The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1880-12-30
A WONDERFUL COUNTRY.
Tho Develsp.se.s .fshe Great Nas.rai
Resources er tluS United sf.ies

Tho Develsp.e.s .fshe Great Nss.rai
Resoarces OF fnu~ United sf~te~
At a meeting Of, as American Society
Of Mechanical Engineers in New York,
Prof Thurston delivered the address.
Much, he said, rrefnains to bedone by
the GenerM Government m the develop-
ment Of The resouncps of this country
The new orga1izatipp cfathe geological
survey is spch fff f0fm Und IN the char
acter Of its. administration thatywe hope
to see the work of determining the
value of our mineral resources done with
maximum rapidity and efficiency. In
tracing the progress in the various de-
partmentsi Of American enterprise he
said that ninety pine years ego Samuel
A. Slater started To- &rst successful cot
ton-spinning mill H Pawtucket, RyL
To-day we raise 1,s00, ,00O, 900 pounds, of
cotton to supply nj IN nearly every
New England State and In nearly every
other State in the Union, which manu-
facture $500, 900, 900 worth of goods.
"From the day in 1794 when the first
rude woolen-mill was established at New
bury, Mass, our wooden Manufactures
have grown iRrextent and in excellence
Of produce until to-day our II, 900 or
1900 sets Of machinery, handled by
nearly 100. .Qf the most skillful opera
tives TO he f0GndL in the world, produce
$3.50, ,000, 600 WORTHY Of goods, which in
point OF lcheapness and excellence COM
pete with the.bsst vork-in<Europe. z=-
I'VE have seen the silk manufacture,
after struggling with difficulties of every
imaginable sort for half century, finally
secure n foothold and enter upon a
period Of prosperity which is as marvel
Gus as it Is encorrng gfng. The enterprise
OF the Cheneys during the past genszzr
ton, and the steady persistence OF the
Paterson, N. j., manufacturers, -have
borne fruit in the erection of $50 mil1s,
with n production Of $50, 900, 000 worth
OF silk goods, which in strength and
durability excel, and in beauty are fully
equal to, the finest products OF its French
competitors at Lyons.
'1n the manufacture Of iron and steel
the story is the same. We have furnaces
which are supplied with every variety of
the best ores, and are making 1000, 900
tons of pig iron per annum.
"By wise policy of Legislative protec-
ton we are practically free from that
foreign competition which threatened to
throttle our manufactures in their in
fancy. We consume our whole product,
and that is nearly 10 per cent. Of all the
iron used in the world. Of our enormous
coal yield, about 10000, 900 tons year,
n large fraction is consumed in making
and working this iron, 1000, 900 or more
tons OF which goes TO market as wrought
iron in a thousand different shapes.
''The growth Of our Bessemer steel
production is even more marvellous.
Twenty years ago this wonderful illustra-
ton Of the smarvels Of chemical science
was looked upon rs merely an interesting
and curious process, Of no Immediate
value and of most uncertain promise.
To-day single establishment is making
1000 tons year.
''rhe United States is looked upon as
the home of all ingenious and effective
labor-saving devices. The Corliss engine
has revolutionized the steam-engine
manufacture Of the world. The class of
men from whose ranks the members of
this society are principally drawn direct,
and labors of nearly 5000, 900 of working
people in n third of million mills, are
responsible for the preservation and pro-
fitable utilization of 81, 500, 900, 900 worth
of capital direct; the payment of 81 ,000,-
OOO,OOO OF wages; the consumption of
5000, 100000 worth of raw materials,
and the output of $4,000, 900, 900 worth
of manufactured articles. Fifty thou
sand steam-engines and more than an
equal number of water-wheels turn the
machinery of the hundreds of thousands
OF workshops throughout the country"