1942: Nebraska

Area and Population.

Nebraska lies a little north of the geographical center of the United States. The extreme length of the state is 413 mi., and its extreme width, 208 mi. It ranks fifteenth in size, with an area of 76,808 sq. mi. One of the two outstanding physical features of Nebraska is the sandhill region lying just west of the central part of the state, reaching from near the Platte River almost to the Niobrara. It contains about one-fourth of the area of the state. The other is the loess region lying just to the east and southeast of the sandhills, and extending from northeast to south and southwest. It includes about 45 per cent of the area of the state.

Nebraska ranks thirty-second in population, having 1,315,834 residents (1940). Of these 39 per cent are urban. About 99 per cent of the population are whites. A little less than 9 per cent are foreign-born. During the last year there has been a considerable movement of population into the state to supply labor in new industries. Nebraska has nine cities of 10,000 or more population. The largest are Omaha, 223,844; and Lincoln, the capital, 81,984.

Agriculture.

Agriculture is the main industry of the state. North of the Platte River and east of the sandhills the main crop is corn. South of the Platte and east of the hundredth meridian, the land is devoted to mixed farming, with winter wheat and corn the main crops. All that part of the state west of these two areas is within the range country. There are, however, within this area three small but important crop regions. On the irrigated land of the North Platte Valley sugar beets, potatoes, and alfalfa are the most important crops. South of this valley is an area where the land under cultivation is devoted chiefly to wheat. To the north of the North Platte Valley, with Hemingford as the most important shipping center, is an area where potatoes are the main crop.

In 1942 the average yield of corn, 34½ bu. per acre, was the best since 1896. The total production has been exceeded only six times in the history of the state. Winter wheat, with a yield of 24 bu. per acre, was also above the average. The production of potatoes was the largest in the history of the state. Nebraska retained its rank as second in the production of winter wheat, and for 1942 was third in the production of corn.

Cattle represent one of the largest investments in Nebraska. After a shortage of cattle for several years, due to protracted drought and poor pasture conditions, the number of cattle had returned to normal by the beginning of 1942. The number of hogs early in 1942 was only a little more than 50 per cent of the average. This condition has been improved during the year, but the shortage is still serious.

Manufacturing.

Since Nebraska is primarily an agricultural state, manufacturing has to do largely with the processing of agricultural products. The most important of such industrial products are: (1) Dressed meat and poultry; (2) beet sugar; (3) butter; (4) flour and mill products. There was considerable expansion in manufacturing in 1942.

Education.

For the year ending June 30, 1942, inhabitants of school age (5 to 21 years) totaled 342,145, a decrease from the previous year of about 3½ per cent; number of rural schools, 5,579; number of graded schools, 720. The enrollment in all elementary schools was 177,826, a decrease of 3 per cent; and in the high schools, 79,838, a decrease of 4 per cent. The total expenditure for rural schools was $4,460,333.56; for city and village schools, including most of the high schools, $16,531,348.71. The number of men teachers employed in cities and villages was 1,670; the number of women, 6,014. The average salary for men in city and village schools, including most high schools, was $1,246.91; the average salary for women in such schools, was $980.39. The average salary for men in rural schools was $523.90; for women, $518.94.

Finance.

The report of the State Auditor for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, was as follows: revenue received, $31,294,050.20; expenditures, $29,171,326.40, and refunds, $8,333.41. Total receipts were $43,372,029.76; total expenditures, $41,661,030.85. Cash balance in state treasury after deducting warrants not cashed, $5,927,369.95; indebtedness, bonded or otherwise, none.

The amount of money paid out for general relief by the 93 counties in Nebraska from July 1941 through June 1942 was $798,451.19, as compared with the fiscal year of 1940-41 when $1,169,104.49 was paid out for this purpose. The state paid out from state and Federal funds for old-age assistance for the fiscal year 1941-42, $6,706,565.34, as compared with a payment of $6,162,885.19 for the fiscal year 1940-41; for aid to dependent children $2,023,648.09, as compared with $2,002,936.53 for 1940-41; for blind assistance $186,900.65, as compared with $171,101.85 for the previous year.

The WPA is now operating with a very small force. There were 3,395 on the rolls in Nebraska Sept. 29, 1942, of whom 3,123 were certified for relief, the average age being 55 years. There were also 438 persons certified and available for WPA. This is a contrast with Sept. 30, 1941, when there were 14,291 people on WPA, 13,482 of whom were certified, with an average age of 47 years, and 2,416 certified and available, waiting to be taken on.

Payments for unemployment insurance in Nebraska for the first eight months of 1942, January to September, were $937,405.00. During the same period in 1941 the payments were $1,098,959.

Banking.

On June 30, 1942, Nebraska had 279 state banks with total assets of $107,497,766.90 and total liabilities of $94,408,457.41, as compared with 285 state banks, June 30, 1941, with total assets of $89,360,630.50 and total liabilities of $76,700,386.91. There were also in September 1942, 133 national banks in the state with a capital of $49,362,000 and deposits of $455,153,000.

Political Events.

In the election of Nov. 3, 1942, Kenneth S. Wherry of Pawnee City, Republican, defeated Senator George W. Norris of McCook, Independent, and Foster May of Omaha, Democrat, for United States Senator. Senator Norris had served the state of Nebraska in the United States Senate for a period of thirty years. Previously he was a member of the Lower House of Congress for ten years, Nebraska's representation in the Lower House has been reduced from five to four members by the new apportionment. The four newly-elected members are Republicans.

State Officers.

Governor, Dwight Griswold; Lieutenant Governor, Roy W. Johnson; Secretary of State, Frank Marsh; Auditor of Public Accounts, Ray C. Johnson; State Treasurer, Carl G. Swanson; Attorney General, Walter R. Johnson; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Wayne O. Reed.

United States Senators:

Hugh A. Butler, Kenneth S. Wherry.