in the total population amounts to 172 per cent, the State supreme court, who serve eight years,
a remarkable decrease since the census of 1900 (32 seventeen Circuit Court judges, and ten chancellors,
per cent). Illiteracy of the native white population An amendment to the State constitution in 1914
is 3.6 per cent; of foreign born whites 13.3 per provides for the election of district judges and
cent; of negroes 29.3 per cent. Of the population chancellors in the popular election, and also for
13.4 per cent was urban, 86.6 was rural. The the election of supreme court judges. There are
largest cities are Meridian (23,399), Jackson (22,- State hospitals at Natchez, Vicksburg, and Jackson.
817), Vicksburg (18,072). The State owns 28.750 acres of cotton and farm
Economic (Conditions. — Mississippi is pre-emi- lands, upon which the entire prison population of nently an agricultural state, but there is an about 1300 prisoners is worked. The annual cash increase in manufacturing. The number of estab- income to the State from the labor of the prisoners lishments in 1919 was 2455; the number of persons is not less than $200,000. Among the holidays of engaged 64,452; the capital invested $154,117,337; the State are 19 January (Robert E. Lee's birth- salaries and wages paid $59,182,535; value of prod- day), Thanksgiving Day, and Labor Day. ucts $197,746,987. The number of farms in the Rbcbnt Legislation.— In 1912 tipping was pro- State in 1920 was 272,101, and the value of all hibited and child labor regulated. The new bank farm property was $964,751355. Cotton is the law of 1914 provided for an inspection system and principal crop, the value of the cotton yield in a tax on banks to provide a fund for pa3ring 1919 being $183,845,184, a great increase over that depositors of insolvent banks. In the same year of 1909, which was valued at $83,148^05. Other the initiative and referendum was adopted. In important crops are corn, oats, and sugar. The 1916 a State board of law examiners was created, value of the sugar crop for 1919 was $3,923,140; women were admitted to the practice of law, and in 1909, $1,506387. In 1919 the bonded debt of the public hangings were prohibited. The law requir- State was $8,443,254. According to the Council of mg registration of all voters four months prior to Foreign Bondhold^ers, the State has a defaulted debt the election barred out women enfranchised by the of $7,000,000. The assessed value of real and per- Federal Amendment of November, 1920. In 1919 sonal property is $649,644,340. Although there are a highway commission composed of eight men was mineral oeposits in Mississippi, such as limestone, created. The Federal Suffrage Amendment was coal, and gypsum, there is but little mining. The defeated on 21 January, 1920. Mississippi, how- railway mileage of the State in 1919 was 4480. ever, was the first State to ratify the Federal Pro- Lumbering is an important industrv, the present hibition Act (8 January, 1918). value of the lumber in the State being not less History. — During the European War Mississippi's than $350,000,000. contribution was 54,295 soldiers, or 1.44 per cent of
Education. — ^Education is not compulsory in the United States Army. The Mississippi members
Mississippi. The number of children enrolled in of the National Guard joined the 39th Division at
1918 was 540,756, and the average attendance was Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, and those of the
345,952. The average attendance in 1913 was 301,- National Army the 87th Division at Camp Pike,
922, showing an increase in 1918 of 44,030. There Arkansas. The summarv of casualties among the
are 7266 schools in the school districts, and of these Mississippi members of the American Expeditionary
3377 are for ne^ro children. Counting the colored Force is as follows: deceased, 18 officers, 886 men;
private schools it is estimated that there are about prisoners, 23 officers, 542 men; wounded, 53 officers,
4500 colored teachers with 150,000 colored pupils. 1320 men. The school expenditure in 1917-18 was as follows:
for teachers' salaries $13,498,882; for grand total Missouri (cf. C. E., X-308a).— The area of the
current expenses $4,263,954; the statistics, outlays, State is 69,420 square miles. According to the
and capital acquisition are not available. There census of 1920 its population is 3,404,055, which
are 6 universities and colleges, and 1 public normal shows an increase of 110,720 during the period
school. The Mississippi Normal College was opened 1910-20, or of 3.4 per cent, a smaller increase than
in 1912. that of the preceding decade, when it was 186,670,
The laws governing private and parochial schools or 6 per cent. The largest cities are St. Louis,
are as follows: No public funds shall be appro- with a population of 772,897, Kansas City (324,410),
priated toward the support of any sectarian school. St. Joseph (77,939), Springfield (39,631), Joplin
The flag shall be displayed within or without every (29,855). The urban population is 1,586,963; the
school building. In 1912 the Legislature abolished rural population 1,817,152, making the urban popu-
all Greek-letter fraternities and sororities in the lation 46 per cent.
State colleges or schools, this being the first legis- Economic Conditions. — In 1917 Missouri ranked
lation of the kind. The matter was brought before as the chief lead-producing State of the Union,
the United States Supreme Court, which decided The returns from the smelters show that the State
(1 June, 1915) that the Greek-letter fraternity men mined enough lead ore to produce 234,156 tons of
could not attend any of the state schools of Mis- primary lead. The total valuation of the lead
sissippi, thus upholding the law passed in 1912. produced in 1917 was $40,274,832; of zinc, $27,115,-
Bible reading is neither permitted nor excluded in 272; of iron ore, $134,906; of lime, cement, brick,
the public schools of Mississippi. $12,202,000. The quantity of cobalt and nickel
Religion. — ^The Catholic population of the State sulphides varies considerably in the different work- in 1920 amounted to 30,792, including 2675 colored ings. In 1918 the coal produced in the State was and 344 Indian Catholics. According to the relig- worth $17,126,498. The products of the forests of ious census of 1916 other religious denominations Missouri included (1918) over 272,000,000 feet of numbered: Baptists 441,293; Methodist Episcopal, lumber, the greatest production being in oak lum- South, 114,469* Methodist Episcopalians 45,483; ber (112,897,000 feet), yellow pine lumber (31,118,- colored Methoaist Episcopal 33,070; African Meth- 000 feet), cypress lumber (26,981,000 feet), and gum odist Episcopal 26,133; Presbyterian 19,758; African lumber (24,981,000 feet). The value of the output Methoaist Episcopal Zion Church 7202 ; all others of farm crops alone for the year 1919 was $566,050,- 43,410. For Cathohc educational and religious 000. Of the total crop valuation $214,460,000 con- statistics see Natchez, Diocese of. sisted of Indian com, in the production of which
Administration. — ^There are now six judges of Missouri was the first State m the Union. The
