UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (LOUISIANA.) 



Tor 



Lieutenant-Governor, Albert Estopinal; Secretary 

 of State, John T. Michel; Attorney-General, Wal- 

 ter Guion; Treasurer, Ledoux E. Smith; Auditor, 

 W. S. Frazee; Adjutant-General, Allen Jumel; 

 Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration, 

 Jordan G. Lee; Superintendent of Education, J. 

 V. Calhoun; Registrar of the Land (Mice, J. M. 

 Smith; Railroad Commission, C. L. De Fuentes, 

 W. L. Foster, and R. N. Sims till April, when Mr. 

 Sims resigned and was succeeded by Overton 

 Cade; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Fran- 

 cis T. Nicholls; Associate Justices, Newton C. 

 Blanchard, Joseph A. Breaux, Frank A. Monroe, 

 and O. O. Provosty, the last-named appointed in 

 March to fill the vacancy caused by the death of 

 Lynn B. Watkins; Clerk, T. M. C. Hyman. All 

 are Democrats. 



The term of the State officers is four years. 

 They are elected in April of the years of presiden- 

 tial elections. The Legislature meets biennially 

 in May of the even-numbered years; the length of 

 the session is limited to sixty days. 



Census Figures. Following are additional 

 census statistics for Louisiana from a bulletin of 

 July: Males, 694,733; females, 686,892; native, 

 1,328,722; foreign, 52,903; white, 729,612; colored, 

 652,013, of whom 650,804 are negroes, 599 Chinese, 

 17 Japanese, and 593 Indians. ' The percentage 

 of colored population is 47.2; of foreign born, 3.8. 

 The males of voting age number 325,943, of 

 whom 152,538 are native whites. More than 30 

 per cent, of the males of voting age are illiterate, 

 and about half of the aliens. The males of militia 

 age number 268,739, of whom 132,732 are native 

 whites. There are 538,267 persons of school age, 

 of whom 270,411 are native whites. 



In explanation of the comparative decrease of 

 the colored population of the State, a New Or- 

 leans correspondent says : " Much legislation 

 against the negro has been placed upon the stat- 

 ute-book. He has been largely disfranchised, 

 shut out from juries, compelled to ride in separate 

 cars on the railroads, and prohibited from marry- 

 ing either white or Indian. Popular sentiment 

 has gone even further than the law, for he is 

 shut out of hotels. In a number of localities, es- 

 pecially in Grant and Vernon, no negroes are 

 allowed, and the communities are entirely white. 

 But it is doubtful if these acts would have mate- 

 rially affected the population, so far as races are 

 concerned, but for the rapid increase of the Ital- 

 ians and Acadians. The negro population of 

 Louisiana increased 16.2 per cent, in the last 

 decade, which is about normal; but the whites 

 increased 37 per cent." 



The percentage of urban population is 25.1. 

 Valuations. The Auditor's tabulation of the 

 assessment-rolls of the parishes shows a total for 

 the State of $301,215,222, an increase in one year 

 of more than $24,000,000. 



Old State Bonds. The Treasury Department, 

 and the authorities of the State are trying to 

 secure a final settlement of the old Louisiana 

 State bonds. These bonds, originally amounting 

 to $4,476,000, were confiscated by Gen. P. H. 

 Sheridan, at Shreveport, La., on July 12, 1865; 

 but as the capture occurred after the war had 

 officially ended, the National Government has 

 never claimed title to them. From time to time, 

 upon identification by proper State officers, cer- 

 tain certificates have been delivered, until the 

 value of those remaining in the treasury is not 

 now more than $545,000. It has been found that 

 some of these bonds, amounting to several hun- 

 dred thousand dollars, for which the national 

 Treasury holds descriptive certificates, are ap- 

 parently missing from the State treasury. 

 VOL. XLI. 45 A 



Education. The school ;,,,,) ionrnent, dis- 

 tributed on a basis of a ,<},,, | population of 

 404,757, amounted in June | () .*-!i.OKi.r>t. 



The Normal School at, Natrl.iloehe.H is HO 

 crowded that at a meeting ,,t lupines- men of 



the place in October, SjilO^MiO :\ariee<| by 



subscription for a new dormitory, the L-Lri.-ljit.ure 

 having made no appropriation. A la : ;il>out, 

 20 was graduated in February, an, I mon than 

 30 in May. The summer normals at Franklin, 

 Shreveport, and Rayville were largely att.cn. led. 



The State University, at Baton Rouge, ha.l in 

 October nearly 400 students, a number greater 

 than ever before. A local paper says: " '] 'he 

 course in sugar agriculture seems to become more 

 popular every year, if we are to judge by the 

 number of students adopting it. It is perhaps 

 the most thorough course in the institution, re- 

 quiring five years for its completion, and em- 

 bracing every subject necessary to equip the stu- 

 dent for every branch of work connected with 

 the industry. Besides the theoretical work in 

 this course given at Baton Rouge, the students 

 spend the whole of the grinding season at the 

 sugar experiment station at Audubon Park. New 

 Orleans." 



At a convention of parish superintendents in 

 October resolutions were adopted advising the 

 people to tax themselves to afford greater edu- 

 cational facilities. 



Trouble arose in the State Board of Education 

 in May over the question of the selection of text- 

 books for the ensuing four years. A resolution 

 favored by the Governor was introduced, pro- 

 posing the appointment of a committee of 3 

 from the faculties of State educational institu- 

 tions to examine books offered and report as to 

 their fitness. This was voted down by 6 against 

 2. The majority objected to yielding up their 

 responsibility, and one of them offered a reso- 

 lution for the appointment of a committee of 5 

 members of the board for the purpose. To prevent 

 the passage of this resolution, the mover of the 

 former one called for an adjournment of the 

 board for ten days. The majority of the board 

 promptly voted this proposition down. After this 

 vote the Governor arose and stated that, as the 

 action of the majority indicated a want of unity 

 and harmony in the board, he demanded their 

 resignations. Four members of the 6, who were 

 not ex offlcio, but had been appointed by the 

 Governor, instantly ceased to take part in further 

 proceedings and tendered their resignations. It 

 appears that complaints have been made that the 

 text-books in use were unfair to the South, and 

 that this was the source of the trouble. At a 

 meeting of the Louisiana Confederate Veterans 

 in August, a committee appointed at a former 

 meeting reported a list of books condemned, and 

 recommended the formation of a permanent com- 

 mittee of censors. The following is the list: Eg- 

 gleston's " First Book in American History " and 

 " History of the United States," Montgomery's 

 " Beginner's American History " and *' History of 

 the United States," John L. Wilson's "Story of 

 the War," C. C. Coffin's " Building the Nation," 

 Fiske's " History of the United States," " History 

 of the United States" (Barnes), Field's " Gram- 

 mar-School History of the United States," Mat- 

 thews's " Introduction to American Literature," 

 Noble's " Studies in American Literature," 

 Young's " Government Class-Book," " The Chil- 

 dren's Third Reader (Ginn & Co.), " New Century 

 Fourth Reader" (Rand, McNally & Co.), Brum- 

 baugh's " Standard Reader," Williams's " Choice 

 Literature," Book 2 (Sheldon & Co.), "Lights of 

 Literature," Book 4 (Rand, McNally & Co.). The 



