M M H* ».« M U M 00 ox Q N Ox l^vo « vo t^ t^ Ox -U-x6 Ox^N '*'*t^NOO Ox« Ox »o q fooo Ox N ■^•0 »:: •^ ox « « Annual Rate per 1000. xo «noo '«■ rooo t". t^ "* m xo komoooo w ^^mvoNoo r>.>o xd ^ t^xd 00 t^tJ-tifOpJ d ►- N •3| M NOO Q t^^rot^'t mvo gxxo mxO ^xS xnOxOxw Ox« ^6 Ox 00 t^vq OxOxtjOvl^t^N fOmN ^\o w d N fo fo ^ fovd c^ N 'f 11 ^1 Q Q r>.QxO lor^TfN wvo OxOw^ OQNOt^rJ-rOfO OvOO N N in 3 •- ^N'»f»o-« 1 00 Ox >- « »o ^ mxO fvOO Ox 000000000000000000000000 Ox CHAPTER V MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS In this chapter will be grouped various administrative functions undertaken by the State, not all of which can be said to have been formerly discharged by the localities. They are, in large measure, of more recent development than the functions described in the preceding chapters, and show a somewhat greater degree of centralization. In a few in- stances a gradual increase of power is evident, while in others no great measure of authority has been granted by the Legislature. The administrative authorities to which these functions have been entrusted may loosely be placed in four groups, according to the general functions and the nature and extent of the power granted. First, a group of authorities whose functions are merely to minister to certain conveniences of all the citizens, and to whom is granted practically no power. This includes : 1. The State board of agriculture, which supervises the holding of farmers' institutes in the various counties and has charge of the State fair, 2. The free employment bureau, which seeks to aid those in quest of employment. The bureau has not been a suc- cess, as the area covered is too great. 3. The weather and crop service, connected with the agri- cultural experiment station. The name indicates its duties. The suggestions of these boards have no binding effect. Second, those authorities vested with a definite power, 143 [512 513] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS 143 but the direct effect of whose findings is restricted to a very limited number of citizens, and whose recommendations are not mandatory upon even this limited number. This group includes only two boards, the State board of pardons, which recommends prisoners for executive clemency, and the State board of arbitration, which investigates strikes and lock- outs and seeks to bring about reconciliation between the parties to the conflict. Third, a group of boards whose determinations have a binding force in their limited spheres of action. Their function is to inquire into the fitness of persons desiring to practice those professions upon which the general welfare of the State depends in large measure. The State has authorized these examining bodies in order to protect her- self against the unfit. They include the boards of exam- iners for medicine, veterinary science, dentistry, law and pharmacy. The State board of school examiners might properly be included in this list. The only control exer- cised by the State over the clerical profession is in the requiring of proper certificates of ordination for the solemni- zation of marriages. But it is entirely with the fourth group that this inquiry IS directly concerned. It includes authorities whose func- tions may properly be included under police administration, and embrace principally powers of inspection. The various authorities vary greatly in the degree of their development, and therefore in the extent of their powers. Most of the duties are of such a naturre that State action alone makes them effective. A few of these functions were formerly undertaken only by the locality, and these are even now not entirely abandoned by the municipalities to State action. Rather the State acts in conjunction with the locality. These authorities will be enumerated in the order of their development. 144 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [514 I. The Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs, The rapid development of railroads in the last fifty years led to the enactment of restrictive laws for the safety of the public. These restrictions were so generally disregarded by the companies, and localities were so remiss in enforcing them, waiting usually until some disaster drove them to action, that the Legislature authorized the appointment of an officer who should see to the proper enforcement of the laws.* The duties of the commissioner are two-fold. He is first to gather information concerning the various railroads of the State. To facilitate this the president of any railroad company doing business in the State must report annually to the commissioner the details of the business of his road. The law enumerates fifty-nine points under which answers must be filed. The report is under oath. But his most important duty is that of inspection. Upon the commissioner the Legislature has placed the stupendous task of seeing that the railroad laws are properly enforced. The body of this law has so greatly increased in the past twenty-five years that an army of police, rather than one man, should be employed to look after the multitude of details embodied in its provisions. The commissioner is given, indeed, the power to appoint one assistant, an " in- spector of automatic couplers or air-brakes and automatic power brakes," ^ but his duties are limited as his title sug- gests. So the work of the commissioner has gradually settled down to the inspection of defective tracks, bridges and dangerous places, when complaint of the same is made to him, making inquests at railroad accidents, and carrying out some special order of the L^slature, as for instance the abolishing of grade crossings in cities and the placing of interlocking switches at crossings. Improvements of such magnitude usually require a number of years, and the * 64 O. Z., p. 1 1 1. ' Revistd Statuttt, sect. 3365-23 »-i. 515] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS 145 commissioner merely approves of the plans submitted to him and records the gradual consummation of the work. His powers are not at all commensurate with the import- ance of his tasks. In making examinations he has the power to subpoena witnesses and administer oaths. While the statute dictates that violators of the laws shall be pun- ished, it fails to give him final power in the matter. He has the power to stop the running of passenger trains over places he deems defective. His approval must be secured for the stringing of telephone, telegraph, electric light, trolley and feed wires over railroad tracks, for the construc- tion of overhead structures over railroad tracks, and for the plans and specifications of interlocking switches. He is also empowered to arbitrate differences between citizens and common carriers.^ He reports his findings in all these investigations to the Governor, or to the Legislature if it is in session. His salary is four thousand dollars a year; he is allowed twelve hundred dollars for clerk hire, and the law stipulates that he shall travel free over all the railroads of the State. Telegraph companies are now subject to his inspection, and recently electric interurban railways have been placed under his supervision. 2. Superintendent of Insurance and Inspector of Building and Loan Associations. The continual abuse of public privilege, and imposition upon policy holders by insurance organizations which purported to be on a firm financial basis, but whose assets were in reality fictitious, led to the enact- ment of laws regulating both life and fire insurance com- panies. The enforcement of these laws was del^ated to the localities, but it was soon found that this decentraliza- tion produced neither harmony nor efficiency of action, and the State created the office of superintendent of insurance. > 83 0. L., p. 206. 146 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [516 The law states that the superintendent "shall see to the execution and enforcement of all laws relating to insur- ance." He covers under his supervision all fire, life, spe- cial, accident and fraternal insurance companies. These are all compelled by law to make elaborate reports, setting forth, under oath, such details of their business as the super- intendent may demand. These statements are published in the annual reports of the superintendent, and the law re- quires that the individual companies publish their statements in local papers. This publicity is not the least benefit de- rived from the office. In 189 1 building and loan associations were made subject to the inspecting power of the superintendent. The decade preceding this arrangement had seen an enormous develop- ment of such associations in the State. These associations were first organized in Philadelphia, and spread quite gen- erally over Pennsylvania. Ohio was soon overrun with them, and was soon the second State in the Union in the number of building and loan associations. It did not begin to exercise State control over them until a number of years after Pennsylvania had done so, and not until many investors had fallen prey to a number of irresponsible organizations. The larger cities were particularly infested with them. Many of these associations were totally irresponsible, and after an ex- istence of a few years closed their doors, the officers and the funds paid in by the unsuspecting public having disappeared. The conditions were the more unfortunate because the ma- jority of the stockholders were usually laboring people, who had thought to improve the opportunities offered by the associations to purchase a home and pay for it in small monthly installments. The enforcement of the laws detailing the organization and manner of conducting the business of these companies is now made the duty of the commissioner of insurance. 517] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS 147 Every association makes an annual report, showing in detail its financial condition. These reports are made under oath by the secretary and three directors of the company. The powers of the superintendent are principally such as are necessary to make an adequate inspection of these com- panies. Through his deputies he is required to make a thorough examination of the funds, obligations and assets of any insurance company and building and loan association in the State. If he suspects any of the institutions as being unsound, he forthwith makes inquest, and if any are found unsound, he reports them to the Attorney-General, who at once proceeds to close the business of the company or asso- ciation. If any are found doing business illegally they are given a specified time in which to rectify their course. The superintendent has the power to cancel the authority of a foreign company doing an illegal business in the State. The superintendent and his deputies have the usual power of examining witnesses, and have access at all times to the books of the companies. The superintendent receives a salary of four thousand dollars a year. He appoints a deputy, a statistician and as many examiners, actuaries and clerks as he may need. The office is maintained by fees paid by the companies. As a result of this vigilance and publicity, bogus com- panies have practically fled from the State, and failures in building and loan associations and insurance companies have become less frequent than failures in many other lines of business, 3. Inspector of Mines. This office was created in 1873 " for the purpose of facilitating a thorough and efficient inspection of mines in Ohio." ^ The act has been twice amended, each time adding to the efficiency of the inspector by providing more assistants, but his powers have not been » 71 o. L., p. 21. 148 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [518 greatly increased. At present the State is divided into seven districts, and the inspector appoints one district in- spector for each district. No person is eHgible to the office of inspector unless he has a practical knowledge of mining engineering, chemistry, mineralogy and geology, and no one can be appointed as district inspector unless he is a practical miner of five years* experience and has resided two years in his district. They are all placed under bond and oath. The powers of the inspector and his assistants are virtually limited to an in- spection of the mines and the publishing of their findings. They have the necessary power to enter the mines at any time, secure maps and diagrams, and examine witnesses. Mine owners are compelled by law to report each accident to the inspector as soon as possible, and the matter is then carefully investigated. But the State seems to rely more upon the effect of pub- licity than upon any authority it has granted the officers. While they are to see that the mining laws are strictly enforced, they have no power to enforce them, except in cases of grossest neglect, such as pertain to ventilation and other sanitary conditions and safety appliances. That the State relies upon the wholesome effect of pub- licity is also seen by the fact that the number of inspectors has been gradually increased, in order that the mines might be more frequently visited. It is now the custom for an inspector to visit a mine and notify the proprietor of what he finds remiss. He then returns soon to ascertain whether his demands have been complied with, and he repeats his visitations until the trouble is removed. So last year one mine was visited thirty-eight times, another eighteen times, and fifty- four were visited five times. ^ The details of each * 26th Report Chief Inspector of Mines, p. 35. 519] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS 149 visit are published in the annual reports, thus revealing each mine owner's shortcomings. Just how many of the improvements that have taken place in the conditions of the mines since the establishing of State inspection are due to the vigilance of the inspectors, and how many are due to perfected methods of mining, it is impossible to determine. 4. Live Stock Commission. This was organized in 1884,^ " to prevent the spread of dangerous and fatal dis- eases among domestic animals." The commission consists of three members, appointed for three years. They for- merly employed a competent veterinarian as secretary, who devoted all of his time to the investigations ordered by the board. The board has stated monthly meetings. The immediate cause for the creation of the commission was an epidemic of Texas fever that created great loss among the cattle owners of the State. Previous to this time no action whatever had been taken by the State to protect the public against diseased cattle. Although the commission is the only authority in the State empowered to deal with contagious and infectious diseases among animals, it yet has very few powers. In case a dangerous disease makes its appearance in any locality, the person owning or having charge of the infected animals shall immediately notify the commission. Thereupon the commission orders an examination by a veterinarian. If the examination shows that the animal is infected with a contagious disease, it is killed and the herd quarantined. The locality in which the disease prevails is also put under quarantine, with respect to domestic animals, and a local quarantine officer is appointed. This practically is the limit of power. But even this power has been virtually taken away by the ^82 O.Z.,p. 176. I50 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [520 I failure of the Legislature to appropriate money for the neces- \ sary expenditure, and for the last two years there has been no j inspection, quarantine or other protection possible to the live I stock interests of the State except that done at the personal expense of the board. There has been no money to pay a secretary, to whom the major part of the work was assigned. The condition of affairs is really alarming. In 1901 Texas fever made its appearance in the State. Only the personal interest and sacrifice of the commission prevented its gen- eral spread. Anthrax is threatening the sheep. Bovine tuberculosis is found in nearly every county of the State. There is no restriction of any kind placed by the laws upon the traffic in diseased animals, nor is there a general quar- antine and inspection of cattle brought in from other States. And in the midst of all these conditions the State Legis- lature has for two years failed to appropriate even enough money to pay the four dollars a day allowed by law to the members of the commission. The last annual report of the commission sets forth vividly these facts, and refers the Legislature to the manner in which Massachusetts is solving the problem of live stock inspection. 5. Inspector of Workshops and Factories, and Bureau of Labor Statistics. In this department the functions of in- spection and of gathering statistics have been completely separated, and are assigned to two entirely distinct authori- ties that have no legal relations whatever. The bureau of labor statistics was established first. ^ The commissioner is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Sen- ate. His duty is to gather " statistical details relating to all departments of labor in the State, especially in its relation to the commercial, industrial, social, educational and sani- tary conditions of the laboring classes, and the productive industries of the State." In order to do this he has the > 74 o. L., p. 209. 52 1 ] MISCELLANEO US FUNCTIONS 1 5 1 power to send for persons and papers, to examine witnesses, and to inspect any business employing labor. The commissioner is also at the head of the free employ- ment bureau, which through five branches established in the principal cities seeks to find employment for the unemployed. No tangible results appear to have followed the publica- tion of these statistical details other than the usual enlight- enment and wholesome effect produced by publicity. Nor has there been a cordial response to the efforts of the employ- ment bureau. The enforcement of the factory laws is entrusted to the inspector of workshops and factories.^ The chief in- spector is appointed by the Governor and the Senate for a term of four years. He appoints, with the consent of the Governor, thirteen district inspectors. The State is divided into twelve districts, and to each one is assigned a district inspector. The remaining district inspector is detailed to inspect the manufactories and storehouses of high explo- sives. These inspectors must all be skilled and practical mechanics, and the inspector of explosives must be thor- oughly conversant with the manufacture of all high explo- sives. The chief inspector receives $2,000 a year, the in- spector of explosives $1,800, and the district inspectors $1,000. They all receive the necessary traveling expenses. As compared with the other inspecting authorities enu- merated above, these inspectors of factories have a very much larger power. Ohio is a great manufacturing State, and its factory laws are complex and enter into great detail. It is the duty of the inspectors to visit all of the shops and factories in their districts as often as possible, and to see that the requirements of the law are obsen^ed. They par- ticularly note sanitary conditions, safety appliances connected with dangerous machinery, means of exit, and the employ- ^82 o. z., p. 178. 152 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [522 ment of minors and of females. Recently there have been added a number of important duties, including the inspection of bake shops and of sweat shops ; the examination of halls, theatres, churches, school houses, hospitals and all other public buildings, a certificate from an inspector being a con- dition precedent to the opening of any of these to the public; and finally the inspectors are. empowered to see to the en- forcement of the laws pertaining to the erection of build- ings, e. g., the placing of scaffolding and temporary flooring. All serious accidents are now reported to the chief inspector, and are immediately investigated by him. To make such examination as thorough as possible, the inspectors are privi- leged to enter all such premises at any reasonable time, to examine witnesses, to inspect all appliances and apparatus, and examine all books and records. To make their findings of any avail, the inspectors are empowered to prosecute all delinquents who, after due notice, fail to comply with their orders. The methods of prosecution vary with different offences. In some instances the prosecuting attorney of the county is authorized to proceed against the offenders, but usually the inspector himself proceeds against the delinquents. The statutes provide penalties for each offence; these vary in amount from ten dollars to one thousand dollars, and in severity, imprisonment from ten days to six months. There is manifest a distinct tendency to increase the efficiency of this inspection. When the law was first passed, in 1885, only three district inspectors were provided. This number was increased by eight in 1892, and two more were added in 1898. Their sphere of power has been gradually enlarged, until now, as stated, they even inspect buildings in process of erection. The inspection has resulted ( i ) in the enactment of wiser laws pertaining to the regulation of factories, shops and 523] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS 153 public buildings, due to the fact that the reports of the chief inspector have emphasized the needs of such legislation. (2) In the gradual improvement of the conditions of em- ployment and labor throughout the State. There has been a manifest willingness on the part of the factory owners and employers of labor to follow the reasonable demands of the inspectors. This has resulted in better appliances, more healthful surroundings for the employees, and a de- crease in the number of accidents in those pursuits where dangerous machinery must be used. In 1900, 2,432 factories were inspected; 1,090 of these were ordered to make alterations. All but 130 of these orders were voluntarily obeyed. Of bake shops, 812 were inspected, and 229 alterations were ordered. Only 27 of these were refused. Of 38 orders issued to mercantile establishments 13 were ignored. 3,712 buildings were in- spected and 1,260 accidents investigated. Recently a convention of factory inspectors has been organized, which urges all employers of labor and those interested in industrial betterment to attend and participate in the discussions. This will prove at least a creator of sentiment, and will bring about some degree of co-operation between the manufacturers and the State authorities. The chief inspector also has been instrumental in interesting local private organizations, such as Boards of Trade and Cham- bers of Commerce, in the conditions of the factory workers. As a result of these extra legal forces a widespread interest has been aroused throughout the State in bettering factory conditions, and many notable examples of such better- ment have been evolved. Familiar instances are the Na- tional Cash Register Company of Dayton, the Sherwin- Williams Paint Company, and the Twist Drill Company of Cleveland. While these are not the immediate outgrowth of State inspection, yet their influence is multiplied and their details are perfected through the activity of State inspectors. 154 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [524 6. Dairy and Food Commissioner. This oflfice was cre- ated in 1886,^ The commissioner is appointed by the Gov- ernor, with the consent of the Senate, for a term of two years. He receives a salary of $1^,500 a year and his travd- ing expenses. He may, with the approval of the Governor, appoint two assistants and such experts as he deems neces- sary. The agitation among the farmers and dairymen against oleomargarine was the immediate cause of the creation of the office, and the first act mentioned specifically only dairy and farm products as the objects of the commissioner's inspecting power. There had been previous enactments prohibiting the adulteration of food stuffs, but for want of a central authority to enforce them they had practically re- mained dead letters ; the localities paid no attention to them. As the excitement over oleomargarine subsided, in response largely to the legislation by Congress, the field of the com- missioner was widened, and what had before been a general power to prosecute all persons " engaged in the manufacture or sale of any adulterated or counterfeit article or articles of food or drink " was made more and more specific by the enactment of laws against particular kinds of adulterations, and enumerated articles that had become the subject of adul- terations. So at present there is a large list of articles that have been made the special objects of the commissioner's scrutiny. The task of the commissioner is a very difficult one. The field is so large and complex; the law allows him so little help; there are so many places where food and drink are offered for sale and so many manufactories of food stuffs to visit; and the market offers such a great diversity of " ready made " foods, which are really the most adulterated articles exposed for sale, that only a very small per cent, of the * 83 o. L., p. 120. 525] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS 155 establishments can be inspected and only a few articles ana- lyzed each year. Moreover, the nature of the business makes evasion of the law easy. In 1900, 923 articles were examined; 383 of these were found adulterated, and 132 prosecutions resulted. About two-thirds of the defendants usually plead guilty. The remainder fight their cases through the lower courts. The commissioner is given the power to enter any estab- lishment where food and drink are offered for sale, and he may open any package for examination. He calls upon the prosecuting attorney of the county to prosecute all violators of the laws. All prosecutions under the statute must be by criminal process.^ Naturally a large amount of litigation has resulted from the activities of the commissioner. The majority of the cases never question the validity of the specific laws under which the action is brought, and in only a few instances has the authority of the commissioner been attacked. The courts have uniformly upheld the acts, and have supported the commissioner in his attempts to pros- cute violators. Only a few of these cases have reached the higher courts; these are brought by the large corporations that have an extensive business at stake. The most active opposition has come from the oleomargarine interests. The Supreme Court of Ohio in the first case brought before it for adjudication on the subject maintained that the Ohio statutes pertaining to the adulteration of dairy products are a reasonable exercise of the police power of the State, and issued judgment of ouster against a corporation for defying the law. The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but has not yet come to a hearing.* ' State ex rel. Reynolds vs. Capital City Dairy Co., 62 O. S., p. 123, where it wat decided that an injunction will not lie at the suit of an inspector to compel a manufacturer to provide a sample of his goods for analysis. ' State ex rel. Attorney General vs. The Capital City Dairy Company, 62 Ohio State, 350. 156 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [526 The powers of the commissioner have been upheld in a num- ber of cases in the minor courts. The Superior Court of Cincinnati early refused to enjoin the commissioner from prosecuting the manufacturers of certain prepared foods/ Recently the United States Circuit Court refused a tem- porary injunction to restrain the commissioner from prose- cuting the Arbuckles for selling their "Ariosa " brand of coffee. This case has likewise been appealed to the United States Supreme Court, and awaits further adjudication. And one of the county courts has upheld the statute giving the commissioner the right to prosecute violations of the oleomargarine law, by persons other than manufacturers, without the intervention of a jury.'* While the trend of the decisions seems to uphold the commissioner in his activities, no great amount of good can come from his labors until he is given more aid. It is be- yond the power of three men to exercise enough vigilance to cover an entire State when evasion of the law is so easy. 7. Inspector of Oils. This office was created in 1878,' soon after the discovery of large quantities of oil in the State, and the act authorizing the appointment of the in- spector closely followed the Pennsylvania statute on the same subject. The law was completely revised in 1884.* The inspector now appoints six deputies. The State is divided into seven districts, and each inspector is given charge of one district. Before any illuminating oils can be offered for sale in the State they must be inspected and their quality determined according to the standard fixed by law. The office is maintained by fees, which amount to $10,000 *The Pre-digested Food Co. vs, McNeal, I. Oiic Nisi Prius, p. 266. » Vid. ibth Report of Dairy mnd Food Commissioner, p. 5. • 75 O. L., p. 564. * 8r O. L., p. 140. 527] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS 157 a year in the case of the chief inspector, and $5,000 a year for the deputies. 8. Fish and Game Commission. Under this title the State maintains a system of poHce for the protection of fish and game. The commission is composed of five members, appointed for five years, ^ and they serve without pay. They examine the various streams and lakes of the State to ascer- tain whether they are suitable for the propagation of fish, and co-operate with the United States Fish Commission. They appoint a chief game warden, who receives twelve hundred dollars a year and his traveling expenses. They also appoint a warden in each county (the State Supreme Court has recently decided that this provision of the law is unconstitutional, the county wardens being officers and must be elected), and special wardens in those counties wherein are the largest lakes. The county wardens appoint their own assistants, as many as they may need, and all are under the direction of the chief warden, who in turn receives his instructions from the commission. The county commissioners, upon the recommendation of the State commission, may allow the county wardens a salary of three hundred dollars a year. Otherwise they receive fees, which are the same as those paid to the sheriff of their respective counties. All of these wardens have the powers of sheriffs, and their police vigilance in most parts of the State is effective. It is always, however, difficult to secure the conviction of those whom they arrest, because of insuffi- cient evidence. 9. The State Fire Marshal. The last administrative office created by the Legislature is that of State Fire Mar- shal, and it is at once the best example of centralization in the State. The law was passed in 1900, and was called forth by political contingencies rather than by a popular * 72 o. L., p. 141. 158 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [528 demand based upon urgent need. Nevertheless the need existed, and the vigilance of the State seems necessary to check the rapid increase of incendiarism and to aid in solving the serious problems of fire protection. The act contemplates a system of fire police, and secures this, not by a body of centrally appointed officers, but by the co-operation of local officials with the State officers. The Governor and the Senate appoint a chief fire marshal, who in turn appoints two deputies. The chief marshal receives a salary of $3,000 a year, the first deputy $1,800 and the second deputy $1,500, and all of them are reimbursed for their necessary expenses. The office is maintained by a tax on insurance companies, and the chief marshal can employ as many clerks and assistants as the total sum collected will enable him. The office must be self-sustaining.^ The chief of the fire department of each city, the Mayor of every in- corporated town which does not maintain a fire department, and the town clerk of every township outside the limits of organized cities or villages are virtually made local fire wardens, for they must report every fire at once to the State marshal, and must make careful examination of all the cir- cumstances surrounding the fire. A record of all these investigations is kept open for inspection in the office of the State marshal. Whenever a case appears to demand special investigation, the State marshal sends a deputy or assistant, who at once begins a systematic and thorough inquisition. He has the power of a trial justice for summoning and examining witnesses; he may arrest all suspected persons, and the in- vestigations may, if he deems prudent, be held in private. ' At present the entire force consisft of the chief marshal, his two deputies, a statistician, a clerk, one chief assistant, a detective and seven assistants. Each assistant is assigned to one of the seven districts into which the state is divided, and supervises those local officers who are made amenable to the department bj law. 529] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS 159 The local authorities mentioned have the right to investi- gate at any time any premises within their jurisdiction to ascertain whether they are in safe condition, or whether inflammable material is stored in them, to the danger of the neighborhood, and if the officers find it necessary they must order the removal of all such material. But in these in- stances an appeal lies to the State fire marshal, whose deci- sion is final. Criminal prosecutions alone are authorized by the act. The co-operation of the local authorities is secured by a penalty imposed upon all who fail to comply with the re- quirements of the law. The fire marshal has been in power only eighteen months, a period entirely too brief to test the efficiency of his depart- ment. But the reports that have been published seem to justify the.creation of the office, and point to a real need of State supervision in such matters. There are two general lines of work laid down in the statutes for the fire marshal. I. The inspection of buildings that are thought unsafe, and the removal from them of all combustible and inflammable material. Under this authority a number of tumble-down buildings, that were resorts for tramps, and mere fire traps, were torn down the past year. In eighty-seven cases the owners of buildings were notified to remove explosives or combustibles from their premises, and to repair dilapidated buildings. Only one of these persons failed to comply with the request, until he had been arrested.^ This func- tion is also exercised by the cities, their charters granting them the right to pass building ordinances, regulate fire limits, and to remove dangerous structures. But only the larger cities have been alert to these dangers. The work of the fire marshal has been principally confined to the cities of ' Second Report, State Fire Marshal, p. 7. l6o ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [530 the second class and the rural districts. It has required State supervision to remind these localities of their duty. 2. The principal function of the marshal is to ascertain the causes of fires and to hunt down incendiaries. During the past year 7,011 fires were reported, involving a loss of $7,232,102; 1,267 ^^ these fires were reported as of un- known origin and 291 as incendiary fires.^ Investigation seems to prove that a great many of the fires reported as of unknown cause were incendiary, and the marshal estimates that nearly twenty-five per cent, of the total loss was caused by incendiaries. In attempting to reach these criminals 565 investigations were made, resulting in sixty-six arrests and forty-three indictments. Twenty-four of these came to a hearing, sixteen were convicted and eight acquitted. In three of the cases the parties were extradited from other States, whither they had fled. There are twenty-six cases still pending from the previous year. Nine persons who were either indicted or bound over to the grand jury have fled from the State, forfeiting their bail. The marshal has offered rewards for their apprehension. That a number of persons in the State are confirmed incendiaries, or pyromaniacs, seems demonstrated, for of the total number arrested twenty-nine had from one to nine previous fires charged against them, and seven prisoners were pronounced insane. The rapid multiplication of this evil has been alarming. " In several sections of the State incendiary fires had become so frequent that insurance com- panies were driven out, the loss being larger than the pre- miums received, and the people were unable to secure indem- nity at reasonable rates, and in some cases no protection at all." ^ Pecuniary gain made possible by over-insurance appears to be the principal motive in these cases. The * Forty-two persons were burned to death and 142 seriously injured. • Stcond Report, State Fire Marshal, p. 4. 53 1 ] MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS jgi proper remedy should be sought through the insurance companies who have accepted such risks on excess values. The careful inquiry made into the causes of fires leads to a secondary result, the more careful inspection of buildings by the State inspector of workshops and factories, and by city authorities and insurance companies.^ A large ma- jority of the fires are due to carelessness; directly to the careless handling of combustibles or inflammable materials; indirectly to faulty construction of flues, wiring, plumbing and other evils that can be remedied by strict surveillance. Considerable opposition has arisen against the department, due to an exaggerated conception of the relation of the fire marshal to the insurance companies. Because the annual re- port of the marshal is made to the State commissioner of in- surance in place of the Legislature, and because the marshal is required to report the findings of all special investigations to the insurance commissioner, who in turn may send them to the insurance companies interested, the public has been misled into the notion that the State supports the depart- ment solely for the convenience of the insurance companies. The office is, however, maintained by fees assessed upon the fire insurance companies. And its activities have resulted, even in the few months of its existence, in so much good to the public, and there is such an evident need for some kind of State supervision, that this opposition will probably wear away and the department increase in efficiency as the State recognizes its importance. The activities enumerated in this chapter reveal a distinct tendency toward centralization. This tendency has been accelerated in recent years. For the authorities that have been established last have been endowed with the most power, and the authorities established in the earlier years have been graidually growing in power. For example, the ' Second Report, p. 6. l62 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [532 number of assistants granted to various officers has been greatly increased, as well as the legal powers. There has in each instance been a real need for State supervision, and therefore the results attained by each step toward centraliza- tion have been beneficial. These results, however, have been helpful directly in proportion to the amount of power granted. Finally, many of the authorities are crippled by the small powers given and the limited amount of aid granted for carrying out such legal powers as they possess. CONCLUSION This study of the tendency toward centrahzation of ad- ministration, in those functions wherein uniform action is most advantageous, reveals that Ohio, as compared with Massachusetts or New York,^ and most other States, is in a transition stage. The Ohio ideal has always been central su- pervision in State affairs and home rule in local matters. All other departments of the government have been subordinated to the Legislature. Administration has been by statute. This has resulted in an administrative policy as fluctuating as the personnel of the General Assemblies that meet from year to year. While the State was sparsely settled, and its industries small, such administrative supervision was com- petent enough. But in recent years there has been a total lack of ability on the part of the Legislature to cope with the details of administration. As Ohio has developed into one of the strongest Common- wealths of the Union, ranking fourth in population and commercial importance, and has been paramount in its polit- ical influence in national affairs, its tardiness in adminis- trative efficiency becomes the more marked.' The causra must be sought in the political history of the State. As was stated in the Introduction, Ohio was a part of the * Cj. Centralization of Administration in New York, J. A. Fairlie, Col- umbia University Series in History, Economics and Public Law, Vol. IX, and Public Administration in Massachusetts, R. H. Whitten, Ibid., Vol. VIII. " While Ohio thus is one of the greatest states in the Union, it was the 29th state to organize a State Board of Health; the 36th state to recognize the valid dema<^ds of its State University; the 25th state to organize a Board of State Char* itiet, and is one of three States that withhold the veto power from their Governor 533] 161 l64 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [534 Northwest Territory. This vast r^ion formed the first public domain of the United States. This was before a definite poHcy for the disposal of the public lands had been formed. Only a fraction of the territory, embraced within the present boundaries of Ohio, was disposed of in home- stead claims. The rest of the lands were sold in large tracts to private corporations or were given as bounties for the payment of the veterans of the Continental Army. There were eight centers of settlement, nearly all charac- terized by the individuality of the pioneers. 1. The Symmes Purchase, between the Great and Little Miami rivers, in the extreme southwestern corner of the State. Cincinnati was the center of the settlements of this region. The settlers came from New Jersey, and were mostly of Swedish and Dutch stock. 2. The Virginia Military Tract, between the Little Miami and Scioto rivers. These settlements radiated from Chilli- cothe as a center. The pioneers were from Virginia, and most of them had been soldiers in the war for independence. They were Episcopalians in faith, anti-Federalist in politics, and had a leaning toward slavery, at one time attempting to bring slaves into the State. The Ordinance, however, forbade it. 3. The Ohio Company's Purchase, in the extreme south- eastern corner, with Marietta as a center. This was the first settlement in the territory, and its members came from Massachusetts. 4. Immediately north of the Ohio Company's tract, and bordering the Ohio river, the first United States surveys were made, and the townships thus mapped out were called " the seven ranges." They were purchased and settled by Pennsylvanians, mostly of German and Scotch-Irish de- scent. 5. Immediately to the west of the " seven ranges " was 535] CONCLUSION 165 the tract set aside by the National government as bounty lands for its soldiers. This tract was not settled by a homogeneous population, although many veterans from the Middle States, particularly from New York and Pennsyl- vania, settled there. 6. In the northern part of the State, bordering the south shore of Lake Erie, the Connecticut immigrants settled in the Western Reserve, with Cleveland as the principal center. 7. Five smaller tracts were granted to various parties. One to a company of French immigrants; these formed Gallia county, with Gallipolis as the principal settlement. Another tract was given to a Moravian band, on the Tus- carawas river, and three small grants to private parties. 8. The rest of the land, probably less than one-third of the entire area of the State, remained " Congress land," and was not settled by any definite homogeneous population, but was largely occupied by the immigrants, mostly Ger- mans, who came to this country in the first half of the cen- tury. These centers were completely isolated by the dense for- ests that covered the entire territory. Means of communi- cation were imperfect. Each little group developed along the lines of its previous training and traditions. The dif- ferences in religion, early education and ideas of local self- government were great. There were Episcopalians, Luth- erans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Moravians and Roman Catholics, each left alone in isolated areas. They fostered two different ideals of public education, the paro- chial school and the free school.* * Later this led to considerable opposition in the legislature in behalf of public education. For a number of years the state catered to the foreign element, allow- ing the study of German in the public schools, as a substitute for English ; and parochial schools in some of these areas remained until the middle of the century, the only schools open to the youth. l66 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [536 The Virginian method of county organization, the Penn- sylvania and New York theory of township and county amalgamation, and the New England insistence upon town- ship autonomy, all grew apace in the forest settlements of the northwest. The Federalist and anti-Federalist tenden- cies were marked in the different areas. There were two forces that tended to unite the people : the conflicts with the Indians, and the fact that so many of the pioneers had par- ticipated in the Revolution. But these forces tended to create a sentiment toward the National government rather than to obliterate their local differences. This early inde- pendence is shown by the action of the Western Reserve, which preferred to obey the laws of Connecticut rather than those of the territorial government. It was not until Con- necticut renounced all sovereignty over the Reserve, in 1800, that its settlements voluntarily recognized the territorial acts. From the first the settlers were men of strong personality and determined character. The larger centers at once es- tablished schools and academies, and as soon as possible each had its own colleges. Thus Miami University was founded in the Symmes Tract in 1809; Ohio University in the Virginia Military Tract in 1804; Marietta College in the Ohio Company's lands in 1835; Kenyon College in the United States Military lands in 1824; and in the Reserve, Western Reserve College in 1826, and Oberlin in 1833. These were local colleges, and although organized after the framing of the first Constitution, they aided greatly in per- petuating the ideals of their founders. The original government of the territory, established by Congress, consisted of a Governor and judges, appointed by the President. It was the first territorial organization established by the new National government. The Gover- nor was given large power, and together with the judges enacted the laws for the territory. A proviso, however, 537 J CONCLUSION 167 restricted the legislative council to the selection of laws already in force in the States, and Congress reserved for itself the veto power upon all the acts of the Governor and his council. The first Governor of the territory was Gen. St. Clair, a hero of the Revolution, a personal friend of Washington and Hamilton, and an ardent subscriber to their political theories. He ruled with an arbitrary hand, arrogating to himself all powers not specifically withheld. He organized counties, created offices and filled them, licensed tavern keepers, ferries and attorneys, and commissioned all mili- tary and civil officers. Nor did his council adhere to the instructions given by Congress. They altered and adopted laws at their pleasure, and established such local govern- ments as they desired. Congress did not check them. There was no opposition to the Governor's course until in 1799. That year the first territorial Legislature met. The ordinance creating the territory provided that when it contained five thousand white male inhabitants of legal age a Legislative Assembly should supplant the Governor's council as a law-making body. The assumption of power on the part of the Governor was roundly resisted by this Legislature. He claimed to be a co-ordinate branch of the government, and therefore vested with an absolute veto. Both claimed the right to create counties and establish local governments. The Governor did not heed their legislation, and arbitrarily created local sub-divisions to suit himself, and established them by proclamation without consulting the Legislature, and filled all offices without consulting even his council. His communications remonstrating against their usurpation of his powers were framed in offensive terms. Of thirty bills passed in the first session he vetoed eleven, over one-third.* General Harrison was elected the * Burnett, NoUi on the North West Territory, pp. 375-381. l68 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [538 first territorial delegate to Congress, over St. Clair's son, and when the Legislature adjourned there was much bad feeling against the Governor. This feeling rapidly developed into a positive antipathy, for which the Governor was only partially responsible. The succeeding sessions were principally bouts between the ex- ecutive and legislative departments, and in 1801 a delegate was sent to Washington to prefer charges against the Gov- ernor. His mission failed. National political parties were now forming, and the local spirit of the settlements was making itself manifest. The new country was growing phenomenally. In three years after the first Legislature gathered at Marietta, the eastern portion of the territory had enough inhabitants to form a State. The anti-Federal- ists, who were at first merely the anti-St. Clair party, clam- ored for admission. The Governor opposed it. His mes- sage derided the idea. Jefferson was meanwhile elected President, and foreseeing the political advantages to be gained, favored the creation of a new State. An enabling act passed Congress in 1802. An election was called to appoint delegates to a constitu- tional convention. The issues were clear cut, the friends of the Governor, Federalists, seeking to avert admission into Statehood, the enemies of the Governor, anti-Federal- ists, striving to succeed in erecting the State. The enemies of St. Clair won, as they had a large majority in the con- vention. The Governor in an address so strongly criticised the action of Jefferson and of Congress that he was removed from office soon after the convention had begun its work. With exaggerated ideas of local autonomy, bred by the isolation of their settlements, and heightened by the arbi- trary course of St. Clair; with an antipathy for strong centralized government induced by the general trend of political thought of that day; and with their personal dis- 539] CONCLUSION l5g like for the Governor inflamed into rancor, the convention set to work on the Constitution. The product was perfectly natural. The Governor was stripped of all power and the Legislature clothed with executive prerogatives. It ap- pointed all State officers, all county judges, as well as the judges of the Supreme bench. The legislative department was made paramount, the executive and judicial departments were subordinated. In local government the compromise system of Pennsylvania was adopted, but it was not until twenty-five years later that the system of county organiza- tion was completed, the township remaining a more import- ant unit until that time. Municipalities were incorporated by special acts of the Legislature. This arbitrary action of Governor St. Clair did not ex- tend to the other States carved out of the Northwest Terri- tory. The first territorial Legislature was the only one in which all of the territory was represented. Of the twenty- two members sitting in this Assembly, three were from what is now the State of Michigan, two from Illinois and one from Indiana. The rest were from Ohio. Early in the year 1800 Indiana was set apart, and its jurisdiction ex- tended over all of the rest of the Northwest Territory ex- cepting the eastern portion of the southern peninsula of Michigan, which remained united with Ohio territory. But the Constitution of Ohio, 1802, described the northern boundary of the new State so as to cut off this strip, and it was forthwith annexed to Indiana. In 1805 the territory of Michigan was organized. Indiana was admitted to the Union in 1816, Illinois in 1818, Michigan in 1837, and Wisconsin in 1848. Thus all of these States were sepa- rated from Ohio, in time to avoid the peculiar influencces that shaped the government of Ohio. All of these States have made more progress toward centralization than Ohio. This earlier idea of the supremacy of the legislative de- I70 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [540 partment is vividly shown by several incidents. In 1805 the Legislature gave justices of the peace jurisdiction, with- out a jury trial, over all civil cases when the amount did not exceed fifty dollars. As the Constitution of the United States fixes the limit at twenty dollars, the Supreme Court of the State promptly declared the measure unconstitutional. This greatly incensed the Legislature. Resolutions of im- peachment were introduced against the Supreme bench, but the trial resulted in an acquittal. In 18 10, however, the resolutions known as " Sweeping Resolutions " were passed. The judges and State officers had originally been appointed for seven years, and the resolution recited that inasmuch as the seven years had elapsed, the time for renewal had come. Every judge of the Supreme Court and Common Pleas Courts, the Secretary of State, the State Auditor and State Treasurer, together with all the justices of the peace of the State, were removed from office. The interpretation placed by the Legislature upon the provision limiting the term of office to seven years was improper, for nearly all of the original appointees had been replaced, either because of death or resignation, and very few of the officers thus sum- marily removed had served seven years. The Legislature's attitude toward the United States Bank also indicates the extravagant ideas it had concerning its powers. Two branches of the bank had been opened in the State. In 1819 the Legislature passed a law taxing each branch $50,000. The banks refusing to pay this sum, the State collector was empowered by law to remove $100,000 in currency or notes from the banks to satisfy the claims of the State. But the United States Circuit Court had pre- viously enjoined the State officers from proceeding under the statute, and the officers were accordingly punished for contempt. Successful suit was brought by the bank to se- cure the money, and the United States Supreme Court in 541 ] CONCLUSION 171 1824 declared the Ohio act unconstitutional. But the Leg- islature was not appeased until it had passed a law with- drawing all protection of the State laws from the United States Bank and closing the courts of the State against it It was made a punishable offence for a judge, justice of the peace or any other judicial officer to take official cognizance of the bank, or to take acknowledgment of any deeds or other conveyances for the bank. Sheriffs were forbidden to serve processes, and notaries from making protest of national bank paper. The Legislature even went so far in its spite as to affirm the Kentucky and Virginian resolutions. This, however, remains the extreme limit of State's rights reached by the Legislature, and subsequent history has amply redeemed the State from this act of nullification. While the Legislature did not subsequently exalt the theory of State's rights, it in no wise receded from its belief in its own executive and administrative powers. About this time the country was beginning to feel the need of better means of communication. Turnpikes and canals were pro- jected on a continental basis. Ohio at once began to plan for State canals and turnpikes. The unchecked Legislature grew lavish. Two canals were built, connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River. Numerous branches were beg^n. State roads radiated from the largest cities. The State subscribed one-third of the stock in all private canal and turnpike companies. While the Legislature placed the ad- ministration of these vast undertakings in the hands of a Board of Canal Commissioners, it never g^ve the commis- sion much power. Every year detailed instructions were given the commissioners, and they were handicapped at every turn by too much legislative vigilance. The extrava- gance of the law-makers and the introduction of steam roads brought the State to the verge of financial ruin, and the Constitution of 185 1 put a check upon the Legislature's power to pledge the State's credit. 172 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [542 A quaint and faithful account of the operations of the Legislature under the first Constitution is given by Caleb Atwater in his History of Ohio. It was written in 1838. " Our General Assembly has too much power, and in times of peace they assemble quite too frequently and sit too long. Whole millions have been wasted in useless legisla- tion. Without more restraints on the law-making power, without an absolute prohibition against electing their own members to offices, this Constitution cannot last long, because our republican form of government can only last while the people are in love with it. . . . We will not attempt to point out all the evils which this power in the General Assembly has produced. A volume would barely enumerate them. During the term for which any member is elected he ought to be ineligible to any other office." Because of the absence of any veto power " unconstitutional acts have been passed in every period of our short history. Acts have been passed, worded exactly like former ones, without repealing the former ones. Criminal laws have been re- pealed (a whole criminal code) without any saving clause as to crimes committed under them, so that the greatest criminals have escaped punishment. Laws have been amended and made worse merely for the sake of making a good sized volume, and as a mere excuse for members of Assembly staying at the seat of government and drawing their three dollars a day. In all such cases a power of pro- rogation in the Governor, or of rejecting such acts as un- constitutional, as inexpedient or unnecessary, would have saved to the people at least large sums of money. As it now is, during many sessions of the Legislature, all well- informed men live in fear of some new efforts being made to almost ruin the State." ^ * Atwater, History of Ohio, pp. 172, 173, 175. Mr. Atwater was creditably dentitied with the early history of the state. He was a member of many of the 543] CONCLUSION 172 The Constitution of i85i^eYeri.ngw in force, was framed to prevent the Legislature from subscribing- the State's credit to private corporations, and to prohibit the State from par- ticipating- in and making internal improvements of any kind. A tax law was embodied in this Constitution, and special legislation prohibited. These were the only restric- tions placed upon the Legislature, nor were the Governor's powers increased. It is true he was given the power to appoint certain officers, but all of his appointments must be confirmed by the Senate. Thus the new Constitution placed no check upon the riotous tendencies of the Legisla- ture to invade all administrative details, and the history of administration traced in this essay proves that the legislators have been true to the traditions of the fathers, and a careful survey of the acts of the Legislature proves that they have not greatly improved in the art of law-making. With the increasing complexity of economic life, the Legislature has been called upon to provide for more and more details of administration, and to project the State into those spheres of activity that formerly were occupied solely by localities or were left entirely alone. To this need the Legislature has failed to adequately respond. The pitiable history of the school administration ^ and of the Board of State Charities,^ and the tardy action taken in organizing a State Board of Health, reveals this.' In the^more recently learned societies of America, and the author of numerous scientific works. He represented Cincinnati in the legislature for several years, and his influence largely prevailed in the establishing of the public schools. Vid. supra p. 25. The govern- ment under this constitution is thus characterized by Rufus King: "Briefly stated, it was a government which had no executive, a half-starved, short-lived judiciary, and a lop-sided legislature." Rufus King, Ohio, in American Com- monwealth Series, p. 29. And Thomas Corwin, one of the most brilliant of Ohio's governors, said that " the inquest of the office revealed that reprieving of criminals and appointing notaries were the sole flowers of the prerogative." * Supra, pp. 23-73. » Supra, pp. 105-127. • Supra, p. 131. 174 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [544 constituted administrative authorities the Legislature has either withheld sufficient power or handicapped effort by- meagre appropriations. The last report of the Ohio Live Stock Commission is taken up almost entirely with a per- fectly justifiable complaint of the criminal indifference of the Legislature toward the commission, shown in its neglect to make any provision for even the necessary expenses. As a result, bovine tuberculosis, Texas fever and anthrax have invaded the State, to the great damage of cattle owners and the menace of the health of the Commonwealth.^ There are but few authorities in the State that have not a just causes of complaint in the indifference of the Legislature.* It seems hardly necessary to show why a Legislature is unfit to act as an administrative body. It must receive its knowledge of administrative details from others, and must act by proxy in applying the rules provided for each par- ticular case. If it fails to heed the suggestions of those appointed to inform and advise it, or if it fails to delegate sufficient authority to administrative officers, then it falls far short of providing for effective administration. But it is just on these two points that a Legislature hedges when considering matters that appertain to administration. A Legislature that regards centralization with suspicion is not lavish in its delegations of power to a board or commis- sioners, nor is it at all prone to profit by the suggestions of other State officers. In this study it has been seen how repeated recommenda- tions from the Governor and other competent advisers have been utterly ignored, and the one fatal weakness of the Ohio administrative boards has been the want of authority. The creation of a public sentiment seems the only remedy. For » P'id. Rtpertf tgoo, Ohio Live Stock Commission, pp. 1-7. Vid. supra, p. 149. •The State Board of Health, the State Fire Marshal and the Inspector of Workshops and Factories are perhaps exceptions. 545] CONCLUSION 175 administrative details cannot be properly embodied in a Constitution because of the constantly growing needs of modern society. Furthermore the function of a Legislature is primarily the making of laws. Its size is unwieldy for administra- tive purposes; its complexion is always partisan. Its acts are tinged by party influence. Impartiality, that is so essen- tial in effective administration, is too often wanting in l^is- lative action. The effects of this are apparent in the man- aging of State institutions.^ Because of the fluctuating conditions that determine the character of the law-making body, its action lacks plan and continuity. There is not that consistent effort towards a definite goal that is found in permanent and well established administrative bodies and in all successful private enter- prises. It legislates at random. Despite the constantly changing conditions that dictate the nature of the Legislature, a certain inertia, an unwilling- ness to depart from precedent, is apparent. The Legisla- ture lacks initiative. It is not easy for it to change its policy. The older functions are only handed over to boards and commissions by degrees. Gradually old forms are dis- integrated and new ones are substituted. When new func- tions are thrust forward, however, they are usually com- mitted to strongly centralized authorities. It is the change from one method to another that appears most difficult. Whenever the Legislature has created competent admin- istrative authorities, it has done so only in compliance with a general popular demand or specific requests of State officers. The constant prayer of the Governors and the heads of departments and of subordinate officers has been for more authority. The annual reports of the State officers reveal the helplessness of administrative officers only par- > Vid. supra, pp. 65, 66, 119. 176 ADMINISTRATION IN OHIO [^45 tially endowed with power. So manifest has been this need in educational work that private initiative has been invoked to do what has been left undone through the inertia of the Legislature.^ There has been a well recognized necessity for such centralization as has been effected. Being thus based upon real needs, the results of such centralization as have been made possible by legislative enactments have been uniformly beneficial. In no sphere of action in which centralization has been attempted has the Legislature diminished the authority it granted because of unsatisfactory results. There have been instances of re- lapse when the powers of officers were revoked, but these have been due to political influences. From its extreme position of administrative omnipotence the Legislature has been slow to recede. The history out- lined in this paper reveals a gradual but steady transfer of power from the Legislature to administrative officers, a tendency toward centralizing in a responsible administrative body. This tendency to grant all the power necessary to competent administration has been much accelerated in re- cent years. In the past fifteen years in particular a large measure of State authority over matters formerly attended to by localities has been developed. The boards of more recent creation have the greatest power. ^ This evolution of the Ohio administrative authority displays three distinct steps in its development. I. At first administrative matters were left almost entirely to localities. Legislative provisions remained optional; they were therefore practically disregarded. Complete de- centralization existed. * Vid. supra, p. 48. » Cf. State Fire Marshal, supra, p. 127, and State Board of Health, supra, p. 131, with Commissioner of Schools, supra, p. 48, and Board of State Charities, tupra,^. 113. 547] CONCLUSION lyy 2. Then were created commissions and boards, with power to recommend and to guide such locahties as cared to follow their sug-gestions into better administrative methods. This is optional centralization, and nearly all the Ohio boards are now in this stage. 3. A gradual increase of power has made of certain boards strongly centralized administrative bodies. The Board of Health is an illustration of this stage. When such an in- crease of power is granted the influence of the administrative authorities over the Legislature is proportionately increased, and the suggestions made are more potent. The tendency in Ohio is toward this stage of mandatory centralization. And finally this study suggests the power of an administra- tive board, even though endowed with little legal authority. The moral force of the Board of State Charities extends to the remotest details of its work. The things accomplished by the first superintendent of schools and by several of the subse- quent commissioners suggest the same conclusion. The per- sonal energy and ability of the administrative officers can to some degree offset the lack of legal authority. This of course cannot apply to all administrative functions, particularly those in which a great amount of police power is essential, and yet the creation of public sentiment will even in such cases do much toward bringing about the desired results. And conversely, great legal powers, not backed by public sentiment, will accomplish little. VITA The writer of this dissertation was graduated from Ober- lin College in 1896, with the degree B. S. The following year he spent in the study of jurisprudence and economics in the University of Michigan. In 1897 he was appointed to the chair of Natural Science and Political Economy in Buchtel College. This position he occupied five years, and in 1902 received an appointment as University Fellow in Administration in Columbia University. During his year's residence in Columbia University the writer pursued, as major study, Administrative Law, and as minors, Constitutional Law and American and European History, attending lectures by Prof. F. J. Goodnow, Prof. J. W. Burgess and Prof. J. B. Moore. While an undergraduate the writer won two prizes for theses, one upon the subject " Some Suggestions for Im- proving the Conditions of the Laborer," and the other upon " German Unification." His work as a teacher included courses in Economic History, Political Economy, Railroad Transportation, Tax- ation, Introduction to Sociology, Political Science. In 1898 he prepared a monograph upon "Akron, Ohio; a Study in Commercial Geography," and in 1902 an article on " The Municipal Situation in Ohio," published in the June " Forum " of that year. During his residence in Akron the writer prepared and delivered two series of university extension lectures, one series upon " Our Industrial Evolution," and the other on " Some Pressing Economic Problems." He also delivered 179 i8o VITA 2l series of lectures upon economic subjects, pertaining espe- cially to agriculture, before the Portage Horticultural So- ciety ; these are published in the records of that society. The author has done some work in natural science as botanist of the Cook Arctic Expedition, and in 1899 he made an extended study of the oil and gas resources of eastern Ohio. THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW UNn AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. 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