Alabama

a State in the South Central Division of the North American Union; bounded by Tenne ee, Georgia, Florida, Mi i ippi, and the Gulf of Mexico; gro area, 52,250 square miles, admitted into the Union, Dec. 14, 1819; seceded, Jan. 11, 1861; ‘readmitted, June 25, 1868; number of counties, Montgomery. The State has large wealth in its mineral resources, which include coal, iron, asbestos, asphalt, pottery and porcelain clays, marble, = phosphates, natural gas, gold, silver, and copper. The most valuable of these at present are coal and iron. The coal is all bituminous, and the iron is red and brown hematite. In the S. part of the State the soil is a light alluvial and diluvial; in the central, the cotton belt, limestone and chalk lands predominate; and in the N. part, which contains the Tenne ee valley, there are very rich mineral Jands. Besides the agricultural, mineral, and grazing lands, there are large tracts of valuable yellow pine forests, The most valuable productions are cot ton_and corn.. The school ppeumintion is estimated at 621,600, of whom nearly 350,000. are enrolled in the public schools, and over 222,000 are in daily attendance. There are over 7,000 public schools, white and colored pupils being taught separately; 7,500 teachers; public school property valued at $1,500,000. For higher instruction, there are 48 public high schools; 66 private secondary schools; 6 public and 3 private normal schools; 9 universities and colleges for men and for both sexes; 9 colleges for women; and a State Agricultural and Mechanical College at Auburn. The principal universities and colleges are the University of Alabama (opened 1831; non-sectarian); the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (1881); Blount College (1890; non-sectarian); Howard College (1841; Baptist); Southern Uni- Alabama Claims; yersity (1859; Methodist Episcopal, South); Lafayette College ge non-sectarian); Lineville ollege all non-sectarian); St. Bernard ollege Oa Roman Catholic); Alabama Baptist Colored University (1878; Baptist); Bailey Springs Uni- = (1898; non-sectarian); Judson Female Institute (1889; Baptist); Isbell College (1849; Presbyterian);- Athens Female College (1842; Methodist Episcopal, South); and the Alabama Conference Female College (1855; Methodist Episcopal). The strongest denominations numerically in the State are the Baptist; Methodist Episcopal, South; Roman Catholic; Methodist Episcopal; and the Protestant Episcopal. ew! The total length of railroads within the State, Jan. 1, 1900, was 4,226 miles, of which 141.35 miles were constructed during the previous year stimulated by the great development in the coal, iron, and thanufacturing industries. A, ranks fifth among coal-producing states with an annual output of nearly 10,000,000 short tons; iron yields nearly 3,000,000 tons. The cotton crop is over 1,010,000 bales annually. The new constitution adopted in 1901, restricts the suffrage in several ways, and provides for the election of State officers and legislators once every four years.