1941: Texas

Area and Population.

The total area of Texas is 267,339 sq. mi., of which 263,644 sq. mi. constitute land area, according to revised measurements by the U. S. Bureau of the Census in 1940. The population of Texas in 1940 was 6,414,824, an increase of 590,109, or 10.1 per cent over the population of 1930. Texas thus ranks first in the United States in area and sixth in population. Its rate of growth from 1930 to 1940 was higher than the rate of growth of national population, but it yielded fifth place, which it had held on the basis of the 1930 census, to California, which recorded a still higher rate of increase.

Austin is the capital, with a population of 87,930, ranking it sixth among the state's cities. Larger cities, on the basis of the 1940 census, were Houston, 384,514; Dallas, 294,734; San Antonio, 253,854; Fort Worth, 177,662, El Paso, 96,810. Of these leading cities, Austin had the best record of growth, 1930 to 1940, with an increase of 65.5 per cent; Houston was second with 31.5 per cent; and Dallas third with 13.2 per cent.

The total urban population of Texas in 1940 was 2,911,389, or 45.4 per cent of the whole; rural population, 3,503,435, or 54.6 per cent. During the 1930-1940 census interval, the rural population of Texas increased 2 per cent; urban population, 21.8 per cent. Of the rural population, the actual farm population decreased 8 per cent during the census interval, while the small-town rural population increased 23.4 per cent. This was due primarily to the drift of renters and share-croppers to the small towns as the cotton acreage was reduced under the Agricultural Adjustment Administration program, and farms were increasingly mechanized.

Racial characteristics of Texas population in 1930 were as follows: Total population, 5,824,715; white, 4,283,491; Negro, 854,964; Mexican, 683,681; other races, 2,579.

Education.

The school population of Texas (ages 6-17, inclusive), for the school year 1941-42, is 1,536,910. There are 998 independent and 5,581 common-school districts. In the common-school districts there were (during the year 1939-40) 5,178 white and 1,499 Negro schools. In the same districts there were 422,839 white children, and 89,899 Negro children. In the independent districts were 882,737 white, and 154,525 Negro children. Total enrollment in elementary and secondary grades was 873,948; in junior and senior high school grades, 471,738.

The state contributes to public-school education on a per capita basis, which was $22,50 per pupil, or a total of $34,580,475 for the current year. In addition there is an annual appropriation, $6,000,000 for the current year, for 'equalization,' that is, for grants to the poorer school districts. Local support for the current year, 1941-42, was approximately $46,000,000. The total value of Texas public-school property in 1939-40 was $288,869,539. There were 11,509 school buildings, of which all but 338 were owned. The average teacher's salary (1939-40) in common-school districts was $876, in independent districts $1,236; combined, $1,120.

The principal developments of educational significance during the year 1941 were the levying of taxes by the state to match the teachers' contribution to the retirement fund set up several years previously, and the beginning of the change in the public-school system from, an eleven-year to a twelve-year curriculum.

Agriculture.

The total value of Texas crops produced during 1940 was $367,108,000, as against $318,629,000 in 1939. Figures include the value of home-consumed crops. Cash value of crops in 1940 was $262,653,000. Value of crops in 1941, $455,000,000, according to preliminary estimate.

Texas is also a producer of sugar-cane syrup, barley, rye, vegetables, and miscellaneous other fruit and truck crops. A noteworthy farm industry is the rose-growing of East Texas, from which are marketed from 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 rose plants annually, valued at from $2,000,000 to $3,000,000.

Livestock.

The total income of Texas farmers and ranchers during 1940, from livestock and allied products, was $230,000,000. On Jan. 1, 1941, there were on Texas farms and ranches: 665,000 horses, 633,000 mules, 6,944,000 cattle, 10,620,000 sheep, 3,498,000 goats, and 1,926,000 swine. In 1940 there was a production of 80,352,000 pounds of wool valued at $23,302,000, and 18,250,000 pounds of mohair valued at $9,308,000. Texas is the leading state in beef cattle, sheep and wool production, and goats and mohair production.

The poultry and dairy industries have expanded rapidly in recent years. Texas is a leading turkey-raising state. There are many large ranches, ranging from 10,000 acres to 900,000 acres along the Mexican border, in the Trans-Pecos area and in the rough parts of Middle West and Northwest Texas. In other sections large-scale ranching has given way to stock-farming and crop growing. During 1941 frequent rains produced excellent range condition and the livestock industries prospered. Markets were good and improved throughout the year.

Minerals.

Texas produces annually from $700,000,000 to $800,000,000 in mineral values, and usually ranks first among the states, Pennsylvania being her closest rival. More than half of this value comes from petroleum, 1941 production of which was 491,000,000 bbl. (preliminary), valued at $595,000,000. Production of petroleum in 1940 was 493,126,000 bbl. valued at $488,194,000. Natural gas advanced in amount to 1,566,000,000 M cu. ft.; and natural gasoline to 920,700,000 gals. Sulphur production was increased substantially, at 2,212,834 tons, beyond that of 1939, when Texas was responsible for eighty per cent of the United States total. Helium gas, too, which is of increasing importance in medical, scientific, and industrial application, made great gains in 1940, at 9,450,855 cu. ft., produced as before at the Amarillo plant. Of this amount, the U. S. Navy purchased 3,531,410 cu. ft., for use in lighter-than-air craft, meteorological balloons, and in diving operations.

Manufacturing Industries.

In 1939 there were 5,376 manufacturing enterprises credited to Texas by the U. S. Bureau of the Census. These employed 126,992 wage earners and paid $128,138,703 in wages. The value of products was $1,530,220,676, of which $453,105,423 was 'added by manufacture.' During 1940 and 1941 great impetus was given manufacturing in Texas by the national defense program. Among new industries completed during 1941 were a plant at Freeport producing magnesium and other minerals from sea water, large chemical explosive and munitions plants and a steel mill at Houston, a tin smelter at Texas City, large shipbuilding plants at Orange and Houston, airplane factories at Dallas and Fort Worth, and a shell-loading plant at Texarkana. In addition there was general expansion of the petroleum refining industry, especially for the production of aviation gasoline. About $200,000,000 was invested in manufacturing during the year.

Legislative Matters.

State fiscal difficulties were primarily the concern of the 47th Legislature, which was in session during the first half of the year 1941. Appropriations were the largest in the history of the state. To match this increase, tax laws to raise an estimated $25,000,000 in new revenues were enacted. New legislation was concerned with the payment of all social security claims and increasing old-age pensions, meeting the state's obligations to the teacher retirement account, organizing methods to aid in national defense and particularly to encourage airport development, providing more money for the rural schools of Texas than ever before, and, for the first time, for maintenance aid to the junior colleges.

Political Events.

The outstanding political event of the year 1941 was the election on June 28, to fill the unexpired term of U. S. Senator Morris Sheppard, who died April 9, 1941. Governor W. Lee O'Daniel won the office by a narrow margin, with 175,590 votes.

Finance.

At the close of the state's fiscal year, Aug. 31, 1941, the deficit in the general revenue fund was $28,665,845. However, there was a combined net surplus of $73,336,323 in the remaining state funds. Under the fiscal system of Texas, most administrative, legislative and judicial expenditures, and miscellaneous other outlays, come from the general revenue fund; but there are approximately one hundred other funds, large and small, from which expenditures are made for specific purposes, including highways, schools, game conservation, and pensions for ex-confederate soldiers and their widows. This system is generally conceded to be a patchwork. During 1942, a study looking to simplification and coordination will be made.

The total expenditures for all state purposes during the fiscal year ended August 31, 1940, was $165,717,612.22. As compared with this, expenditures for 1930 were $103,672,473.30, and in 1920 they were $33,498,724,83. The total assessed value of Texas personal and real property as of 1940 was $4,273,321,619, which was estimated at 40 per cent of true value of all taxable property; ad valorem taxes against this property raised $22,275,576.92 for state purposes. Most of the remaining revenue comes from a gross receipts tax on oil, gasoline tax, liquor and cigarette taxes, and miscellaneous occupation, sales and franchise taxes. Unemployment insurance in Texas is administered by the State Unemployment Insurance Commission. The administration is on the merit-rating basis, and a surplus of approximately $60,000,000 has been accumulated.

Banking and Insurance.

There were 839 chartered banks in Texas, as of Dec. 31, 1940, of which 446 were national banks and 393 state banks. National banks had $1,695,662,000 in resources, and state banks had $236,806,794. The total of life insurance in force in Texas, as of Dec. 31, 1939, was $3,392,423,192 in legal reserve companies and $286,492,778 in fraternal and benefit societies.

State Officers.

Governor, Coke Stevenson (who as Lieutenant Governor succeeded Governor W. Lee O'Daniel when the latter was elected to the United States Senate); Lieutenant Governor (office vacant); Secretary of State, William J. Lawson; Comptroller, George H. Sheppard; Treasurer, Jesse James; Auditor, C. H. Cavness; Attorney General, Gerald C. Mann; Superintendent of Public Instruction, L. A. Woods.

United States Senators:

Tom Connally, W. Lee O'Daniel.