1942: Georgia

Area and Population.

One of the thirteen original states, Georgia is now popularly called 'The Empire State of the South.' The area is 58,876 sq. mi., including 358 sq. mi. of inland water surface. Of the population of 3,123,723, native whites number 2,026,362, or 64.9 per cent; Negroes 1,084,927, or 34.7 per cent. Foreign-born whites total only 11,916.

The largest city is Atlanta, the capital, with a population of 302,288. The next largest cities in order are: Savannah, 95,996; Augusta, 65,919; and Macon, 57,865.

Education.

There are in Georgia 1,277,113 persons of school age (5-24 years). In 1941-42 there were 769,835 pupils enrolled in the 2,258 white and 3,296 Negro public schools of Georgia. Of these, 626,053 were in elementary schools and 141,880 in secondary schools. Of the white public schools, 964 include high-school grades; of the 3,296 Negro schools, 520 have high-school grades. The latest available figures show 16,822 elementary teachers employed (10,912 white; 5,910 Negro); and 5,957 high-school teachers (5,067 white; 890 Negro). In 1940 the average annual salary for white teachers was $886.81; Negro, $398.26. In 1941-42 the annual average salary for all was stated to be $839.89 by the State School Superintendent. On Sept. 10, 1942, Governor Eugene Talmadge issued a blanket order increasing the salaries of Georgia public school teachers 25 per cent, amounting to a total cost to the state of approximately $3,500,000. Total budget appropriations for the State Department of Education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, amounted to $16,490,984.42.

Agriculture.

The total number of farms in Georgia in 1940 amounted to 216,033, a decrease of 15.5 per cent since 1930. The total value of farms (land and buildings) was $480,344,531; average value per farm, $2,223; and average value per acre, $20.28. Georgia claims to have been the first state in the Union to establish an agricultural experiment station.

In 1942 Georgia had the best crop year since 1919. The total value of crops amounted to $268,475,000, compared with $185,093,000 in 1941. The increase was due to higher prices, and larger production of cotton (860,000 bales), peanuts (675,000,000 lb.), tobacco (59,860,000 lb.), corn (39,160,000 bu.), and some minor crops. The peach crop was valued at $10,810,000.

Industry.

The census of manufactures for 1939 estimated the total value of Georgia's manufactures at $677,402,657, compared with $708,652,841 for 1937. The value added by manufacture for 1939 was $283,616,138. The total number of establishments had increased from 2,875 in 1937 to 3,150 in 1939. Leading manufactures for the state are, in the following order: cotton goods, cotton yarn and thread; food and kindred products; paper and allied products; meat packing products; fertilizers; sawmill products.

Political Events.

The state Legislature was not in session during 1942. The chief political event of the year was the Democratic gubernatorial primary of Sept. 9, when Attorney General Ellis G. Arnall ran against Governor Eugene Talmadge, who was seeking renomination for the new four-year term (term of office had previously been two years). Mr. Arnall defeated Governor Talmadge by a popular vote of 174,198 to 127,488; in primaries, however, candidates are nominated not by popular vote but by county unit votes, and Arnall polled 261 unit votes to 149 for Talmadge. In the November general election Arnall was elected over minor opposition. The principal campaign issue was loss of the accredited rating of Georgia's University System due to alleged political interference by Governor Talmadge, in connection with the question of co-education for Negroes and whites in colleges. Arnall pledged the restoration of the accredited status. In December he appeared before the accrediting body, the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges, and presented his plan to remedy the difficulties of the University System. The Association immediately empowered its executive committee to restore the suspended units of the University System to their full accredited standing, retroactive to Sept. 1, 1941—the date of suspension—upon the recommendation of a special committee, and when the Legislature corrects by statute the conditions leading to the suspension of the units.

Finance.

Total state treasury receipts from taxes for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, amounted to $56,453,937.21. Receipts from departmental regulatory fees and sales amounted to $1,869,189.20, and miscellaneous receipts to $570,441.68. Total receipts were $58,893,568.09, an increase of $6,462,377.28 over the preceding year. The chief sources of tax receipts were, in order: motor fuel tax, $25,389,918.22; income tax, $11,286,169.32; general property tax, $3,719,158.77; cigar and cigarette tax, $3,576,393.48; alcoholic beverage tax, $2,969,636.14. Total budget appropriations for the year amounted to $48,754,341.26 for operations, and $8,321,890.93 for debt payments. Large appropriations in addition to those for education include: Department of Highways, $18,501,261.95; public health, $600,000; public welfare benefits, $3,150,000; state institutions, $2,171,304.31.

Relief expenditures in Georgia for the period from January to December, 1941, amounted to $488,189.11; from January to June, 1941, $241,260.02. WPA expenditures for the year ending June 30, 1942, totalled $16,879,000 plus $655,000 for administrative purposes. In June, 1942, 66,195 old-age assistance awards were made, amounting to $585,952. In the three years from June 30, 1939, to June 30, 1942, 237,000 persons received $15,026,744 in unemployment insurance benefits.

On June 30, 1942, there were 240 state banks in Georgia, with deposits amounting to $219,383,000; loans, $109,205,000; investments, $49,358,000. On the same date there were 50 national banks with deposits of $351,044,000; loans, $159,333,000; investments, $140,613,000.

State Officials.

Governor, Ellis G. Arnall; Secretary of State, John B. Wilson; Comptroller General, Homer C. Parker; Treasurer, George B. Hamilton; Auditor, B. E. Thrasher; Attorney General, T. Grady Head; Superintendent of Schools, M. D. Collins.

United States Senators;

Walter F. George, Richard B. Russell, Jr.

1941: Georgia

Area and Population.

An Atlantic coast state, commonly known as 'the Empire State of the South,' Georgia has an area of 58,876 sq. mi., according to the latest survey. Of this, the land area comprises 58,518 sq. mi., and the inland water surface an area of 358 sq. mi. According to the census of 1940, the total population amounted to 3,123,723, an increase of 7.4 per cent over 1930; the total urban population was 1,073,808, and the rural 2,049,915. In 1930 the whites accounted for 63.1 per cent, and the Negroes for 36.9 per cent, of the total. Atlanta, the capital city, has a population of 302,288 (1940 census); the second city in order of size is Savannah with 95,996; followed by Augusta, 65,919; Macon, 57,865; and Columbus, 53,280.

Education.

According to the biennial report of the State Department of Education, on June 30, 1940, the 1938 school census included 512,934 whites and 296,223 Negroes of school age. There were then 2,258 white public schools, the number having been greatly reduced in recent years through consolidation; in 964 of these, high-school subjects were taught. There were 3,296 Negro public schools; in 520 of these, high-school subjects were included. The pupil enrollment was: in white elementary schools, 390,538; in high schools, 120,509; in Negro elementary schools, 252,094; high schools, 21,371. In the white elementary schools 10,912 teachers were employed (1939-1940), with an average annual salary for men of $593.28; for women, $748.85. In the white high schools there were 5,067 teachers employed, with an average annual salary for men of $1,355.04; for women, $1,055.56. In the Negro elementary schools (1939-1940), 5,910 teachers were employed at an average annual salary for men of $309.72; women, $349.66. In the Negro high schools, 890 teachers were employed at an average annual salary for men of $757.34; women, $692.28. State appropriations for schools in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941, were broken down as follows: education, $9,923,300.75; education equalization, $9,664,728.53; textbooks, $715,090.91.

Agriculture.

The total number of farms in Georgia amount to 216,033 (1940 census), a decrease of 15.5 per cent since 1930. Of the 37,451,520 A. of land in Georgia, 23,683,631 A., or 63.2 per cent, are classed as farm lands. In 1941 the value of principal crops was $178,042,000, an increase of 5.4 per cent over the corresponding total of $168,917,000 for 1940.

Industry.

The census of manufactures for 1939 estimated the total value of Georgia's manufactures at $667,402,657, compared with $708,652,841 for 1937. Value added by manufacture for 1939 was $283,616,138, compared with $269,507,109 for 1937. The total number of establishments increased from 2,875 in 1937 to 3,150 for 1939. Leading manufactures for the state in 1939 were, with value: cotton, broad woven goods, $131,627,016; cotton yarn and thread, $38,200,073; food and kindred products, $39,454,548; paper and allied products, $24,457,566; meat packing, $23,648,314; fertilizers, $19,049,712; sawmill products, $18,174,927.

Mineral Products.

The state again retained in 1940 first place in the Union for production of kaolin, the amount, 570,010 tons worth $4,834,826, being slightly in advance of the figures for 1939. Production of marble, for which the state ranks third, amounted to 194,430 cu. ft., with a value of $1,108,217. This decline from the 1939 figures, which were 430,370 cu. ft. with a value of $1,464,960, was a part of the general trend towards a decrease of production in the country's marble industry. Total mineral production for 1940 amounted to $14,836,372. The state also leads the nation in production of ochre, barites, and fuller's earth.

Political and Other Events.

Eugene T. Talmadge was again inaugurated Governor in January 1941. He is the second man in the history of the state to hold the office for a third term; the first was the Civil War Governor, Joseph E. Brown, who served four terms.

The state Legislature in its biennial session provided, among other things, for reorganization of governmental departments; for reduction of salaries of elected officials; for extension of the Governor's control of state finances; and for the establishment of family drivers' licenses.

The Constitution was amended by popular referendum in June 1941. The more important amendments provided for a four-year term for the Governor and for the state superintendent of schools.

Georgia's system of higher education was seriously disturbed in the summer of 1941 when, on the insistence of Governor Talmadge, Dean Walter D. Cocking of the College of Education, University of Georgia, and Dr. Marvin S. Pittman, President of Georgia State Teachers' College, were dismissed on the charge of advocating the coeducation of white and Negro races. As a result, ten colleges of the University System of Georgia were suspended from membership by the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges, effective Sept. 1, 1942, with the proviso that the case be reopened at the annual meeting in December 1942. If conditions have then been corrected, restoration to full standing will be accorded the colleges, retroactive to Sept. 1, 1942. The suspension was on the grounds of 'unprecedented and unjustified political interference.' The issue appears certain to be paramount in the Democratic gubernatorial primary of September 1942. Attorney General Ellis Arnall has announced his candidacy for Governor in that election.

Defense.

Georgia has taken an active part in defense and war measures. The total selective service registration amounted to 397,212. The registrants inducted up to Sept. 30, 1941, totaled 15,353. Within the state boundaries are located numerous military posts and camps. Some of these, with approximate military personnel are as follows: Fort Benning, 46,800; Camp Gordon, Augusta, 1,100; Fort McPherson, Atlanta, 1,800; Fort Oglethorpe, 3,800; Savannah Air Base, 4,500; Fort Sereven, 1,100; Camp Stewart, 14,000; Camp Wheeler, 18,000.

Finance.

The auditor's report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941, showed that state revenue collections amounted to $51,348,312.48. The chief sources of revenue were: Motor fuel tax, $24,821,600; income tax, $7,387,565; property tax, $4,986,954; cigar and cigarette tax, $3,379,791; alcoholic beverage tax, $2,244,163; non-business license tax, $2,387,401; insurance premiums tax, $1,292,312; beer tax, $1,277,893; business license tax, $1,095,120.

Total budget appropriations for the year amounted to $52,526,089.84. Representative appropriations for the year (in addition to those already listed for public schools), were: Highways, $17,213,803; public health and the tuberculosis hospital, $340,492; public welfare, $370,984; public assistance, $1,689,302; public institutions and buildings, $1,980,280.

Payments for public assistance for the year ending June 30, 1941, were as follows: Old age, $3,992,567; the blind, $170,974; dependent children, $1,165,169; crippled children, $182,932. Funds available for unemployment benefits Sept. 30, 1941, amounted to $29,093,000; benefits paid, cumulative through September 1941, amounted to $9,889,000.

On Sept. 24, 1941, there were 51 National Banks in Georgia, with loans amounting to $178,380,000; investments, $98,117,000; deposits, exclusive of interbank deposits, $314,416,000. On the same date there were 238 State Banks with $110,744,000 in loans; $37,856,000 in investments, deposits, exclusive of interbank deposits, $188,844,000.

State Officers.

Governor, Eugene T. Talmadge; Secretary of State, John B. Wilson; Comptroller General, Homer C. Parker; Treasurer, George B. Hamilton; Auditor, B. E. Thrasher, Jr.; Attorney General, Ellis G. Arnall; Superintendent of Schools, M. D. Collins.

United States Senators:

Walter F. George, Richard B. Russell, Jr.

1940: Georgia

Area and Population.

One of the South Atlantic states, Georgia has an area of 59,262 sq. mi. According to the 1940 census the population was 3,123,723, an increase of 7.4 per cent over 1930. The capital city, Atlanta, was credited with 302,288 inhabitants. The next largest city is Savannah, with 95,996; followed by Augusta, 65,919; Macon, 57,865; and Columbus, 53,280. It is estimated that the proportion of Negroes has slightly decreased since 1930, and that the urban population has grown at the expense of the rural.

Education.

The Georgia law requires a biennial school census. The latest of these, in 1938, showed a school census of 810,268. In that year there were 5,803 elementary common schools, staffed by 22,697 teachers; of whom 16,138 were whites, and 6,559, Negroes. Through consolidation the number of schools has in recent years been much reduced. In 1936 there were 471 accredited senior high schools in Georgia, with an enrollment of 82,797. In the fiscal year ending June 1940, the state appropriation for schools was $14,905,958, representing 32 per cent of the total of all expenditures. The average annual salary of teachers in the elementary schools was $740, in the high schools $1,139.

Agriculture.

Of the 37,500,000 acres in Georgia, about 25,000,000, or 67 per cent, are classed as farm lands. The 250,000 farms, including buildings, were valued in 1935 at $430,000,000. In 1940 the value of the principal crops was $163,862,000; 14 per cent above the figure for 1939. The most important cash crop was cotton, of which the yield was 1,020,000 bales, valued at $48,450,000. Second in value among the cash crops were peanuts, $17,715,000; 57 per cent above the 1939 figure. Third in value was tobacco, yielding $12,328,000, somewhat less than in the preceding year. Other important crops were: corn (not a cash crop), $31,857,000; sweet potatoes, $6,237,000; peaches, $5,192,000; pecans, $1,015,000. Cotton (lint and seed) accounted for 35.5 per cent of the total value of crops; corn 19.5 per cent; peanuts 10.8 per cent; tobacco 7.5 per cent; all other crops 26.7 per cent.

In 1939 the state had 970,000 cattle, 1,554,000 hogs, 31,000 horses.

Industry.

The Census of Manufacturing of 1937 credited Georgia's manufacturing industry with a total value of $708,652,000, about five times the value of the agricultural output. Since the raw materials of manufacturing are, however, largely agricultural in origin, a fairer comparison is that with 'value added by manufacturing.' In 1937 this value was $269,500,000, less than double the agricultural output, but still significant of trends in a primarily agricultural state. Textiles rank first among manufactures, cotton goods having been turned out in 1937 to the value of $211,000,000.

The leading state in the Union for production of kaolin, Georgia produced in 1939 about two-thirds of the total for the country, or 512,214 tons valued at $4,135,727.

Political Events.

The year 1940 was a general election year for Georgia. In the Democratic party primary, held early in September, there were several candidates for the governorship. Former Governor Eugene T. Talmadge easily defeated his opponents, and in the November election had no opposition from the Republican party. He had already served two terms as governor (1932-36). The Constitution prohibits a third term until after the expiration of four years from the close of the second term. The only other governor of Georgia who has had three terms was the Civil War Governor Joseph E. Brown, who served four terms.

The Rivers administration, which went out of office in January 1941, had been notable for a wide extension of state services. Such matters as increasing the school term from four, or five, to seven months; embarking upon public assistance in the form of old-age pensions, etc.; the re-building of the principal eleemosynary institutions; and the provision of improved facilities for the higher institutions of learning, entailed greatly increasing expenditures, and precipitated much discussion about tax reform. The leading problem of Governor Talmadge's administration will be meeting the added costs of government. He has committed himself to the retention of most of the new services, but against increasing the tax burden.

In the national election Georgia cast 83 per cent of its vote for Roosevelt, despite a well-organized Willkie movement.

In 1939, Georgia politics dealt with the issue raised when Governor Rivers discharged W. L. Miller, chairman of the Highway Board, and refused to obey a court injunction restraining the Governor and his representatives from interfering with Miller's conduct of his office. The matter eventually reached the State Supreme Court, which handed down a decision in 1940 restoring Miller to his office and declaring that the Governor had no power to discharge an official appointed for a specific term of years.

Finance.

The auditor's report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1940, showed that Georgia's total revenue from state sources was $44,694,137; and that in addition the state received in grants from the United States Government the sum of $10,961,991. The principal source of revenue was the motor fuel tax, which yielded $21,841,623. Other important sources were: the income tax, $5,668,184; the general property tax, $4,995,013; cigar and cigarette tax, $3,127,225; motor vehicle registration, $2,053,692; insurance premiums tax, $933,419; malt beverages and wine tax, $1,486,228; and alcohol beverage tax, $1,986,520.

The principal appropriations for the same fiscal year, in addition to the sum already mentioned as allotted to the common schools, were as follows: the eleemosynary institutions, $1,842,210; the university system (embracing all the higher educational institutions supported by the state), $1,824,525; public health and the Tuberculosis Hospital, $703,028; the Highway Department, $15,775,343; for public assistance, $2,362,000.

State Officers.

Governor, Eugene T. Talmadge; Secretary of State, John B. Wilson; Treasurer, George B. Hamilton; Comptroller, Homer C. Parker; Auditor, Zack Arnold; Attorney General, Ellis Arnall; Superintendent of Schools, M. D. Collins.

United States Senators:

Walter F. George, Richard B. Russell, Jr.

1939: Georgia

Area and Population.

One of the southeastern states, Georgia has an area of 59,265 sq. mi. When the last estimate of population was made in 1937 by the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Georgia Department of Public Health, the total was given as 3,076,000. Whites were 64 per cent of the total, Negroes 36 per cent. Nearly all the whites are native born, the foreign element in the state being negligible. The most striking fact about population trends in Georgia is the steady decline in the proportion of Negroes. In 1900, they constituted 46.7 per cent of the total. The population of Georgia is preponderantly rural, although the urban element is steadily growing. In the 1930 census 31 per cent of the population was classed as urban against 15.6 per cent in 1900. An unstable population condition has prevailed in Georgia for some years. Not only has there been a considerable movement within the state from country to town, but the state has lost large numbers of its citizens.

Agriculture.

Of the 37,584,000 acres in Georgia, about 25,000,000 are classed as farm lands. The 250,000 farms, including buildings, were valued in 1935 at $430,000,000. Cotton is the leading product; the yield in 1939 was 916,000 bales (compared with 1,500,000 bales in 1937, and 857,000 in 1938). Other important products with their yields in 1939 were; corn, 36,941,000 bu.; tobacco, 96,620,000 lb.; peanuts, 341,250,000 lb.; pecans, 8,700,000 lb.; peaches 4,290,000 bu. The aggregate value of all 1939 crops was $141,933,000, 6 per cent less than the 1938 figure.

Industry.

While Georgia is classed as primarily an agricultural state, there is a growing development of manufacturing, transportation, and trade, as is indicated by the fact that whereas 63.3 per cent of those gainfully employed in 1910 were in agriculture, 12.2 per cent in manufacturing, and 9.2 per cent in transportation and trade, in 1930 the comparable percentages were 43.2, 20.1, and 13.7. According to the latest available figures (1937), the value of manufactured products was then $708,650,000, nearly five times that of the main agricultural products. It must of course be borne in mind that the raw materials that go into manufacturing are largely agricultural in origin, hence one should properly consider in this regard only the value added by manufacture, which (in 1937) was $269,500,000. Cotton goods, the leading manufacture, accounted for $90,000,000 (value added), or about one-third of the total.

Mineral Products.

Production of kaolin, the mineral in which Georgia leads the Union, showed a slight decrease in 1938, the total amounting to 412,632 tons valued at $3,314,918, compared with 503,732 tons in 1937 valued at $3,546,059. Stone, which ranks first in value among the mineral resources of the state, was produced in the amount of 1,465,680 tons with a value of $3,581,319.

Finance.

For the year ending June 30, 1939, the common schools of Georgia received $11,645,000; the various eleemosynary institutions, $3,154,000; and the University system (embracing all higher educational institutions supported by the state), $1,768,000. The state appropriated $826,000 for the Public Health Department and a tuberculosis hospital. The Highway Department received $14,773,000.

The total state revenues received for the same period amounted to $43,510,000. The tax on motor fuel produced the largest amount, $20,529,000. Other important sources of revenue were: income tax, $4,979,000; general property tax, $4,941,000; motor vehicle registration, $1,875,000; insurance premium tax, $1,165,000; malt beverage and wine tax, $1,342,000; cigar and cigarette tax, $2,761,000; and alcoholic beverage tax, $1,669,000. Poll taxes amounted to $261,000. Georgia received from the United States Government grants amounting to $11,868,000. The bonded debt was $3,569,000. In 1939 Georgia had 240 state banks with resources of $179,420,000.

Education.

In 1937 the General Assembly established a minimum school term of seven months to be financed by the state, thus adding about $8,000,000 to the cost of the public schools. At the same time free school books were voted for all elementary and high school students. In 1935-36, the enrollment in the public schools of the state totaled 485,135 white pupils and 263,402 Negroes. Expenditures on the schools for the same period amounted to $17,808,361.

Political Events.

Since there was no general election in Georgia in 1939 and no meeting of the biennial General Assembly, there were few important events of a political character to be chronicled. During 1939 the attention of Georgia people was centered upon the large deficit with which the administration has been wrestling. In the absence of legislation adequate to meet the greatly enlarged program of social services and the revenue losses entailed by the limitation of property taxation, the administration faced a critical financial problem. Public opinion was sharply divided as to whether or not there should be a special meeting of the General Assembly in 1939 to authorize new taxes. None was summoned. The Governor instead managed to maintain important services by diverting funds from the Highway Department, which receives most of the yield of the gasoline tax ($20,000,000 in 1939).

While the conflict which occurred during 1939 between Governor Rivers and W. L. Miller, the Governor's appointee as Chairman of the Highway Department, did not appear to have been due specifically to the issue of diverting highway funds to general purposes, the two found themselves unable to agree about the conduct of the Highway Department. The Governor undertook to transfer Miller to another post, but Miller refused to relinquish the chairmanship. Thereupon the Governor dismissed him from office, and when Miller proved obstinate about leaving, he was forcibly ejected.

Miller then took the issue to the courts and obtained a permanent injunction restraining the Adjutant General and his subordinates from interfering with his conduct of the office. The military officers declined to accept service of this order and were held in contempt of court and sentenced to imprisonment. The court, however, was powerless to enforce its order, for the Governor meanwhile had placed the Highway Department and the office of the Adjutant General under martial law, thus setting aside civil process and he now, furthermore, issued a pardon to the officers. At the time of writing (Jan. 20, 1940) an important Constitutional issue is unsettled, namely, whether or not the Governor as the Chief Executive of the state can override the judicial branch of government, and whether he can grant pardon for contempt of court.

State Officers.

Governor, E. D. Rivers; Secretary of State, John B. Wilson; Attorney-General, Ellis Arnall; Treasurer, George B. Harrison; Auditor, Zach Arnold; Comptroller, William B. Harrison; Superintendent of Schools, M. D. Collins.

United States Senators.

Walter F. George, Richard B. Russell, Jr.

1938: Georgia

Area and Population.

One of the thirteen original states, Georgia ranks 20th in size among the states, with an area of 59,265 sq. mi. In population it ranks 14th, numbering 2,908,506 according to the Census of 1930; 3,076,000 in 1937, according to the estimate of the Georgia Department of Health. The largest cities are Atlanta, the capital, 270,366 (1930 census); Savannah, 85,024; Macon, 53,829; Columbus, 43,131.

Of the 1937 population, whites were 64 per cent of the total; Negroes, 36 per cent. Nearly all the whites were native born, the foreign element being negligible. The most striking fact about population trends in Georgia is the steady decline in the proportion of Negroes. In 1900, they constituted 46.7 per cent of the total. The population of Georgia is preponderantly rural, although the urban element is steadily growing. In 1930, 31 per cent was classed as urban, against 15.6 per cent in 1900. An unstable population condition has prevailed in Georgia for some years. Not only has there been a considerable movement within the state from country to town, but the state has lost large numbers of its citizens.

For Ocmulgee National Monument see NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS.

Agriculture.

Of the 37,584,000 acres in Georgia, about 23,000,000 are classed as farm lands. The 250,000 farms, including buildings, were valued in 1935 at $430,000,000. Cotton is the leading product, the yield in 1938 being 857,000 bales compared with 1,500,000 bales in 1937 (a loss of 43 per cent). Other important products with the yields in 1938 were: corn, 54,476,000 bu. (4 per cent above 1937); tobacco, 91,990,000 lb. (23 per cent increase over 1937); peanuts, 427,000,000 lb. (9 per cent above 1937); pecans, 8,835,000 lb. (5 per cent above 1937); peaches, 5,320,000 bu. The aggregate value of all 1938 crops was $151,630,000, equal to 15 per cent less than the 1937 figure. Cotton accounted for somewhat less than one-third of the total.

Industry.

While Georgia is classed as primarily an agricultural state, there is an increasing development of manufacturing, transportation, and trade, as is indicated by the fact that whereas 63.3 per cent of those gainfully employed in 1910 were in agriculture, 12.2 per cent in manufacturing, and 9.2 per cent in transportation and trade, in 1930 the comparable percentages were 43.2, 20.1, and 13.7. According to the latest available figures, the value of manufactured products was in 1935 more than three times that of agricultural products, although it must of course be borne in mind that the raw materials that go into manufacturing are largely agricultural in origin. Hence one should properly consider only the value added by manufacture. Cotton goods are the leading manufacture.

Mineral Products.

About half of Georgia's total production of minerals consists of stone and clay. The former, chiefly granite and marble, amounted in 1937 to 1,737,760 tons, valued at $3,597,039; the latter, largely kaolin, in which Georgia leads the Union, amounted to 503,732 tons valued at $3,546,059. This represented about two-thirds of the total production of kaolin in the United States.

Education.

In 1937 the General Assembly established a minimum school term of seven months to be financed by the state, thus adding about $8,000,000 to the cost of the public schools. At the same time free school books were voted for all elementary and high school students. In 1935-36, the enrollment in the public schools of the state totaled 485,135 white pupils and 263,402 Negroes. Expenditures on the schools for the same period amounted to $17,808,361.

Important Legislation.

The General Assembly in its regular biennial session meeting in January, 1937, and in a special session running from November, 1937, through the winter of 1938, enacted more revolutionary and far-reaching legislation than any other General Assembly within living memory. A brief summary of the more significant measures and of the changes in the state tax system is all that space permits. Legislation was passed lining Georgia up with the Federal security program, $3,500,000 being voted for old age pensions and other types of assistance; health work received a five-fold increase in appropriations; for the protection of life and property the fund was doubled; for the development of natural resources the usual appropriation was tripled. The total sum appropriated was about $47,800,000, by far the greatest amount ever appropriated by a Georgia Legislature.

To meet these heavy charges, a number of important changes in the revenue laws were made. The personal income tax was raised from 5 to 7 per cent; the corporate income tax from 4 to 5½ per cent; the tax on malt beverages was increased from $1.25 per barrel to $4,50; the uniform $3.00 motor license tax was abandoned and a graduated scale adopted ranging from $1.50 to $10.00; the old prohibition laws were repealed and a state licensing system set up; a drastic chain store tax was passed. These changes fell far short of providing sufficient money to finance the 'Little New Deal,' as it is called; and the situation was made much more serious by the adoption in 1937 of a Constitutional amendment creating a $2,000 exemption in property tax on owner-operated farms and homes and a $300 exemption on personal property. This measure, it has been estimated, will cost the state about $1,000,000 in revenue, and the local governments about $2,500,000. The administration has promised to make good the losses to the local governments, so that the current state deficit of $8,500,000 will become about $12,000,000.

Political Events.

The two political events of prime interest in Georgia during 1938 were the gubernatorial campaign and the contest for one of the Senatorships. Governor E. D. Rivers encountered strong opposition because of his program of welfare legislation, which had involved a considerable increase in the tax burden. He was reelected, however, though not by an impressive majority. The Senatorial campaign attracted national attention because of the efforts of President Roosevelt to unseat Senator Walter F. George, one of the leaders of the conservative Democratic element, as an anti-New Dealer. Lawrence Camp received the President's endorsement. The campaign was further enlivened by the entrance into it of former Governor Eugene Talmadge, a very bitter opponent of the New Deal. Senator George was easily victorious, Lawrence Camp being a poor third in the voting. Senator Russell's father, who had been Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, died late in 1938 and was succeeded by Charles S. Reid, Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Georgia, and one of the staunchest supporters of Governor Rivers.

State Officers.

During the year 1938 the chief officers of the state were as follows: Governor, Eurith D. Rivers; Secretary of State, John B. Wilson; Attorney General, M. J. Yeomans; Treasurer, George B. Hamilton; Comptroller General, William B. Harrison; Superintendent of Schools, M. D. Collins.

In November Governor Rivers was reelected.

United States Senators.

Walter F. George (reelected in November), Richard B. Russell, Jr.