1939: Tennessee

Area and Population.

Tennessee, a southern state, is not large either in area or population. East of the state line lies North Carolina, and much of its eastern boundary climbs into the mists of the Great Smoky Mountains. On the west the Mississippi river separates the state from Arkansas and Missouri. To the north are Kentucky and Virginia and across the southern boundary line are Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The state has an area of 42,022 square miles.

The last Federal census (1930) gave Tennessee a population of 2,616,556, of which 2,125,553 were native white; 13,066 foreign-born white (including 1,946 Italians, 1,803 Russians, 1,783 Germans and 1,351 English); 477,646 Negroes; 161 Indians; 105 Asiatics and 25 Mexicans.

Nashville, the capital, has a population of 153,866. Memphis, the largest city, has 253,143: Chattanooga, 119,798, and Knoxville, 195,892. The State Department of Health estimates that the population of the major cities in 1939 was at least 10 per cent higher than these 1939 Federal census figures.

Agriculture.

Tennessee places heavy emphasis on agriculture. Several counties sponsor annual festivals which are of national interest. Among these are the Cotton Carnival in Shelby, Crimson Clover Festivals in Jackson and Franklin, Tobacco Weeks in Montgomery, Robertson, Lincoln and Trousdale, Dairy Festivals in Giles and Rutherford, the National Walking Horse celebration in Bedford county, and Mule Day in Maury. The aggregate value of agricultural products in 1936 (last full year official figure) was $238,655,000. The state has 273,783 farms. Statistics as to the chief crops are given in the accompanying table.

Livestock on Tennessee farms was worth $106,536,000 in 1939. There were 1,170,000 head of cattle, 1,154,000 hogs, 162,000 horses, 291,000 mules, 402,000 sheep and 10,998,000 chickens. Total milk produced was 1,908,000,000 pounds. The state is a leading producer of fine dairy cattle.

Manufacturing.

The leading manufacturing industries include the processing of cotton, rayon and allied products, fertilizer production, and mining and allied metal processing. The average number of wage earners was 116,671 in 1939, and the aggregate value of principal manufactured products $707,986,784. Payroll totals were $86,722,000.

Mineral Products.

The output of bituminous coal, the leading item among Tennessee's mineral resources, was reduced in 1938 by about 1,000,000 tons, according to preliminary figures which showed a total of 4,373,000 tons compared with 5,212,471 valued at $10,373,000 in 1937. Shipments of cement were slightly in advance for the year with 3,390,871 bbl. valued at $5,063,628; and stone was fairly stationary at 2,599,840 tons with a value of $4,237,351. Production of phosphate rock, in which the state ranks next to Florida, the leading state, advanced to a new high record of 899,298 tons (value, $3,725,601) compared with 825,099 tons (value $3,343,108) in the preceding year. The sale of marble from Tennessee showed a substantial increase in 1938, largely due to its use in the new National Gallery of Art in Washington. The total amount sold for this and other purposes was 330,170 cu. ft. valued at $1,725,800.

Education.

There were 522,138 students enrolled in public elementary and high schools in the state during the year 1938-39. In 5,764 elementary schools there were 15,474 teachers and a total average daily attendance of 416,181. In 602 high schools, 4,619 teachers taught an average attendance of 81,600. The school population of the state is 616,524 (figure includes all between ages of 6 and 18). The average monthly salary of rural elementary teachers is $76,69; urban, $104,34. Average monthly salary of rural high-school teachers is $113,89; urban, $141.18.

The state spent $12,487,814.50 for education in 1939, including funds to state-supported colleges and universities. Counties spent an additional $11,902,303,92, making a total of $24,390,118.42 expended for education within the state. (This does not include funds spent in privately-operated institutions.)

State-operated schools include the University of Tennessee with divisions at Knoxville, Martin and Memphis; State Teachers' colleges at Johnson City, Murfreesboro and Memphis; Tennessee Polytechnic Institute at Cookeville; Austin Pea Normal College at Clarksville, and the Agricultural and Industrial College for Negroes at Nashville.

Legislative Matters.

Outstanding legislation during the biennial session of the State Legislature in 1939 included repeal of Tennessee's prohibition laws under a county option plan for whisky sales; a law to require physical examination of couples before issuance of marriage licenses (the law does not go into effect until 1941); and an appropriation of $11,000 for a campaign against tuberculosis. By the end of the year twenty-three of the state's ninety-five counties had conducted referenda on the question of whisky legalization. Eleven voted to allow liquor sales while twelve continued their dry status.

Finance.

The assessed valuation of all taxable property in Tennessee is $1,489,964,478. Total available revenue for the year ending June 30, 1939, was $28,046,066.16. Expenditures less than that amount left a surplus of $191,719.74. The total indebtedness of the state on June 30 was $118,923,175.09.

Banking.

On June 30, 1939, the reports of 228 state banks and 33 branch banks showed assets of $154,757,323.17, of which $70,752,351.56 represented loans and discounts. Liabilities included demand deposits of $75,228,002.14, time deposits of $56,503,344.52, capital stock of $12,764,753.33, surplus of $4,070,824.57, and undivided profits of $3,466,893.83.

Events during the Year.

One of the principal activities of the state during the year was the development of parks and recreation areas. There are now thirteen such areas within the state, covering more than 50,000 acres. They include parks, forests, and game preserves maintained by the state in cooperation with the Federal government.

The Tennessee Valley Authority brought its huge Chickamauga Dam on the Tennessee river at Chattanooga almost to completion during 1939 and began work on the Watts Bar Dam upstream from Chattanooga, near Rockwood. The same Federal agency, with the cooperation of municipalities and power cooperatives, purchased the properties of the Tennessee Electric Power Company, a private utility serving a number of cities and towns in East and Middle Tennessee, for $78,600,000. The major cities in the state now purchase and distribute TVA electricity.

State Officers.

The chief officers during the year 1939 were: Governor, Prentice Cooper; Secretary of State, A. B. Broadbent; Treasurer, John Harton; Comptroller, Robert Lowe; Attorney General, Roy H. Beeler; Commissioner of Education, B. O. Duggan.

United States Senators.

Kenneth McKellar, A. Tom Stewart.