446 



NOETH DAKOTA. 



000 last year; last year there were 136,000 cows 

 returned, and this year 157,000. 



The number of sheep returned last year was 

 265,000, and this year 306,000. 



The railroads were valued at the same rate as in 

 1899, an average of $6,500 a mile. A small in- 

 crease of mileage added a little to the total. 



The tax rate was made the same, 3.8 mills for 

 general State purposes, 0.5 mill for bond interest, 

 and 0.2 mill for wolf bounty. The amounts or- 

 dered raised by the State board are: For general 

 purposes, $447,600; for interest on the State debt, 

 $58,894; and for wolf bounty, $22,507. 



Education. The school population this year 

 was 92,347, an increase of 8,038 over that of 1899. 

 The largest increase is in those counties in which 

 there was the greatest amount of immigration 

 from other States. About 400 new schoolhouses 

 have been built. Formerly a tax of 2 mills was 

 levied on all property in the State for school pur- 

 poses, and the amount was apportioned accord- 

 ing to the number of children. By the present 

 law the tax in each county is apportioned in the 

 county. From the State are received only fines 

 and the income of the permanent school fund. 

 This fund now amounts to about $920,000. 



The normal schools have each an attendance of 

 about 200. 



The Agricultural College has about 290 stu- 

 dents, nearly 100 of whom were taking a farm 

 course of three months. 



The State High School Board has prepared a uni- 

 form course of study for the high schools, and the 

 superintendent one for the common schools; so 

 that pupils may pass upon certificate from any 

 grammar school to any high school, and from a 

 high school to the university. 



The university opened with an attendance 50 

 per cent, larger this autumn than at the same time 

 in 1899. 



The enrollment at the Indian schools in the 

 State was 1,152, and the average attendance 1,223. 

 A new building is to be erected for the Grand 

 River school. 



Charities and Corrections. The Asylum for 

 the Insane had 344 patients in June. A new ward 

 building and a laundry were built with the $50,000 

 from the bond issue authorized by the Legisla- 

 ture, and another ward building is needed. Ten 

 years ago it cost the State $305.15 for every pa- 

 tient in the hospital. For the biennial period just 

 closed the cost of maintenance was $154.39, and 

 this amount is $20 less than in the preceding bien- 

 nial period. The patients are now maintained at 

 the institution at an average cost of $11.87 a 

 month. 



The report of the School for the Deaf, at Devil's 

 Lake, shows an expenditure during the biennial 

 period of $19,870 for improvements, bringing the 

 value of the property of the institution up to $42,- 

 370. The attendance during the past year was 59, 

 of whom 27 were boys and 32 girls. 



The State has no institution for the blind, but 

 sends 9 pupils this year to the South Dakota 

 School for the Blind. 



During the first year of the State Manual Train- 

 ing School 160 students were enrolled, and 50 

 others were denied admission, the equipment be- 

 ing insufficient. 



The biennial report of the Penitentiary shows 

 that there were 122 convicts at the end of the 

 year. The twine plant was finished and put into 

 operation in March. There are three buildings, 

 fitted with machinery sufficient for turning out 

 10,000 pounds of binding twine a day. A complete 

 electric plant and a new inclosing wall are among 

 the other improvements. 



Military. The State militia in 1899 consisted 

 of: General staff, 9; cavalry, officers 7, enlisted 

 men 44; light battery, officers 3, enlisted men 53; 

 infantry, officers 40, enlisted men 517; total, 673. 



A monument to the memory of the soldiers of 

 Company C of the North Dakota Volunteers who 

 fell in the Philippines was dedicated at Grafton in 

 October. It was built by citizens of Grafton and 

 Walsh Counties. 



The new military post at Bismarck is to be 

 called " Fort Abraham Lincoln." 



Banks. Under the new law permitting banks 

 to organize with less than $50,000 capital, 8 

 have been added to the national banks of the 

 State. There were 27 in October, and the abstract 

 of their condition, compared with that of the 24 

 in June, shows that the total resources increased 

 from $7,723,984 to $8,046,884; loans and discounts 

 increased from $5,330,032 to $5,415,750, and cash 

 reserve decreased from $376,769 to $375,814, of 

 which gold holdings fell from $150,477 to $146,200; 

 individual deposits increased from $4,817,994 to 

 $5,015,981 and the average reserve held advanced 

 from 17.30 to 20.01 per cent. 



The resources of the 119 State banks of North 

 Dakota at the close of business Feb. 13 were $8,- 

 590,050.21. Of this, $5,472,809.71 were in loans and 

 discounts. Due from other banks, $l,559,95(Ui:>, 

 with total cash on hand of $770,317. The total 

 capital stock was $1,378,500. Deposits subject to 

 check and certificates of deposit amounted to $6.- 

 486,713.85. Of surplus and undivided profits then; 

 were $521,392. 



Railroads. The first spike in the Bismarck, 

 Washburn and Great Falls Railway was driven 

 May 17. This road will give transportation facili- 

 ties to the residents on 300,000 acres of farming 

 lands in the fertile region north of Bismarck. 

 Washburn is 45 miles north by west of Bismarck. 

 The track was carried into Wilton in July. This 

 is a new town in the lignite district, 24 miles north 

 of Bismarck. 



All the roads in the State reduced their passage 

 rates to 3 cents a mile in April. It is found that 

 about half the 520,000 trees planted along the 

 Northern Pacific in the spring were killed by the 

 dry summer, and it is promised that they shall be 

 replaced the coming spring. 



Orders have been issued to Great Northern ex- 

 press agents to refuse all C. O. D. shipments of 

 liquor. Suits had been brought against several 

 agents for violation of the law by the practice of 

 receiving such consignments. 



Insurance. The report of the Insurance Com- 

 missioner for 1899 shows that the fire, life, acci- 

 dent, and other companies collected $1,302,785.50 

 in premiums alone, on which the State receives 

 $32,569.63 in taxes, the State law providing for a, 

 tax of 2 per cent, on gross premiums. 



Seven new companies have entered the State, 

 and several that withdrew after the great fire at 

 Fargo have returned. The mutual hail and fire 

 companies suffered severely from the hailstorms 

 of the summer, their losses amounting to $IO.">.7 III. 

 Two of them went into the hands of receiver*. 

 The volunteer firemen receive a part of the insur- 

 ance tax. 



Public Lands. The land office at Devil's Lake 

 for the last year did the greatest business of any 

 office in the United St sites. The receipts idi tie 

 office for the year were about $175,000. This l.u-i- 

 ness is due largely to the immigration business 

 done by the Great Northern and the many settlers 

 \\IID li.-ive taken ii|> land along the line in the 

 Devil's Lake district. The Minot and Bismarck 

 offices also showed large receipts. 



The total amount of net revenue from the lard 



