Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-06

80 JO@, Nhluo VI msttiioN sp' ~ Y
81; valus OF products, ST. U45 026
Great 80 has been the msterla, de.
ve!opment OF the state, 1t hos not been
to the neglect of It's educational inter
ests. According to the suditor's laot
biennial report, tho plumber of school
children IN lows is 594 700. OF tins
number 331 292 are by approximation
between The pges of 8 and 10 years
The numba ar - all sges ENROLLED In the
schools Is 431 5l3. The average at.
tendance is 254 08S The number of
public schools Is III, 244 Of which SOB
are graded; teachers, 81, 775-6,b46
male and 10 $50 female; school houses,
IL, 221 the value of which Ia 80 $685.
493 The receipts for all school pur.
poses throughout the state were 3d..
COG 023 60, aud the expenditures So.
129 279 40 Tho illiteraoy is very
small. Out of l ISL GAL persons over
ten years of age only 20, 1877 are re
ported as unable to read. or 2 4 10 per
cent, willis 46, 600, or 8 9 10 per cent,
can moi write. This Is q better show.
Ing than Is made by any other state
The number Of newspapers published
in Iowa Ia 900, of which 523 are print.
ed in the Eaglish language.
The number of convictions for
crime during the last biennial period
was 2, 451, q diminution as compared
with the prior term, when they mum.
bered 979 The amount of fines
imposed for the period was S137,.
707 33 and the amount collected was
1874, $50 AZ. The number of persons
Ia the poor houses and receiving aid
In counties without poor houses is
1 .304.
MINING INTERRsTS.
One of the important industries OF
the state IL mining. There are in 90.
Grafton 457 mines, employing 6 17C
hands. The coal measures are regard.
cd as the most prominent sources OF
mineral wealth, though the lead mines
Ia the galena limestone l. we attrs cted
the earliest and greatest attention,
aud have SO far been the most impor-
tant In tho value of their
productions. Their aggregate thick.
meas In the southern part OF the state
Is less than five hundred feet, and In
this are found several workable beds
of bituminous coal, one of which Ia
sometimes sevsn feet thick. Along
the Mlssieaippi river, between Dsven.
port and Musoatine, a deposit of this
character stretches twenty miles 10
and do wn the river, and three mites
back of 1t. This Is the extension on
the Iowa side of the IlltnoIc coal field,
the Mississippi river hay nj separated
this portion from the mt In body. The
coal field Of the stat embraces al
area of twenty thousand ,qu,rs miles,
ard coal is mined In twsnty-Six coun.
ties. The coal Is bituu nous, and of
excellent quality. T g lead mines
are In the belt occupied by
the the g,lens lin stone. This
tracs rasb,es the Mississippi
river at Dubuque, and liet
along tho valley Of Turkey
river toward the northwest, but the
Only mines that have bson worked In
1t axe near the Mississippi. The ore
Is chitly found In vertical crevices
which are traced In east and west line,
with yemarkehlo regular ty. They are
congregated Ia great number In the
immediate vicinity OF Dubuque, and
from Che report of the state goologlsti
it appears that no district in the Mis-.
sissippi valley has produced so large
an amount of ore for it's extent as THU
tract of twelve or fifteen square miles
Iowa has also small deposits of iror
ore, and there are many other miner
als of considerable value. A dep ,si
of eypaum of remarkable dnenens ant
purity exists near Fort Dodge, from
which o superior article OF plaster o
paris has been nsLpfRs Crod.