1942: Rhode Island

Area and Population.

The United States Census, 1940, gave the total area of Rhode Island as 1,214 sq. mi.; total land area, 1,058 sq. mi.; inland water surface, 156 sq. mi. The greatest length of the state, north and south, is 48 mi., and the greatest width, 37. Rhode Island is the most densely populated of the states, having 658 persons per sq. mi. The Federal census of 1940 gave the population as 713,346, but the tremendous increase of permanent Navy Bases and military centers, and of defense industry, has been responsible for great advances in population.

Providence, the capital is also the largest city, with a population of 253,504. Other important cities are Pawtucket, 75,797; Woonsocket, 49,303; Cranston, 47,085, and Newport, 30,532. The town of East Providence has a population of 32,165.

The foreign-born whites in the state number about 144,952 (21.3 per cent of the total), of whom 33,105 are French Canadians; 30,093 Italians; 20,458 English; and 13,459 Irish.

Education.

In 1941-42, the 329 public elementary schools had 2,154 teachers and 61,625 enrolled pupils; in addition 34,415 pupils were enrolled in private and parochial schools. The high schools (28 senior and 34 junior) had 1,997 teachers and 44,321 pupils.

Local current expenditures for day schools for the school year ending June 30, 1942, totaled $11,353,010.97; state and Federal expenditures for education were approximately $2,200,000. Excluding the supervisors' and the principals' salaries, which range from $4,000.00 to $5,000.00, the average salary for a teacher in public and high schools is $1,650.13.

In 1942 Brown University amended its charter so that no denominational qualification shall be required to make any person eligible to hold any office in the University.

Industry.

According to the United States Census of manufactures, in 1939 Rhode Island had 1,460 manufacturing establishments with 106,260 wage-earners, who earned $105,406,954.00; materials, containers, fuel and power used were valued at $278,101,981.00, and the output at $516,390,541.00. In the year ending Apr. 30, 1942, the state had 811,588 active cotton spindles. The number of bales of cotton consumed amounted to 11,933.

During the General Assembly session of 1942 the Legislature made six changes in the workmen's compensation law. Additional time was granted to the special commission studying employment problems of the Negro. The employees' contribution to the unemployment compensation fund was changed so that on and after June 1, 1942, and annually thereafter, each employee shall contribute to the fund an amount equal to half of one per cent of his wages, up to $3,000 per annum. The act was also amended in relation to benefit credits.

Agriculture.

Although Rhode Island is primarily a manufacturing state and there is little farming, it ranks fourth in the United States in the value of commodities per farm unit. According to the 1940 census, the state had 3,014 farms with an area of 221,913 acres, of which 48,753 acres were crop land. The total value of farm land and buildings in 1940 was $26,334,374.00.

Banking.

On June 30, 1942, Rhode Island had 12 licensed national banks with deposits of $156,314,650.39; loans of $52,871,431.00; and investments of $67,998,212.39. The 23 licensed state banks had deposits of $430,177,311.10; loans of $134,700,573.20; and investments of $263,988,724.37.

Legislation.

Legislative matters of import dealt with by the General Assembly in 1942 were these: requiring only one number plate upon motor vehicles, thereby conserving metal; development of the state airport at Westerly; authorizing housing authorities to undertake the development of projects to assure the availability of safe and sanitary dwellings for persons engaged in national defense activities; prohibiting the use or sale of fireworks; authorizing the Governor to lease the Theodore Francis Green airport to the Federal Government for the duration of the war; conferring upon the Governor and the state Council of Defense emergency powers, to cope with the problems of protection and relief of civilians arising from the war, providing for additional payments of the soldiers' bonus (World War I); and extending veterans' benefits to veterans of the present war.

Defense.

All National Guard troops from Rhode Island were in Federal Service by June 30, 1942. The strength of the Rhode Island State Guard on that date was 60 officers, 1 warrant officer, and 937 enlisted men. There have been astoundingly rapid developments in assigning locations for the training of the fighting services in Rhode Island, among these are the United States Naval Air Station at Quonset Point; the United States Naval Construction Training Center and Advance Depot Base; the United States Naval Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center; the United States Naval Anti-Aircraft Training Center; several additional forts, and enlargements of the United States Naval War College, the United States Naval Training Station, the United States Naval Torpedo Station, and others.

In addition to a stepping-up of defense industry, a new shipbuilding plant launched on Nov. 28, 1942, the S. S. William Coddington, first of many cargo liberty freighters of the Merchant Marine to leave the ways at Providence. Other ships are also under construction at various points in the state.

Finance.

In the General Fund, the cash balance on July 1, 1941, was $2,898,289.00; receipts, 1941-42, $20,965,829.00; total $23,864,118.00. Disbursements, 1941-42, $20,435,732.00. Cash balance, June 30, 1942, $3,428,386.00. Net bonded debt, June 30, 1942, $23,990,696.00. The total net state appropriations during 1941-42 were $17,764,239.06.

The total recommended state appropriations for Public Assistance for 1942-43 amounted to $4,748,775.00 In addition there will be available $1,468,840.00 of Federal funds, making a total amount available for Public Assistance during the fiscal year 1942-43 of $6,217,615.00.

State Officers.

Governor, J. Howard McGrath; Lieutenant Governor, Louis W. Cappelli; Secretary of State, Armand H. Cote; General Treasurer, Russell H. Handy; Acting Director of Finance, Edward L. Leahy; Attorney General, John H. Nolan; Director of Education, James F. Rockett.

United States Senators:

Peter G. Gerry, Theodore F. Green.

1941: Rhode Island

Area and Population.

The smallest state in the Union has the longest name, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It has a total area of 1214 sq. mi., including 156 sq. mi. of inland water surface, according to remeasurements of the United States undertaken for the 16th census. Its greatest length is 48 mi. from north to south; the greatest width, 37 mi. It is the most densely populated state, having 658 persons per sq. mi. The Federal census of 1940 gives the population as 713,346, a gain of 25,849 over the 1930 census. The population of Providence, the capital, is 253,504; Pawtucket, 75,797; Woonsocket, 49,303; Cranston, 47,085; East Providence, 32,165; Newport, 30,532; Warwick, 28,757; and Central Falls, 25,248.

In 1936, the foreign-born white population numbered 144,952, and constituted 21.3 per cent of the total population of the state. Nearly one-fourth of Rhode Island's foreign-born come from countries of North and South America, principally Canada; less than 3 per cent from all the countries of Asia combined. The foreign-born from Italy constitute over 20 per cent. The Portuguese showed an upswing from 1870 to 1936, from less than one-third per cent to more than 6 per cent of the total foreign-born.

Education.

In 1940-41, the 333 public elementary school buildings had 2,197 teachers and 62,856 enrolled pupils; in addition, 34,508 pupils were enrolled in private and parochial schools. The high schools (27 senior and 34 junior) had 2,015 teachers and 47,548 pupils. Local current expenditures for schools, for the school year ending June 30, 1941, totaled $10,925,237,54 for day schools, and $65,399.88 for evening schools. State and Federal expenditures for education amounted to $2,175,000. In addition, local communities spent for capital outlay $1,112,836.42. The state also maintains a College of Education with 33 professors and instructors, and 498 students (1940-41) and a State College with 94 professors and 1254 students.

In 1941, an amendment was passed relative to the registering of private schools or institutions of learning, and a guarantee of employment prohibited. The special commission to study existing laws relating to education throughout the state was revivified, and the commission was authorized to carry on the basic study of the legal structure of the school system of the state in phases of school law not covered in entirety in the report of said commission which was presented to the Governor Oct. 30, 1940.

Agriculture.

According to the 1940 census, Rhode Island then had 3,014 farms with an area of 221,913 A., of which 48,753 were crop land. The total value of farm land and buildings was $26,334,374. The state has authorized that $2,000 be annually appropriated for the purpose of supporting the program of the Department of Agriculture and Conservation in its enlargement of cooperation with agricultural organizations, in the endeavor to promote, encourage and generally better rural living in Rhode Island.

Finance.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941, the receipts and payments of the general treasury were as follows: Cash on hand, June 30, 1940, $2,780,872.90; receipts, 1940-41: $21,296,860.56; total $24,077,733.46. Disbursements, 1940-41, $20,935,727.73; cash on hand, June 30, 1941, $3,142,005.73. Net bonded debt on June 30, 1941, $25,302,823.92.

Legislation.

Legislative matters of importance passed by the General Assembly at its 1941 session included Acts concerning guardianship of incompetent veterans, and orphans of deceased veterans; arrest without a warrant, and detention of suspects, regulating the manufacture, sale, distribution, use and possession of explosives; establishment of a State Council of Defense; preference for Rhode Island citizens in employment on government projects; creating office of public defender; penalty for false alarm of fire; eradication of Bang's Disease; amendments to the unemployment compensation law; authorizing housing authorities to acquire land by eminent domain; terminating the terms of the present civil-service commission, and providing for the appointment of their successors; various amendments to the workmen's compensation law; establishing a Rhode Island State Labor Relations Board.

State Officers.

Governor, J. Howard McGrath, Lieutenant Governor, Louis W. Cappelli; Secretary of State, Armand H. Cote; General Treasurer, Russell H. Handy; Attorney General, John H. Nolan; Director of Finance, Christopher Del Sesto; Director of Education, James F. Rockett.

United States Senators:

Peter G. Gerry, Theodore F. Green.

1940: Rhode Island

Area and Population.

The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is the full name of this smallest state in the Union. It has an area of 1,248 sq. mi. of which 233 are water.

The Federal Census of 1940 gave the total population of the state as 713,346, a gain of 3.8 per cent over the 1930 population of 687,497. The population of the principal cities and towns are as follows (1940): Providence, 253,504; Pawtucket, 75,797; Woonsocket, 49,303; Cranston, 47,085; East Providence, 32,165; Newport, 30,532.

Education.

The number of inhabitants of school age for the school year 1939-1940 was 194,013. Of these 63,815 were in elementary and grammar grades; and 47,631 in the several categories of high schools. The state expenditure for schools, including Federal aid, was $768,725.42. Excluding supervisors' and principals' salaries, which range from $4,000 to $5,000, the average salary for a teacher in public and high schools is $1,650.13.

Provision was made by the 1940 Legislature, for the creation of a special commission to study existing laws relating to education throughout the state. The bureau for the blind was transferred from the jurisdiction of the Department of Education to the Department of Social Welfare, and provision was made for readers for the blind in institutions of higher learning. The Director of Education was authorized to make a study of the curricula offered by the public schools, for the purpose of planning a more practical educational program. Through vocational counselors within the schools each pupil is to receive assistance in selecting studies which will fit him for some specialized occupation or profession upon his graduation from high school or college.

Agriculture.

Important high lights in the field of agriculture were the enactment of legislation governing the activities of cattle-dealers operating in Rhode Island, and appropriation by the General Assembly for increased participation in programs for control of Bang's disease in cattle. There has been a tremendous growth of the potato industry in the state; the 1940 crop was the largest in the state's history. Among notable experiments by the Experiment Station at the Rhode Island State College, one of the most novel deals with hurricane damage to fruit trees. It constitutes an effort to determine proper treatment for uprooted, storm-damaged trees. The results will not be known until 1943.

Industry and Labor.

The objectives of the Department of Labor have been the safeguarding, maintaining and improving of labor standards, and the carrying through of its accident prevention program; protecting the rights of labor; safeguarding employees against occupational injuries; developing and maintaining harmonious labor relations. A mediation board has been instituted to handle disputes.

Under the minimum wage law, in the retail trade a minimum of 30 cents an hour has been established in cities over 20,000 in population, and 27 1/2 cents an hour in cities under 20,000. There has been a speeding up in hearings for workmen's compensation cases.

Legislation.

Among the more important legislative matters which became law in 1940, were the following: a permanent visiting committee for the state institutions was created, and an advisory council in the Department of Social Welfare to assist in promoting the interests of the blind.

The caucus law was extensively changed, and certain radical changes were made in the election and voting machine laws, as the result of the recommendations of a special commission appointed at a previous session to study the subject. A new charter was granted the City of Providence. There was reorganization of the General Assembly upon the basis of recent population figures. A new military code was adopted.

The machinery of the state civil service act, passed in 1939, has been set up, and all state positions have been classified. Examinations are being held for key and subordinate positions. However, at the biennial state election, held November 5, 1940, the Republican party, responsible for the inauguration of civil service, was defeated at the polls, and the Democratic party assumed control of state administrative government on the first Tuesday in January, 1941.

Finance.

The cash on hand in the general treasury, July 1, 1939, was $1,691,417.31. The receipts for the year were $20,163,854.58, making a total of $21,855,271.89. The disbursements had been $19,074,398.99. The cash balance, June 30, 1940, was $2,780,872.90. The net bonded debt of the state, June 30, 1940, was $26,769,977.32.

The grand total of the budget for the fiscal year 1940-41 was $15,180,983.27. Public assistance administration was allotted $145,400. The total appropriation for public assistance in the matter of direct aid was $2,324,768. For soldiers' relief, $92,765; for children's care, $241,800; the total for child welfare amounted to $481,510.

The unemployment compensation board received $22,000 for employment service (Wagner-Peyser Act) matching funds. For the regulation of banking and insurance, an appropriation of $50,485 was made.

Banking.

On June 29, 1940, Rhode Island had 12 licensed National Banks with deposits of $107,958,779; loans of $46,062,223; and investments of $34,041,062. Twenty-three licensed State Banks had deposits of $394,545,385; loans of $136,411,321, and investments of $245,892,742.

State Officers.

Governor, J. Howard McGrath; Lieutenant Governor, Louis W. Cappelli; Secretary of State, Armand H. Cote; Attorney General, John H. Nolan; General Treasurer, Russell H. Handy; Director of Education, Dr. James F. Rockett.

United States Senators:

Peter G. Gerry, Theodore Francis Green.

1939: Rhode Island

Area and Population.

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (Little Rhody, as it is familiarly known) has a total area, including water, of only 1,248 sq. mi. One of the most densely populated states (and one of the wealthiest per capita), its population according to the Federal census of 1930 was 687,497. The largest cities are Providence, the capital, with 243,006 inhabitants; Pawtucket, 72,820; Woonsocket, 46,822; Cranston, 44,533; and Newport, 29,202.

The foreign-born whites, according to the state census of 1936, numbered 144,952, of whom 33,145 were Canadians; 33,105 were French Canadians; 30,093 were Italians; 20,458, English; 13,459, Irish; 6,355 Polish; and 5,133 Scottish.

Education.

In 1938-39, the 2,003 public elementary schools had 2,269 teachers and 68,790 pupils enrolled; 34,256 pupils were enrolled in private and parochial schools, 6,033 of whom were in the secondary grades. The public high schools (463 senior and 688 junior) had 1,983 teachers and 48,751 pupils. Municipal current expenditures for public schools for the year ending in June 1939 totalled $10,061,823.22, while state and Federal expenditures amounted to $2,100,000. In addition, local communities spent $874,971.84 for capital outlay and $2,674,038.05 for retirement of school bonds, sinking funds, interest and other school indebtedness.

Rhode Island maintains a College of Education with 32 professors and teachers, and 614 students (1938-39); a State College with 93 professors and 1,201 students; a School of Design with 65 professors and 483 students; and a College of Pharmacy with 18 professors and 89 students. Brown University (including the Women's College) in Providence, founded in 1764 by the Baptists and others, is now non-sectarian. In 1938-39 it had 280 professors and instructors and 2,215 students. Providence College, at Providence, founded in 1928-29 by the Order of Preachers (Dominican) and under Roman Catholic administration, has 77 professors and instructors and 820 students. Bryant College (a school of business administration) has 36 professors and teachers and 589 students.

In 1939, a Board of Trustees was created to govern Rhode Island State College and the Rhode Island College of Education, making effective the declared policy of the state that the control of the state colleges shall be removed from partisan political influences.

Agriculture.

By the 1935 census Rhode Island had 4,327 farms with an area of 307,725 acres, of which 78,195 acres were crop land. The total value of farm land and buildings in 1935 was $35,089,160.

Industry.

Rhode Island is primarily a manufacturing state. According to the U. S. Census of Manufactures, taken in 1937, Rhode Island's 1,409 manufacturing establishments had 108,031 wage-earners, who earned $112,933,084 in wages; material, fuel and power consumed were valued at $276,738,611; and the value of manufactured products was $517,196,193. During the month of July 1939 there were 817,528 cotton spindles active in Rhode Island, and 7,847 bales of cotton were consumed in that month.

Legislative Matters.

During the 1939 session of the Legislature a special commission to be known as the Rhode Island Industrial Rehabilitation Commission was created, to make a thorough and scientific study of the most practical approach to community industrial development problems (including the immediate need for industries), and to assemble facts that would interest industrialists or others who might be seeking plant sites in the state. This commission has authority to invite and induce new industries to locate within the state, and is vested with broad powers to devise and execute programs for the improvement of industrial and economic conditions.

In his annual message to the 1939 General Assembly, Governor William H. Vanderbilt, in a sincere desire to set up state government upon a business basis, recommended the following; reorganization of certain state departments; civil service; a survey of the relief situation in the entire state; amendment of the unemployment compensation law so as to simplify the reports which are now required from employers, liberalize and clarify the law from the standpoint of workers, and modify the waiting-period requirement. He also urged the legislators to attack the problem of industrial development; to balance the budget and curtail expenses drastically; to appoint a special bi-partisan commission to draw up and submit a proposed caucus and election law; to see that those guilty of election frauds are prosecuted to the limit of the law; to provide for absolute independence of the courts; to create a bi-partisan commission to investigate and report to the Governor the advantages of a direct primary law and a corrupt practices act; to give systematic consideration throughout the entire session to methods for disposing of legislation in an orderly and businesslike manner; and finally to formulate plans for rehabilitation following the only major hurricane disaster the state has had in more than a hundred years (1938).

With the exception of the suggestions concerning the courts, the recommendations of the Governor were all made effective by legislation.

Finance.

The appropriation bill for the support of the state, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1940, allotted to the Executive Department $850,179; Department of State, $109,440; Department of the Attorney General, $72,675; Treasury Department, $159,099; Department of Public Works, $2,338,298; Department of Social Welfare, $5,284,095. This last sum included for social services, $1,529,430; old-age security, $700,000; reimbursement to cities and towns providing aid for dependent children, $300,000; reimbursement for medical care of children, $1,000; state unemployment relief, $1,510,478; aid to the blind, $10,000; assistance to World War veterans, $75,000; support of destitute families, $7,000; and child welfare, $503,490.

The total for the Department of Education was $1,068,918.50; Department of Labor, $80,180; Department of Agriculture and Conservation, $257,570; Department of Health, $694,870. The state Colleges received $501,226. Additional sums appropriated included $16,500 to the Department of Social Welfare; $6,900 to the Department of Public Works; $5,000 to the Department of Education; $16,750 to the Department of Agriculture and Conservation. An additional $200,000 was appropriated as the state's contribution to the Rhode Island State College.

Social Welfare and Correction.

A Division of Public Assistance has responsibility for a state-wide administration of all forms of relief. Within this Division the Department of Social Welfare supervises and manages State Unemployment Relief. Aid to the Blind and to Dependent children, as well as Old-age Assistance, have also been transferred to the jurisdiction of this Department.

The Director of Social Welfare is aided by an Advisory Council. An Assistant Director administers the function of parole, probation and correctional services, except those relating to the training schools known as the Sockanosset School for Boys and the Oaklawn School for Girls.

State institutions include the following: State Hospital for Mental Diseases, Howard; State Infirmary, Howard; The Exeter School (for the feeble-Minded), Lafayette; State Home and School, for children, Providence; Reformatory for Men, Howard; Sockanosset School for Boys, Howard; Oaklawn School for Girls, Oaklawn; Soldiers' Home, Bristol; State Sanatorium at Wallum Lake.

State Officers.

Governor, William H. Vanderbilt; Lieutenant-Governor, James O. McManus; Secretary of State, J. Hector Paquin; Attorney General, Louis V. Jackvony; General Treasurer, Thomas P. Hazard; Budget Officer, Charles M. Sears, Jr.; Controller, Samuel A. Place.

United States Senators.

Peter G. Gerry, Theodore Francis Green.

1938: Rhode Island

Area and Population.

The smallest state in the Union, 'Little Rhody' was one of the thirteen original states. With an area of only 1,248 sq. mi. (including 181 sq. mi. of water), it has a coast, washed by tide waters, of about 400 miles. In population it ranks 37th among the states, numbering 687,497 according to the census of 1930; 681,000 on July 1, 1937, according to a Federal estimate. In 1936 the foreign-born whites numbered 144,952 (21.3 per cent of the total), of whom 30,093 were Italians, 33,145 Canadians, 20,458 English, 13,459 Irish, 6,355 Polish, and 5,133 Scotch. The largest cities are Providence, the capital, 252,981; Pawtucket, 77,149; Woonsocket, 49,376; Cranston, 42,911.

Agriculture.

The southern part of the state has a mild climate and rich soil. In the vicinity of Providence are milk farms, stock farms, market gardens, orchards and greenhouses.

Manufactures.

Rhode Island is primarily a manufacturing state. In the census of manufacturing in 1936, 1,254 manufacturing establishments had 92,152 wage earners, who earned $76,123,742; on July 31, 1937, there were 885,896 active spindles in the state, consuming 120,417 bales of cotton.

Education.

In the field of education there have been outstanding accomplishments. Among these are establishment and recognition of the principle of equalization of educational opportunities; increased state aid for every school district of Rhode Island; the expansion of the Americanization, Adult, and Vocational Education programs; increased scholarships for the Rhode Island School of Design, the Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, Providence College and the World War Orphans' Fund; additional facilities at the Rhode Island State College in the erection, renovation and equipment of buildings, together with the enlargement and improvement of grounds; additional facilities at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf; increased aid to the blind.

Legislation.

Some of the outstanding legislative measures passed by the 1938 General Assembly included the following: transfer of $700,000 by the Board of Commissioners of Sinking Funds, from surplus to general treasury for purposes of state unemployment relief; appropriation of $177,000 for the State Unemployment Relief Commission; creation of a Commission to study the advisability of establishing a cancer hospital; promotion of adequate child welfare services for Rhode Island; requirement of blood test for marriage license; compulsory blood test for pregnant women; creation of a Division of Scientific Crime Detection; amendments to old age pension act; forbidding use of tear gas or other similar gases during labor strikes or lock-outs; Columbus Day closing of stores, factories and industrial plants.

The state has 2,375 miles of rural roads, of which 1,163 miles have been approved by the state legislature as composing the state highway system. On this system 772 miles are maintained by the state as of June 1, 1938.

Political and Other Events.

Because of an avalanche of Republican majorities at the November election, the state government for the next two years and the control of the General Assembly, will be in the hands of the Republicans. This is a momentous change, since, by the Administrative Code adopted by the Democratic majority in 1935, the state government was entirely reorganized into departments and divisions thereunder. Previous boards and commissions were abolished and their functions and duties assumed by the new departments. At the same time, in 1935, the tenure of office of the justices of the state Supreme Court was terminated and the vacancies thereby created were otherwise filled. It is anticipated that one of the first proposals of the incoming administration will be for the enactment of a civil service law.

Battered by the great hurricane of September 21, 1938, inundated by tidal wave with sudden disaster to the capital city, homes shattered or vanished completely, and shore line changed, Rhode Island is rehabilitating with courage and determination. State authorities, in conference with Federal engineers and local officials, have planned beach developments which will in the future safeguard lives and property and beautify the shore line. (See also MASSACHUSETTS: The Hurricane.)

Finance.

The most recent financial figures available are those for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938. The cash on hand, June 30, 1937, was $2,956,888; the year's receipts were $19,042,037, making a total of $22,598,025. Expenditures were $21,778,494.59, leaving cash on hand as of June 30, 1938, in the amount of $820,430.41. The net bonded debt of the state on June 30, 1938, amounted to $27,305,591.30. The assessed valuation in 1937 of property within the state was: $943,600,540.34, real, and $573,225,990.75, personal.

Rhode Island has no state income tax although there have been several attempts to pass such a law. In the appropriation bill for 1938-1939 there is set up for payment of Serial Bond Issue Installments the following: 2nd unemployment relief loan, $200,000; 3rd loan, $200,000; 4th loan, $500,000; and an appropriation for unemployment relief of $1,600,000. Part of the three-cent tax on gasoline is to be spent for unemployment relief.

Banking.

On June 30, 1938, Rhode Island had twelve licensed national banks with deposits of $82,571,865; loans of $40,701,005; investments of $33,388,605. Twenty-three licensed state banks had deposits of $372,303,268; loans of $129,412,588; investments of $237,780,270.

State Officers.

As a result of the election of November 1938, the chief officers of the state are as follows: Governor, William H. Vanderbilt; Lieutenant-Governor, James O. McManus; Secretary of State, J. Hector Paquin; Attorney General, Louis V. Jackvony; General Treasurer, Thomas P. Hazard.

United States Senators:

Peter G. Gerry and Theodore Francis Green.