606 



NEW YOKE (STATE). 



Banks. On October 1 there were 130 banks 

 of deposit and discount in active operation, an 

 increase of 25 banks and $2,235,000 capital in 

 one year. The aggregate resources of the State 

 banks on September 22 were $217,398,717, an 

 increase over 1887 of $26,440,170. Of the 25 

 new banks, 2 were converts from the national 

 system and 7 are in New York city and have 

 a capital amounting to $950,000. Of the total 

 increase in banking capital, $250,000 represents 

 the increase of existing institutions and $1,- 

 985,000 the capital of new associations. As 

 evidence of the prosperous condition of the 

 State banks, it is noted that there has been no 

 reduction in the capital of any of the number 

 during the year, and not a single suspension or 

 failure has occurred in that period. There are 

 25 trust, loan, and mortgage companies in op- 

 eration, which show total resources of $224,- 

 018,183.68 and liabilities amounting to $224,- 

 554,324.51. The total amount of interest-bear- 

 ing deposits was $165,317,364.07, an increase 

 of $18,685,900.50. Three new trust companies, 

 with a capital of $1,500,000, were organized 

 during the year. The total capital employed 

 by the trust companies operating under the 

 State laws shows an increase of $3,498,000 in 

 the same period. At the close of the fiscal 

 year there were 17 safe-deposit companies in 

 operation in this State, with an aggregate capi- 

 tal of $3,123,900, an increase during the year 

 of $294,000. 



Railroads. The following statistics show the 

 work of the railroads of the State during the 

 past two years: Gross earnings, 1888, $152,- 

 122,705.73; 1887, $143,724,490.62. Net earn- 

 ings, 1888, $50,517,643.94; 1887, $51,284,- 

 516.02. Taxes, 1888, $5.252,224.10; 1887, 

 $5,018,907.21. Surplus, 1888, $5,362,202.58; 

 1887, $8,284,403.60. Miles of road builf in 

 New York State, 1888, 7,437.85; 1887, 7,- 

 383.38. The increase in tons of freight carried 

 one mile is 5'27 per cent. It will be seen that 

 there has been a distinct reduction in the net 

 earnings, although a greater amount of business 

 has been done than previously. This result is 

 attributed by the railroad commissioners to 

 several causes, among them the clause in the 

 Interstate Commerce act prohibiting pooling; 

 the reckless efforts of some railroad managers 

 to procure business at any rates, however un- 

 profitable ; the building of new roads in ad- 

 vance of any necessity ; strikes, and the delib- 

 erate reduction of rates to unprofitable points 

 for stock-jobbing purposes. 



The Indians. From a report of a committee 

 appointed by the Legislature of this year, it 

 appears that there are still in the State tribal 

 reservations having the following population : 

 Onondaga, 450 ; Oneida, 178; Tuscarora, 439 ; 

 Tonawanda, 500 ; Shinnecock, 150 ; St. Regis, 

 1,044; Cattaraugus, 1,305; Allegany, 834; 

 total, 4,900. The Onondaga reservation, near 

 Syracuse, is reported to be in a deplorable con- 

 dition, the Indians defying all attempts to edu- 

 cate them or to induce them to till the soil. 



Similar reports come from nearly all the other 

 tribes, except the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and St. 

 Kegis, where the land is generally held in sev- 

 eralty. The committee recommend that all 

 lands of the Indians be allotted in severalty, 

 and that they be admitted to the rights of citi- 

 zenship and subjected to the general laws of 

 the State. On the several reservations there 

 are 1,546 Indian children of school age. Of 

 these, 1,082 were enrolled in the 30 reservation 

 schools during the school year 1887-'88, but the 

 average daily attendance was only 420. 



The Erie Canal. In 1888 the number of tons 

 of freight carried was 4,942,948, or a decrease 

 of 610,857 over 1887. The figure for 1888, 

 however, is somewhat in excess of the average 

 for the past five years. Among the reasons 

 assigned for the falling off are these: 1. The 

 contracts made with railroads centering at Buf- 

 falo with vessels of deep draught loaded with 

 coal and other freight for the ports of the 

 northern lakes, their return cargoes being in 

 grain (the chief reliance of the boats on the 

 Erie Canal), which is turned over by the large 

 vessels to the railroads that furnish the west- 

 ern-bound freight; 2. Short crops, causing a 

 decreased export trade ; 3. The corner in 

 grain, which overturned the markets in Chi- 

 cago and New York for several weeks; 4. The 

 insistance of the canal boatmen for higher 

 rates, in consequence of which much of the 

 freight was sent by rail. During the past year 

 the work of lengthening the locks so as to al- 

 low the passage of two boats tandem has pro- 

 gressed until now there are only fifty-one miles 

 on the Erie Canal containing single-tiered locks 

 to interfere with the navigation of "double- 

 headers." Other locks are now in process of 

 lengthening, and many of them will be com- 

 pleted before the season of 1889 opens. 



The Erie Canal was completed in 1825. Its 

 dimensions were 40 feet wide on the surface, 

 28 feet wide at the bottom, with single locks 

 90 feet long and 12 feet wide, and a water- 

 way at the aqueducts of 19 feet. The ca- 

 pacity of boats was 100 tons. In 1833 the 

 increased business on the canals exceeded all 

 public expectation, and the Legislature of 1834 

 passed an act authorizing the construction of 

 a second set of locks to increase the facility 

 of transportation. This was supplemented in 

 1835 by the passage of an act directing the 

 canal commissioners to enlarge and improve 

 the canal, giving them discretionary powers as 

 to its dimensions, location, etc., to alter, ar- 

 range, and construct new feeders and other 

 works, as they might deem necessary, for sup- 

 plying the enlarged canal with an additional 

 supply of water. At a meeting of the canal 

 board, June 30, 1835, it was resolved to make 

 the canal 60 feet wide, with 6 feet depth of 

 water. At a subsequent meeting, in October, 

 the board decided to increase its capacity to 

 70 feet wide and 7 feet depth of water, to 

 build the locks 110 feet long and 18 feet wide, 

 thus giving boats a carrying capacity of 240 



