Railroads.— Colorado has about 5,814 miles of rnain track of steam roads valued for pur poses of taxation at $179,460,890; besides well developed electric systems, not only in cities, but between mining camps. A number of great trunk lines cross the State; while short lines pierce to the heart of its mountain districts, g.iving the best transportation service of any State along the Rocky Mountains. The chief systems are the Union Pacific, the Missouri Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Denver and Rio Grande, the Rock Island, the Colorado and Southern, the Colorado Mid land, the Rio Grande Western, the Burlington, the Denver and Northwestern (the Moffat Railroad). Within the past few years two im portant branch lines have been built from Denver, connecting with the Burlington and the Northwestern systems.
Finances.— In 1908 the assessed valuation was $1,250,807,000, and the gross floating and bonded debt in 1916 was $4,020,607.66. Assets, taxes due and sinlcing fund, $2,623,318.34, net debt, $1,397,289.32. There were in Colorado, 1 Nov. 1916, 121 National banks, 196 State banks and trust companies, 5 savings banks and 31 private banlcs, with a combined capital of $20,013,000 and a total deposit of $187, 471,000, an increase of 35 per cent in capital and 50 per cent in deposits since 1907.
Churches.— There are about 700 churches and 1,000 Sunday schools in the State. The Methodists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Congregationalists and Disciples of Christ are the strongest denominations, while the Episcopalians, Lutherans and other denom inations have many churches throughout the State. The various denominations are very aggressive both'in spiritual and secular affairs. The Jews are a very important clement in the growth and development of the State; they number not less than 10,000.
Education.— The organization of the school system, the efficiency of teachers and the equip ment of schoolhouses, places Colorado with the States that lead in educational affairs. In 1916 there were 267,241 children of school age. Of these 178,811 were enrolled in the public schools, while many were in private schools. There are 2,963 schoolhouses and 6,082 school rooms in the State with a valuation of $11,220, 853, for the support of which a tax of $8,176, 855 was collected. Teachers' salaries amount to $4,402,242. The total expenditure for all pur poses. was $7,110,987. The institutions of higher learning are the University of Denver (1864, pgf.E,), the pioneer institution of higher learn ing in the Rocky Mountains, with (1916) 225 professors and instructors, 1,456 students, 3,163 graduates; Colorado College (1874, Con gregational), 48 professors and instructors, 710 students, 940 graduates; University of Colorado (1877, State), 200 professors and instructors, 2,009 students, 2,861 graduates;' College of Sacred Heart (transferred from Las Vegas, N. M., in 1884, Jesuit). The State supports
the School of Mines at Golden, ranking among the best in the world, and the State Teachers College at Greeley, with 63 teachers, 644 students above the Training School, and 1,200 students in the summer school and 2,000 graduates. An aggressive growing State Normal School is maintained at Gunnison. The College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts at Fort Collins has a large student body doing excellent work. Its experiment station has attracted the attention of the world by its cross breeding of animals and plants. The Uni versity of Colorado maintains a medical school. There are many private schools in Denver, Boulder, Cafion City, Leadville and other cities of the State. In Denver the Baptists maintain the only yeomen's college (Colorado Women's College) in the Rocky Mountains. The West minster University of Denver (Presbyterian) is in the process of organization.
Charitable and Penal Institutions.—The State maintains an asylum at Pueblo, a State prison at Cafiorr City and a reformatory in Buena Vista, all under the control of the Board of Corrections, consisting of three members. There is a Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Monte Vista. The counties and cities have organiza ti ns for the care of the poor. The prisoners in the State Prison and Reformatory are em ployed in purely institutional labor on the in side and in roadmaking and farming on the outside. The indeterminate sentence with maximum and minimum periods is used. An Industrial School for male juvenile offenders at Golden, where the inmates are not confined or marked with penal badges, and an Industrial School for girls at Morrison are among the best institutions of the kind in the world.
State Government.—The State constitution, which was largely modeled after that of Illi nois, was ratified 1 July 1876. Colorado was ad mitted to the Union by proclamation of the President 1 Aug. 1876. A few important amendments have been made to the constitution. The most important are the one that provides optional home rule for certain cities and the one that gives women the right of suffrage. The suffrage amendment was voted in 1893. The women have full right to hold office. In the State the office of superintendent of public instruction and in many counties the office of county superintendent of schools are conceded to the women. Experience is leading both the women and the men to believe that other posi tions are successfully filled by the women, even more so than the educational offices, and there is now a tendency to elect women to such offices as county clerk, county treasurer, and even county judge, and the women are asking for the office of secretary of State, State auditor, etc.