The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-07-20
MY COUNTRY
IT'S OF THEE
By S. J. FULLWOOD
RHODE ISLAND

=
group Of States, and was one of
the original thirteen. 1t is bound
ed on the north and east by
Massachusetts; on the south by
the Atlantic Ocean, and on the
west by Connecticut. "Only 1860
square miles of it is land, With
$500 people per square mile, it
is the most denseIy populated
State" The surface Of Rhode
Island resembles closely the
Piedmont section of North or
South Carolina. The average al
titude is about 225 feet above sea
level, the highest point being in
the northwest"
We are indebted TO the office
Of the Secretary OF State Of
Rhode Island, FOR the following
facts concerning the State seal.
There shall continue Co be one
seal for the public use Of the
state: the form Of an anchor
shall be engraved thereon; the
motto thereof shall be the word
HOPE; and in a circle around
the same shall be engraven the
words-Seal of The State Of
Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations, 1886"
Rhode Island has a coat Of
arms, which is described thusly:
The arms of the state are gol-
den anchor on a field of blue.
and the motto thereof is HOPE. -
The state flower is the violet. The
State tree is the Maple. The
nickname for the state IS Little
Rhody." The population is,
6Sl. OOO-which il is said is near
ly % per cent urban. And the
State Capitol is located at Prov
idence.
The State flag is described for
us by the same source Of mfor-
nation a. was the State seal.
namely. "the flag OF the state
shall be white, five feet six Inc!eS
flv and four feet ten inches deep
on the pike, bearTn gon each side
in the centre 2 golden anchor,
twenty two inches high, and IN
derneath il a blue ribbon twenty
four inches long and five inches
wide, or in these proportions,
with the motto Hope in golden
letters thereon. the whole sur
rounded by thirteen golden stars
in a circle. The flag shall be edg-
ed with yellow fringe. TIL eplke
shall be surmounted by a spear
head. and the length of the pike
shall be nine feet, not including
the spear-head."
The major crop of Rhode Is
land is Indian Corn. Other rank
ing crops include: potatoes, hay
and oats. Considerably truck
farming is done in the State, and
large quantities Of poultry prod
ucts are marketed.
The major mineral of Rhode
Island is granite. In smaller
quantities We find coal, graphite,
iron, limestone and clay.
Rhode Island is primarily a
manufacturing State. 1854 estab-
hshments for manufacturing are
established in the State, which
employ a total of 98,5l2 wage
earners. Nearly half the value
of the manufactured products is
produced in the textile industry.
in this connection it might be we'll
to record the fact that the oldest
factory in America for spinning
cotton was located at Pawntucket
in 1897. Jewelry is manufactur-
ed in large quantities in Rhode
Island also. Delicate machinery,
rubber goods and similar indus
trial enterprises.
Transportation is largely by
rail in Rhode Island. I'm 1929
there were 100 miles of railway
in the state. of which 1856 miles
were operated" Electrical rail-
ways were operated over ia
miles of trackage. There are
952 miles of highway, of which
533 are hard surfaced. Two riv-
ers are navigable, the Providence
and the Seekonk.
Illiteracy in Rhode Island as a
whole is 40 per cent. Among
the native whites, the rate is OF
per cent; among the foreign born
whites, the percentage is l4.3 per
cent. No rate is given for the
negroe indicating that here too,
that race is very small in num-
bers in the State.
Educational facilities in Rhode
Island are very wei developed.
Elementary education is compul-
sorry. The major institutions of
higher learning include: Brown
University; State Univers t ";
State College; and several State
maintained technical institutions.
"Rhode Island enacted the first
state free school law in 1900;
appointed the first superinten-
dent of schools in 1887, and con-
Quoted the first State survey in
1874"
Roger Williams is the central
figure IN the group or early pill
grims to be considered the found
ers of Rhode Island. He found
ed Providence Plantation in 1886.
From then on the history of this
great state made rapid strides.
"The charter of Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations was
secured in 1863, and under this
the colony and state we're admin
istered until 1912" Two months
prior to the singing of the
Declaration of independence by
the entire thirteen colonies,
Rhode Island, separated herself
by declaration from the Mother
Country. Rhode Island also
furnished the first American
admiral, Esek Hopkins"
Recreation in Rhode Island is
confined mostly to CITY parks. in