1942: Indiana

Area and Population.

Indiana, which is one of the North Central group of states, has an area of 36,555 sq. mi., of which 510 sq. mi. are inland water surface. The four Indiana ports on Lake Michigan: Gary, Buffington, East Chicago and Michigan City, handle an immense tonnage from the Great Lakes, and occasionally harbor an oceangoing vessel. Cities on the Ohio River, especially Evansville, New Albany and Jeffersonville, which are building boats for the armed forces, have heavy river freight business, but the former passenger service has been discontinued.

The population, 3,427,796 in 1940, increased in 1941 and 1942 in spite of losses in rural districts and to the armed services of the country. The census of 1940 listed 99 urban places containing 55.1 per cent of the population. Indianapolis, the capital and leading industrial and commercial city, in 1940 had a population of 386,972; the population of its metropolitan area as of May 1, 1942, was estimated as 492,000; the same figures for Fort Wayne were 118,410 and 165,000 respectively, for South Bend 101,268 and 167,000. Gary, the third city in 1940, with a population of 111,719, is included in the Chicago metropolitan area. Among other important cities are Evansville, 97,062; Hammond, 70,184; and Terre Haute, 62,693.

The 1940 census reported 3,305,323 white persons in the state as 96.4 per cent of the whole; and 121,916 Negroes as 3.6 per cent.

Education.

The number of inhabitants of school age, 6 to 19 inclusive, was 813,534 in 1940, a decrease of 19,336 from 1930. The decrease continued through 1942, one of the results of a declining birthrate. There are 2,793 elementary schools, and 866 high schools in the state, with 461,968 enrolled in the former and 192,147 in the latter. The total enrollment in 1942 was 669,148, in comparison with the estimated total number of school age of a little over 800,000.

The state government distributed to the public schools in the year ending June 30, 1942, the sum of $19,961,191. The gross expenditures of both state and local units for public schools was $67,971,457. The average annual salary of teachers in elementary and high schools was $1,373.

Among the principal educational developments in 1942 were these: a Division of Guidance was established in the office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction; a system of tests for aptitudes was established for all high school juniors and seniors, leading to reports on their special abilities and advice on their future course, whether in armed forces, agriculture, industry, trade or continued education; and special provision was made, in accordance with a law of 1941, for 'character education.'

Agriculture.

On the whole, climatic conditions were favorable to agriculture throughout the year. There were no disastrous floods nor destructive storms. Production in nearly all crops was well above the average of preceding years. In 1940, of an approximate land area of 23,153,920 acres, 85 per cent (19,800,778 acres) was in farms. Through abandonment of submarginal lands, the use of approximately 210,000 acres for armed services, munition making and storage, and through labor shortage, the amount of land under cultivation was appreciably decreased in 1942. Agriculture is extremely diversified in Indiana; the state produces nearly all the grains, vegetables and fruits which grow in temperate climates. Among the most distinctive crops, are tomatoes and peppermint. Truck farming has attained a high degree of productivity in the muck lands of northern Indiana. Central Indiana, north of Indianapolis, specializes in heavy draft horses. Throughout the state the increase of acreage devoted to soy beans was continued in 1942.

Industry.

The Census Bureau's 'Industrial Classification' for 1940, released June 25, 1942, showed 1,151,703 persons over 14 engaged in Indiana in all industries, including 205,318 in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 13,470 in mining, 50,206 in construction, 345,585 in manufacturing, 80,181 in transportation, communication and other public utilities, 188,178 in wholesale and retail trade, 80,551 in professional and related services, and 32,779 in government. The year 1942 was marked by the expansion of plants established in 1941 for the manufacture and storage of ammunitions, such as the naval ordnance works at Kingsbury, the powder plant at Charlestown; the establishment of new plants, such as the ordnance works in Vermillion County and the tank armor casting factory at East Chicago; and the tremendous increase of war work in older industrial plants now largely converted to such uses.

The number of persons engaged in 1942 in public emergency work and war production was greater than that in any other field, and manufacturing, which had outstripped agriculture more than twenty years ago, greatly increased its lead. Production of oil in the Indiana section of the Eastern Interior Basin centering in Evansville was between 16,000 and 17,000 bbl. per day by the end of the year.

Defense.

Camp Atterbury, between Franklin and Columbus, the largest military training camp in the state, with an airfield attached, was completed in 1942. A large naval reserve flying school at Peru is nearing completion.

Finance.

Among the most significant figures for the year ending June 30, 1942, were these: gross income tax collections, $33,739,323 ($32,171,826 for the calendar year 1942, an increase of $3,275,111 over 1941); total receipts of state treasury, $170,253,883; disbursements, $160,702,091; balance, $55,657,803. The state itself has no debt, though there are bonds outstanding against the state universities and some other state institutions. General relief expenditures in the fiscal year ending June 30 were $40,398,642; unemployment compensation paid $10,590,036.

On June 30, 1942, there were 379 state banks in operation with a total capital of $60,750,000 and deposits of $576,008,000; and 121 national banks with deposits of $707,608,855. State chartered building and loan associations numbering 184 had assets of $92,095,211 at the close of 1941; Federal savings and loan associations, $105,321,000.

Political Events.

There was no session of the General Assembly in 1942. The result of the election of members for the 83rd Session of the State Legislature was an increased Republican majority in both the House of Representatives (Republicans 82, Democrats 18) and the Senate (Republicans 38, Democrats 12). The four-year terms of Governor Henry F. Schricker, Democrat, and Lieutenant Governor Charles M. Dawson, Republican, run until January, 1945. The other elective executive and administrative officers have two-year terms. The vote for Secretary of State is by law taken as the party vote; Ruel J. Alexander, Republican was elected by a vote of 699,061 to 578,970 cast for the Democratic candidate.

State Officers.

Governor, Henry F. Schricker; Lieutenant Governor, Charles M. Dawson; Secretary of State, Maurice G. Robinson; State Treasurer, James M. Givens; Auditor, Richard T. James; Attorney General, James A. Emmert; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Clement C. Malan.

United States Senators:

Frederick Van Nuys, Raymond E. Willis.