1940: Wisconsin

Area and Population.

The 'Badger State' was admitted to statehood on May 29, 1848. It has a total area of 56,066 sq. mi. The population in 1940 (U. S. census) numbered 3,137,587, an increase of 198,581 or 6.8 per cent since 1930. The chief cities and their population (1940 census) are Milwaukee, 587,472; Racine, 67,195; Madison, the capital, 67,447; Kenosha, 48,765; Green Bay, 46,235; La Crosse, 42,707, and Oshkosh, 39,089. The urban population in 1940 was reported as 53.5 per cent of the total. In 1930, the foreign-born white population was 13 per cent of the total, and included 128,269 Germans, 42,359 Poles, and 34,391 Norwegians.

Agriculture.

More cheese and condensery products were made in Wisconsin in 1939 than in 1938, but there was a decrease in the output of butter. The state produced 370,430,000 pounds of cheese in 1939, which was 52.7 per cent of all the cheese made in the United States. For the seventh consecutive year this set a record over all previous years. Condensery products reached a total of 940,241,000 pounds, or 27.6 per cent of all such products manufactured in the nation during 1939. Butter production in the state in 1939 was 173,227,000 pounds, which was 8.3 per cent less than that of 1938. Wisconsin still, however, ranked third in butter production.

The Wisconsin corn crop of 1940 was the largest in the state's history.

The total cash farm income in 1939 was $285,008,000, of which $32,655,000 was from crops, $232,936,000 from livestock and livestock products, and $19,417,000 from Government payments. The index of prices received by Wisconsin farmers in October 1940 was 105 per cent of the level of farm prices during the period 1910-14, as compared with 108 per cent in 1939, and a five-year average of 114 per cent. The index of prices the farmers paid in October 1940 was 122 per cent of the level of prices during the period 1910-14. This was two points below that of 1939 and four points below the five-year average of the same month.

Industry.

Wisconsin stands tenth among the states in aggregate value of manufactures. The principal manufactures are lumber, paper and pulp, furniture and wooden ware, farm machinery, engines, automobiles, electrical goods, and liquors. There were 1,262 utilities operating in the state on July 1, 1940. Of these, 858 were operated by private companies and 404 by municipalities. Business and industrial indexes in October 1940 were above those for the same month in 1939. The index of employment in October showed an increase of 10.9 per cent over the same month a year ago and the index of pay rolls advanced to a gain of 17.4 per cent over October 1939.

Mineral Products.

Mine output of iron ore in 1939, chiefly from the Montreal underground mine in Iron County, exceeded that of 1938 by about 50 per cent, the total being 972,685 tons, compared with 625,378 tons in the preceding year, valued at $1,886,477. Production of 5,904 tons of zinc more than doubled the low figure for 1938. Large quantities of sand, gravel, and stone again added substantially to the total value of Wisconsin's mineral products, which in 1938 equalled $10,636,741.

Finance.

The budget for the biennium, 1940-1941, called for $68,552,832, as compared with $67,266,000 for 1938-1939. The 1939 Legislature appropriated $78,226,286, as compared with $73,954,937 in 1937. The revenues provided by the Legislature to balance appropriations were estimated at $57,767,863, leaving a deficit of $20,458,423.

Among the revenue measures passed by the 1939 Legislature were a two-cent cigarette tax, a dividend tax, a 60 per cent surtax on personal incomes, and a 3 per cent tax on the gross receipts of Rural Electrification Administration cooperatives.

Taxation.

Wisconsin residents paid $201,368,105 in state and local taxes in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1939, as compared with $186,764,938 in the previous year, an increase of $14,603,167. The Federal Government collected $86,406,708 in the state during the fiscal year.

Banking.

On December 31, 1939, Wisconsin had 462 State Banks, 9 trust companies, and 4 mutual savings banks. Their total deposits were $423,410,835.09, an increase of $28,934,027.61 over the $394,476,807.48 in 484 banks reported in 1938. During 1939 there were 105 National Banks operating in the state. Their deposits were $536,460,000 on December 30, 1939, as compared with $490,153,000 in the same number of banks for 1938. The total deposits for all banks, numbering 580, were $959,871,000 on December 30, 1939. At the end of 1939 Wisconsin had 563 credit unions in operation, with a membership of 133,504 and assets of $9,287,974.56, an increase of $1,861,261.71 over the $7,426,712.85 reported for 1938.

Unemployment Compensation.

At the close of 1939, the state unemployment reserve fund had a net balance of $50,495,433. During the year ending December 31, 1939, contributions to the fund amounted to $13,809,426 and benefits to $3,663,572.

Political Events.

In the November elections the Republicans obtained a majority in both branches of the Legislature. The Legislature which met January 8, 1941, was made up of 61 Republicans, 23 Progressives and 16 Democrats in the Assembly and 24 Republicans, 6 Progressives and 3 Democrats in the Senate.

State Officers.

Governor, Julius P. Heil; Lieutenant Governor, Walter S. Goodland; Secretary of State, Fred R. Zimmerman; State Treasurer, John M. Smith; Attorney General, John E. Martin; Superintendent of Public Instruction, John Callahan.

United States Senators:

Robert M. La Follette, Jr., Alexander Wiley.