350 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



Of the 33 incorporated cities in Massachusetts, 

 8 have between 12,000 and 20,000 inhabitants, 5 

 have between 20,000 and 25,000 inhabitants, and 

 20 have more than 25,000 inhabitants. All the 

 20 principal cities show an increase in population 

 since 1890, the largest percentages being 53.5 for 

 Somerville and 53.2 for New Bedford, and the 

 smallest (5.9) for Gloucester. Boston, with 560,892 

 inhabitants in 1900, shows an increase of 25 per 

 cent, since 1890, which is a slightly higher rate 

 of increase than that for the preceding decade, 

 wl ion it was 23.6 per cent. Worcester, the second 

 largest city in the State, had a population in 1900 

 of 118,421, compared with 84,655 in 1890, consti- 

 tuting an increase during the ten years of 33,700, 

 or 39.8 per cent. Fall River, with 104,863 inhab- 

 itants, is the third city in the State, and shows 

 an increase since 1890 of nearly 41 per cent. Low- 

 ell, with 94.969, and Cambridge, with 91,886 in- 

 habitants, rank fourth and fifth among the cities 

 of the State, the next largest city being Lynn, 

 with a population in 1900 of 68,513. 



Finances. The gross debt of the State is di- 

 vided into two classes the indebtedness for which 

 the whole State is directly liable and the indebted- 

 ness for the payment of which certain cities and 

 towns are liable. These two classes of indebted- 

 ness may be described as the actual State debt and 

 the contingent debt. From each of these classes 

 of indebtedness must be deducted the accumula- 

 tions in the sinking funds applicable to them, in 

 order to show the net actual State debt and the 

 net contingent debt. The actual State debt is 

 made up of the following loans: Abolition of grade 

 crossings loan, $8,000,000; Fitchburg Railroad se- 

 curities loan, $5,000,000 ; harbor improvement loan, 

 $500,000; Massachusetts Hospital for Consump- 

 tives loan, $172,500; Massachusetts Hospital for 

 Epileptics loan, $270,450; Massachusetts war loan, 

 $1,230,000; Medfield Insane Asylum loan, $1,- 

 025,000; metropolitan parks loan, series two, 

 $1,512,500; State highway loan, $3,100,000; four 

 Statehouse loans, $6,185,000; Boston, Hartford and 

 Erie Railroad loan, $973.30; total actual State 

 debt, $26,996,423.30. 



The sinking funds applicable to the actual State 

 debt are: Abolition of grade crossings loan sink- 

 ing fund, $718,147.11; Fitchburg Railroad securi- 

 ties loan sinking fund, $10,000,000; Boston, Hart- 

 ford and Erie Railroad loan sinking fund, $973.30; 

 harbor improvement loan sinking fund, $71,660.28; 

 Medfield Insane Asylum loan sinking fund, $220,- 

 559.85; prison and hospital loan sinking fund, 

 $41,906.26; State highway loan sinking fund, 

 $283,333.99; Statehouse loans sinking fund, $3,- 

 858,031.85; Massachusetts war loan sinking fund, 

 $97,644.21; total, $15,292,256.85. 



One of the Statehouse loans ($2,335,000) will be- 

 come due July 1, 1901, and will be paid out of 

 the Statehouse loans sinking fund. 



The contingent debt is as follows: Armory loan, 

 $1,460,000; metropolitan parks loans, $8,317,500; 

 metropolitan sewerage loans, $8,265,912; metro- 

 politan water loan, $21,000,000; total, $39,043,412. 



The accumulations in the sinking funds applica- 

 ble to the payment of the contingent debt are: 

 Armory loan "sinking fund. $-i:{.">.7ls.67 ; metro- 

 politan parks loan sinking fund, $467,288.13; met- 

 ropolitan sewerage loan sinking fund, $454,520.57; 

 metropolitan water loan sinking fund, $1,573,- 

 619.72; total, $2,931,147.09. 



Of the net contingent debt of .*3(>.l 12,264.91, 

 $34,652,264.91 is to be paid by the cities and towns 

 in the metropolitan water, parks, and sewerage 

 districts. This sum will be increased many mil- 

 lions by loans already authorized but not yet 

 issued. 



The Statutes. In 1896 a commission was ap- 

 pointed to consolidate and arrange the statutes. 

 The work has been completed, and is in the hands 

 of the printer. 



Education. The public schools were kept open 

 in 1900 on an average nine and a half months 

 a month and a half more than the law requires. 

 The expenditure for school support, exclusive of 

 buildings, was $10,677,486; for buildings, $3,148,- 

 757. Of the total expenditure for both purpose-, 

 all but $275,849 came from local taxation. The 

 local taxation for school support amounted to 

 $3.62 for each $1,000 of the State's valuation, or 

 the same as in 1899; for school buildings, to $1.09, 

 or 21 cents less than in 1899. 



In the spring a fund of $50,000, guaranteed by 

 Harvard University, was raised for the purpose of 

 bringing 2,000 Cuban teachers to attend the Har- 

 vard Summer School, and that number of teachers 

 came. Phillips Brooks Memorial Hall was kept 

 open for the exclusive use of the woman teachers, 

 with a Spanish-speaking matron in charge. Most 

 of the instruction was given in Spanish. 



By the will of the Hon. Dorman B. Eaton Har- 

 vard University has a bequest of $100,000, to found 

 a professorship of the science of government. The 

 States that had more than 100 students in the 

 university in 1900 were: Massachusetts, 2,409; 

 New York, 430; Ohio, 155; Pennsylvania, 149; 

 Illinois, 148; Maine, 121. 



Civil Service. The Civil Service Commission- 

 ers report an increase in the number of applicants 

 examined for the classified public service of the 

 Commonwealth and the cities. There are now un- 

 der the protection of civil service rules about 8,000 

 public employees, with an aggregate compensation 

 of, approximately, $8,000,000. The Governor rec- 

 ommends that the Legislature give the commis- 

 sioners more authority to deal with violations of 

 the law. 



The Insane. In his message, Gov. Crane says 

 there is urgent need of additional accommodations 

 for the increasing number of the insane in the hos- 

 pitals and asylums. These institutions are now 

 so crowded that it is necessary to make up each 

 night in the corridors and day spaces about 1,000 

 cot beds. The State care act provides that the 

 State shall assume, Jan. 1, 1904, the support, and 

 so far as possible the care, of the insane who may 

 be in the city and town almshouses. This class 

 now numbers about 900. The increase in the 

 population of the insane hospitals and asylums 

 during the past ten years has averaged about 300 

 annually. The Board of Insanity, in its report, 

 recommends the adoption of a policy to reduce 

 overcrowding by 100 each year, and at the same 

 time to provide for the annual increase of 300. 



The Statehouse. The cost on construction ae 

 count of the Statehouse extension is $3,522,31 3.7'.: 

 for the restoration of the Bulfinch front. :>:5:r>.- 

 496.37; cost of lands purchased, $1,669,859.88: coat 

 of furniture, $576,446.93; total cost of land, build- 

 ings, and furniture, $6,104,116.97. The Governor 

 says: "All the bills have been paid, and the un- 

 expended balance will be quite suflicient to co\ei 

 the cost of the paintings and the completion of 

 Memorial Hall." 



Political. At the election, in November, tlio 

 following State officers all Republicans were 

 chosen: Governor, Winthrop Murray Crane; Lieu- 

 tenant Governor, John L. Bates; Secretary. Wil- 

 liam M. Olin; Treasurer, Edward S. Bradford: 

 Auditor, Henry E. Turner; Attorney-General. 

 Hosea M. Knowlton. To the Executive Coxmcil 

 7 Republicans and 1 Democrat w r ere chosen. The 

 Senate consists of 32 Republicans and 8 Dcin<>- 

 i -rats; the House of 177 Republicans, 60 Demo- 



