1940: West Virginia

Area and Population.

West Virginia is composed of 55 counties with an aggregate area of 24,282 sq. mi. The population (1940) was 1,901,974, as compared with 1,729,205 for 1930. The increase was 10 per cent, whereas the average increase for the United States was 8 per cent.

Huntington, with 78,836 (1940) is the largest city, and Charleston, the capital, with 67,914, is second. With 61,099 and 23,105, respectively, Wheeling and Fairmont, among the larger cities, had a lower population in 1940 than in 1930. Other important cities, in the order of size, are Clarksburg, 30,579; Parkersburg, 30,103; and Bluefield, 20,641. Weirton, with a population of about 30,000, is one of the largest unincorporated cities in the United States. Urban residents made up 28.1 per cent of the 1940 population of the state.

Education.

Enrollment for 1939-40 in the 5,026 state elementary schools was 312,640, or 5,646 less than for the preceding year. For the 386 state high schools it was 140,181, a gain of 7,723 over the preceding year. Elementary and high-school teachers numbered 11,061 and 5,117, respectively. The total state appropriation for elementary and secondary education for 1939-40 was $14,073,765, of which amount $773,785 came from the general school fund. These funds were supplemented by approximately $12,000,000 from local taxes on general property and public utilities, which made a total expenditure for elementary and secondary education of about $26,000,000.

In 1939-40 the seven state-maintained teacher-training colleges had a total student enrollment of 3,464 and a total instructional membership of 323. They received a total of $935,808 in state appropriations.

Agriculture.

By the census of 1934-35 the total number of farms in West Virginia was 104,747, with a total acreage of 9,424,655, valued at $237,643,860.

During recent years the number of farms and full-time owners has increased, but farm values have declined.

Industry.

Excluding plants with production values of less than $5,000, West Virginia in 1937 had 1,057 industrial establishments. They employed a total of 83,464 wage earners who were paid approximately $102,500,000. One of the greatest industrial advances is the production of electrical power, which in 1938 amounted to 2,500,000,000 kilowatts, 82 per cent of which was produced in coal-burning plants. Phenomenal strides are being made in chemical industries, which were extended to the northern part of the state with the opening of a Du Pont-operated plant at Morgantown.

Mineral Products.

Bituminous coal production for West Virginia, the leading state in the Union for that commodity, was 126,500,000 short tons in 1940. During recent years the production of oil has tended to decline, that for 1939 being 3,587,000 bbl., whereas that for 1935 was 3,959,000 bbl. Because of Oriskany sand developments in the Kanawha Valley, the production of natural gas increased for a time. It rose from 147,000,000 M. cu. ft. in 1930 to 149,084,000 M. cu. ft. in 1937, with a value of $58,639,000. The amount declined in 1938 to 134,342,000 M. cu. ft. valued at $55,910,000.

Banking and Finance.

On July 1, 1939, deposits of 103 State Banks and trust companies aggregated $132,063,704,11, and the total for 78 National Banks was $157,603,000. The balance in the state treasury, July 1, 1940, was $16,470,897,80. The total state funded indebtedness for the same date was $77,232,000, of which $73,982,000 was for state bonds. The total assessed value of all property in the state in 1940 was $1,838,783,059 (real estate, $850,357,039; personal property, $397,668,520; public utilities, $590,757,500). The Federal income tax for the fiscal year 1939-40 aggregated $10,965,842.88, of which $6,882,889.24 was paid by corporations and $4,082,943.64 by individuals.

A notable item of state finance in West Virginia is the expenditure for public welfare, which was fixed for the 1939-41 biennium at $6,250,000 and $5,950,000, respectively. Of these amounts, $3,150,000 was used annually for public assistance, and $3,100,000 and $2,800,000 in the respective years for general relief. It was primarily for the administration of these funds that a State Department of Public Welfare was created. Courses in welfare administration are now offered at the State University.

Legislative and Political.

The Legislature was not in session in 1940, but the year was a hectic one politically. In the May primary a well entrenched Statehouse organization was defeated by United States Senator Matthew M. Neely who, with the aid of a strong labor following, was nominated for Governor. In the ensuing election Neely won over his Republican opponent, D. Boone Dawson, by a major party majority of 112,330 in a total vote of 879,726. At the same time President Franklin D. Roosevelt won the vote of the West Virginia electors by a plurality of 123,868; and control of the state Legislature was retained by the Democrats, in the Senate by 26 to 6, in the House 74 to 20. As a result of the election the state Supreme Court of Appeals is for the first time in more than forty years composed entirely of Democrats. Neely's place in the United States Senate will be filled by appointment until the next general election, and Judge Harley M. Kilgore of Beckley, Raleigh County, will succeed Rush D. Holt, who failed of renomination to succeed himself in the United States Senate.

Events of the Year.

Among events of interest was the death on February 21, of William McKell, coal operator of Glen Jean, Fayette County, who left an estate appraised at more than $12,000,000. The state inheritance tax amounted to $1,138,833.53, the largest ever paid in West Virginia.

In August and September the state suffered an epidemic of infantile paralysis of such severity as to necessitate a delay of several weeks in opening the public schools of a number of counties.

Mining was marred by two disasters, that at Bartley, where on January 10, 91 men were killed, and that at Beckley, where on December 17, 9 were killed. The total mine fatalities for the year were 376, as against 266 for 1939.

State Officers.

Governor, Matthew M. Neely; Secretary of State, William S. O'Brien; Treasurer, Richard E. Talbott; Auditor, Edgar B. Sims; Attorney General, Clarence W. Meadows; Superintendent of Schools, William W. Trent.

United States Senators:

Harley M. Kilgore, (second Senator undecided).