848 



VIRGINIA. 



only a source of beauty but of added profit to the 

 farmer." 



Holidays. The first Monday in September, 

 known as Labor Day, became a legal holiday this 

 year by legislative enactment. The weather was 

 good, and celebration was general throughout the 

 State. 



Oct. 12 was observed as Dewey Day. Public- 

 spirited citizens guaranteed the necessary funds 

 for the arrangements, and special trains were run 

 on all the railroads. It was estimated that 40,000 

 strangers were in Montpelier that day. At the 

 reviewing stand the Governor presented the ad- 

 miral with a gold medal. At Northfield, where 

 Dewey received his early education, he laid the 

 corner stone of a new building for the university 

 which is to bear his name. Natives of Vermont 

 no longer resident in the State have subscribed 

 funds for a statue of the admiral, to be placed 

 in the portico of the Capitol, at Montpelier. 



Souvenir Guns. The ordnance department of 

 the United States navy has given tp Montpelier 

 two guns taken from the Spanish cruiser Castilla, 

 which was sunk in Manila Bay by Admiral 

 Dewey's fleet. The guns are 24 feet long and of 

 61 -inch caliber. 



National Guard. The Supreme Court of the 

 State delivered in July an opinion concerning the 

 status of the National Guard. The opinion holds 

 that the First Regiment practically went into the 

 United States army on leave of absence and, upon 

 its return, resumed its old status; that all former 

 members of the National Guard who went to the 

 war are still members of the National Guard; 

 that all former guardsmen who did not go are 

 honorably discharged from service; and that citi- 

 zen volunteers who enlisted to bring the compa- 

 nies up to a war strength upon their muster out 

 returned to civil life and are not members of the 

 National Guard. 



VIRGINIA, a Southern State, one of the origi- 

 nal thirteen, ratified the Constitution June 25, 

 1788; area, 42,450 square miles. The population, 

 according to each decennial census, was 747,610 

 in 1790; 880,200 in 1800; 974,600 in 1810; 1,065,- 

 116 in 1820; 1,211,405 in 1830; 1,239,797 in 1840; 

 1,421,661 in 1850; 1,596,318 in 1860; 1,225,163 in 

 1870; 1,512,565 in 1880; and 1,655,980 in 1890. 

 Capital, Richmond. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers in 1898: Governor, J. Hoge Tyler; Lieu- 

 tenant Governor, Edward Echols; Secretary of 

 State, Joseph T. Lawless; Attorney-General, A. 

 J. Montague; First Auditor, Morton Marye; Sec- 

 ond Auditor, Josiah Ryland, Jr.: Treasurer, A. 

 W. Harman, Jr.; Adjutant General, W. Nalle; 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction, Joseph W. 

 Southall ; Commissioner of Agriculture, George W. 

 Koiner; Register of the Land Office, J. W. Rich- 

 ardson; President of the Supreme Court of Ap- 

 peals, James Keith; Justices, John W. Riely, 

 John A. Buchanan, George M. Harrison, and 

 Richard H. Cardwell; Clerk, G. K. Taylor. All 

 are Democrats. 



Finances. The Treasurer's report of the 

 operations of the treasury for the fiscal year end- 

 ing Sept. 30, 1899, has this synopsis: 



On account of the Commonwealth: Balance on 

 hand Oct. 1, 1898, $236,881.73; received in the fiscal 

 year 1898-'99, $3,475,404.37; total, $3,712,286.10. 

 Disbursed in the fiscal year 1898-'99, $3,106,343.- 

 65. Balance on hand Oct. 1, 1899, $605,942.45. 



On account of the literary fund: Balance on 

 hand Oct. 1, 1898, $205,626.55; received in the 

 fiscal year 1898-'99, $273,238.61; total, $478,865.- 

 16. Disbursed in the fiscal year 1898-'99, $274,- 

 584.62. Balance on hand Oct. 1, 1899, $204,280.54. 



On account of interest on the public debt: I'.al 

 ance on hand Oct. 1, 1898, $5,177.07; received in 

 the fiscal year 1898-'99, $706,396.35; total, $7 1 1,- 

 573.42. Disbursed in the fiscal year 185 

 $707,568.03. Balance on hand Oct. 1, 1899, $4,- 

 005.39. 



On account of the sinking fund: Balance on 

 hand Oct. 1, 1898, $405,001.18; received in the 

 fiscal year 1898-'99, $133,904.63; total, $538.!m:>.- 

 81. Disbursed in the fiscal year 1898-'99, $K1. 

 045.18. Balance on hand Oct. 1, 1899, $437, 861 Mi:*. 



On account of the Miller fund: Balance on hand 

 Oct. 1, 1898, $5,398.18; received in the fiscal year 

 1898-'99, $71,884.17; total, $77,282.35. Disbui-ed 

 in the fiscal year 1898-'99, $67,011.35. Balam < <m 

 hand Oct. 1, 1889, $10,271. 



The total balance in the treasury to the end it 

 of the several funds Oct. 1, 1899, was $1,262,:K. 

 01. In addition to this the United States direct 

 tax fund had to its credit $1,162.74. 



The amount paid for pensions was $106,235. 



Education. In the year ending July 31, 1899, 

 the total population of school age was 665,86."). of 

 whom 397,162 were white and 268,703 colored, 

 The number of schools was 8,806, of which 



were for white pupils and 2,314 for colored. The 

 number of pupils enrolled was 358,825, of whom 

 241,696 were white and 117,129 colored. The 

 total average attendance was 203,136. The num- 

 ber of teachers was 8,836, of whom 6,071 \\n- 

 white and 2,165 colored. The average monthly 

 salary was $32.09 for men and $26.:W fur wmiim. 

 The cost per month for each pupil enrolled \\as 

 80 cents; tor each pupil in attendance, $1.41. The 

 number of schoolhouses was 7,218; the total num- 

 ber of volumes in the school libraries, 17.<><><>. 

 The superintendent says in his report: "Among 

 the encouraging indications of the growing influ- 

 ence of public education in Virginia i- tin in- -HM- 

 ing tendency to establish school libra rie- in the 

 rural districts as well as in the towns and Hi it-. 

 During the last school year more books \\erc pur- 

 chased for this purpose than in any similar period 

 of our history. In Roanoke County the school 

 trustees have set aside a certain amount of their 

 local tax fund to be spent for such books a- tin -y. 

 in conjunction with the county superintendent, 

 may select for the various schools. Other coun- 

 ties have similar provisions." 



Penitentiary. The superintendent of the 

 Penitentiary says in his report: "For the lii-t 

 time in some years our report shows much de- 

 crease in our number from the year before. This 

 is accounted for largely by the conditional par- 

 don law. This law has worked well, but I renew 

 the recommendations made in my la>t report as 

 to amending the law in two particulars: First, 

 that the law should not apply to those with -en- 

 tences of less than two years; and, second, that 

 those who have kept the prison rules two yeari 

 continuously just prior to their time of applica- 

 tion should be allowed the privileges of the law." 



The average number of convicts in the Peni- 

 tentiary in the year was 1.262, and the expense 

 of keeping them was $71,863.99. The per capita 

 daily expense was 15 cents and 6 mills. Ile-ide* 

 these, 281 were employed outside. The products 

 of the State farm were valued at $9,02!U.J. 



State Hospitals. In the W-t-rn State Hos- 

 pital the number of patients cared for and 

 treated during the year was 1.11."). the lai^-l in 

 the history of the hospital, and there was a large 

 increase in the number of applications for ad- 

 mission. It reached 286. of which 214 were ap- 

 proved and the applicants admitted. All the 

 wards were occupied to their full capacity, and 

 new patients were received by granting furloughs 



