802 



UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. (TENNESSEE.) 



towns is but 157,193, and from this, the report 

 holds, should be deducted at least 61,000 in cer- 

 tain counties where mines, etc., have been opened, 

 leaving 96,113, which increase, it says, "is un- 

 doubtedly domiciled for the most part in villages 

 and towns unincorporated, or in the suburbs of 

 cities and incorporated towns." It shows that of 

 the 10,000 increase in Davidson County, for exam- 

 ple, outside of Nashville, perhaps fully 6,000 are 

 suburban residents. It recommends the estab- 

 lishment of an annual State fair as a remedy for 

 the present agricultural depression. 



According to the report issued by the Census 

 Bureau on July 7, the farms of Tennessee on June 

 1, 1900, numbered 224,623, and were valued at 

 $265,150,750. The value of farm implements and 

 machinery on the same date was $15,523,670, and 

 of live stock $60,818,605. These values added to 

 that of farms make the total value of farm 

 property $341,202,025. The total value of farm- 

 products for 1899 was $106,166,440. It is approx- 

 imately twice that for 1889, but a part of this 

 increase is doubtless due to a more detailed enu- 

 meration in 1900 than in 1890. The total land 

 area in Tennessee is 41,750 square miles, of which 

 76.1 per cent, is included in farms. The increase 

 in the total value of farm property since 1890 was 

 $28,310,375, or 9 per cent.; the increase in the 

 value of land improvements and buildings was 

 $22,450,210, or 9.3 per cent.; in that of imple- 

 ments and machinery, $5,295,790, or 53.3 per 

 cent.; and in that of live stock, $54,375, or 0.9 

 per cent. All counties reported an increase in 

 the number of farms in the last decade, and 

 nearly two-thirds of the counties reported an 

 increase in total farm area. The average size 

 of farms varies from 54.8 acres in Shelby County 

 to 182.1 in Fentress County. As a rule, the 

 counties with the largest acreage in cotton have 

 the smallest farms. Nearly 85 per cent, of the 

 farms are w r orked by white farmers; 15.1 per 

 cent, by colored farmers. Of the white farm- 

 ers, 64.4 per cent, own all or part of the farms 

 they operate, and 25.6 per cent, operate farms 

 owned by others. For colored farmers the cor- 

 responding percentages are 25.8 and 72.2. 



Railroads. In April the Mercantile Trust 

 Company of St. Louis made an arrangement by 

 which it undertook to finance the Tennessee Cen- 

 tral Railroad. The mortgage is dated July 1, 

 1902, and secures a maximum of $15,000,000 fifty- 

 year 5-per-cent. gold bonds, coupons payable Jan- 

 uary and July, bonds being redeemable at 5 per 

 cent, premium on and after July 1, 1907, at the 

 option of the company. The bonds to be imme- 

 diately issued amount to $5,000,000, sufficient to 

 cover the lines already completed at the rate of 

 $25,000 a mile. The Tennessee Central operates 

 now frorn Lebanon to Emory Gap, 127 miles. The 

 object of the line is to develop the 400,000 acres 

 of coal land in the Lebanon region. 



Insurance. The report of the State Insurance 

 Commissioner shows that the receipts from re- 

 ported companies up to Dec. 31, 1901, amounted 

 to $2,502,736, and the losses to $1,825,442. Thir- 

 teen companies withdrew from the State during 

 the year and no reports were had from them. 

 There were also three companies from which 

 there had been no statement. The commissioner 

 estimates the total receipts at $2,575,000, and 

 the losses at $2.000.000. 



Forestry. The Tennessee Forest Association, 

 which held its first annual meeting in November, 

 1900, has rapidly attained an important position, 

 numbering among its members the foremost citi- 

 zens of the State. It has already done something 

 to arrest deforestation by disseminating informa- 



tion respecting the growth, protection, and utili- 

 zation of forests, and by showing the evils result- 

 ing from forest destruction. It held its second 

 annual meeting at Monteagle on July 21. The 

 papers read on the occasion have still further 

 stimulated the interest in the movement through- 

 out the State. 



Prisons. The State Board of Prison Commis- 

 sioners submitted to the Governor on Jan. 30 

 their report for the fiscal year ending Dec. 1, 1901. 

 It covered every department of prison ailaii> 

 and gave minute items of expenses and receipts. 

 During the year the net profits of the main 

 prison were $71,064.10; the net profits of the 

 Brushy mountain mines, $100,979.75. The bal- 

 ance in treasury from the main prison, $46,223.- 

 94; the balance in treasury from the Brushy 

 mountain mines, $77,338.49. The total cash bal- 

 ance was $123,562.43. It was shown by a com- 

 parison with the years 1899 and 1900 that the 

 earnings of the main prison for 1901 were $30,- 

 753.19 more than in the former, and $18,158.45 

 more than in the latter. The earnings of the 

 Brushy mountain mine were $16,359.73 more than 

 in 1899, and $74,443.24 less than in 1900. The net 

 balance of cash deposits by the main prison for 

 1901 were $26,073.30 more than in 1899 and $17,- 

 242.81 more than in 1900. The net balance of 

 cash deposits by the Brushy mountain mines for 

 1901 were $2,679.41 more than for 1899 and 

 917.63 less than for 1900. The decreased profits 

 from 1900 shown in the operation of the Brushy 

 mountain mines may be accounted for by the 

 fact that, while the output of coke in 1900 

 49,714.95 tons, in 1901 it was 50,067.01 tons. The 

 reduction in profits for 1901 by reason of the 

 decreased market price of coke alone was $52,- 

 570.35. The average price received for coke in 

 1900 was $2.80 per ton, yielding a net profit of 

 $1.8826, while in 1901 the average selling price of 

 coke was $1.96, yielding a profit of $0.8316 per 

 ton. The difference in the profits on coke for the 

 two years was $1.05 per ton in favor of 1900. 

 This difference on the output of 50,067.01 tons is 

 the amount above stated, $52,570.35. 



Mining Disaster. The worst disaster in the 

 history of Tennessee mining occurred at Coal 

 Creek on May 19, when 226 men and boys met 

 instant death at the Fraterville coal-mine, 2 miles 

 west of Coal Creek, as the result of a gas explo- 

 sion. It was the general opinion that the calam- 

 ity was due to negligence. 



Rain-Storms. The most destructive rain- 

 storms that had occurred for years took place in 

 the central and southern portions of Middle Ten- 

 nessee on March 29, doing enormous damage to 

 railroad and other property. Small streams m-e 

 rapidly to heights they had never attained before. 

 In Giles County they were 11 feet higher than in 

 the great freshet of 1856, and several building 

 not touched then were washed away. Railroad 

 bridges, trestles, and hundreds of dwellings \\HV 

 carried off, and many wagon bridges were 

 lost. All traffic on the railroads was necosarily 

 suspended south of Nashville. Many lives \\<-r<- 

 lost, in some instances whole families being 

 drowned. 



Legal Decisions. On May 27, Judge Clark, 

 of the United States Circuit Court, KnoxvUle, 

 handed down an opinion in the case of Ro 

 Noce & Smith, of Rogersville, Tenn., r.s. Vir- 

 ginia-Carolina Chemical Company ct al.. in which 

 he holds that the plaintiffs' claim for dam 

 from the defendant, to the amount of $5.000. on 

 the ground that the defendant company has cre- 

 ated a combine in this and other States in the 

 fertilizer business, is not well founded. He holds 



