1942: Ohio

Area and Population.

Ohio, the first state to be formed out of the Northwest Territory, was admitted to the Union in February 1803. It includes 41,112 sq. mi. of land area, with 300 sq. mi. of inland waters. Most of the land surface is level or gently rolling but the Appalachian Plateau extends into eastern Ohio and there the land is hilly and moderately rugged. The highest elevation in the state is 1,550 ft. above sea level.

The total population of Ohio (census of 1940) is 6,907,612, including 520,773 of foreign birth (7.5 per cent) and 339,461 Negroes (4.9 per cent). Two-thirds of all the inhabitants live in cities of 2,500 or more. The state has eight cities with populations of 100,000, or more each: Cleveland, 878,306; Cincinnati, 455,610; Columbus (the capital), 306,087; Toledo, 282,349; Akron, 244,791; Dayton, 210,718; Youngstown, 167,720; and Canton, 108,401.

Education.

During the 1941-42 school year Ohio spent $141,539,586 for elementary and secondary public education. The school-age population was 1,404,918 and the total enrollment in public schools was 1,177,444, a decrease of 25,088 from 1940-1941. There were 21,652 pupils in kindergartens, 665,307 in elementary schools, 21,384 in special classes, 83,837 in junior high schools, 68,871 in senior high schools, 183,898 in six-year high schools, 127,993 in four-year high schools, 4,229 in vocational schools and 273 in high school postgraduate courses. In addition, there were 149,114 pupils in parochial schools and 7,309 in private academies.

The total number of public schools was 5,078, of which 3,828 were elementary, 127 junior high and 1,123 high schools. The state's 40,630 public-school teachers had average salaries of $1,471 in elementary grades, and $1,700 in high schools.

Agriculture.

Ohio is a state of diversified farming and, in 1942, corn, wheat, hay, oats and soybeans continued to be the most valuable field crops. Other major sources of farm income were livestock, poultry and dairy products.

Industry.

The index for pay rolls (1935-39=100) rose to 238 in September 1942, from an average of 170 for the year 1941. Similarly, the index for the number of employed persons increased from 126, the average for 1941, to 144 in September 1942. Increased employment and pay rolls were particularly apparent in the production of machine tools, foundry products, and drop forgings. The value index of non-residential construction reached 412 in July 1942.

Legislative Matters.

Since the Ohio Legislature convenes regularly only in odd years there was no session in 1942. There was, however, considerable demand for a special session to distribute a part or all of the surplus in the State Treasury to units of local government, particularly in the larger cities. This demand was refused by Governor Bricker.

Elections.

Ohio went Republican by a wide margin in the November elections. Governor John W. Bricker carried 86 of the 88 counties of the state and defeated his Democratic opponent, John McSweeney, by a vote of 1,086,937 to 709,599, thus becoming the first Republican Governor of Ohio to be re-elected for a third consecutive term. A total of 20 Republicans and three Democrats were elected to the United States House of Representatives as compared with 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats in 1940. (Ohio lost one seat in the recent reapportionment.) Both houses of the 1943-1944 State Legislature will be dominated by large Republican majorities.

Defense.

The 37th Division, formed from the Ohio National Guard, was sent overseas during 1942. Ohio also contributed its full share to the total number of men enlisted or inducted through Selective Service. The state continued to rank high in the production of materials for the war effort, particularly machine tools, planes, ground vehicles, aviation engines, automotive parts, rubber products, iron and steel. Numerous induction and training centers were located within the state, in addition to ordnance proving grounds and important shell-loading plants. Many colleges and universities introduced accelerated programs and special training classes for civilian defense workers and members of the armed forces.

Finance.

The legislative appropriation was $352,924,819.24 for the biennium, Jan. 1, 1941, to Dec. 31, 1942. Total expenditures in 1941 were $182,486,382.90. Included in this sum were $52,612,769.37 for public schools, $38,959,400.59 for old-age assistance and $17,904,029.23 for poor relief, a total of $109,476,199.19. Also included were expenditures of $11,947,012.58 for additions and betterments. At the end of 1941 the net treasury balance was $13,218,018.02. This surplus was increased to an estimated $27,000,000 by the end of 1942.

Unemployment Compensation.

During 1942 there was an increase over the previous year in the number of claims filed for unemployment compensation, but this can be attributed to the large amount of temporary unemployment during the period of conversion to defense production early in the year. Only 6,498 new claims were filed in October 1942, a decrease of 68 per cent from the corresponding month of 1941. The average weekly benefit for total unemployment was $12.27 in 1942. This was an increase of $2.17 per week over 1941, due to the adoption of a $5.00 minimum, an increase of the maximum from $16.00 to $18.00, and the new use of highest quarterly earnings as a base for computing benefits.

Old-Age Assistance.

Recipients of old-age assistance in Ohio in 1942 numbered 138,705, a slight decrease from 1941. The average monthly allowance advanced to a new high of $26.81, an increase of $3.26 over 1941.

State Officers.

Governor, John W. Bricker; Lieutenant-Governor, Paul M. Herbert; Secretary of State, Edward J. Hummel; Treasurer, Don H. Ebright; Auditor, Joseph T. Ferguson; Attorney General, Thomas J. Herbert; Director of Education, Kenneth C. Ray.

United States Senators:

Robert A. Taft, Harold H. Burton.

1941: Ohio

Area and Population.

The state of Ohio was the fourth to be admitted to the Union, following the original thirteen, and was the first to be formed from the famous Northwest Territory. It entered the Union in February 1803. Its land area is 41,122 sq. mi. including 100 sq. mi. of inland water area. In addition it comprises large areas of water along its northern boundary in Lake Erie. Due to the fact that the former boundary of Virginia extended to the north bank of the Ohio River, Ohio can claim no part of the bed of the stream whose name it bears.

According to the 1940 Federal census, 6,907,612 persons live in Ohio. This figure has been swollen during the year 1941 by a considerable influx of workers to the large number of industrial and War Department plants engaged in defense production. In 1940, two-thirds of the people of Ohio lived in cities, and one-third lived on farms or in villages of less than 2,500 population.

There are eight cities in the state with populations in excess of 100,000. Cleveland, the largest, contains 878,336 and is sixth in size in the United States. The other seven are Cincinnati, with 455,610; Columbus, the capital, with 306,087; Toledo with 282,718; Youngstown with 167,720; and Canton with 108,401.

Education.

The 1940-41 expenditures for education in the public schools of Ohio exceeded $107,000,000. The number of inhabitants of school age in 1940 was 1,404,918. Enrollment in elementary and secondary schools was 1,202,532 in 1941, distributed as follows: elementary 675,343 pupils, kindergartens 20,466, special classes 23,110; junior high schools 87,441, six-year high schools 168,363, four-year high schools 144,491, senior high schools, 76,218; vocational high schools 4,325, and post-graduate high-school enrollment 2,775. There were 5,042 schools, of which 3,835 were elementary and 1,207 were high schools. The average salaries of Ohio elementary school teachers in Ohio was $1,413.39, and of high-school teachers $1,790.49, with an average for all teachers in the state of $1,600.

Mineral Products.

The industrial mineral products of Ohio, pig iron, steel, and coke, for each of which the state ranks second in the Union, showed substantial gains in 1940, especially the first, which amounted to 10,275,696 tons valued at $193,283,920, compared with 8,119,073 tons worth $147,154,864 in 1939. Coke advanced by about fifteen per cent to 7,897,900 tons; and open-hearth steel to 11,769,780 tons, a gain of about twenty per cent. Bituminous coal, the most valuable native mineral of the state, was mined in the amount of 22,092,000 tons, compared with 19,632,000 in 1939 valued at $32,196,000. Salt, in which Ohio ranks third among the states, showed a slight gain at 2,080,133 tons.

Legislative Matters.

The 94th regular session of the Ohio General Assembly was opened on January 6, 1941, and adjourned on May 27, 1941. Important general legislation enacted during the session included the following:

Adoption of a uniform traffic act based on the one recommended by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws; establishment of a drivers license examining section in the State Highway Patrol; revision of probate court procedure; placing of city health districts under classified civil service; establishing the internal organization of the state Department of Public Welfare; requiring blood examinations prior to the issuance of marriage licenses; establishing a state Council of Defense; establishing an Ohio State Guard; authorizing the creation of group medical plans under the supervision of the superintendent of insurance; establishing fixed tenure for experienced teachers; facilitating voting by soldiers and sailors; conforming the old-age pension act to the Federal Social Security Act; authorizing cities to sell notes to finance food stamp plans; barring certain political parties from the ballot (aimed at the Communist Party).

Defense Activities.

Ohio was chosen as the site of a number of important defense establishments created or completed during the year 1941. These include the vast ordnance plants at Ravenna and Plum Brook, near Sandusky; the chemical warfare service plant at Fostoria; the extension of facilities at the Erie proving ground at LaCarne, Ohio; the large induction center at Camp Perry; and the ammonium nitrate plant at South Point. The year 1941 found the Ohio National Guard Division, the 37th, in training at Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. An Ohio State Guard was authorized by the Legislature and set up to take over some of the functions of the National Guard during its absence.

Many Ohio manufacturing establishments received large orders for defense materials, both under the lease-lend bill and for the use of the Army of the United States. Approximately 54,000 young men from Ohio were inducted into the Army under the Selective Service Act during the current year.

Finance.

Appropriations by the Legislature for the biennium 1941-42 totaled $352,924,819.24, of which $180,341,171.23 was available for expenditure during the year 1941. This included, besides appropriations for current expenses for the state government, $103,720,900 for subsidies to municipalities and school districts, and $7,460,481 for additions and improvements at state institutions. State expenditures for poor relief have never been large, but 1941 found them practically disappearing. The burden of relief in Ohio lies almost entirely upon the local governments, without substantial aid from the state treasury. The development of the defense program has caused a considerable rise in employment in all parts of the state and the relief roils now carry mainly persons who are unemployable. The state administration is under severe criticism from the municipalities, on the ground that it is building up a large cash surplus which is badly needed by the municipalities for current operations. A demand has been made upon the Governor by the mayors of the larger cities that a special session of the Legislature be called to distribute this surplus. This he has refused to do, claiming that the surplus will not be great, and that it will be needed in 1942 to replace declining revenues.

State Officers.

Governor, John W. Bricker, Lieutenant Governor, Paul M. Herbert; Secretary of State, John E. Sweeney; Treasurer, Don H. Ebright; Auditor, Joseph T. Ferguson; Attorney General, Thomas J. Herbert; Director of Education, Kenneth C. Ray.

United States Senators:

Robert A. Taft, Harold H. Burton.

1940: Ohio

Area and Population.

Ohio was admitted to the Union in February 1803, the first state to be formed out of the Northwest Territory. Its total land area is 41,122 sq. mi. Its population according to the 1940 census was 6,907,612. an increase of 3.9 per cent over 1930. The urban population numbered 4,614,483, or 66.8 per cent.

Cleveland, the largest city, is sixth in size in the United States, with a population of 878,336. Cincinnati, the state's second city, has 455,610. The next largest city is Columbus, the capital, 306,087. Toledo, 282,349; Akron, 244,791; Dayton, 210,718; Youngstown, 167,720, and Canton, 108,401, complete the list of cities over 100,000.

Education.

The total expenditure for public schools in Ohio in 1939-40 was in excess of $106,000,000. Enrollment totalled 1,223,993 students, of whom 22,444 were kindergarten pupils, 691,235 attended elementary schools, 93,727 junior high schools, 392,308 three-and four-year senior high schools; 22,931 were special students and 1,348 were postgraduate students. The number of schools was 5,473, of which 206 were kindergartens, 3,980 were elementary schools, 129 were junior high schools, 1,104 were three and four year senior high schools, and 54 were special schools. Teachers' salaries averaged $1,600.44 for the state as a whole, $1,413.39 for elementary schools and $1,790.49 for high schools.

Mineral Products.

Bituminous coal, Ohio's most abundant mineral, was mined in the amount of 19,632,000 tons in 1939, a slight rise over the 18,590,000 tons of 1938, valued at $33,073,000. Production of salt, for which the state ranks third in the Union, was increased from 1,484,270 tons in 1938 to 1,794,788 tons in 1939. Coke was almost doubled in production, with 6,135,949 tons. The output of pig iron, in which the state ranks second, showed a greatly increased industrial activity, the amount being 7,249,172 tons worth $147,154,804, compared with 4,186,217 tons in 1938, valued at $85,186,824. So too did production of open-hearth steel at 8,851,298 tons, and Bessemer at 1,285,383 tons.

Legislative Matters.

Regular sessions of the Ohio General Assembly occur only in the odd years, so there was no regular session in 1940. However, a special session, called by the Governor, convened on June 17 and adjourned on June 20. The Governor's call, which determines the subjects to be considered at such a session, limited the legislation to three principal matters. The first of these was a law separating the national and state tickets in future presidential elections. This law became effective in time to be applied to the 1940 election. The second subject was a renewal of the law permitting local subdivisions to issue bonds for relief. The third was a series of acts to make the state's social security laws conform more closely to those of the National Government.

Political Events.

The 1940 National Conventions found Ohio Democrats pledged to Roosevelt, but the Ohio delegation to the Republican Convention at Philadelphia, headed by Governor John W. Bricker, supported Senator Robert Taft until Wendell Willkie's nomination became certain. Governor Bricker then made the motion to make Willkie's nomination unanimous.

Both presidential candidates made major speeches in Ohio. The election found Ohio again in the Democratic column in its vote for President, although the Democratic margin of 619,285 votes in 1936 was reduced to 146,366 in 1940. The Senatorial contest was between Harold R. Burton (R), mayor of Cleveland, who was victorious, and John McSweeney (D), former Congressman-at-large. The Republican control of the Congressional delegation was lost; there being twelve Republicans and twelve Democrats elected as compared with fifteen Republicans and nine Democrats in 1938. Congressman Bolton of the 22nd District died in office in October 1939, and was succeeded at a special election February 27, 1940, by his wife, who was elected in her own right for a full term in November.

On the state ticket, the gubernatorial contest was between John W. Bricker (R), incumbent, and Martin L. Davey (D), former Governor for two terms. Bricker won by the largest majority ever given a gubernatorial candidate in Ohio and became the first Republican Governor to be reelected in forty years. Paul M. Herbert (R), incumbent Lieutenant Governor, was reelected over his Democratic opponent, Robert S. Cox.

State Officers.

Governor, John W. Bricker; Lieutenant Governor, Paul M. Herbert; Secretary of State, John E. Sweeney; Attorney General, Thomas J. Herbert; Treasurer, Don H. Ebright; Auditor, Joseph T. Ferguson.

United States Senators:

Robert A. Taft, Harold H. Burton.

1939: Ohio

Area and Population.

Ohio was admitted to the Union as the seventeenth state on March 1, 1803. The total area is 41,040 square miles. The population in the 1930 census was 6,646,697. The average number of inhabitants per square mile was then 163.1. The urban population was 67.7 per cent, the rural non-farm 7.3 per cent, and farm 24.9 per cent. More than half of all the people in Ohio have lived since 1900 in incorporated cities or villages of more than 2,500 population. There are 110 cities in Ohio having a population of 5,000 or more. Cleveland, the largest city, sixth in size in the United States, has a population of 900,429 (1930 census); Cincinnati, the second city, 451,160. The next three cities are of almost equal size: Toledo, 290,718; Columbus, the capital, 290,564; and Akron, 255,040. Dayton with 200,982, Youngstown with 170,002 and Canton with 104,906 persons conclude the list of cities of over 100,000.

In 1930 the state population included 644,151 foreign-born whites, 309,304 Negroes, and 6,257 others. Native whites of native parentage included 4,325,311, native whites of foreign parentage, 921,783, and native whites of mixed parentage, 439,891. The principal countries of birth of Ohio's foreign-born whites were: England, 40,665; Scotland, 17,862, Eire (Ireland), 17,879; Germany, 95,697; Poland, 64,493; Czechoslovakia, 68,738; Austria, 20,547; Hungary, 47,026; Yugoslavia, 38,884; Russia, 32,627; Rumania, 19,580; Greece, 12,050; Italy, 71,496; Canada, 24,241.

Education.

According to statistics collected by the state Department of Education, Ohio's population of school age (5 to 17) in 1938 was 1,470,990. There were during the school year 1938-39 in Ohio, 1,668 one-room elementary schools and 2,966 other elementary schools with 21,236 kindergarten pupils and 720,897 regular pupils in grades 1 to 6 or 8, depending on the local system. There were 633 four-year high schools, 439 six-year high schools, 44 three-year high schools, 128 three-year junior high schools, 12 high schools for grades 9 to 11, and 6 for grades 9 and 10, equalling a total of 1,262. High-school enrollment totalled 94,975 in junior high schools and 383,305 in senior and four-year high schools. Special classes for deaf, blind and crippled children enrolled 23,398 more, making a total enrollment of children in public schools of 1,243,793. Non-public elementary schools, 520 in number, enrolled 131,289 pupils, while non-public high schools enrolled 22,096 in 138 schools.

Total public expenditures by school districts for the latest year for which figures are available was $104,000,000. Of this $45,700,000 represented state aid under the school foundation program. The rest was met from locally collected real estate taxes. The average salary for elementary school teachers in Ohio is $1,405 per year, and for high school teachers $1,761.

Agriculture.

Ohio agriculture, in 1939, was distinguished by two major trends. One was a marked increase in the use of hybrid seed corn. Almost two million acres, or 57 per cent of the state's corn acreage, was planted in 1939 with hybrid seed. The second trend is the remarkable increase in acreage and yield of soybeans. The unavailability of supplies formerly secured from the Orient, and the rapid development of uses for soybean oil and meal, have led to local cultivation and processing.

Industry.

The principal feature of the year in industry was the shift of the manufacture of rubber products from its former concentration in Akron to other parts of the country. The manufacturers explained this as due to labor difficulties.

Mineral Products.

The production of bituminous coal, which was quite generally reduced in the United States in 1938 because of the industrial recession, was decreased by 28 per cent in Ohio, the estimated amount for the year being 17,920,000 tons as against 25,177,867 in 1937 valued at $44,313,000. The flow of petroleum in 1938 compared favorably with that of the preceding year, at 3,298,000 bbl. Salt production, in which the state ranks third, stood at 1,489,270 tons, valued at $2,562,620. Shipments of cement amounted to 5,258,603 bbl. Production of pig iron, like that of bituminous coal, was greatly lowered in 1938 through industrial conditions, the amount being down to 4,186,217 tons compared with 7,724,882 in 1937; the manufacture of steel, both open-hearth and Bessemer, was also substantially reduced, with 5,372,234 tons for the former, and 1,074,032 for the latter. The manufacture of coke too fell by almost 50 per cent, the estimated total being 3,703,819 tons compared with 6,737,881 tons in 1937 with a value of $32,185,945. In the manufacture of the last three products Ohio ranks second among the states.

Legislative Matters.

A regular session of the Ohio General Assembly opened in January. Both houses were overwhelmingly Republican in membership. The recommendations of the Republican Governor, John W. Bricker, were accepted, almost without exception. New laws included the creation of a Department of Taxation to take the place of the former Tax Commission; the reorganization of the Unemployment Compensation Agency; the establishment of a State Department of Publicity; the reorganization of the Department of Health; the abolition of earmarking for state revenues other than those for highway purposes; and the reorganization of the Pardon and Parole Commission. An Act reorganizing the Civil Service Commission was passed by the Legislature but was defeated on referendum at the November election.

Finance.

The new state administration came into office in January 1939 to find a deficit in the general revenue fund of $1,002,953. In addition, $1,251,368 had been appropriated, but not spent. During the year 1939 both of these sums were liquidated. The school foundation fund had never been able to pay local school districts all that the law had promised. The accumulated deficit, represented by notes issued by school districts, was, by December 31, 1938, $17,422,863. During 1939 all payments required by law were made so that this deficit has not increased. In addition all interest on the notes was paid by the state and a payment of $3,000,000 was applied on the principal. Without new revenues a budget of $255,000,000 for the biennium 1939-40 was approved by the Legislature, and for 1939 expenditures will be less than appropriations by more than $1,000,000. From the General Revenue Fund alone, expenditures for 1939 were at least $3,000,000 less than for 1938. The Department of Liquor Control operated on $1,000,000 less in 1939 than in 1938 and showed a profit of more than $1,750,000 in excess of 1938.

Events of the Year.

The election of November 1939 included votes on four matters of state-wide importance: three proposed amendments to the state Constitution and one law passed by the Legislature but suspended by referendum petition pending a popular vote. The first proposed amendment was submitted by the Legislature. It would have substituted a state Board of Education for the present state Director of Education, as administrative head of the state Department of Education. The second and third amendments were popularly known as the Bigelow Plan. (See also UNITED STATES: Politics.) They were submitted as a result of initiative petitions. The first of these would have provided an entirely new scheme of old-age pensions with increased benefits and no means test, to be financed by an elaborate system of special taxes. The second would have reduced drastically the number of signatures required on initiated laws and amendments and would have made other changes in existing requirements for initiative and referendum. The referendum vote was on a revision of the state civil service law to change the Civil Service Commission from two to three members and alter procedure. Every one of these measures lost by a heavy vote.

Ohio occupied the national political limelight in 1939 with two potential candidates for the 1940 Republican nomination for President of the United States. Senator Robert Taft and Governor John W. Bricker. While the latter has presumably withdrawn in favor of the former he remains a factor as a possible dark horse. The Republican trend in the state was accentuated by the situation in the November election in both Cleveland and Columbus where both mayoralty candidates under a non-partisan primary, were Republicans.

Near the end of the year Governor Bricker was the object of nationwide attention because of his refusal to call a special session of the General Assembly to appropriate much-needed additional relief funds for Cleveland. Mayor LaGuardia of New York, Secretary of the Interior Ickes, and President Roosevelt accused the Governor of being inhumane in his efforts to maintain a balanced budget. The refusal to call a special session was based on the declaration by legislative leaders that Cleveland's request for additional funds would not be granted by the legislators even if they were called together. The city was directed by the Governor to take advantage of existing legislation and issue tax anticipation warrants against delinquent taxes. This was done, some undistributed money was distributed by the state Treasurer, and the 'crisis' was passed. Mayor Burton, in an open letter, thanked the Governor for his cordial cooperation and indicated that 1940 would produce no repetition of the affair.

Toledo closed her public schools on Thanksgiving Day, 1939, not to reopen them until January 2, 1940. This action, with a payless furlough for all members of the staff, averted a $400,000 deficit in school operating funds. All Ohio cities and schools are suffering acutely from tax starvation due to the state's ten-mill Constitutional limit on real estate taxes. Adequate replacement taxes have not yet been devised to enable cities to operate at accustomed levels. Real estate assessments are also at a very low ebb — probably not over 40 per cent of full and true value.

Municipal Representation.

See MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.

State Officers.

The present state officials include: Governor, John W. Bricker; Lieutenant Governor, Paul M. Herbert; Secretary of State, Earl Griffith; Treasurer, Don H. Ebright; Auditor, Joseph T. Ferguson; Attorney General, Thomas J. Herbert. Their terms all expire in January 1941.

United States Senators.

Vic Donahey, Robert A. Taft.

1938: Ohio

Area and Population.

Ohio, 'the Buckeye state,' was admitted to statehood, Mar. 1, 1803. With an area of 41,040 sq. mi., it ranks 35th in size among the states. In population it ranks 4th, numbering 6,646,697 according to the census of 1930: 6,733,000 on July 1, 1937, according to a Federal estimate. The largest cities are Cleveland, 900,429; Cincinnati, 451,160; Toledo, 290,718; Columbus, the capital, 290,564; Akron, 255,040; Dayton, 200,982.

The urban population in 1930 was 67.7 per cent of the total, rural 32.7 per cent. The figures included 5,997,477 native-born and 649,220 foreign-born. By race there were 6,331,136 whites, 309,304 Negroes and 6,257 others.

Agriculture.

Agricultural income declined in 1938, but not by a large amount. Some commodities, such as grains and poultry, dropped off sharply while livestock gained.

Mineral Products.

Coal occupies the first place among Ohio's native mineral products. Production in 1937 remained fairly stationary, amounting to about 24,500,000 tons, compared with 24,110,078 tons in 1936, valued at $38,838,000. Natural gas comes next in importance, the amount in 1936 totaling 46,994,000 M cu. ft., with a value of $22,153,000. Petroleum was slightly less in amount than in 1936, the flow yielding 3,559,000 bbl. in 1937. Cement shipments of 5,501,769 bbl. had a value of $7,771,268.

Among manufactured products, pig iron took high rank, with 7,724,882 tons, Ohio standing second among the states in this industry. The value, at substantially increased prices in 1937, was $167,076,855, compared with $125,087,158 in 1936. Ohio also ranks second in manufacture of open-hearth steel, the amount in 1937 being 9,067,944 tons as against 9,789,985 in 1936. Clay products totaled $46,115,626 in 1936.

Business Conditions.

Business in Ohio in 1938 was substantially below that of 1937, although an upward trend was noticeable in many indices during the last half of 1938. Employment was over 80 per cent in every field but construction, which was under 40 per cent of 1926. Retail trade was on the upturn at the close of the year, but still below the average for 1923-1925. Bank loans remained about stationary, while deposits increased. Manufacturing was on the increase at the end of the year, the upturn occurring about August. Food products, paper and printing and chemicals were at or above 1926 norms. Stone, clay and glass, metal products, machinery and textiles were slightly below 1926 figures. Vehicles, lumber and rubber products were below 65 per cent of normal in 1938.

Education.

Student enrollments in institutions of higher education in Ohio showed a substantial increase in September 1938 over September 1937. High school enrollments were also up, while the lower elementary grades showed a decline, reflecting lowered birth rates from 1930 to 1932. Declining receipts from the sales tax caused a large shortage in the funds needed for the operation of the public schools. The Dayton city schools closed on Oct. 28 until funds were available.

Legislation and Politics.

There were two special sessions of the General Assembly in 1938. The first of these opened in November 1937 and adjourned February 28, 1938. The second met on May 16, 1938, and adjourned on July 8. The principal purpose of these sessions was to enact legislation to enable the state to comply with the provisions of the national Social Security Act, to levy taxes and to authorize cities to borrow for relief expenditures. There were also some deficiency appropriations for current operation of state agencies, necessitated by vetoes or by increasing cost of commodities, and appropriations to match Federal WPA funds for construction of buildings at state institutions.

Political events included a grand jury investigation of alleged pressure on classified civil servants for campaign funds; refusal by Governor Martin L. Davey to comply with orders of the Social Security Board to alter administrative practices in the Division of Old Age Assistance, thus forfeiting Federal matching grants for this purpose for November; the defeat of Governor Davey for nomination in the primary, and the comeback of the Republican party in the November election. A constitutional amendment providing for the appointment of judges of courts of appeals and the state Supreme Court was defeated by a vote of 2 to 1. It was opposed mainly by organized labor.

Finance.

Unemployment in the industrial cities caused heavy expenditures for relief. The end of the year found municipal resources for this purpose almost exhausted. A decline in liquor profits caused a shortage in funds for old age assistance. The problem of state and local finance is now one of the most pressing before the general assembly.

State Officers.

The November elections in 1938 resulted in an almost complete reversal of party control. In consequence, the chief officers of the state are as follows: Governor, John W. Bricker; Lieutenant Governor, Paul M. Herbert; Secretary of State, Earl Griffith; Treasurer, Don H. Ebright; Attorney General, Thomas H. Herbert. All of these men are Republicans. The Auditor is Joseph T. Ferguson, elected in 1936 for a four-year term.

United States Senators:

Vic Donahey, Robert A. Taft.

Perry's Victory and Industrial Peace Memorial Monument.

See NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS.