Table VII.—Rate of Illegitimacy per 1000 Births.
Table VIII.—Scotland 1906.
Table IX.—Scotland 1906.
Table V. gives the illegitimate births to 1000 births in England and Wales for the ten years 1897-1906 and for the year 1907. Table VI. gives the “corrected” rate for certain three-year periods. In connexion with these tables the following extract from the Registrar-General’sReportfor 1907 (p. xxx.) is important.
“It is difficult to explain the variations in the rates of illegitimacy in the several counties. It may be stated generally that the proportion of illegitimate children cannot alone serve as a standard of morality. Broadly speaking, however, the single and widowed women in London, in the counties south of the Thames, and in the south-western counties have comparatively few illegitimate children; on the other hand, the number of illegitimate children is comparatively high in Shropshire, in Herefordshire, in Staffordshire, in Nottinghamshire, in Cumberland, in North Wales, and also in nearly all the counties on the eastern seaboard, viz. Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire, and Durham. In the Registrar-General’s Report for the year 1851 it was assumed that there was an indirect connexion between female illiteracy and illegitimacy. This may have been the case in the middle of the last century, but there is no conclusive evidence that such is the case at the present day. The proportions of illegitimacy and the proportions of married women who signed the marriage register by mark are relatively high in Staffordshire, in North Wales, in Durham and in the North Riding of Yorkshire; on the other hand, in Norfolk, in Suffolk and in Lincolnshire there is a comparatively high proportion of illegitimacy and a low proportion of illiteracy.”
“It is difficult to explain the variations in the rates of illegitimacy in the several counties. It may be stated generally that the proportion of illegitimate children cannot alone serve as a standard of morality. Broadly speaking, however, the single and widowed women in London, in the counties south of the Thames, and in the south-western counties have comparatively few illegitimate children; on the other hand, the number of illegitimate children is comparatively high in Shropshire, in Herefordshire, in Staffordshire, in Nottinghamshire, in Cumberland, in North Wales, and also in nearly all the counties on the eastern seaboard, viz. Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire, and Durham. In the Registrar-General’s Report for the year 1851 it was assumed that there was an indirect connexion between female illiteracy and illegitimacy. This may have been the case in the middle of the last century, but there is no conclusive evidence that such is the case at the present day. The proportions of illegitimacy and the proportions of married women who signed the marriage register by mark are relatively high in Staffordshire, in North Wales, in Durham and in the North Riding of Yorkshire; on the other hand, in Norfolk, in Suffolk and in Lincolnshire there is a comparatively high proportion of illegitimacy and a low proportion of illiteracy.”
Table X.—Ireland. Proportion per cent of Illegitimate Births.
Table XI.—Ireland 1907.
This latter conclusion may be carried further by saying that in those European countries where elementary education ismost common, the rate of illegitimacy is high, and that it is low in the more illiterate parts,e.g.Ireland and Brittany.
It has been said that one of the contributory causes of illegitimacy is the contamination of great cities; statistics, however, disprove this, there being more illegitimacy in the rural districts. Table VII. gives the rate of illegitimacy in some of the principal towns of the United Kingdom.
That poverty is a determining factor in causing illegitimacy the following figures, giving the rate of illegitimacy in the poorest parts of London and in certain well-to-do parts, clearly disprove:—
Rate of Illegitimacy per 1000 Births.
Tables VIII. and IX. give the rate of illegitimacy for the various counties of Scotland, and Table X. the rate for Ireland.
Bibliography.—The AnnualReportsof the Registrars-General for England, Scotland and Ireland; statistical returns of foreign countries; A. Leffingwell,Illegitimacy and the Influence of the Seasons upon Conduct(1892).
Bibliography.—The AnnualReportsof the Registrars-General for England, Scotland and Ireland; statistical returns of foreign countries; A. Leffingwell,Illegitimacy and the Influence of the Seasons upon Conduct(1892).
(T. A. I.)
ILLER,a river of Bavaria, rising in the south-west extremity of the kingdom, among the Algäuer Alps. Taking a northerly course, it quits the mountains at Immenstadt, and, flowing by Kempten, from which point it is navigable for rafts, forms for some distance the boundary between Bavaria and Württemberg, and eventually strikes the Danube (right bank) just above Ulm. Its total length is 103 m.
ILLINOIS,a North Central state of the United States of America, situated between 37° and 42° 30′ N. lat. and 87° 35′ and 91° 40′ W. long. It is bounded N. by Wisconsin, E. by Lake Michigan and Indiana, S.E. and S. by the Ohio river, which separates it from Kentucky, and S.W. and W. by the Mississippi river, which separates it from Missouri and Iowa. The Enabling Act of Congress, which provided for the organization of Illinois Territory into a state, extended its jurisdiction to the middle of Lake Michigan and the Mississippi river; consequently the total area of the state is 58,329 sq. m., of which 2337 sq. m. are water surface, though the official figures of the United States Geological Survey, which does not take into account this extension of jurisdiction, are 56,665 sq. m.
Physiography.—Physiographically, the state (except the extreme southern point) lies wholly in the Prairie Plains region. The N.E. corner is by some placed in the “Great Lakes District.” The southern point touches the Coastal Plain Belt at its northward extension called the “Mississippi Embayment.” The surface of Illinois is an inclined plane, whose general slope is toward the S. and S.W. The average elevation above sea-level is about 600 ft.; the highest elevation is Charles Mound (1257 ft.), on the Illinois-Wisconsin boundary line, one of a chain of hills that crosses Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone and McHenry counties. An elevation from 6 to 10 m. wide crosses the southern part of the state from Grand Tower, in Jackson county, on the Mississippi to Shawneetown, in Gallatin county, on the Ohio, the highest point being 1047 ft. above the sea; from Grand Tower N. along the Mississippi to the mouth of the Illinois there is a slight elevation and there is another elevation of minor importance along the Wabash. Many of the river bluffs rise to an unusual height, Starved Rock, near Ottawa, in La Salle county, being 150 ft. above the bed of the Illinois river. Cave in Rock, on the Ohio, in Hardin county, was once the resort of river pirates. The country S. of the elevation (mentioned above) between Grand Tower and Shawneetown was originally covered with forests.The drainage of Illinois is far better than its low elevation and comparatively level surface would suggest. There are more than 275 streams in the state, grouped in two river systems, one having the Mississippi, which receives three-fourths of the waters of Illinois, as outlet, the other being tributary to the Wabash or Ohio rivers. The most important river is the Illinois, which, formed by the junction of the Des Plaines and the Kankakee, in the N.E. part of Grundy county, crosses the N. central and W. portions of the state, draining 24,726 sq. m. At some points, notably at Lake Peoria, it broadens into vast expanses resembling lakes. The Kaskaskia, in the S., notable for its variations in volume, and the Rock, in the N., are the other important rivers emptying into the Mississippi; the Embarrass and Little Wabash, the Saline and Cache in the E., are the important tributaries of the Wabash and Ohio rivers. The Chicago river, a short stream 1 m. long, formed by the union of its N. and S. branches, naturally flowed into Lake Michigan, but by the construction of the Chicago Drainage Canal its waters were turned in 1900 so that they ultimately flow into the Mississippi.The soil of Illinois is remarkable for its fertility. The surface soils are composed of drift deposits, varying from 10 to 200 ft. in depth; they are often overlaid with a black loam 10 to 15 in. deep, and in a large portion of the state there is a subsoil of yellow clay. The soil of the prairies is darker and coarser than that of the forests, but all differences disappear with cultivation. The soil of the river valleys is alluvial and especially fertile, the “American Bottom,” extending along the Mississippi from Alton to Chester, having been in cultivation for more than 150 years. Along the river bluffs there is a silicious deposit called loess, which is well suited to the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. In general the N. part of the state is especially suited to the cultivation of hay, the N. and central parts to Indian corn, the E. to oats, and the S.W. to wheat.Climate.—The climate of Illinois is notable for its extremes of temperature. The warm winds which sweep up the Mississippi Valley from the Gulf of Mexico are responsible for the extremes of heat, and the Arctic winds of the north, which find no mountain range to break their strength, cause the extremes of cold. The mean annual temperature at Winnebago, near the N. border, is 47° F., and it increases to the southward at the rate of about 2° for every degree of latitude, being 52° F. at Springfield, and 58° F. in Cairo, at the S. extremity. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the state was −32° F., in February 1905, at Ashton in the N.W. and the highest was 115° F., in July 1901, at Centralia, in the S., making a maximum range of 147° F. The range of extremes is considerably greater in the N. than in the S.; for example, at Winnebago extremes have ranged from −26° F. to 110° F. or 136° F., but at Cairo they have ranged only from −16° F. to 106° F. or 122° F. The mean annual precipitation is about 39 in. in the S. counties, but this decreases to the northward, being about 36 in. in the central counties and 34 in. along the N. border. The mean annual snowfall increases from 12 in. at the S. extremity to approximately 40 in. in the N. counties. In the N. the precipitation is 44.8% greater in spring and summer than it is in autumn and winter, but in the S. only 26.17% greater. At Cairo the prevailing winds are southerly during all months except February, and as far north as Springfield they are southerly from April to January; but throughout the N. half of the state, except along the shore of Lake Michigan, where they vary from N.E. to S.W., the winds are mostly from the W. or N.W. from October to March and very variable for the remainder of the year. The dampness and miasma, to which so many of the early settlers’ fatal “chills and fever” were due, have practically disappeared before modern methods of sanitary drainage.Fauna and Flora.—The fauna and flora, which are similar to those of the other North Central States of North America, impressed the early explorers with their richness and variety. “We have seen nothing like this for the fertility of the land, its prairies, woods, and wild cattle,” wrote Père Jacques Marquette of the Illinois region, and later explorers also bore witness to the richness of the country. Many of the original wild animals, such as the bison, bear, beaver, deer and lynx, have disappeared; wolves, foxes and mink are rare; but rabbits, squirrels and raccoons are still common. The fish are mainly the coarser species, such as carp, buffalo-fish and white perch; of better food fish, the principal varieties are bass (black, striped and rock), crappie, pike, “jack salmon” or wall-eyed pike, and sun fish. The yield of the fisheries in 1900 was valued at $388,876. The most important fisheries on the Illinois river and its tributaries were at Havana, Pekin and Peoria, which in 1907-1908 were represented by a total catch of about 10,000,000 ℔, out of a total for this river system of 17,570,000 ℔. The flora is varied. Great numbers of grasses and flowering plants which once beautified the prairie landscape are still found on uncultivated lands, and there are about 80 species of trees, of which the oak, hickory, maple and ash are the most common. The cypress is found only in the S. and the tamarack only in the N. The forest area, estimated at 10,200 sq. m. in 1900, is almost wholly in the southern counties, and nearly all the trees which the northern half of the state had before the coming of the whites were along the banks of streams. Among wild fruits are the cherry, plum, grape, strawberry, blackberry and raspberry.
Physiography.—Physiographically, the state (except the extreme southern point) lies wholly in the Prairie Plains region. The N.E. corner is by some placed in the “Great Lakes District.” The southern point touches the Coastal Plain Belt at its northward extension called the “Mississippi Embayment.” The surface of Illinois is an inclined plane, whose general slope is toward the S. and S.W. The average elevation above sea-level is about 600 ft.; the highest elevation is Charles Mound (1257 ft.), on the Illinois-Wisconsin boundary line, one of a chain of hills that crosses Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone and McHenry counties. An elevation from 6 to 10 m. wide crosses the southern part of the state from Grand Tower, in Jackson county, on the Mississippi to Shawneetown, in Gallatin county, on the Ohio, the highest point being 1047 ft. above the sea; from Grand Tower N. along the Mississippi to the mouth of the Illinois there is a slight elevation and there is another elevation of minor importance along the Wabash. Many of the river bluffs rise to an unusual height, Starved Rock, near Ottawa, in La Salle county, being 150 ft. above the bed of the Illinois river. Cave in Rock, on the Ohio, in Hardin county, was once the resort of river pirates. The country S. of the elevation (mentioned above) between Grand Tower and Shawneetown was originally covered with forests.
The drainage of Illinois is far better than its low elevation and comparatively level surface would suggest. There are more than 275 streams in the state, grouped in two river systems, one having the Mississippi, which receives three-fourths of the waters of Illinois, as outlet, the other being tributary to the Wabash or Ohio rivers. The most important river is the Illinois, which, formed by the junction of the Des Plaines and the Kankakee, in the N.E. part of Grundy county, crosses the N. central and W. portions of the state, draining 24,726 sq. m. At some points, notably at Lake Peoria, it broadens into vast expanses resembling lakes. The Kaskaskia, in the S., notable for its variations in volume, and the Rock, in the N., are the other important rivers emptying into the Mississippi; the Embarrass and Little Wabash, the Saline and Cache in the E., are the important tributaries of the Wabash and Ohio rivers. The Chicago river, a short stream 1 m. long, formed by the union of its N. and S. branches, naturally flowed into Lake Michigan, but by the construction of the Chicago Drainage Canal its waters were turned in 1900 so that they ultimately flow into the Mississippi.
The soil of Illinois is remarkable for its fertility. The surface soils are composed of drift deposits, varying from 10 to 200 ft. in depth; they are often overlaid with a black loam 10 to 15 in. deep, and in a large portion of the state there is a subsoil of yellow clay. The soil of the prairies is darker and coarser than that of the forests, but all differences disappear with cultivation. The soil of the river valleys is alluvial and especially fertile, the “American Bottom,” extending along the Mississippi from Alton to Chester, having been in cultivation for more than 150 years. Along the river bluffs there is a silicious deposit called loess, which is well suited to the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. In general the N. part of the state is especially suited to the cultivation of hay, the N. and central parts to Indian corn, the E. to oats, and the S.W. to wheat.
Climate.—The climate of Illinois is notable for its extremes of temperature. The warm winds which sweep up the Mississippi Valley from the Gulf of Mexico are responsible for the extremes of heat, and the Arctic winds of the north, which find no mountain range to break their strength, cause the extremes of cold. The mean annual temperature at Winnebago, near the N. border, is 47° F., and it increases to the southward at the rate of about 2° for every degree of latitude, being 52° F. at Springfield, and 58° F. in Cairo, at the S. extremity. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the state was −32° F., in February 1905, at Ashton in the N.W. and the highest was 115° F., in July 1901, at Centralia, in the S., making a maximum range of 147° F. The range of extremes is considerably greater in the N. than in the S.; for example, at Winnebago extremes have ranged from −26° F. to 110° F. or 136° F., but at Cairo they have ranged only from −16° F. to 106° F. or 122° F. The mean annual precipitation is about 39 in. in the S. counties, but this decreases to the northward, being about 36 in. in the central counties and 34 in. along the N. border. The mean annual snowfall increases from 12 in. at the S. extremity to approximately 40 in. in the N. counties. In the N. the precipitation is 44.8% greater in spring and summer than it is in autumn and winter, but in the S. only 26.17% greater. At Cairo the prevailing winds are southerly during all months except February, and as far north as Springfield they are southerly from April to January; but throughout the N. half of the state, except along the shore of Lake Michigan, where they vary from N.E. to S.W., the winds are mostly from the W. or N.W. from October to March and very variable for the remainder of the year. The dampness and miasma, to which so many of the early settlers’ fatal “chills and fever” were due, have practically disappeared before modern methods of sanitary drainage.
Fauna and Flora.—The fauna and flora, which are similar to those of the other North Central States of North America, impressed the early explorers with their richness and variety. “We have seen nothing like this for the fertility of the land, its prairies, woods, and wild cattle,” wrote Père Jacques Marquette of the Illinois region, and later explorers also bore witness to the richness of the country. Many of the original wild animals, such as the bison, bear, beaver, deer and lynx, have disappeared; wolves, foxes and mink are rare; but rabbits, squirrels and raccoons are still common. The fish are mainly the coarser species, such as carp, buffalo-fish and white perch; of better food fish, the principal varieties are bass (black, striped and rock), crappie, pike, “jack salmon” or wall-eyed pike, and sun fish. The yield of the fisheries in 1900 was valued at $388,876. The most important fisheries on the Illinois river and its tributaries were at Havana, Pekin and Peoria, which in 1907-1908 were represented by a total catch of about 10,000,000 ℔, out of a total for this river system of 17,570,000 ℔. The flora is varied. Great numbers of grasses and flowering plants which once beautified the prairie landscape are still found on uncultivated lands, and there are about 80 species of trees, of which the oak, hickory, maple and ash are the most common. The cypress is found only in the S. and the tamarack only in the N. The forest area, estimated at 10,200 sq. m. in 1900, is almost wholly in the southern counties, and nearly all the trees which the northern half of the state had before the coming of the whites were along the banks of streams. Among wild fruits are the cherry, plum, grape, strawberry, blackberry and raspberry.
Industry and Commerce.—The fertility of the soil, the mineral wealth and the transportation facilities have given Illinois a vast economic development. In 1900 more than seven-tenths of the inhabitants in gainful occupations were engaged in agriculture (25.6%), manufactures and mechanical pursuits (26.7%), and trade and transportation (22%).
(Click to enlarge top section.)
(Click to enlarge bottom section.)
Historically and comparatively, agriculture is the most important industry. In 1900 about nine-tenths of the total land area was inclosed in farms; the value of farm property ($2,004,316,897) was greater than that of any other state; as regards the total value of farm products in 1899 Illinois was surpassed only by Iowa; in the value of crops Illinois led all the states, and the values of property and of products were respectively 35.6% and 87.1% greater than at the end of the preceding decade. During the last half of the 19th century the number of farms increased rapidly, and the average size declined from 158 acres in 1850 to 127.6 acres in 1870 and 124.2 acres in 1900. The prevailing form of tenure is that of owners, 60.7% of the farms being so operated in 1900; but during the decade 1890-1900 the number of farms cultivated by cash tenants increased 30.8%, and the number by share tenants 24.5%, while the increase of cultivation by owners was only 1%. In proportion of farm land improved (84.5%), Illinois was surpassed only by Iowa among the states. Cereals form the most important agricultural product (600,107,378 bushels in 1899—in value about three-fourths of the total agricultural products of the state). In the production of cereals Illinois surpassed the other states at the close of each decade during the last half of the 19th century except that ending in 1890, when Iowa was the leading state. Indian corn and oats are the most valuable crops. The rank of Illinois in the production of Indian corn was first in 1899 with about one-fifth of the total product of the United States, and first in 19071with nearly one-tenth of the total crop of the country (9,521,000 bushels out of 99,931,000). In 1879, in 1899 and in 1905 (when it produced 132,779,762 bushels out of 953,216,197 from the entire country) it was first among the states producing oats, but it was surpassed by Iowa in 1889, 1906 and 1907; in 1907 the Illinois crop was 101,675,000 bushels. From 1850 until 1879 Illinois also led in the production of wheat; the competition of the more western states, however, caused a great decline in both acreage and production of that cereal, the state’s rank in the number of bushels produced declining to third in 1889 and to fourteenth in 1899, but the crop and yield per acre in 1902 was larger than any since 1894; in 1905 the state ranked ninth, in 1906 eighth and in 1907 fifth (the crop being 40,104,000 bushels) among the wheat-growing states of the country. The rank of the state in the growing of rye also declined from second in 1879 to eighth in 1899 and to ninth in 1907 (when the crop was 1,106,000 bushels), and the rank in the growing of barley from third in 1869 to sixteenth in 1899. In 1907 the barley crop was 600,000 bushels. Hay and forage are, after cereals, the most important crops; in 1907 2,664,000 acres produced 3,730,000 tons of hay valued at $41,030,000. Potatoes and broom corn are other valuable products. The potato crop in 1907 was 13,398,000 bushels, valued at $9,647,000, and the sugar beet, first introduced during the last decade of the 19th century, gave promise of becoming one of the most important crops. From 1889 to 1899 there was a distinct decline in the production of apples and peaches, but there was a great increase in that of cherries, plums and pears. The large urban population of the state makes the animal products very valuable, Illinois ranking third in 1900 in the number of dairy cows, and in the farm value of dairy products; indeed, all classes of live stock, except sheep, increased in number from 1850 to 1900, and at the end of the latter year Illinois was surpassed only by Iowa in the number of horses and swine; in 1909 there were more horses in Illinois than in Iowa. Important influences in the agricultural development of the state have been the formation of Farmers’ Institutes, organized in 1895, a Corn Breeders’ Association in 1898, and the introduction of fertilizers, the use of which in 1899 was nearly seven times the amount in 1889, and the study of soils, carried on by the State Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture.The growth of manufacturing in Illinois during the last half of the 19th century, due largely to the development of her exceptional transportation facilities, was the most rapid and remarkable in the industrial history of the United States. In 1850 the state ranked fifteenth, in 1860 eighth, in 1870 sixth, in 1880 fourth, in 1890 and again in 1900 third, in the value of its manufactures. The average increases of invested capital and products for each decade from 1850-1900 were, respectively, 189.26% and 152.9%; in 1900 the capital invested ($776,829,598, of which $732,829,771 was in establishments under the “factory system”), and the product ($1,259,730,168, of which $1,120,868,308 was from establishments under the “factory system”), showed unusually small percentages of increase over those for 1890 (54.7% and 38.6% respectively); and in 1905 the capital and product of establishments under the “factory system” were respectively $975,844,799 and $1,410,342,129, showing increases of 33.2% and 25.8% over the corresponding figures for 1900.The most important industry was the wholesale slaughtering and packing of meats, which yielded 22.9% of the total manufactured product of the state in 1900, and 22.5% of the total in 1905. From 1870 to 1905 Illinois surpassed the other states in this industry, yielding in 1900 and in 1905 more than one-third of the total product of the United States. The increase in the value of the product in this industry in Illinois between 1900 and 1905 was over 10%. An interesting phase of the industry is the secondary enterprises that have developed from it, nearly all portions of the slaughtered animal being finally put to use. The blood is converted into clarifying material, the entrails are used for sausage coverings, the hoofs and small bones furnish the raw material for the manufacture of glue, the large bones are carved into knife handles, and the horns into combs, the fats are made to yield butterine, lard and soap, and the hides and hair are used in the manufacture of mattresses and felts.The manufacture of iron and steel products, and of products depending upon iron and steel as raw material, is second in importance. The iron for these industries is secured from the Lake Superior region, the coal and limestone from mines within the state. Indeed, in the manufacture of iron and steel, Illinois was surpassed in 1900 only by Pennsylvania and Ohio, the 1900 product being valued at $60,303,144; but the value of foundry and machine shop products was even greater ($63,878,352). In 1905 the iron and steel product had increased in value since 1900 44.9%, to $87,352,761; the foundry and machine shop products 25.2%, to $79,961,482; and the wire product showed even greater increase, largely because of a difference of classification in the two censuses, the value in 1905 being $14,099,566, as against $2,879,188 in 1900, showing an increase of nearly 390%. The development of agriculture, by creating a demand for improved farm machinery, has stimulated the inventive genius; in many cases blacksmith shops have been transformed into machinery factories; also well-established companies of the eastern states have been induced to remove to Illinois by the low prices of iron and wood, due to cheap transportation rates on the Great Lakes. Consequently, in 1890, in 1900 and again in 1905, Illinois surpassed any one of the other states in the production of agricultural implements, the product in 1900 being valued at $42,033,796, or 41.5% of the total output of agricultural machinery in the United States; and in 1905 with a value of $38,412,452 it represented 34.3% of the product of the entire country. In the building of railway cars by manufacturing corporations, Illinois also led the states in 1900 and in 1905, the product being valued at $24,845,606 in 1900 and at $30,926,464 (an increase of nearly one-fourth) in 1905; and in construction by railway companies was second in 1900, with a product valued at $16,580,424, which had increased 53.7% in 1905, when the product was valued at $25,491,209. The greatest increase of products between 1890 and 1900 was in the manufacture of electrical apparatus (2400%), in which the increase in value of product was 37.2% between 1900 and 1905.Another class of manufactures consists of those dependent upon agricultural products for raw material. Of these, the manufacture of distilled liquors was in 1900 and in 1905 the most important, Illinois leading the other states; the value of the 1900 product, which was nearly 12% less than that of 1890, was increased by 41.6%, to $54,101,805, in 1905. Peoria, the centre of the industry, is the largest producer of whisky and high-class wines of the cities in the United States. There were also, in 1900, 35 direct and other indirect products made from Indian corn by glucose plants, which consumed one-fifth of the Indian corn product of the state, and the value of these products was $18,122,814; in 1905 it was only $14,532,180. Of other manufactures dependent upon agriculture, flour and grist mill products declined between 1890 and 1900, but between 1900 and 1905 increased 39.6% to a value of $39,892,127. The manufacture of cheese, butter and condensed milk increased 60% between 1890 and 1900, but between 1900 and 1905 only 3.1%, the product in 1905 being valued at $13,276,533.Other prosperous industries are the manufacture of lumber and timber products (the raw material being floated down the Mississippi river from the forests of other states), whose output increased from 1890 to 1900 nearly 50%, but declined slightly between 1900 and 1905; of furniture ($22,131,846 in 1905; $15,285,475 in 1900; showing an increase of 44.8%), and of musical instruments ($13,323,358 in 1905; $8,156,445 in 1900; an increase of 63.3% in the period), in both of which Illinois was second in 1900 and in 1905; book and job printing, in which the state ranked second in 1900 ($28,293,684 in 1905; $19,761,780 in 1900; an increase of 43.2%), newspaper and periodical printing ($28,644,981 in 1905; $19,404,955 in 1900; an increase of 47.6%), in which it ranked third in 1900; and the manufacture of clothing, boots and shoes. The value of the clothing manufactured in 1905 was $67,439,617 (men’s $55,202,999; women’s $12,236,618), an increase of 30.1% over 1900. The great manufacturing centre is Chicago, where more than seven-tenths of the manufactured products of the state were produced in 1900, and more than two-thirds in 1905.In this development of manufactures, the mineral resources have been an important influence, nearly one-fourth (23.6%) of the manufactured product in 1900 depending upon minerals for raw material. Although the iron ore, for the iron and steel industry, is furnished by the mines of the Lake Superior region, bituminous coal and limestone are supplied by the Illinois deposits. The great central coal field of North America extends into Illinois fromIndiana as far N. as a line from the N. boundary of Grundy county to Rock Island, W. from Rock Island to Henderson county, then S.W. to the southern part of Jackson county, when it runs S. into Kentucky, thus including more than three-fourths (42,900 sq. m.) of the land surface of the state. In 1679 Hennepin reported deposits of coal near what is now Ottawa on the Illinois; there was some mining in 1810 on the Big Muddy river in Jackson county; and in 1833, 6000 tons were mined. In 1907 (according to state authorities) coal was produced in 52 counties, Williamson, Sangamon, St Clair, Macoupin and Madison giving the largest yield. In that year the tonnage was 51,317,146, and the value of the total product $54,687,882; in 1908 the value of the state’s product of coal was exceeded only by that of Pennsylvania (nearly six times as great). Nearly 30% of all coal mined in the state was mined by machinery in 1907. The output of petroleum in Illinois was long unimportant. The first serious attempts to find oil and gas in the state were in the ’fifties of the 19th century. In 1889 the yield of petroleum was 1460 barrels. In 1902 it was only 200 barrels, nearly all of which came from Litchfield, Montgomery county (where oil had been found in commercial quantities in 1886), and Washington, Tazewell county, in the west central part of the state; at this time it was used locally for lubricating purposes. There had been some drilling in Clark county in 1865, and in 1904 this field was again worked at Westfield. In 1905 the total output of the state was 181,084 barrels; in 1906 the amount increased to 4,397,050 barrels, valued at $3,274,818; and in 1907, according to state reports, the output was 24,281,973 barrels, being nearly as great as that of the Appalachian field. The petroleum-producing area of commercial importance is a strip of land about 80 m. long and 2 or 3 to 10 or 12 m. wide in the S.E. part of the state, centring about Crawford county. In April 1906 the first pipe lines for petroleum in Illinois were laid; before that time all shipments had been in tank cars. In connexion with petroleum, natural gas has been found, especially in Clark and Crawford counties; in 1906 the state’s product of natural gas was valued at $87,211. Limestone is found in about 30 counties, principally Cook, Will and Kankakee; the value of the product in 1906 was $2,942,331. Clay and clay products of the state were valued in 1906 at $12,765,453. Deposits of lead and zinc have been discovered and worked in Jo Daviess county, near Galena and Elizabeth, in the N.W. part of the state. A southern district, including parts of Hardin, Pope and Saline counties, has produced, incidentally to fluorspar, some lead, the maximum amount being 176,387 ℔ from the Fairview mine in 1866-1867. In 1905 the zinc from the entire state was valued at $5,499,508; the lead product in 1906 was valued at $65,208. Sandstone, quarried in 10 counties, was valued in 1905 at $29,115 and in 1906 at $19,125. Pope and Hardin counties were the only sources of fluorspar in the United States from 1842 until 1898, when fluorspar began to be mined in Kentucky; in 1906 the output was 28,268 tons, valued at $160,623, and in 1905 33,275 tons, valued at $220,206. The centre of the fluorspar district was Rosiclare in Hardin county. The cement deposits are also of value, natural cement being valued at $118,221 and Portland cement at $2,461,494 in 1906. Iron ore has been discovered. Glass sand is obtained from the Illinois river valley in La Salle county; in 1906 it was valued at $156,684, making the state in this product second only to Pennsylvania and West Virginia (in 1905 it was second only to Pennsylvania). The value of the total mineral product of the state in 1906 was estimated at $121,188,306.2
Historically and comparatively, agriculture is the most important industry. In 1900 about nine-tenths of the total land area was inclosed in farms; the value of farm property ($2,004,316,897) was greater than that of any other state; as regards the total value of farm products in 1899 Illinois was surpassed only by Iowa; in the value of crops Illinois led all the states, and the values of property and of products were respectively 35.6% and 87.1% greater than at the end of the preceding decade. During the last half of the 19th century the number of farms increased rapidly, and the average size declined from 158 acres in 1850 to 127.6 acres in 1870 and 124.2 acres in 1900. The prevailing form of tenure is that of owners, 60.7% of the farms being so operated in 1900; but during the decade 1890-1900 the number of farms cultivated by cash tenants increased 30.8%, and the number by share tenants 24.5%, while the increase of cultivation by owners was only 1%. In proportion of farm land improved (84.5%), Illinois was surpassed only by Iowa among the states. Cereals form the most important agricultural product (600,107,378 bushels in 1899—in value about three-fourths of the total agricultural products of the state). In the production of cereals Illinois surpassed the other states at the close of each decade during the last half of the 19th century except that ending in 1890, when Iowa was the leading state. Indian corn and oats are the most valuable crops. The rank of Illinois in the production of Indian corn was first in 1899 with about one-fifth of the total product of the United States, and first in 19071with nearly one-tenth of the total crop of the country (9,521,000 bushels out of 99,931,000). In 1879, in 1899 and in 1905 (when it produced 132,779,762 bushels out of 953,216,197 from the entire country) it was first among the states producing oats, but it was surpassed by Iowa in 1889, 1906 and 1907; in 1907 the Illinois crop was 101,675,000 bushels. From 1850 until 1879 Illinois also led in the production of wheat; the competition of the more western states, however, caused a great decline in both acreage and production of that cereal, the state’s rank in the number of bushels produced declining to third in 1889 and to fourteenth in 1899, but the crop and yield per acre in 1902 was larger than any since 1894; in 1905 the state ranked ninth, in 1906 eighth and in 1907 fifth (the crop being 40,104,000 bushels) among the wheat-growing states of the country. The rank of the state in the growing of rye also declined from second in 1879 to eighth in 1899 and to ninth in 1907 (when the crop was 1,106,000 bushels), and the rank in the growing of barley from third in 1869 to sixteenth in 1899. In 1907 the barley crop was 600,000 bushels. Hay and forage are, after cereals, the most important crops; in 1907 2,664,000 acres produced 3,730,000 tons of hay valued at $41,030,000. Potatoes and broom corn are other valuable products. The potato crop in 1907 was 13,398,000 bushels, valued at $9,647,000, and the sugar beet, first introduced during the last decade of the 19th century, gave promise of becoming one of the most important crops. From 1889 to 1899 there was a distinct decline in the production of apples and peaches, but there was a great increase in that of cherries, plums and pears. The large urban population of the state makes the animal products very valuable, Illinois ranking third in 1900 in the number of dairy cows, and in the farm value of dairy products; indeed, all classes of live stock, except sheep, increased in number from 1850 to 1900, and at the end of the latter year Illinois was surpassed only by Iowa in the number of horses and swine; in 1909 there were more horses in Illinois than in Iowa. Important influences in the agricultural development of the state have been the formation of Farmers’ Institutes, organized in 1895, a Corn Breeders’ Association in 1898, and the introduction of fertilizers, the use of which in 1899 was nearly seven times the amount in 1889, and the study of soils, carried on by the State Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture.
The growth of manufacturing in Illinois during the last half of the 19th century, due largely to the development of her exceptional transportation facilities, was the most rapid and remarkable in the industrial history of the United States. In 1850 the state ranked fifteenth, in 1860 eighth, in 1870 sixth, in 1880 fourth, in 1890 and again in 1900 third, in the value of its manufactures. The average increases of invested capital and products for each decade from 1850-1900 were, respectively, 189.26% and 152.9%; in 1900 the capital invested ($776,829,598, of which $732,829,771 was in establishments under the “factory system”), and the product ($1,259,730,168, of which $1,120,868,308 was from establishments under the “factory system”), showed unusually small percentages of increase over those for 1890 (54.7% and 38.6% respectively); and in 1905 the capital and product of establishments under the “factory system” were respectively $975,844,799 and $1,410,342,129, showing increases of 33.2% and 25.8% over the corresponding figures for 1900.
The most important industry was the wholesale slaughtering and packing of meats, which yielded 22.9% of the total manufactured product of the state in 1900, and 22.5% of the total in 1905. From 1870 to 1905 Illinois surpassed the other states in this industry, yielding in 1900 and in 1905 more than one-third of the total product of the United States. The increase in the value of the product in this industry in Illinois between 1900 and 1905 was over 10%. An interesting phase of the industry is the secondary enterprises that have developed from it, nearly all portions of the slaughtered animal being finally put to use. The blood is converted into clarifying material, the entrails are used for sausage coverings, the hoofs and small bones furnish the raw material for the manufacture of glue, the large bones are carved into knife handles, and the horns into combs, the fats are made to yield butterine, lard and soap, and the hides and hair are used in the manufacture of mattresses and felts.
The manufacture of iron and steel products, and of products depending upon iron and steel as raw material, is second in importance. The iron for these industries is secured from the Lake Superior region, the coal and limestone from mines within the state. Indeed, in the manufacture of iron and steel, Illinois was surpassed in 1900 only by Pennsylvania and Ohio, the 1900 product being valued at $60,303,144; but the value of foundry and machine shop products was even greater ($63,878,352). In 1905 the iron and steel product had increased in value since 1900 44.9%, to $87,352,761; the foundry and machine shop products 25.2%, to $79,961,482; and the wire product showed even greater increase, largely because of a difference of classification in the two censuses, the value in 1905 being $14,099,566, as against $2,879,188 in 1900, showing an increase of nearly 390%. The development of agriculture, by creating a demand for improved farm machinery, has stimulated the inventive genius; in many cases blacksmith shops have been transformed into machinery factories; also well-established companies of the eastern states have been induced to remove to Illinois by the low prices of iron and wood, due to cheap transportation rates on the Great Lakes. Consequently, in 1890, in 1900 and again in 1905, Illinois surpassed any one of the other states in the production of agricultural implements, the product in 1900 being valued at $42,033,796, or 41.5% of the total output of agricultural machinery in the United States; and in 1905 with a value of $38,412,452 it represented 34.3% of the product of the entire country. In the building of railway cars by manufacturing corporations, Illinois also led the states in 1900 and in 1905, the product being valued at $24,845,606 in 1900 and at $30,926,464 (an increase of nearly one-fourth) in 1905; and in construction by railway companies was second in 1900, with a product valued at $16,580,424, which had increased 53.7% in 1905, when the product was valued at $25,491,209. The greatest increase of products between 1890 and 1900 was in the manufacture of electrical apparatus (2400%), in which the increase in value of product was 37.2% between 1900 and 1905.
Another class of manufactures consists of those dependent upon agricultural products for raw material. Of these, the manufacture of distilled liquors was in 1900 and in 1905 the most important, Illinois leading the other states; the value of the 1900 product, which was nearly 12% less than that of 1890, was increased by 41.6%, to $54,101,805, in 1905. Peoria, the centre of the industry, is the largest producer of whisky and high-class wines of the cities in the United States. There were also, in 1900, 35 direct and other indirect products made from Indian corn by glucose plants, which consumed one-fifth of the Indian corn product of the state, and the value of these products was $18,122,814; in 1905 it was only $14,532,180. Of other manufactures dependent upon agriculture, flour and grist mill products declined between 1890 and 1900, but between 1900 and 1905 increased 39.6% to a value of $39,892,127. The manufacture of cheese, butter and condensed milk increased 60% between 1890 and 1900, but between 1900 and 1905 only 3.1%, the product in 1905 being valued at $13,276,533.
Other prosperous industries are the manufacture of lumber and timber products (the raw material being floated down the Mississippi river from the forests of other states), whose output increased from 1890 to 1900 nearly 50%, but declined slightly between 1900 and 1905; of furniture ($22,131,846 in 1905; $15,285,475 in 1900; showing an increase of 44.8%), and of musical instruments ($13,323,358 in 1905; $8,156,445 in 1900; an increase of 63.3% in the period), in both of which Illinois was second in 1900 and in 1905; book and job printing, in which the state ranked second in 1900 ($28,293,684 in 1905; $19,761,780 in 1900; an increase of 43.2%), newspaper and periodical printing ($28,644,981 in 1905; $19,404,955 in 1900; an increase of 47.6%), in which it ranked third in 1900; and the manufacture of clothing, boots and shoes. The value of the clothing manufactured in 1905 was $67,439,617 (men’s $55,202,999; women’s $12,236,618), an increase of 30.1% over 1900. The great manufacturing centre is Chicago, where more than seven-tenths of the manufactured products of the state were produced in 1900, and more than two-thirds in 1905.
In this development of manufactures, the mineral resources have been an important influence, nearly one-fourth (23.6%) of the manufactured product in 1900 depending upon minerals for raw material. Although the iron ore, for the iron and steel industry, is furnished by the mines of the Lake Superior region, bituminous coal and limestone are supplied by the Illinois deposits. The great central coal field of North America extends into Illinois fromIndiana as far N. as a line from the N. boundary of Grundy county to Rock Island, W. from Rock Island to Henderson county, then S.W. to the southern part of Jackson county, when it runs S. into Kentucky, thus including more than three-fourths (42,900 sq. m.) of the land surface of the state. In 1679 Hennepin reported deposits of coal near what is now Ottawa on the Illinois; there was some mining in 1810 on the Big Muddy river in Jackson county; and in 1833, 6000 tons were mined. In 1907 (according to state authorities) coal was produced in 52 counties, Williamson, Sangamon, St Clair, Macoupin and Madison giving the largest yield. In that year the tonnage was 51,317,146, and the value of the total product $54,687,882; in 1908 the value of the state’s product of coal was exceeded only by that of Pennsylvania (nearly six times as great). Nearly 30% of all coal mined in the state was mined by machinery in 1907. The output of petroleum in Illinois was long unimportant. The first serious attempts to find oil and gas in the state were in the ’fifties of the 19th century. In 1889 the yield of petroleum was 1460 barrels. In 1902 it was only 200 barrels, nearly all of which came from Litchfield, Montgomery county (where oil had been found in commercial quantities in 1886), and Washington, Tazewell county, in the west central part of the state; at this time it was used locally for lubricating purposes. There had been some drilling in Clark county in 1865, and in 1904 this field was again worked at Westfield. In 1905 the total output of the state was 181,084 barrels; in 1906 the amount increased to 4,397,050 barrels, valued at $3,274,818; and in 1907, according to state reports, the output was 24,281,973 barrels, being nearly as great as that of the Appalachian field. The petroleum-producing area of commercial importance is a strip of land about 80 m. long and 2 or 3 to 10 or 12 m. wide in the S.E. part of the state, centring about Crawford county. In April 1906 the first pipe lines for petroleum in Illinois were laid; before that time all shipments had been in tank cars. In connexion with petroleum, natural gas has been found, especially in Clark and Crawford counties; in 1906 the state’s product of natural gas was valued at $87,211. Limestone is found in about 30 counties, principally Cook, Will and Kankakee; the value of the product in 1906 was $2,942,331. Clay and clay products of the state were valued in 1906 at $12,765,453. Deposits of lead and zinc have been discovered and worked in Jo Daviess county, near Galena and Elizabeth, in the N.W. part of the state. A southern district, including parts of Hardin, Pope and Saline counties, has produced, incidentally to fluorspar, some lead, the maximum amount being 176,387 ℔ from the Fairview mine in 1866-1867. In 1905 the zinc from the entire state was valued at $5,499,508; the lead product in 1906 was valued at $65,208. Sandstone, quarried in 10 counties, was valued in 1905 at $29,115 and in 1906 at $19,125. Pope and Hardin counties were the only sources of fluorspar in the United States from 1842 until 1898, when fluorspar began to be mined in Kentucky; in 1906 the output was 28,268 tons, valued at $160,623, and in 1905 33,275 tons, valued at $220,206. The centre of the fluorspar district was Rosiclare in Hardin county. The cement deposits are also of value, natural cement being valued at $118,221 and Portland cement at $2,461,494 in 1906. Iron ore has been discovered. Glass sand is obtained from the Illinois river valley in La Salle county; in 1906 it was valued at $156,684, making the state in this product second only to Pennsylvania and West Virginia (in 1905 it was second only to Pennsylvania). The value of the total mineral product of the state in 1906 was estimated at $121,188,306.2
Communications.—Transportation facilities have been an important factor in the economic development of Illinois. The first European settlers, who were French, came by way of the Great Lakes, and established intimate relations with New Orleans by the Mississippi river. The American settlers came by way of the Ohio river, and the immigrants from the New England and Eastern states found their way to Illinois over the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. The first transportation problem was to connect Lake Michigan and the Mississippi river; this was accomplished by building the Illinois & Michigan canal to La Salle, at the head of the navigation on the Illinois river, a work which was begun in 1836 and completed in 1848 under the auspices of the state. In 1890 the Sanitary District of Chicago undertook the construction of a canal from Chicago to Joliet, where the new canal joins the Illinois & Michigan canal; this canal is 24 ft. deep and 160 ft. wide. The Federal government completed in October 1907 the construction of a new canal, the Illinois & Mississippi, popularly known as the Hennepin, from Hennepin to Rock river (just above the mouth of Green river), 7 ft. deep, 52 ft. wide (at bottom), and 80 ft. wide at the water-line. This canal provides, with the Illinois & Michigan canal and the Illinois river, an improved waterway from Chicago to the Mississippi river, and greatly increases the commercial and industrial importance of the “twin cities” of Sterling and Rock Falls, where the Rock river is dammed by a dam nearly 1500 ft. long, making the main feeder for the canal. This feeder, formally opened in 1907, runs nearly due S. to a point on the canal N.W. of Sheffield and N.E. of Mineral; there are important locks on either side of this junction. At the general election in November 1908 the people of Illinois authorized the issue of bonds to the amount of $20,000,000 to provide for the canalizing of the Desplaines and Illinois rivers as far as the city of Utica, on the latter river, and connecting with the channel of the Chicago Sanitary District at Joliet. The situation of Illinois between the Great Lakes and the Appalachian Mountains has made it a natural gateway for railroads connecting the North Atlantic and the far Western states. The first railway constructed in the West was the Northern-Cross railroad from Meredosia on the Illinois river to Springfield, completed in 1842; during the last thirty years of the 19th century Illinois had a larger railway mileage than any of the American states, her mileage in January 1909 amounting to 12,215.63 m., second only to that of Texas. A Railway and Warehouse Commission has authority to fix freight and passenger rates for each road. It is the oldest commission with such power in the United States, and the litigation with railways which followed its establishment in 1871 fully demonstrated the public character of the railway business and was the precedent for the policy of state control elsewhere.3
Population.—In 1870 and 1880 Illinois was fourth among the states of the United States in population; but in 1890, in 1900, and in 1910, its rank was third, the figures for the last three years named being respectively 3,826,351, 4,821,550, and 5,638,591.4The increase from 1880 to 1890 was 24.3%; from 1890 to 1900, 26%. Of the population in 1900, 98.2% was white, 79.9% was native-born, and 51.2% was of foreign parentage (either one or both parents foreign-born). The principal foreign element was German, the Teutonic immigration being especially large in the decade ending in 1860; the immigrants from the United Kingdom were second in importance, those from the Scandinavian countries third, and those from southern Europe fourth. The urban population, on the basis of places having 4000 inhabitants or more, was 51% of the total; indeed the population of Cook county, in which the city of Chicago is situated, was two-fifths of the total population of the state; during the decade of the Civil War (1860-1870) the population of the state increased only 48.4%, and that of Cook county about 140%, while from 1870 to 1900 the increase of all counties, excluding Cook, was about 36%, the increase in Chicago was about 468%. Of the 930 incorporated cities, towns and villages, 614 had less than 1000 inhabitants, 27 more than 5000 and less than 10,000, 14 more than 10,000 and less than 20,000, 4 more than 20,000 and less than 25,000, and 7 more than 25,000. These seven were Chicago (1,698,575), the second city in population in the United States, Peoria (56,100), Quincy (36,252), Springfield (34,159), Rockford (31,051), East St Louis (29,655), and Joliet (29,353). In 1906 it was estimated that the total number of communicants of all denominations was 2,077,197, and that of this total 932,084 were Roman Catholics, 263,344 were Methodist (235,092 of the Northern Church, 7198 of the Southern Church, 9833 of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 5512 of the Methodist Protestant Church, and 3597 of the Free Methodist Church of North America), 202,566 were Lutherans (113,527 of the Evangelical Lutheran SynodicalConference, 36,366 of the General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 14,768 of the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and 14,005 of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Iowa and other states), 152,870 were Baptists (118,884 of the Northern Convention, 16,081 of the National (Colored) Baptist Convention, 7755 Free Baptists, 6671 General Baptists, and 5163 Primitive Baptists), 115,602 were Presbyterian (86,251 of the Northern Church, 17,208 of the Cumberland Church (now a part of the Northern Church), and 9555 of the United Presbyterian Church), 101,516 were Disciples of Christ, 50,973 were members of the German Evangelical Synod of North America, 54,875 were Congregationalists, and 36,364 were Protestant Episcopalians.
Government.—Illinois has been governed under four constitutions, a Territorial constitution of 1812, and three State constitutions of 1818, 1848 and 1870 (subsequently amended). Amendments may be made by a Constitutional Convention or a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to the legislature, ratification by the people being required in either instance. To call a Constitutional Convention it is necessary that a majority popular vote concur in the demand therefor of two-thirds of the members of each house of the General Assembly. The executive officials hold office for four years, with the exception of the treasurer, whose term of service is two years. The governor must be at least thirty years of age, and he must also have been a citizen of the United States and of Illinois for the five years preceding his election. His veto may be over-ridden by a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to the legislature. Members of the legislature, which meets biennially, are chosen by districts, three representatives and one senator from each of the 51 districts, 18 of which are in Cook county. The term of senators is four years, that of representatives two years; and in the election of representatives since 1870 there has been a provision for “minority” representation, under which by cumulative voting each voter may cast as many votes for one candidate as there are representatives to be chosen, or he may distribute his votes (giving three votes to one candidate, or 1½ votes each to two candidates, or one vote each to three candidates), the candidate or candidates receiving the highest number of votes being elected. A similar system of cumulative voting for aldermen may be provided for by ordinance of councils in cities organized under the general state law of 1872. Requisites for membership in the General Assembly are citizenship in the United States; residence in Illinois for five years, two of which must have been just preceding the candidate’s election; and an age of 25 years for senators, and of 21 years for representatives. Conviction for bribery, perjury or other infamous crime, or failure (in the case of a collector or holder of public moneys) to account for and pay over all moneys due from him are disqualifications; and before entering upon the duties of his office each member of the legislature must take a prescribed oath that he has neither given nor promised anything to influence voters at the election, and that he will not accept, directly or indirectly, “money or other valuable thing from any corporation, company or person” for his vote or influence upon proposed legislation. Special legislation is prohibited when general laws are applicable, and special and local legislation is forbidden in any of twenty-three enumerated cases, among which are divorce, changing of an individual’s name or the name of a place, and the grant to a corporation of the right to build railways or to exercise any exclusive franchise or privilege. The judiciary consists of a supreme court of 7 members elected for a term of 9 years; a circuit court of 54 judges, 3 for each of 18 judicial districts, elected for 6 years; and four appellate courts—one for Cook county (which has also a “branch appellate court,” both the court and the branch court being presided over by three circuit judges appointed by the Supreme Court) and three other districts, each with three judges appointed in the same way. In Cook county a criminal court, and the supreme court of Cook county (originally the supreme court of Chicago), supplement the work of the circuit court. There are also county courts, consisting of one judge who serves for four years; in some counties probate courts have been established, and in counties of more than 500,000 population juvenile courts for the trial and care of delinquent children are provided for.
The local government of Illinois includes both county and township systems. The earliest American settlers came from the Southern States and naturally introduced the county system; but the increase of population from the New England and Middle States led to a recognition of township organization in the constitution of 1848, and this form of government, at first prevalent only in the northern counties, is now found in most of the middle and southern counties. Cook county, although it has a township system, is governed, like those counties in which townships are not found, by a Board of Commissioners, elected by the townships and the city of Chicago. A general law of 1872 provides for the organization of municipalities, only cities and villages being recognized, though there are still some “towns” which have failed to reorganize under the new law. City charters are granted only to such municipalities as have a population of at least 1000.
Requirements for suffrage are age of 21 years or more, citizenship in the United States, and residence in the state for one year, in the county ninety days, and the election precinct thirty days preceding the exercise of suffrage. Women are permitted to vote for certain school officials and the trustees of the State University. Disfranchisement is brought about by conviction for bribery, felony or infamous crime, and an attempt to vote after such conviction is a felony.
The relation of the state to corporations and industrial problems has been a subject of important legislation. The constitution declares that the state’s rights of eminent domain shall never be so abridged as to prevent the legislature from taking the property and franchises of incorporated companies and subjecting them to the public necessity in a way similar to the treatment of individuals. In 1903 the legislature authorized the municipal ownership of public service corporations, and in 1905 the city of Chicago took steps to acquire ownership of its street railways—a movement which seemed to have spent its force in 1907, when the municipal ownership candidates were defeated in the city’s elections—and in 1902 the right of that city to regulate the price of gas was recognized by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. Railways organized or doing business in the state are required by the constitution to have a public office where books for public inspection are kept, showing the amount of stock, its owners, and the amount of the road’s liabilities and assets. No railway company may now issue stock except for money, labour, or property actually received and applied to purposes for which the corporation was organized. In 1907 a law went into effect making two cents a mile a maximum railway fare. An anti-trust law of 1893 exempted from the definition of trust combinations those formed by producers of agricultural products and live stock, but theUnitedStates Supreme Court in 1902 declared the statute unconstitutional as class legislation. According to a revised mining law of 1899 (subsequently amended), all mines are required to be in charge of certified mine managers, mine examiners, and hoisting engineers, when the services of the engineers are necessary; and every mine must have an escapement shaft distinct from the hoisting shaft. The number of men permitted to work in any mine not having an escapement shaft cannot, in any circumstances, exceed ten during the time in which the escapement or connexion is being completed.
Economic conditions have also led to an increase of administrative boards. A State Civil Service Commission was created by an act of the General Assembly of 1905. A Bureau of Labor Statistics (1879), whose members are styled Commissioners of Labor, makes a study of economic and financial problems and publishes biennial reports; a Mining Board (1883) and an inspector of factories and workshops (since 1893) have for their duty the enforcement of labour legislation. There are also a State Food Commission (1899) and a Live Stock Commission (1885). A Board of Arbitration (1895) has authority to make and publish investigations of all facts relating to strikes andlock-outs, to issue subpoenas for the attendance and testifying of witnesses, and “to adjust strikes or lock-outs by mediation or conciliation, without a formal submission to arbitration.”
The employment of children under 14 years of age in factories or mines, and working employees under 16 years of age for more than 60 hours a week, are forbidden by statute. The state has an excellent “Juvenile Court Law,” which came into force on the 1st of July 1899 and has done much good, especially in Chicago. The law recognized that a child should not be treated like a mature malefactor, and provided that there should be no criminal procedure, that the child should not be imprisoned or prosecuted, that his interests should be protected by a probation officer, that he should be discharged unless found dependent, delinquent or truant, and in such case that he should be turned over to the care of an approved individual or charitable society. This law applies to counties having a minimum population of 500,000. The legal rate of interest is 5%, but this may be increased to 7% by written contract. A homestead owned and occupied by a householder having a family is exempt (to the amount of $1000) from liability for debts, except taxes upon, and purchase money for, the same. Personal property to the value of $300 also is exempt from liability for debt. Grounds for divorce are impotence of either party at time of marriage, previous marriage, adultery, wilful desertion for two years, habitual drunkenness, attempt on life, extreme and repeated cruelty, and conviction of felony or other infamous crime. The marriage of cousins of the first degree is declared incestuous and void. In June 1907 the Supreme Court of Illinois declared the sale of liquor not a common right and “sale without license a criminal offence,” thus forcing clubs to close their bars or take out licences.