# 1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Wyoming

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WYOMING (see 28.873).—The pop. of the state in 1920 was 194,402 as compared with 145,965 in 1910, an increase of 48,437 or 33.2%, as against an increase of 57.7% in the preceding decade. The density of pop. was two per sq. m. in 1920. The urban pop. (in places having 2,500 inhabitants or more) in 1910 was 43,221, or 29.6% of the whole; in 1920, 57,348, or 29.5%. The rural pop. was 102,744 in 1910, 137,054 in 1920. The cities in Wyoming having a pop. in 1920 of over 5,000 and their percentage of increase were:—
| | 1920 | 1910 | Percentage Increase |
| Casper | 11,447 | 2,639 | 333.8 |
| Cheyenne | 13,829 | 11,320 | 22.2 |
| Laramie | 6,301 | 8,273 | 23.5 |
| Rock Springs | 6,456 | 5,778 | 11.7 |
| Sheridan | 9,175 | 8,408 | 9.1 |
The increase of pop. has been chiefly elsewhere than in the southern parts of the state, which had been the first to be settled.
Agriculture.—The number of farms was 6,095 in 1900, 10,987 in 1910, 15,748 in 1920. The acreage of all crops was estimated for 1920 as 1,826,000. The number of sheep in 1919 was 4,000,000 valued at $49,200,000. In 1920 the number was 3,200,000 valued at $32,640,000, being one-fifteenth in numbers and value of the total sheep in the United States. The estimated product of wool in 1919 was 33,415,000 lb., the average weight per fleece 8.5 lb. The total number of neat cattle in 1919 was 1,180,000 valued at $75,580,000; in 1920 there were 869,000 valued at $47,370,000. Other figures are correspondingly higher for 1919. In 1920 there were 258,000 horses valued at $11,925,000; mules 4,000, valued at $360,000; and swine 63,000, valued at $1,159,000. Other agricultural products of Wyoming and their value in 1920 were as follows:—
| Crop | Ac. sown | Production | Value |
| Hay, cultivated | 740,000 | 1,850,000 tons | $22,200,000 |
| Hay, wild, salt and prairie | 360,000 | 360,000 tons | 5,148,000 |
| Oats | 300,000 | 11,400,000 bus. | 7,068,000 |
| Wheat | 254,000 | 5,080,000 bus. | 6,858,000 |
| Corn | 65,000 | 1,560,000 bus. | 874,000 |
| Barley | 28,000 | 1,008,000 bus. | 1,109,000 |
| Potatoes | 27,000 | 3,375,000 bus. | 4,050,000 |
The irrigated area was 1,133,302 ac. in 1909, 1,209,527 in 1919. In 1920 the acreage capable of irrigation was 1,799,361. There were, in 1918, 978,681 ac. of land used for dry farming.
Mining.—The annual gross value of Wyoming's mineral products at the places of production was estimated at $68,250,000 for 1920. In 1917 the state ranked ninth in the output of bituminous coal with 8,575,000 tons valued at $16,593,619; in 1918 it was 9,300,000 tons; in 1919 7,145,000 tons (the decrease being attributed to labour shortage). The largest product comes from Sweetwater, Lincoln and Sheridan counties. The total production of coal to the end of 1917 was 148,000,000 short tons. Copper mining has decreased, the annual production averaging in value about $200,000. The gypsum production in 1917 was 55,804 short tons valued at $197,867. The average output of iron ore was about 500,000 tons, worth $1,500,000 at the mines. A deposit of carnotite (uranium, radium), accidentally discovered near Lusk in Niobrara county, produced in 1919 71.86 tons valued at $382 per ton. Most important in the state's mining development is the petroleum industry. In 1918 the output was 12,596,287 bar., in 1919 13,580,000 bar., and the estimate for 1920 16,000,000 bar. of crude oil, valued at over $45,000,000 at the wells. There were 17 fields in the state where oil was produced for market. About one-half the state's output was from Salt Creek field in Natrona county. Converse county came next in 1919 with 3,267,302 bar., Hot Springs followed with 2,151,867 bar., and Park with 773,893 bar.
Manufactures and Railways.—Wyoming's manufactures continue to be of little relative importance, aside from the petroleum refining industry to which this great increase of 1919 is due. The following figures are from the census report:—
| | 1919 | 1909 |
| Number of establishments | 576 | 268 |
| Persons engaged | 8,095 | 3,393 |
| Value of products | $81,445,394 | $6,249,078 |
| Value added by manufacture | 39,194,866 | 3,640,889 |
Of the 8,095 persons engaged 3,057 were wage-earners in the steam railway construction and repair shops. Railway mileage in 1917 was 1,924 m. as compared with 1,623 in 1909.
Education.—The educational system was reorganized in 1919 by Act of the Legislature providing for an elective state superintendent of public instruction, a state Board of Education appointed by the state superintendent with the approval of the governor, and a commissioner of education appointed by the state Board with the approval of the governor.
History.—Wyoming in 1921 was still governed under its first constitution. The six amendments which had been adopted gave additional powers to the Legislature notably for workmen's compensation measures, highway construction and protection of live stock from disease. An eight-hour day for underground work in mines was established in 1909. A direct primary law was passed in 1911, and a Mother's Pension Act in 1915, the latter to be administered by the county commissioners. A Public Service Commission was established in 1915, composed of members of the state Board of Equalization, with power to supervise and regulate any public utility doing business in the state. In 1919 a “blue sky” law was passed. In the same year the Executive Budget system was adopted. In 1921 a system of rural credits, to be managed by a Farm Loan Board, was
provided for, and an Act passed allowing towns of 1,000 inhabitants or more to adopt the commission-manager form of government. By an Act of 1919 the commissioner of taxation was replaced by a state Board of Equalization with power to increase or decrease the assessed value of any class of property in any county. The law of 1909 limiting county taxes was replaced by the Act of 1911 grading the tax limit according to the assessed valuation of the county. A beginning was made in 1921 in the revision of the taxation system by provision for an effective inheritance tax. The bonded debt was reduced from $140,000 in 1910 to $99,000 in 1918, but in 1920 it was increased to $1,935,000, due to the issue of bonds for the construction of roads.
Wyoming has been normally a Republican state in politics, but Republican control was seriously threatened for some years, beginning with the Insurgent Republican movement of 1910. Joseph M. Carey headed that movement, and a combination of Insurgent Republicans and Democrats resulted in the election in 1910 of Carey as governor, and of a majority of Democratic state officials. But the Republicans retained their control of the state Legislature throughout the decade 1910-20, and controlled the judiciary until the Act of 1918 providing for election of judges on a non-partisan ticket. Frank W. Mondell (Rep.)
was reëlected as the state's one representative in Congress in 1910 and in every succeeding election of the decade. Clarence D. Clark (Rep.) was reflected to the U.S. Senate in 1910 and Francis E. Warren (Rep.) in 1912 and again in 1918. In 1914 John B. Kendrick (Dem.) was elected governor by a vote of 22,387 to 19,174 for his Republican competitor; in 1916 he was elected to the U.S. Senate over Clark (Rep.) by a vote of 26,324 to 23,258. In 1918, however, the Republicans won the elections by substantial majorities, and in 1920 they swept the state for both state and national tickets. The presidential vote in 1912 was 15,310 for Wilson, 14,560 for Taft, and 9,232 for Roosevelt; in 1916 it was 28,316 for Wilson and 21,698 for Hughes; in 1920 it was 35,091 for Harding and 17,429 for Cox.
During the World War Wyoming supplied to the U.S. army 11,393 men, to the navy 638, and to the marine corps 111. The subscriptions to the war loans, in each case exceeding the state's quota, were as follows: First Liberty Loan, $1,568,900; Second, $5,132,650; Third, $6,737,000; Fourth, $10,183,150; Victory Loan, $6,862,250.
The recent governors have been: Joseph M. Carey (Prog.), 1911-5; John B. Kendrick (Dem.), 1915-7; L. Houx (acting, Dem.), 1917-9; Robert D. Carey (Rep.), 1919- . (L. A. W.*)