1942: Missouri

Area and Population.

Admitted to the Union Aug. 10, 1821, Missouri is known as the 'Ozark State' and the 'Show Me State.' It ranks 18th in size among the states, with an area of 69,674 sq. mi., including 404 sq. mi. of inland water surface, according to remeasurements taken for the 16th census in 1940. By the same census the state ranked 10th in population, with a total of 3,784,644. The largest cities ranked as follows: St. Louis, 816,048; Kansas City, 399,178; St. Joseph, 75,711; and Springfield, 61,228. Jefferson City, the capital since 1826, had 24,268. Of the entire population in 1940, 93.5 per cent were whites and 6.5 per cent were Negroes. The percentage of foreign-born whites was 3.2 per cent. The U. S. Department of Commerce estimated the total civilian population on May 1, 1942, at 3,750,257.

The Ozark region in the southwest is widely popular as a resort area, with two artificial lakes (Lake of the Ozarks, and Taneycomo), twelve state parks, two national forest reserves and additional wild life refuges, made accessible through extensive highway developments. Elevation of the Ozark highlands in Missouri runs from 1,200 to 1,800 ft.

Education.

According to the latest published report of the State Superintendent of Public Schools, for the year ending June 30, 1942, the total number of persons of school age in Missouri was then 919,217, of whom 8 per cent were Negroes. The total enrollment, in both public and private elementary and high schools was 775,451. A total of 26,195 teachers was employed in the public schools, with an additional 2,591 in private schools. Including eleven public junior colleges, there were 9,981 public schools in Missouri, and expenditures by the state for educational purposes during the 1941-42 fiscal year totaled $57,249,172.

Agriculture.

The chief agricultural products of 1942 were as follows: Corn, 146,899,000 bu., worth $127,802,000; cotton, 425,000 bales, worth $41,862,000. plus cottonseed meal valued at $8,924,000; tame hay, 4,349,000 tons, worth $40,011,000; oats, 59,427,000 bu., worth $27,336,000; soy beans, 7,500,000 bu., worth $12,000,000; and wheat, 9,035,000 bu., worth $10,517,000.

Industry.

The values of leading items in the manufacturing industries of the state, for 1941, were as follows: food products, $504,810,060; iron and steel, $225,850,282; chemicals, $149,813,674; leather goods, $119,555,964; clothing, $109,997,354.

Mineral Products.

The most recent published report on mining in Missouri, for the year 1941, showed increased production over the preceding year. These products ranked as follows: lead, 231,501 tons, $14,841,920; shale, 334,668 tons, $6,543,833; limestone, 5,022,719 tons, $4,226,754; zinc, 40,611 tons, $1,763,826; clay, 1,286,561 tons, $1,744,880; barite, 168,012 tons, $1,051,258; silica sand, 419,707 tons, $514,165. Production of coal amounted to 3,085,551 tons.

Banking.

Missouri is the only state in the Union having two Federal Reserve Banks. One is in St. Louis, and the other in Kansas City. Their districts embrace the states to the south, southwest, and west.

Finance.

The State Treasurer reported receipts totaling $80,510,484 during 1942, the principal item of which was the sales tax amounting to $31,168,361. Other tax receipts were: gasoline tax, $13,497,176; motor vehicles and drivers' licenses, $10,659,461; income tax, $9,940,740; beer and liquor taxes, $6,611,268; county foreign insurance, $2,821,641; county collectors' tax revenue, $2,028,086; inheritance taxes, $1,799,730; corporation franchises, $1,616,834; and beer permits, $367,183.

Total expenditures for the biennium ending Dec. 31, 1942, from governmental and all other sources and funds, amounted to $214,597,809. The total bonded indebtedness of the state is reported at $83,008,000, consisting principally of road bonds.

Political Events.

Politically the year 1942 saw considerable activity. As an aftermath of the 1940 gubernatorial election of Forrest Donnell, unsuccessfully contested during 1941, the Republicans at the election of November 1942 gained five seats in Congress, eleven in the State Senate, control of the House of Representatives, and the office of the State Superintendent of Schools.

A movement to put on the ballot a provision for a unicameral legislature was unsuccessful, and an amendment to the Constitution which would have repealed the existing method of non-partisan selection of judges was defeated.

A special session of the General Assembly was called by Governor Donnell, to vote funds for operation of the state government during the last two months of the year, and it responded by practically doubling the amounts requested, appropriating over $5,000,000 for this period.

Defense.

The principal defense centers are Fort Leonard Wood and Camp Crowder, both of which are new, and Jefferson Barracks. Defense industry includes the U. S. Cartridge plant at St. Louis, the Ordnance Works near Weldon Springs, and the Lake City Ordnance Plant, near Kansas City. Tank landing-barges, aeroplanes, ammonia, dried foods, and numerous other war materials are produced throughout the state, making Missouri's contribution to the war effort both notable and important. The universities and colleges do their share as training centers for army and navy personnel.

State Officers.

Governor, Forrest C. Donnell; Lieutenant-Governor, Frank G. Harris: Secretary of State, Dwight H. Brown; Auditor, Forrest Smith; Treasurer, Wilson Bell; Attorney General, Roy McKittrick; Superintendent of Schools, Lloyd King.

United States Senators:

Bennett Champ Clark, Harry S. Truman.

1941: Missouri

Area and Population.

Admitted to statehood Aug. 10, 1821, Missouri, 'the Ozark State,' ranks 18th in size among the states, with an area of 69,674 sq. mi., including 404 sq. mi. of inland water surface, according to remeasurements of the United States undertaken for the 16th census in 1940. In population it ranks 10th, numbering 3,784,664, according to the 1940 census. The largest cities are St. Louis, 816,048; Kansas City, 399,178; St. Joseph, 75,711; and Springfield, 61,238. Jefferson City, the capital, has 24,268.

The Ozark region in the southwest, which gives Missouri its nickname, is one of the most popular all-year resort areas in the Midwest, with its profusion of hills, streams, and lakes.

Education.

The latest figures released by the Superintendent of Public Schools show that the inhabitants of school age (6 to 20) on June 30, 1939, were 946,475 (6 per cent Negroes). Seventy-five per cent of these attended 8,750 schools, 519,830 in elementary grades, 192,496 in secondary. There were 26,342 teachers: white, 6,268 men, 18,610 women; Negro, 360 men, 1,089 women. Their salaries averaged as follows: white, men in city schools, $942 in elementary grades, $1,422 in secondary; women in city schools, $1,201 in elementary grades, $1,367 in secondary; Negro, men in city schools, $1,234 in elementary grades, $1,850 in secondary; women in city schools, $1,660 in elementary grades, $1,682 in secondary. Salaries in rural schools averaged from 70 to 30 per cent of these amounts. School expenditures for 1938 were $57,875,789.

Agriculture.

Agriculture conditions throughout the state in 1941 were reported as the best in 60 years; above-average crops, and production of cattle, sheep, and hogs, were combined with above-average prices. The seven southeastern counties enjoyed the greatest prosperity they have ever known, from their production of cotton. These counties are the only producers of cotton in the state; and the yield was the highest in the country, averaging 580 lbs. per acre.

The U. S. census reported as of April 1, 1940, a total of 44,332,800 A. of farm lands, comprised in 256,100 farms, operated by 91,155 renters, 29,836 part owners, and 133,927 full owners.

Livestock returns, as of Jan. 1, 1941, showed 8,659,000 head, valued at $204,672,000, including 524,000 horses, worth $30,314,000; 219,200 mules, worth $16,794,000; cattle, 2,970,000, worth $122,862,000; 1,624,000 sheep, worth $10,878,000; 3,322,000 hogs, worth $23,824,000. There were also 20,795,000 chickens, worth $11,229,000; 262,000 turkeys (1,240,000 raised in 1940), worth $550,000.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture 'food for freedom' campaign to increase the production of high protein foods (meat, milk, and eggs), and of vegetables, is being met by this response from Missouri farmers: Pork production will be increased 32 per cent over 1941 (16 per cent increase was requested); eggs 35 per cent (13 per cent requested); veal 18 per cent; milk, 17 per cent; beef cattle and calves, 18 per cent; soybean acreage, 57 per cent; tomato acreage, 73 per cent.

Industry.

The leading peace-time industries of the state are flour-milling, meat-packing, and the manufacture of petroleum products; with railroading, automobiles and transportation equipment, printing and publishing, and iron and steel manufacture, all of considerable importance. Flour-milling was prosperous in 1941 (Kansas City second in the nation), with a good supply of grains, good sales and good prices. In meat-packing, the year was both active and profitable, as domestic and export demands continued to increase. Kansas City has the largest livestock exchange building in the world, and is second only to Chicago as a livestock and packing center. The petroleum industry had a better year than in 1940, and the domestic demand for crude oil and its by-products reached an all-time high.

Mineral Products.

Production of lead, for which Missouri ranks first in the Union, advanced in 1940 to the highest amount since 1930, totaling 172,052 tons, worth $17,205,200, compared with 156,281 tons worth $16,001,052 in 1939. Next in importance was cement, of which 4,867,799 bbl. shipped in 1940, had a value of $7,616,247. Zinc production was slightly below that of 1939, at 12,705 tons, but an increase in price made the value exceed, at $1,600,587, that of 15,096 tons in the previous year.

In the Kansas City area is the largest steel mill between the Mississippi and the Rockies; at its 100-acre plant are made more varieties of steel products than in any other mill in the world.

Defense contracts mounted to high levels during the year. From September, 1940, to September, 1941, the St. Louis area, as reported by the Office of Emergency Management, received contracts totaling $192,646,414, and the Kansas City area $198,795,474.

Banking.

Missouri is unique in being the only state to include two of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks distributed throughout the country, one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City. Each of the three largest cities does Federal Reserve business throughout the central area, from Colorado to Tennessee and from Iowa and Nebraska to the Gulf. Bank earnings in the state were generally higher in 1941, chiefly due to increased loans; but they are expected to be lower in 1942, because of higher taxes.

Finance.

The State Auditor reported general revenue collections in 1941 of $51,576,659, the largest in the history of the state. The major items included in this total were: Sales tax, $29,514,619; income tax, $7,558,656; liquor and beer taxes, $6,170,899; general property tax, $1,946,777; foreign insurance tax, $1,749,795; inheritance tax, $1,524,779; corporation franchise tax, $1,517,712. Expenditures from the general fund totaled $51,169,168, including public-school funds, $16,947,081; social security funds, $17,560,263. Of the latter, old-age pensions accounted for $10,559,214, aid to dependent children $2,194,971, direct relief $3,254,590, and administration $1,551,487.

Among appropriations voted by the 1941 Legislature were these: For old-age assistance and dependent children, 1941-42, $38,400,000; public schools, January-June 1941, $9,967,717; vocational education, $128,540; state university and other educational institutions, $2,070,700; penal institutions, 1941-42, $7,871,135; eleemosynary institutions, 1941-42, $9,816,850.

Federal funds allocated to Missouri, January-June 1941, for old-age assistance were $6,176,472; for aid to dependent children $1,218,750.

Events of the Year.

The major political event of 1941 was the unsuccessful fight by the 1940 Democratic candidate for Governor, Lawrence McDaniel, to wrest the governorship from his Republican opponent, Forrest C. Donnell. Missouri's greatest political story since the Civil War, starting in the fall of 1940 with one of the closest contests on record, which gave the election to Donnell by a majority of 3,613 votes in a total vote of 1,833,729, then continued with a bitter fight through the winter and spring of 1941 in the Legislature, with all other business put aside. Weeks after the appointed time, the Republicans won out and Governor-elect Donnell was finally inaugurated. Most surprisingly, the state, nationally known for its city-machine struggles, then reached the end of 1941 without further political activities — apparently adjourned 'for the duration.'

The state Legislature passed three measures designed to reduce political control. One provided that, in the interests of a secret ballot, the serial number on each ballot shall be covered with adhesive tape when the ballot is voted. Another amended the state Constitution to provide for non-partisan selection of judges (circuit judges in Kansas City and St. Louis, state Court of Appeals judges, and state Supreme Court judges): election to be purely on the individual record, without primaries or party designation; or by gubernatorial appointment of one from a list of three submitted by a judicial council. The third measure to reduce political control took the Department of Liquor Control out of partisan politics.

Defense.

Among the defense achievements of the year were the completion of Camp Leonard Wood, near Rolla; of the U. S. Cartridge Plant at St. Louis; of the Lake City Ordnance Plant, near Kansas City (for small arms ammunition); and of the Curtiss-Wright plant near St. Louis. Work was also begun on Camp Crowder, near Neosho, to accommodate 18,000 soldiers; and on the 7th Corps Area Base Hospital at Springfield.

State Officers.

Governor, Forrest C. Donnell; Lieutenant Governor, Frank G. Harris; Secretary of State, Dwight H. Brown; Auditor, Forrest Smith; Treasurer, Robert H. Winn; Attorney General, Roy McKittrick; Superintendent of Schools, Lloyd King.

United States Senators:

Bennett Champ Clark, Harry S. Truman.

1940: Missouri

Area and Population.

The 'Ozark State' ranks 18th in area, with 69,420 sq. mi. Since three-quarters of the total consists of farm lands, agriculture is an important activity. The population, as shown in the 1940 census, numbers 3,784,665, an increase since 1930 of 155,297; Missouri still ranks 10th among the states. More than half the population are city-dwellers, 80 per cent of them living in the three chief cities: St. Louis, 816,048; Kansas City, 399,178; and St. Joseph, 75,711. The other large centers are Springfield, 61,238; Joplin, 37,144; University City, 33,023; and Jefferson City (the capital), 24,268.

For more than a century St. Louis and Kansas City, at the opposite ends of the state, have been rail and river 'gateways' to the West: St. Louis at the junction of the Missouri with the Mississippi, and Kansas City at the junction of the Kaw with the Missouri. Both cities have long ranked next to Chicago as great rail centers in the Midwest. St. Joseph is also a river port, on the Missouri. Kansas City has become the major air center between Chicago and the West Coast.

Agriculture.

Among Missouri's farm products corn leads, valued at nearly $70,000,000. Wheat, hay, cotton, and oats follow in that order, all four combined being worth about the same as the corn crop.

Industry.

The manufactures of the state total above a billion and a half dollars, within some 150 classifications. Food processing and manufacture leads, with products worth about $370,000,000; wearing apparel is second, with output worth above $200,000,000 (boots and shoes being the main item), machinery and metal products (including railway cars) are third, with products worth some $190,000,000; printing and publishing rank fourth.

Mineral Products.

The chief natural products are five: lead (first in the state and the nation), zinc, bituminous coal, cement, and glass sand. Lead production has in recent years been worth annually nearly $20,000,000. Coal has been worth about half that amount; cement about a third. The total value of the state's minerals in 1938 amounted to $39,560,739.

Education.

Inhabitants of school age (6 to 20) were reported by the Superintendent of Public Schools on June 30, 1939, as numbering 946,475, including 59,903 Negroes. Those attending the 8,750 schools were 712,326 (664,367 white, 47,959 Negroes). There were 519,830 in elementary grades, 192,496 in secondary. Teachers were 26,342: white, 6,268 men, 18,610 women; Negroes, 360 men, 1,089 women. Salaries for white men teachers in city schools average $942 in elementary grades, $1,422 in secondary; for white women teachers, $1,201 in elementary grades, and $1,367 in secondary. Negro men teachers in city elementary schools average $1,234 and in secondary schools $1,850; Negro women, $1,660 and $1,682 respectively. Rural salaries average from 70 to 30 per cent of city salaries. State school expenditures in 1938 were $57,875,789.

Banking.

The 549 State Banks and trust companies were reported by the Commissioner of Finance on June 30, 1939, as having in loans and discounts, $263,883,340 (an increase over the previous year); capital stock, $58,316,645 (a decrease); surplus funds, $23,242,964 (an increase); undivided profits, $15,230,889 (an increase); total deposits, $829,517,678 (an increase).

Events of the Year.

The 1939 political clean-up in Kansas City was strengthened and consolidated during 1940, with a well-trained city manager imported from Michigan, and a non-partisan mayor and city government in control. Substantial savings in government costs began to appear in garbage-collection and other city contracts.

Kansas City led all large cities in the nation in its safety record for the year: only 22 persons were killed by automobiles in 1940, a reduction of 30 per cent.

Missouri is one of eight states which have kept their records clear by giving a majority to the winner in every presidential election in this century. The state gave President Roosevelt 52 per cent of its total vote of 1,833,729; a plurality of 87,467 over Wendell Willkie.

The gubernatorial contest was extraordinarily close. McDaniel, the Democratic candidate, appeared safely elected; but the final returns gave Donnell, his Republican opponent, a plurality of 3,613. When the Legislature met, the Democratic state organization proceeded to contest Donnell's election and delay his inauguration. Donnell took the case to the courts.

A revolutionary change in the system of selecting judges in the state Supreme Court, the three circuit courts of appeal, and the circuit and probate courts of Jackson and St. Louis counties, was made mandatory by the adoption of a Constitutional amendment at the election; for all other courts optional. This amendment, called the 'non-partisan court plan,' is the result of many years of effort by individuals and organizations of both parties, to take the state judiciary out of politics. It substitutes the appointment system (with some voted approval) for the election system previously in exclusive use.

National Defense.

A huge training center, christened Ft. Leonard Wood, has been established by the U. S. Army, near Rolla. It will accommodate 20,000 officers and men; and it will cost about $50,000,000 of the $240,000,000 which will be spent by the Army for expansion in the 7th Corps Area.

At Lake City, 18 mi. east of Kansas City, a plant for the manufacture of small arms ammunition is being built at high speed, for the Remington Arms Co. Its 3 main buildings and 100 smaller ones, on a 27-acre tract, will employ 8,000 men; the plant will cost $18,000,000.

State Officers.

Governor, Forrest C. Donnell; Lieutenant Governor, Frank G. Harris; Secretary of State, Dwight H. Brown; Auditor, Forrest Smith; Treasurer, Robert H. Winn; Attorney General, Roy McKittrick; Superintendent of Public Schools, Lloyd W. King.

United States Senators:

Bennett Champ Clark, Harry S. Truman.

1939: Missouri

Area and Population.

Known as the 'Ozark State,' Missouri was admitted to statehood Aug. 10, 1821. Its area of 69,420 sq. mi. makes it 18th in size in the Union. Three-quarters of this area is farm land, hence agriculture is predominantly important. Missouri is 10th in population, with 3,989,000 (Federal estimate July 1, 1937); more than half live in cities, and four-fifths of these in the three largest cities: St. Louis 821,960, Kansas City 399,746, St. Joseph 80,935. Next in size are Springfield 57,527, Joplin, 33,000, University City 26,000. Jefferson City (the capital) 21,596. Nearly 6 per cent of the population are foreign-born, chiefly Germans, Russians, Italians, English; 5 per cent are Negroes.

Geographic Features.

A distinctive feature of Missouri is the famous Ozark Mountains region. It is famous for its primitive mountaineers (close kin to those of Kentucky and eastern Tennessee), for its growing reputation as a playground for tourists, and for its great Lake of the Ozarks made when 60,000 acres of water were impounded by the Bagnell Dam to form the second largest artificial lake in the world.

The state includes two of the key transportation centers of the Midwest, St. Louis and Kansas City. Both (like St. Joseph) are river ports: Kansas City on the Missouri and St. Louis at its junction with the Mississippi. Both are great rail centers — second in the Midwest only to Chicago. From the days of the Santa Fe Trail, Kansas City has continued to be 'the gateway to the West.' Its importance as an aviation center is steadily increasing; distinguished visitors stop at its airport almost daily; and the terminal there has within a few months been much enlarged.

Agriculture.

The crops of this predominantly agricultural state are economically and industrially important. Corn is the chief crop, with production valued at approximately $50,000,000, or as much as the other leading crops combined. Wheat is second; then hay, cotton, and oats.

Industry.

Economically, manufacturing is the most important business in the state. There are some 150 active classifications, with manufacture and processing of foods far in the lead (more than $300,000,000 worth; chief item, meat-packing). Metal-working and machinery manufacture come second (more than $200,000,000 worth); and clothing is a close third ($185,000,000; chief item, boots and shoes); printing and publishing are fourth in rank.

Mineral Products.

The state's most valuable product, lead, in which it leads the Union, showed a reduction in 1938 to 122,027 tons, from the high figure of 157,631 tons in 1937 valued at $18,600,468. The output of zinc was also lowered, by about 50 per cent, from 20,600 tons to 10,226 in 1938. Production of bituminous coal amounted to 3,412,000 tons. Shipments of cement totaled 4,570,389 bbl. valued at $6,871,120. Glass sand, an important product in the state, fell off to 167,605 tons in 1938 from 200,475 in the preceding year.

Education.

The Superintendent of Schools reported on June 30, 1939 that the state has 946,475 persons of school age (6 to 20), including 59,903 Negroes. Of these, 712,326 pupils (664,367 white, 47,959 Negro) are enrolled in 8,750 schools, including 519,830 elementary and 192,496 secondary. There are 26,342 teachers (white: 6,268 men, 18,610 women; Negro: 360 men, 1,089 women). Vocational courses enroll 20,124 pupils. Students in private and parochial schools numbered 76,645 in 1936. Salaries for men in city schools average $942 in elementary grades, $1,422 in secondary; for women, $1,201 in elementary and $1,367 in secondary grades. Negro men teachers average $1,234 in city elementary schools and $1,850 in secondary; women, $1,660 and $1,682 respectively. Rural elementary-school salary averages run from 70 to 30 per cent of city school averages. School expenditures for 1938-39 were $57,875,789.

Banking.

The Commissioner of Finance made reports on June 30, 1939, of 549 state banks and trust companies, as follows: Loans and discounts, $263,883,340 (an increase of $18,431,596 in twelve months); capital stock, $58,316,645 (a decrease of $1,383,055; surplus funds $23,242,964 (an increase of $694,524); undivided profits, $15,230,889 (an increase of $1,723,385); total deposits, $829,517,678 (an increase of $60,201,592). Only one bank failed in the state during 1939, and it paid back 100 per cent. The Commissioner reports a marked improvement in the general condition of banks and banking in 1939 over 1938, due to better general conditions and to continued improvement in crop production.

Finance.

The 1939 Legislature appropriated out of the general revenue fund a total of $228,892,171 for the biennium 1939-40, an increase over the preceding biennium of $40,536,611. This included, for eleemosynary purposes, $4,741,943 (an increase of $367,539); for penal institutions, $3,369,850 (an increase of $391,135); for free public schools, $28,000,000 (an increase of $2,312,251); social security, $29,750,000 (an increase of $5,012,140); Federal funds, $47,754,166 (an increase of $26,420,666). The total assessed valuation of all taxable property in Missouri in 1938 was $3,845,691,056 — a decrease in seven years of 19.6 per cent.

Events of the Year.

The political event of the year — perhaps the most important from any angle — was the collapse of the powerful Democratic machine operated by T. J. Pendergast in Kansas City, in control of the city, Jackson County, and the state. Election frauds, gambling and narcotics 'rackets,' and income tax evasions brought in Federal investigators and law enforcement agencies, who secured convictions of Pendergast and his chief lieutenants, and their transfer to the Federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. (See KANSAS CITY POLITICAL MACHINE.) In this connection, the biennial Legislature provided for state control of the Kansas City police department, as in St. Louis.

General conditions improved during 1939 in manufacturing. Industrial research continued vigorously to seek newer and more efficient processes and methods, particularly in plastics. Legislation regarding industry was more conservative. Employment increased slightly, but relief conditions were not materially better, in spite of improved business.

State Officers.

The chief state officers are: Governor, Lloyd C. Stark; Lieutenant Governor, Frank G. Harris; Secretary of State, Dwight H. Brown; Auditor, Forrest Smith; Treasurer, Robert H. Winn; Attorney General, Roy McKittrick; Superintendent of Public Schools, Lloyd W. King.

United States Senators.

Bennett Champ Clark, Harry S. Truman.

1938: Missouri

Area and Population.

The 'Ozark' or 'Show Me State,' Missouri, lies between Illinois and Kansas, Iowa and Arkansas. Admitted to statehood Aug. 10, 1821, it ranks 18th in size among the states, with an area of 69,420 sq. mi. Three-fourths of its area is farm land; therefore agriculture is the dominant activity, though manufacturing is more important economically. In population, Missouri ranks 10th, numbering 3,629,367 according to the census of 1930; 3,989,000 on July 1, 1937, according to the latest Federal estimate. The largest cities are St. Louis, 821,960 (1930 census); Kansas City, 399,746; St. Joseph, 80,935; Springfield, 57,527. The capital is Jefferson City, 21,596. The population is 51.2 per cent urban, with four-fifths of this percentage in the three chief cities. The foreign-born are 5.8 per cent of the total, including Germans, Russians, Irish, Italians and English, in that order. Five per cent, or 224,000, are Negroes.

Industry and Transportation.

Among the trans-Mississippi states, Missouri is second only to California in manufacturing, with 144 separate industrial classifications. Meat-packing stands first, followed by boot and shoe making, motor vehicle assembly, and flour and grain milling.

River and rail transportation are of great economic importance. The three largest cities are river ports. Navigation on the Missouri across the state between St. Louis and Kansas City is being vigorously developed and expanded. Both cities as rail centers are exceeded in importance in the Midwest only by Chicago. Since the days of the Santa Fe Trail, Kansas City has been in a special position as the 'gateway to the West.' Aviation is also now recognizing and utilizing this strategic position of Kansas City.

A unique feature of the state is the second largest artificial lake in the world, the Lake of the Ozarks, near the center of the state. This body of water, 60,000 acres of fresh water created by the Bagnell Dam, forms the natural entrance to the famous region of the Ozarks, rapidly developing as a favorite resort for sportsmen and other tourists, yet still keeping largely intact its primitive mountaineers, close kin to those of Kentucky and eastern Tennessee.

Mineral Products.

In the production of lead, a mineral in which Missouri leads the Union, the state showed an increase of more than 40 per cent in 1937, rising to 157,631 tons compared with 110,428 in 1936. The increase in value was even greater, $18,600,458 as against $10,159,376 for the previous year. Cement followed close with 4,565,448 bbl. valued at $7,041,016. Zinc and glass sand both showed an appreciable rise in 1937; production of the former amounting to 20,600 tons, and of the latter to 200,475 tons.

Education.

Both in secondary and higher education Missouri separates white and Negro students. Efforts made in 1938 to compel the state university Law School to admit Negro students were unsuccessful in the state courts; but a decision of the United States Supreme Court later reversed their action. Public school education is at present under special criticism by prominent educators in the state for its alleged inadequacy as preparation for adult life.

The superintendent of schools reports as of June 30, 1938, the following basic facts concerning the public schools: The inhabitants of school age (6 to 20) numbered 950,493, including 57,267 Negroes. Of these there were enrolled in elementary and secondary schools 659,498 white pupils and 46,565 Negroes. White teachers numbered 6,035 men and 18,593 women; in addition, Negro teachers included 360 men and 1,071 women. Salaries for men in city schools averaged $942 in elementary grades, and $1,422 in secondary; for women, $1,201 in elementary and $1,367 in secondary grades. Negro men teachers averaged $1,234 in elementary schools and $1,850 in secondary, Negro women teachers, $1,650 and $1,682 in the same categories. School expenditures in 1937-38 totalled $56,013,564.

Events of the Year.

The chief legislative event of the year was the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This reflected the concentrated efforts of the far-flung industrial interests to promote better relations between employers and workers, in the hope of keeping prices down and at the same time holding wage scales up.

In the Spring the new Hannibal bridge across the Mississippi, costing about a million dollars, was opened to traffic.

In regard to natural resources, the event of the year was the recent phenomenal interest in the leasing of oil lands, in what geologists call the Forest City basin in northwest Missouri. Approximately three million acres of land have lately been leased by a hundred independent and major oil companies for oil and gas development in 14 counties of Missouri and 16 adjoining counties in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. A single operator has leased 60,000 acres in 4 counties. The major companies are said to have more operators in this region at present than in their home territories. The activity is described as 'the biggest leasing campaign known to the oil business.' A remarkable feature of the situation is that not a single well has yet been drilled; but at the end of 1938 drilling was expected to begin soon and to be extremely intensive by spring.

Conditions in banking and finance throughout the state were not as good in 1938 as in 1937; in manufacturing, they were poorer, with a slight improvement at the end of the year; relief costs were higher; employment increased very slightly in the last months of 1938.

The November election campaign produced severe criticism of WPA methods, and the swing was toward conservatism, with an intimation of the possibility of three parties in the national election of 1940.

Finance.

The executive budget message issued by Governor Lloyd C. Stark Jan. 18, 1939, showed receipts from all funds for the calendar year 1938 to be $48,035,140; expenditures, $62,111,208. Among receipts, the largest item was from the State Highway Department Fund, $22,087,021. During the year the state expended $7,267,857 on old age assistance.

For the biennium 1939-40, the executive budget anticipates reduction by $13,460,000 of the state debt, which on Dec. 31, 1938, was $114,341,839. The budget calls for biennium appropriations of $189,563,636, as against appropriations for the preceding biennium of $167,774,434. It estimates the following receipts for the biennium 1939-40: ordinary revenue, $85,786,500; sales and liquor and beer taxes, $55,300,000; Federal funds, $36,428,000; highway funds (including $7,000,000 in the preceding item), $52,000,000.

The budget recommends appropriations of $36,600,000 for the social security program.

State Officers.

The state executives, all Democrats, elected in 1936 for four years, are as follows: Governor, Lloyd C. Stark; Lieutenant Governor, Frank G. Harris; Secretary of State, Dwight H. Brown; Auditor, Forrest Smith; Treasurer, Robert H. Winn; Attorney General, Roy McKittrick; Supt. of Public Schools, Lloyd W. King.

Judiciary.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Charles T. Hays. Division 1: Presiding Judge, Wm. F. Frank; Associates, Ernest S. Gantt, James M. Douglas. Division 2: Presiding Judge, C. A. Leedy, Jr.; Associates, Ernest M. Tipton, George R. Ellison.

United States Senators:

Bennett Champ Clark and Harry S. Truman.