Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/348

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
TENNESSEE
296
TENNESSEE

Upper Silurian and Devonian, and the plateau W. of the Tennessee, Cretaceous and Tertiary. The Mississippi river bottoms are of recent alluvial deposit.

Mineralogy.—The State is rich in its mineral resources, asbestos, kaolin, granite, copper, iron, manganese, barytes, clay, building stones, lead, and zinc being among the leading products. The most important mineral product is coal. The coal fields have an area of about 4,400 square miles. In 1919 the production was 5,150,000 tons, compared with 5,904,593 tons in 1918. The State is also an important producer of copper. The production in 1919 was 15,629,454 pounds, compared with 15,053,598 pounds in 1918. Pig iron production is about 200,000 tons annually, valued at about $2,500,000. Other mineral products of considerable importance are zinc, sandstone, marble, limestone, and clay products. The total value of the mineral products is about $25,000,000 annually. Limestone caves are found in many places, few having been explored.

Agriculture.—The soil is exceedingly fertile, nearly every agricultural product thriving well, according to locality. The principal grain crops are Indian corn, wheat, and oats; and cotton, tobacco, flax, and hemp are extensively cultivated. The rearing and fattening of live stock are carried on under peculiar advantages, and immense numbers of hogs grow up on the mast of the forests, which cover a very large area. The acreage, production, and value of the principal crops in 1919 were as follows: corn, 3,250,000 acres, production 74,750,000 bushels, value $117,358,000; oats, 400,000 acres, production 9,200,000 bushels, value $8,556,000; wheat 810,000 acres, production 7,290,000 bushels, value $16,184,000; tobacco, 110,000 acres, production 88,000,000 pounds, value $22,088,000; hay, 1,280,000 acres, production 1,792,000 tons, value $48,384,000; potatoes, 48,000 acres, production 3,120,000 bushels, value $5,366,000; cotton, 775,000 acres, 298,000 bales, value $49,915,000.

Manufactures.—In 1914 there were 4,775 manufacturing establishments in the State, employing 74,373 wage earners. The capital invested was $211,423,000; wages paid, $33,083,000; value of materials used, $123,430,000, and the value of the finished products, $212,071,000.

Banking.—On Oct. 31, 1919, there were reported 101 National banks in operation, having $13,809,000 in capital, $11,289,000 in outstanding circulation, and $53,914,000 in United States bonds. There were also 416 State banks, with $17,349,000 capital, and $9,148,000 sur- plus. The exchanges at the United States clearing houses at Memphis for the year ending Sept. 30, 1919, aggregated $975,074,000.

Transportation.—The total railway mileage in the State in 1919 was 4,227.39. The lines having the longest mileage are the Illinois Central, Louisville and Nashville, Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis, the Southern Railway, and the Tennessee Central.

Education.—School attendance is compulsory throughout the State and the employment of children under 14 years of age in workshops, factories, or mines is prohibited. Separate schools are maintained for white and colored children. There are about 7,500 public and elementary schools, with about 600,000 pupils enrolled, with about 10,000 teachers. There are about 125 public high schools, with about 500 teachers. The annual expenditure for education is about $7,000,000. There are 4 public normal schools, and 26 universities and colleges, the most important of which are the University of Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Fisk University (colored) at Nashville, Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Cumberland University at Nashville, and University of the South at Sewanee. There are seven colleges for women, eight commercial schools, a manual training school, and three universities for colored students.

Finance.—The receipts for the fiscal year 1918 amounted to $7,954,650, and the disbursements to $7,481,786. There was a balance in the treasury at the beginning of the year of $368,818, and at the end of the year of $841,682. The bonded debt of the State amounts to about $15,000,000, and the assessed valuation to about $575,000,000.

Charities and Corrections.—The charitable and correctional institutions are under the State board of control. The most important institutions are the State Penitentiary at Nashville, training and agricultural school for boys, industrial school and school for the blind, all at Nashville, school for deaf and dumb at Knoxville, and a vocational reformatory for girls at Tullahoma. There are three hospitals for the insane.

Churches.—The strongest denominations in the State are the Methodist Episcopal South; African Methodist; Regular Baptist, colored; Cumberland Presbyterian; Methodist Episcopal; Disciples of Christ; Roman Catholic; Presbyterian, South; Primitive Baptist; Protestant Episcopal; and Presbyterian, North.

State Government.—The governor is