1938: Kentucky

Area and Population.

Admitted to statehood June 1, 1792, Kentucky ranks 36th in size among the states, with an area of 40,598 sq. mi. In population it ranks 17th, numbering 2,614,589 according to the census of 1930; 2,920,000 on July 1, 1937, according to the latest Federal estimate. The largest cities are Louisville, 307,745 (1930 census); Covington, 65,252; Lexington, 45,736; Paducah, 33,541. The capital is Frankfort, 11,626.

Mineral Products.

Bituminous coal, Kentucky's leading mineral, in which the state ranks fourth in the Union, continued in 1937 to account for about two-thirds of the total value of the state's minerals. This total had amounted to $116,697,776 in 1936. Coal production in 1937, at 47,053,000 tons, showed a slight decrease from the preceding year, when the quantity mined had been 47,521,950 tons, with a value of $77,678,000. Natural gas ranked next in importance, production amounting to about 37,000,000 M cu. ft. as against 43,903,000 M cu. ft. (value, $19,200,000) the previous year. Petroleum was somewhat below the 1936 record, with 5,484,000 bbl. Estimated production for 1938 is 5,821,000 bbl. Shipments of fluorspar, in which Kentucky leads the Union, amounted in 1937 to 87,296 tons; fireclay and ball clay totaled 340,121 tons.

Liquor Industry.

Since 1933 the state has derived a total income from alcoholic beverages, whiskey, beer and wines, of $14,860,055.89. During 1938 Kentucky distilleries created 39,000 jobs and used approximately 20,000,000 bushels of grain, the purchase of which returned to the growers more than $12,000,000. In May 1938 it was announced that Kentucky had 40 per cent of all the whiskey in the United States, the state's whiskey warehouses storing 186,210,551 gallons. In June Kentucky's 63 distilleries closed, as the nation is overstocked. Liquor production in Kentucky and the United States is currently at the lowest point since repeal, and production and consumption statistics indicate that the wholesale shut down of distilleries is far more than seasonal. During the fiscal year which ended June 30, 1938, the Federal alcohol tax unit seized 588 stills in Kentucky, arrested 1,321 persons for making illegal whiskey, and confiscated 224,414 gallons of liquor and mash. The value of the seized property was placed at $68,889.

Education.

School heads met in December at Frankfort, at the annual meeting of the Department of Superintendents, to discuss various problems, ranging from transportation of country pupils to methods of study. Governor A. B. Chandler later announced he understood that the Federal Government would supplement educational costs in southern states and that he had asked Frank D. Peterson, Comptroller in the State Finance Department, to take charge of assembling data on Kentucky schools with a view to taking advantage of the opportunity.

In 1937-38, of a total count of 792,079 inhabitants of school age in Kentucky there were enrolled in the public schools 618,318. The amount paid by the state for education was $9,148,570.56. This was for 120 county districts and 143 city districts.

Finance.

In January Governor A. B. Chandler, in outlining to the General Assembly a ten-point program, said he would effect complete payment of the state debt by November 1st, 1939. Two days later Kentucky's biggest biennial budget bill, approximately $49,000,000 for the next two years, was approved almost unanimously by the House of Representatives and sent to the Senate. Frank D. Peterson, Director of Accounts and Control, reported that revenue collections for the first seven months of the present fiscal year were $359,982.77 less than the estimate for the period. The total collected during the seven months was $15,224,421.47. Peterson reported that alcohol taxes and licenses showed a deficiency in comparison with the original estimate, but that the other divisions showed a large increase. In July the Director reported that 1938 was the second year since 1907 that the state's budget had been balanced and the state appropriations unspent.

Legislation.

In March the House of Representatives passed the Marriage Health Bill, effective in 1940, and sent it back to the Senate, where it was given final approval; the bill requires persons applying for marriage licenses to produce a certificate that they are free of venereal diseases. During the session Governor A. B. Chandler signed a bill providing for an investigation of wages and labor conditions of women and minors in industry. A Works Progress Administration allotment of $143,554 to aid the state's fight against venereal diseases was announced in October. Dr. A. T. McCormack, State Health Commissioner, explained that this will enable his department to carry on statistical projects already begun.

Events of the Year.

In January a Kentuckian, Stanley Forman Reed, Solicitor General and a champion of the New Deal, was nominated to the United States Supreme Court by President Roosevelt, to succeed Justice George Sutherland who had retired. Justice Reed is the fourth man chosen from Kentucky for the Supreme Court.

In February Louisville became the first city in the country to take over a Federal low-cost housing project when two such projects were dedicated, Mayor Scholtz accepting the keys to LaSalle Place and College Court from a representative of the United States Government. College Court was designed to house 125 Negro families.

On June 4 another large producing oil-well was developed near Owensboro, in the new Birk City pool in Henderson County which was discovered in April. The new oil field produces 3,500 barrels daily. On October 14 the forestry service disclosed that it intended spending over $3,000,000 in Kentucky during the next ten years perfecting a system of highways, truck roads and trails in the national forests of the state. On Armistice Day state and national celebrities took part in the dedication of the new $3,115,000 bridge spanning the Ohio River near Wickliffe, Ky., and Cairo, Ill.

Harlan County Trial.

In 1937 indictments were found against citizens and corporations of Kentucky aggregating 70, charged with violation of the Wagner Labor Relations Act, through alleged conspiracy and violence in preventing the formation of labor organizations in the coal mines. County officers were among those indicted in the Federal Court. Killings even were reported. In May 1938 the trial got under way in London, Ky., before Federal District Judge H. Church Ford. The jury failed to reach a verdict, and a mistrial was declared on August 1. A satisfactory agreement was later signed by the miners and the operators, and the charges were dismissed by the NLRB. (See also HARLAN TRIAL.)

Election.

In the Senatorial primary contest between the New Deal incumbent, Majority Leader Alben W. Barkley, and Governor Albert B. Chandler, it was charged that relief funds were being used to promote the candidacy of Senator Barkley, who was favored by President Roosevelt. This was publicly denied by Harry L. Hopkins, who declared that absolute freedom in voting was guaranteed to WPA workers everywhere. Senator Barkley was successful in the primary and was reelected.

State Officers.

The chief officers of the state are as follows: Governor, Albert B. Chandler; Lieutenant Governor, Keen Johnson; Secretary of State, Charles D. Arnett; Treasurer, John E. Buckingham; Attorney General, Hubert Meredith; Auditor, E. E. Shannon; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Harry W. Peters.

United States Senators:

Alben W. Barkley, Marvel M. Logan.