68 



CALIFORNIA. 



tion in 1900 of more than 2,000, 19 over 5,000, 

 10 over 10,000, and 4 over 25,000, namely, San 

 Francisco with 342,782, Los Angeles with 102,479, 

 Oakland with 60,960, and Sacramento with 29,282 

 inhabitants. The population of San Francisco, be- 

 ginning with 56,802 in 1860, increased to 149,473 

 in 1870, or 163.1 per cent. For the three succeed- 

 ing decades there has been a normal increase, and 

 the present population is more than six times 

 what it was in 1860. The population of Sacra- 

 mento has increased from 6,820 in 1850 to 13,785 

 in 1860, or 102.1 per cent., and at present is more 

 than four times as great as it was in 1850. The 

 population of Oakland, starting with only 1,543 

 in 1800. increased to 10,500 in 1870, or 580.4 per 

 cent., and to 34,555 in 1880, or 229 per cent. It 

 now has a population of 66,960, or more than 43 

 times as many inhabitants as it had in 1860. The 

 population of Los Angeles was 1,610 in 1850; in 

 1880 it was 11,183, but during the decade from 

 1880 to 1890 it increased to 50,395, or 350.6 per 

 cent., and during the decade from 1890 to 1900 to 

 102,479, or 103.3 per cent. 



In the two years ending Nov. 1, 1899, new 

 fourth-class post offices to the number of 166 were 

 established in the State. 



The other cities having more than 5,000 are: 

 San Jose, 21,500; San Diego, 17,700; Stockton, 

 17,506; Alameda, 16,464; Berkeley, 13,214; Fresno, 

 12,470; Pasadena, 9,117; Riverside, 7,973; Vallejo, 

 7,965; Eureka, 7,327; Santa Rosa, 6,673; Santa 

 Barbara, 6,587; San Bernardino, 6,150; Santa Cruz, 

 5,659 ; Pomona, 5,526. 



Valuations. The valuations of property in the 

 State, as given in the Comptroller's official report 

 for this vear, amounts to $1,218,292,457, made up 

 as follows: Value of real estate, $669,905,988; im- 

 provements on real estate, $272,447,321 ; personal 

 property, $184,380,015; money and solvent credits, 

 $43,847,378; railroads, $47,711,755. The rate of 

 State taxation is 49.8 cents. 



The original assessed value of mortgages is 

 $156,444,755; the assessed value of university and 

 other State mortgages, $1,180,985. The total 

 county indebtedness is $3,629,379.40, of which 

 $3,502,700 is funded. 



The total valuation this year is $24,527,684 

 greater than in 1899. There is a falling off in the 

 amount of solvent credits and money, and, on the 

 other hand, a decrease in the value of mortgages 

 amounting to $4,416,237. Mortgages have in- 

 creased during the year in those sections of the 

 State only where the rains last winter were scant 

 and the people have not fully recovered from the 

 effects of a series of dry seasons. 



The funded and floating debts of counties have 

 been reduced. Many counties have made ex- 

 pensive improvements, but without incurring new 

 debts. 



Education. The State University graduated a 

 class of 353 in May. " It was the first time in the 

 history of Berkeley that the gowns appropriate 

 to the various collegiate degrees had been worn 

 by the entire faculty, and the draped satin, velvet, 

 and silk indicative of so much erudition and aca- 

 demic distinction made the parade down the 

 campus a long-to-be-remembered feature of this 

 gala day of the college year. The graduating class 

 wore the plain black silk undergraduate gowns, 

 I >ut there were tasseled mortar boards, flowing 

 sleeves, and low-hanging silk hoods that repre- 

 M-nteil evciy degree given in America and nearly 

 every noteworthy institution of learning in this 

 country, besides many of England's and Germany's 

 universities. The gowns of university graduates 

 wore trimmed in velvet, the bachelors being dis- 

 tinguished by long, pointed sleeves and three-foot 



hoods; the masters by full square sleeves and 

 three-and-one-half-foot hoods; the doctors by 

 sleeves of three velvet bars, gold tasseled mortal- 

 boards, and four-foot hoods. The color of the out- 

 side of the hood in each instance shows the de- 

 partment in which the degree is granted, white 

 designating letters or arts; blue, philosophy; yel- 

 low, science; green, law; and purple, medicine. 

 The inside of the hood displays the colors of the 

 university at which the degree was granted." Of 

 49 appointments made in the year 1899-1900, 31 

 are of graduates of the university. 



A tract of 20 acres adjoining the campus is to 

 be added to the grounds, and a part has already 

 been bought. Hearst Hall will be moved to the 

 new ground, and fitted up as a gymnasium for the 

 woman students. Mrs. Jane K. Sather has given 

 about $100,000 to the university for a chair of 

 Classical Literature and a law library, to become 

 available at her death; in the meantime she is to 

 receive the income of the property, which the 

 regents are to invest. Mrs. Hearst has made pro- 

 vision for a series of archaeological explorations 

 in Egypt, Greece, Etruria, South and Central 

 America, Mexico, and California, under charge of 

 the university. 



At the Wilmerding school 140 boys are learning 

 trades. A building has been erected and equipped 

 with machinery, at a cost of $60,000. 



The graduating class of the normal school at 

 San Jose in June numbered 86. 



The corner stone of a memorial chapel was laid 

 at Stanford University, Jan. 29. A course of 

 lectures on horticulture was given to the fruit 

 growers of the State during the week of Feb. 

 19-24, at Stanford. 



The experience of California in publishing its 

 own schoolbooks is thus set forth : " Our appro- 

 priations from taxation to date for this purpose 

 have been, for plants $466,000 and for ' compila- 

 tion ' $40,000, total $506,000, for which we have 

 to show a worn-out plant and a lot of book plates 

 which could not be sold to anybody except as old 

 metal. In the meantime for all these years we 

 have been paying for books which, for the most 

 part, no school would take as a gift, unless, like 

 our schools, they were compelled by State law to 

 use them, at prices decidedly higher than the best 

 books in the world can be obtained for in the open 

 market." 



Banks. From a table made up from the re- 

 turns of the Bank Commissioners in the past ten 

 years it is learned that the amounts on deposit 

 in all the banks of the State has risen from a 

 total of $171,229,531.61 in 1890 to $279,838,089.35 

 in 1900. There has been an increase every year 

 except in 1893-'94, when there was a falling olf 

 of $2,395,841.49. The increase from July 1, 1899. 

 to Aug. 11, 1900, was $22,973,693.88. The amount 

 on deposit in savings banks was $98,442.007.01 in 

 1890: it had risen to $145,943,102.59 in 1S99. and 

 to $158,167,402.61 in 1900, with 214,250 individual 

 depositors. 



Militia. The organized military force of the 

 State, as given in the figures of the Adjutant Gen- 

 eral's office, is 4,202 men ; the number of men liable 

 for service, but unorganized, 211,991. 



Railroads. The first through passenger train 

 over the recently completed Santa Fe system from 

 Chicago to San Francisco arrived at the latter 

 place June 30. 



The suit of the Railroad Commissioners to com- 

 pel the Southern Pacific to observe the order of 

 the commission in the Fresno rate case (see Annual 

 Cyclopsedia for 1S9<), page 97). was decided against 

 the company in June, in the Superior Court. The 

 case will be ended, however, only by the decision 



