1941: Wisconsin

Area and Population.

Wisconsin, a north central state, has an area of 56,066 sq. mi. The population in 1940 (U. S. census) was 3,137,587, an increase of 6.8 per cent since 1930. Urban population in 1940 was reported as 53.5 per cent of the total, and the rural population as 46.5 per cent. Of the total population, according to the 1930 census, 2,913,859 were whites, 11,548 Indians, 10,739 Negroes, 2,396 Mexicans, and 464 Asiatics. The foreign-born white population was 386,213, or 13 per cent of the total. Of these, 128,269 were Germans. Other large groups were Poles, 42,359; Norwegians, 34,391; Czechoslovakians, 19,580; Swedes, 18,808; and Russians, 16,418.

The chief cities and their populations (1940 census) are Milwaukee, 587,472; Madison, the capital, 67,447; Racine, 67,195; Kenosha, 48,765; Green Bay, 46,235; La Crosse, 42,707; and Oshkosh, 39,089.

Education.

Education is free for all persons in the state between the ages of 4 and 20 years (831,123 in 1939-40), and compulsory from 7 to 14, or until graduation. A pupil is required to complete a high-school course, if the pupil's school district includes such a school. In city vocational schools, students between 14 and 16 must attend full time; between 16 and 18, half time.

In 1939-40, there were 535,165 pupils enrolled in the public high and elementary schools of the state. Of these, 160,311 were enrolled in the 462 high schools, and 374,854 were enrolled in 7,120 elementary rural and state graded schools. The state has 24 state-operated schools for deaf children, not including the State School at Delavan; 27 schools for children with speech defects; and 45 vocational schools.

There are 21,577 teachers employed in the public-school system, with 11,591 of these in rural, state graded, other village grade and high schools. The city schools employ the remaining 9,986. Their yearly salaries average about $1,307. Total expenditures for education in 1939-40 were $69,074,084.93 as compared with $70,500,800.40 in the preceding year.

The 1941 session of the Legislature enacted that pupils of public, private, parochial, and denominational schools shall be taught proper reverence and respect for, and the history and meaning of the American flag, the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. The state-wide teacher tenure act of 1937 was repealed. Milwaukee teachers are covered by a separate law which remains in effect.

Agriculture.

Cheese production in Wisconsin in 1940 was reported at 406,673,000 lb., which was 52 per cent of all cheese made in the nation, and the greatest amount ever produced in this or any other state. This was an increase of 9.8 per cent over the previous high established in 1939. Wisconsin creameries produced 183,103,000 lb. of butter, an increase of 5.7 per cent above the 1939 production. Condensery products reached a total of 1,065,205,000 lb., an increase of 13.3 per cent over 1939.

The index of prices received by Wisconsin farmers rose in October 1941, to 151 per cent of the level of farm prices during the period 1910-14, as compared with 102 in 1940. The index of prices the farmers paid in October 1941, was 136 per cent of the level of prices during the period 1910-14. This was 14 points above that of October 1940. The total cash income of Wisconsin farmers in 1940 was $315,476,000, including government payments amounting to $12,273,000. The tax of 15 cents a pound on oleomargarine was retained.

Industry.

Business and industrial indexes in October 1941 were above those for 1940. The index of employment advanced to 126.2 per cent of the 1925-27 level, an increase of 22 per cent over October 1940, and the index of payrolls advanced to 172.8 per cent of the 1925-27 level, a gain of 53.4 per cent over October 1940.

Mineral Products.

Production of iron ore, again chiefly from the Montreal underground mine in Iron County, northern Wisconsin, amounted in 1940 to 1,262,065 tons, a substantial gain over 1939, when 1,173,828 tons had a value of $3,526,980. Although the amount of zinc produced in 1940 was slightly less, at 5,770 tons, than in 1939, its value at $727,020 was higher than in the previous year. Sand, gravel, and stone add materially to the total value of the state's mineral resources, which in 1939 amounted to $12,704,942.

Legislation.

The Legislature meets biennially in odd-numbered years, on the second Wednesday in January. The Legislature which assembled January 8, 1941, adjourned June 6, 1941, after the shortest regular session since 1903. The outstanding legislative acts passed during the session are summarized under each topic.

Unemployment Compensation.

Wisconsin's unemployment compensation Act became law on January 29, 1932. Under the law each employer is required to contribute monthly a sum figured as a certain percentage of his payroll. This cannot be deducted from the wages of the workers. The Industrial Commission of Wisconsin credits each employer's payments to his separate account, from which benefits are payable solely to his employees. The contributions are submitted to Washington to be credited to Wisconsin's account in the Federal 'Unemployment Trust Fund.' The amounts thus credited are invested in Federal bonds and the interest earnings credited to Wisconsin's account. At the close of 1940, the law covered 12,134 employers of six or more employees, and over 500,000 workers. Unemployment benefits have been payable to eligible Wisconsin workers since August, 1936. By the close of 1940, benefit payments had totaled nearly $20,000,000. At the close of 1940, Wisconsin's unemployment reserve fund had a net balance of more than $55,000,000.

Taxation.

Wisconsin residents paid $204,677,479 in state and local taxes in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1940, as compared with $201,368,105 in the previous year, an increase of $3,309,374. Federal internal revenue collections in the state during the fiscal year amounted to $86,387,901, as compared with $86,406,708 in 1939. Federal and state taxes for unemployment compensation totaled $26,706,323.

Finance.

The summing up of the state's financial position on July 1, 1941, was as follows:

The budget for the biennium, 1941-43, calls for $73,868,278, which is $2,656,302 more than the budget for the biennium 1939-41. The sum appropriated for relief was $2,108,000, as compared with $5,000,000 authorized in 1939. The estimated total revenue for the biennium, from revenue laws in force, was slightly more than $67,000,000.

The Legislature extended until July 1, 1943, the emergency tax on gifts, the privileged dividend tax, the two-cent cigarette tax, the emergency tax on transfers of property by inheritance, and the 60 per cent surtax on individual incomes. The session rejected a gross income tax, a tax on the gross receipts of light, heat, and power companies, and an emergency tax on telephone utilities.

Banking.

On December 31, 1940, Wisconsin had 459 state banks, 6 trust companies, and 4 mutual savings banks. Their total deposits were $456,310,000, an increase of $32,899,000 over the $423,411,000 in 475 banks reported in 1939. During 1940, there were 103 national banks operating in the state. Their deposits were $578,584,000 on December 31, 1940, as compared with $536,460,000 in 105 banks for 1939. The total deposits for all banks, numbering 572, were $1,034,894,000 on December 31, 1940.

National Defense.

Among the important measures enacted by the 1941 session of the Legislature were five acts having to do with national defense. The Legislature created a Home Guard to be active while the National Guard is in Federal service. It enacted a Sabotage Prevention Act which prohibits and penalizes intentional injuring or interfering with property to hinder the defense program, intentional defective workmanship, and unlawful entry on posted property. Another Act restored compulsory military training at the University of Wisconsin for male freshmen and sophomores. Another denied the Communist party, or affiliated groups, the right to a place on the Wisconsin ballot. Lastly, the 'little Dies committee' was created to investigate subversive activities in Wisconsin.

At the request of Governor Heil, the Wisconsin State Council for Defense was organized. The Council functions through six divisions: protection, health and welfare, aviation, publicity and information, communications and transportation, and a planning division, which has charge of evacuation, finance, and morale in time of emergency.

State Officers.

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

United States Senators:

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