164 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



between the seaboard and the West Tl 



canals and railroads completed in 1834 was the great 



means of developing her internal resource* The | '.. - 



ni State debt, although rapidly decreasing, tvm.ii.- 



rcsull of her early enterprise in this direrti.ui. 



In 1888 there were in the State >.; National Hauls. 

 and 79 banks and savings in-titmii.ii- with State 

 charters. The i>;iiil-np capital of the-e v.irioil.- linan -ial 

 institutions exceeds $'.HI.IKKI.IKHI, with an outstanding 

 circulation of about $60,000,000. 



Ktluciitiim. In 1SS7 the number of school districts 

 in the State was 22S1. The estimated value of school 

 property was $36,991,147. In November, 1888, the 

 percentage of population, over ten years of age una- 

 ble to read, was less than 4 per cent. ; unable to write 

 only 6 per cent 



In 1864 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company do- 

 nated the sum of $50,000 for the support of the orphan 

 children of the deceased soldiers in the war for the 

 Union, and soldiers' orphans' schools were established 

 In- the State. Upwards of 17,302 children, of both 

 sexes, have been educated in the various schools organ- 

 iced for this purpose. At present there are eleven 

 schools located in various parts of the State. The 

 number of children now being cared for, as appears by 

 the roll for May, 1888, is 2249. From the period of 

 the establishment of the schools down to the present 

 time over $10,000,000 have been appropriated and ex- 

 pended by the State. In addition to the sum annually 

 appropriated for educational purposes directly about 

 $200,000 are appropriated for the education and main- 

 tenance of the deaf, dumb, blind, and feeble-minded of 

 tin- State. The State College, formerly the Pennsyl- 

 vania Agricultural College, and the Normal Schools 

 established for the education of teachers, are liberally 

 taken care of. In addition to the various colleges and 

 universities schools for the s|>ecial study of Science, 

 Theology. I,U\Y. an<l Medicine are numerous, while there 

 are upwards of IIKI private academics and seminaries. 



Although the n nt records of the prisons, reforma- 

 tories, and penitentiaries do not show an increase in 

 crime proportionate to the estimated increase of popu- 

 lation since the census of 1S80, the altnshouses, give a 

 marked increase in pauperism, and the number of in- 

 sane persons has increased in even ratio with the popu- 

 lation. This, however, is attributed to the better 

 knowledge on the part of the people of the provision 

 made by the State for this afflicted class, and greater 

 willingness to avail themselves of it. Almost $1 ,(NM),- 

 000 are annually appropriated to the various charitable 

 in-titutions of the State, among which are the Soldiers' 

 Home, recently established at Erie, and the Miners' 

 Hospitals, which are solelv under State direction. 

 Various local hospitals are also provided lor. 



M'liiiifnrtiiret. Since 1880 the ina'iut'actnring in- 

 du-try of the State has been nearly doubled. The 

 capital invested, cost of material, the total sum paid in 

 wages to the number of persons employed, and the 

 value of products is proportionately increased. This 

 is particularly true in regard to the iron and steel 

 manufacture*, which have always been prominent in 

 Pennsylvania. The utilization of natural gas for manu- 

 facturing purposes has given a special stimulus to 

 many bran. -lies of industry, and ha* transformed the 

 aspect of the region where it is abundant. The mining 

 industry ha- al-.> been increasing rapidly. 



/,'./iV</</. The total number of miles of railroad 

 operated in Pennsylvania in 18SS is 9714. The aggre- 

 gate length, however, of all tracks in the State exceeds 

 15,000 miles. The tot -d m-t of i he-e roads and equip- 

 ments exceeds $1.013, 4"A<XX), not including the value 

 of real estate held by the various, companies, and also 

 ;'__ roadway, which ri.-es upwards of 

 $3,000,IHX). The total miniticr of miles operated by 

 these various companies amounts to I.V-r. 1 miles. 

 The Bomber of tiuongh passengers carried over these 

 r..id- in Is.- 7 i- !..'.L'."..t',|-j; the number of local pas- 

 iM.-iigt.-n> was 59. !)(':.', 071, yielding a revenue of 



$39,819.422 from passenger traffic alone. The nuiii- 

 U-r of t. .n- of through freight carried, exclusive of 

 coal, was 40,633,688 tons, while that of loeal freight 

 exceeded 100,000,000 tons. 



During the year 1887 there was shipped over the 

 various railroads of the State the following: Anthra- 

 cite coal, 54.952,699 tons: bituminous coal and coke, 

 44,783,031 ; petroleum and other oils. 3.:js'.i,799 bbls. ; 

 pig-iron, 6,468,934 tons; railroad iron. _'.!; 

 other iron or castings, 5,990,924 : iron and other ores. 

 10,204,837. This is exclusive of the various products 

 consumed at the place of supply. 



There are also 519 miles of street passenger railways 

 operated in the various cities of the Commonwealth. 

 These have been constructed at an expense of 

 $12^326,068. 



I 'nniih. Although the system of canals is gradually 

 giving way to that of the railroads there are at pres- 

 ent operated within the limits of the State 778 miles, 

 of which 198 miles are slack -water navigation. The 

 gross amount of tonnage passing over this system dur- 

 ing 1888 exceeded 10,000,000 tons, and the receipts of 

 tolls for the same were $2,675,349. 



The length of the main line of the Western Union 

 Telegraph Company in Pcnn.-ylvania exceeds 9000 

 miles, while that of the Philadelphia and Heading sys- 

 tem amounts to 870 miles. 



Jlt.itni-ii-'il Notes. When the province of Pennsyl- 

 vania was settled by the English and Welsh Quakers 

 under Penn a remnant of Swedish colonists was found 

 along the Delaware. German and Swiss immigrants 

 followed in succession. To them the State owes its 

 character for industry and thrift. 



The Scotch-Irish settlers from the North of Ireland 

 came during the eighteenth century and were placed 

 on the frontier counties of the province. To them the 

 State owes its energy and intellectual culture. New 

 Englanders, under the "Connecticut Claim," located 

 lining, while the settlers in the western part of 

 the State were made up of these diverse elements, the 

 Scotch-Irish predominating. Owing to these hetero- 

 geneous elements the history and character of the 

 State have often been misunderstood. Writers in 

 many instances have failed to give proper credit to 

 Pennsylvania for its contributions to the progress ami 

 welfare of the Union. 



During the French and Indian War, from 1754 until 

 I7'i4, owing to constant inroads made upon frontier 

 settlements by marauding savages, from two to four 

 regiments of provincials were constantly in the service. 

 Three-fourths of these were Scotch-Irish settlers and 

 residents on the frontier. In the Revolution, al- 

 though Pennsylvania did not furnish as many troops 

 for the Continental line as several other States, her 

 large number of associators and militia in active ser- 

 vice exceeded nearly all the States of the Union. The 

 so callc 'd revolt of the Pennsylvania line in .lanuaiy, 

 ITS], was caused by the fact that the soldiers who were 

 enlisted for three years, or during the war, were kept 

 in service beyond the time for which they had enlisted, 

 viz., three years. 



With the exception of the railroad riots of 1877, 

 which, at that time, extended widely over the United 

 States, the disturbances in Pennsylvania have been 

 merely local affairs, and do not warrant the assertjon 

 that they iron caused by any general dissatisfaction 

 with the (Jovernment or with the laws of the land. 



The first State Constitution framed was in 1770, 

 when the Proprietary Covcmmcnt ceased. Slavery 

 was abolished in I7*n. In I7MI the Constitution was 

 revised; again in 1S37-3*; and finally in 1874. The 

 latter revision was ratified by over 100.000 majority. 

 Its new features are limiting the term of the Governor 

 to four years (ineligible to re-election), providing for a 

 Lieutenant I !< .\cnior. with various other officers to be 

 elected by the people, increasing the nuinlier in the 

 legislative body, and in several of the county offices 

 providing for minority representation. (w. H. E.) 



