10 



showed a lanre gain over the collections made for 

 the rear preriouv -.-., t..- 



ended amounting to $22.000 more than the few 

 ... st I |j mi vi riti M 



IvTeolleeiions: Miscellaneonm $ 

 .14; 





1.33. The total gain was 



uwerw.-The annual n-xiew Ic of 



the port of Mobile. published brine "Reg. 



.1 Iherx) 



.. >,;. ..- sio.i. :.!-..:,,, - Hi.Wtt.ls: 

 he prerioos rear an increase of 45 p. i 

 greatest iinnieam were in the timb, r and lum- 

 rade,and in the export* 



cotton being 806.689 bales, awOn* 



i* rear. The statement 



made thai )>ut f--r (he lark of room in ste.-im. -r- the 

 would have 1- mm-h 



larpr (tjual in nm.uinl to I lie above in- 



crease bad to be refused by (he steamship 

 but arrangementa were being made for additional 

 teaman. -f lumber 



mounted to 68.000.000 sujHTiieial feet, mi increase 

 '.000.000 f.tt. which increaae was about the 

 MOM aa was note<l the previous year. Then* 

 :. 006,528 cubic feet of fiewcd and 7 



feet Of sawe.l tniil..T. of the Intt-T about 



6yflMKl.(MNi f '..the Tinted Kingdom. Tin- 



total hunt and coastwise, was 



ili.- total of luuih-r and timber in 

 :i< nil feet was 200,788,490 against HW.4(W,106. 

 In shingles and hard wood there was considerable 

 increase. Tli.- rec.-ipt- of grain at the prt 

 ; BOgMf i .--..-. agai.M -J.:::;i.s71 il,.- previous 

 and there were e\ .'" l.usli.-ls, 



showing that the exportsof grain for tin 

 creator than the receipts of tin- year previous. 

 x (torts of flour were 2Q.4~>\ barrels, and of 

 i-Mvd meal 38.780 socks. For the fir>t time 

 r history Mobile exported pig iron from the 

 ngham furnaces, tne exports amounting to 

 52.000 tons. The Central American business of the 

 port showed considerable increase, the Plant line 

 handling 56.394 tons against 37,600 t.-n- the previ- 

 ous year. There was a falling off in vegetable 

 shipments from truck gardens of about $9,0<M) in 

 value. The wool business reached 225,000 pounds. 

 an increase of 50,000 over the previous \.-ar.aml an 

 increase in value of $15,000. There we're imp 

 2.067.7V, bunches of bananas, against 1,8K 



>es the previous year, and the imports of oo- 



coanutswere 8,405,425 ajr- I the Tear 



-nts were made in wharf 



facilities during the year, representing about 

 f l.'io.OOO in value. These imnrovmients. mnd- !> 

 the Mobile and Ohio and the Mobile and Birming- 

 ham Railroad*, will, when fullv completerl. double 

 the -a|MM-ity f.r loacling steamships. Th- financial 

 oondinon of the city was renortc<l better than it 

 had been for twenty years. The amount of cash m 

 hand to the credit of the city An- 1 was $.V, 

 an increaae of $24.779 over tM i.n-\ 



ladnHtrlet. The .-utput of coal in" 1896 was 

 '.97 tons ; in 1807, about 6.000.000 tons. The 

 lotnl amount of eoal dug ev. , Jefferson 



County alone amounted to about" 19,000 t 



The most imjK.rtant discovery made in the Bir- 

 mingham district since it was ascertained some 

 years ago that Alabama coal could be coked. < 

 to light at Leeds, where n of high-grade 



brown iron ore was found. 10 to 40 feet below the 

 surface and about 10 feet thick. Forty or* i 

 were made, and in all but 3 apparently eonnB 



-f brown on- -*ed. ft had been 



thought that this quality of ore existed only in 



pockets and small deposits in the State. Tl. 

 analyzed fn>m J'.i to .YJ pn-eent. of pure iron and 

 .-y to flux, thus n-mlerinj; it -iuiva- 

 Init to6<>-p. r-c. lit. ores. 



The llrst run of steel by the open-hearth ba-ir 



ss was male .Inly *J:{ at the n. \v r.0-t,,i. 

 mill ..f the Birmingham Itolling Mill Company. 

 The process was the same by which low silicon pi'c 

 iron, made in that district, of Alabama r 

 the Tennessee Coal. Iron. an. 1 Company, 



was converted into M. < 1 at Pittsburg and Chi 

 By the middle the Birmingham mill be- 



^'an regularly t" u^.- tlii> n.-w ^',-rl in all its d- 

 ments. Theretofore stcd billri> had bi-en brought 

 from Pitt-bur^ to be rolled in the plate and n-d 

 milK of that company. The company f.Mind a 

 all it.s p"nduct. In August 11 fur- 



bhist in the Birmingham district, 



makin M of iron daily. 



In March a rich bed of lead ore was di-< 

 in the vicinity of New Market, analysis of which 

 showed enough silver to jray for the working, 

 from I he laru'e : id. < in ain>t her 



tract in the same section was fou i id a four- foot 

 of coal. A company was organ i/.cd t develoj, 



l.dncation.- The state has established 'J:: insti- 

 tut ions of learning, putting at least one in 

 congressional district. There ap| 

 di-nce of a general educational revival in the B 

 and schools, from the lowot to the high' 



having been uncommonly pro>p> 

 The - nial Coll- 7; I 



students. State appropriation $5,000, total in 

 $11,47!). value of proper- nor- 



mal school at Florence. :u'o st . i'pnt- 



j.riation ^7.- r )<<). total income ^14.1 Hi. value of 

 property s.V).(K.O: the Slate normal school at .laek- 

 sonville". 'j:!(i Muden- ;.pn.priat ion s; 



total income $4,900, value <(' property *1" 

 the Normal ('..liege for (JirK at Livii, 

 students. State appropriat imi ^'J.."(K). vali, 

 property $!.").(( id; li ! mlustrial S<-hool. at 



vallo, :!."><> pupils. State appropriation $15,- 

 000, value of nroixjrtv $35,000. Following is a 

 : of colored schools: Tuskegee Normal sjid In- 



du-trial School. 1,(>7'J pujiils; total inc' 



-f which amount $77.114 was useil for current 



:.-es. and the remainder went int.. n.-w build- 



: value .f pr-. | "<K). Normal .school 



at Montgomery, 930 students: total income, $13,- 



000; value of property, $30,000. Agricultural and 



Mechanical College at" Normal, 400 students ; total 



incoiue, $30.896. 



Kail roads. : ; Conuni-^ioiier 



Ross C. Smith reported the mi! .ilroad- in 



active operation in the Stat. 

 sen ting a taxable valuation of $45 ,49< i fur- 



nisliing employment to 14,000 men. Le-- t han 1 70 

 miles were in" the hands of i while four 



- prior more than half nf the mileage was forced 

 into bankruptcy. The Commissioner says that "the 

 di-appearance of red . and as "a result the 



reorganization of these once insolvent roads. .--t;il.- 

 lishes the confidence of capitalists in the ultimate 

 success of cur railroad pro|-rty and in the further 

 development "f ur State resources." The : 

 tonnage of railroads in the State for the year re- 

 viewed was given at 11.453,443 tons, and the sum of 

 $2.274,215 was spent in improving the physical con- 

 dition of the railroad-. 



LcirMuthc Session. -"ne. ,f t},,. f,-w important 

 laws passed by the Legislature was that establi-h- 

 ing a tax commissi > mine; thi- law, to 



which there was considerable opposition, the Gov- 

 ernor is quoted as saying : " The question that con- 

 fronted the General Assembly was, how to meet a 



