water facilities in. spite of the 1877 rail strike and the 1894
coal strike. Many Marylanders helped in the South, while
Baltimoreans turned again to Southern markets for com-
mercial outlets.

The growth of industrial enterprise and fortunes made
large philanthropies possible. Among these were the gift to
establish a library, conservatory of music and art gallery by
the one-time Baltimore resident George Peabody (1866);
the endowment of a university by the merchant Johns Hop-
kins (1876); and the gift of a free public library by the
merchant Enoch Pratt (1882).

The scattered public schools of the pre-war period were
consolidated into a strong centrally administered educa-
tional system and public education became a reality.

Few Marylanders saw action in the Spanish-American
War, the most notable being Admiral Winfield Scott Schley
of Frederick County, who was in active command at San-
tiago when the Spanish fleet was destroyed. The First and
Fifth Regiments were mustered into Federal service short-
ly after the declaration of war, but saw no action. Instead
they were stationed at camps in the South until their dis-
charge in 1899.

The Twentieth Century

The story of Maryland in the Twentieth Century is more
one of steady growth and progress rather than dramatic
events or heroic accomplishments. Despite its $125,000,000
fire which began February 7, 1904, Baltimore forged ahead
to become the Nation's sixth largest city, while the State,
augmented by the expansion of the suburbs of Washington
into adjoining counties, rose to the rank of twenty-first in
population although only forty-second in area.

In World War I, approximately 75,000 Maryland citizens
served in the armed forces. Both the 29th and 79th Infantry
Divisions fought with distinction in the Meuse-Argonne
offensive of 1918. The Federal government found Maryland
a convenient location for many of its military establish-
ments. The United States Army built Fort George G. Meade
on more than 7,500 acres near Odenton and established its
proving ground at Aberdeen and an arsenal at Edgewood.
The Navy expanded its Naval Academy facilities at An-
napolis.

In 1918, Maryland became the first state to adopt the Ex-
ecutive Budget System now so widely used. In the years
which followed) the State Legislature showed an increasing