RHODE ISLAND. 



675 



ns attending Catholic schools, 11,025; number re- 

 ported as attending select schools, 1,807; number 

 reported as not attending any school, 9,735. Num- 

 ber of graded schools, 1,098; number of ungraded 

 schools, 246. 



The school census shows a gain of 1,062 on the 

 number enumerated, the gain in attendance at pud- 

 lie schools being 1,255, and in select schools ISO, 

 while there is the slight falling off of 266 at the Cath- 

 olic schools. 



There has been no increase in the number of high 

 schools in the State, but there has been a gain of 

 over 10 per cent, in the enrollment and of just 10 

 per cent, in the actual attendance. The total cost 

 of instruction per capita on the basis of attendance 

 has been $25.48. 



The average salary of teachers is $527.85, an in- 

 crease of 90 cents over 1896. The wage? of men 

 have fallen off $1.29 a month, while those of women 

 have gained 2 cents a month. 



There is an increase of 5 evening schools over 

 last year, with a gain in enrollment of 1,265. The 

 per capita cost on the average attendance has de- 

 creased $1.20. 



The expenditures for public day schools were 

 $1,131,086.43: for public evening schools, $49,671.55; 

 for the State Normal School, including mileage for 

 pupils, $25.837 ; for the Agricultural College, $9,- 

 997.83 ; School of Design, $3~000; teachers' institutes, 

 $265.40 ; free public libraries, $5,740. Besides these 

 current expenses, $89,069.82 was paid for a normal 

 school building, $40.077 for a drill hall at the Agri- 

 cultural College, $534,613.81 for sites, buildings, and 

 furniture of schools, and $16,363 for apparatus and 

 reference books. 



The State Home and School cost $20,238.85 ; the 

 Institute for the Deaf, $17,928.91 : the Reform School 

 for Boys, $49,672.13 ; the Reform School for Girls, 

 $8,759.90 ; and $3,224.23 was paid for pupils at the 

 Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded, $272.- 

 50 to.the Pennsylvania School for Feeble-Minded, 

 and $7,291.40 to the Perkins Institution for the 

 Blind. 



Of the total expenditure for education, which 

 amounted to $1,329,001.71 for current expenses, and 

 $681,157.81 for permanent improvements, $409,- 

 705.98 came from the State treasury. 



The Normal School Board reported that there 

 were 250 young women and 1 young man in the 

 school. 



The catalogue of Brown University shows a total 

 enrollment of 925. against 860 in 1897 ; the graduate 

 students number 99, and the Women's College has 

 an attendance of 165. The resignation of President 

 Andrews was accepted in September, and B. F. 

 Clark was elected acting president. 



The University Grammar School, founded in 1764, 

 is to be merged in the English and Classical School 

 at the end of the year. It has been a preparatory 

 school for the university, which owned the building 

 and grounds, and now desires to use them for its 

 own expanding work. 



The city of Providence has received $245.000 from 

 John Nicholas Brown for a public library building, 

 and Frederic Clark Sayles, first Mayor of Pawtucket, 

 has offered to found one for that city. 



Charities and Corrections. The total number 

 of inmates at the State institutions at Cranston at 

 the end of 1898 was about 2,210. They were classi- 

 fied as follows: Workhouse and House of Correc- 

 tion. 211 men, 88 women. 299; Hospital for the In- 

 sane, 348 men, 370 women, 718; almshouse, 152 

 men, 161 women, 32 boys, 23 girls, 368; prison, 170 

 men, 2 women, 172; Providence County Jail. 221 

 len, 20 women. 241 ; Sockanosset School for Boys, 

 58; Oaklawn School for Girls, 54. 



The receipts from labor and other sources at the 



State Prison were $26,685.28; expenditures were 

 $51.727.41. 

 Military. The Governor recommended to the 



Legislature in February that the usual encampment 

 be omitted this year, and the money saved for needed 

 equipments; and it was so resolved. 



The apportionment to the State on the fir>t < all 

 for troops was 690. The brigade of State militia, 

 consisting of two regiments of infantry, a battalion 

 of cavalry, and one of artillery, was' about 1,100 

 strong, and the naval battalion had about 185 men. 

 The troops raised for the war were quartered on the 

 State camp ground at Quonset Point in North 

 Kingstown, on Narragansett and \Vickford Bays \~ 

 miles from Providence. The total expense incurred 

 by the State in recruiting and equipping the troop* 

 was $221,344. 



Industries. The operatives of the cotton mills 

 took part in the general strike that followed the 

 reductions of wages in New England factories in 

 January. 



The factory inspectors found employed in 433 

 establishments 78 more than last year, as follows: 

 Men, 35,967; women, 27,292, boys under sixteen 

 years of age, 2,616; girls under sixteen years of age, 

 1,923 ; total, 67,798. This is an increase over last 

 year of 4,029 in the number of men employed and 

 3,158 in the number of women employed, a decrease 

 of 275 in the number of boys employed and an in- 

 crease of 28 in the number of girls employed ; a 

 total increase of 6,940. 



The figures show that while there was an increase 

 of 7,187 in the number of adults employed, there 

 was a decrease of 247 in the number of children 

 under sixteen years of age. This is the first mate- 

 rial proportional decrease in the number of children 

 employed that has been reported since the factory 

 inspection law went into effect. 



Providence. The Legislature passed an act en- 

 abling the citizens of the compact part of the town 

 of Johnston to vote on its annexation to the city of 

 Providence. The vote, May 25, showed that more 

 than 75 percent, of the qualified voters cast ballots, 

 and 1,011 voted in favor of annexation and 494 

 against, so that this part of Johnston became a part 

 of Providence, June 1. It includes an area of about 

 1.200 acres, of generally improved property, con- 

 taining 26 miles of platted streets, 15 miles of 

 which have been received as public highways, and 

 more than half of which arc graded and curbed and 

 paved or macadamized. It will add to the taxable 

 valuation of property in the city over $5.000,000. 

 The increase of population will be more than 8,000, 

 including 1,500 persons who arc qualified to act as 

 voters. 



The customs statistics for 1898 show that the 

 total of duties collected at the port was $220.210. 

 and the value of imports $720.092. of which those 

 free of duty were valued at $101.878. 



Providence now has a street railway to Taunton, 

 Mass. 



Legislative Session. The winter session of the 

 Legislature opened at Providence, Jan. 25. and 

 closed May 6. J. Edward Studley was Speaker of 

 the House. The Assembly took a nve-> March 4 

 for a month. The summer session at Newport ex- 

 tended from May 31 to June 15. Adjournment \\.-i- 

 taken to Nov. 22", so that measures made necesc 

 by the revised Constitution might bo enacted. ll> 

 rejection at the polls made further legislation 

 unnecessary, and linal adjournment was taken 

 Nov. 23. 



United States Senator Nelson >\ . Aldrieli was re- 

 elected June 14, by a vote of 96 to 4. 



An appropriation of $150,000 was voted. April 21. 

 for military and naval expenses, and an additional 

 $150,000 June 15. An appropriation was made 



