1942: Wyoming

Area and Population.

The eighth largest state in the Union, Wyoming has an area of 97,506 sq. mi., of which 320 are covered by water. Of the total, 3,426 sq. mi. are comprised within Yellowstone National Park, and 150 sq. mi. in the Grand Teton National Park.

The population was listed in 1940 as 250,742, of whom 93,577 were urban and 157,165 rural, the urban population having increased 33.5 per cent between 1930 and 1940, and the rural 1.1 per cent. Of the total population, 246,597 are whites, 956 Negroes, and 2,349 Indians.

In 1940 there were 89 incorporated towns in Wyoming, and of these only six had a population of 5,000 or over: Cheyenne, 22,474; Casper, 17,964; Laramie, 10,627; Sheridan, 10,529; Rock Springs, 9,827; and Rawlins, 5,531. The Japanese relocation center, built during the summer of 1942 near Cody, and named Heart Mountain, contains a population of approximately 11,385.

Education.

The public schools in Wyoming have an enrollment of 55,904 students, with a total of 71,445 persons of school age (6 to 21). The total number of public schools is 1,024, classified as follows: high schools, 96; elementary schools, 225; and rural schools, 703. The average annual salary of teachers is $1,152 for the elementary schools, and $1,388 for the secondary.

The total operating cost for Wyoming schools is slightly over $6,000,000 annually.

Wyoming schools have been quick to adjust their educational programs to the needs of the war emergency, and this is revealed by the fact that 31 of the high schools, or about one third, are now offering preflight aeronautics. Approximately 600 senior high school students are now receiving preliminary preflight training.

Many adjustments in the school program have been made to accelerate the training of youth for war service. Two thirds of Wyoming high schools are today offering some type of physical education program for their students. Offerings in both science and mathematics have been expanded in keeping with the recommendation of the Army and Navy, and other governmental agencies. Three or more full units of science are available in 70 per cent of the high schools, and in 31 per cent of the schools 4 or more units in science are offered. About 64 per cent of the high schools are offering three or more complete units in the field of mathematics.

Minerals.

Investigations conducted in connection with defense have established that there are more than a score of valuable minerals and compounds in Wyoming, including coal, iron, ferro-alloys, titanium, vanadium, chrome, manganese, bentonite, potash, phosphate, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, graphite, kyanite, silica, asphalt, vermiculite, mica, beryl, tin, and asbestos. The state has an estimated 1,761,000,000,000 tons of recoverable coal, 400,000,000 barrels of oil reserves, 250,000,000 of them asphaltic oil suitable for synthetic rubber, highway construction, and roofing material, besides petroleum coke and large reserves of natural gas.

Agriculture.

Wyoming is semi-arid, and agriculture is carried on by irrigation and by 'dry farming.' The state's principal crop is hay, with wheat ranking second. Other crops in order of importance are sugar beets, beans, corn, oats, barley and potatoes. Turkeys add approximately $500,000 yearly, to the farmers' income, and butter, cheese, milk and cream are estimated to be worth $1,500,000 annually.

Extensive migration of workers including farm laborers from the state, produced acute labor shortages during 1942. Even though there are few substantial war industries in Wyoming, the employment of women already far exceeds that of the last war. Railroads are employing more workers than at any time in history, and are overburdened by the impact of an unprecedented volume of business.

Agriculture sustained considerable losses due to labor scarcity during the harvest. This was partially offset by the participation of business men and school children in the harvest work, and by the employment of some of the Japanese from the War Relocation Center. The drain on manpower by selective service is a prime factor in hindering full mobilization of the mineral, agricultural, and industrial resources.

Defense.

Each of the twenty-three counties of the state has a Defense Council and some of the incorporated towns are also organized and function under a County Council.

In cooperation with the American Legion, a training school was held at Casper in July 1942, and more than one hundred persons from different parts of the state were trained in the work of the U. S. Defense Corps. Volunteers numbering 23,986, 9.6 per cent of the total population of Wyoming, are enrolled in Civilian Defense, with 10,103 having completed their training. This ranks Wyoming, on a per capita basis, second in organization in the Seventh Defense Region. The State Guard was organized as a unit of civilian defense in 1941, but has experienced a large turnover in members due to the numbers joining the armed forces or entering defense work elsewhere.

State Officers.

Governor, Dr. Lester C. Hunt; Secretary of State, Mart T. Christensen; Auditor, Wm. (Scotty) Jack; Treasurer, Earl Wright; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Esther L. Anderson.

United States Senators:

Joseph C. O'Mahoney, E. V. Robertson.