1942: Montana

Area and Population.

Montana's area of 146,997 sq. mi., is larger than the combined areas of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio; the state population, totalling 559,456, is less than that of such cities as Buffalo, Milwaukee or San Francisco. Montana's largest city, Butte, often called the 'richest hill on earth,' has but 39,532 people. Helena, the capital (14,905), had its beginning in 1864 as the trading center of Last Chance Gulch.

Approximately two-thirds of the state lies east of the Rocky Mountain chain, and one-third is in the drainage area of the Pacific. The high prairies of the eastern portion are well adapted to grain farming and stock raising. The mountainous regions contain rich mineral stores — copper, gold, silver, zinc, chromium and others. Great forests cover much of the area in the western part of the state.

Three trunk railways traverse the state on their way from Chicago and Minneapolis to the west coast, and two others afford transportation southward. Two east-west Federal highways cross the state and three others accommodate travel north and south. One of the latter connects with the southern terminal of the new Alcan road to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Agriculture.

Farmers and stockgrowers, favored in 1942 by weather and moisture, produced crops and livestock valued at more than $200,000,000. The principal crop, wheat, yielded 73,783,000 bu., valued at $70,832,000. Other important crops included hay, sugar beets, oats, flaxseed, barley, corn and potatoes. For the sale of milk from 167,000 cows, dairymen received $10,000,000, the largest amount since 1930. Creamery butter production was 12,600,000 lb., cheese 1,898,000 lb., and ice cream 1,759,000 lb.

Finance.

Banks enjoyed a large increase in business, but because of lower interest rates on investments, not so large an increase in earnings. As of Dec. 31, the forty-one national banks had resources amounting in the aggregate to $150,173,000, an increase of almost fifty per cent over the same date the previous year. The resources of the sixty-nine state banks amounted to $129,100,000, the highest since 1919.

Education.

For maintenance of its public schools during the year ended June 30 Montana expended $11,033,000 — an average of $107 for each of the 103,000 pupils enrolled, a per capita increase of $7.60 over the general maintenance cost of the preceding year. A decrease of 3,000 in the number of school children (6 to 21 years of age), may be attributed largely to the removal of families to other states for employment in war industries. Of the 5,136 public school teachers, 1,227 were men and 3,909 were women. The average salary paid to the 3,182 women teaching in elementary schools for the school year of nine months was $1,078. The men, numbering 453, were paid an average of $1,165. In high schools the men outnumbered the women 774 to 727, but the women were paid $1,435 as compared to $1,264 received by the men.

On account of war activities and military service, enrollment at all of the units of the Greater University — including the University of Missoula, State College at Bozeman, School of Mines at Butte, State Normal at Dillon, Eastern Montana Normal at Billings, and North Montana College at Havre — decreased considerably, more particularly in respect to the number of male students.

Defense.

War-bond sales during the year reached a total of $38,000,000, much in excess of the quotas allotted. On the basis of sales per capita, Montana ranked sixth among the states. In respect to the number of volunteers in the United States Army in proportion to population Montana ranks eighth. Support of United Service Organizations and the Red Cross is gratifying. Scrap metal collected in the second half of the year totalled 84,410 tons, a per capita average of 301 lb., which exceeded the state's quota by fifty per cent.

State Officers.

Governor, Sam C. Ford; Lieutenant Governor, Ernest T. Eaton; Secretary of State, Sam W. Mitchell; Attorney General, R. V. Bottomley; Treasurer, Thomas E. Carey; Auditor, John J. Holmes; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Elizabeth Ireland.

United States Senators:

Burton K. Wheeler, James E. Murray.