education equivalent to a high school course. The AttorneyGeneral and four members of the Bar appointed by the Supreme Court are the Committee of Examination. Students of the Law Department of the State University must be examined by the Committee when recommended by the faculty.

Foreign attorneys must file with clerks of court the appointment of some resident attorney upon whom service may be had.

BANKS.-Savings banks may set aside a part of net earnings as a surplus fund, which is to increase the capital stock of the bank and cannot be used for expenses or dividends. They cannot receive deposits of more than ten times their capital and surplus.

BOXING CONTESTS and sparring exhibitions for admission fee, prize, or reward, are made misdemeanors.

BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS are prohibited from issuing guaranty stock, fully paid, or single-payment stock, or any other which is to receive fixed dividends, or is not subject to all the liabilities of all other stock; except that they may issue fully paid stock, when par value is paid therefor; but the dividends shall not exceed eight per cent. per annum, which said stock shall be called in and redeemed by the association upon thirty days' notice. Such stock shall not be entitled The expenses of such associations are regulated by their assets. Non-borrowing members may withdraw upon affirmative vote of three-fourths of the Board of Directors. Provision is made for liquidation and consolidation with other like concerns and for revocation of charter for failure to comply with the law.

to a vote.

COMMON CARRIERS of passengers are required to redeem the whole or any portion of unused tickets and time of such redemption is fixed. Notice of such redemption shall be posted wherever tickets are sold, under penalty for failure.

CORPORATIONS for constructing works of internal improvement and for life insurance, to renew their charters, must pay a fee of twenty-five dollars and one dollar for each one

thousand dollars of capital in excess of ten thousand dollars, but not exceeding a fee of two thousand dollars.

RAILROAD COMPANIES and other quasi public corporations organized prior to 1897 are relieved from endorsing on the face of stock certificates the proportion of capital stock paid in and manner of payment.

ELECTIONS.

- Voting machines approved by a board appointed by the Governor, may be used. They must permit a secret ballot and also a choice of at least seven candidates for same office and permit a vote for a person not a candidate of any party.

There is much legislation of detail covering the use of such machines.

FLAG. It is made a misdemeanor to publicly mutilate, insult or trample upon the flag of the United States.

GAME.-Non-residents may hunt game birds and animals only on payment of a license fee of ten dollars per annum in each county in which they may hunt; and the fund is to be used for prosecuting violators of the game law.

INSURANCE COMPANIES may organize to insure against robbery, burglary, and loss of money in transportation; also against accidents. Refusal of an insured party to submit to arbitration shall not relieve the company from payment of loss.

COMPANIES organized on the "stipulated premium plan" are fully regulated as to organization and conduct of business. Life insurance companies may loan upon their policies at any time after issue, to an amount not exceeding the net terminal

reserve.

LIBRARIES may be established in each school district by the Treasurer withholding from the money appropriated not less than five, nor more than fifteen cents for each person of school age.

A State Library Commission is created of certain state officials and four other persons, two being females, to give advice and counsel to all public library boards.

MINES

Mining foremen, pit bosses and hoisting engineers of coal mines whose daily capacity exceeds twenty-five tons, must be examined and licensed by the State Board.

PENITENTIARY.-The making of pearl buttons and butter tubs is prohibited.

RAILROADS are authorized to condemn additional ground for the purpose of double-tracking their line, straightening curves, changing grades, shortening or re-locating portions of their line and for excavations, embankments, or for places for depositing waste earth.

TRAIN ROBBERY is made a distinct offense punishable by imprisonment of not less than ten years.

REFORMATORY is established for females.

SOLDIERS' HOMES.-Inmates shall not be deprived of their pensions unless twice found guilty of drunkenness and then one half shall go to their families. If they have no families then the whole pension shall be held upon two convictions of drunkenness.

SUGAR manufacture is encouraged by exempting the property and capital invested from taxation until January, 1910.

TAXATION.-Laws dealing with the taxation of telegraph, telephone, express, and insurance companies and with collateral inheritances have been passed.

VETERINARY SURGEONS are to be examined and licensed by a board appointed by the governor.

KENTUCKY.

Biennial Session.-January 6th, 1900, to March 14th, 1900. The last General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky was more prolific in that which was sensational than in that which was legislative, and for a time the reign of the rifle was more in evidence than the reign of law. The legislative and the executive branches of the state government were in a condition of demoralization difficult to depict, and it became the province of the highest Federal tribunal to bring some

degree of order out of the chaotic state that bid fair to wreck the local government.

The prime cause of the difficulty is not far to seek. Two years ago an act known as the Goebel law was passed, which was evidently intended to serve personal and party ends, without reference to the wish of voters as expressed at the polls, and was certainly a most pernicious and evil measure. It seemed to be framed on the idea, "let who will cast the votes so that I may do the counting."

The law put the entire machinery of elections in the hands of three commissioners, chosen by the Legislature. Naturally they would be of the same political faith as the majority of the General Assembly. These commissioners were to appoint all County Election Boards, who in turn appoint all local and precinct officers. Thus the party, or man, who could manipulate the choice of the commissioners could largely control the result, unless there came a revolt in the ranks of the dominant party.

Another law, of most objectionable character, when partisan influence controls its enforcement, led to the conflict that culminated in the tragedy, that, the General Assembly of the state truthfully declared, brought the "fair name of the Commonwealth of Kentucky into disrepute throughout the Nation." It provided that in contested elections of a Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, a board of eleven should be selected, by lot, from among the members of the legislature. This board was to take evidence, hear the contest and render judgment. The decision of the board was not final nor conclusive, but was reported to the General Assembly, which then determined the contest. Thus it will be seen that a major part of the same power that took upon itself the management. of all the election machinery, became, without limit upon its discretion or final judgment, the tribunal that decided who should hold the chief executive offices of the state.

In 1899 the candidates of the Republican and Democratic parties for Governor were W. S. Taylor and William E.

Goebel. A split in the Democratic ranks, attributable largely to the opposition to the so-called Goebel law, led to Republican success at the polls, and Taylor was declared elected by the State Board of Commissioners finding he had a plurality of several thousand votes, and thereupon he took his seat.

The Legislature met; Mr. Goebel occupying a seat as Senator, and claiming to have been elected Governor. His contest was entertained and the board selected to take the evidence. The manner of their selection, which was to have been by lot, is matter for discussion. Mr. Justice Brewer in his opinion. dissenting from the reasoning but concurring in the result in the case in the Supreme Court, which finally decided in favor of the Democratic contention, says of it: "I do not ignore the many allegations of wrong, such as that the selection of the committee was not by lot, as prescribed by the laws, but was a trick on the part of the clerks of the Assembly, and it must be conceded that the outcome of that drawing lends support to this allegation. Curious results sometimes happen by chance; but when these results happen so largely along the lines of the purpose of those who have control of the supposed chance, it is not strange that outsiders are apt to feel that purpose and not chance determined the result."

The board selected by the Legislature decided in favor of Goebel, and the General Assembly, as Mr. Justice Harlan says, "without a line or word of the evidence transmitted to it," and upon a "report not accompanied by any abstract of the evidence, or any recital of the grounds upon which it based its conclusion and upon a report giving no basis, not the slightest, upon which the legislature could determine the correctness of its statement," approved the report and declared Mr. Goebel to have been legally elected.

I need not take your time to narrate at length the events that occurred pending this contest. The capital of the state became an armed camp. Taylor declared the legislature adjourned and called upon it to meet again in the remote mountain town of London. The militia broke up all attempted