Commerce and Florida's position makes it the natural outlet for ex ports to the West Indies; but till late years un improved harbors and inferior railroad equip ment checked the volume of commerce. The export trade of the State amounts to about $30,000,000 annually, with about $4,000,000 im ports. About 3,000,000 tons of shipping clear yearly from Florida ports. The tar, resin and turpentine exported from Pensacola are valued at over $2,500,000 annually, and cotton to the value of $9,030,000 is exported from this port, but some of this comes from Alabama and Georgia, as also some of the tobacco and phos phate exported from here. The State's thief exports are timber and lumber (over $19,000,000 annually), naval stores, fruits, corn, cotton, tobacco and cigars, phosphate rock and fertil izer, fish, and horses, mules and cattle to Cuba. The largest exporting points are Pensacola, Tampa, Jacksonville and Key West. There are important steamer lines running from Jackson ville to Charleston, New York and Boston; from Tampa to Havana and Porto Rico; from Key West to Havana, Galveston, New Orleans and New York, and from Miami to Nassau and Cuba, also coasting lines from Fernandina, Apalachicola, Carrabelle and Punta Gorda.
Great improvements have been made in the principal harbors in recent years. The harbor channel of Pensacola is now 30 feet deep at low water and 500 feet in width. At Jackson ville harbor improvements are being carried out, which when completed will insure a chan nel 30 feet in depth and about 300 feet wide from the inner harbor to the oc,ean. There is much tourist traffic and business navigation on the rivers and bays. The Saint John's has been greatly improved as also the channel of the Apalachicola.
Of prime importance in the development of the State have been the railways. In 1880 the State had only 518 miles of railway, in 1917 it had 6,060 miles, of which 5,040 were single track and 3,833 were main track. The mileage of electric roads in the same year was 128. The largest railway system is the. Atlantic Coast Line with 947 miles of main track lines. The Seaboard Air Line is next in importance with 928 miles, followed by the Florida East Coast, 522 miles; the Louisville & Nashville, 216 miles; the Georgia Southern & Florida, 152 miles, and the Apalachicola Northern, 102. The Florida East Coast Railway extension to Key West was opened 22 Jan. 1912. This ex tension was a remarkable engineering feat, linking up the Keys for about 100 miles. The construction comprised numerous concrete via ducts over channels and embankments across the Keys. Railroad rates are regulated by a State railroad commission, which may fix any rate it deems equitable provided that the revenue from such rates does not sink below the sum required to meet operating expenses and general maintenance charges.
Banks, Finance, There are 46 na tional banks in the State, with a paid capital in excess of $6,000,000, and total deposits amounting to $29,000,000. The 143 State banks
have deposits aggregating $23,000,000, of which about $6,000,000 are classed as savings depos its. The four savings banks in the State had 7,197 depositors in 1916, with $1,759,612 placed to their credit, being $244.49 to each depositor. There are seven private banks in operation and loan and trust companies with deposits $732,127.
['he assessed value of real property for ' was $214,771,689; for personal property, making a total for that year of Z,216,072. In the same year the financial .us of the State Treasury was as follows: nce on hand, 1 Jan. 1917 $1.077,710 rived from all sources in 1917 4,922.028 Total $5.999,738 inroad during 1917 4.935.929 nce in Treasury, 1 Jan. 1918 $1,063.809 The public debt of the State, 1 Jan. 1918, isisted of refunding bonds to the amount of 11,567 at 3 per cent interest, all of which re held by State educational funds. Under ent legislation special tax districts are pro led which are empowered to issue bonds for construction of free public schools. Education.— It was not until 1835 that a blic school system was provided for by pub funds. In the census of 1840, 18 academies :re reported and 51 public schools. In 1849 State appropriation provided in a manner for e education of white children and the •Federal ivernrnent in the same year made a grant of rid for the same purpose. In 1860, the State .ported 2,032 pupils in public schools and 4,486 academics and other schools. The Civil far wrought havoc with the growing educa Dna! system and it was not until 1869 that the ork was well in hand again. The problem in lorida, as elsewhere in the South, is made try difficult by the scattered rural population nd by the great number of negroes. The tate constitution prescribes that white and Dlored children shall not be taught in the same chool, but impartial provision shall be made or both. The percentage of illiteracy in 1910, vas 13.8, a decline from 21.9 per cent in the irevious decade. The percentage of illiterates tmong negroes was 25.5 per cent. In 1916, here were in operation 2,916 public elementary .chools, with 198,365 enrolled pupils. There were in the same year 4,380 female teachers tnd 1,485 men teachers. In 103 public high schools there were 176 men and 211 women teachers and 6,339 pupils. The total ex penditure on education in that year was $3,818,675. Higher education is provided in a University of the State of Florida, at Gaines ville; a State College for Women at Tallahassee, with 550 students; Rollins College at Winter Park, with 175 students. There is also the John B. Stetson (Baptist) University at De Land, founded in 1887, and now having an enrollment of 462 students. There is a colored normal and industrial school at Tallahassee. Colored secondary education is provided for by three institutions at Jacksonville And one at Live Oak.