1939: New Jersey

Area and Population.

One of the thirteen original states, New Jersey ranks 45th in size among the states of the Union with a total land area of 7,514 sq. mi. and a water area of 710 sq. mi. In population, according to the 1930 census, the state ranks ninth with a total of 4,041,334 residents. The largest cities are Newark, 442,337 (1930); Jersey City, 316,715; Paterson, 138,513; Trenton, the capital, 123,356; Camden, 118,700 and Elizabeth, 114,569.

New Jersey's topography is diversified, with high rocky hills, wooded slopes, and glistening lakes in the northern portion; level areas, devoted mainly to agriculture and industry, in the central portion; and large wooded tracts in the southern section. The eastern shore consists of about 125 miles of white sandy beaches washed by the Atlantic Ocean, while the Delaware River forms the western boundary of the state. It is generally known as 'The Garden State.'

Education.

Dr. Charles H. Elliott, State Commissioner of Education, reported marked progress during the year in many fields of educational activity, as well as in the provision of more adequate school facilities in New Jersey. The total enrollment in all of the various departments of the public schools for the school year 1938-1939, including evening but not summer schools, was 799,662. To instruct these pupils there were required 29,536 teachers. The children were housed in 2,133 school buildings. During the year there was an increase of 269 male teachers and a decrease of women teachers by 74. The total expenditure for public education in the counties and school districts of the state amounted to $111,988,497, which was $59,762,370 more than the total for the preceding year.

Agriculture.

Willard H. Allen, State Secretary of Agriculture, reports that, generally speaking, prices of most New Jersey crops were lower in 1939 than in 1938. The weather of the 1939 crop season was, on the whole, favorable except for the uneven distribution of rainfall during mid-summer. Fruits and most vegetable crops were excellent in quality and yield. Acreage of vegetables increased over 1938 while both poultry and dairy cattle totalled new record figures. The farm labor supply was adequate in 1939, and wages advanced in the latter months of the year as general business conditions improved.

Mineral Products.

The production of zinc, in which New Jersey ranks second in the Union, or next to Oklahoma, was lowered in 1938 from 101,408 tons (value, $13,461,309) in 1937, to 85,839 tons in 1938. At the same time, the output of glass sand, in which the state leads, rose slightly with a total of 273,363 tons valued at $419,104. Production of ball clay fell to the greatly reduced figure of 3,496 tons, and fire clay to 69,944 tons, the two having a combined value in 1938 of $382,078 compared with $514,671 in the preceding year.

Industry.

Improvement in New Jersey industry and business during 1939 was reported by State Labor Commissioner John J. Toohey, Jr. Industrial construction in 1939 practically doubled that of 1938, with the year's total reaching nearly $60,000,000. There were 66,000 or 15 per cent more workers in December 1939, than at the same time in 1938, with an aggregate weekly payroll of $2,441,341 representing a gain for the year of 27.3 per cent. Average weekly earnings were $27.96, a rise of 10.6 per cent. More than 1,000 new industries located in the state during the year.

Finance.

The Legislature appropriated the sum of $39,234,693 for conducting the business of the state for the fiscal year from July 1, 1939, to June 30, 1940. This was about the same as the amount for the last fiscal year. In addition the sum of $35,228,660 was appropriated to the State Highway Board for the calendar year which ended December 31, 1939. The question of relief furnished a vexing political problem. It was solved, however, by the passage of a referendum on an amendment providing for a $21,000,000 bond issue, by a vote of 391,604 to 344,483. This relief fund was further augmented by the division of $3,000,000 from 1939 highway funds; $3,000,000 from sinking fund reserves (if available); $2,000,000 borrowed from the State Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund, and $2,000,000 from the grade-crossing elimination fund.

Political and Legislative Matters.

The Republican-controlled Legislature of 1939 was beset by the failure of Senate and House to agree on important bills. As a result, the measure controlling the set-up of the Racing Commission failed of passage, and the matter was left to the 1940 Legislature. The latter was organized on January 15, with Roscoe McClave of Bergen County as speaker.

Herbert J. Pascoe, of Union County, presided over the 1939 sessions of the Legislature during which a total of 404 bills and resolutions were written into laws, while hundreds of measures failed to come out of committee hands. Labor failed to get through its maximum hour and minimum wage law for intrastate workers, or to obtain the passage of bills creating the State Labor Relations Board and curbing the Chancery Court's injunction power in labor disputes.

Among the important laws passed was one forbidding the use of foreign uniforms or the display of alien military symbols of salute. A bill voiding legality of future common-law marriages was passed, as was one increasing from 40 to 45 miles an hour the auto speed limit in certain areas. However, this bill will not become effective until Sept. 1, 1940. A dispute over a compromise on taxes owed by railroads resulted in the matter being left in the hands of the court. An appointment by Governor A. Harry Moore that caused considerable discussion was that of Frank Hague, Jr., of Jersey City, to succeed Thomas Glynn Walker, as a lay judge on the Court of Errors and Appeals. During the year through a $25,000 fund supplied for the purpose State Labor Commissioner, John J. Toohey, Jr., set up an organization to enforce rigid observance of the minimum wage law governing the employment of women and minors in the state.

Happenings of the Year.

In January, the United States Circuit Court of Errors and Appeals in Philadelphia upheld the injunction against Mayor Frank Hague and Jersey City officials in the C.I.O. — Civil Liberties case. The court declared unconstitutional Jersey City's ordinance on public meetings, but later agreed to review the case. In February, the New Jersey Title Guarantee & Trust Company of Jersey City, with five branches, was placed in the hands of State Banking Commissioner Louis A. Reilly. It had 39,000 depositors and deposits of $23,000,000 and was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Robert W. Allen was named WPA Administrator for New Jersey succeeding William H. J. Ely, who resigned in order to run for United States Senator. In March, the City of Newark and the State of New Jersey compromised on a $2,317,000 debt to the State Highway Department, charged against the city when Route #21, the McCarter Highway, was built. New Jersey was given the National Safety Council award as the state which handled the highway safety problem most efficiently in 1938.

In April the conviction of Ellis H. Parker, and his son Ellis Jr., for the kidnapping of Paul Wendel in Trenton as an aftermath of the Lindbergh case, was upheld by the United States Supreme Court. They were convicted in 1937 at Newark and the father sentenced to six years in prison while the son was given a three-year term. A mis-trial was declared in the Newark meadow-land conspiracy case involving Newark City officials. The Motor Vehicle Department reported that 28,134 autos were taken off the road in 1938 through failure to pass the required inspection tests.

In June, King George and Queen Elizabeth of England visited New Jersey, stopping briefly at Red Bank, en route to New York.

The United States Supreme Court affirmed the decree holding Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City had violated the constitutional guarantees of freedom of assembly, and refused to review the conviction of Ellis H. Parker and son. Banking Commissioner Reilly fixed a minimum of one per cent interest on all savings and time deposits in New Jersey banks. The voters of the state passed the referendum allowing the use of pari-mutuel betting in connection with horse racing, by a majority of 156,660.

In September the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the Bergen County District Court decision declaring New Jersey's fair sales tax law invalid. The law was passed by the Legislature in 1938.

State Officers.

The chief officers of the State are: Governor, A. Harry Moore; Secretary of State, Thomas A. Mathis; Comptroller, Frank J. Murray; Treasurer, William H. Albright; Attorney General, David T. Wilentz; Finance Commissioner, Bernard L. Lamb; Auditor, Frank Durand; Commissioner of Education, Charles H. Elliott.

United States Senators.

William H. Smathers, W. Warren Barbour.