174 



COLORADO. 



new arrangement were going on. Congress, in 

 January, 1893, authorized the Government to re- 

 new in a modified form the contract made with 

 the liquidator, or to make a new contract pro- 

 viding for the resumption in a serious and per- 

 manent manner of the work of excavation. The 

 Government was suspicious that property be- 

 longing to the canal and pledged to the state 

 was disposed of illegally, and in the new contract 

 at first insisted on having immediate possession. 

 A contract was finally signed by Dr. F. Paul, 

 attorney for M. Monchicourt, the official liqui- 

 dator, and the Colombian Minister of the In- 

 terior, prolonging the time allowed for the or- 

 ganization of a new company till Oct. 31, 1894, 

 and granting a further term of ten years for the 

 completion of the canal. The debt of the com- 

 pany to the Colombian Government is increased 

 from 6,500,000 francs to 8,000,000 francs, and the 

 new liability is to be discharged in three annual 

 payments of 500,000 francs. The plant used in 

 the construction of the canal will remain in the 

 possession of the liquidator, but an inventory is 

 to be taken by representatives of the Govern- 

 ment and of the canal company. The other 

 clauses of the previous conventions are renewed. 



Controversy with Venezuela. In Arauca 

 and other frontier towns the administrator of 

 confiscated properties appointed by President 

 Crespo of Venezuela to carry out his decree of 

 Oct. 20, 1892, against sympathizers with Andueza 

 Palacio's usurpation, took away the property of 

 many Colombian citizens. The Colombian Gov- 

 ernment raised a protest, and after some cor- 

 respondence the confiscated estates were returned 

 to their owners. 



COLORADO, a Western State, admitted to 

 the Union Aug. 1, 1876; area, 103,925 square 

 miles. The population in 1890 was 412,198. 

 Capital, Denver. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, Davis H. 

 Waite ; Lieutenant-Governor, David H. Nichols ; 

 Secretary of State, N. O. McClees; Treasurer, 

 Albert Nance ; Auditor, F. M. Goodykoontz ; 

 Attorney-General, Eugene Engley ; Superin- 

 tendent of Public Instruction, John F. Murray ; 

 Railroad Commissioner, William A. Hamill ; Re- 

 gents of the University, D. M. Richards, W. 

 E. Anderson. All these officers are Populists. 

 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, G. W. 

 Allen ; Associate Justices, Charles D. Hoyt, Vic- 

 tor A. Elliott. 



Finances. The biennial reports of the au- 

 ditor and Treasurer, submitted at the begin- 

 ning of the year, show the expenditures to have 

 been kept almost within the income ; the out- 

 standing indebtedness amounted to $1,462,455.- 

 93, from which the capital-building bonds being 

 deducted ($600,000) the actual floating indebted- 

 ness appears to be $862,455.93. This amount is 

 practically represented by the outstanding war- 

 rants of the years 1887-'89. These warrants are 

 held as follows: Public-school fund, $444,517.- 

 46; State University, $22,645.22; internal im- 

 provement fund, $36,744.59 ; income fund, 

 $1,202.59; total, $505,109.86. The estimated 

 revenue for 1893-'94 is $700,000 for each year. 



Education. The eighth biennial report, cov- 

 ering the years 1891-'92, gives a history of the 

 public schools of the State. From 1871 to 1892 



the number of school districts increased 748 ; 

 increase in schoolhouses, 16'25 per cent. ; increase 

 in value of school property, 64-19 per cent. The 

 average value of schoolhouses, including sites 

 and fixtures, is $3,949.13, while the average in 

 the United States is $1,495. In 1892 there were 

 76,647 pupils, of whom 62-9 per cent, were in 

 graded schools. 



A bill was presented to the last Legislature 

 providing for free text-books, but it failed of 

 passage. The State Superintendent has sen at 

 circular to book publishers, proposing to dale 

 directly with them, thus saving the pupils the 

 profits of local dealers. 



The institutions for higher education show 

 progress and increasing facilities. The Iliff 

 School of Theology has been added to the Uni- 

 versity of Denver. The building, which was 

 opened in June, is a handsome structure, with a 

 foundation of rose granite, the main portion 

 being of red sandstone. The building is finished 

 entirely in oak, and is so heated that the entire 

 circulation of air can be changed every twelve 

 minutes. There was an attendance during the 

 year of over 700 in all departments. There were 

 36 graduates 16 in the medical department, 7 

 in the pharmaceutical, 1 in the dental, 1 in the 

 theological, 5 in the liberal arts, 6 in the law, 

 and 3 in the manual-training department. The 

 total valuation of the university property is 

 given as $1,560,000. The main building cost 

 $80,000 ; the Chamberlin Observatory, $45,000 ; 

 and Wycliffe Cottage, $12,000. The Medical 

 College and School of Pharmacy still occupy the 

 old premises in the lower part of the city. 



The State University, at Boulder, sent out 10 

 graduates from the college course, and 8 in medi- 

 cine. The School of Law numbered about 25 

 young men and women. The Colorado Divinity 

 School, though not a department of the uni- 

 versity, or supported by it, yet will make use of 

 many of the university courses, its students being 

 enrolled as special students in the College of 

 Liberal Arts. This is an unsectarian school. 



The change in the School of Medicine, the 

 recognition and enlargement of the faculty, and 

 the arrangements by which the middle and sen- 

 ior classes receive instruction in Denver, have 

 resulted in a great increase in attendance over 

 100 per cent. 



The Agricultural College, at Fort Collins, has 

 accommodations for 300 students. Improve- 

 ments have been made in the buildings and 

 grounds for better sanitation and teaching fa- 

 cilities. The study of irrigation methods and 

 meteorology have prominent places in the cur- 

 riculum. 



The Jesuit College of the Sacred Heart, in the 

 town of Highlands, was established in 1889. 

 The property is valued at $400,000. The 

 grounds cover an upland tract of 50 acres. The 

 building is 4 stories high, 300 feet long by 76 

 feet wide. The instruction includes both clas- 

 sical and commercial courses. There are 82 pu- 

 pils, 13 of whom are in the commercial class. 

 The instructors number 22. 



The Normal School at Greeley graduated this 

 year a class of 23 ; at Colorado College, Colorado 

 Springs, a class of 5. 



The New Capitol. This was so nearly fin- 

 ished that the courts were expected to move into 



