Texas Almanac, 1941-1942 Page: 63
This book is part of the collection entitled: Texas Almanac and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
HISTORY OF TEXAS. 63
eral and Attorney General, respectively.
Another man, a former Texan and form-
er president of the University of Texas,
David F. Houston, went from Missouri to
serve, first as Secretary of Agriculture
and later as Secretary of the Treasury.
More than 200,000 Texans saw service
during the World War. The mild winters
and dry climate of Texas brought to its
borders some of the principal training
camps of the nation, including Camp
Travis at San Antonio, Camp Bowie at
Fort Worth, Camp McArthur at Waco,
and Camp Logan at Houston. Texas was
also a center of training for army avia-
tion, with Kelly Field at San Antonio,
Love Field at Dallas, Ellington Field at
Houston, and several other smaller
fields. The Thirty-Sixth and Ninetieth,
Texas divisions, saw service at the
front and there were several Texas com-
panies in the Forty-Second. Fort Sam
Houston at San Antonio and Fort Bliss
at El Paso were centers of military ac-
tivity.
Under Governor Hobby's administra-
tion the compulsory school law was
strengthened, free textbooks for public
schools were provided, aid for rural
schools was increased and the general
scholastic apportionment was raised
from $7.50 to $14.50. The apportionment
had never been above $7.50 prior to
Hobby's administration and the allot-
ment of $14.50 set a new standard for
measurement of state support of schools.
Middle West Texas suffered the most
severe drouth in its history during 1918
and Governor Hobby was instrumental
in obtaining loans for the farmers of
this region, so that they might prepare
crops for the following year. The laws
establishing the State Board of Control,
the so-called "open port law," aimed at
violence in the longshoremen's strike in
port cities of the state, and the law
establishing a quarantine against pink
bollworm infested areas and providing
funds to pay farmers who were dam-
aged, were among the measures passed
during the Hobby administration. The
state tax rate for general revenue pur-
poses was reduced from 35c to 23c.
Prohibition Amendment Adopted.
The war fervor and the need of pro-
tecting the many military camps in Tex-
as from liquor influences aided the
cause of prohibition. The amendment to
the State Constitution, Sec. 20, Art. 16,
was submitted by the Thirty-Sixth Leg-
islature and adopted at an election May
24, 1919, in which the vote was 158,982
for, and 130,907 against. In the mean-
time, however, the national prohibition
amendment had been submitted, and it
had been ratified by the Legislature of
this state, Feb. 28, 1918.
Despite war activity, Texas' industrial
development continued. Population in-
creased from 3,896,542 in 1910 to 4,663,-
228 in 1920; manufacturing during the
same period increased in annual value
of products from $272,895,635 to $999,-
995,796, which was a gain of more than
100 per cent indicated in actual volumeafter deduction is made for the inflation
of values. The annual value of minerals
produced had increased from $18,383,451
in 1910 to $371,250,979 in 1920. The
number of farms had increased only from
417,770 to 436,033, due largely to the war
conditions and demand for men imme-
diately preceding the census of 1920.
However, improved acreage had in-
creased from 27,360,636 to 31,227,503.
The administration of Pat M. Neff
(Jan. 18, 1921, to Jan. 20, 1925) was
characterized by return to normal after-
war conditions, and a series of achieve-
ments such as the making of an educa-
tional survey, the prison survey, the cre-
ation of a prison advisory council, and
an industrial welfare commission. He
originated the state park movement and
appointed the first State Park Board.
He instituted the reclamation and con-
servation program pertaining to the
floodwaters and overflowing lands, in-
cluding a state-wide topographic survey
and the organization of a state advisory
council of engineers. He issued the first
official state program of the Texas Cen-
tennial celebration for the holding of the
Texas Centennial of 1936.
His administration was characterized
by declaring martial law for the sup-
pressing of crime and for the handling of
the railroad strike situation. He estab-
lished an honor farm in connection with
the Texas penitentiary. The Texas
Technological College at Lubbock, and
State Teachers College at Kingsville,
were established, and $1,350,000 worth of
land adjoining the University of Texas
campus was added to it during his ad-
ministration.
Neff's first campaign was a stirring
affair, with Joseph Weldon Bailey, Rob-
ert E. Thomason and Ben F. Looney as
opponents. Bailey, who had come out
of retirement to private life after his
resignation from the United States Sen-
ate in 1913, led Neff by a margin of
2,522 votes in the first primary. rowev-
er, the election law had been amended
during the preceding administration re-
quiring a second primary between the
two leading contestants in the first pri-
mary in instances where no clear ma-
jority was obtained in the first race. Neff
defeated Bailey in the second pri-
mary, 264,075 to 184,702. In the primary
preceding his second term, Neff defeated
Fred S. Rogers, 318,000 to 195,941. In the
first of Neff's two terms, Texas was de-
pressed economically by the sudden but
short-lived deflation that followed the
close of the World War.
The first administration of Mrs. Miri-
am A. Ferguson (Jan. 20, 1925, to Jan.
17, 1927), first woman to hold the gov-
ernorship of Texas, came primarily as a
result of the struggle that arose during
the Neff administration over the Ku
Klux Klan. This secret organization,
which carried the name of the old post-
Civil War order, but with which it had
no connection and little similarity of
purpose, gained strength rapidly in Tex-
as during 1922 and 1923. In the prima-
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Texas Almanac, 1941-1942, book, 1941; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117164/m1/65/?rotate=90: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.