RHODE ISLAND 



RHODE ISLAND 



of Rhode Island and in the northwest the land 

 is fertile, and there hay and forage, com and 

 oats are raised. The proximity of large mar- 

 kets has made truck farming very important; 

 Cranston has one of the largest market gardens 

 in the United States. Fruit raising is growing 

 in importance. The raising of fine breeds of 

 poultry, among which are the well-known 

 "Rhode Island reds," is a thriving industry, and 

 most farmers derive much of their income from 

 poultry and dairy products. 



Mines, The mineral wealth of Rhode Island 

 is small, but excellent qualities of granite are 

 quarried in different parts of the state, and 

 limestone, graphite, clay and iron ore are found 

 in limited quantities. Coal is mined at Cran- 

 ston, and the recent high price of fuel has 

 turned attention to the long-neglected mine at 

 East Providence as a source of supply. 



Manufacture. Rhode Island is principally a 

 manufacturing state. Water power, near-by 

 markets and the lack of extensive and suitable 

 ground for other industries have caused the 

 rapid development of factories. Textile manu- 

 factures are the chief industries, woolen and 

 worsted goods being the most important, fol- 

 lowed by cotton textiles. The first cotton-spin- 

 ning plant in the United States was established 

 at Providence in 1787, and Rhode Island 

 printed the first calico made in the country. 

 This small state now holds fourth place among 

 the states in the manufacture of cotton goods, 

 being surpassed by Massachusetts, North Caro- 

 lina and South Carolina. 



Only Pennsylvania and Massachusetts sur- 

 pass it in the manufacture of woolens, and in 

 the dyeing and finishing of textiles it follows 

 Massachusetts and New Jersey. The state also 

 ranks high in the manufacture of silk and silk 

 goods, hosiery and knit goods. The manu- 

 facture of jewelry is third in importance among 

 the industries of the state, and Rhode Island 

 has long held first place in this industry. 

 Foundry and machine-shop products, electrical 

 supplies, silverware and rubber goods are other 

 important articles of manufacture. The Union's 

 smallest state ranks fourteenth among the 

 manufacturing states,, and it leads all in the 

 per capita value of manufactured products. 



Transportation. Ample railroad facilities are 

 afforded by the New York, New Haven & Hart- 

 ford lines and many interurban roads; the 

 latter operate between cities of Rhode Island 

 and those of Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

 There are over 200 miles of steam railroad and, 

 in 1915, there were 436 miles of electric track. 



Steamship lines operate between Providence 

 and other bay towns and Boston, New York, 

 Philadelphia, Baltimore and Norfolk. Large 

 appropriations have been made by Congress 

 for the improvement of harbors on Block Is- 

 land; Salt Pond, which has been opened to the 

 sea, forms a large, well-sheltered harbor. Cus- 

 toms' districts center at Newport, Bristol and 

 Warren. 



In 1915 Rhode Island led the states in the 

 percentage of surfaced roads; in that year the 

 state money available for road work was 

 180,000. 



Government. The present constitution was 

 adopted in 1842, and it has been amended many 

 times. Before 1842 the state had been gov- 

 erned by the conservative constitution of the 

 original royal charter, granted in 1643. Since 

 1888 property qualifications for voters in state 

 elections have been removed, and all adult 

 male citizens have suffrage. An interesting 

 trace of the old conservative system survives in 

 the provision that only those who pay taxes on 

 $134 worth of property may vote for members 

 of any city council, or on the levying of taxes 

 and expenditure of public money in any town 

 or city. This excludes large numbers of work- 

 ing men in factory towns from participation in 

 municipal government. Amendments to the 

 constitution must be passed by both houses of 

 two successive assemblies, and must be rati- 

 fied by three-fifths of the electors in town meet- 

 ings. State elections are held biennially, in 

 even-numbered years. 



The legislative power is vested in a general 

 assembly, consisting of a senate and a house of 

 representatives. The senate consists of the 

 lieutenant-governor and one senator from each 

 of the thirty-eight cities and towns. The house 

 of representatives consists of 100 members, ap- 

 portioned according to population, each town 

 having at least one member and none more 

 than twenty-five representatives. 



The executive department consists of a gov- 

 ernor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, 

 attorney-general, auditor, treasurer, commis- 

 sioner of public instruction and various other 

 commissioners and boards. The governor is 

 somewhat limited in his powers, but may ex- 

 ercise the right of veto, which was granted to 

 him in 1909. 



The judicial department consists of a su- 

 preme court of five judges, elected by the gen- 

 eral assembly, and of various subordinate 

 courts. In the city of Providence there is a 

 special police court. 



