Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/233

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VERMONT
195
VERNER

and the disbursements to $4,795,598. There was a balance at the end of the year of $507,715. The bonded indebtedness of the State in that year was $741,531.

Railways.—The total railway mileage in 1919 was 1,080. The chief lines are the Boston & Maine, the Central Vermont, and the Rutland railroads.

Charities and Corrections.—The institutions under the supervision of the State Board of Charities and Probations include the State Prison at Windsor; House of Correction at Rutland; Industrial School at Vergennes; Soldiers' Home at Bennington; School for Feeble-minded; Hospital for the Insane at Waterbury; Sanatorium at Pittsford. There are ten hospitals under the control of the State.

State Government.—The Governor is elected for a term of two years and receives a salary of $3,000 per annum. Legislative sessions are held biennially and are unlimited in length. The Legislature has 30 members in the Senate and 246 in the House, each of whom receives $3.00 per day and mileage. There are 2 Representatives in Congress.

History.—The first settlement by whites was made in 1724 on the site of the present town of Brattleboro. Immigration began to pour in in 1760-1768, during which period the soil had been claimed as part of the New Hampshire grant; whereupon, a counter claim was put forth by the governor of New York, under virtue of the grants from Charles II. to his brother, the Duke of York. On an appeal to the English crown, jurisdiction over the new territory was decided in favor of New York. This was the precursor of an armed strife which continued for 10 years between the New York authorities and the Vermont settlers under the leadership of Ethan Allen and others. This state of things was partially interrupted by the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. In 1777 Vermont declared her independence, and sought admission into the National Confederation. Difficulties intervened, however, and it was not till 1791 that she was admitted into the Union; having previously bought off the claims of New York with the sum of $30,000. Though not at the time a member of the confederated colonies, Vermont had played a distinguished part in the war of independence, and her “Green Mountain Boys” participated in some of the hardest fought battles of the war. In the War of 1812, the Vermonters added fresh laurels to their military record. During the Civil War Vermont furnished more than her quota of men, sending more than one-tenth of the whole population.

VERMONT, UNIVERSITY OF, and State Agricultural College, a coeducational, non-sectarian institution in Burlington, Vt.; founded in 1791; reported at the close of 1919: Professors and instructors, 110; students, 658; number of graduates, 5,500; president (acting), Guy W. Bailey, A. B.

VERNE, JULES, a French novelist; born in Nantes, France, Feb. 8, 1828. He studied law for some time, but afterward began writing short pieces for the stage. In 1863 he published “Five Weeks in a Balloon,” and the vein of the marvelous, tinged with a quasi-scientific truthfulness, was worked by him with great success. His more popular works are: “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” “From the Earth to the Moon,” “Across Africa in a Balloon,” “Michel Strogoff,” “To the Center of the Earth," “Round the World in Eighty Days,” “The Mysterious Island,” etc. Most of his works have been translated. He died at Amiens, March 23, 1905.

JULES VERNE

VERNER, KARL ADOLPH, a Danish philologist; born in Aarhus, Denmark, March 7, 1846; was educated at the University of Copenhagen. In 1876-1883 he was assistant librarian at Halle Univer-