Agriculture.—The production and the value of the principal crops in 1919 were as follows: Corn, 48,726,000 bushels, valued at $79,911,000; oats, 9,240,000 bushels, valued at $8,131,000; wheat, 3,230,000 bushels, valued at $6,525,000; rice, 6,162,000 bushels, valued at $14,789,000; hay, 770,000 tons, valued at $15,785,000; cotton, 830,000 bales, valued at $151,060,000; potatoes, 3,321,000 bushels, valued at $6,808,000; sweet potatoes, 4,600,000 bushels, valued at $5,201,000. Of farm and ranch animals the most numerous are swine and cattle.
Manufactures.—There were in 1914 2,604 manufacturing establishments, with 41,979 wage earners. The capital invested was $77,162,000; the amount paid in wages, $20,752,000; the value of materials used, $44,907,000; and the value of finished product, $83,940,000.
Banking.—In 1919 there were 78 National banks in operation, having $5,557,000 in capital and $3,437,220 in outstanding circulation. There were also 386 State banks, with $14,062,000 in capital, $101,896,000 in deposits, and $145,181,000 in resources.
Education.—Conditions have never been favorable in Arkansas for educational development owing to the large percentage of negro population. There is a compulsory education law, but several counties are exempted from its provisions. Enrollment in the public schools is about 450,000 and the average daily attendance about 300,000. There are about 11,000 teachers. The expenditure for public schools is between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000 annually. In 1917 the Legislature passed measures providing for aid for the establishment of rural high schools.
The principal universities and colleges are Arkansas College, Hendrix College, Ouachita College, Arkansas Cumberland College, University of Arkansas (q. v.).
Churches.—The strongest denominations numerically in the State are the Methodist Episcopal, South; Regular Baptist, Colored; Regular Baptist, South; African Methodist Episcopal; Disciples of Christ; and the Methodist Episcopal.
Railroads.—The total railway mileage of the State is 5,400. There has been little new construction in recent years.
Finances.—The assessed realty valuation in 1919 was $359,436,376. The State debt was $2,008,166. The internal revenue receipts amounted to $7,515,009.
State Government.—The Governor is elected for a term of two years. Legislative sessions are held biennially, and are limited to 60 days each. The Legisla- ture has 35 members in the Senate and 100 in the House. There are 7 representatives in Congress. In politics the State is strongly Democratic.
History.—This portion of the original Territory of Louisiana, named after a tribe of Indians found there by the earliest explorers of record, was first settled by the French in 1670. It became a part of Louisiana Territory in 1803, of Missouri Territory in 1812; was organized as Arkansas Territory, with the present Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory in 1819; and was detached from Indian Territory and created a State in 1836. It was settled almost exclusively by people from the Southern States, and early became a battle ground in the Civil War. Following the seizure of Federal arsenals by the State authorities after the State had seceded, came the defeat of the Confederates in the battle at Pea Ridge, May 6-7, 1862, and in that of Prairie Grove, or Fayetteville, Dec. 7 following; the occupation by the Union forces of Helena; and the capture of Arkansas Post by a combined Union military and naval force, Jan. 11, 1863, and of Little Rock, Sept. 10, following. The State was under military control in 1864-1868 and adopted its present Constitution in 1874.
ARKANSAS CITY, a city of Kansas, in Cowley co. It is on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Missouri Pacific, the Kansas Southwestern, the Midland Valley, and the St. Louis and San Francisco railroads. The city has an Indian school, a training college, a library, and other public buildings. A canal connecting the Arkansas and Walnut rivers furnishes water power for manufacturing. It is the center of an important agricultural and stock-raising community, and also has manufactures of lumber, carriages, and creamery products. Pop. (1910) 7,518; (1920) 11,253.
ARKANSAS RIVER, a tributary of the Mississippi, rising in central Colorado and flowing E. into Kansas. It then flows S. E. across Oklahoma and diagonally across Arkansas. It is about 2,000 miles long, and is navigable to Wichita, Kan., a distance of about 650 miles.
ARKANSAS, UNIVERSITY OF, a coeducational institution organized in 1872, with academic and technical departments in Fayetteville, law and medical departments in Little Rock, and normal school for colored students in Pine Bluff; reported at the end of 1919: Professors and instructors, 90; students, 720; president, John Clinton Farrell.
