294 



IDAHO. 



patented lands in 1900 was 2,587,259, with a valu- 

 ation, as equalized, of $12,631,359.55. The total 

 valuation of county assessments, as equalized in 

 1900, is $38,444,937.49, exclusive of railroad, tele- 

 graph, and telephone assessments, which are, re- 

 spectively, $8,931,115, $84,692.68, and $85,160.65, 

 making a total of $47,545,905.82, against $46,- 

 719,990.39 in 1899. The amount of State tax 

 levied for 1900 was $245,000. The value of mines 

 and mining improvements, as given by the as- 

 sessors, amounts to $1,214,211. 



Mineral Yield. The State official reports of 

 the output of precious metals in 1899, with com- 

 parisons from 1898, reaches the following showing: 

 Cold 1899, $1,550,958; 1898, $1,895.566. Silver 

 1899, $2.688,102; 1898, $6,796,541. Total, 1899, 

 $4,239.060; 1898, $8,692,107. The output of lead, 

 1899, was valued at $3,760,553. The grand total 

 for gold, silver, lead, and copper reached $11,- 

 l(:i.!28. That is $2,427,350 less than the State's 

 output for 1898, the decrease being due very 

 largely to the falling off in Owyhee and Shoshone 

 Counties. The fact that the Black Jack mine was 

 closed down last year accounts for a large portion 

 of the Owyhee decrease, and the labor troubles in 

 Shoshone County are accountable for the falling off 

 there. The value of the copper output for 1899 

 was $60,000. The number of quartz mills in the 

 State is 79. 



Railroads. The amount of railroad mileage is 

 1,291.82 miles, the three counties having the great- 

 est mileage being Kootenai, 258.96 miles; Bannock, 

 124.53; and Lincoln, 116.75. In southeastern 

 Idaho 51 miles of new railroad have been built, 

 connecting the town of St. Anthony with the Short 

 Line system at Idaho Falls. This road was con- 

 structed by the Short Line because of the rapid 

 development of the rich agricultural region through 

 which it passes. 



Telegraphs and Telephones. There are 

 1,200.77 miles of telegraph line in Idaho. The 

 telephone wires reach 1,232 miles, with 985.50 of 

 additional wires. 



Live Stock. From the reports of the county 

 assessors it appears that the State contains 162 

 mules, 170,476 cattle, 25,497 hogs, 80,390 horses, 

 and 1,247,693 sheep. 



Irrigation. The greatest irrigation enterprise 

 in the Northwest has been launched in Idaho. 

 Water is to be taken from Snake river to irrigate 

 the vast fertile plains on either side of the stream 

 in the vicinity of Shoshone Falls. The project is 

 to reclaim the land under the Carey act and the 

 State legislation supplementary thereto, and it has 

 progressed so far that the segregation of the land 

 by the State has been made. Altogether, 248,000 

 acres of land have been withdrawn from entry to 

 be reclaimed by the proposed canal system, and of 

 this 200,000 acres are arable and of the highest 

 fertility and can be recovered from the canals 

 projected. The proposed canal on the north side 

 of the river is to be 20 miles long and 25 feet wide 

 on the bottom, and will carry 400 second feet. On 

 that side the State has segregated 31,000 acres, 

 and 2,000 acres of school land arc also covered. On 

 the south side the canal will swing back toward 

 the hills and cover the entire Rock Creek section. 

 It will be 90 feet wide on the bottom, and will 

 carry a stream 9 feet deep, or 3.000 second feet. It 

 will he (>.") miles long, ending at Salmon river. 

 On that side the State has filed on 217.000 acres 

 of land. In addition, 18,000 acres of school land 

 are covered. The cost of the dam and canals will 

 be about $1,500,000. 



The Prison. The total expenditure for the 

 State Penitentiary amounted to $39,819.80 for the 

 fiscal year. From this amount $14,028.38 is de- 



ductable as not being chargeable to maintenance, 

 leaving $25,791.42 as the net cost. The average 

 daily number of prisoners was 150J, the whole 

 number of prison days served 54,854, making the 

 average daily cost per capita 47jV cents. On 

 Nov. 30 there were in the prison 147 State pris- 

 oners and 9 United States prisoners; total, 156. 



Insane. The number of patients remaining at 

 the Black foot Institution on Sept. 30 was as fol- 

 lows: Male, 118; female, 74. This represents about 

 the average number of patients. 



Labor Troubles. The report of the congres- 

 sional Committee on Military Affairs, which con- 

 ducted an investigation of the Coeur d'Alene labor 

 agitation, was submitted on June 5, having been 

 approved by a majority vote of the committee, the 

 minority favoring a substitute report. The ma- 

 jority report says: 



" 1. The Governor of Idaho, in his efforts to 

 establish order and enforce the laws of the State, 

 is to be commended for his courage and fearless- 

 ness. The blind hatred excited by the mob, the 

 consequent disturbance of public business, and the 

 reign of lawlessness are in a fairway to be adjusted. 

 The citizens of Idaho are to be congratulated on 

 the removal of a dangerous cancer that has long 

 threatened the peace and order of the State. The 

 better ideas that prevail as to the rights and duties 

 of men in relation to the preservation of society 

 and this improved condition of affairs are in a 

 great measure due to the conduct of the Governor 

 of that State. 



" 2. The conduct of the military from May 2 to 

 the present, amid the disturbing elements of the 

 Cceur d'Alenes, when fierce passions flamed un- 

 checked, when no hand was raised to stay the 

 dynamiter and the murderer, where the mob has 

 been supreme, is a matter of earnest congratula- 

 tion to the country." 



The report takes up in detail the various meet- 

 ings of the miners' unions the day before and on 

 the day the Bunker Hill mill was blown up with 

 dynamite, the distribution of firearms and masks, 

 and the march on the mill. " This," it says, " was 

 accomplished with military precision under direct 

 command of leaders and without any delay, from 

 which fact, and from the evidence adduced at the 

 Corcoran trial, it is found that there existed in 

 the mining district of the Co3ur d'Alenes a wide- 

 spread, deep-seated, and thoroughly organized con- 

 spiracy." 



The report says the district had been in a state 

 of insurrection since 1892, &nd the condition in 

 1899 culminated in the violent state of insuri-ection 

 and riot. The Legislature - could not have been 

 convened to meet the emergency, and the com- 

 mittee holds that " under the circumstances the 

 Governor was warranted in calling on the Presi- 

 dent for troops." 



As to the President's course, the report says: 

 " It is conceded on all sides that the President of 

 the United States was justified in sending troops 

 to Shoshone County, Idaho, in response to the 

 application of the Governor. The United States 

 troops have now gone into garrison 8 miles from 

 the scene of the trouble, and they are retained 

 at the request of the Governor, supported by a 

 petition of 1,500 citizens. 



" None of the charges pending against the United 

 States army and its officers in Idaho, as set forth 

 in the various paragraphs of the resolution, have 

 been sustained by the testimony. The military 

 force in Shoshone County, under command of Gen. 

 Men-Jam, was used strictly in aid of the civil au- 

 thorities. The sheriff and many other county 

 officials were in collusion with the rioters, and 

 therefore civil authority could not be enforced. 



