1941: Alabama

During the year 1941, Alabama enjoyed unusual progress and prosperity. This not only applied to people within the state in all walks of life, but also to the state as a whole. State Treasury receipts for the fiscal year were $113,595,123.39; state disbursements amounted to $105,245,311.69. The balance on hand in the Treasury at the end of the year, including a previous balance, amounted to $15,745,870.89.

Area and Population.

Alabama has an area of 51,078 sq. mi., with an average density of 55.5 persons per sq. mi. The state population was 2,832,961, by the 1940 census, a growth of 7.1 per cent, in advance of the 1930 figures. Birmingham, Alabama's largest city, had a population of 267,583, showing a gain of 7,905 during the decade. Mobile, Alabama's seaport is the second city, with 78,720, while Montgomery runs a close third with 78,084. Gadsden has 36,975 people; Tuscaloosa (seat of the University of Alabama) 27,493; Anniston, 25,523; Bessemer. 22,826.

Education.

The school census for 1940 credited Alabama with 875,019 children of school age (6 to 20). Of these, 485,855 were enrolled in the elementary grades, and 196,419 in high schools, making a total enrollment of 682,274. The number and kinds of schools, 1939-40, were as follows: elementary, 2,621: accredited high schools, 347; combined elementary and high, 1,634 — a total of 4,602 schools. The average salary for Alabama's teachers is $719.

Through the cooperation of the State Department of Education and the institutions of higher learning as consultants, local school systems have carried forward significant curriculum revisions in recent years. Holtville High School received national recognition for revision of the curriculum to meet the needs of the pupils in the special community served by the school. Many other schools in the state made similar important improvements.

Alabama ranks high among the states in long-term planning of schools, in the economical administrative machinery provided for directing school activities, and in procedures used for equalizing educational opportunities for all the children in the state; but, due to financial difficulties, the state has not been able to provide as long school terms as other states. School authorities in Alabama see no hope for an adequately supported nine months' school term for all of the children, without Federal support. It is estimated, however, that one-twelfth of the boys and girls educated in this state move to other sections of the country, and that the nation as a whole is the beneficiary of this human resource. It has been contended by able men and women in this and in neighboring states that the nation therefore should pay part of the educational cost.

Alabama now has a free public library service and units are multiplying throughout the state. Thousands of approved books are being distributed to the people, to be read, returned, and passed on to others.

Agriculture.

Alabama's balmy climate is conducive to abundant crops. Its latitudes know wheat and clover in the northern section, cotton, corn, peanuts, pecans, honey, and dairy products in the central lands, early vegetables, oranges, and kumquats in the semi-tropical southern region. Flowers, cultivated and wild, grow everywhere.

Alabama is therefore a splendid agricultural state. Diversification, with rotation of crops, is generally practiced. More acreage is now being devoted to dairy herds, and to pastures for the production of fine herds of improved beef cattle. Alabama has a goal of 1,500,000,000 pounds of milk for 1942, with a proportionate amount of butter. Poultry products, with increased goals, are featured on all farms. Alabama has 1,330,000 farm workers, and they are cooperating with the government in speeding up food production.

Statistics as to the leading crops are given in the accompanying table.

The State Department of Corrections and Institutions, through the state's large prison farms, is experimenting along agricultural lines. For instance, 'ramie,' the old Chinese perennial from which cloth was made to wrap Egyptian mummies, and for other ancient uses, is being planted in quantity, and many modern uses are being found for this fine fiber plant. Silk culture and processing; the use of sweet potato meal as a stock food; production of finer syrups, and many other farm-product ideas are also being worked out on the prison farms — in addition to growing of regular crops.

Industry.

Thriving industrial plants hum in the Birmingham district, and about Anniston, Gadsden, Huntsville, Decatur, Montgomery, Mobile and other points. Many textile plants are located in smaller towns. There are more than 2,000 industrial plants running full time in the state. Government defense plants, airport centers and aviation schools, Army cantonments; and ship-building plants are also beehives of activity in many sections of the state.

Alabama has a number of large hydro-electric plants on the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, to supply current to cities, to industry, to farms and homes. In addition, the U. S. Government owns dams of huge proportions on the Tennessee River.

In addition to the state-owned docks at Mobile, with two miles of concrete wharves and 1,086,300 ft. of covered floor space (25 A.), Mobile has 28,000 ft. of developed water front. Through this port annually come sugar, bananas, molasses, ores, dyes, newsprint, fertilizers, asphalts, bagging, asbestos, and other items of import, while from Alabama go exports of iron, steel, cotton, coal, coke, corn, lumber and processed materials.

Mineral Products.

Production of Alabama's leading mineral, bituminous coal, amounted to 15,150,000 tons in 1940, compared with 11,995,000 tons valued at $27,708,000 in 1939. The mining of iron ore, for which the state ranks third in the Union, also increased to 7,316,127 tons, an appreciable gain over the 5,985,208 tons produced in 1939, with a value of $9,971,024. Shipments of pig iron amounted to 3,476,072 tons worth $49,706,851; coke totaled 4,727,400 tons; and cement 5,249,759 bbl., with a value of $7,616,405.

Forestry.

Alabama has 23,000,000 A. of forest, representing 22,000,000,000 board ft. of hardwoods, and 23,000,000,000 ft. of pine and soft woods. It ranks sixth as a lumber-producing state.

It is interesting to note that Alabama is conserving her forestry resources, and that millions of young trees are being planted annually. On one Government-owned tract, 3,000,000 pine seedlings are now being planted. In one county the Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the planting of tens of thousands of pine seedlings on a 96-acre farm. Many similar projects might be cited.

State Officials.

Governor, Frank M. Dixon; Lieutenant Governor, A. A. Carmichael; Attorney General, T. S. Lawson; Secretary of State, John Brandon; State Treasurer, Charles E. McCall; State Auditor, Howell Turner; Superintendent of Education, A. H. Collins.

United States Senators:

John Hollis Bankhead, Lister Hill.