1940: New Jersey

Area and Population.

New Jersey, the fourth smallest state in the Union, has an area of 8,224 sq. mi. The state has an extreme length, north and south, of 166 mi. and an extreme width of 52 mi. The census figures of 1940 give New Jersey a population of 4,160,165, an increase of 2.9 per cent over 1930 (4,041,334).

Leading cities in the state are Newark, with a population of 429,760 according to the 1940 census; Jersey City, 301,173; Paterson, 139,656; Trenton, the capital, 124,697; Camden, 117,536, and Elizabeth, 109,912.

According to the 1930 census, New Jersey had 844,442 foreign-born whites, plus 1,413,329 native whites of foreign parentage. Negroes numbered about five per cent of the total. Italians led in the number of foreign-born whites with a total of 190,858, followed by Germans, Polish, Irish, Russians, English and Scotch.

Education.

Statistics for the school year of 1939-1940 in New Jersey were as follows: elementary schools, 1,719; high schools, 291; pupils enrolled in elementary schools, 313,044; pupils in high schools, 201,023; expenditures of county and school districts, $111,988,497; average of teachers' salaries, $2,057.55; number of teachers, 28,595.

Agriculture.

The farm value of New Jersey crops for 1940 was estimated at $110,000,000 by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, compared with a value of $104,000,000 for the 1939 crop. Generally speaking, the prices of most crops were higher in 1940 than in 1939. A total of more than 160,000 tons of 'Garden State' tomatoes were used by New Jersey canneries during the season, for canning, and in soups and catsup. An increase of about 2,000 dairy animals was reported for the year, bringing the total to 206,000. The poultry market continued to expand. Sales at the fruit and vegetable auctions totaled 4,247,627 packages valued at $3,281,341, while sales in the egg and poultry auction markets amounted to $4,315,330. Milk continued to be the principal source of farm income in 1940, totaling between $32,000,000 and $33,000,000.

Industry.

New Jersey ranks sixth among the states in the annual value of its manufactured goods; in diversity of industry it is not outranked by any other state, and in many of the most important lines of manufacture, it ranks high. Smelting and refining copper are among the leading industries, followed by petroleum refining, the manufacture of chemicals, electrical apparatus and supplies, paints and varnishes, meat packing, canning of fruits and vegetables, production of woolen and worsted goods, gold, silver and platinum refining and alloying, dyeing and finishing textiles, the manufacture of radio apparatus and phonographs, foundry and machine shop products. In 1937 the number of wage earners in manufacturing industries was 436,745, the amount paid in wages that year was $523,504,000, and the value of manufactured products amounted to $3,253,246,000.

In the production of recoverable zinc in 1939, New Jersey retained her place as second in the Union, with 88,716 tons, a slight gain over 1938.

Legislative Matters.

Passage of so-called election-reform legislation featured the sessions of the New Jersey Legislature in 1940. One of the bills, which called upon first-class counties to install voting machines before September 1, 1940, had a companion bill which gave the State House Commission the right to purchase the machines for the counties if they failed to do so. However, it was found that the voting machine concerns could not fill a contract before Election Day, so nothing was done in 1940. Another bill provided for the division of Hudson County into four criminal Judicial Districts. The Legislature named the four judges, but a court ruling curtailed their powers and a bill is pending to abolish the law. A child-labor bill restricting the employment of children under 12 was enacted into law, as was a bill setting up a Horse Racing Commission of four members, who were named by the Governor. The Governor also signed a bill abolishing the State Financial Assistance Commission. (See also CHILD LABOR.)

Political Events.

In November, Charles Edison, of West Orange, former Secretary of the Navy, was elected Governor of New Jersey, over his Republican opponent, Robert C. Hendrickson, State Senator, of Woodbury. Republicans, however, retain control of the Legislature of 1941, which consists of 16 Republicans and 5 Democrats in the Senate and 41 Republicans and 19 Democrats in the House of Assembly. Mayor Meyer Ellenstein, City Commissioner Franklin and five other defendants were acquitted by a jury in the Newark meadow land conspiracy case after an 82-day trial; Chief Justice Thomas J. Brogan and Associate Justices Harry Heher and Joseph B. Perskie of the New Jersey Supreme Court were confirmed by the State Senate for new seven-year terms. Newark voters in a referendum defeated a movement to supplant the Commission government by the Council-Manager form.

Appropriations.

For the operation of the state government from July 1, 1940, to June 30, 1941, the Legislature appropriated $39,111,928, which is $123,000 less than for the preceding fiscal year. In addition, a highway appropriation of $42,807,000 was voted. For relief, the Legislature fixed the state's share of direct relief costs at 75 per cent of the total cost, not to exceed the maximum of $15,000,000 a year. It is believed that the sum will be considerably less due to defense preparedness contracts which are now employing many who were idle.

State Officials.

Governor, Charles Edison; Secretary of State, Thomas A. Mathis; Comptroller, Frank J. Murray; Treasurer, William H. Albright; Auditor, Frank Durand; Attorney General, David T. Wilentz; Commissioner of Education, Charles H. Elliott.

United States Senators:

William H. Smathers, W. Warren Barbour.