It is right that the convict should labor. He should not be allowed to live in idleness at public expense. Honest men labor; why should not they? Honest men are entitled to the fruits of their toil; why should not the convict as well? The convict is sent to the Penitentiary to secure public safety. The State deprives him of his liberty to accomplish this purpose and to punish him for violations of law, but, having done this, the State wrongs both itself and the criminal by confiscating his earnings; because it deprives his family of what justly belongs to them, and an enlightened civilization will ere long demand that the prisoner in the penitentiary, after paying a fair price for his board, is as justly entitled to his net earnings as the good citizen outside its walls, and his family, if he has one, should be entitled to draw his earnings or stated portion of them at stated periods. If he has no family, then if his net earnings should be set aside to his credit and paid over to him at the expiration of his term of imprisonment, he would not be turned out upon the cold charities of a somewhat pharisaical world, penniless, with the brand of the convict upon his brow, with no resource save to sink still deeper in crime. Let Iowa, "The Beautiful Land," be first to recognize the rights of its convicts to the fruits of their labor; keep their children from the alms-house, and place a powerful incentive before them to become good citizens when they return to the busy world again.

ADDITIONAL PENITENTIARY.

Located at Anamosa, Jones County.

By an act of the Fourteenth General Assembly, approved April 23, 1872, William Ure, Foster L. Downing and Martin Heisey were constituted Commissioners to locate and provide for the erection and control of an additional Penitentiary for the State of Iowa. These Commissioners met on the 4th of the following June, at Anamosa, Jones County, and selected a site donated by the citizens, within the limits of the city. L. W. Foster & Co., architects, of Des Moines, furnished the plan, drawings and specifications, and work was commenced on the building on the 28th day of September, 1872. May 13, 1873, twenty convicts were transferred to Anamosa from the Fort Madison Penitentiary. The entire enclosure includes fifteen acres, with a frontage of 663 feet.

IOWA HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.

Mount Pleasant, Henry County.

By an act of the General Assembly of Iowa, approved January 24, 1855, $4,425 were appropriated for the purchase of a site, and $50,000 for building an Insane Hospital, and the Governor (Grimes), Edward Johnston, of Lee County, and Charles S. Blake, of Henry County, were appointed to locate the institution and superintend the erection of the building. These Commissioners located the institution at Mt. Pleasant, Henry County. A plan for a building designed to accommodate 300 patients, drawn by Dr. Bell, of Massachusetts, was accepted, and in October work was commenced under the superintendence of Mr. Henry Winslow. Up to February 25, 1858, and including an appropriation made on that date, the Legislature had appropriated $258,555.67 to this institution, but the building was not finished ready for occupancy by patients until March 1, 1861. The Trustees were Maturin L. Fisher, President, Farmersburg; Samuel McFarland, Secretary, Mt. Pleasant; D. L.

McGugin, Keokuk; G. W. Kincaid, Muscatine; J. D. Elbert, Keosauqua ; John B. Lash and Harpin Riggs, Mt. Pleasant. Richard J. Patterson, M. D., of Ohio, was elected Superintendent; Dwight C. Dewey, M. D., Assistant Physician; Henry Winslow, Steward; Mrs. Catharine Winslow, Matron. The Hospital was formally opened March 6, 1861, and one hundred patients were admitted within three months. About 1865, Dr. Mark Ranney became Superintendent. April 18, 1876, a portion of the hospital building was destroyed by fire. From the opening of the Hospital to the close of October, 1877, 3,584 patients had been admitted. Of these, 1,141 were discharged recovered, 505 discharged improved, 589 discharged unimproved, and 1 died; total discharged, 2,976, leaving 608 inmates. During this period, there were 1,384 females admitted, whose occupation was registered "domestic duties;" 122, no occupation; 25, female teachers; 11, seamstresses; and 25, servants. Among the males were 916 farmers, 394 laborers, 205 without occupation, 39 cabinet makers, 23 brewers, 31 clerks, 26 merchants, 12 preachers, 18 shoemakers, 13 students, 14 tailors, 13 teachers, 14 agents, 17 masons, 7 lawyers, 7 physicians, 4 saloon keepers, 3 salesmen, 2 artists, and 1 editor. The products of the farm and garden, in 1876, amounted to $13,721.26.

Trustees, 1877 :-T. Whiting, President, Mt. Pleasant; Mrs. E. M. Elliott, Secretary, Mt. Pleasant; William C. Evans, West Liberty; L. E. Fellows, Lansing; and Samuel Klein, Keokuk; Treasurer, M. Edwards, Mt. Pleasant.

Resident Officers:-Mark Ranney, M. D., Medical Superintendent; H. M. Bassett, M. D., First Assistant Physician; M. Riordan, M. D., Second Assistant Physician; Jennie McCowen, M. D., Third Assistant Physician; J. W. Henderson, Steward: Mrs. Martha W. Ranney, Matron; Rev. Milton Sutton, Chaplain.

HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.

Independence, Buchanan County.

In the Winter of 1867-8, a bill providing for an additional Hospital for the Insane was passed by the Legislature, and an appropriation of $125,000 was made for that purpose. Maturin L. Fisher, of Clayton County; E. G. Morgan, of Webster County, and Albert Clark, of Buchanan County, were appointed Commissioners to locate and supervise the erection of the Building. Mr. Clark died about a year after his appointment, and Hon. G. W. Bemis, of Independence, was appointed to fill the vacancy.

The Commissioners met and commenced their labors on the 8th day of June, 1868, at Independence. The act under which they were appointed. required them to select the most eligible and desirable location, of not less than 320 acres, within two miles of the city of Independence, that might be offered by the citizens free of charge to the State. Several such tracts were offered, but the Commissioners finally selected the south half of southwest quarter of Section 5; the north half of northeast quarter of Section 7; the north half of northwest quarter of Section 8, and the north half of northeast quarter of Section 8, all in Township 88 north, Range 9 west of the Fifth Principal Meridian. This location is on the west side of the Wapsipinicon River, and about a mile from its banks, and about the same distance from Independence.

Col. S. V. Shipman, of Madison, Wis., was employed to prepare plans, specifications and drawings of the building, which, when completed, were submitted to Dr. M. Ranney, Superintendent of the Hospital at Mount Pleasant, who suggested several improvements. The contract for erecting the building

was awarded to Mr. David Armstrong, of Dubuque, for $88,114. The contract was signed November 7, 1868, and Mr. Armstrong at once commenced work. Mr. George Josselyn was appointed to superintend the work. The main buildings were constructed of dressed limestone, from the quarries at Anamosa and Farley. The basements are of the local granite worked from the immense boulders found in large quantities in this portion of the State.

In 1872, the building was so far completed that the Commissioners called the first meeting of the Trustees, on the 10th day of July of that year. These Trustees were Maturin L. Fisher, Mrs. P. A. Appleman, T. W. Fawcett, C. C. Parker, E. G. Morgan, George W. Bemis and John M. Boggs. This board was organized, on the day above mentioned, by the election of Hon. M. L. Fisher, President; Rev. J. G. Boggs, Secretary, and George W. Bemis, Treasurer, and, after adopting preliminary measures for organizing the local government of the hospital, adjourned to the first Wednesday of the following September. A few days before this meeting, Mr. Boggs died of malignant fever, and Dr. John G. House was appointed to fill the vacancy. Dr. House was elected Secretary. At this meeting, Albert Reynolds, M. D., was elected Superintendent; George Josselyn, Steward, and Mrs. Anna B. Josselyn, Matron. September 4, 1873, Dr. Willis Butterfield was elected Assistant Physician. The building was ready for occupancy April 21, 1873.

In the Spring of 1876, a contract was made with Messrs. Mackay & Lundy, of Independence, for furnishing materials for building the outside walls of the two first sections of the south wing, next to the center building, for $6,250. The carpenter work on the fourth and fifth stories of the center building was completed during the same year, and the wards were furnished and occupied by patients in the Fall.

In 1877, the south wing was built, but it will not be completed ready for occupancy until next Spring or Summer (1878).

October 1, 1877, the Superintendent reported 322 patients in this hospital, and it is now overcrowded.

The Board of Trustees at present (1878) are as follows: Maturin L. Fisher, President, Farmersburg; John G. House, M. D., Secretary, Independence; Wm. G. Donnan, Treasurer, Independence; Erastus G. Morgan, Fort Dodge; Mrs. Prudence A. Appleman, Clermont; and Stephen E. Robinson, M. D., West Union.

RESIDENT OFFICERS.

Albert Reynolds, M. D., Superintendent; G. H. Hill, M. D., Assistant Physician; Noyes Appleman, Steward; Mrs. Lucy M. Gray, Matron.

IOWA COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND.
Vinton, Benton County.

In August, 1852, Prof. Samuel Bacon, himself blind, established an Institution for the Instruction of the Blind of Iowa, at Keokuk.

By act of the General Assembly, entitled "An act to establish an Asylum for the Blind," approved January 18, 1853, the institution was adopted by the State, removed to Iowa City, February 3d, and opened for the reception of pupils April 4, 1853, free to all the blind in the State.

The first Board of Trustees were James D. Eads, President; George W. McClary, Secretary; James H. Gower, Treasurer; Martin L. Morris, Stephen Hempstead, Morgan Reno and John McCaddon. The Board appointed Prof.

Samuel Bacon, Principal; T. J. McGittigen, Teacher of Music, and Mrs. Sarah K. Bacon, Matron. Twenty-three pupils were adinitted during the first term. In his first report, made in 1854, Prof. Bacon suggested that the name should be changed from "Asylum for the Blind," to that of "Institution for the Instruction of the Blind." This was done in 1855, when the General Assembly made an annual appropriation for the College of $55 per quarter for each pupil. This was subsequently changed to $3,000 per annum, and a charge of $25 as an admission fee for each pupil, which sum, with the amounts realized from the sale of articles manufactured by the blind pupils, proved sufficient for the expenses of the institution during Mr. Bacon's administration. Although Mr. Bacon was blind, he was a fine scholar and an economical manager, and had founded the Blind Asylum at Jacksonville, Illinois. As a mathematician he had few superiors.

On the 8th of May, 1858, the Trustees met at Vinton, and made arrangements for securing the donation of $5,000 made by the citizens of that town.

In June of that year, a quarter section of land was donated for the College, by John W. O. Webb and others, and the Trustees adopted a plan for the erection of a suitable building. In 1860, the plan was modified, and the contract for enclosing let to Messrs. Finkbine & Lovelace, for $10,420.

In August, 1862, the building was so far completed that the goods and furuiture of the institution were removed from Iowa City to Vinton, and early in October, the school was opened there with twenty-four pupils. At this time, Rev. Orlando Clark was Principal.

In August, 1864, a new Board of Trustees were appointed by the Legislature, consisting of James McQuin, President; Reed Wilkinson, Secretary; Jas. Chapin, Treasurer; Robert Gilchrist, Elijah Sells and Joseph Dysart, organized and made important changes. Rev. Reed Wilkinson succeeded Mr. Clark as Principal. Mrs. L. S. B. Wilkinson and Miss Amelia Butler were appointed Assistant Teachers; Mrs. N. A. Morton, Matron.

Mr. Wilkinson resigned in June, 1867, and Gen. James L. Geddes was appointed in his place. In September, 1869, Mr. Geddes retired, and was succeeded by Prof. S. A. Knapp. Mrs. S. C. Lawton was appointed Matron, and was succeeded by Mrs. M. A. Knapp. Prof. Knapp resigned July 1, 1875, and Prof. Orlando Clark was elected Principal, who died April 2, 1876, and was succeeded by John B. Parmalee, who retired in July, 1877, when the present incumbent, Rev. Robert Carothers, was elected.

Trustees, 1877-8.-Jeremiah L. Gay, President; S. H. Watson, Treasurer; H. C. Piatt, Jacob Springer, C. L. Flint and P. F. Sturgis.

Faculty.-Principal, Rev. Robert Carothers, A. M.; Matron, Mrs. Emeline E. Carothers; Teachers, Thomas F. McCune, A. B., Miss Grace A. Hill, Mrs. C. A. Spencer, Miss Mary Baker, Miss C. R. Miller, Miss Lorana Mattice, Miss A. M. McCutcheon; Musical Director, S. O. Spencer.

The Legislative Committee who visited this institution in 1878 expressed their astonishment at the vast expenditure of money in proportion to the needs of the State. The structure is well built, and the money properly expended; yet it was enormously beyond the necessities of the State, and shows an utter disregard of the fitness of things. The Committee could not understand why $282.000 should have been expended for a massive building covering about two and a half acres for the accommodation of 130 people, costing over eight thousand dollars a year to heat it, and costing the State about five hundred dollars a year for each pupil.

INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB.

Council Bluffs, Pottawattomie County.

The Iowa Institution for the Deaf and Dumb was established at Iowa City by an act of the General Assembly, approved January 24, 1855. The number of deaf mutes then in the State was 301; the number attending the Institution, 50. The first Board of Trustees were: Hon. Samuel J. Kirkwood, Hon. E. Sells, W. Penn Clarke, J. P. Wood, H. D. Downey, William Crum, W. E. Ijams, Principal. On the resignation of Mr. Ijams, in 1862, the Board appointed in his stead Mr. Benjamin Talbot, for nine years a teacher in the Ohio Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. Mr. Talbot was ardently devoted to the interests of the institution and a faithful worker for the unfortunate class under his charge.

A strong effort was made, in 1866, to remove this important institution to Des Moines, but it was located permanently at Council Bluffs, and a building rented for its use. In 1868, Commissioners were appointed to locate a site for, and to superintend the erection of, a new building, for which the Legislature. appropriated $125,000 to commence the work of construction. The Commissioners selected ninety acres of land about two miles south of the city of Council Bluffs. The main building and one wing were completed October 1, 1870, and immediately occupied by the Institution. February 25, 1877, the main building and east wing were destroyed by fire; and August 6 following, the roof of the new west wing was blown off and the walls partially demolished by a tornado. At the time of the fire, about one hundred and fifty pupils were in attendance. After the fire, half the classes were dismissed and the number of scholars reduced to about seventy, and in a week or two the school was in running order.

The Legislative Committee which visited this Institution in the Winter of 1857-8 was not well pleased with the condition of affairs, and reported that the building (west wing) was a disgrace to the State and a monument of unskillful workmanship, and intimated rather strongly that some reforms in management were very essential.

Trustees, 1877-8.-Thomas Officer, President; N. P. Dodge, Treasurer; Paul Lange, William Orr, J. W. Cattell.

Superintendent, Benjamin Talbot, M. A. Teachers, Edwin Southwick, Conrad S. Zorbaugh, John A. Gillespie, John A. Kennedy, Ellen J. Israel, Ella J. Brown, Mrs. H. R. Gillespie; Physician, H. W. Hart, M. D.; Steward, N. A. Taylor; Matron, Mary B. Swan.

SOLDIERS' ORPHANS' HOMES.

Davenport, Cedar Falls, Glenwood.

The movement which culminated in the establishment of this beneficent institution was originated by Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, during the civil war of 1861-65. This noble and patriotic lady called a convention at Muscatine, on the 7th of October 1863, for the purpose of devising measures for the support and education of the orphan children of the brave sons of Iowa, who had fallen in defense of national honor and integrity. So great was the public interest in the movement that there was a large representation from all parts of the State on the day named, and an association was organized called the Iowa State Orphan Asylum.