UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (h> A iu M 



689 



Idaho makes provision for the care and educa- 

 tion of a considerable number of deaf, dumb, and 

 blind children at institutions in neighboring 

 States. The State Superintendent of Public In- 

 struction reports gratifying results for the year 

 from this arrangement. 



Blackfoot Asylum. In January the directors 

 of the Asylum for the insane, at Blackfoot, 

 made their report for 1899 and 1900. During the 

 latter year the smallest number of patients at 

 any one time was 189, and the largest 213. The 

 report says that the asylum made a line display 

 at the State fair at Boise City in 1900. 



Penitentiary. The number of prisoners in the 

 Penitentiary Aug. 1, 1901, was 124. In July 6 

 were discharged, paroled, or pardoned, and 5 were 

 received. 



Martial Law. May 4, 1899, Shoshone County 

 was declared under martial law, and order and 

 prosperity ensued. April 11, 1901, Gov. Hunt 

 issued a proclamation abolishing martial law and 

 restoring civil government. April 14, at Mullan, 

 in the same county, two deputy sheriffs were shot 

 at from ambush in the night, and one of them 

 was wounded three times. One of the assailants 

 was killed by the officers. 



Legislative Session. The session of the Leg- 

 islature began Jan. 7 and ended March 12. Its 

 membership consisted of 43 Fusionists and 27 

 Republicans. One of its early acts was the elec- 

 tion of F. T. Dubois, Silver Republican, to suc- 

 ceed G. L. Shoup, Republican, as United States 

 Senator. The number of bills passed was 115; 

 resolutions and memorials, 11. Among the bills 

 approved by the Governor were the following: 



Making the judiciary committees of both 

 houses a joint body to consider the codes. 



Providing for the rebuilding and equipment of 

 the Soldiers' Home. 



Creating a free traveling library and a library 

 commission to establish free public and pujblic- 

 school libraries throughout the State. 



Providing for the care and preservation of flags 

 belonging to the State. 



Establishing at Pocatello the Academy of 

 Idaho. 



Authorizing a $13,000 bond issue for improve- 

 ments at Albion Normal School. 



Prohibiting non-resident insurance agents from 

 writing policies in Idaho. 



Creating an arbitration commission to act in 

 adjusting disputes between employers and em- 

 ployees. 



Creating the office of insurance commissioner, 

 and providing for taxation of insurance com- 

 panies. 



Creating Clearwater County. 



Appropriating $15,000 for an exhibit at the 

 Pan- American Congress and providing for a Pan- 

 American commissioner. 



Providing for a bond issue of $50,000 for a girls' 

 dormitory and a hall of science at the State 

 University. 



Refunding the bonded indebtedness incurred by 

 the State at its admission to the Union. 



Providing for the codification and publication 

 of the laws of Idaho. 



Providing for the incorporation and regulation 

 of trust, guarantee title, abstract, and safety- 

 deposit companies. 



Making the killing of live stock by a railroad 

 prima facie evidence of negligence on the part of 

 the railroad company. 



Submitting a constitutional amendment for an 

 eight-hour law. 



Authorizing the issue of $117,000 of bonds to 

 pay deficiencies incurred from 1895 to 1900. 



VOL. XLI. 44 A 



Appropriating $f>,00<) f,, r ih. mining congress. 



The total amount. <>i ;ip|.--<,j,i \,i\ ,\,,t\* made* and 

 bonds authorized by the Legislature was $1)40- 

 714.50. 



Irrigation. At the bf-ginnin-j ., I'.iuj Idaho 

 had 535,000 acres of irrigated , cultiva- 



tion, being about the same UMIMUM that, was 

 cultivated without irrigation, and more l.luin 2,300 

 miles of large canals, costing over s:i .'.OU/HMt. The 

 increase of irrigation from 1889 1o J.V.jl), >. - -hov/a 

 by the Federal census, was 132 per cent. 'I hen: 

 were 13 canals owned by corporations .-.dlin- wa- 

 ter to the farmers, under which 82,000 acres were 

 irrigated, while the number of acres irrigated un- 

 der farmers' canals was 453,000. The great in- 

 crease since 1899 has been under canals owned 

 by the users of the water. In the upper Snake 

 valley, where the canals are mainly owned by the 

 farmers, settlement has been much more rapid 

 than in any other part of the State. 



Productions. According to the estimate of 

 the United States Director of the Mint, the pro- 

 duction of gold in Idaho in 1900 was valued at 

 $2,007,173, against $1,550,958 in 1899. The silver 

 yield was 4,500,000 fine ounces. Adding lead and 

 copper, the total value of the State's mineral pro- 

 duction was about $14,000,000. Great importance 

 is attached to the developments of the year in the 

 Snake river gold region, and those of the Thunder 

 mountain section created an unusual excitement. 

 Lively interest has also been awakened in the oil 

 and gas discoveries of 1901 in various localities 

 along the Snake. 



Sheep-raising is an industry of growing impor- 

 tance. Expert investigation in the interest of the 

 National Sheep-Growers' Association, early in 

 1901, found the conditions in different parts of 

 the State highly satisfactory. The number of 

 sheep summered in 1900 in the 10 southernmost 

 counties was found to have been more than 

 3,000,000. 



The Idaho commissioner at the Pan-American 

 Exposition reported in July: "The mining ex- 

 hibit from Idaho attracts the attention of a cer- 

 tain class, the forestry exhibit of another, the 

 agricultural exhibit of another, but the horticul- 

 tural attracts the attention of all. It is the best 

 exhibit in that line at the exposition." It was a 

 matter of general surprise to visitors to learn 

 that Idaho raised fruit at all. 



Land Survey. The following statement is 

 based on the official report of the United States 

 Surveyor-General for Idaho for the fiscal year 

 ending June 30, 1901: The area of the State has 

 generally been given in official reports as 55,228,- 

 160 acres, but from recent surveys it appears that 

 it is 53,883,648 acres, of which the accepted sur- 

 veys are 19,077,729 acres, leaving unsurveyed 

 34,805,919 acres. There was appropriated for 

 agricultural surveys for the fiscal year $39,400, 

 and there were during the year surveyed 50 full 

 and fractional townships, embracing 818,435.24 

 acres. The report of the Receiver of the United 

 States Land-Office for the same period shows that 

 in the Boise" land district, embracing nearly 

 13,000,000 acres, there are over 11,500,000 acres 

 still unappropriated. This area includes almost 

 every known kind of land. 



Hydrographic Surveys. Surveys to deter- 

 mine the amount of water-supply are being con- 

 ducted under an agreement entered into by the 

 State Engineer with the director of the United 

 States Geological Survey, by the terms of which 

 the hydrographic surveys in this State are to 

 proceed under the appropriation of $1.200 made 

 by the last Legislature, which sum has been 

 duplicated by the General Government. 



