Page:EB1922 - Volume 31.djvu/1156

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1102
NEW JERSEY

journed until the close of the World War, and reconvened in Jan. 1920. It submitted to the voters seven propositions, all of which were rejected. In 1915 the office of assistant attorney- general was created, and the number of bank commissioners was reduced to three, and their term of office was made six years. The Railroad Commission became the Public Service Commis- sion in 1 9 1 1 , its powers were enlarged, and the term of office of the three members was made six years. In 1913 the Fish and Game Commission was reorganized and the number of commissioners reduced from three to one. The Department of Public Instruc- tion was reorganized in 1913 so that the superintendent holds office indefinitely; it was again reorganized in 1919. In 1913 the Department of Agriculture was reorganized with a commissioner instead of a board, and in 1915 it was further reorganized. In 1911 the name Board of Equalization was changed to Tax Commission, the members were reduced from five to three, and the tenure of office was extended from two to five years. The Bureau of Labor was reorganized in 1911, and in 1913 a Board of Arbitration and Conciliation was organized to work with it. In 1913 the License Commission was reorganized; in 1915 it was again reorganized and its name was changed to Excise Com- mission. The Highway Department was reorganized in 191 5 with a highway commissioner at its head appointed by the governor for five years. A Department of Institutions was created in 1913 and reorganized in 1919. The state institutions were man- aged by seven trustees consisting of the governor and one mem- ber of the council, ex qfficio, and five appointed trustees. The institutions governed by the Department were the prison, the hospital, the sanitarium, the industrial school, and the school for feeble-minded children. During the World War the state sent into the service of the Government 22,000 persons, of whom 7,971 were called under the Selective Service Act. The remain- der, more than 60 % of the total, volunteered. Liberty Loans were subscribed as follows: First, $9,894,900; Second, $15,- 484,400; Third, $17,282,300; Fourth, $29,346,640; total, $7 2,008,- 240, about $164 for each person in the state.

The governors after 1910 were: Robert P. Bass (Rep.), 1911-3; Samuel D. Felker (Dem.), 1913-5; Rolland H. Spaulding (Rep.), 1915-7; Henry W. Keyes (Rep.), 1917-9; John H. Bartlett (Rep.), 1919-21; Albert O. Brown (Rep.), 1921- .

(E. J. B.)

NEW JERSEY (see 19.501). In 1920 the pop. was 3,155,900, as against 2,537,167 in 1910, an increase of 618,733, or 24-4%, as compared with 14-9% for the United States as a whole. The density of pop., exceeded only by that of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, averaged 420 to the sq. mile in 1920. The pro- portion of people living in places of 2,500 or more inhabitants increased from 75-2% in 1910 to 78-7% in 1920, the urban pop. in 1920 being 2,482,289, the rural, 673,611. The growth of pop. of the ten largest cities during the decade 1910-20 is shown in the following table:

1920

1910

Increase per cent

Newark Jersey City Paterson Trenton Camden Elizabeth Bayonne Hoboken Passaic East Orange

414,524 298, 103

135,875 119,289 116,309 95-783 76,754 70,324 63,824 5 n ,7io

347,649 267,779 125,600 96,815 94,538 73,409 55,545 68,166

54,773

34,371

19-2 n-3

8-2

23-2 23-0

30-4 38-2

3-1

16-5

_ 47-5

Agriculture. The trend toward city and industrial life is indi- cated by the decrease in the number of farms from 33,487 in 1910 to 29,672 in 1920, or 11-4%. Production, however, gained owing to the increased use of scientific and intensive methods, which in turn were largely due to the facilities afforded for agricultural edu- cation, as in the short and four-year courses in the State College; by the Farm Demonstration Act of the Legislature of 1913, under which farm bureaus have been organized in 18 of the 21 counties; by the Smith-Lever Act of Congress of 1914, providing for further extension of agricultural education, and the Smith-Hughes Act of Congress of 1917 with its provisions for vocational training. These and similar agencies have made a deep impression on farm life in New Jersey, especially in improved social and economic conditions.

Notable, too, are the results of agricultural research. A soil sur- vey of the state has been made and has practically completed the classification and mapping of the soil-types. Fertility studies and the study of soil bacteriology, plant diseases and parasitic or- ganisms, have developed methods by which production has been increased and losses diminished, especially those owing to the potato scab and to parasites of celery, sweet potatoes, peaches, apples and pears. The Japanese beetle and the gipsy-moth have recently entered the state, but the old insect foes of economic importance are coming under control. Through research in horticulture several new types of peaches, some of distinct value, have been developed, and experiments with fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides have benefited the horticultural industry.

The progress of experimentation in dairy and animal husbandry is evident in the number and quality of herds of pure-bred cattle, notably Holstein, Friesian, Jerseys, and Guernseys, in which New Jersey has become one of the leading states of the Union. Milch cows had in Jan. 1920 an average value of $128 per head, as com- pared with Siio in Rhode I., 107 in New York, $105 in Massachu- setts and Connecticut and an average of $85.13 for the United States. While the number of dairy cows decreased in the decade 1909-19, the milk production rose from 68,000,000 gal. to 80,000,- ooo. As New Jersey lies midway between New York and Phila- delphia the demand in these great centres of population has caused the New Jersey dairies to abandon the production of manufactured dairy products in favour of market milk, the value of which in 1919 totalled $20,000,000.

Next in importance to dairying is the keeping of swine, the chief breeds being the Berkshires, for which New Jersey is noted, and the Duroc Jerseys. In poultry-farming the decade 1910-20 witnessed several important developments. Operation and management were placed on a commercial basis. The number of birds is over 3,000,000, of which one-third are in commercial plants, one-third in suburban and city back yards, and one-third in farm flocks. In 1920 poultry and eggs were produced tc the value of 835,000,000.

Progress has been made also in adapting crops to soil conditions, particularly corn, alfalfa and soya beans. The acreage of alfalfa has increased from a few thousand to 30,000 acres. A system of cropping and green-manuring has been developed, which, with the use of commercial fertilizers, has improved the general fertility of the soil. Per acre average crop yields have increased during the period as follows: rye from 145 to 18 bus., wheat from 15^ to I8J bus., corn from 38 to 41 bus., potatoes from 105 to 130 bushels. A number of minor crops have been tested and included in the crops grown, such as sudan-grass, millet and vetch. Specialized types of farming have been largely localized in definite regions on definite soil-types; a white-potato section has been developed in the vicinities of Free- hold, Bridgeton, Medford, Mount Holly and Camden; dairy sec- tions in the northern portion of the state and elsewhere; poultry sections in the regions of Vineland, Lakewood and Tom's River. Cooperative organizations have been formed to meet the needs of these specialized sections, such as a state potato association, alfalfa association and others. The horticultural products in 1920 were valued at $50,000,000. Large plantings of apples and peaches in Burlington, Gloucester and Cumberland counties indicate the progress of commercial fruit-growing.

Mining. New Jersey ranks fifteenth in the value of its mineral products and third in value per sq. mile. In the production of zinc Oklahoma alone surpasses it. The ore body of the two New Jersey zinc mines of Sussex county is unique in composition and is the largest and probably the richest of any known ore body in the world. Metallic zinc, zinc oxide and spiegeleisen are the chief products, amounting in 1918 to nearly 700,000 tons. The iron- mining industry, which from about 100 mines attained a maximum output of nearly 1,000,000 tons in 1882 and then declined, has been revived and the recent annual production has been about 400,000 tons. A few financially strong companies have expended large sums for the ore shafts, underground development and the erection of magnetic concentration plants, and a number of new ore bodies have been developed. In the mining of clays New Jersey in 1918 ranked third among the states, the raw clay production of that year being 286,474 tons. In the value of pottery products it stands second to Ohio. The total value of New Jersey's clay and clay products in 1918 was approximately $22,000,000. Brick and tile, terra-cotta, stone, cement, sand and gravel and miscellaneous items raised the value of the mineral production for 1918 to nearly $50,000,000. The state possesses in the green sand (marl) deposits vast stores of potash which, to be available for plant use, requires complicated chemical treatment. Efforts were made during the World War and after to recover the potash from these beds.

Manufacturing. In variety of manufactures New Jersey sur- passes any other state. It ranks sixth in the value of its annual prod- uct and second in the per capita value. About 17 % of the population is actively engaged in manufacturing. It ranks first in the smelt- ing and refining of copper, in the refining of oil, in the manufac- ture of linoleum and sewing-machines; second in the manufacture of silk, and in chemical and rubber products; third and fourth re- spectively in the production of electrical machinery and supplies and of toilet articles. In 1918 the capital invested in manufac- tures totalled $1,888,298,757; the value of stock used was $1,834,-