394 



KENTUCKY. 



the $100." But in July the following was pub- 

 lished: 



State -Treasurer Hale has closed the treasury until 

 Oct. 1, when two fifths of the total amount of the 

 school money due the teachers, or over $850,000, will 

 have to be paid. The collections of the revenue due 

 on April 1 did not meet the expectations of the Treas- 

 urer, and he could see no way out of the difficulty of 

 meeting the immediate demands on the treasury and 

 providing for the accumulation of the school money 

 other than by entire suspension of the payment of all 

 claims. There is a deficit of more than $627,181 in 

 the general expenditure fund, out of which all the 

 current expenses of the Government are paid, and an 

 actual deficit in the treasury as a whole, when the 

 sums credited to the sinking and school funds are 

 taken into account, of more than $277.577. 



On Dec. 29 it was announced that the funds 

 were exhausted, and the salaries due Dec. 31 to 

 State officers could not be paid. 



The people of Union County are resisting the 

 payment in full of bonds issued in aid of a rail- 

 road. One township has voted to take $15,000, 

 and another $60,000, in bonds, to be delivered 

 when the road should be completed. Work was 

 begun, and all seemed to be going so well that 

 the company's alleged agent induced the county 

 officers to sign and deliver the bonds. As soon 

 as signed they were hurried off, and soon after- 

 ward the work on the proposed railway stopped. 

 The bonds were sold to third parties for 73 cents 

 on the dollar. The people will pay that amount, 

 but will resist any attempt to collect the whole. 



The $600,000 refunded by the Government for 

 the war tax was placed in the school fund, but 

 was borrowed for general expenses, and a per- 

 petual bond bearing interest was placed to the 

 credit of the school fund. The Superintendent 

 of Public Instruction issued a letter to county 

 superintendents in July, in which he said : " The 

 Auditor's estimate, due this day, in accordance 

 with the revised law, has been rendered, and I 

 find that a per capita of only $2.75 can be de- 

 clared. This will be in the nature of a disap- 

 pointment, as it has been contemplated that at 

 least the rate of last year could be maintained." 



In the suits against the sureties of ex-Treasurer 

 Tate a decision was given in the circuit court in 

 May, holding the bondsmen liable for $24,566.24, 

 with interest from date. This judgment covers 

 defalcations occurring in 1886-'88, and was a 

 practical victory for the State. After the judg- 

 ment was rendered a conference of the attorneys 

 for the defense with the Attorney-General and 

 another for the Commonwealth resulted in an 

 agreement to the effect that the Commonwealth 

 was to bear the cost of the suit, and the defense 

 would not appeal the case but pay the judgment 

 at once. 



The Penitentiary. A sensation was created 

 at Frankfort, in April, by the discovery of an al- 

 leged conspiracy for an outbreak in the Peni- 

 tentiary. Six of the convicts were implicated, 

 and made a confession after the discovery of a 

 plan to saw out one of their cells at night, un- 

 lock the others, kill the night guard nearest 

 them, and escape. Duplicate keys were found 

 in their possession. In September a similar plot 

 was discovered by means of the report of a man 

 who overheard the conspirators talking. It was 

 their purpose to make an attempt as the guards 

 and prisoners were going to supper. With 4 



large knives made from files they intended to 

 kill the guards and take their weapons, then kill 

 the guard on the wall between the male and fe- 

 male wards, and make their escape by passing 

 over the wall. They were placed in irons and in 

 separate cells, and all made confession. Eighteen 

 or more were in the plot. 



The south section of the prison warehouse was 

 destroyed by fire Nov. 12. It was filled with 

 chairs, the property of contractors. 



Banks. A report made to the General As- 

 sembly by the Secretary of State, in February, 

 said that a great number of corporations in the 

 State had not complied with that section of the 

 law placing banks, trust companies, and build- 

 ing and loan associations under the supervision 

 of the Secretary of State, and were liable to the 

 penalties prescribed. Following are extracts 

 from the report : 



There are at present 168 State and 13 private banks 

 in the State. The former have made 3 sets of reports, 

 of dates July 1, Sept. 23, and Dec. 23, 1893. The lat- 

 ter have made 2 sets of reports, of dates June 1 and 

 Dec. 23, 1893. Sixteen foreign building and loan as- 

 sociations have obtained certificates to do business. 

 The foreign building and loan associations generally 

 claim that the provisions of the corporation law charg- 

 ing them $25 for each certificate to do business, $25 for 

 license for each agent, $10 for annual reports, and the 

 provisions of the revenue and taxation law imposing a 

 tax of 2 per cent, on business done in this State, are op- 

 pressive, and most of them claim that they have only 

 obtained certificates for the purpose of winding up their 

 business and withdrawing from the State. There are 

 now about 175 home or local building and loan as- 

 sociations in the State. 



Another section of the law the enforcement of 

 which appears to be difficult is the following : 



The stockholders of each bank organized under 

 this article shall be individually responsible, equally 

 and ratably, and not one for the other, for all con- 

 tracts and liabilities of such bank, to the extent of 

 the amount of their stock at par value in addition to 

 the amount of such stock; but persons holding stoek 

 as fiduciaries shall not be personally liable as stock- 

 holders, but the estate in their hands shall be liable 

 in the same manner and to the same extent as the 

 property of other stockholders, and no transfer ot 

 stock shall operate as a release of any such liability 

 existing at the time of such transfer ; provided the 

 action to enforce such liability shall be commenced 

 within two years from the time of the transfer ; and 

 the directors of each bank shall, in January of I'lK'h 

 year, file with the Secretary of State a correct list of 

 the stockholders and officers of such hank. 



Insurance. The report of the Commissioner 

 of Insurance, made in April, was for the year 

 ending June 30, 1893. From this it appears 

 that the stock fire and fire-marine insuranc 

 companies of other States and foreign counti 

 received $2,638,125 in the State, and paid 1( 

 amounting to $1,941.807. 



Production. The production of coal in 

 was given in the report of the Geological Sin 

 as 2,865,010 short tons, of the value of $2,4 

 973. 



The per cent, of a full crop of corn on the 

 day of July, averaged for ten years, gives Ken- 

 tucky 93 2. The yield for 1893 was 68,008.000 

 bushels, and for 1894 it was 67,892,000 bushels. 



Homes and Farms. The census statistics 

 for Kentucky are as follow : 34'73 per cent, of 

 the farm families hire, and 65'27 per cent, own 

 the farms cultivated by them ; 4-06 per cent, of 



