272 



FLORIDA. 



$7,200 ; number of students, 213 ; average per stu- 

 dent per year, $33.SO. 



'I'd.- enrollment in the summer schools tins year 

 was 1,026, of whom 733 were whites and 293 negroes, 

 tin- former being 36 per cent., and the latter 46 per 

 cent, of all the teachers employed in the State dur- 

 ing 1897. This was 43 per cent, greater than in 

 1897, 69 per cent, above 1896. and 102 per cent, in 

 excess of 1895. The average daily attendance was 

 678, of whom 484 were whites and 194 negroes. The 

 number of actual teachers was 687, of whom 492 

 were whites and 195 negroes. Those intending to 

 become teachers numbered 339. of which 241 were 

 whites and 98 negroes. The fund provided for these 

 schools consist. '! of an unexpended balance of 

 $285.80; Peabody donations, $1,200; appropriated 

 by the State, $3"000; making a total of $4,485.80. 

 Of this amount, $4,438.98 was expended, $4,317.50 

 going for salaries of instructors. 



Charities. The report o'f the State Asylum for 

 the Indigent Insane for 1897 shows that there were 

 at the end of the year 443 patients, of whom 227 

 wen- men and 216 women, 70 more than at the close 

 of 1896. 



The attendance at the Institute for the Blind and 

 the D-af in lS!)7-'98 was as follows: White deaf 

 b-.ys 15, girls 18; white blind boys 5, girls 14; 

 iici:ro deaf boys 9, girls 9; negro blind boys 1, 

 girls 1. Total white, 42 ; negroes, 20; grand total, 

 62. This is but 42.4 percent, of the actual number 

 of such children in the State. 



Prisons. The number of convicts in all the 

 camps Jan. 1 was 687, an increase of 37 over 1897. 

 ( f these, 91 are white men, 21 colored women, and 1 

 is a white woman. During the year 3(32 were re- 

 ceived and 253 discharged, 6 were pardoned, 31 died, 

 1 was sent to the insane asylum, 4 were killed in at- 

 tempted escapes, and 44 escaped, of whom 11 were 

 recaptured. 



The work of building the Reformatory at Mari- 

 anna. for offenders under sixteen, has been in prog- 

 ri-<s during the latter half of the year. 



Militia. The report of the Adjutant General for 

 1897 shows the total of the active military force of 

 Florida to be 1,134, of whom 94 were officers and 

 l.'iln noncommissioned officers and enlisted sol- 

 diers, a gain of 32 enlisted men during the year. 

 The Naval Militia had an aggregate of 240 men, 28 

 of whom were commissioned officers. 



Insurance. The number of fire insurance com- 

 panies in the Slate is 50; life companies, 11 ; mis- 

 cellaneous (accident, plate-glass and surety com- 

 panies, etc.), 13; total, 74. 



The aggregate premium receipts in Florida for 

 the year isiiT were as follow: Fire, $612.540.19; 

 life, $568,797.86; miscellaneous, $58,676.8:j : total, 

 $1.240,014.88. The aggregate losses paid in Florida 

 during 1H97 were: Fire, $203.615.70; life, K25-1.- 

 408.78; miscellaneous, $45.574.53 : total, $508,590.01. 

 The net outgo for insurance during the year was : 

 Fir.-. $406,04.49; life. $314.:JS!M)S; miscellaneous, 

 $13.102.30; total. $736,415.87. 



Railroads. The Railroad Commission gives the 

 total mileage as 2.!)S7.33. The number of roads re- 

 jxirted on is 22. The commissioners have been 

 busy hearing complaint sand adjusting rates on the 

 roads. A passenger tariff, to go into effect July 18, 

 was published in .lime, whereby the full fare on some 

 WHS made four cents, ami on others three. 



Periodicals. The following list of periodical 

 publications j u the Slate is believed to be accurate: 

 Dailies, 20; tri-weeklies, 2; semi-weeklies, 4; week- 

 lies, 137; semi-monthlies, 3; monthlies, 21 ; total, 

 1 S 7. 



Keel a in at I on of Lands. According to the 



"Manufacturers' Record." a company has been in- 



-rated for the purpose of developing a large 



tract of land in the southeastern section of the 

 State. The company, which has a capital of 

 $2,000,000, has acquired 800,000 acres in what is 

 known as the Everglades. According to the pros- 

 pectus, it is intended to construct a canal system 

 144 miles in extent, which will comprise 8 lateral 

 canals, each 12 miles long, 50 feet wide, and 12 feet 

 deep, and one 48 miles long, of the same width and 

 depth. It is claimed that with this system of 

 drainage the water which now covers a large area 

 of the territory will be removed, as the surface of 

 the Everglades* averages 11 feet above tide water at 

 the edge, and 20 feet above tide water in the high- 

 est portion. Several rivers that traverse the sec- 

 tion will be used for drainage by being connected 

 with the canals. 



A number of projects of the same character have 

 already been undertaken in Florida with successful 

 results in reclaiming some of the richest land in tin- 

 State. 



Judicial Decision. A law made by the Legis- 

 lature of 1893 " to provide for the service of non- 

 resident defendants and others in chancery causes " 

 was declared unconstitutional by a judge of the cir- 

 cuit court, <% in so far as it undertakes to provide 

 for obtaining a service upon nonresident defend- 

 ants when the only relief sought against said de- 

 fendants is to obtain a decree in personam against 

 them." 



Political. The officers to be chosen at the No- 

 vember election were : Two Congressmen, two .lu-- 

 tices of the Supreme Court, one for two years, to fill 

 the vacancy caused by the resignation of Justice 

 Liddon, since filled by appointment, and one for the 

 full term of six years; three Railroad Commission- 

 ers: one Treasurer to fill the vacancy caused by 1 lie 

 resignation of Treasurer Collins, since filled by ap- 

 pointment ; State Senators from the even-numbered 

 districts, and one to fill the vacancy caused by the 

 death of Senator Perrenot ; representatives from 

 all the counties ; tax collectors, tax assessors, and 

 treasurers in all the counties. 



The State convention of Democrats met at Or- 

 lando, Aug. 3. Following is a part of the platform : 

 " We congratulate the people on having as a visitor 

 so distinguished a Democrat as William Jennings 

 Bryan, our late Democratic candidate for President 

 of the United States, and who is now serving his 

 country as a patriot and soldier, and we appreciate 

 his great ability as Democracy's national leader. 



" We rejoice in the brilliant successes attained by 

 the American sailors and soldiers in the present 

 war with Spain, and glory in the fact that the last- 

 vestige of sectional feeling has been swept away 

 forever. 



" We condemn the policy of insular territorial ex- 

 pansion upon which the administration at Wash- 

 ington has embarked as unwise, un-American, un- 

 just to the masses of our people, and especially to 

 the laboring and producing classes, and as danger- 

 ous to our free institutions; and we pledge the 

 Democracy of the State of Florida to the opposi- 

 tion of the same." 



The nominations were : For Treasurer, J. B. Whit- 

 field ; Justices of the Supreme Court. R. F. Taylor 

 and Francis B. Carter; Railroad Commissioners, 

 H. E. Day, J. M. Bryan, and J. L. Morgan; Con- 

 gressmen, Stephen M. Sparkman and Robert \V. 

 Davis. 



The Republican convention was held at Ocaln. 

 Aug. 9. The candidates for the offices of Supreme 

 Court Justices were William C. Marshall for tin- 

 long term and Leroy B. Vail Ian t for the short term. 

 II. L. Anderson and E. R. Gunby were candidates 

 for Congress. 



The result of the election was a complete victory 

 for the Democrats. The Legislature, consisting of 



