1940: California

Area and Population.

Admitted to statehood September 9, 1850, California ranks second in size among the states, with an area of 158,297 sq. mi. In population it now ranks fifth, numbering 6,907,387, according to the census of 1940. The increase during the decade 1930-1940 amounted to 21.7 per cent, and placed California ahead of Texas in population and only 225 behind Ohio. The state showed a net increase of 1,230,136 persons during the decade. This was the largest numerical increase of any state. The largest cities are Los Angeles, 1,504,277, an increase of 266,229 since 1930; San Francisco, 634,536; Oakland, 302,163; San Diego, 203,341; Long Beach, 164,271; Sacramento, the capital, 105,958; Berkeley, 85,547; and Pasadena, 81,864. Racial divisions, according to the 1930 census, included: Native-born whites, 4,230,213; foreign-born whites, 810,034; Negroes, 81,048; Mexicans, 368,013; Orientals, 168,731; and Indians, 19,212.

Agriculture.

California's farms number 150,360, with a farm acreage of 30,437,995 acres. Farms of 5,000 acres and over number 744 (5 per cent of the total number of farms) and cover 10,057,020 acres. Farms of less than 100 acres number 115,949 (77 per cent of the total) and cover 2,831,298 acres. The total value of agricultural property is estimated at $2,325,446,364.

A major portion of California's field and orchard crops depend on itinerant labor. To the state's harvests many thousands of migrants from the Dust Bowl states have been attracted during the past ten years. In 1938 migrants from drought states numbered 57,507; in 1939 they numbered 54,717; during the first seven months of 1940 they numbered 35,157. During this latter period 10,248 former Californians returned to reside in the state. The number of these persons settling on farms is not known.

The value of all livestock on California farms was estimated to be $165,013,000 as of January 1, 1940. The estimated value of field crops was $144,943,000, a 12 per cent increase over 1938; of truck crops, $87,995,000; and of fruit and nut crops, $154,793,000.

Mineral Products.

Ranking second among the states in the value of its mineral products in 1939, California's total amounted to $352,462,564. Petroleum and petroleum products accounted for more than two-thirds of this total, California being the second largest producer in the United States. In 1939 the petroleum yield amounted to 224,354,000 bbl., a decline of more than 25,000,000 bbl. from the 1938 yield of 249,749,000. The total value of the 1939 production was $226,358,856. Production of natural gas for 1939 showed a marked increase over that of the preceding year. The 1939 yield amounted to 340,754,804 M. cubic feet; the 1938 yield was 315,000,000 M. cubic feet.

The total value of California's metals amounted to $55,375,873. Gold, in which California ranks first in the Union, accounted for $50,234,240 of this sum, 1,434,264 oz. of gold having been mined. Among the other metals, 2,599,139 oz. of silver, 1,250 tons of tungsten concentrates, 11,201 flasks of quicksilver, 8,390,215 pounds of copper, 16,990 tons of iron ore, 3,936 tons of chromite, and over a million pounds of lead were valued at $5,073,485.

Among the many structural materials produced in California during 1939, cement continued to be the most valuable. The shipments of 10,984,033 bbl. of cement, valued at $15,616,219, showed an increase of more than 400,000 bbl. over the 1938 total.

Education.

Total enrollment in the primary and secondary schools of the state for the school year 1938-1939 was 1,627,832. Of this number 1,173,632 were regular students: 64,445 kindergarten pupils, 767,682 from the first through the eighth grades, 341,505 from the ninth through the twelfth grades. There were 8,819 special students (adults, handicapped children, etc.) from the first through the eighth grades, and 445,381 special students from the ninth through the twelfth grades. The average daily attendance in the public schools of California for 1939-1940 was 1,067,832, an increase of 6,654 over the previous year.

The 21,136 secondary school teachers in 1937-1938 received an average salary of $2,360. The 24,348 teachers of elementary and kindergarten grades received an average of $1,793 for the former, and $1,524 for the latter. State grants for public school education totaled $77,740,855.11 for the 1940-1941 fiscal year.

Banking.

There were 228 banks in operation in California on December 31, 1939. Of this total, 100 were National Banks, 15 were State Bank members of the Federal Reserve System (this number had increased to 17 by June 29, 1940). There were 851 branches, or additional offices in the state. Branch banking has developed to a greater extent in California than in any other state in the Union.

The total assets of all banks on June 29, 1940 amounted to $4,938,702,000, of which $3,437,000 were the assets of National Banks. The total deposits in California banks on the same day amounted to $4,408,409,000, National Banks accounting for $3,093,708,000 of this sum.

Legislature.

During 1940, the Legislature was called into five special sessions.

At the first session, convening January 29th, Gordon Garland, an anti-administration Democrat, was elected speaker of the Assembly. The Legislature voted relief funds to last for a number of weeks.

The second session opened on May 13th. Another stop-gap relief appropriation was made. Money was also appropriated for flood relief.

The third session met September 13th. Additional funds were appropriated for relief. A revolving fund for the operation of a food-stamp program was also provided.

The fourth session met on September 21st and 22nd. It voted to deny the Communist Party a place on the ballot. This action was taken too late to apply to the November election.

The final session was called to meet on December 2nd. The Legislature devoted most of its attention to national defense, adopting six defense measures. It refused the Governor's principal demand, however, in failing to create a State Council of Defense.

Unemployment and Relief.

The Division of Planning and Research of the State Relief Administration estimated the potential work force in California at 2,800,000. In April 1940, approximately 635,000 were unemployed, of which number 100,000 were estimated to be agricultural workers. Unemployment in the state had shown a decrease of 124,000 from April 1939. The case load of the Works Progress Administration declined from 104,101 on December 31, 1939 to 76,915 on September 30, 1940; that of the State Relief Administration declined from 88,646 to 47, 272 in the same period. A marked decline was also noted in the number of persons aided by the Farm Security Administration, from 7,903 on December 31, 1939, to 4,036 on September 30, 1940. Expenditure of public relief agencies in California have not yet registered a marked decline. Federal expenditures for the fiscal year 1938-1939 amounted to $101,942,083, and for the first six months of the 1939-1940 fiscal year to $51,136,000. State expenditures for the same periods were $56,761,380 and $30,160,000, and county expenditures, $21,466,967 and $14,036,000.

Labor Disputes.

The strike of the employees of the Vultee Aircraft Corporation in southern California, extending from November 17 to November 28, was the most publicized dispute of the year. The resulting curtailment of plane production for defense and export gave the case international as well as national notice. Nevertheless, 1940 proved to be a year of comparative labor quiet.

Golden Gate International Exposition.

A second and final session of the Exposition, held on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, opened on May 25 and closed 128 days later, after having been visited by 6,544,612 persons.

Tourists and Aliens.

During 1939, 1,947,512 tourists spent an estimated $274,068,389 in the state. During the fiscal year 1938-1939, 6,504 aliens were admitted through the port of San Francisco, 895 of them being immigrants. Through the port of Los Angeles 4,081 aliens entered, 755 of them being immigrants.

Elections.

In the November 5th election 3,300,410 persons voted (81.44 per cent of the registered voters). The Democratic Party polled 1,877,618 votes for Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Republican and Townsend Parties polled 1,351,419 votes for Wendell L. Willkie, the Progressive Party polled 16,506 votes for Norman Thomas (the Socialist Party having failed to qualify at the election), the Communist Party polled 13,586 votes for Earl Browder, and the Prohibition Party polled 9,400 votes for Roger W. Babson.

Sixteen constitutional amendments and one initiative law were referred to the people for adoption at the November election. Of the eight measures adopted, two were of particular importance. One provided for the reorganization of the management of state penal institutions, the other authorized the Legislature to establish investigating committees to sit after the Legislature had adjourned.

State Officers.

The chief officers of the state are: Governor, Culbert L. Olson; Lieutenant Governor, Ellis E. Patterson; Secretary of State, Paul Peek; Controller, Harry B. Riley; Treasurer, Charles G. Johnson; Attorney General, Earl Warren; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Walter F. Dexter.

United States Senators:

Hiram Johnson, Sheridan Downey.