MAINE. 



343 



JOHN F. HILL, 

 GOVERNOR OF MAINE. 



30,406; Lincoln, 19,669; Oxford, 32,238; Penob- 

 scot, 76,246; Piscataquis, 16,949; Sagadahoc, 

 20,330; Somerset, 33,849; Waldo, 24,185; Wash- 

 ington, 45,232; York, 64,885; total, 694,467. 



Finances. The total receipts of the State 

 Treasurer for the two years ending Dec. 31, 1900, 

 were $3,798,923.03; amount of cash on hand, Jan. 

 1, 1900, $154,726.73; amount disbursed during 

 1899 and 1900, $3.754,767.75; balance on hand, 

 Ian. 1, 1901, $198,879.01. The State tax from 



cities, towns, and 

 organized planta- 

 tions for 1899 and 

 1900 was $1,815,- 

 901.96. Of this, 

 $450,168.50 was 

 paid by the 20 cit- 

 ies, $224,923.79 by 

 towns and organ- 

 ized plantations, 

 and $91,650.34 by 

 wild lands. The 

 20 cities paid into 

 the treasury $450,- 

 168.50 more than 

 they received from 

 the school fund, 

 and 239 towns and 

 plantations re- 

 ceived more from 

 the school fund 

 than they paid in- 

 to the treasury. 

 The average net rate of State tax on the 20 

 was $1.56| on each $1,000 valuation; 

 jr towns and organized plantations the average 

 ite was 66| cents. The tax on savings banks 

 >r the two years was $851,566.06; on railroads, 

 $323,052.32; on telegraph and telephone com- 

 mies, $32,888.48; on express companies, $10,- 

 32.67; on insurance companies, $131,405.62; on 

 allateral inheritances, $54,226.64 ; on new corpora- 

 ions, $71,565; other taxes and miscellaneous 

 s, $308,284.28; a total of $1,783,021.07. One 

 \unclred thousand dollars was paid on the public 

 in 1899 and 1900, and the State's bonded 

 idebtedness is now $2,103,000, a reduction of 

 > 16,300 since 1890. The State's outstanding 

 smporary loans amount to $350,000. 

 Education. The total amount of the school 

 ind and mill tax for 1900 was $520,019; the 

 imount of school money raised in towns was 

 "318,001, an increase of nearly 47 per cent, since 

 The normal schools are flourishing, and 

 ibout 30 per cent, of the public school teachers 

 ire normal school graduates. School improve- 

 ment leagues have been formed throughout the 

 e, and w r ork in co-operation with the superin- 

 endents. There are nearly 10,000 of these leagues, 

 they have secured for the schoolhouses a 

 irge quantity of material, from a library to a 

 basket, from an attractive playground with 

 rings and trapeze to wash basins and clean win- 

 iows. School savings banks have been established 

 some of the rural districts, and have met with 

 larked success. In 8 schools, where the attend- 

 ee was 245, the number of depositors was 130; 

 pupils deposited more than $1, and they have 

 ink books. Deposits are rapidly increasing. 

 In 33 unorganized townships schools have been 

 maintained at a cost, the past year, of $2,382.13. 

 Many married persons avail themselves of the 

 privilege thus afforded. The public schools have 

 been maintained at a high standard, and much 

 time and labor have been expended in enlarging 

 and beautifying school grounds and rooms and 

 providing libraries and works of art. The teach- 



ers' institutes and summer schools have not only 

 improved the standing of the schools, but have 

 stimulated the teachers to attend the colleges. 



There are 360 students in the State University. 

 This institution offers special facilities in en- 

 gineering and agriculture, and has courses in 

 preparation for medicine, chemistry, and pharma- 

 cy, as well as thorough classical courses. In the 

 past two years the trustees have built a drill hall, a 

 gymnasium, and an astronomical observatory. The 

 law school is at Bangor, and is proving successful. 



Agriculture. More than half the population 

 is supported by farming, the market for their 

 products being constantly enlarged by the popu- 

 larity of the State's seaside and inland summer 

 resorts. 



The Prohibitory Law. By comparing present 

 conditions with those previous to the enactment 

 of the " Maine law " fifty years ago, it is seen, 

 says the Governor in his address, that in a large 

 majority of country towns there is practical pro- 

 hibition, and in the cities as uniform enforce- 

 ment as of other legislation. 



Banks. On Oct. 27, 1900, the total assets of 

 the 51 savings banks was $71,076,211.67. The 

 resources of the 17 trust companies were $13,- 

 295,402.92. There were 180,914 depositors whose 

 balance was less than $2,000, and the total amount 

 of their deposits was $53,558,289.84; while the 

 number of depositors having a balance of $2,000 

 or more was 5,413, and the total amount of their 

 deposits was $13,681,809.23. The amount of tax 

 paid on savings bank deposits in 1900 was $448,- 

 827.93, an increase of $128,434.21 over the sum 

 paid in 1890. 



The whole number of depositors in savings banks 

 and trust companies, and shareholders in build- 

 ing and loan associations, was 213,980, a gain of 

 11,428 during the year. The Governor says: 

 " If we take from this total the 6,019 demand 

 depositors in the trust companies, it will be seen 

 that nearly one third of the entire population 

 of the State are directly interested in our various 

 savings institutions. The aggregate amount of 

 their capital, if apportioned among the people of 

 the State, would give about $125 to each person, 

 or nearly $600 to each family." 



State Institutions. At the Bath Military 

 and Naval Orphan Asylum 24 orphans were ad- 

 mitted in 1900, the largest number for many 

 years. 



There has been a gradual increase in the num- 

 ber of patients in the Maine Insane Hospital, and 

 it is overcrowded. Nov. 30, 1900, it had 771 pa- 

 tients, an increase of 38 in two years. A new 

 hospital at Bangor is nearly completed. 



The State Prison report shows that there has 

 been a decrease of 37 in the number of convicts. 

 The total gain from goods manufactured last year 

 was $5,937.74. As it cost an average of 9 cents 

 a day to support a prisoner, the State paid $106.66 

 more than it received as profit from the work. 

 Other expenses amounted to $10,092.19. 



There are 60 boys in the Reform School housed 

 in cottages under the best modern conditions, and 

 90 in the main building. The cottage system has 

 proved its value, and more will be built. 



The Industrial School for Girls has 165 girls 

 under its care. Of these, 61 are in the school, 

 14 boarding out, 44 working for their board, and 

 46 receiving wages. They are taught the common 

 English branches, and to sew and knit, do house- 

 work, and care for health and morals. Two build- 

 ings were destroyed by fire within a year, and one 

 has been rebuilt and equipped. 



Fish and Game. The season of 1900 was the 

 most successful in the history of these industries. 





