The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-07-23

"wednesday. -. ISL ,s66 Weekly '.......... $4,000
Total for the week. ..1,iei,78O
New York the Great Manufacturing City.
According TO the last census the manufac-
lures Of New York in 1880 gave employment
10 14o,4l1 men, 6s93S women, and 1928 chill
dren, in all 2ls,277 persons To these $685.
s7s,sO6 was paid in wages, and, with capital
Of S164, 9l7, s56, manufactured products of a
value OF s44s, 2o9,24s were turned out.
The chief city of the Union is by far its
greatest manufacturing centre. In value,
the products OF New York exceed those
Of Philadelphia by $l43,657,523, though we
have been accustomed to look to that city
es peculiarly one Of manufactures. Chicago,
which comes third, Is behind New York by
more than two hundred million dollars.
Brooklyn follows next after Chicago. with
manufactured products valued at $l69,757,-
800. The two cities separated only by the
East River, and substantially one commu-
nifty, employ in manufactures 1863 44S people,
pay STA, $50, s57 in wages, and produce goods
Of the value Of s6l7, 966, 1888.
1t must be remembered, however that I'M
der the head Of manufactures Is included
great variety Of business in large city, for
the term Is q very broad one. The number
Of manufacturing establishments In New
York, for instance, Is given at 1l,l62, and
among them are many which turn out only
o small product or which do a small manu-
featuring business along with a much more
extensive trade in other peoples products.
There are however, about eighty different
varieties OF manufacture whose annual prod
uct exceeds million dollars each In value.
At the head Of the list in New York stands
the manufacture Of clothing. The annual
product OF mems clothing was SEQ, 79S, 697,
and Of women's clothing S1S,930,5 1853, in 1880.
OF course this does not mean that the men
Of New York expend more on dress than the
women. 1t only shows the enormous devel-
opment which has taken place Of recent
years in the manufacture Of ready-made
garments for men, both for home use and
for shipment throughout the country.
Whereas formerly comparatively few slop-
shop" clothes were bought by men, those
who get their garments made expressly for
them by tailor are now in a very small
minority. Ready-made clothing has greatly
Improved in fit and general appearance, as
well as in quality, during the last ten or fif-
teen years, and it is worn more and more.
The cost Of its manufacture has also been
reduced by the introduction Of labor-saving
machinery, by which even the cutting Of the
garments Is done.
The manufacture Of women's garments on
an extensive scale Is now much commoner
than it used to be, but ready-made clothing
Is not so satisfactory to them yet, and prob
ably never will be- as 1t is to the great run Of
men. But an increasing quantity Of womens
gowns, especially Of the cheaper sorts, is
now turned out, and they are bought at
very considerable saving as compared with
the cost Of getting dresses made by man.
tuamakers. Other articles Of women's cloth
ing, formerly made at home or given out to
seamstresses, are now bought ready made
and at prices surprisingly low.
1t is not probable that the census was able
to get more than small part Of the value Of
the women's clothing produced. A very
great majority Of it comes from the hands Of
women who work up materials furnished by
their customers, and no returns Of 1t are at
tainable. The figures Of the census include.
In all likelihood, only the product Of large
establishments. They take no account Of the
remainder, which Is vastly more.
The next great manufacturing interest in
New York is meat packing, the annual
product of which is worth s2e, 297,527 Then
come tobacco manufactures, yielding $22,66s,
$50. The value Of the cigars produced in
New York is alone s1s,947, 1Os. The once
despised domestic cigar is now smoked by
all kinds Of people, the rich as well as the
poor. The printing and publishing business,
In which newspapers are, Of course, included,
comes next, with an annual product Of
S2l, 696,354.
The enormous development Of the business
OF manufacturing mems clothing is perhaps
the most striking fact shown by these census
statistics 1t is the chief manufacturing in
terest in New York, in Boston, and in Cincinna-
ii, and stands among the first in Philadelphia.