1939: Kansas

Area and Population.

Admitted to statehood Jan. 29, 1861, Kansas ranks 13th in size among the states, with an area of 82,158 sq. mi. In population it ranks 24th, numbering 1,880,999 according to the census of 1930; 1,864,000 on July 1, 1937, according to the latest Federal estimate. Of the total, 93.5 per cent are whites, 3.5 per cent are Negroes. Among the foreign-born groups, Germans predominate. Like Nebraska, the eastern half of the state is much more thickly populated than the western. The original territory was settled largely by pioneer immigrants from New England.

The state capital is Topeka, 75,000; the other chief cities are Kansas City, 125,000: Wichita, 103,000 and Hutchinson, 33,000 (Populations as estimated in 1938.)

Agriculture.

Kansas is not only the geographical center of the Union, but also the agricultural center as the greatest of the wheat-raising states. Its wheat production is about twice that of its nearest rivals, North Dakota and Montana, and about three times that of the next great wheat producers, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio, and Illinois. Most of the Kansas product is the hard or winter wheat, originally brought from the Ukraine. Of the total area of the state, 84 per cent is farm land, and 61 per cent of its people live on farms.

Industry.

A year ago meat-packing was in second place among Kansas industries, or next to agriculture; now it is in third place. Oil production is at present in second place. Forty thousand men are regularly employed in the gas and oil industry. The fourth major industry is grain and flour milling.

Western Kansas, which used to be one of the greatest wheat raising regions in the world, has in the past year or two gone largely into livestock — chiefly beef cattle. In Dodge City frequently more than 3,000 beef cattle are auctioned at the weekly sales.

Mineral Products.

Production of petroleum, which in 1937 accounted for $88,100,000 in the total sum of the state's mineral wealth (estimated at $154,376,403 for that year) was decreased by 16 per cent in 1938 to 59,587,000 bbl. compared with 70,761,000 in 1937.

Education.

The latest official figures on public education (June 30, 1937) show 520,400 inhabitants of school age (5 to 21) with a total enrollment of 406,074 distributed as follows: kindergarten, 10,593; primary, 287,222; secondary, 108,259. The administrative and teaching personnel numbered 19,336, including 172 kindergarten teachers, 11,788 primary, and 5,281 secondary. The 211 private and parochial schools listed 18,396 pupils and 770 teachers. Average salaries ranged from $580 to $1,218 for men, $674 to $1,128 for women.

For the vocational education of 12,572 pupils enrolled in such courses, $70,000 was appropriated in 1937; $159,000 was budgeted in 1939.

Legislative Matters.

The state Legislature's most important accomplishments were the provisions authorizing Governor Payne H. Ratner to reorganize state departments in the interest of simplification and efficiency; the appointment of an industrial development commission to encourage the expansion of existing industries and the establishment of new ones, such as production of soybean oil; the appointment of a new state Board of Regents on a strictly non-partisan basis; and the substitution of a penny bracket sales tax system for the zinc mill tokens.

Finance and Banking.

Appropriations by the Legislature for the fiscal year 1940 totaled $8,325,213. The balance on hand in the state general revenue fund July 1, 1939, plus the estimated receipts for the fiscal year 1940, amounted to approximately $10,046,000.

The 490 state and private banks reported on Oct. 2, 1939, loans and discounts of $79,622,773, an increase of $2,665,259 for the year; capital assets of $13,901,490, a decrease of $35,500; deposits of $164,925,075, an increase of $10,046,169. The Bank Commission reported improved banking conditions over 1938; increased capital structure, reduced fixed assets, and freeing of slow assets in real estate taken over in 1932-33.

Events of the Year.

For stock-raisers, wheat-growers, and all farmers, the event of 1939 was the so-called 'million-dollar' Christmas present of state-wide snow that broke the record-breaking fall drouth. Until then the shortage of water was so great as to ruin the corn crop, compel the hauling of stock water, and seriously threaten the 1940 wheat crop. The shortage was estimated at 4.24 inches, amounting to 490 tons of water per acre, and 25 billion tons for the state.

The largest industrial project of the year was the construction of the 4½-million-dollar food market and terminal now nearly completed in Kansas City on the Missouri at the mouth of the Kaw.

In August Governor Ratner forced a 15-day shutdown of oil production in order to bring back to normal the price of crude oil.

The national cornhusking contest brought 100,000 spectators to Lawrence, and contestants from 11 states. The winner was Lawrence Pitzer of Indiana.

State Officers.

The chief officers of Kansas are: Governor, Payne H. Ratner; Lieutenant-Governor, Carl E. Friend; Secretary of State, Frank J. Ryan; Auditor, George Robb; Treasurer, Walter E. Wilson; Attorney General, Jay S. Parker; Superintendent of Public Instruction, George L. McClenny.

United States Senators.

Arthur Capper, Clyde M. Reed.