BECKLEY, a rapidly growing city in the midst of the "smokeless" coal-fields and heavy timber stands of West Virginia, U.S.A., 72m. S.E. of Charleston; the county seat of Raleigh county. It is on Federal Highways 19 and 21, and is served by the Chesapeake and Ohio and the Virginian railways. Its popu lation was 342 in 190o; 4,149 in 1920; and it was 9,357 in 1930. It lies on a broad plateau of the Alleghanies, 2,5ooft. above sea level, in a picturesque setting, and has a delightful summer climate. Primarily it is a trading and social centre for the extensive mining and lumbering undertakings in the neighbourhood. The assessed valuation of property in 1925 was '$7,202,548, and the resources of the four banks amounted to $8,000,000.