History of Springfield, Illinois, its attractions as a home and advantages for business, manufacturing, etc. Pub. under the auspices of the Springfield board of trade, by J. C. Power.

26 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, AND
The Constitutional Convention, there- senting votes. In the House of Reprefore, inserted under the miscellaneous sentatives it was read a first and second
head, the following: time, and ordered to a third reading, but
Section 33. The General Assembly was not reached in the regular order of
shall not appropriate out of the State business, when the Legislature adjourned
treasury, or expend on account of the temporarily, on the 17th of April.
new Capitol grounds, and construction, The sessions of the General Assembly
completion and furnishing of the State being biennial, each alternate year brings,
House, a sum exceeding, in the aggre- to a large extent, a new class of men togate, three and a half millions of dollars, gether in the legislative halls. The pubinclusive of all appropriations heretofore lic has been so accustomed to hear of
made, without first submitting the pro- fraud in connection with buildings of
position for an additional expenditure to this kind, that men coming for the first
the legal voters of the State, at a general time, and looking upon the collossal proelection, nor unless a majority of all the portions of this edifice, take it for grantvotes cast at such election shall be for ed that there must be jobs and peculathe proposed additional expenditure." tions, and without investigating the subWith this provision in the new Con- ject, there are always some whoare ready
to cry out, Rings! Rings! Steals I Steals I
stitution, it was submitted to the people y ut, Rings! Rings! Steals! Steals
By these devices, one of the two years
July 2, 1870, and adopted by an overwhelming majority. connected with each Legislature has been
whelming majority.
frittered away from the commencement,
The appropriation of Feb. 25, 1867, and this o
and this order of things seems destined
was $450,000, and that of March 11, 1869, to continue. From this cause the year
to continue. From this cause the year
$650,000, making a total of $1,100,000. 1867 was one of inactivity; in 1868 work
The expenditures have been as follows: was done; 1869 was one of idleness; 1870
From beginning to Dec. 30, 1868........ $354,12612 work, and 1871 is likely to be one of
From Dec. 80, 1868, to March 11,1869.... 16,651 0T
idleness also.
Total expenditures by first board of
seven commissioners.............. $310,783 19 The commissioners, Jacob Bunn, James
The board of three commissioners ap- C. Robinson and James H. Beveridge,
pointed by Governor Palmer, under the have passed through two years of inveslaw of March 11, 1869, have carried the tigation out of the four since the work
work forward, and their expenditures- commenced; and in each instance have
To Nov. 30, 1869, was..................156,876 76 emerged from the ordeal without the
From Nov. 80, 1869, to Nov. 80, 1870..... 277,548 13 smell of fire upon their garments. Should
From Nov. 80, 1810, to Feb. 1, 1871...... 771.918 79
the present year prove to be one of inacTotal to Feb. 1, 1871................ $883,121 81
From Feb. 1 to April 14, 1871............ 53,096 91 tivity, it will be no fault of theirs; and
Due for iron on the way from Belgium.. 12,895 30 their works are the only vindication
Total.$......................$949,11408 they need, concerning which they take
There is due on existing contracts, for pleasure in giving all the information in
materials and for work, enough to bring their power.
the total expenditure up to about $1,000,- The following quotation from the law,
000, leaving about $100,000 of the ap- which has been strictly complied with in
propriation of 1869 unexpended. every particular, is a sufficient refutation,
Early in the session of the General As- in the estimation of all honest men, of
sembly, which convened Jan. 4, 1871, a the ridiculous charge that Mr. Bunn is
bill was introduced in the Senate, ap- using the money appropriated for buildpropriating $600,000 to carry on the ing the State House, in his banking
work of the new State House. It passed business:
that body by a very small number of dis- " The accounts of the expenditures of