1938: Oklahoma

Area and Population.

Nicknamed the 'Sooner State' from the land rush of 1889, Oklahoma was admitted to statehood Nov. 16, 1907. It ranks 17th in size among the states, with an area of 70,057 sq. mi. In population it ranks 21st, numbering 2,396,040, according to the census of 1930; 2,548,000 on July 1, 1937, according to a Federal estimate. The largest cities are Oklahoma City, the capital, 185,389 (1930 census); Tulsa, the oil capital of the nation, 141,258; Muskogee, 32,026; Enid, 26,399; Shawnee, 23,283. The population includes 170,000 Negroes. Germans are the dominant foreign-born group. The urban population is 34.3 per cent of the whole.

Agriculture.

About 70 per cent of the area of the state is farm land. The chief farm products are broom corn, cotton, wheat, Indian corn, oats, grain sorghums, hay and potatoes. Livestock and poultry are important; turkeys are a specialty.

Industry.

The leading industries of the state are petroleum refining, with an income greater than that of all other industries combined; flour and grain milling; cottonseed oil manufacture; zinc smelting and refining; meat-packing; and lumber. Timber is cut in large quantities in the mountainous eastern part, chiefly soft pine, with such hard woods as yellow pine, oak, red gum, and elm.

Mineral Products.

Oklahoma ranks fourth among the states in the value of its mineral products, largely because of extraordinary resources in petroleum and gas. In these the state ranks respectively third and fourth in the Union. The petroleum and gas fields underlie some 43 of the state's 77 counties, chiefly in the north central and southwestern parts. Production of oil in 1937 surpassed that of any year in the last decade: 228,839,000 bbl. as against 206,555,000 (value, $232,100,000) in 1936. The amount of natural gas produced in 1937 was 295,000,000 M cu. ft. In 1936 it was 280,481,000 M cu. ft. with a value of $28,847,000. In the production of zinc, Oklahoma leads the Union. The amount in 1937, slightly exceeding that of 1936, was 135,696 tons. The total value of Oklahoma's mineral products in 1936 was $305,152,286.

Education.

The public school picture in Oklahoma has the following outlines: In 1937-38 the inhabitants of school age (6 to 21) numbered 707,328. The total enrollment in 5,184 school districts was 623,750, including 585,114 white pupils and 48,636 Negroes. The system included 849 high schools. Pupils enrolled for vocational education numbered 28,963. In 1936-37 Oklahoma expended $29,034,401 on public schools.

Annual Review.

General conditions throughout the state were decidedly worse in 1938 than in 1937. Agricultural production fell off, with lower prices (especially in cotton), and a rust epidemic in wheat. Manufacturing also decreased. The volume of production of natural resources was reduced, petroleum being off 100,000 bbls. a day. Meanwhile, relief needs and unemployment increased.

As the Legislature, like other midwestern chambers, meets biennially in the odd-numbered years, there was no session in 1938. A shake-up in the Oklahoma City school board resulted in prison sentences for the treasurer and the attorney of the board, with other trials to come.

The event of the year was the November election, more important than in some states, since the state executives were elected for a 4-year term. A proposed constitutional amendment to empower cities to set up retirement pensions for teachers was lost. The state is traditionally strongly Democratic. Victory in the Democratic primary is considered assurance of election, and no Republican candidate was elected to any major office. State law provides that the governor, secretary of state, auditor, and treasurer may not succeed themselves; in this election the secretary of state and auditor exchanged offices (see below).

Banking.

The 185 state banks operating in Oklahoma showed some improvement in 1938 over 1937. They reported Sept. 28, 1938, total deposits of $50,700,621, loans and discounts of $19,770,276, capital stock of $4,042,000, surplus of $1,923,723, undivided profits of $1,228,655, and reserves of $203,283.

Finance.

The receipts of the state treasury for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938, were $62,087,923; the total expenditures $74,079,299. Among the items of expense were these: for education, $19,969,658; for old age and other assistance grants, $15,779,493; and for direct relief, $4,276,908.

Federal aid funds expended during the fiscal year were $11,084,981. Expenditures for unemployment insurance did not begin until December 1938.

State Officers.

As a result of the election, the chief state officers are: Governor, Leon C. Phillips; Lieutenant Governor, Jas. E. Berry; Secretary of State, C. C. Childers; Auditor, Frank C. Carter; Attorney General, Mac Q. Williamson; Treasurer, Carl B. Sebring; Supt. of Public Instruction, A. L. Crable.

Judiciary.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Monroe Osborn. Associates, Wayne W. Bayless, Earl Welch, James I. Phelps, N. S. Corn, Thurman S. Hurst, Thomas L. Gibson, Orel Busby (succeeded by Denver Davison, elected November 1938), Fletcher Riley.

United States Senators:

J. Elmer Thomas, Josh Lee.