1941: Ohio

Area and Population.

The state of Ohio was the fourth to be admitted to the Union, following the original thirteen, and was the first to be formed from the famous Northwest Territory. It entered the Union in February 1803. Its land area is 41,122 sq. mi. including 100 sq. mi. of inland water area. In addition it comprises large areas of water along its northern boundary in Lake Erie. Due to the fact that the former boundary of Virginia extended to the north bank of the Ohio River, Ohio can claim no part of the bed of the stream whose name it bears.

According to the 1940 Federal census, 6,907,612 persons live in Ohio. This figure has been swollen during the year 1941 by a considerable influx of workers to the large number of industrial and War Department plants engaged in defense production. In 1940, two-thirds of the people of Ohio lived in cities, and one-third lived on farms or in villages of less than 2,500 population.

There are eight cities in the state with populations in excess of 100,000. Cleveland, the largest, contains 878,336 and is sixth in size in the United States. The other seven are Cincinnati, with 455,610; Columbus, the capital, with 306,087; Toledo with 282,718; Youngstown with 167,720; and Canton with 108,401.

Education.

The 1940-41 expenditures for education in the public schools of Ohio exceeded $107,000,000. The number of inhabitants of school age in 1940 was 1,404,918. Enrollment in elementary and secondary schools was 1,202,532 in 1941, distributed as follows: elementary 675,343 pupils, kindergartens 20,466, special classes 23,110; junior high schools 87,441, six-year high schools 168,363, four-year high schools 144,491, senior high schools, 76,218; vocational high schools 4,325, and post-graduate high-school enrollment 2,775. There were 5,042 schools, of which 3,835 were elementary and 1,207 were high schools. The average salaries of Ohio elementary school teachers in Ohio was $1,413.39, and of high-school teachers $1,790.49, with an average for all teachers in the state of $1,600.

Mineral Products.

The industrial mineral products of Ohio, pig iron, steel, and coke, for each of which the state ranks second in the Union, showed substantial gains in 1940, especially the first, which amounted to 10,275,696 tons valued at $193,283,920, compared with 8,119,073 tons worth $147,154,864 in 1939. Coke advanced by about fifteen per cent to 7,897,900 tons; and open-hearth steel to 11,769,780 tons, a gain of about twenty per cent. Bituminous coal, the most valuable native mineral of the state, was mined in the amount of 22,092,000 tons, compared with 19,632,000 in 1939 valued at $32,196,000. Salt, in which Ohio ranks third among the states, showed a slight gain at 2,080,133 tons.

Legislative Matters.

The 94th regular session of the Ohio General Assembly was opened on January 6, 1941, and adjourned on May 27, 1941. Important general legislation enacted during the session included the following:

Adoption of a uniform traffic act based on the one recommended by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws; establishment of a drivers license examining section in the State Highway Patrol; revision of probate court procedure; placing of city health districts under classified civil service; establishing the internal organization of the state Department of Public Welfare; requiring blood examinations prior to the issuance of marriage licenses; establishing a state Council of Defense; establishing an Ohio State Guard; authorizing the creation of group medical plans under the supervision of the superintendent of insurance; establishing fixed tenure for experienced teachers; facilitating voting by soldiers and sailors; conforming the old-age pension act to the Federal Social Security Act; authorizing cities to sell notes to finance food stamp plans; barring certain political parties from the ballot (aimed at the Communist Party).

Defense Activities.

Ohio was chosen as the site of a number of important defense establishments created or completed during the year 1941. These include the vast ordnance plants at Ravenna and Plum Brook, near Sandusky; the chemical warfare service plant at Fostoria; the extension of facilities at the Erie proving ground at LaCarne, Ohio; the large induction center at Camp Perry; and the ammonium nitrate plant at South Point. The year 1941 found the Ohio National Guard Division, the 37th, in training at Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. An Ohio State Guard was authorized by the Legislature and set up to take over some of the functions of the National Guard during its absence.

Many Ohio manufacturing establishments received large orders for defense materials, both under the lease-lend bill and for the use of the Army of the United States. Approximately 54,000 young men from Ohio were inducted into the Army under the Selective Service Act during the current year.

Finance.

Appropriations by the Legislature for the biennium 1941-42 totaled $352,924,819.24, of which $180,341,171.23 was available for expenditure during the year 1941. This included, besides appropriations for current expenses for the state government, $103,720,900 for subsidies to municipalities and school districts, and $7,460,481 for additions and improvements at state institutions. State expenditures for poor relief have never been large, but 1941 found them practically disappearing. The burden of relief in Ohio lies almost entirely upon the local governments, without substantial aid from the state treasury. The development of the defense program has caused a considerable rise in employment in all parts of the state and the relief roils now carry mainly persons who are unemployable. The state administration is under severe criticism from the municipalities, on the ground that it is building up a large cash surplus which is badly needed by the municipalities for current operations. A demand has been made upon the Governor by the mayors of the larger cities that a special session of the Legislature be called to distribute this surplus. This he has refused to do, claiming that the surplus will not be great, and that it will be needed in 1942 to replace declining revenues.

State Officers.

Governor, John W. Bricker, Lieutenant Governor, Paul M. Herbert; Secretary of State, John E. Sweeney; Treasurer, Don H. Ebright; Auditor, Joseph T. Ferguson; Attorney General, Thomas J. Herbert; Director of Education, Kenneth C. Ray.

United States Senators:

Robert A. Taft, Harold H. Burton.