824: 



WEST VIRGINIA. 



coffee for export, and sweet potatoes, corn, manioc, 

 bananas, and tobacco for native consumption. The 

 value of the imports in 1893 was 19.546,000 francs, 

 of which 7,829,000 francs came from France : and 

 of the exports 14,481,000 francs, of which 14,133.- 

 000 francs went to France. The Governor is D. 

 Moracchini. 



Jlartittiijite has an area of 381 square miles, and 

 had a population in 1895 of 189,599, including a 

 floating population of 1,907. Of the resident popu- 

 lation 90.373 were males and 97,319 females. The 

 chief town is St. Pierre, with 25,382 inhabitants. 

 Of the population of the island only 1.307 were 

 born in France. There are 12 miles of railroad. 

 Martinique is represented by 1 Senator and 2 Depu- 

 ties in the French Assembly. The imports in 1893 

 amounted to 32,747,000 francs, and exports to 22,- 

 631,000 francs. Of the imports 10,741,000 francs 

 came from France, and of the exports France re- 

 ceived 21,253,000 francs. There were 34,681.024 

 kilogrammes of sugar shipped to France. The 

 chief products are sugar, manioc, sweet potatoes, 

 bananas, coffee, cacao, indigo, and tobacco. The 

 budget for 1895 amounted to 5,323.182 francs, not 

 including the expenditure of France, amounting in 

 1896 to 2,772,192 francs. There is a debt of 435.000 

 francs. The Governor is X. Pardon. 



WEST VIRGINIA, a Southern State, admitted 

 to Ihe Union June 19, 1863; area. 24,780 square 

 miles. The population, according to each decen- 

 nial census since admission, was 442,014 in 1870 ; 

 618,457 in 1880; and 762,749 in 1890. Capital, 

 Charleston. 



Government. The following were the State of- 

 ficers during the year : Governor, William A. Mac- 

 Corkle, Democrat ; Secretary of State, William E. 

 Chilton ; Treasurer, John M. Rowan ; Auditor, 

 Isaac V. Johnson ; Attorney-General, Thomas S. 

 Riley ; Adjutant General, J." A. Holley ; Commis- 

 sioner of Labor. J. M. Sydenstricker ; Superintend- 

 ent of Public Schools, Virgil A. Lewis ; Bank 

 Examiner, C. A. Wever ; State Librarian, E. L. 

 Wood ; Secretary of the Agricultural Board, ( '. ( '. 

 Brown ; Meteorologist, W. W. Dent : Secretary of 

 the Board of Health, N. D. Baker, M. D. ; State 

 Veterinarian, E. E. Terry ; Secretary of the Fish 

 Commission, C. I. White ; Commissioner of Immi- 

 gration, Thomas Popp. 



Finances. The State owes no debt of any kind. 

 At the beginning of the fiscal year 1895-'96 there 

 was $883,683.74 in the treasury, and the receipts 

 from all sources during the fiscal year ending Sept. 

 30, 1896, were $1,524,879.45. The amount disbursed 

 during the year was $1,581,233.76, leaving a bal- 

 ance in the "treasury ()<-t. 1, 1896, of $827,329.43. 

 This balance was made up of the State fund, $238,- 

 980.63; the general school fund, $327,076.98; the 

 school fund." $261,271.82. Giving the amounts in 

 round numbers, the State fund was increased from 

 $36,000 in 1892 to $238.000 in 1896. The general 

 school fund was swelled from $291,000 in 1892 to 

 $327.000 in 1896: the school fund from $154.000 in 

 in 1892 to $261.000 in 1896. From a total of $482.- 

 000 in 1892 there was in 1896 the sum of $827,000 

 to the credit of the State. 



State Institutions. All the State institutions 

 are reported as in good order. Non partisan boards 

 have been tried, and the system has been found to 

 work well. In no case has there been a division 

 on party lines within any board. The Hospital for 

 the Insane, at Western, reported an increased per- 

 centage of cures. In the second Hospital for the 

 Insane, at Spencer, 292 patients were treated during 

 1896. In the Penitentiary reforms have been in- 

 stituted : the price of feeding the convicts has been 

 reduced, and they have been given larger privileges : 

 the institution has been placed in the line of a re- 



formatory. The average daily cost of maintaining 

 the convicts for the two \rars eiidinjr in September, 

 1892. was :34 cents : for 1894 it was 32| cents ; and 

 for the year ending in September, 1896. a little over 

 26 cents. The number of convicts on Sept. 30, 1896, 

 was 580. 



Education. The irreducible school fund was in- 

 creased from $732.000 in 1892 to $834,000, round 

 numbers, in 1896, an increase of $102,000 in four 

 years. Within this time there were constructed the 

 Normal School building, at Shepherdstown at a cost 

 of $14.963.85 ; the building at Marshall College at 

 a cost of $24,961.90 : at West Liberty at a cost of 

 $5.!>s3.20 ; the addition to the Fairmont school at 

 a cost of $1 1.!)s:!.s5 ; and to the colored school at 

 Farm at a cost of $30,000. During the four years 

 1892-'96 there were expended $5,000 for the pre- 

 paratory branch of the university at Montgomery 

 and $8,000 for the Colored Institute, at Bluefield : 

 for the Reform School, at Pruntytown, $53,700 ; for 

 the Schools for the Deaf and Blind, at Kmmiev. 

 $116,200; for the university at Morgantown, $117,- 

 581 ; and for the State Normal School and its 

 branches, more than $250,000. In all $558,472 were 

 expended for higher education. For the year end- 

 ing June 30, 1896, the enrollment in the State nor- 

 mal schools had increased to 1,202 : 27 teachers 

 were employed, and salaries amounted to $19,900. 

 In that period the total general State fund aggre- 

 gated $1.527.427.71 ; add to this the teachers' fund 

 from all other sources. $3,555,202.57, the building 

 fund, $2,847,215.70, and to this the total appropria- 

 tion for the four years, and the result is $8,488,317.- 

 98 expended within that time for education. The 

 total value of schoolhouses in 1896 was $2,462.170 

 a gain in four years of $150,000. The number of 

 schoolhouses was 5,475. 



The State has a school population of 296.517. but 

 of that number only 215,665 were enrolled in 1896, 

 leaving more than 80,000 children not enrolled. Of 

 the number of children enrolled there was an aver- 

 age daily attendance of only 141,000, showing a 

 daily average absence of more" than 74,000. Of the 

 296,517 children of school age, 219.000, in round 

 numbers, were between the ages of six and sixteen 

 years, and 77,000 between sixteen and twenty-one. 

 Of those between six and sixteen years, 185,000 were 

 eni'olled and 33,000 not enrolled ; therefore of the 

 children between six and sixteen years of age, 85 per 

 cent, were enrolled. Of the whole number between 

 sixteen and twenty-one there were 30,000 enrolled 

 and 47.000 not enrolled, or 39 per cent, enrolled. 



Oil. From all indications, it seems that there is 

 a greater field of oil under the State than under 

 any equal amount of territory in the United States. 

 In "1892 the State produced 3',810,086 barrels of pe- 

 troleum, which was a gain of 102.000 barrels in 

 1886 : but in 1896 the production of 1892 was in- 

 creased to 8.216,500 barrels, an increase of over 

 4,000.000 barrels. 



Coal. New methods were reported in the min- 

 ing of coal, and many new fields were opened. 

 Throughout the State the price of coal lands had 

 increased. The production for the year was about 

 1,500.000 tons. 



Railways. The -railway mileage of the State is 

 considerably over 2,000 miles, the last reported 

 valuation being $22,447.495. 



A charter was granted in February for a railroad 

 from St. Albans to the forks of the Coal, thence to 

 Peytona on Big Coal river, thence to the junction 

 of Marsh and Clear Forks, thence by way of Marsh 

 Fork to the Norfolk and Western Railroad in Mer- 

 cer County, with a branch road 50 miles in length 

 extending' from the Forks of Coal to Boone, thence 

 to the junction of Pond and Spruce Forks, thence 

 to the head waters of Pond Fork and to the Wyo- 



