The silver lance., 1898-01-14
COLORADO STATISTICS.

Seven thousand men are engageo III
mining coal.
A factory is to be built in Denver ror
the manufacture of miners ruse.
Tho sbinments of ore out Of Rico
and merchandise into Rico snow ials
gains over 1896. being over 1000 cars
Considerable attention is being given
to the bee and honey business IN Easie
county. There are 10000 head OIL hne
cattle in the county.
The total receipts Of the Uniteu
States internal revenue ONCE Ior tne
district of Colorado for the year enoeu
December 81, 1897, was $4SO,ooO.
The earnings of the Gulf road Tor the
wear show an increase of about S4oo,-
600 over the earnings Of the year lo9o.
The total earnings were S3,454,51l.eo'
During the year 1896 Z per cent OF
all the coal produced in the state OF
| Colorado came from Garfield county;
The output for this year will exceed
500, 900 tons. This county is hftn III
the state in its coal output.
The financial receipts of the Denver
postOffice for December, 1897, ana Ior
the whole Of the year 1897 exceed tne
corresponding receipts of 1897, Whlch
has hitherto been talked of as the
"boom year" in the local postofhce.
The amount of coal mined in Las An
imas county in 1896 was 1927 ,S73 short
tons. The amount of coke manufac-
tured was 275, 900 IONS. The year 1881
will show an increase of about 1o per
cent of the amount mined in the year
1896.
The total loss by IRE in Denver for
the year 1897, according to the annual
report of w. e. Roberts, fire chlef, was
but $50. .249.5S, just about half the loss
of 1896, and the smallest loss from nre
for any year of which records nave
been kept.
The value of buildings erected in the
Colorado cities doing the most build
ing last year was as follows: Denver,
So, ,O4O, 700; Pueblo. 81 ,S55, 900; Colorado
Springs, $765,516; Florence. $57O,3OO;
Idaho Springs. $5OO,OO0; Cripple Creek
and Victor $50O,OOO.
The state superintendent of public
instruction gives the following infor-
nation concerning the public schools
at the close of the year 1897: Schooi
population. 30,362; total enrolment,
1OO,SS2; normal school, 1867: teachers,
| ., lZO. SCHOOL ulstTlCts, low, hiSh
schools, Al; private schools, 30.
A peculiar feature of business of the
Denver & Rio Grande railway for the
year just ended, was the falling of in
receipts for the first six months OF the
year and the marked increase in re-
ceipts during the last six months. The
increase has been such during the last
half of the year that the years business
shows an increase in receipts of about
1862, 600 The total receipts for the
year were $7,6O0,OO0.
The plant of the Colorado Fuel and
Iron Company has an estimated value
of $7,OOO,OOO, the product for 1897
amounting to about 100000, though
but a portion of the works have been
in operation steadily during the past
year. The output of the coal, or fuel
department, has reached a product Of
nearly $4,OO0,OOO, in round numbers,
the estimated value of the output Of
the various interests reaching an act
ual value of $5,935, 900, nearly $1,000
600 in excess of the products of 1896.
An abundance of fine coal is found in
La Plata county, and the industry
furnishes employment to about 300
men. The Porter Coal Company, the
Ute Coal Company and the San Juan
Coal Company are the principal con-
Germs operating coal properties, and
their output for 1897 was about 10000
tons a month, while smaller operators
must be credited with an additional
1000 tons a month, a total output of at
least 135, 900 tons for the year. In ad-
dition, agricultural pursuits have fur
nished occupation to several thousands
of people, while the fertile valleys Of
the five streams that cross the county
are prosperous with fruit farms, al
falfa pastrues and grazing lands, all
pouring their tribute to Durango as
the commercial center of the section.
Immense quantities of lime, iron and
marble have been located and only
await development to increase Du-
rango from a prosperous city Of 5000
souls to more prosperous city with
double that population.