State The Constitutional Convention met at Helena 4 July 1889, conclud ing its labors 19 August. The constitution was approved by the people at a special election in October, and the proclamation making Montana a State was -issued 8 November. Women are now possessed of the full franchise and may vote at all elections and hold office. In 1919 women fill every position for county superin tendent of schools. The office of State super intendent of public instruction is filled by a woman. Women are elected to different county offices. Two women sat in the State legislature in 1917. The governor and State officers hold office four years, elected by a plurality vote. The Territorial and State governors and their terms of office are as follows: The governor is a member of the State board of prison commissioners, State board of examiners, State board of land commission ers, State board of equalization, State board of education, State board of commissioners for the insane, State board of commissioners for the deaf, dumb and blind, State board of horti culture, State board of farmers' institutes, State hoard of livestock commissioners. By and with the advice and consent of the State senate he appoints the members of the various boards where the law does not particularly specify. He appoints the State land agent, the register of lands, the veterinarian, the forester, the engineer, the commissioner of labor and indus try, the dairy commissioner, the recorder of marks and brands, the mine inspectors and some other appointive officers. The legislature has biennial sessions in odd-numbered years. The State senate is composed of one member from each county. The State house of repre sentatives has such apportionment as is made by the legislature. There are 43 in the senate, four years, one-half holding over, and 97 in the house, making a total legislative assembly of 120. The State has two representatives in Congress from two districts. There are three judges of the State Supreme Court, for a term of six years. There are 18 judicial districts, the judges elected for four years. The term of county commissioners is four years, each county having three members. State officials are elected for four years, county officials, ex cept commissioners, for two years.
Banks and Banking.—At the close of the fiscal year ending 30 June 1917, Montana led the nation in the number of new national banks chartered during the year. Thirty new banks brought the total of national banks to nearly 100. There were at that time 264 State banks and 13 private banks. The total capitali zation of banks is about $11,200,000; loans and bonds, $80,000,000; cash on hand, 11 Sept. 1917, $24,000,000.
Education.—Although young among the States, Montana ranks high in the efficiency of her educational system. When Montana was admitted to the Union the common schools re ceived as an endowment from the national gov ernment one-eighteenth of all the public land in the State. When fully completed by survey and selection of lien lands the total will be approximately 5,234,000 acres. Up to 1918 the total sales of 794,914 acres netted the common school fund $14,539,887.• More than one-third of this is invested in bonds, warrants, and farm loans, bearing interest. Nearly $8,000,000 is represented by deferred payments, drawing 5 per cent interest. The State treasurer has $1,247,576 in cash awaiting investment. The total income from this source in 1917 was $877,536, a total of $5.50 per capita for school children. Land grants to the State institutions for higher learning aggregate 668,080 acres, much of which has been sold. The fund ac cumulating from sales is loaned at interest. In 1917-18 there were 122,000 children enrolled in the schools of the State, an increase in nine years of 88 per cent. In the same year there were 5,781 teachers, an increase in 10 years of 203 per cent. The greatest increase in teach ers and children was in the northeastern part, where heavy immigration had taken place.
Summer school attendance of all Montana teachers in 1918 was 1,227. The average salary of superintendents and principals in the county seats was $2,282.67. All of the county super intendents in the State are women. All but five county superintendents have supervision of territories larger than Rhode Island, and six county superintendents have counties to travel that are larger than Delaware and Rhode Island together. The public schools of the the State are under the supervision of the State department of public instruction. Under the State superintendent there is a deputy, and two rural school inspectors. The legislature in 1918 made provision for an inspection of high schools. The control of the higher State insti tutions is in the hands of the State board of education. This board consists of the gover nor, the attorney-general and the State superin tendent of public instruction, ex-officio mem bers, and seven other members appointed by the governor. The University of Montana, composed of its four schools, as well as the State School for Deaf, Dumb and Feeble Minded, at Boulder; the State Industrial School, at Miles City, and the State Orphans' Home, at Twin Bridges, all come under the jurisdiction of the State board. Each of these institutions has a local administrative board to carry on its work, and the four schools com-, posing the University of Montana have, in addition to the local board, a chancellor of the university, located at Helena, whose duty it is to correlate and unify the work. The State has a system of county high schools, under a separate board of trustees and with separate administration from city schools. These schools are maintained by county assessment, and are free to pupils in the county. The law was passed in 1898. Eighteen counties in the State have county high schools. For these schools, expensive and lasting buildings are constructed. The State Normal School at Dillon has 535 in attendance. The State Agricultural College and experiment station at Bozeman (1892) has about 1,000 students. The State School of Mines (1899) is at Butte, with about 100 students. The State University (1895), at Mis soula, has about 1,000 students. The university established a summer school for science at Flat head Lake in 1899, known as the University of Montana Biological Station. It has continued in successful operation since, and has drawn many from the State and from Eastern States. The Montana Wesleyan College (Methodist) is at Helena. The College of Montana (Pres byterian) was for years the only institution for higher education in the State. Financial diffi culties caused its suspension about 1898. The Billings Polytechnic Institute is at Billings. Many private schools are maintained by the Catholic Church. The Sacred Heart Academy at Missoula has an attendance of several hun dred, as have also the academies in Butte and other places. In accordance with an act of the legislature approved 8 March 1915, teach ers who have taught 25 years, the last 15 of which have been in Montana, may retire on an annual retirement salary of $600. School officials are required to deduct $1 every month from the•salary of every teacher in their em ploy for the benefit of the retirement salary fund. This applies to all teachers except those actually in the employ of Montana schools at the date of the approval of the act, who were allowed till 1 Jan. 1916 to decide whether to avail themselves of the law or not. There are 18 county high schools. The number of ac credited high schools (1918) is, for four years, 55; for three years, 10; for two years, 38; for one year, 18. There are nine academies and private schools accredited for four years. The number of county libraries (1918) is four; high schools with normal training courses, 11; school nurses in city schools, 11.