1942: South Carolina

Area and Population.

One of the original thirteen states, South Carolina occupies a part of the eastern slope of the United States, along the southeast coast. The total area is 31,055 sq. mi., of which 461 sq. mi. are inland water. The state is divided into three physiographic provinces which extend from north-east, to south-west. The northwest belt lies within the Blue Ridge province, in which are located the highest elevations and the most rugged relief. A central belt is a part of the Piedmont Upland province. The Piedmont has a rolling topography with elevations ranging from 200 to 400 feet along the southeastern border, and from 1,200 to 1,500 feet at the base of the Blue Ridge. The southeastern or coastal belt, which forms a part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, is low in elevation and comparatively level.

The total population of South Carolina according to the 1940 census was 1,899,804, an increase of 161,039 or 9.3 per cent since 1930. The Bureau of the Census estimated the civilian population of the state at 1,904,418 on May 1, 1942. In 1940 the population was made up of 1,084,308 white persons and 814,164 non-white, all but a few of whom were Negroes. The urban population comprised 24.5 per cent of the total population in 1940 as compared with 21.3 per cent in 1930.

The leading cities of the state with their 1940 populations are: Columbia, the state capital, 62,396; Charleston, the principal seaport, 71,275; Greenville, 34,734; and Spartanburg, 32,249.

Education.

According to the 1940 census there were 654,115 persons of school age (5-19 years) in the state, 346,234 white and 307,881 nonwhite. During the school year 1941-1942 there were 188,300 white and 191,553 Negro children enrolled in the elementary schools, and 74,280 white and 21,077 Negro children enrolled in the high schools. The school system included 497 white and 198 Negro elementary schools, and 318 white and 138 Negro high schools. There was spent for public schools a total of $17,179,183 during the 1941-1942 session.

For the school year 1940-1941 the average annual salary for teachers in the white elementary schools was $998 for men and $856 for women; in the high schools the salaries were $1,433 for men and $960 for women. The average annual salary for Negro teachers in the elementary schools was $411 for men, and $372 for women; and in the high schools $600 for men and $506 for women.

Agriculture.

According to preliminary data the 1942 cotton crop amounted to 705,000 bales. Record crops of wheat (3,455,000 bu.) and oats (12,534,000 bu.) were produced in 1942, and the second largest peach crop (3,500,000 bu.) was harvested. There was approximately a 4 per cent increase in the total acreage in crops as compared with 1941, increases occurring in all crops except corn; the acreage of peanuts was more than three times that of 1941. Preliminary data indicate a total crop volume about equal to that of 1940, but 29 per cent above 1941 and 12 per cent above the 1930-39 average.

Industry.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, the total capital invested in all manufacturing industries of the state amounted to $450,462,475, which was a gain of $29,022,486 over that reported for the previous fiscal year. The total value of all manufactured products for the same period was $855,676,252, showing an increase over the preceding year of $282,057,203. The average number of employees in all manufacturing industries was 157,345 and the total wages paid (not including salaries) amounted to $166,306,969, an increase of $47,681,028 over the previous year. The employees in manufacturing were 53.7 per cent white males, 29.6 per cent white females, 15.6 per cent Negro males, and 1.1 per cent Negro females.

The textile industry, which accounted for 70.5 per cent of the total number employed in manufacturing and 74.3 per cent of the wages paid, was by far the leading manufacturing industry. The capital invested in the textile industry for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, amounted to $225,856,905, as compared with $209,157,357 the previous year. The value of textile products during the fiscal year was $623,870,751, an increase of $241,116,800 over the year before. A total of 233 textile plants were active during the year. The average number of employees in the textile industry was 110,992, an increase of 8,650, over the preceding year, and the wages paid amounted to $123,560,940, an increase of $36,482,691.

Second to textiles in value were the industries utilizing forestry resources, for such products as lumber and timber, paper and pulp, furniture, and barrels and boxes. With a capital investment of $41,292,688 these manufactured products were valued at $67,083,368. The 17,868 employees in the wood industries received $15,838,200 in wages.

Third in importance was electrical power production, which was valued at $23,080,314, an increase of $4,019,214 over the preceding year. The capital invested was $129,275,049, which does not include some $60,000,000 invested in the recently completed Santee-Cooper Power and Navigation project which began delivery of power early in 1942.

Mineral Production.

The value of mineral products reported for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, was $4,573,627, an increase of $627,560 over the previous year. Crushed stone to the amount of 1,719,796 tons, 1,089,030 tons of sand and gravel, and 102,859 tons of kaolin were produced. Gold production for 1941 amounted to 15,400 oz., the major part coming from the Haile mine near Kershaw.

Finance.

There was appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1943 a total sum of $14,656,901.49 for the expenses of the state.

This sum does not include expenditures from earmarked income such as gasoline tax and automobile license fees used for highway purposes, nor beer, wine, and liquor taxes, etc.

The total appropriation to the State Department of Public Welfare amounted to $2,359,500, of which $1,319,500 was designated for old-age assistance, $42,500 for aid to the blind, $390,000 for dependent children, and $100,000 for general relief.

The collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in South Carolina for the year ending June 30, 1942 amounted to $47,928,256.92, of which $37,626,300.91 was from income taxes; unemployment insurance collections totalled $5,326,370.59.

Banking.

There were 87 state banks and 22 national banks in operation during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942. Deposits and resources of each were respectively $71,710,423.99 and $155,688,000.00; and $81,146,491.68 and $167,064,000.00.

Defense.

South Carolina's textile industry continues to contribute to the war effort, several plants having been awarded the Army-Navy E. At the various training stations, such as Fort Jackson, Camp Croft, Parris Island, and Shaw Field, thousands upon thousands of trained soldiers, marines, and pilots have been given war training. The Charleston navy yard has been greatly expanded and numerous air bases have been established in the state. The people of South Carolina have contributed to the war effort by oversubscribing the state's quota of war bonds each month.

Political Events.

Former Lieutenant Governor J. Emile Harley died on Feb. 27, 1942. He had become governor on Nov. 4, 1941, upon the election of former Governor Burnet R. Maybank to the United States Senate to fill out the unexpired term of Senator James F. Byrnes, who had been appointed to the United States Supreme Court. Since no successor to the lieutenant-governorship had taken office at the time of his death, Richard M. Jeffries, president pro tem of the Senate, became governor of the state on March 2, 1942. In the 1942 fall election, Olin D. Johnston was elected governor, and Senator Maybank was reelected, over Eugene Blease, for a full term. On Oct. 3, 1942, Associate Justice James F. Byrnes resigned from the United States Supreme Court to become Director of Economic Stabilization.

State Officers.

Governor, Olin D. Johnston; Lieutenant Governor, Ransome J. Williams; Secretary of State, W. P. Blackwell; State Treasurer, Jeff Bates; Comptroller General, E. C. Rhodes; Auditor, J. M. Smith; Attorney General, John M. Daniel; State Superintendent of Education, J. H. Hope.

United States Senators:

Ellison D. Smith, Burnet R. Maybank.