1940: Pennsylvania

Area and Population.

Southernmost of the group of North Atlantic States, Pennsylvania has an area of 45,126 sq. mi., which ranks it 32nd in the Union. According to the census of 1940, the population numbers 9,900,180, an increase of 268,830 during the last decade. According to the census of 1930, there were in Pennsylvania 9,192,602 whites (of whom 1,233,051 were foreign-born), and 431,257 Negroes, with a scattering of other races.

The state capital is Harrisburg (pop. 83,893); and the largest cities are: Philadelphia, with a population of 1,931,334, the third largest city in the nation; Pittsburgh, 671,659; Scranton, 140,404; and Reading, 110,568. While the largest cities showed a decrease in population during the last decade, 51 towns of 10,000 or more show an increase. Mount Lebanon (19,571) made the greatest gain (44.8 per cent).

Agriculture.

The farm land of Pennsylvania is adapted to the cultivation of a great variety of crops, since the elevation ranges from practically sea level to 3,000 ft., and the crop-growing season from 80 to 207 days. This range makes possible the general cultivation of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and grasses. Pennsylvania in 1939 ranked first in the production of cigar-leaf tobacco, second in buckwheat, third in clover and timothy hay and sour cherries, fourth in sweet cherries, maple sugar and sirup. Production was large also in apples, peaches, pears, and grapes, potatoes, timothy seed, rye, winter wheat, oats and hay, and corn and clover seed.

In value of dairy cows, Pennsylvania stands sixth among all the states. In milk production, it also ranks sixth, and in cash income derived therefrom, third. Dairying leads in farm income in the state.

Mineral Products.

Pennsylvania, despite occasional declines in production, ranks normally next to Texas, the leading state, in the value of her mineral wealth. The total value for 1938 was $472,773,327, with a definite increase in most items for 1939. Her rank is due largely to vast resources in both bituminous and anthracite coal. A comparatively mild winter in 1938 together with low industrial activity resulted in a drop in the production of bituminous coal, and lesser declines in anthracite, petroleum, and natural gas. The new defense program, however, has already begun to increase the output of these mineral products.

Pennsylvania ranks first among the states for anthracite. Production dropped to approximately 46,099,000 tons in 1938, only to rise again in 1939 to 51,399,707 tons. The value of anthracite in 1939 was $5.00 per ton, or a total of $256,998,535. In 1939 bituminous coal production, in which Pennsylvania ranks second to West Virginia, was 89,397,222 tons, valued at $2.20 per ton, or a total of $196,673,888.

Production of coke amounted to 12,120,225 tons in 1939; petroleum to approximately 17,337,000 bbl. Pennsylvania has been an oil producer since 1859. Pig iron has been produced there since very early times; Pennsylvania is now the leading state in the Union for that product, with 8,979,648 tons in 1939, worth $186,302,533.

Industry.

According to the 1937 Biennial Census of Manufactures there were in Pennsylvania 13,084 industrial plants, which employed 954,340 wage earners, and produced commodities with an aggregate value of $6,032,083,005.

Among the leading industries in 1939, with the value of their products, were the following: Electrical machinery, apparatus and supplies, $178,262,200; newspapers, periodicals and job printing, $171,259,700; ingots — iron and steel, $152,278,400; bread and other bakery products, $132,326,200; slaughtering and meat packing, $114,271,600; clothing — men's $88,067,100; women's and children's, $78,332,000.

Education.

In the school year 1939-1940 there were in Pennsylvania 2,081,616 inhabitants of school age (5 1/2 to 17 years inclusive). Of this number about 1,165,596 pupils were enrolled in 9,253 elementary schools, and 708,730 pupils in 1,313 secondary schools.

The latest available data on public school expenditures for Pennsylvania are those for the school year 1938-1939. In that year $149,604,396 were expended for current expenses and the total expenses for the same year were $212,590,947.

Banking.

On March 26, 1940, there were 404 banking institutions operating under grant of state charter in Pennsylvania, with total resources of $3,947,393,000. On the same date, deposits, exclusive of interbank deposits, of all the 1097 banks in Pennsylvania totalled $4,997,844,000. Principal assets reported amounted to $3,079,641,000. The number of national banks in Pennsylvania was 693, with principal assets of $2,290,039,000, and deposits, exclusive of interbank deposits, of $2,471,314,000.

Events of Interest.

On Jan. 1, 1940, the so-called wage tax, a 1 1/2 per cent levy on salaries and wages earned in Philadelphia, went into effect. This tax, estimated to collect $1,250,000 monthly, was upheld by the State Supreme Court on Feb. 5.

On May 19 the University of Pennsylvania announced the establishment of the Foundation for the Study of Neoplastic Diseases, a foundation to coordinate the results of research in the treatment of cancer. On May 7, Dr. Thomas S. Gates, president of the University, became the nineteenth recipient of the Philadelphia Award to a distinguished citizen. In September the University celebrated its two hundredth birthday with pageantry, speeches, the conferring of honorary degrees, and the donation by the alumni of a fund of over $5,000,000.

At the end of June the Republican Convention, meeting in Philadelphia, nominated Wendell L. Willkie as presidential candidate. On Oct. 1 the new Pennsylvania Turnpike from Irwin, near Pittsburgh, to Middlesex, near Carlisle, was opened. This highway, built at a cost of $70,000,000, is one of the finest in the country.

State Officers.

Governor, Arthur Horace James; Lieutenant Governor, Samuel S. Lewis; Secretary of the Commonwealth, Sophia M. R. O'Hara; Treasurer, F. Clair Ross; Auditor General, Warren R. Roberts; Attorney General, Claude T. Reno; Secretary of Revenue, Wm. J. Hamilton; and Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Francis B. Haas.

United States Senators:

James J. Davis, Joseph F. Guffey.