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 proportion 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 | 414,524 | 347,649 | 19.2 |
| Jersey City | 298,103 | 267,779 | 11.3 |
| Paterson | 135,875 | 125,600 | 8.2 |
| Trenton | 119,289 | 96,815 | 23.2 |
| Camden | 116,309 | 94,538 | 23.0 |
| Elizabeth | 95,783 | 73,409 | 30.4 |
| Bayonne | 76,754 | 55,545 | 38.2 |
| Hoboken | 70,324 | 68,166 | 3.1 |
| Passaic | 63,824 | 54,773 | 16.5 |
| East Orange | 50,710 | 34,371 | 47.5 |
Agriculture.—The trend toward city and industrial life is indicated 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 education, 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 survey 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 organisms, 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 compared with $110 in Rhode I., $107 in New York, $105 in Massachusetts 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 80,000,000. As New Jersey lies midway between New York and Philadelphia 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 to the value of $35,000,000.
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 14½ to 18 bus., wheat from 15½ to 18½ 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 Freehold, Bridgeton, Medford, Mount Holly and Camden; dairy sections in the northern portion of the state and elsewhere; poultry sections in the regions of Vineland, Lakewood and Tom's River. Coöperative 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 surpasses any other state. It ranks sixth in the value of its annual product and second in the per capita value. About 17% of the population is actively engaged in manufacturing. It ranks first in the smelting and refining of copper, in the refining of oil, in the manufacture of linoleum and sewing-machines; second in the manufacture of silk, and in chemical and rubber products; third and fourth respectively in the production of electrical machinery and supplies and of toilet articles. In 1918 the capital invested in manufactures totalled $1,888,298,757; the value of stock used was
$1,834,580,122; the selling value of goods was $2,990,939,855; total amount paid in wages $530,733,577. In the same year the average number of persons employed was 499,279; of these 377,328 were men (16 years of age or over), 115,143 were women, and 6,508 were from 14 to 16 years old. The average earnings per employee were $1,063; average number of days at work 289.06; of hours worked per day 9.25; of hours per week, 52.24.
Education.—The Russell Sage Foundation, after an exhaustive examination of the public school systems of the various states, ranked New Jersey in 1920 first among the states east of the Mississippi river, fourth in the whole country, and added that it was “the only state in the eastern division that has gained in relative rank during a period of 28 years, 1890-1918.” An Act of the Legislature of 1911 made notable changes in school administration. The State Board of Education consisted in 1921 of eight members with increased powers of control. The Act replaced the superintendent of public schools with a commissioner of education, with enlarged powers. The report of this commissioner for 1920 gave the total enrolment of pupils as 623,284, an increase of 26,290 over 1919 and of 44,353 over 1916. The number of teachers was 18,873; of school buildings, 2,106. Over 600,000 children were furnished with books and supplies free of cost. Nearly 300,000 received manual or industrial training of some sort, and 13,000 some form of vocational training. There were 31,486 pupils in the evening schools, 40,282 in the kindergartens, 276,498 in the first four grades, 181,864 in the four higher grades, 55,243 in the high-schools as against 38,099 in 1914. The current expense for operating the schools during the year 1919-20 was $30,854,795.53, an increase over the previous year of $5,403,716.10. Of this total more than $20,000,000 was for salaries of teachers, superintendents and principals. The school moneys were derived as follows: state school fund, $250,000; appropriatians by Legislature for general purposes, $696,006; appropriations from state railroad tax, $4,564,879; state school tax, $235,046; surplus revenue fund, $28,480; local appropriations, $24,155,265; other sources, $1,382,893. The school properties in 1911 were valued at $44,000,000; in 1920 at $102,000,000. The average salary paid to teachers in 1920 was $1,177.20. A third state normal school, that at Newark, was opened in 1916. Schools under private control are numerous throughout the state. The Catholic parochial schools numbered in 1919 189, with 83,524 pupils. A legislative Act of 1917 designated the state college (Rutgers) as the “State University of New Jersey.” This institution had on its rolls in Jan. 1921: graduate students, 30; undergraduates, 678; college for women, 179; summer session, 559; short courses in agriculture, 149; extension courses, 585. A college for women affiliated with it was opened in Sept. 1918. Stevens Institute of Technology in 1921 had on its rolls 862 students; Princeton (see Princeton University), 1920-1, 1,814 undergraduates, 149 graduates.
Legislation.—The general spirit of the time was clearly evident in the legislation of New Jersey during the decade 1910-20. The influence of the “Progressive” movement, reinforced by the activities of Gov. Woodrow Wilson, 1911-3, secured the enactment of several radical measures. For more than two generations New Jersey had, beyond any other state, sedulously fostered the aggregation of capital in corporate form, but this policy was reversed by the passage in 1913 of the series of Acts widely known as the “Seven Sisters,” whose purpose was the elimination of the power of “trusts” to create restraint of trade, monopoly, limitation of production and price-fixing. Subsequent legislation repealed or greatly modified these laws.
The long-cherished policy of opposition to a state debt was changed in 1920, when the Legislature proposed and the people ratified an issue of bonds to the amount of $28,000,000 for the construction, as a part of the highway system, of a bridge across the Delaware and a tunnel under the Hudson river. At the same election the people approved a law to authorize an issue of bonds to the amount of $12,000,000 as a bonus to those who served in the World War. A budget system was introduced in 1916 and a central agency for the purchase of departmental supplies.
The laws governing elections were radically changed in 1911 and subsequently, by provisions extending the application of the direct primary law and providing the blanket ballot and safeguards against frauds. In 1911 also the conmission form of municipal government was introduced, and by 1920 had been adopted by about 40 municipalities, including the largest cities. The Practice Act of 1912 is noteworthy as simplifying procedure in the courts. The legislation of this period further embraced the following subjects: the regulation and control of public utilities; jury reform; employers' liability; workmen's compensation; conditions and hours of labour; labour of women and children; juvenile courts; women as police officers; sanitary safety conditions; motor vehicle control; a state system of highways; inheritance and bank stock taxation; regulation of insurance; water-supply; food laws and storage of food; civil service in state and municipalities; state administration of municipal sinking funds.
The various war measures of the Legislature were in keeping with its Act of March 26 1917, 11 days before war was declared, directing the governor in aid of the nation's cause “to organize and employ any and all resources within the State.” The number
of men from New Jersey serving in the World War was 138,691; army, 114,534; navy and marine corps, 23,951; coast and U.S. guards, 206. According to the most recently compiled casualty statistics, 119 officers and 2,311 enlisted men lost their lives on foreign soil, while 37 officers and 856 enlisted men died in the United States and its possessions; the wounded were 7,620 (officers 219, men 7,401); prisoners 188 (officers 20, men 168). The records of the Navy Department show a total loss of 227, of whom 168 died of disease, 24 in enemy action, and 35 by accidents. In the marine corps 80 men lost their lives while serving with the U.S. Marines in France, 16 while serving in the United States and foreign stations other than the American Expeditionary Force. The subscriptions in New Jersey to the Liberty and Victory Loans were: first, $82,519,450; second, $140,209,300; third, $139,858,500; fourth, $236,826,600; Victory, $173,645,050; total $773,058,900.
Political History.—Woodrow Wilson was elected governor in 1910 as candidate of the Democratic party, receiving a plurality of 49,056. His success in the state campaign, and the character of his administration, attracted the attention of the whole country and led to his nomination and election to the presidency in 1912. In each of the seven presidential elections after 1892 the electoral vote of New Jersey was cast for the candidate of the Republican party except that of 1912, when Wilson, owing to the split in the Republican ranks, secured a plurality of 24,873. He lost the state to Hughes in 1916 by 57,707 plurality. In 1920 Harding, Republican, received 611,670 votes; Cox, Democrat, 258,229. In the elections for the state executive the Democratic party was successful in 1910, 1913 and 1919, the Republicans winning in 1916. The Legislature also varied in party affiliation during this period, but from 1914 the Republicans obtained the control of both Houses. In 1921, of the 21 Senators, 15 were Republicans, 6 Democrats; in the Assembly there was but one Democrat, the other 59 were Republicans, of whom two were women. In the sixty-seventh Congress of the United States both New Jersey's Senators were Republican, and of the state's 12 Representatives but one was a Democrat.
New Jersey's governors were: Woodrow Wilson 1911-3; James F. Fielder (acting), 1913; Leon R. Taylor (acting), 1914; James F. Fielder, 1914-7; Walter E. Edge, 1917-9; William H. Runyon (acting), 1919; Edward I. Edwards, 1920-.
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