836 



WEST VIRGINIA. 



fire-marine, 79 in 1897 and 86 in 1898; life (legal re- 

 serve), 36 in each year ; assessment, 23 in 1897 and 

 22 in 1898 ; fidelity, guarantee, and surety, 1 in each 

 year ; miscellaneous, 13 in 1897 and 14 in 1898 ; 

 total in 1897, 152, in 1898, 159. The following is 

 quoted from the Auditor's report : " The amount 

 of taxes on premium receipts paid into the State 

 treasury during the fiscal year 1897 was $22,880.90, 

 and $23,997.18 for 1898. The receipts from assess- 

 ment insurance companies (which pay a tax of $20 

 on certificate of authority) amounted to $440 for 

 1897 and $460 for 1898. This gives an aggregate 

 of $23,320.90 paid into the State treasury by insur- 

 ance companies during the year ending Sept. 30, 

 1897, and $24,457.18 during the year ending Sept. 

 30, 1898. 



In 1896 the fire and marine companies wrote risks 

 to the amount of $32,182.295.56, received premiums 

 to the amount of $426.169.11, and incurred losses to 

 the amount of $188,906.22. The life companies 

 (legal reserve) wrote risks to the amount of $7,610,- 

 053.35, received premiums to the amount of $726,- 

 103.83, and incurred losses to the amount of $215,- 

 116.56. The miscellaneous companies wrote risks 

 to the amount of $10,734,771.85, received premiums 

 to the amount of $47,791.66, and incurred losses to 

 the amount of $28,404.36. 



In 1897 the fire and marine companies wrote 

 risks to the amount of $47,460,791.08, received 

 premiums to the amount of $609,588.09, and in- 

 curred losses to the amount of $348,397.63. The 

 life companies (legal reserve) wrote risks to the 

 amount of $9,661,665.30, received premiums to the 

 amount of $787,953.01, and incurred losses to the 

 amount of $293,278.55. The fidelity, guarantee, and 

 surety companies wrote risks to the amount of $65,- 

 700, and received premiums to the amount of $525. 

 The miscellaneous companies wrote risks to the 

 amount of $11,133,052.17, received premiums to the 

 amount of $51,127.68, and incurred losses to the 

 amount of $17,089.01. 



State Institutions. The superintendent of the 

 Weston Insane Asylum says that the appropriation 

 for the past two years for current expenses $130,- 

 000 for each year is not sufficient to carry on 

 properly the institution for the number of em- 

 ployees and patients it now has. " We have about 

 75 more patients and 8 more employees than we 

 had a year ago. The number of patients is 1:021, 

 and we also have 170 employees." The institution 

 has this year a new laundry at a cost of $20,000, on 

 which remains an unpaid balance of $9,975. The 

 colored hospital has been remodeled, at a cost of 

 $1,850. Two Sterling water-tube boilers, of 250 

 horse power each, were purchased at a cost of $4,100, 

 half of which amount remains unpaid. The electric 

 light plant cost $4,600. The second hospital for 

 the insane admitted in the year 155 patients, being 

 a greater number than in any previous year. There 

 were discharged as recovered 63, which exceeds pre- 

 vious years ; while the death rate was very low, 

 being 5.9 per cent, on the whole number treated. 

 The number remaining in hospital Oct. 1, 1898, was 

 311. 



The State Penitentiary has about 557 inmates. 

 The Legislature did not appropriate sufficient funds 

 for its support, so the Board of Public Works bor- 

 rowed $10,000 to meet the deficiency. It is nearly 

 on a self-supporting basis. 



The Boys' Reform School in the past year lias 

 admitted 100 boys and discharged 59. There are 

 at present 200 inmates, 29 of whom are colored. 

 Instruction is given in farming and mechanics, 

 the reform school board having purchased a 53- 

 acre farm, including a brick residence, for the use 

 of colored boys. The new purchase adjoins the 

 present property, and part of it is underlaid with 



coal. A Reform School for Girls is being erected, 

 for which the last Legislature voted a small appro- 

 priation, and the citizens of Salem gave 38 acres of 

 land and drove a well for the institution. The 

 Legislature has provided for the establishment of a 

 Home for Incurables. It is to be at Huntington, 

 will cost $200,000, and will accommodate 1,000 

 patients. 



Education. The State has 5,940 common schools, 

 their total value, buildings and grounds, amounted 

 in 1898 to $3,065,848.25. The expenditure for the 

 year was $1,960.413.54. The State School Superin- 

 tendent in his report says : " For the school year 

 ending June 30, 1898, the total enumeration was 

 302,354, an increase of 1,825 over the previous year, 

 and of 45,994 over 1888. Of the number enumer- 

 ated, 158,527 (or 52.4 per cent.) were in actual 'daily 

 attendance, while in the previous year and in 1888 

 the per cent, was only 44.3 and 47.6 respectively. 

 The large per cent, of attendance in 1898 is due al- 

 most entirely to the compulsory attendance law, 

 passed in 1897, which requires all children between 

 the ages of eight and fourteen to attend school at 

 least sixteen weeks each year. The whole number 

 of teachers employed during the year was 6,808, an 

 increase of 156 over the preceding year, and of 1,570 

 in ten years. Of these, 4,096 were men and 2,712 

 were women. The enrollment for the year was 

 236,935. The average number of pupils for each 

 teacher was 34.8. As the average length of term 

 for 1898 was 5 months, and the average salary 

 $29.21 a month, the approximately average yearly 

 salary was $165.09." 



The school libraries contain 13,448 volumes. 



There are 7 normal schools in the State. 



The West Virginia University had 874 students 

 in the year 1897-'98, an increase of 309 over the 

 previous college year. 



The United States Government appropriates 

 $5,000 annually toward the support of the West 

 Virginia Colored Institute. From this fund its 

 president and 4 instructors in mechanics and farm- 

 ing are paid, and also all purchases for these depart- 

 ments are made. The school has a regular cadet 

 company, which is armed and uniformed by the 

 State. The boys' department is overcrowded, and 

 the Governor in his message recommends that an ap- 

 propriation be made to enlarge the main building. 



Industries. On Jan. 1 the Commissioner of 

 Labor, I. V. Barton, sent out 1,200 letters to that 

 number of manufacturers in West Virginia, asking 

 for information as to any additional employees, in- 

 creases or restorations of wages, or any changes in 

 business since Jan. 1, 1897. Twelve questions were 

 asked. Of the letters received about 80 per cent, 

 report an increase of labor employed, or an average 

 of 40 per cent, since Jan. 1, 1897. The wage in- 

 creases were confined chiefly to the coal miners, 

 and otherwise there are few advances to record. 

 There were a few reductions during the first six 

 months of last year, but there were none in the last 

 six months. Several restorations of reductions 

 made some time previous occurred during the year. 

 and are almost on a par with an increase. The in- 

 dustries of West Virginia include steel and iron 

 making, lumbering, mining, marble and stone 

 quarrying, glass and woolen making. The woolen 

 industry gives employment to 5,000 people, 900 of 

 whom are employed at the knitting factory at 

 Martinsburg. 



Political. In the election for members of Con- 

 gress the Republicans carried the First. Second. 

 and Fourth Districts, and the Democrats the Third. 



The Legislature for 1899 stands: Republicans. 

 17 in the Senate and 34 in the House: Democrats, 

 ! in the Senate and 37 in the House. Nine seats 

 are contested. 



