“ In 1894-95 there were conflicts between white and negro labor in New Orleans, and in 1896, all through the so-called Black Belt, white men with arms drove negroes from the polls. By the so-called Grandfather Clause in the Constitution of 1898, which laid down the qualification for suffrage, the vast majority of the negroes were disfranchised, so that in 1900, out of 130,000 registered voters, it was estimated only 7000 were colored, though the negro population almost equals the white. ”

“ Louisiana is thus placed at a decided disadvantage in competition. The heavy expenditure incurred in the machinery required to conduct a sugar plantation successfully results in the establishment of large estates, the average size being much greater than that of farms which are primarily devoted to any other crop. ”

“ The sugar-cane, cotton, and rice fields supply the raw materials for the most important group of manufactures. The sugar and molasses refining products amount to 39.5 per cent. of the total value of the products of the State. The loss formerly sustained through the enforced idleness of the plants for a long period each year is now being obviated through the utilization of the machinery in the manufacture of paper from the waste product or woody fibre of the cane. Another flourishing industry is the manufacture of cottonseed oil and cake, which made a gain of 346 per cent. ”

“ The oyster reefs extend almost continuously along the southern coast, from the border of the State of Mississippi to the mouth of the Atchafalaya River. The seine fishery, which is tributary to New Orleans, is of less importance than formerly, although the chief variety, shrimp, is taken in larger quantities than in any other State. The trot-line fishing for catfish is also the most extensive in the United States. In many districts the supply of alligators is becoming exhausted, and the catch is decreasing. ”

“ Most of the large rivers of the lowland region are distributaries of the Mississippi and Red rivers, locally called bayous, and nearly all are navigable. They interlace all over the area in the most bewildering fashion. ”

“ In 1868 a new constitution enfranchising the negroes was adopted against the vehement opposition of the ‘conservatives,’ the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, and military occupation came to an end in July, 1868. The great mass of white inhabitants were slow in reconciling themselves to the new conditions, and bitter feeling and turbulence marked the strife of parties and factions. In the election of 1872 the Democrats and Liberal Republicans were arrayed against the Radical Republicans. ”

“ As is usual in a region where so little attention is given to cereals, stock-raising is of small importance. The number of horses on farms was, however, considerably more than twice, and the number of mules and asses more than three times, as great in 1900 as in 1850, and the increase in each of these was especially marked in the last decade of that period. The increase was much less for other varieties of domestic animals, although the number of dairy cows has increased rapidly since 1870, and milk and butter have become important sources of income. ”

“ The precipitation exceeds 60 inches in the delta region, falling to 50 inches in the northern part. It is quite evenly distributed throughout the year. New Orleans shows a maximum in June, July, and August, and a minimum in October, while Shreveport has a slighter maximum in April and a lower minimum in August. Rain falls on the average 105 days in the year, over an area extending from Shreveport to Vicksburg, while 100 days is the average for the rest of the State. The sky is clouded 50 per cent. of the winter season and 40 per cent. ”

“ Women taxpayers have the right to vote upon questions submitted to the taxpayers as such, in any municipal or other political subdivisions of the State. General State elections are held on the first Tuesday after the third Monday in April; and parochial elections, except for the city of New Orleans, are upon the same day. Louisiana sends 7 members to the National House of Representatives. ”

“ In 1901 there were 2384 female and 835 male white teachers, and 541 female and 511 male colored teachers. The average salary of the white males is $42 per month, and of the colored males $26.50 per month. According to the law of 1902 there is a State Board of Education consisting of the Governor, Superintendent of Education, Attorney-General, and one person from each of the seven Congressional districts of the State, appointed by the Governor. This board appoints a board of school directors for each parish, the members of which hold office four years. ”

“ There are also a number of denominational colleges, most of which are in New Orleans.
Government. The present Constitution was adopted in convention May 12, 1898. To amend the Constitution it was necessary to have the approval of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, and a majority of the electors voting at a popular election. Voters must have resided in the State two years, in the parish one year, and in the precinct six months. The voter must be able to fill out the application blank for registration as a test of his ability to read and write. ”

“ However, certain of the State's products are much more economically produced on a large scale, and the plantation system of cultivation is probably more extensive in Louisiana than in any of the other Southern States. In 1900 there were 1050 farms which exceeded 1000 acres in area, and the average per acre value of the products ($4.96) was greater than it was for the farms having between 100 and 1000 acres.
The increase in renting is due largely to the increased number of negroes who undertake farming on their own account. ”

“ The land slopes almost imperceptibly to the southeast. The bottom lands of the Mississippi River at the Arkansas line have an elevation of 130 feet, at Natchez 66 feet, at Baton Rouge 34 feet, at New Orleans 15 feet. The average elevation of the State is only about 75 feet above sea level. All the rivers have flood plains of generous width, more or less liable to inundation at times of high water. ”

“ The power of the Legislature to create debt is restricted to the purposes of repelling invasion or suppressing insurrection. The State property tax is limited to six mills on the dollar of the assessed valuation. A poll tax of one dollar is levied upon male inhabitants between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years. ”

“ The great delta is rapidly advancing into the Gulf, depositing in excess of the waste of the waves and of a possible sinking of the immediate region, and it gives promise of annexing the Mobile system in the immediate geologic future. ”

“ Each parish and each ward of the city of New Orleans shall have at least one Representative. No parish except the parish of Orleans is divided in the formation of Senatorial districts. Members of the Legislature receive $5 per day for attendance and mileage. Revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives. ”

“ Inducements are made to teachers to extend their academic courses by allowing graduates from the State Normal, State University, and certain other institutions to teach without passing an examination. ”

“ The growth of the colony was hampered by the restrictive commercial policy of the company and incessant quarrels among the officials. In retaliation for the massacre of the French inhabitants at Fort Rosalie in 1729, warfare was carried on with the Natchez Indians until they were exterminated, but in their operations against the Chickasaws the French were less successful. ”

“ These may now be put to labor upon public works, convict farms, or in manufactories owned or controlled by the State. Persons sentenced to the parish jails may be put to work upon public works within the parish. The State institution for the blind and that for the deaf and dumb are each situated at Baton Rouge. Charitable hospitals are maintained at New Orleans and at Shreveport. The State Insane Asylum is located at Jackson.
Education. The educational reports of Louisiana for recent years show that the State is in a fair way of redeeming its educational reputation. ”

“ These afford competition with the railroads of the State and thus have a very beneficent effect upon transportation rates. A canal constructed from the Mississippi River to Lake Borgne greatly shortens the passage from New Orleans to the Gulf. (For Mississippi improvements, see Mississippi River.) Railroads were slow in developing in the State, and in 1880 there were only 652 miles, but this was increased during the following decade to 1739, and in the decade 1890-1900 to 2801 miles. Louisiana has become the objective point for a number of the leading Southern railroads. ”

“ The climatic conditions invite a very luxuriant vegetation, in which most of the warm temperate species are found, and in addition a large number of subtropical species, both herbaceous and arborescent. ”

“ Its eastern boundary is mainly Mississippi, following the Mississippi River to latitude 31° N., running east on this parallel to Pearl River, which it follows to its mouth in Lake Borgne; farther south it has the Gulf of Mexico on the east. The Gulf washes its entire southern margin, and Texas bounds it on the west. The western boundary follows Sabine Lake and River to latitude 32° N., thence it extends due north to latitude 33°. The State has an area of 48,720 square miles, of which 3300 square miles is water. ”