Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/561

 CHARITY — FINANCE — PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY 500

a Presbyterian college (Arkansas College, founded in 1872 at Batesville) with 10 professors and 140 students, and a Methodist Episcopal college (Hendria College, founded in 1884 at Conway) with 12 professors and students. Philander Smith College, established in 1877, at Little Rock (for coloured students) had 14 professors and 108 men and 136 women students.

Charity.— Within the State are 27 benevolent institutions (hospital homes, &c). On January 1, 1910, the number of pauj>ers in almshouses was 534, being 33 - 9 per 100,000 of the population, and of prisoners in penal institutions 1,307, being 83 ]>er 100,000 of the population.

Finance- — The total receipts and expenditure for the year 1919 were : —

Dollars. Balance in hand, April 1, 1918 ■. 838,992 Receipts, 1918-19. . . . 6,346,282

Total 7,185,274

Disbursements, 1918-19. . 6,035,773

Balance, March 31, 1919. . 1,149,501

The State debt on June 30, 1919, amounted to 2,266,410 dollars, consisting of 3 per cent, interest-bearing bonds. The assessed value of real and personal property (1919) was 558,485,082 dollars. According to the Council of the Corporation of Foreign Bondholders, the State has a defaulted debt estimated at about 8,700,000 dollars.

Production and Industry. — Arkansas is an agricultural State. In 1910 the total farm area was 14,891,356 acres, of which 7,698,843 was improved land. The value of all farm property was 400,089,303 dollars. In the north maize (54,224,000 bushels in 1920V wheat (1,197,000 bushels), oats, potatoes, hay and forage crops are growu ; in the south, cotton and tobacco. For 1920 the cotton area was 2,862,000 acres, and the yield 1,160,000 bales, valued at 77,140,000 dollars. In the north-west, fruits, especially apples and peaches, are grown. The cultivation of roses (for perfumes) is pursued locally. Live stock on January 1, 1921, comprised 258,000 horses, 327,000 mules, 429,000 milch cows, 643,000 other cattle, 191,000 sheep, and 1,459,000 swine. The wool clip in 1919 yielded 422,000 pounds of wool. The national forests in Arkansas in 1919 had an area of 901,821 acres.

The State has a large coal area. The State also produces mang u ores and lead, whetstones (from nevaculite), bauxite (for aluminium phosphate rock deposits are little worked. The quarries yield lim» sandstone, granite, and slate, besides asphalt, mineral waters, and natural gas.

Of the industries the cutting and working of timber is the most important (1,697 establishments), the State having a forest area of 25,600,000 acres. Arkansas, according to the census of manufactures of 1910, has 2,925 manufacturing establishments employing 3,293 salaried officials, and 44,982 wage-earners. Their united capital amounted to 70,174,000 dollai cost of materials used in a year to 34,935,000 dollars, and the value of output in a year 74,916,000 dollars. Statistics of 6 leading industries are given in The Statesman's Ybae-Book for 1916, p. 490.

The foreign trade of the State is carried ou through the port of New