The Census Bureau issued a preliminary report 

 on the manufacturing industries of Virginia. It 

 shows for the State a total of 8,245 establish- 

 ments in 1900, an increase of more than 39 per 

 cent, in the decade. The total capital was $103,- 

 512,855, an increase of 63 per cent.; average num- 

 ber of wage-earners 72,527, increase 35 per cent.; 

 total wages, $22,396,000, increase 41 per cent. The 

 miscellaneous expenses were $12,258,244, an in- 

 crease of 65 per cent.; cost of materials used, 

 $74,762,749, an increase of 44 per cent.; value of 

 all manufacturing products, including custom 

 work and repairing, $132,735,620, increase 50 per 

 ent. 



Education. The Department of Public In- 

 struction announced the apportionment of the 

 State school funds for 1901-'02, as being at the 

 rate of 28 cents and 4 mills per capita of the 

 school population. The whole amount appor- 

 tioned is $196,325.23. This apportionment is 

 made on account of the appropriation by the 

 General Assembly under act approved March 7, 

 1900, and the accumulated interest on invest- 

 ments of the Literary fund. 



The second apportionment of State funds for 

 the public schools was made Nov. 1, 1902, the 

 amount, much greater than the first, being $806,- 

 761.10. The per capita of school population was 

 $1.167. 



The State Board of Education declined to re- 

 new the contracts for two books on the public- 

 school list namely, Fiske's History of the Uni- 

 ted States and Our Country, a history of the 

 United States, written by Cooper, Estell, and Lem- 

 mon. This action is based upon the determined 

 effort made for years by the Confederate veterans 

 and others to remove from the public schools of 

 the State every history that is objectionable to 

 Confederates, their contention being that Fiske's 

 history and Our Country do not represent 

 fairly the war of secession. A large number of 

 the teachers in the public schools are favorable to 

 Fiske's history and also to Our Country for peda- 

 gogic reasons. They declare that these two his- 

 tories offer more abundant material for class- 

 room purpose, and present the subject in better 

 form for teachers and pupils. 



An address delivered by Gov. Montague at 

 Charlottesville, July 8, before the Virginia teach- 

 ers and superintendents, contained the following 

 statistical facts, based upon Superintendent 

 Southall's biennial report: Of 6,056 county 

 schools for whites, 2,658 fall below the legal, re- 

 quired, average attendance of 20 pupils to the 

 school. Out of 2,032 colored schools, only 498 

 fall below the required average. The Governor 

 referred to the necessity of industrial training for 

 the negroes. He said the wisest act of the State 

 board would be to abolish the classical depart- 

 ment at the Petersburg Colored Normal and 

 create an industrial department in its place. 



The following are among the provisions of the 

 new Constitution relative to education : " No ap- 

 propriation of public funds shall be made to any 

 school or institiition of learning not owned or 

 exclusively controlled by the State or some polit- 

 ical subdivision thereof; provided, first, that the 

 General Assembly may, in its discretion, continue 

 the appropriations to the College of William and 

 Mary; and that counties, cities, towns, and dis- 

 tricts may make appropriations to non-sectarian 

 schools of manual, industrial, or technical train- 

 ing. The appropriations for institutions of learn- 

 ing for the two fiscal years ending Sept. 30, 1902, 

 and Sept. 30, 1903, were as follow: Medical Col- 

 lege of Virginia, $5,000; State Female Normal 

 School, $15,000 and $12,500 for new building; 



UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. (VIRGINIA.) 



813 



University of Virginia, $50,000 and additional for 

 amount expended on hospital, to be refunded to 

 State; Virginia Military Institute, $25,000; Vir- 

 ginia School for Deaf and Blind, $40,000 and $20,- 

 000 for new buildings; Polytechnic Institute, 

 Blacksburg, $25,000 and an additional . sum of 

 $25,000 for new buildings; Virginia Normal and 

 Collegiate Institute, $15,000, provided that it be 

 converted into an industrial school; William and 

 Mary College, $15,000 and $5,000 for electric-light 

 plant; public schools, $200,000. 



Penitentiary. The report of the joint com- 

 mission appointed to investigate the conditions 

 existing at the Penitentiary contains the following 

 statements: "Its condition (overcrowded) i< al- 

 most inconceivable to the human mind, and it 

 would be difficult indeed to conceive of any 

 penal institution being permitted to continue 

 under such intolerable conditions. Visitors from 

 all parts of the country from Florida to Maine 

 have turned away from the contemplation of 

 its sickening horrors in wonder and amazement 

 that the State of Virginia would countenance the 

 continuance of such dreadful conditions." 



The report says the death-rate, as ordinarily 

 reported, does not convey an accurate idea of the 

 hygienic condition of the prison, as many are 

 annually pardoned because of broken health, and 

 most of them die soon after being liberated. The 

 commission is of the opinion that it is absolutely 

 necessary that the prison be removed to a place 

 near a large city to procure ample protection 

 against fire and to have the military at hand in 

 case of serious trouble. On the subject of convict 

 labor, the report says the consensus of opinion 

 seems to be that it is better to have the men at 

 some contract work in the manufacture of arti- 

 cles of commerce than to have them brought into 

 competition with local State labor. 



The minority report goes very fully into a 

 penological discussion. It does not excuse the 

 overcrowded condition of the prison, but it in- 

 sists that it has not been so productive of evils 

 as the majority says. 



The appropriations for criminal expenses for 

 the fiscal years ending Sept. 30, 1902, and Sept. 

 30, 1903, as reported from the House Committee 

 on Finance, are: Transportation of convicts to 

 Penitentiary, $6,000; expenses of juries, witness-- 

 es, and prison associations, $240.000. 



Legal Decision. The Supreme Court affirmed 

 the judgment of the Circuit Court establishing the 

 responsibility of a railroad company for accident 

 to a passenger traveling on a free pass, arguing 

 that the company agreeing to carry the passenger 

 came under the duty to transport him safely, and 

 the agreement by which it undertook to relieve 

 itself from the consequences of the negligence of 

 its servants was void as against the policy of the 

 State, which is to enforce with equal hand the 

 performance of those duties upon which the 

 safety of her citizen depends. 



An interesting case in which an opinion was 

 delivered is that involving riparian rights and 

 the accretion of property as a result of changes 

 in a river boundary. A lot in Lynchburg that was 

 condemned for canal purposes in 1836 originally 

 embraced about 2 acres. The changes in the 

 channel of the river enlarged this to about 4 

 acres, when in 1896 the complainant sought to 

 acquire title to the extra 2 acres, contending that 

 the condemnation did not extend to the river. 

 The defendant instituted chancery proceedings, 

 setting up a title to the accretions and increment 

 of land as well as to the tract originally con- 

 veyed. The Court of Appeals held that by pur- 

 chase the defendant is a fee-simple riparian pro- 



