452 



MAINE. 



eral, Frederick A. Powers ; Superintendent of 

 Common Schools, Nelson A. Luce ; Railroad 

 Commissioners, A. W. Wildes, in office since 

 1862, died Sept. 3, and Frederic Danforth suc- 

 ceeded him ; other members of the board are 

 D. N. Mortland, B. F. Chadbourne ; Adjutant- 

 General, Selden Connor; Commissioner of In- 

 dustrial and Labor Statistics, S. W. Matthews ; 

 Insurance Commissioner, Stephen W. Carr; 

 Fish and Game Commissioner, Thomas H. 

 Wentworth ; Forest Commissioner, C. E. Oak ; 

 State Librarian, Leonard D. Carver; Bank 

 Examiner, Charles R. Whitten ; Chief Justice 

 of the Supreme Court, John A. Peters ; Associ- 

 ate Justices, Charles W. Walton, Lucilius A. 

 Emery, Enoch Foster, Thomas H. Haskell, 

 William P. Whitehouse, Andrew P. Wiswell. 

 Judge Artemas Libbey, who had served ever 

 since 1875, with the exception of an interval of 

 less than one year, died March 15. He was suc- 

 ceeded by Sewall C. Strout. All the State 

 officers are Republicans. 



Valuations. The report of the State assess- 

 ors gives the following figures: Total polls, 

 178,676, an increase of 11,298 over 1892. The 

 assessed valuation of real estate, $232,038.232, 

 shows a gain of $14.113,927 over 1892 ; personal 

 estate, $3,246,170 loss, it now being $74,848,812 ; 

 wild land shows a valuation of $17,103,317, the 

 loss being $692,263 ; timber and grass on public 

 lands is valued at $487,960, aggregating a gain 

 of $76,546 over last year; the total value of the 

 State is $324,478,321, a gain of $10,148,140 over 

 1892. Among the cities, the valuation assessed 

 on Portland is $40,897,691; Bangor, $13,984,- 

 288 ; Lewiston, $13,741,677 ; Biddeford, $8,083,- 

 025 ; Augusta, $7,707,389. 



Finances. The receipts from all sources for 

 the year ending Dec. 31, 1893, including the 

 balance in the treasury Jan. 1, 1893, were $2,- 

 169,598.35. The disbursements during that time 

 were $1,833,881.71. The receipts for the year 

 ending Dec. 31, 1894, including the balance in 

 the treasury Jan. 1, 1894, were $1,986,689.01. 

 The disbursements during the year were $1,528,- 

 493.16. There was a balance in the treasury on 

 the first day of January, 1895, of $458,195.85. 



The net 'indebtedness of the State has been 

 reduced in twenty years from $5,570,876 to $2,- 

 403,000. The outstanding 3-per-cent. bonds 

 command a premium. During the years 1893- 

 '94 the bonded indebtedness was reduced $103,- 

 300, and a temporary loan of $300,000 has been 

 paid entire from the receipts of the treasury. 



The State tax for 1893 was 2| mills on a 

 dollar, and for 1894 2^ mills. 



The suit against the Grand Trunk Railway, 

 dating from 1881, has been settled in full, $182,- 

 797.01 having been paid into the State treasury 

 May 1, 1893, the taxes amounting to $134,238.66 

 and the interest to $48,558.35. 



The World's Fair Commission turned $6,000 

 into the treasury in 1894, and retained a bal- 

 ance of $1,236 to meet bills that might be pre- 

 sented later. The State building was taken 

 down, to be removed to Poland and rebuilt for 

 a library. 



Banks. The gain in number of depositors in 

 savings banks during the year was 1,782, and in 

 deposits $1,269,914.38. The bank examiner says 

 of the new law in reference to banks : 



The Legislature of 1893 amended the law relating 

 to the taxation of savings banks by requiring the 

 banks to make semiannual returns to this depart- 

 ment, and the bank examiner to fix a market value 

 on all securities, and transmit the same to the State 

 assessors for the assessment of the tax. Under the 

 new law the reserve fund and profit account are 

 included with the deposits as a basis for taxation 

 and a discrimination made in favor of home invest- 

 ments acquired subsequent to Jan. 1, 1893. 



The report of the national banks of Maine, 

 given by the Comptroller, shows the total re- 

 sources to be $36,460,977.72. 



State Institutions. The Insane Hospital at 

 Augusta had 671 patients, Dec. 1, 1893. During 

 the year 284 were admitted and 275 discharged, 

 leaving, Dec. 1, 1894, a total of 680, of whom 

 366 were men and 314 women. The per cent, of 

 recoveries for the past year, based on the num- 

 ber under treatment,, has increased somewhat, 

 being 8'79, against 7'71 the preceding year. The 

 per cent, of recoveries, based on the number of 

 admissions, has been 29*57. against 26'13 the pre- 

 ceding year. 



Improvements have been made in the system 

 of drainage and in the farm buildings, and two 

 of the main buildings have been renovated and 

 repaired. Electric lights have been put in, and 

 the coal wharf enlarged. Disbursements from 

 the Coburn fund, amounting to $1,753.30, have 

 been made for amusements and improvements 

 to the hall, and $3,305.90 has been spent on the 

 library. The buildings are overcrowded. The 

 farm is well cultivated and productive. 



The School for the Deaf and Dumb, at Port- 

 land, has 55 pupils, and 21 blind children are 

 being educated by the State at the institute in 

 South Boston. 



The Bath Military and Naval Asylum has 48 

 inmates. 



The Industrial School for Girls, at Hallowell, 

 reported the average number 65 ; admitted dur- 

 ing the year, 36. The expenses for the year 

 amount to about $8,790. The annual appropria- 

 tion is $7,000, and $1,329 was received from 

 cities and towns. The. bequest fund now 

 amounts to $15,107. Girls showing aptitude for 

 advanced studies have been sent to academies 

 and seminaries, in most instances working their 

 way through. One of the dormitories was 

 burned in July, with no loss to the State. 



The State Reform School for Boys is crowded, 

 and there is need for new buildings the coming 

 year. Following is a part of the report : Whole 

 number of boys admitted since the school was 

 opened, 2,102; number of boys admitted in 

 1894, 46 ; number of boys admitted in 1893, 35 ; 

 number in school, Dec. 1, 1894, 140. The tend- 

 ency toward increase of number of admissions 

 does not indicate increase of crime, but rather, 

 as the institution has become better known, ;md 

 the beneficent results of the discipline and edu- 

 cational work has caused boys to be admit led 

 who have really not developed criminal tend- 

 encies, to prevent their falling into crimi 

 ways. The expenses, by the last annual re{ 

 were $28,959.47. 



The cost of the State Prison to the State in 

 1893 and 1894 was $44,350. The total for sup- 

 port of the criminal insane, of whom there were 

 19 remaining on Dec. 1, was $5,096.89. The 

 manufacturing industries have been profitable. 



