496 



MONTANA. 



daily announced: Democratic, 363,652; Republican, 

 304,940; Prohibition, 2,169; Socialist-Labor, 610; 

 National Democratic, 2,355 ; National (Prohibition), 

 292 ; 4 of the 17 electors voted for Watson for 

 Vice-President. For Governor the vote stood : 

 Stephens, Democrat, 351,062; Lewis, Republican, 

 307,729 ; Paris, Prohibitionist, 2,588 ; Fry, Socialist- 

 Labor, 757: Trimble, National Democrat, 1,809. 

 All the Democratic candidates were chosen. Of 

 the 15 members of Congress the Republicans have 

 -3, all from the St. Louis districts. In the Legisla- 

 ture there are on joint ballot 98 Democrats, 62 Re- 

 publicans, and 14 Populists. 



MONTANA, a Western State, admitted into the 

 Union Nov. 8, 1889; area, 146,080 square miles; 

 population, according to the census of 1890, 132,- 

 159. Capital, Helena. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year : Governor, John E. Rick- 

 ards ; Lieutenant Governor, Alexander C. Botkin ; 

 Secretary of State, Louis Rotwitt ; Treasurer, 

 Frederick W. Wright ; Auditor, Andrew B. Cook ; 

 Attorney-General, Henri J. Haskell ; Superintend- 

 ent of Instruction, Eugene A. Steere ; Adjutant- 

 General, C. F. Lloyd all Republicans ; State Land 

 Agent, James M. Page ; Register of the Land Office, 

 S. A. Swiggette ; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 

 William Y. Pemberton, Populist-Democrat ; Associ- 

 ate Justices, W. II. De Witt and W. H. Hunt, Re- 

 publicans. 



Finances. The revenues from all sources for 

 the several funds amounted during the fiscal year 

 1896 to $667,747.01 Of this total sum, $436.97S.1'3 

 belonged to the general fund, and the remainder 

 was distributed among the several special funds. 



The indebtedness of the general fund, Dec. 1, was 

 $357,830.18, but in that month it was reduced by a 

 warrant call to the amount of $150,000. 



The expenses attending the sessions of the fourth 

 Legislative Assembly, 1895, were $61,475. 



According to the report of the State Board of 

 Kqualization, published in February, " the total as- 

 sessed valuation of the State is $124,076,585.50. Of 

 this, nearly $2,000,000 is valuation of lands belong- 

 ing to the Northern Pacific (now in the hands of 

 receivers) upon which taxes can not be collected." 



The mines in Silver Bow County are assessed at 

 $1,644,590, and those in Lewis and Clarke at 

 $397,700. 



Militia. The cost of the National Guard was 

 $23,764.79 in 1895, and $18,834.61 in 1896. 



Education. The State received a bronze medal 

 for its fine school exhibit at the Chicago Columbian 

 Exposition. 



The State Normal School building at Dillon was 

 completed in the spring. 



A class of 4, the first to be graduated at Montana 

 College, at Bozeman, took their degrees in June. 



The corner stone of the State School of Mines 

 was laid at Butte, Dec. 29. 



At the Fort Shaw Indian School there were about 

 165 pupils in 1896. They range in age from five to 

 twenty, and are full bloods and half breeds. The 

 majority are Piegans, the remainder being Chcy- 

 ennes, Assiniboines, Crows, and Arapahoes. There 

 are 20 instructors. All the pupils are trained in 

 some kind of industry. Several trades are taught, 

 and all the boys above a certain age are expected 

 to work on the farm. The school, which occupies 

 the buildings and 5,000 acres of the old Fort Shaw 

 reservation, has been in operation since 1892. The 

 course of instruction occupies three years. 



Penal Institutions. The report of the Reform 

 School, published in February, showed that 28 boys 

 and 2 girls^had been received during the year, mak- 

 ing the whole number 44. The boys have done the 

 greater part of the work in the erection of 2 new 



buildings a barn and a cottage which will accom- 

 modate 80 boys. A farm of 100 acres is attached to 

 the school. 



The cost of maintaining the inmates of the State 

 Prison for 1895-'96 was 35 cents a day per capita. 

 Out of the appropriations for 1895 and 1896 

 enough was saved to build, with the help of the 

 coiivicts, a new prison with a capacity of 288 

 prisoners. 



Charities. The care of the insane for 1896 cost 

 the State $118,600.40, about one fourth of the total 

 receipts of the general fund. 



The buildings for the Orphan's Home and the 

 Deaf and Dumb School were nearly completed at 

 the close of the year. 



The corner stone of the Soldier's Home was laid, 

 May 30, at Columbia Falls, and at the end of the 

 year the home was ready for the reception of vet- 

 erans. It is a two-story building, 76x84 feet, de- 

 signed to accommodate 50. The Legislature appro- 

 priated $10,000 to cover the expense. 



Bank Failure. The First National Bank at 

 Helena failed, Sept. 4, with total liabilities of $3,- 

 450,000. It was organized in 1866. The individual 

 deposits at the time of the failure amounted to $2,- 

 930.000, and the amount due other banks was $395,- 

 000. Dec. 16 the grand jury indicted the vice-presi- 

 dent, who was manager of the bank, the assistant 

 cashier, and one of the directors on the charge of 

 wrecking the bank. The report of the jury speci- 

 fied serious irregularities. The president and di- 

 rectors are censured for negligence. 



Railroads. Fifty-six miles of railroad were 

 built in the State "in 1896. In August 5,298,598 

 acres of Northern Pacific lands in the State were 

 sold at auction on foreclosure gale for a total of 

 $937,900, being bid in by the president, 



The question as to the ownership of the town site 

 of Boulder, the county seat of Jefferson County, 

 which has been in dispute for some time, has been 

 passed upon by the commissioner of the general 

 land office, who decides that " in view of the settle- 

 ment, use, and occupation of the land by the resi- 

 dents of Boulder it was not subject to homestead 

 entry irrespective of the railroad land grant." 



Sheep and Wool. The number of sheep assessed 

 in Montana in 1896 was 2,812,829, an increase of 

 210,727 head over the number assessed in 1895. By 

 the rule adopted last year, 5 per cent, is added to 

 cover the number of shearing sheep that escaped 

 assessment. It was estimated that the wool clip of 

 Montana for 1896 was 21,790,289 pounds, an in- 

 crease of 2,451,316 pounds over 1896. ( It appears 

 that Montana has more sheep and raises more wool 

 than any other State or any Territory. The prices 

 in 1896 were not nearly as good as in 1895. In 

 1895 the average price received for wool, which was 

 very largely bought for cash at Montana shipping 

 points by buyers on the ground, was 10| cents a 

 pound, the proceeds of the clip aggregating $1,997,- 

 716. In 1896 the price was about 2 cents less. 



Fruit. The following is from the Helena " In- 

 dependent " : " There is no section of country east 

 of the Missouri river that equals the Bitter Root for 

 fruit. In Ravalli County alone, which constitutes a 

 large part of the Bitter Root valley, there were 265,- 

 225 fruit trees growing last year. Many new orchards 

 were planted the present .year, and additions made 

 to others. Of the fruit-growing trees last year 

 in Ravalli County, 30,622 produced 29,894 bushels 

 of apples, plums, prunes, apricots, peaches, and 

 pears." 



Mining 1 . There are in operation in Montana 10 

 gold mills, 18 silver mills. 7 lead and 8 copper 

 smelters, and 25 concentrators, with a combined ca- 

 pacity of 5,000 tons of ore a day. The value of the 

 annual output of gold, silver, copper, and lead in is 



