1940: North Carolina

Area and Population.

One of the thirteen original colonies, North Carolina was settled in 1650. The area is 52,426 sq. mi. The population, according to the census of 1940, is 3,571,623. The largest cities are: Charlotte, 100,890; Winston-Salem, 79,815; Durham, 60,195; Greensboro, 59,319; Asheville, 51,310; Raleigh, the capital, 46,897; High Point, 38,495; and Wilmington, 33,407.

Education.

In 1940, the number of inhabitants of school age was 1,121,912; the number of elementary schools, 3,973; and of high schools, 962. Enrollment in the elementary schools totaled 714,098, and in high schools, 178,445.

The average annual salary for teachers in the elementary schools was $954.06; for teachers in the high schools, $973.68. The total expenditures in 1939-40 were $30,459,126.15.

Agriculture.

The chief occupation of North Carolina is agriculture. The state leads in the production of tobacco, usually producing more than two-thirds of the nation's flue-cured crop, and over one-third of all tobacco grown in the United States. In 1938 production totaled 516,850,000 pounds, with a cash value of $119,297,000.

Corn, produced in every county, is the principal farm crop, the output in 1939 being 47,151,000 bu. from about 2,500,000 acres. The chief money crops are tobacco, cotton and peanuts.

Production of leading crops in 1939, aside from corn, was as follows: Cotton, 455,000 bales; peanuts, 285,200,000 pounds; wheat, 5,100,000 bu.; white potatoes, 8,091,000 bu.; sweet potatoes, 8,667,000 bu.; all tame hay, 894,000 tons; peaches, 1,395,000.

On Jan. 1, 1939, the farm animals included 310,000 mules, 70,000 horses, 664,000 cattle, 1,155,000 swine, 60,000 sheep, and 9,829,000 chickens.

Manufacturing.

North Carolina leads the nation in the manufacture of cotton goods and tobacco products, ranks second in rayon manufacture, and fourth in furniture.

Mineral Products.

More than 300 minerals are found in North Carolina, in varying quantities. The leading ones are clay, mica, talc, and building stone. The chief metals are gold, silver, copper, manganese, and lead. The total value of all minerals in 1938 was $14,959,228.

Political Events.

J. Melville Broughton, newly elected Democratic Governor, was inaugurated on Jan. 8, 1941. Among the high lights of the retiring Hoey Administration were that the budget was kept balanced, and a net reduction of $26,662,000 expected over and above all bonds issued. There was at the same time an increase in general government services and expenditures, including a $5,000,000 a year increase in school appropriations, the establishment of free text books for pupils of the elementary schools, and the completion of the largest public building program the state ever undertook.

State Officers.

Governor, J. Melville Broughton; Lieutenant Governor, R. L. Harris; Secretary of State, Thad Eure; Treasurer, Charles M. Johnson; Auditor, George Ross Pou; Attorney General, Harry McMullan; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Clyde A. Erwin.

United States Senators:

Josiah W. Bailey, Robert Reynolds.