1938: Arizona

Area and Population.

Sometimes known as the 'Apache State,' Arizona is more frequently referred to as the Baby State, or the Copper State. It was admitted to statehood Feb. 14, 1912. The state flower is the pure white waxy blossom of the saguaro, or giant cactus. The state ranks 5th in size and 43rd in population. Of the area, 113,956 sq. miles, 24.4 per cent is privately owned, 11.7 per cent state owned, 18.6 per cent is public domain, the remainder comprises national forests, parks, monuments, and Indian and military reservations.

The population of the 1930 census, 435,573, fell to 406,000 in 1936 owing to closing of the copper mines, but turned upward in 1937, the estimate for 1938 being 413,000. Racially, the population is 60.7 per cent white, 2.5 per cent Negro, 26.2 per cent Mexican, 10 per cent Indian and .6 per cent others. The largest cities are Phoenix, the capital, 48,118 (1930); and Tucson, 32,506. Others include Douglas, Bisbee, Prescott, Nogales, Yuma and Flagstaff.

Resources.

The state's outstanding resources are rich soil in alluvial valleys; water in numerous streams, principally the Colorado, Gila, Salt and Verde rivers; varied climate, exceptionally favorable to both animal and vegetable life; great mineral wealth; large cattle range areas; the huge power potentialities of the Grand Canyon. The chief industries are agriculture and horticulture, grazing, mining, and the care of winter and summer visitors, health-seekers, and tourists. Cool summers in the northern part, warm winters in the central and southern portions of the state, dry, clear atmosphere, inspiring scenery and natural wonders supply abundant reason for tourist hotels in and near the principal cities, and guest resorts and 'dude ranches' throughout the state. Of special interest to tourists is the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. (See NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS.)

In pursuance of a program to give accessibility to the many interesting places in the state an excellent highway system has been developed. This includes (as of Dec. 31, 1937) 2,907 miles of hard surface highways, of which 190 miles were constructed during 1937. The Bartlett Dam is being built to aid flood control and furnish water supply. (See CIVIL ENGINEERING; RECLAMATION.)

Agriculture.

Practically all agricultural and horticultural products known to the temperate and semitropical zones are successfully grown in Arizona. Production in 1937 included: alfalfa, approximately 150,000 acres, product chiefly fed to stock; cotton 299,000 acres, estimated production 315,500 bales; lettuce, 30,298 acres, a portion of which was plowed under, 10,823 carloads shipped; cantaloups and honey dews, 8,902 acres, 2,881 carloads shipped; grapefruit, 15,000 acres, 4,510 carloads shipped; oranges, 7,700 acres, 872 carloads shipped. The irrigated area of the state comprises 505,624 acres, though the total area susceptible of reclamation by irrigation is several times as much. There is some dry farming, but areas in which rainfall may be safely relied upon are limited. A large part of the state is adapted to grazing. Livestock estimates from latest returns for 1938 indicate: cattle, 786,944; sheep, 775,776; goats, 107,759; swine, 25,888; the total wool clip, 810,000 pounds.

Mineral Products.

The year 1937 brought Arizona an increase of 55 per cent in the value of its leading minerals, copper, gold, silver, lead and zinc, which totaled $90,855,402, compared with $57,996,073 in 1936. This was chiefly due to the extraordinary rise in both the amount and value of copper, a product in which Arizona leads the Union. Production reached 576,956,000 pounds, valued at $69,811,676 in 1937, as against 422,550,000 pounds valued at $38,874,600 in 1936. Zinc and lead also showed a substantial increase; the former amounting to 10,052,000 pounds with a valuation of $653,380 in 1937, compared with 7,178,000 in 1936, valued at $358,900. The production of lead in 1937 amounted to 24,708,000 pounds, as against 21,376,000 pounds in 1936. Gold and silver were fairly stationary in amount and value; gold production totaled 332,604 oz. in 1937, a new high for that metal; silver amounted to 9,422,552 oz. In the production of tungsten concentrates Arizona showed a reduction from 433 tons in 1936, to 312 tons in 1937.

The estimated value of Arizona's metals for 1938 was $57,069,900, a drop of 30 per cent from 1937. The largest share in this reduced figure was the result of lower copper production, amounting to 415,500,000 pounds.

Education.

During the school year ended June 30, 1938, education was provided for 89,708 pupils in grade schools, 20,348 in high schools, 835 in junior colleges, in addition to 1,740 regular students in state colleges, and 2,780 regular students in the University of Arizona at Tucson. In the elementary schools 2,595 teachers were employed at salaries ranging from $712.50 to $2,414.25; in secondary schools 802 teachers at salaries from $787.40 to $2,960.00. Total expenditures for the maintenance of elementary schools, for the year 1937-38, were $5,725,287.10, and for secondary schools, $2,553,032.70, a per capita expenditure, based on average daily attendance, of $81.93 and $156.64 respectively.

In secondary education added emphasis was placed on vocational education, including courses in agriculture, homemaking, trades and industries, and 6,326 pupils took advantage of these facilities. Supervised correspondence study for the benefit of pupils in isolated sections, or unable to attend because of physical disability, was made possible through the Phoenix union high school.

Banking.

Business conditions, as reflected by banks, continued during 1938 to show improvement. Reports of seven state banks with five branches, and of five national banks with twenty-one branches, showed for the year ended June 30, resources of $90,987,520.81, an increase over 1937 of $1,699,029.56; loans of $26,874,754.97, an increase of $2,110,276.23; deposits of $83,283,314.76, an increase of $1,452,655.05. No bank has closed since April 14, 1933.

Legislation.

The Thirteenth Legislature, 1937-8, was in session a total of 137 days. Outstanding laws enacted include creation of an agency to administer unemployment compensation; creation of a State Board of Social Security and Welfare; and passage of a wage-hour law for women and minors. At the November election the people approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting members of the legislature from holding other public employment during the term of office, and defeated proposals exempting homes from taxation and making the tenure of appointive state officers coterminous with the term of the governor.

Election.

Interest in the 1938 elections centered in an exciting contest for Governor. The successful candidate, State Senator Robert T. Jones, a Democrat, won over four opponents after a primary election which the runner-up, James H. Kerby, contested, charging bribery, fraudulent counting of ballots, falsification of returns, and other irregularities. Partial inspection of primary ballots disclosed minor irregularities only, with no evidence of fraud. Following the general election, the contest was dismissed.

State Officers.

As a result of the election, the chief state officers are as follows: Governor, Robert T. Jones; Secretary of State, Harry W. Moore; Attorney-General, Joe Conway (incumbent); Auditor, Ana Frohmiller (incumbent); Treasurer, William Peterson; Superintendent of Public Instruction, H. E. Hendrix (incumbent); Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, A. C. McAllister (incumbent). All are Democrats.

United States Senators.

Carl Hayden, Henry F. Ashurst.