Manufactures.—Maine is an important manufacturing State. It has excellent water power, and this is used to develop power for many large textile, paper, and other mills. In 1914 there were 5,378 manufacturing establishments, employ ing 82,140 wage earners. The capital in vested was $233,844,000; the amount paid in wages, $43,254,000; the value of the materials used was $117,655,000; and the value of the completed products was $200,450,000.
Banking.—On Oct. 31, 1919, there were 64 National banks in operation, having $6,915,000 in capital; $5,846,506 in out standing circulation and $5,355,750 in United States bonds. There were also 44 mutual and stock savings banks with $97,253,000 in deposits; and 53 trust and loan associations, with $4,599,000 capital. The exchanges at the United States clearing house at Portland dur ing the year ending Sept. 30, 1919, ag gregated $129,199,000.
Education.—The school population of the State in 1919 was 228,489. The average daily attendance in elementary schools was 97,638; in secondary schools, 15,247. The total school enrollment in elementary schools was 131,313; in sec ondary schools, 17,956. There were 4,848 teachers in the elementary schools and 849 in the secondary schools. The aver age yearly salary in the elementary schools was $462.46, and in the secondary schools, $857.73. The total expenditure in 1919 for elementary schools was $3, 892,279, and for secondary schools $1, 257,114. The State is well supplied with public high schools and private schools. There are four colleges: Bowdoin Col lege at Brunswick, Bates College at Lewiston, University of Maine at Orono, and Colby College at Waterville.
Churches.—The strongest denomina tions in the State are the Roman Catho lic, Congregational, Methodist Episcopal, Regular Baptist, Freewill Baptist, Ad vent Christians, Protestant Episcopal, and Universalist.
Finance.—The total expenditures for the year ending Jan. 1, 1919, amounted to $8,199,235, and the receipts to $8,323, 521. There was a balance on hand at that date of $1,986,494. The trust funds of the State amount to about $1,600,000.
Transportation.—The total railway mileage in the State in 1919 was 2,304 miles. The Maine Central and the Bangor and Aroostook railroads have the longest mileage. The former is 995 miles long and the latter 630 miles. The Canadian Pacific railroad has 177 miles of track within the State, and the Boston and Maine about 140 miles.
Charities and Corrections.—There are State hospitals at Augusta and Bangor, the Maine School for Feeble-minded, and the Bath Military and Naval Asylum, lo cated at Bath. In addition to these are
the Maine Industrial School for Girls at Hallowell, the State School for Boys at South Portland, and the Maine State Prison at Thomaston.
State Government.—The governor is elected for a term of two years and re ceives a salary of $5,000 per annum. Legislative sessions are held biennially, beginning on the first Wednesday in January, and have no time limit. The Legislature has 31 members in the Sen ate and 151 in the House. There are four representatives in Congress. The State government in 1920 was Republican.
History.—The first attempt to settle on the territory was made by the French under De Monts, who, having received a patent from the French king, planted a large colony on Neutral Island in the St. Croix river. In 1613, French Jesuits established a mission on Mount Desert Island, which was expelled by the Eng lish the next year. In 1616, Sir Ferdi nando Gorges, a leading promoter of colonization in Maine, sent his agent, Richard Vines, with a small company to Saco to remain during the winter, explore the country, and test the cli mate. Capt. John Smith visited and ex plored the coast in 1614, examining it as far S. as Cape Cod. In 1620 the King of Great Britain made a division of the grand charter of 1606, and granted to the Plymouth Company in England the whole country lying between lat. 40° and 48° N., and to the Virginia Company the S. portion of the original patent. From 1630 to 1632 settlements were com menced in Saco, Biddeford, Scarboro, Cape Elizabeth, and Portland, all of which continued to prosper till the In dian War of 1625, when they were all overthrown. The territory between the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers was granted by Charles II., in 1664, to his brother, the Duke of York, who had the year before established a seat of gov ernment there at the city of Pemaquid, where a strong fort was built. This country was surrendered to Massachu setts in 1686, which took possession, exercised government over it as far E. as Penobscot, which, with all the terri tory E. to the St. Croix and Nova Scotia, was confirmed to her by the provisional charter of 1691. She afterward relin quished Nova Scotia, but all the re mainder was secured to her by the treaty of 1783, which established the independ ence of the United States, and she re tained possession and jurisdiction till the separation of 1820 took place, which con stituted Maine a separate and independ ent member of the Federal Union.