1940: South Carolina

Area and Population.

One of the original thirteen states, South Carolina ranks 39th in size among all the states, with an area of 30,989 sq. mi.

The total population of the state according to the census of 1940 was 1,899,804, an increase of 161,039 or 9.3 per cent since 1930. The average density of population was 61 persons per square mile. The urban population amounted to 466,111 and the rural population 1,433,693.

The leading cities of the state, with their 1940 populations, are: Columbia, the state capital, 62,396, an increase of 10,815; Charleston, the principal seaport, 71,275, an increase of 9,010; Greenville, 34,734; and Spartanburg, 32,249.

Education.

For the school year 1939-40 there were 196,308 white and 198,642 Negro children enrolled in the elementary schools; and 69,537 white and 17,263 Negro children enrolled in the high schools. There were 1,470 white and 2,192 Negro elementary schools, and 315 white and 151 Negro high schools. Approximately $16,500,000 was spent for public-school education for the year, slightly more than half of which was state aid. For the school year 1938-39 the average salary of the total force of teacher and administration staff was $968 for white and $370 for Negro schools. The average teacher's salary for all elementary schools was $866 for white teachers and $349 for Negro teachers. For high school teachers the average salary was $1,087 for white and $541 for Negro teachers.

Agriculture.

The 1940 cotton crop, with an average yield of approximately 372 pounds of lint per acre, was the highest of record for the state. This yield exceeded by 30 pounds per acre the 1939 crop, and by 153 pounds per acre the 1928-32 average.

Industry.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1940, the total capital invested in all manufacturing industries of the state, according to preliminary figures, amounted to $406,211,667, a gain of $11,648,241 over that reported for the previous year. The total value of all manufactured products for the same period amounted to $446,083,566, an increase over the previous year of $63,793,525. The total wages paid (not including salaries) in all manufacturing in the state amounted to $100,021,714.

The textile industry was the most important both as to capital invested and value of product, the amounts being $205,103,617 and $290,094,123 respectively. During the fiscal year 1939-40 the state had a total of 236 textile manufacturing plants in operation. There were active during the year 5,670,900 spindles and 144,207 looms; and the average active spinning hours per spindle were 372 hours, 25 hours more than in Georgia, the next highest state. The wages paid textile employees totaled $73,475,819, an increase of $8,482,510 over the previous year. The mills of the state consumed 1,515,734 bales of cotton during the fiscal year, 166,827 bales more than in the preceding year.

Second to textiles in the value of product were the industries utilizing forestry resources, such as lumber and timber, pulp and paper, furniture, barrels and boxes. These industries had a product valued at $40,618,882, an increase of $7,589,801 over the year before. Electricity to the value of $17,189,289 was produced during the year. Production in the fertilizer industry was valued at $13,106,703.

Near the end of the year two hydro-electric power projects were completed in South Carolina, which already ranked sixth among the states in water-power capacity. The completed projects, the Buzzard Roost, county-owned, and the Abbeville, city-owned, both financed under loan and grant agreements by the PWA, will give an additional annual supply of 89,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy. The Santee-Cooper Power and Navigation project, started in 1938, was nearly 50 per cent completed at the end of 1940. It is estimated that about $40,000,000 will be expended on this project, which is scheduled to have a capacity of 700,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy in a year of average stream flow. The project, which includes locks and channelways for navigation, is expected to begin generating power late in 1941.

Mineral Products.

Production of the state's leading mineral, kaolin, in which it ranks next to Georgia, reached a volume of 158,629 tons, valued at $1,297,813 in 1939, the highest production on record, and about 20 per cent of the total national output. Stone production, chiefly granite, amounted in value to approximately $1,732,795 in 1939. Gold production was 13,833 fine ounces as compared with 11,681 fine ounces in 1938. All but 282 fine ounces of the gold produced came from the Haile mine near Kershaw, reputed to be the largest gold producer in the Southern Appalachian States.

Legislative Matters.

There was appropriated for the fiscal year ending July 1, 1941, a total sum of $13,054,254.32 for state expenses.

This does not include expenditures from earmarked income, such as gasoline tax and automobile license fees used for highways; beer, wine, and liquor tax used for education, etc. To meet the mounting state budget without imposing new taxes, the Legislature attempted for the second time to divert highway funds for general appropriation use. The diversion of $2,000,000 from the gasoline tax was ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court, and as a consequence, the state faces a deficit of some $3,500,000 for the fiscal year ending July 1, 1941.

State Officers.

Governor, Burnet R. Maybank; Lieutenant Governor, J. E. Harley; Secretary of State, W. P. Blackwell; State Treasurer, Jeff Bates; Auditor, J. M. Smith; Attorney General, J. M. Daniel; State Superintendent of Education, J. H. Hope.

United States Senators:

Ellison D. Smith, James F. Byrnes.