ARKANSAS. 



33 



our obligations to the United States. Not only 

 will these obligations be promptly met, but from 

 this rate of taxes, within the next two years, 

 Arkansas will call in and cancel $375,000 of old 

 scrip outstanding against her, and for many years 

 overdue, and bring down the balance owed on 

 bonded indebtedness, three fourths of which will 

 be in her school fund, cleared of all doubt and 

 confusion, and with funds ready to meet her 

 obligations as they mature." 



Canceled school bonds and coupons to the 

 amount of $1,085,200 were burned in August, 

 having been replaced by new 3-per-ceht. bonds. 

 The finances are now in better condition than ever, 

 according to the report. The total outstanding 

 debt of the State is $2,045,867; but of this the 

 common-school fund owns $468,885, the sixteenth- 

 section fund $656,450, and the State University 

 $86,970, leaving due to private parties $833,562. 



Pensions. At the close of 1898 there were 

 1,178 pensioners on the ex-Confederate State pen- 

 sion roll, drawing amounts from $25 to $100 per 

 annum. The total amount of pension fund on 

 hand for 1898 was in round numbers $44,000, 

 which when prorated to the pensioners on the 

 roll gave them 94 per cent, of their full allow- 

 ance. The law says there shall be paid out of 

 the treasury of the State to every soldier who 

 has been for twelve months preceding the date 

 of his application a resident of the State, and 

 who is indigent and incapacitated for manual 

 labor by reason of a wound received while in dis- 

 charge of his duties as a soldier in the service of 

 the State of Arkansas or of the Confederate 

 States of America, certain amounts annually, ac- 

 cording to the degree of disability. 



Charities and Corrections. At the Asylum 

 for the Insane 787 patients were under treatment 

 in 1898; 604 remained at the end of the year. The 

 percentage of recoveries was 44 of those admitted, 

 and the death rate 6.89 per cent, of all treated. 

 The average cost of a patient is $91.08 a year. 

 Of the sum of $120,000, appropriated for the two 

 years ending April 1, 1899, $62,004.36 had been 

 expended by Sept. 30, 1898. 



The buildings of the Deaf-mute Institute were 

 destroyed by fire Sept. 30. The loss was about 

 $200,000, and there was no insurance. The use 

 of Fort Logan H. Roots was granted for the 

 school until permanent quarters could be built. 

 Only about 38 persons were in the buildings at 

 the time of the fire, which was before the opening 

 of the term. The whole number, including pupils 

 and teachers, is about 300. Steps have been taken 

 to rebuild immediately. 



The report of the superintendent of the Peni- 

 tentiary gives the following details : " We had 

 in this institution on Dec. 31, 1898: White males, 

 275; colored males, 639; colored females, 10; In- 

 dian males, 4; total, 928. The average popula- 

 tion for 1897-98 was 963; the average population 

 for 1895-'96 was 931 ; an increase in population 

 during last two years of 32. The greatest number 

 ever confined in the Penitentiary of this State 

 was reached April 6, 1898, being 1,005. Our total 

 revenue for the years 1897-'98 from sale of farm 

 products, sale of wood in the city, and the hire 

 of convicts is $226,969.61. Our balance on Dec. 

 31, 1898, was: Cash in State treasury, $48,310.66; 

 cotton and cotton seed unsold, estimated, $37,500; 

 personal assets, appraised valuation, $62,251.78; 

 total assets, not including real estate, $148,- 

 062.44." The cost of maintenance is $69.21* a 

 year. A camp has been established 18 miles from 

 the city, where the women and the white boys 

 under twenty-one are kept. 



The State has contracted the labor of 300 con- 

 VOL. xxxix. 3 A 



victs to be used in railroad construction. Here- 

 tofore most of the convicts have been worked at 

 raising cotton on the share system. 



Education. There are 465,830 children of 

 school age in the State, and the apportionment 

 of State money gives them 86 cents per capita. 

 Actually enrolled in the public schools are 296,- 

 785, of whom 220,736 are white and 76,049 col- 

 ored. Enrolled in private and denominational 

 schools are 5,835. 



During the summer 34 institutes were held for 

 white teachers with a total enrollment of 1,547, 

 and 15 for colored teachers with a total enroll- 

 ment of 761. The State received $2,000 from the 

 Peabody fund; no appropriation was made by the 

 Legislature. 



By act of the General Assembly the State Uni- 

 versity, at Fayetteville, is to be known as the 

 University of Arkansas. 



Railroads. During the first eight months of 

 the year 234 miles of track were added to the 

 railway mileage in the State. 



The last rail on the Choctaw and Memphis 

 road was laid Oct. 12. This line includes the 

 Little Rock and Memphis and the Choctaw, Okla- 

 homa and Gulf, with new connecting track, mak- 

 ing a line of 563 miles from Memphis to Weather- 

 ford, Indian Territory. 



The Arkansas Northern, to run 211 miles north- 

 west to Springfield, Mo., has been incorporated. 

 Other shorter roads are in process of construc- 

 tion. The Searcy and Des Arc is a consolidation 

 of the Searcy and West Point and the Des Arc 

 and Northern, and is to be made a continuous 

 line between the towns. The Deckerville, Osce- 

 ola and Northern is running from Deckerville to 

 Osceola, and opening up a vast territory. 



The Jonesboro, Lake City and Eastern is run- 

 ning trains over a large portion of its tracks, and 

 is building more lines, intending to have a through 

 line from Jonesboro to the river. The Hoxie 

 and Southern is also running trains, and will 

 have through connection with the fast trains of 

 the Kansas City Company. The Arkansas Cen- 

 tral from Fort Smith to Paris, 46 miles, is prac- 

 tically completed. 



The New Capitol. The Attorney-General in- 

 stituted proceedings to test the constitutionality 

 of the act providing for a new Capitol. The 

 grounds of action were that the part of the act 

 appropriating $50,000 to enable the commission- 

 ers to begin the work was not passed by a two- 

 third vote in the House, as required by the Con- 

 stitution for an appropriation bill; also that the 

 act provided that the new building should occupy 

 the present Penitentiary site, and invested the 

 Penitentiary commissioners with authority to 

 buy land and build a new Penitentiary, which 

 provision was not mentioned in the title of the 

 act. Without waiting for the decision, the Capi- 

 tol commissioners Gov. Jones, G. W. Murphy, 

 G. W. Donaghey, C. G. Newman, J. M. Levesque, 

 A. H. Carrigan, and R. M. Hancock went on 

 with the work, and ground was broken July 4. 

 G. R. Mann is the architect employed. The de- 

 cision of the Supreme Court was given Oct. 7, 

 aifirming the constitutionality of the act, the 

 court holding that the Legislature has the power 

 to determine what expenses come under the head 

 of " necessary expenses of the government " which 

 do not require a two-third vote, and that the pro- 

 vision for the new Penitentiary comes under the 

 general purpose of the bill, and need not be spe- 

 cially mentioned in the title. The cost of the 

 Capitol is limited to $1,000,000. 



Labor. There was a long strike this year of 

 miners in the western part of the State, the cen- 



