218 



DELAWARE. 



employ doctors, but who coine to the dispensary 

 ana receive free treatment. 



Railroads. The gross earnings of the Wilming- 

 ton and Northern for 1897 ware $435,720.81, and 

 the operating expenses $368,774.06. The rental of 

 leased lines, the interest on funded and floating debts 

 and mortgages, and on car-trust certificates and 

 the taxes leave the net income $7.433.31. The 

 mileage, including branches and lines operated 

 under contract, is 92.30. 



The gross earnings of the Delaware Railroad 

 amounted to $1,087,466.36, and the operating ex- 

 penses to $766,303.69 ; the interest, taxes, etc.. to 

 $52,139.01 ; the dividends, $161,239.50; the surplus, 

 after all deductions, $93.783.57. There was a de- 

 crease in receipts in 1897 of $208,892.28, due largely 

 to the virtual failure of the peach crop on the 

 peninsula. A new lease was made to the Philadel- 

 phia, Wilmington and Baltimore, under which the 

 entire net earnings are paid over to the Delaware 

 company. The gross earnings of the Delaware and 

 Ch.'sapeake were $96,881.04; the expenses, $86,- 

 037.84; deductions, $21,109.22; deficit, $10,266.02. 

 The gross earnings of the Delaware, Maryland and 

 Virginia were $208,019.10; the expenses, $189,- 

 169.76 ; deficit after deductions, $26,514.52. These 

 also are operated by the Philadelphia, Wilmington 

 and Northern. 



Mineral Oils. The exports of mineral oils dur- 

 ing the eleven months ending with November, 1898, 

 amounted to 82,631,944 gallons, valued at $3,137,- 

 858. This is a little below the record of the cor- 

 responding months of 1897, when there were 84,- 

 081,788 gallons, valued at $3,934,597. 



Failures. A mercantile agency reported 45 

 failures in the State in 1897, with liabilities of 

 $210,800, and assets of $91,950. This is the best 

 showing since 1892, and the amount involved is 

 only about one third as much as in 1896. 



Banks. Trials resulting from the defalcation 

 by which the First National Bank of Dover lost 

 $107,000 in 1897 were in progress during the year. 

 When it became known that the paying teller had 

 defaulted, a run was prevented by the president, 

 who offered to make good all sums due depositors 

 that the bank was not able to pay. The teller re- 

 turned in February, and four others were arrested 

 as accomplices. Two more arrests were made in 

 March. E. T. Cooper was convicted in May on one 

 count of an indictment charging him with con- 

 spiracy to commit an offense against the United 

 States, and sentenced to imprisonment for eighteen 

 months, and the payment of $5,000. Indictments 

 were found in June against others, one being 

 United States Senator Kenney. T. S. Clark was 

 convicted in June on five counts of the indictment. 

 Senator Kenney's trial in July resulted in a dis- 

 agreement of the jury, which stood seven to five for 

 acquittal after seventy-nine hours' consultation. 

 He was again indicted in September, charged with 

 conspiring with W. N. Boggs to misappropriate the 

 funds of the bank, but the trial was postponed till 

 l)ec. 5. It ended in the same way; the jury was 

 discharged after deliberating three days without 

 coming to an agreement. Eight favored acquittal, 

 three were for conviction, and one voted a blank on 

 nearly all ballots. 



An opinion was given in June by the Chancellor 

 in the suit of N. Lieberman to restrain the First 

 National Bank of Wilmington, and an ex-sheriff 

 from collecting on his bonds. Lieberman was 

 surety for the paying teller of the bank in the sum 

 of $30,000. The teller committed defalcations ex- 

 tending over a period of fourteen years or more, 

 and was not detected till 1893. The bonds of the 

 pliiintifT covered only a part of the time. He re- 

 sisted payment on the ground that the bank hail 



not used proper vigilance, and that the teller had 

 been required to perform the duties of bookkeeper, 

 by means of which employment he was enabled to 

 embezzle the money, and that the bond was not 

 given for him as bookkeeper. It was shown on the 

 part of the bank that the work characterized as 

 bookkeeping was the keeping of the individual de- 

 posit ledger, and that it was the custom of many 

 banks at that time to impose that duty upon the 

 paying teller. The opinion denied the injunction, 

 setting aside these and other reasons urged for 

 resisting the payment, and according to its terms 

 about $23,000 may be collected on the bonds. 



Old Swedes' Church. The bicentennial of the 

 laying of the corner stone of this church was cele- 

 brated May 28, and on June 5 the one hundred and 

 ninety-ninth anniversary of its consecration. Efforts 

 are making to raise funds to renovate the church 

 and have it in complete repair for the two hun- 

 dreth anniversary of its consecration in 1899. 



Legislative Session. An adjourned session of 

 the Legislature began Jan. 11 and ended May 30. It 

 was held for the purpose of making such changes 

 and additions to the laws as were needed to make 

 them conform to the provisions of the new Consti- 

 tution. 



A general election law was made, and provision 

 for a uniform ballot. 



The Adams law for taxing investments was re- 

 vised, amended, and passed, was vetoed, and again 

 amended, and received the approval of the Gov- 

 ernor on its second passage, the changes having 

 been made in accordance with his recommenda- 

 tions. The levy courts are required to act imme- 

 diately under the law. 



For the purpose of giving the State militia some 

 training in field duty, an expenditure of $30,000 

 was authorized, and the Governor, who is com- 

 mander in chief, was made custodian of the fund. 

 Another bill permits the Federal Government to 

 acquire land in the State on which to build fortifi- 

 cations. A resolution was passed directing the Gov- 

 ernor to tender the services of the militia to the 

 Government. 



The courts were reorganized according to the 

 requirements of the Constitution. The Court of 

 Appeals is succeeded by the Supreme Court, the 

 Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail 

 Delivery by the Court of General Sessions. The 

 salary of the Chief Justice was fixed at $3,800. and 

 that of each Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 

 at $3,600. Provision was made for a clerk of the 

 Supreme Court. 



May 27 was set apart for receiving portraits of 

 the present Governor and of former governors. 

 which were given to the State and have been placed 

 in the Capitol. Thirty were received, most or them 

 gifts from the families of the governors. 



Among the other acts of the session were the fol- 

 lowing: 



Extending the limits of the city of Wilmington ; 

 authorizing the State Treasurer to borrow $50,000 ; 

 to allow the Delaware soldiers to vote while in the 

 field ; requiring the Levy Court of New Castle 

 County to make an annual appropriation to the 

 Ferris Industrial School, at the rate of $100 for 

 each boy, not to exceed $5.000 in the aggregate for 

 any one year; requiring all bakers to put a pound 

 of weight in each loaf of bread ; granting appropri- 

 ations for teachers' institutes; creating a general 

 school law; providing for the maintenance of the 

 indigent deaf, dumb, and blind, appropriating 

 $5,000; providing for the appointment of registra- 

 tion officers ; preventing illegal arrests of colored 

 people as well as of white people : providing for the 

 maintenance of indigent imbecile children ; making 

 provision for the eradication of infectious diseases 



