wasted. There was clearly no sanction of law for Robertson's election, and the proper procedure would have been for the legislature of 1887 to have elected a new president, who would thereby have been vested with the right of succession to the governorship.

Death of Vice President Hendricks. On the 25th of November, 1885, Vice President Hendricks died at his home

BENJAMIN HARRISON

in Indianapolis. Mr. Hendricks had been a prominent figure in the public life of the state for a third of a century, and had enjoyed high honors at the hands of the people. He served in both branches of the national legislature,

was governor one term, and at the time of his death was occupying the second highest office in the gift of the people.

Campaign of 1888; Benjamin Harrison of

Indiana Elected President; Result of State Election Mixed. Again in 1888 the people of Indiana had reason to feel a special interest in the national campaign. Not only was the state represented on the ticket of the Republican party by one of her distinguished sons, the Hon. Benjamin Harrison, but he headed it as a candidate for the Presidency. President

Grover Cleveland, seeking reëlection, was his democratic opponent. The republicans were successful and Harrison was elected, the result being received in Indiana with great acclaim.

General Alvin P. Hovey, the republican candidate for governor, was also elected, but the democrats were successful in returning

a majority in each house of the general assembly.

ADMINISTRATION OF

GOVERNOR HOVEY

(1889-1891)

Governor Hovey Dies in Office and is Succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Ira J. Chase; Contests over Patronage. Governor Hovey assumed the duties of his office in January,

1889, and died No

vember 23, 1891. Lieutenant Governor Ira J. Chase at once assumed the office as acting governor, serving out the unexpired term.

Differing in politics, contests between the executive and legislative branches of the state government were inevitable. During the session of 1889 Governor Hovey was stripped of nearly all of his official patronage, and out of the contentions and litigation which followed a supreme court decision

finally resulted, making the state geologist and chief of the bureau of statistics elective offices. Previously they had been appointive by the governor.

Australian Ballot and Uniform Textbook Laws. The legislature of 1889 enacted the Australian ballot law, which was a much needed reform. It also enacted the law placing the selection of textbooks for use in the common schools in the hands of the State Board of Education, acting as a State Board of School Book Commissioners. This was a very useful reform in the interest of textbook uniformity, and economy to the patrons of schools, for which much credit is due.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at Indianapolis; National Encampment of the G. A. R. The laying of the corner stone of the magnificent Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, in Governor's Circle, Indianapolis, August 22, 1889, was made the occasion of a great demonstration in honor of the veterans of the Civil war. There was an outpouring of citizens from all parts of the state, and the thousands of Grand Army men joined in an immense parade. President Harrison was among the many distinguished guests present, and honored the occasion by taking a brief part in the program. The monument was built from funds provided by an appropriation of $200,000 made by the legislature of 1887. It was designed by Bruno Schmidt of Berlin, Germany, and is constructed of Indiana stone. Its total height is two hundred sixty-eight feet. It is symmetrical in proportions, highly artistic in design, and is an object of imposing beauty as well as of patriotic interest and pride. Immense fountains in the form of cascades, fed from deep driven wells, flow from the east and the west sides. Just after the shaft had been completed, in September, 1893, the Grand Army of the Republic held its National Encampment in Indianapolis, which served as a further celebration

of the construction of the great monument. The parade, which occurred on the 4th, was one of the most imposing that had taken place since the war, or ever will be conducted by the "Boys in Blue," as Age continues to lay on his disabilities, and Death reaps an increasing annual harvest.

ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MATTHEWS (1893-1897) Supply of Natural Gas Softens Panic in Indiana; President Harrison Defeated for Reëlection; Democrats Regain Power.

CLAUDE MATTHEWS

In 1892 the democratic party again came into power in both state and nation. President Harrison went down in defeat in his race for reëlection, ex-President Grover Cleveland being his successful competitor. Even Indiana, Harrison's own state, helped swell the democratic pluralities against him, and elected Claude Matthews governor.

For many years a period of almost unexampled prosperity had

prevailed throughout the country, but a panic set in early in the year 1893, which for severity and long persistence was almost without a parallel in the country's history. Indiana, perhaps, had enjoyed even more than her share of the wonderful prosperity which prevailed prior to the panic