1941: West Virginia

Area and Population.

Originally a part of Virginia, West Virginia was conditionally admitted to the Union on Dec. 31, 1862, and began to function as the thirty-fifth state on June 20, 1863. With the inclusion in 1866 of two Virginia counties (Berkeley and Jefferson) the boundary remained as thus established, although Maryland has unsuccessfully questioned it in three suits. The total area is 24,181 sq. mi., including 91 sq. mi. of inland water surface, according to remeasurements of the United States undertaken for the 16th census in 1940.

On April 1, 1940, the population of West Virginia was 1,901,974, which represented an increase of 172,769, or 10 per cent, as compared with the population for 1930. The average increase for the 1940 density was 79 to the square mile, and the population included, besides the predominant whites, representatives of the black, red and yellow races. Huntington, with 78,836, is the largest city, and Charleston, the capital city, 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 are Clarksburg, 30,579; and Parkersburg, 30,103.

Education.

The total pupil enrollment for 1940-41, in the 5,026 primary and elementary schools, was 306,942, or 5,698 less than for the preceding year. Of this total 18,862 were Negroes. For the 270 high schools the total enrollment was 109,009, a loss of 31,172, but this loss was more than covered by the enrollment in the 119 junior high schools, which totaled 35,102 and included a part of the enrollment lost in the elementary schools. The state had 5,026 elementary schools and 389 high schools (junior and senior), with 10,799 and 5,380 teachers, respectively.

The state appropriation for elementary and secondary education, for 1941-42, was $15,075,000, but state aid from all sources amounted to $15,427,285. The total expenditure including transportation, amounted to $26,400,898, of which $11,926,831 was paid by local tax units. This total did not, however, include the $150,000 for textbooks for primary and elementary schools, nor the $600,000 for the teachers' retirement fund.

Agriculture.

According to the 1940 census, West Virginia contained 99,282 farms, with a total acreage of 8,908,803, or 57.8 per cent of the whole area. The average value of farm lands was $30.29 per acre, and they represented a total value of $268,847,642.87. Of all farm lands, 17.8 per cent were used for crops and 22.8 per cent for grazing.

Industry.

The estimated value of the industrial products of West Virginia for 1940 was $624,000,000, an increase of 16 per cent over the 1929 production of $538,000,000. Among these, the newest were the products of the chemical industry, with a total value of about $90,000,000. In 1940 West Virginia began to produce synthetic materials, such as nylon and live-glas, which promise to revolutionize certain phases of the industrial world. One of the oldest industries in the present West Virginia, glass-making is still one of the most profitable. The total value of this product in 1940 was in excess of $52,000,000.

Minerals.

Coal is the most important natural resource of West Virginia. The total production for 1940 was 126,619,825 tons. In all, 108,000 miners were employed, and usable coal reserves were estimated at almost 64,000,000,000 tons. For years the production of crude oil in West Virginia has tended to decline, the amount for 1940 being 3,426,306 bbl., representing a value of about $6,250,000. Natural gas production which was boosted by the Oriskany sand developments, reached 160,000,000 M. cu. ft. for 1940. There were then 18,000 producing oil wells, and 13,860 producing gas wells in the state. One of the state's greatest industrial developments is the production of electrical power, which in 1938 totaled 2,500,000,000 kilowatts, 82 per cent of which was produced in coal-burning plants.

Banking and Finance.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941, there were 104 State and 77 National Banks in West Virginia, with deposits aggregating $161,259,278.21 and $189,781,824.34, respectively. Total state revenue receipts for the year ending June 30, 1941, were $54,621,838.60, and disbursements aggregated $51,454,644.73. The balance (all funds) in the state treasury at that time was $22,186,893.45. The Federal income tax collections for 1941 amounted to $15,481,215.44, and individual state income taxes for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941 aggregated $1,753,048.06. For the same period the state consumers' sales tax, gasoline, gross sales, motor vehicle and liquor taxes were: $9,464,317.81, $8,848,517.82, $16,065,898.70, $5,737,982.30, and $3,050,000 (net), respectively. The total state appropriation (1941-42) for public assistance was $7,251,800.

Legislative and Political.

The Legislature was in session in 1941 for sixty days, the regular session. Among its outstanding enactments were a teachers' retirement law; the establishment of a state court of claims; state aid to municipalities to the extent of $600,000; state public welfare in conformity with the more liberal provisions of the Federal Security Act; liberalization of state unemployment compensation; and exemption of basic foodstuffs, including flour, butter, eggs, milk, and bread, from the consumers' sales tax.

The most important political event of the year was the contest over the United States senatorship, made vacant by the resignation of Senator Matthew Neely to become governor. Immediately upon taking the oath of office he appointed as his successor in the Senate Dr. Joseph Rosier, for years an outstanding educator. Meanwhile, the retiring Governor, Homer A. Holt, appointed to the Senate Clarence E. Martin of Berkeley County, a distinguished lawyer and former president of the American Bar Association. The unprecedented contest was determined by the United States Senate. After much debate Dr. Rosier was seated.

State Officers.

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

United States Senators:

Harley M. Kilgore, Dr. Joseph Rosier.