1942: Kansas

Area and Population.

The 'Sunflower State' is 13th in area among the states, with 82,158 sq. mi. It includes the official geographical center of the United States, near Lebanon, Smith Co., in the north central part. In population Kansas is 29th, with 1,801,028 (1940), of whom 60 per cent live on farms; 93.5 per cent are whites, with Germans predominating among the foreign-born. Kansas leads the nation in per capita wealth. The largest cities are Kansas City, 121,458; Wichita, 114,966 (1940 census; now actually over 200,000); Topeka, the capital, 67,833; and Hutchinson, 30,013.

Agriculture.

Kansas, throughout its history predominantly agricultural, is still largely so in area, as 84 per cent of its area is in farms; it is first among the states in wheat production; high in its percentage of rich arable land intensively cultivated; has great areas of cattle country in the western part of the state, and the finest grazing land in the nation, in the Flint Hills in the southeast central section.

The State Department of Agriculture reported that although 1941 was the best crop year in two generations, 1942 was even better; conditions for growth and yield were phenomenally good. All crops were 21 per cent above 1941, and 74 per cent above the 1936-40 average. The hay crop was the best in 14 years, flax production the best in 51 years, and the soybean crop more than four times that of the best previous season. The two major crops of wheat and corn were far above the ten-year average in both quantity and yield. In wheat the average yield of 19.5 bu. an acre was surpassed only in 1882 and 1914, with 20 bu. to the acre. The average yield in corn was 28.5 bu. to the acre, the highest in 17 years. The total agricultural income in 1942 was 68 per cent greater than in 1941.

Wheat production in 1942 was 206,775,000 bu., the second largest crop in the history of the state, and almost one-fifth of the national crop; corn totaled 84,847,000 bu.; oats, 43,936,000 bu.; grain sorghums, 21,021,000 bu., second in the Union.

All crops and livestock produce an annual income of about half a billion dollars. In 1942 about 62 per cent came from livestock, and 38 per cent from crops.

The State Department also reported that the former 'dust-bowl area,' comprising nearly 9,000,000 acres of powder-dry land suffering from wind erosion as recently as 1937, produced in 1942 nearly half of the year's second largest wheat crop in Kansas history. This was in addition to a tremendous feed crop.

The farm picture in Kansas has, however, one very dark side — the shortage of farm labor. The draft and the high pay in defense plants have combined to take so much needed help from the farms that the making of silage, harvesting of corn, grain sorghums, sugar beets, and orchard fruits, the planting of winter wheat, and the milking of dairy herds, became difficult or impossible for many operators of farms throughout the state. The Federal agricultural statistician for Kansas reported as early as September 1942 a prospect of 10,400 farms being useless for 1943 crop production — nearly a 7 per cent reduction in the number of farms. Women and school children are being employed on the farms, Japanese labor asked for, and neighborhood crews pooled, in a desperate attempt to stem the rising tide of auctions of farm equipment, stock, and land.

Minerals.

In mineral production Kansas ranks seventh in the Union. It is the only state that has the three natural heat sources — coal, oil, and gas — in quantity. Petroleum products now constitute a major industry in Kansas, next to agriculture and its meat-packing industry; in this regard the state ranks fourth in the nation. Here are two of the largest natural gas fields in the world; the Hugoton field has a daily flow of 2,000,000,000 cu. ft. Oil fields cover the state from the northeastern corner to the Colorado line, with the oil capital at Wichita. War needs have developed a daily run worth $300,000. One of the richest potential fields of helium gas in the country is here. Zinc is abundant, the state ranking third in the nation. Salt is present in quantity sufficient, it is estimated, to supply all the needs of the country for half a million years. Lead is abundant. Coal is important, as more than 3,000,000 tons a year are mined in 'strip-mines,' from layers near the surface. In this connection Kansas has in operation the world's largest electric shovel. Chalk is being mined in large quantities. The state has large deposits of fine pottery clays. Mineral products total more than $165,000,000 yearly.

Education.

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction reports for 1940-41 a school population (ages 5 to 21) of 471,760, and a total enrollment of 357,544, of whom 246,837 were in grades 1 to 8, and 110,707 in high schools; in 7,241 districts. The superintendents, principals, and teachers employed numbered 18,730, as follows: In grade schools, 12,111, with an average salary of $793 (5,893 one-teacher schools, average salary $540); in high schools, 6,299 (in junior high schools 1,139, average salary $1,311; in senior high schools, 5,160, average salary $1,365).

Enrollment in 179 private and parochial schools was 15,314 (grade 11,986, high schools 3,328).

Total school expenditures for the year ending June 30, 1941, were $29,802,037; including teachers' salaries, $19,585,199; and transportation of pupils $865,176. Public School libraries contain 3,163,557 volumes.

One important change in public education throughout the state was reported in December by the legislative research bureau, which found that 1,611 elementary schools, about one-fifth of the rural school districts of the state, were not closed in 1942, to reduce costs through consolidation, and to improve educational advantages for rural children.

Finance.

The state auditor reported a highly solvent condition in the financial affairs of the state. His report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, included these items in a general revenue; receipts, $10,709,735; warrants issued, $9,046,805; cash balance June 30, 1942, $3,989,774; appropriations for 1941-42, $10,734,807. Receipts from the cigarette tax amounted to $450,362; from the retail sales tax, $6,779,051. Unemployment compensation benefits totaled $2,420,000. The grand totals for all special funds were: receipts, $53,402,517; available for the fiscal year, $80,724,323; warrants issued, $48,005,605; unexpended cash balance, $32,705,304.

The total state government indebtedness as of July 1, 1942, was $12,360,000. This was being liquidated at the rate of a million dollars a year.

Public assistance in August, 1942, was given to 48,915 families (7.2 per cent fewer than in August 1941), in the amount of $1,225,926, averaging $25.06 per family (an increase of 15.5 per cent). Of these families, 30,970 were given old-age assistance, in the sum of $718,026; and 6,497 families received aid to dependent children.

Banks and Banking.

The state bank commissioner reported a generally excellent condition throughout the state, with no bank failures in the two years ending Sept. 1, 1942. There were 10 voluntary liquidations, 7 mergers, and 2 new charters issued. The state has 277 insured state banks, 188 non-insured, 1 private bank, 5 trust companies, and 106 credit unions. The resources reported by the state banks Aug. 31, 1942, included loans and discounts of $100,570,737, United States Government obligations, $51,500,293, and cash balances with other banks, $113,308,450; amounting to total resources of $285,167,610. The liabilities of the state banks included: deposits, $256,835,718; capital stock, $13,427,000; surplus $9,799,839; undivided profits, $4,506,257; and reserves $383,722.

Industry.

Manufacturing in Kansas now equals agriculture in importance, with an annual output worth approximately half a billion dollars. The state leads in flour-milling, producing nearly one-sixth of the national output, worth approximately $75,000,000. It has the largest grain elevator in the world. It ranks sixth in meat packing, the leading industry, with an output worth approximately $150,000,000. Dairy products are processed to the value of some $30,000,000. In 1940 wages paid totaled $57,141,621. In 1941 Kansas was fourth in the nation in its percentage increase of income over 1940 — 34.6 per cent.

Defense.

National defense produced in 1942 a huge increase and a striking change in the industrial picture. Kansas became the center of the vast midland activity in defense industries. During the fiscal year ending June 30, two and a half billion dollars were spent in the state on war supply and facility contracts. The state is third in the Union in aircraft contracts. Fourteen air bases are under construction, including 2 for the Navy, and 12 for the Army. The base at Salina is one of the three largest in the country. The largest cavalry replacement training center in the world is at Fort Riley. Three huge ordnance plants are in full operation: a $21,000,000 ammonium nitrate plant at Pittsburg; a $100,000,000 powder and TNT plant at Eudora; and a $35,000,000 shell-loading plant at Parsons. At Pittsburg is the Federal ammonium nitrate plant, the largest in the country, reclaiming mine refuse to produce sulphuric acid from iron pyrites.

Several hundred small private plants are working on war contracts aggregating $50,000,000. No accurate labor census is available; but estimates indicate 60,000 to 75,000 workers in war industries alone.

Events of the Year.

The event of the year in Kansas was the transformation of most of the activity in the state to all-out organization to win the war. This conversion involved a transformation in the economic life of the entire commonwealth, and this radical change came in one of the state's greatest crop years, with no diminution in agricultural activity.

The national drive for metal scrap was so enthusiastically participated in throughout the state that Kansas led the nation with 142,814 tons, or 163.82 lb. per capita.

The November election was generously Republican in its outcome. In a total vote of 507,929 (slightly more than half the vote of two years before), the Republican candidate for governor, Andrew Schoeppel, was elected by 75,824 plurality. All the other Republican candidates for state offices were elected by large majorities. United States Senator Arthur Capper was reelected by 83,622; and all six of the Republican candidates for Congress were elected.

State Officers.

Governor, Andrew Schoeppel; Lieutenant Governor, J. C. Denious; Secretary of State, Frank J. Ryan; Auditor, George Robb; Treasurer, Walter E. Wilson; Attorney General, A. Baldwin Mitchell; Superintendent of Public Instruction, George L. McClenny.

United States Senators:

Arthur Capper, Clyde M. Reed.

1941: Kansas

Area and Population.

The geographical center of The United States is in Kansas, the 'Sunflower State,' which is 13th in size, with an area of 82,158 sq. mi. It is 29th in population, with 1,801,028 (1940); of these 60 per cent live on farms, which take up 84 per cent of the total area. The population is 93.5 per cent white, with Germans predominant among the foreign-born. Kansas is often called the westernmost New England state, since most of its pioneer settlers were from New England. Its largest cities are Kansas City, 121,458; Wichita, 114,966 (actually now about 200,000, see below); Topeka, the capital, 67,833; Hutchinson, 30,013.

Agriculture.

The state is mainly agricultural, and first in wheat-growing in the Union, with its high percentage of rich arable land, intensively cultivated. The great plains in the west are largely cattle country; the blue-stem pastures of the Flint Hills are considered the finest grazing land in the United States; and meat-packing is the second most important industry. The best combination of plentiful crops and good prices known in sixty years was reported for the state as a whole in 1941. Good moisture throughout the year resulted in exceptionally good pasture conditions, probably the best in a dozen years; and prices for grass-fat cattle were high.

Wheat was hurt somewhat by excessive rainfall; but even so the crop of 173,332,000 bu. reported by the State Board of Agriculture was 47,000,000 bu. above 1940, and 41,632,000 bu. above the 10-year average, 1930-39. The acreage of all crops harvested amounted to 22,313,000 an increase over 1940 of 17 per cent; and the farm value of all crops was $277,172,000, an increase over 1940 of 66 per cent.

The 'food for freedom' campaign of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to increase the production of high protein foods, reported in mid-December that Kansas farmers have signed up to increase milk production in 1942 5 per cent (4 per cent asked for), to 3,431,000,000 pounds; egg production 15 per cent, to 147,967,000 dozen; beef and veal 25 per cent (18 asked for), to 1,284,200,000 pounds; pork 20 per cent (10 asked for), to 580,500,000 pounds; soybean acreage 15 per cent (12 asked for), to 76,000 acres.

Minerals.

Next to agriculture in value are the production and processing of mineral products, oil and natural gas being far in the lead. Oil fields have been developed from the northeastern corner to the Colorado border, with the oil capital at Wichita. The product amounted in 1940 to 66,270,000 bbl. Zinc, salt, and lead are the next chief minerals, followed by coal (from strip-mines), and chalk.

Education.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction reports as follows for the year ending June 30, 1940; inhabitants of school age (5 to 21), 487,546 (nearly a 3 per cent decrease from the previous year); school districts, 7,396 (a decrease of 2 per cent); enrollment, 365,970 (not quite 2 per cent decrease). Elementary pupils, numbered 254,017 (almost 4 per cent decrease); secondary pupils, 111,953 (more than 2 per cent increase). Officials and teachers were 18,944 (almost 3 per cent decrease); the latter included kindergarten, 188; elementary, 12,169; secondary, 6,587. Public-school expenditures were, for instruction. $19,615,302; for operation, $4,551,786 (a total decrease of less than 2 per cent); the balance on hand in school funds at the end of the school year was $6,954,044. The average salary of teachers was, in one-teacher schools for men $531, for women $525; in graded schools, men $785, women $735; in rural and 3d class city high schools, men $1,660, women $1,050. In 2d class cities, grade schools, men $1,058, women $1,010; high schools, men $1,562, women $1,186. In 1st class cities, grade schools, men $1,419, women $1,484; high schools, men $1,922, women $1,751.

Finance.

The Director of the Budget reports for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1940, as follows: general revenue receipts, $8,805,614; disbursements, $8,464,754; state trust accounts, receipts, $26,298,934; disbursements, $25,584,945; Federal custodial trust accounts, receipts, $339,133; disbursements, $359,886; departments, boards, commissions, and institutions, receipts, $43,949,114; disbursements, $39,104,168; grand total of receipts, $79,392,798; disbursements, $73,513,755; cash balance in state treasury, $35,622,670.

The current legislative session appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, for departments, boards, and commissions, $2,564,870; for educational institutions, $4,277,575; for welfare institutions and projects, $2,429,087; for penal institutions, $755,700.

Events of the Year.

Defense activities throughout the state have been numerous and important. The $10,000,000 factory for making twin-engine bombers near the Fairfax airfield in Kansas City was completed late in December, several months ahead of schedule, and was already turning out finished planes. The Kansas Ordnance Plant at Parsons, for shell-loading, covering 17,200 A. and costing from $25,000,000 to $40,000,000, was begun. The Jayhawk Ordnance Works near Galena, to cost $17,500,000, on a 2,800-acre site, will manufacture ammonium nitrate, and will be a permanent establishment making materials for soil rehabilitation. New construction at Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley is extensive and important. On Dec. 29, the establishment of an Army bomber base was announced, to cover 1400 A. near Topeka, to cost $10,000,000, and to require 5,000 officers and men.

Wichita, already the oil capital of the state, has become one of the chief aviation centers of the whole inland region; its population is now over 200,000, an increase this year of almost 100 per cent. Four major aircraft plants, with a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of defense contracts, have 13,000 workers (increased 550 per cent this year) and 1,706,000 sq. ft. of floor space (increased 296 per cent). Expansion now in process will in the next few months increase the workers to 38,500, with a monthly payroll of $4,500,000 and the floor space to 70 acres. Many smaller plants, with flying schools, and a municipal airport with a thousand landings and take-offs daily, and other organized activities have developed. The region is reported to have more hours of flying weather than any other in the country except the Rio Grande valley and Southern California.

Abnormally heavy rainfall during the summer and early fall caused widespread and serious flood damage, chiefly to farmlands and crops.

The Coronado Cuarto-Centennial celebration throughout the state commemorated the first coming of white men to this territory. In 1541 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado journeyed from Mexico City to the Kingdom of Quivira, now a part of northeastern Kansas. All automobile license plates used the gold and scarlet of Coronado's Spanish flag; and pageants and fiestas were widely celebrated.

The chief political event was the right-about-face in August of the Republican state government from uncompromising opposition to the White House, to complete accord with the President's foreign policy.

Legislation.

Legislative actions of importance were numerous. A 15-year dispute over irrigation rights to the waters of the Republican River system was settled by the states concerned, Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. After ten barren years, the state educational institutions secured an annual levy for a permanent, systematic building program. A teacher-retirement plan, based on earnings and service, was adopted. A merit system, to take state employees out of politics, approved in principle in the 1940 state election, was adopted by the 1941 Legislature. The Kansas State Guard was set up to take the place of the absent National Guard; and a State Board of Investigation was authorized, in collaboration with the highway patrol, the Adjutant General, local peace officers, and the F.B.I., to deal with fifth-column activities.

A special old-age assistance fund of $1,020,000 was established, and all welfare allocations increased. Improvements were made in the unemployment compensation law, to reduce the payroll tax on employers by $1,500,000 a year, increase employee benefits $600,000 a year, and put to use stagnant surplus funds. The State W.P.A. Administrator announced that W.P.A. rolls in 1941 were down to 15,300 (from 54,000 in 1937), reduced by defense industries and private employment. The average age of W.P.A. employees has risen in the year from 40 to 51.

State Officers.

Governor, Payne Ratner; Lieutenant Governor, Carl E. Friend; Secretary of State, Frank J. Ryan; Auditor, George Robb; Treasurer, Walter E. Wilson; Attorney General, Jay S. Parker; Superintendent of Public Instruction, George L. McClenny.

United States Senators:

Arthur Capper; Clyde M. Reed.

1940: Kansas

Area and Population.

The 'Sunflower State,' geographical center of the Union, ranks 13th in size, with an area of 82,158 sq. mi., 84 per cent of it farm land. In population Kansas has dropped to 29th place; the 1940 census shows it to be one of the belt of five plains states which have lost population since 1930. Kansas lost 79,971, bringing the present count down to 1,801,028. Whites constitute 93.5 per cent of the population. Germans predominate among foreign-born.

Kansas is often spoken of as a 'New England' state, having been settled chiefly by pioneer immigrants from New England. Three-fifths of the residents live on farms. Its large cities are few: Kansas City, 121,458; Wichita, 114,966; Topeka, the capital, 67,833; Hutchinson, 30,013.

Agriculture.

Kansas is first among the states for wheat, raising considerably more than its closest rival, North Dakota. The 1940 crop had a curious history. In midwinter, 1939-40, it looked almost hopeless. The April forecast estimated only 60,000,000 bu. Ideal spring weather raised the July estimate to 89,000,000 bu. Harvest reports on Oct. 1 finally showed a crop of 101,145,000 bu. of good quality — not large for Kansas, but a 'miracle crop' under the conditions. The 10-year annual average, 1929-38, was 136,000,000 bu.

The growing weather of 1940 was ideal for all crops except corn, which suffered from the midsummer drought. Even so, corn production, 41,580,000 bu., was 4,360,000 bu. above 1939, although 40 per cent below the 10-year average. The State Board of Agriculture reports 1940 as one of the best agricultural years in a decade; and the recovery of feed and grasses as a main factor. Oats, the second largest crop in the state in 1940, with 45,080,000 bu., was more than twice the preceding year's crop. The fourth largest crop of the year, grain sorghum, with 26,530,000 bu., was the largest yield since 1927; it amounted to 238 per cent of 1939's crop, and 217 per cent of the 10-year average. Barley, flax, broomcorn, potatoes, and tame hay were also all much above 1939. In apples, peaches, pears, and grapes, 1939 was far better than the 10-year average, yet 1940 went well beyond 1939. A tragic freeze struck the orchards in the eastern part of the state soon after election in November, however, when the temperature stayed near zero for five days. The fruit trees were still full of sap, and great numbers of them were killed.

The State Board of Agriculture reports that 'the outstanding development' of 1940 'has been the greatly increased acreage of grain sorghum, its demonstrated ability to stand dry weather and produce a crop, . . . and the proved efficiency of the sorghums as compared with corn for feeding purposes.'

The Board also reports that the notorious 'Dust Bowl' of western Kansas has practically disappeared. This priceless reformation, due partly to the fine moisture of the winter of 1939-40, has been mainly achieved by moldboard plowing, listing the soil, providing cover crops, and using special care in soil tillage. Grassland agriculture has been a main factor in this recovery; the 1940 crop of all hay totaled 2,202,000 tons, well above the 10-year average of 2,132,000 tons. The counties have been required to make annual surveys of wind erosion, and they are authorized to take whatever steps may be necessary to control it. These measures appear to have at last defeated the worst enemy Kansas agriculture has ever known.

Industry.

Next to agriculture, the greatest industry of the state is now oil and gas production; nearly 50,000 men being regularly employed. Next comes meat-packing; then grain and flour milling.

The drier western half of the state has specialized during the past three years in livestock, especially beef cattle. Dodge City is an important center of this development. In hog production Kansas ranks 9th in the Union, producing 4.5 per cent of the national output, valued at more than $50,000,000.

Mineral Products.

Petroleum, natural gas, zinc, salt, and lead, in that order, are the main items in the state's mineral wealth. Production of petroleum amounted in 1939 to 60,723,000 bbl. In zinc production, Kansas ranks third in the Union; 68,971 tons were produced in 1939. The value of these five leading products in 1938 amounted to $129,675,438.

A new mineral industry has just been developed — the mining of chalk. Until last fall, all chalk (used principally in the manufacture of whiting) had been imported from England and France. Three quarries have now been opened in the north-central section of Kansas, where the chalk strata are 20 feet thick.

Education.

The Department of Education reports from its latest available data, June 30, 1939, as follows: Inhabitants of school age (5 to 21), 500,846; enrollment, in 7,576 districts, 263,227 pupils in elementary grades, 109,266 in secondary. Superintendents, principals, and teachers numbered 19,454; including kindergarten 181, elementary 12,438, secondary 6,835. In private and parochial schools, teachers included elementary 175, with 14,159 pupils; secondary 46, with 3,779 pupils. Total expenditures allotted for public schools were $30,990,561 (instruction $19,250,051, operation, $4,499,977); balance on hand was $7,914,035. The average salary was $858.

Banking and Finance.

The State Department of Banking reported on Oct. 2, 1939, 490 state and private banks, with loans and discounts of $79,622,773 (an increase over the preceding year); capital assets, $13,901,490 (a decrease); deposits, $164,925,075 (an increase).

The 2 per cent sales tax returns for 1940, amounted to $10,460,818, an increase of $660,803 over 1939.

The total tax levy of 1940 has just been announced as $63,615,675. This is $3,000,000 below the 1939 levy, and far below the state's peak levy of $95,661,710 in 1929. Of this amount the state is to have $4,735,789, the counties $17,557,083, the schools $26,199,960.

The biennial appropriations made by the 1939 Legislature were $16,674,714. The budget just announced for the coming biennium is $17,517,992.

Events of the Year.

Primary defense contracts totaling $97,926,670 have been awarded to twenty Kansas towns since June 1940, besides numerous subcontracts given many other towns over the state. Wichita, the oil capital of Kansas, now has an airplane construction boom. Three companies there have government contracts totaling more than $50,000,000. They have doubled or trebled their plant facilities, and their working forces which now number about 3,000 men.

Ft. Riley is feverishly building for the 2nd Cavalry Division to be stationed there. More than 4,000 workmen are employed; 847 buildings will be provided, to house 25,000 officers and men at a cost of $11,000,000. At Ft. Leavenworth, work is being rushed on buildings to house some 2,000 trainees, who are being received at the reception center at the rate of 300-400 a day. After a 48-hour induction into the Army they are being transferred to training centers.

A $10,000,000 plant for making twin-engine bombers is being built on a 75-acre tract near the Fairfax airport in Kansas City. The six major building units will be one story high. The main building will use 4,000 tons of steel; it will be half a mile long, and cover more than a million square feet. By March 1, 1941, it is expected that 1,000 men will be employed.

The State Department of Vocational Education announces plans for training upwards of 14,000 men in plane construction and other skilled trades, at schools in eight cities. The Federal Government has allocated $300,000 for this training. Sixty-five per cent of the applicants must be farm boys between 17 and 25.

The two political events of the year were the vote for President and the vote for Governor. Kansas gave Wendell Willkie the largest majority he received in any of the 10 states he carried, 57 per cent of the total vote; a plurality of 124,435 out of 860,288. For the first time since 1896, Kansas failed to give its vote to the winning presidential candidate.

The election of the state's new Governor was not certain for some weeks after election day. Although Wendell Willkie's lead over President Roosevelt was 124,435, Governor Ratner's final lead over his Democratic opponent, William H. Burke, was found to be only 430 in a total vote of 860,288.

The Prohibition vote for Roger Babson, 4,056, was exceeded only in California, Illinois, and Indiana.

State Officers.

Governor, Payne H. Ratner; Lieutenant Governor, Carl E. Friend; Secretary of State, Frank J. Ryan; Auditor, George Robb; Treasurer, Walter E. Wilson; Attorney General, Jay S. Parker; Superintendent of Public Instruction, George L. McClenny.

United States Senators:

Arthur Capper, Clyde M. Reed.

1939: Kansas

Area and Population.

Admitted to statehood Jan. 29, 1861, Kansas ranks 13th in size among the states, with an area of 82,158 sq. mi. In population it ranks 24th, numbering 1,880,999 according to the census of 1930; 1,864,000 on July 1, 1937, according to the latest Federal estimate. Of the total, 93.5 per cent are whites, 3.5 per cent are Negroes. Among the foreign-born groups, Germans predominate. Like Nebraska, the eastern half of the state is much more thickly populated than the western. The original territory was settled largely by pioneer immigrants from New England.

The state capital is Topeka, 75,000; the other chief cities are Kansas City, 125,000: Wichita, 103,000 and Hutchinson, 33,000 (Populations as estimated in 1938.)

Agriculture.

Kansas is not only the geographical center of the Union, but also the agricultural center as the greatest of the wheat-raising states. Its wheat production is about twice that of its nearest rivals, North Dakota and Montana, and about three times that of the next great wheat producers, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio, and Illinois. Most of the Kansas product is the hard or winter wheat, originally brought from the Ukraine. Of the total area of the state, 84 per cent is farm land, and 61 per cent of its people live on farms.

Industry.

A year ago meat-packing was in second place among Kansas industries, or next to agriculture; now it is in third place. Oil production is at present in second place. Forty thousand men are regularly employed in the gas and oil industry. The fourth major industry is grain and flour milling.

Western Kansas, which used to be one of the greatest wheat raising regions in the world, has in the past year or two gone largely into livestock — chiefly beef cattle. In Dodge City frequently more than 3,000 beef cattle are auctioned at the weekly sales.

Mineral Products.

Production of petroleum, which in 1937 accounted for $88,100,000 in the total sum of the state's mineral wealth (estimated at $154,376,403 for that year) was decreased by 16 per cent in 1938 to 59,587,000 bbl. compared with 70,761,000 in 1937.

Education.

The latest official figures on public education (June 30, 1937) show 520,400 inhabitants of school age (5 to 21) with a total enrollment of 406,074 distributed as follows: kindergarten, 10,593; primary, 287,222; secondary, 108,259. The administrative and teaching personnel numbered 19,336, including 172 kindergarten teachers, 11,788 primary, and 5,281 secondary. The 211 private and parochial schools listed 18,396 pupils and 770 teachers. Average salaries ranged from $580 to $1,218 for men, $674 to $1,128 for women.

For the vocational education of 12,572 pupils enrolled in such courses, $70,000 was appropriated in 1937; $159,000 was budgeted in 1939.

Legislative Matters.

The state Legislature's most important accomplishments were the provisions authorizing Governor Payne H. Ratner to reorganize state departments in the interest of simplification and efficiency; the appointment of an industrial development commission to encourage the expansion of existing industries and the establishment of new ones, such as production of soybean oil; the appointment of a new state Board of Regents on a strictly non-partisan basis; and the substitution of a penny bracket sales tax system for the zinc mill tokens.

Finance and Banking.

Appropriations by the Legislature for the fiscal year 1940 totaled $8,325,213. The balance on hand in the state general revenue fund July 1, 1939, plus the estimated receipts for the fiscal year 1940, amounted to approximately $10,046,000.

The 490 state and private banks reported on Oct. 2, 1939, loans and discounts of $79,622,773, an increase of $2,665,259 for the year; capital assets of $13,901,490, a decrease of $35,500; deposits of $164,925,075, an increase of $10,046,169. The Bank Commission reported improved banking conditions over 1938; increased capital structure, reduced fixed assets, and freeing of slow assets in real estate taken over in 1932-33.

Events of the Year.

For stock-raisers, wheat-growers, and all farmers, the event of 1939 was the so-called 'million-dollar' Christmas present of state-wide snow that broke the record-breaking fall drouth. Until then the shortage of water was so great as to ruin the corn crop, compel the hauling of stock water, and seriously threaten the 1940 wheat crop. The shortage was estimated at 4.24 inches, amounting to 490 tons of water per acre, and 25 billion tons for the state.

The largest industrial project of the year was the construction of the 4½-million-dollar food market and terminal now nearly completed in Kansas City on the Missouri at the mouth of the Kaw.

In August Governor Ratner forced a 15-day shutdown of oil production in order to bring back to normal the price of crude oil.

The national cornhusking contest brought 100,000 spectators to Lawrence, and contestants from 11 states. The winner was Lawrence Pitzer of Indiana.

State Officers.

The chief officers of Kansas are: Governor, Payne H. Ratner; Lieutenant-Governor, Carl E. Friend; Secretary of State, Frank J. Ryan; Auditor, George Robb; Treasurer, Walter E. Wilson; Attorney General, Jay S. Parker; Superintendent of Public Instruction, George L. McClenny.

United States Senators.

Arthur Capper, Clyde M. Reed.

1938: Kansas

Area and Population.

Kansas, the 'Sunflower' or 'Jayhawk' state, occupies the geographical center of the Union: between Missouri and Colorado, and Nebraska and Oklahoma. Admitted to statehood Jan. 29, 1861, Kansas ranks 13th in size among the states, with an area of 82,158 sq. mi. In population it ranks 24th, numbering 1,880,999 according to the Census of 1930; 1,864,000 on July 1, 1937, according to the latest Federal estimate. Of the total, 93.5 per cent are whites, 3-5 per cent are Negroes. Among the foreign-born groups, Germans predominate. Like Nebraska, the eastern half of the state is much more thickly populated than the western. The original territory was settled largely by pioneer immigrants from New England; hence, though the state is no farther north than its eastern neighbor, Missouri, its people are traditionally Republican.

The state capital is Topeka, 75,000; the other chief cities are Kansas City, 125,000; Wichita, 103,000 and Hutchinson, 33,000. (Populations as estimated in 1938.)

Agriculture.

This 'great plains' state is predominantly agricultural. Eighty-four per cent of its area is farm land, two-thirds of this being crop land. In crop values Kansas ranks fifth in the Union. Nearly two-thirds of its people, 61.2 per cent, live on farms. Wheat is the chief product, mostly hard or winter wheat of which it produces twice the output of any other state. Indian corn ranks second, oats third. The drier western part, more largely pasturage, specializes in dairy products. The second industry of the state is meat-packing; Kansas produces a tenth of the national output of meat products.

Mineral Products.

The leading place among the mineral products of Kansas in 1937, was again occupied by petroleum. Because of the discovery of many additional oil fields, chiefly in the Forest City basin in the northeast adjoining Missouri (which see), production for the year reached a record high, 70,761,000 bbl., compared with 58,317,000 bbl., valued at $65,900,000 in 1936. Next in value was natural gas, with an increased production above the flow of 69,178,000 M cu. ft. in 1936. Zinc ore, in which Kansas ranks third in the Union, totaled 80,300 tons, a slight increase over 1936, but with a greatly increased value, $10,439,000 compared with $7,901,700 the previous year. Production of salt for the year, 654,089 tons, was slightly below that for 1936.

Education.

The public school income as of June 30, 1937, was $35,836,000; the expenses, $28,441,000. Of the 520,400 inhabitants of school age — between 5 years and 21 — there were enrolled 395,481 in the following public schools; primary, 287,222; secondary, 108,259. There was an additional enrollment of 10,593 in kindergartens; and of 18,396 in private and parochial schools. Teachers in the kindergartens numbered 172; in primary grades, 11,788; and in secondary grades, 5,281. Salaries ranged from an average of $580 to $1,218 for men; and from $674 to $1,128 for women. Teachers in private and parochial schools numbered 770.

The 1937 appropriation for vocational education was $70,000. The 1939 budget calls for $159,000. The enrollment in such courses in 1936 was 12,572.

Finance.

The general reserve fund of the state for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1939, is estimated at $9,192,426; and the requirements for the year are budgeted at $8,442,426.

Banking.

The 503 banks of the state, as of Sept. 17, 1938, listed loans and discounts of $78,842,343, an increase of $4,278,045 during the preceding twelve months; capital, $15,189,000, a decrease of $208,330; and deposits, $156,439,858, a decrease of $13,631,521.

Events of the Year.

General conditions in the state showed little improvement over 1937. Agriculture improved somewhat, due to better rainfall and the decline of the disastrous dust storms in the west and southwest. Banking and manufacture showed little change. Relief needs and unemployment both grew worse.

The major event of the year was the November election, which returned Republicans to the positions of governor, lieutenant governor, and superintendent of public instruction; to one of the U.S. Senatorships, and to one of the two U. S. Congressional seats that had been occupied by Democrats. Most of the local elective offices throughout the state were correspondingly changed in the election.

Former Governor Alfred M. Landon was appointed by President Roosevelt to membership on the United States delegation to the Pan-American Conference at Lima, Peru. Chancellor E. H. Lindley of the University of Kansas at Lawrence recently resigned, effective June, 1939, after nineteen years of service as the head of the university.

The biennial legislature was not in session during 1938.

Social Welfare.

Payments for unemployment insurance in Kansas, beginning January 1, 1939, will be made from funds collected in 1937 and 1938 amounting to between ten and eleven million dollars; of this sum, about six millions were paid by employers in the form of contributions during 1938.

The State Social Welfare Board reports as of Dec. 31, 1938, a total of all obligations and expenditures for 1938 amounting to $14,790,191. Of this, 82.59 per cent was spent for assistance grants and payments, including commodities, made directly to clients; for old-age assistance; for blind persons, dependent children, and veterans; and for work projects; 7.09 per cent was used for special activities required by the state law for the state and county boards of welfare. Administration costs were 10.32 per cent, including 5.99 per cent for county administration, 2.58 per cent for state agents' compensation; and 1.75 per cent for State Office administration.

The WPA reports Federal funds expended in Kansas during the calendar year 1938 as totalling $20,722,855. The projects include public buildings, highways, airports, recreation facilities, water supply, flood and erosion control, electric and communication utilities, ground improvements, conservation activities, library work, sewing, canning, school lunches, medical, dental, and nursing assistance, adult education, art, music, and recreation centers.

State Officers.

As the result of the 1938 election, the chief officers of Kansas are: Governor, Payne H. Ratner; Lieutenant-Governor, Carl E. Friend; Secretary of State, Frank J. Ryan; Auditor, George Robb; Treasurer, Walter E. Wilson; Attorney General, Jay S. Parker; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Geo. L. McClenny.

Judiciary:

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John S. Dawson; Associate Justices: W. W. Harvey, Wm. E. Hutchinson, Wm. A. Smith, Walter G. Thiele, Hugo T. Wedell, and Harry K. Allen. Judge of the Kansas District Court of the United States, Richard J. Hopkins.

United States Senators:

Arthur Capper, and Clyde M. Reed.