RHODE ISLAND. 



609 



Eight towns took advantage of the new law for 

 granting State aid to high schools. The Normal 

 School graduated a class of 52 in June. 



The endowment fund for Brown University had 

 reached $1,031,100 at the time of commencement. 

 In addition, a bequest of $45,000 had been made 

 by Mr. Van Wickle for a gateway and administra- 

 tion building, and Mrs. H. N. Slater had given her 

 residence for a home for students of Pembroke; 

 it will accommodate 20 students. The whole 

 number of students in 1899-1900, including gradu- 

 ates and special students, and those of Pembroke 

 College, was 870. The number of graduates after 

 the last commencement was 5,267, of whom 172 

 were women. 



Fifty free public libraries are receiving aid from 

 the State. 



The report of the trustees of the School for the 

 Deaf shows: Number of pupils, 68; number of 

 boys, 39; number of girls, 29; present attend- 

 ance, 66. 



Militia. The annual return of the organized 

 Naval Militia shows 15 officers,, 32 petty officers, 

 and 157 enlisted men, a total of 204. The annual 

 return of the organized militia shows 156 officers, 

 287 noncommissioned officers, 47 musicians, 836 

 privates, a total enlisted force of 909, with an 

 aggregate of 1,356. This was divided as follows: 

 Brigade and general staff, 19: cavalry, 111; char- 

 tered companies, 342 ; batteries, 57 ; infantry, 740 ; 

 signal corps, 5 ; hospital corps, 41 ; machine gun 

 battery, 41. 



The appropriations for the militia during the 

 year amounted to $51.500. 



The encampment at Quonset was attended by 

 about 84 per cent, of the brigade, the largest at- 

 tendance in recent years. The Naval War College 

 opened at Newport. June 4. 



Charities and Corrections. Of the State in- 

 stitutions at Cranston, the Governor said in his 

 message: " The most important step taken by the 

 Board of State Charities and Corrections in the 

 year now closed is the signing of the contract for 

 the construction of the dining hall and service 

 building at the State Hospital for the Insane, 

 work on which has begun. The need of additional 

 accommodations at the State Prison and Provi- 

 dence County jail has been referred to in the an- 

 nual reports of the board for a number of years, 

 and it is as serious now as before. On Nov. 1 

 there were 189 State prisoners, 65 of whom had to 

 be placed in the jail wing, leaving but 59 cells and 

 the temporary building to accommodate 245 men, 

 114 men having to be placed in the 59 cells. The 

 total capacity of the 5 homes, or cottages, at 

 the Sockanosset School for Boys is 250 beds, 50 

 in each home. On Nov. 1 the number of boys at 

 the school, 354, exceeded the capacity of the homes 

 by 104. The superintendent of the Oaklawn 

 School for Girls reports the same overcrowded 

 condition as that of the Sockanosset School. 

 There are now 42 girls at the school, with about 

 20 outside, in families. The building has accom- 

 modations for about 30, or possibly 35, although 

 it holds all who are now there." 



The annual report of the Board of Soldiers' Re- 

 lief shows that the membership of the home, Dec. 

 31. 18fl!t. was 186, and that there was a net gain 

 >t S members during the year. Since the opening 

 )f the home 490 have been admitted. The aver- 

 igo age of the members of the home was sixty, 

 >n Dec. 31, and the average number present dur- 

 ng the year 1899 was 156. The average cost of 

 Maintenance per capita was $247.69. There were 

 I 137 pensioners in the institution at the end of the 

 \ rear, and the total amount of pension money re- 



Hed during the year was $13,436.80. 

 VOL. XL. 39 A 



The State Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 

 to Children reported having investigated 360 new 

 cases, involving 631 children. It investigated 100 

 more cases than in 1899, and bettered the con- 

 dition of 185 more children. 



Banks. Thirty-five savings banks and insti- 

 tutions for savings, of which 6 are in process 

 of liquidation, tiled reports for 1900. The follow- 

 ing items furnish data as to these institutions: 

 Number of institutions for savings, 35; amount 

 of deposits, $74,846,759.30; number of depositors, 

 148,695; number depositing $500 and under $1,000, 

 19,600; number depositing $1,000 and upward, 

 23,400; number depositing under $500, 105,695; 

 average rate per cent, of annual dividend for 1900, 

 3.93; amount of reserved profits, $2,395,934.31; 

 increase of deposits from previous years, $1,660,- 

 135.29; increase of depositors, 2,874; average de- 

 posits to each depositor, $503.36. 



Several banks were consolidated in 1900 with 

 the Industrial Trust Company. Eleven trust 

 companies filed statements this year, 3 more than 

 last year. The aggregate capital of these com- 

 panies amounts to $4,107,634, against $2,808,829 

 in 1899 an increase of $1,298,804. A large por- 

 tion of this increase viz., $1,100,000 represents 

 the capital stock of the three newly organized 

 companies. They report deposits in participation 

 account to the amount of $16,852.88, and in gen- 

 eral account $23,295,551.65. 



Railroads. From the commissioner's report 

 it appears that the capital stock of the steam 

 roads owned and operated in this State is $105,- 

 582,475; total indebtedness, $71.855,919.04; total 

 receipts, $43,858,651.32; net earnings, $6,614,602.- 

 44; miles of road in this State, 209-f; miles single 

 track, 435. 



The capital stock of the electric roads is $16,- 

 582.000: total indebtedness, $4,410,054.70; total 

 receipts, $2,609,572.26; expenditures, $1,644,029.- 

 26; net earnings, $965,543; miles of road in this 

 State, 208+ ; miles single track, 248. 



Products and Industries. The report of the 

 factory inspectors for 1900 says : " We have in- 

 spected 595 establishments during the year 1900. 

 This is an increase of 46 over the number visited 

 in 1899. The new establishments are pretty 

 evenly distributed among the varied industries 

 of the State. The number employed in the vari- 

 ous establishments coming under the law was 

 found to be as follows: Males of sixteen years of 

 age and over, 44.337 ; females of sixteen years of 

 age and over, 32,215; whole number of adults, 

 76,552. Males under sixteen years of age, 2.844; 

 females under sixteen years of age, 2,409; whole 

 number of children, 5,253. Total number em- 

 ployed, 81,805. A comparison of the foregoing 

 figures with those reported last year shows an 

 increase of 2,502 in the number of men employed, 

 an increase of 1,754 in the number of women em- 

 ployed, an increase of 289 in the number of boys 

 employed, and an increase of 298 in the number 

 of girls employed, a total increase of 4,843." 



There have been strikes during the year at the 

 Lonsdale mill, and at Warren, Westerly, and 

 Pawtucket, the most serious being at the Lor- 

 raine mills, in Pawtucket. This began about 

 April 11. The cause, as stated by the weavers' 

 committee, was that, while there was a general 

 increase in wages throughout the country about 

 six months before, there was none at the Lor- 

 raine mills. When the weavers applied for an in- 

 crease, the treasurer offered advances on certain 

 kinds of cloth, which amounted to about 1 per 

 cent, of a general advance: but he proposed that 

 the weavers take 4 looms instead of 3, which 

 would give $12.60 a week instead of $10.80, pro- 



