Minerals.—Of the pumice produced in the United States 97% is
mined in Nebraska. Limestone, sand and Portland cement are
increasing in production. Potash is found in alkali lakes in the sandhill
region of western Nebraska. The World War shut out importation
from Germany, and commercial potash rose to 10 times its
former price. The result was that a new industry sprang up; large
amounts were invested, and over 2,000 men were employed. In
1918 Nebraska shipped about 150,000 tons of potash—three fourths
of the total production in the United States. When importation
from Europe was resumed the Nebraska production decreased and
the future of the industry became uncertain.
Industries.—The progress of manufactures during 1909-19 is shown in the following table:—
Manufactures.
| 1919 | 1914 | 1909 | |
| Number of establishments | 2,884 | 2,492 | 2,500 |
| Wage-earners (average) | 36,521 | 25,144 | 24,336 |
| Capital | $245,256,684 | $121,007,944 | $ 99,901,089 |
| Salaries and wages | 61,808,692 | 24,010,977 | 19,438,719 |
| Value of products | 596,042,498 | 221,615,848 | 199,018,579 |
| Value added by manufacture | 115,268,376 | 47,502,164 | 47,937,608 |
Slaughtering and meat-packing, the chief manufacturing industry, in 1919 employed 10,122 wage-earners in 16 establishments and the products were valued at $303,849,000. Receipts of live stock at the Omaha stockyards indicate the growth of that industry in the past decade:—
| 1919 | 1910 | |
| Cattle | 1,874,996 | 1,223,533 |
| Hogs | 3,179,166 | 1,894,314 |
| Sheep | 3,789,188 | 2,984,870 |
| Horses and mules | 22,600 | 28,817 |
| Total | 8,865,950 | 6,131,534 |
Banking and Finance.—The Bank Guaranty law of 1909 and its amendment in 1911 provided for a fund from all state banks for protection of their depositors. The extraordinary growth of banking business which followed is shown in this table:—
| 1919 | 1910 | |
| Number of state banks | 999 | 666 |
| Number of national banks | 189 | 238 |
| Capital and surplus: state banks | $32,282,000 | $14,823,000 |
| Capital and surplus: national banks | 26,434,000 | 21,940,000 |
| Deposits: state banks | 270,050,000 | 70,454,000 |
| Deposits: national banks | 180,596,000 | 87,663,000 |
In 1919 Omaha ranked 13th among cities of the United States in respect of its volume of bank clearings, though 34th in population. The amount was in 1919 $3,058,973,348; in 1910 $832,971,607. The total legislative appropriations for the biennium 1909-11 were $6,248,362; for 1919-21 $15,963,392; for 1921-3 $26,513,771. The cash balance in the treasury Nov. 30 1920 was $2,089,631. There was no state debt. The total assessed value of the state (one-fifth actual value as prescribed bylaw) was in 1910 $412,138,607; in 1920 $775,949,730. The total state levies amounted to between six and seven mills on the dollar of assessed valuation. Under the new budget law of 1921 the date of the fiscal year was changed from April 1 to July 1. Heads of departments and institutions must make quarterly estimates in advance for expenditures of each quarter, which must be approved by the governor.
Education.—The total number of persons of school age in 1920 was 392,592; of these 311,821 were enrolled in school. The Nebraska law requires attendance of all children between 8 and 14 during 6 months of each year. There were 250,689 such children in the state, of whom 211,101 complied with this requirement. There were 7,168 school districts in the state. There were 12,705 women teachers and 1,084 men teachers. The total amount voted for school purposes in 1920 was $24,935,102. There were 100 consolidated school districts. The average monthly pay of men teachers was $134.42, of women teachers $86.26. The total value of school district property of all kinds was $142,145,280.
History.—The chief political issues in Nebraska during the period 1910-20 were prohibition, woman suffrage, initiative and referendum, reconstruction of the state Government and extension of public ownership. The first four issues were determined in the affirmative. The last mentioned was the subject of much controversy. The Democratic party carried the state in the elections of 1912, 1914 and 1916. The Republican party overwhelmingly carried the elections of 1918 and 1920. Party lines had been very much broken since 1900. Each of the leading parties developed a conservative wing and a progressive wing. The Non-Partisan League effected an organization in Nebraska. It was reported to have 25,000 members, but up to 1921 had succeeded in electing only a few of its candidates to office, its policy being to concentrate its votes in the primary of whichever party seemed to promise the greatest results.
A new political issue, that of language and religious instruction, arose out of the World War. About 200,000 Nebraskans were German-born or children of parents born in Germany. In many communities religious services and instruction were given in other languages than English. Through the efforts of the German-American Alliance, the Mockett law was enacted in 1913, providing for teaching the German language in the common schools upon petition of school patrons. The war caused antagonism toward everything connected with Germany. A general movement was inaugurated to drive foreign languages out of the schools and churches. The Mockett law was repealed. In its place was enacted the Siman law forbidding the use of any foreign language as a medium of instruction. The substance of this law was embodied in the state constitution Sept. 21 1920. The Legislature of 1921 amended the Siman law, making it more stringent. Out of more than 40 newspapers printed in foreign languages before the war, there remained only 10 in 1921.
Consolidation of some 20 state bureaus and organizations into 6 departments was enacted by the Legislature of 1919. A convention to revise the constitution met Dec. 5 1919. It submitted 41 amendments, all of which were adopted at a special election Sept. 21 1920. The most important were those providing for future amendment of the constitution by a majority of those voting on the question, provided such majority is 35% of total vote; providing for new executive offices by two-thirds vote of the Legislature; for classification of intangible property for taxing purposes; for the creation of a state industrial commission to administer laws relating to labour disputes and profiteering; making alien property rights wholly subject to the Legislature. The Legislature of 1919 provided a special tax and appropriated the proceeds to the amount of $5,000,000 for construction of a new state capitol. The erection of the building was entrusted to a State Capitol Commission.
The state furnished 49,614 men for service in the World War, of whom 3,021 lost their lives. To the Liberty and Victory loans and war charities Nebraska paid $264,760,000. Nebraska was first in per capita purchase of war savings stamps and her membership in the American Red Cross was 585,156—49% of the population.
The governors after 1910 were: Chester H. Aldrich (Rep.), 1911-3; John H. Morehead (Dem.), 1913-7; Keith Neville (Dem.), 1917-9; Samuel R. McKelvie (Rep.), 1919-21.
Bibliography.—G. E. Condra, Resources of Nebraska (1920); Publications of State Historical Society (1910-20); Addison E. Sheldon, History and Stories of Nebraska; Nebraska Blue Book and Historical Register (1921). (A. E. S.*)
NEGRO (see 19.346[1]). As a result of the publication of preliminary returns for the American census of 1920, it became possible in June 1921 not only to record the growth of the negro pop. of the United States during the decade 1910-20, but to compare the growth during 60 years of slavery with that during almost 60 years of freedom. In 1920 the negro pop. was 10,463,013, as compared with 9,827,763 in 1910, an increase of 635,250 or 6.5%. In the preceding decade the increase had been 993,769, or slightly over 11%. In the period between 1800 and 1860 the negro pop. increased from 1,002,037 to 4,441,830 or 343%; in the period between 1860 and 1920 it increased from 4,441,830 to 10,463,013 or 136%. The increase under freedom, although nearly twice as great numerically, was at only about four-tenths of the rate under slavery. Much of this difference is to be attributed to the negro's participation in the slackening rate of the country's growth. The white pop. of the United States, notwithstanding its reinforcement by more than 28,000,000 immigrants in the later period and only about 5,250,000 in the earlier, increased in the second 60-year period less than half as fast as between 1800 and 1860. The figures for the negroes show, however, that their emancipation has not stimulated the growth of population as emancipation of the Russian serfs did and as many Americans of a generation ago anticipated. During the
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