Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-12-14
The Consumption OF Iron Per Capita.

There is no doubt that the most civil
lied nations use the highest quantity
per capita of any product. They are
able to supply themselves freely with
/ the necessaries of life, to furnish them
selves deliberately with the convenien-
ces, and to lavish upon themselves
abundantly the luxuries of existence.
! Civilized nations not only surround
| themselves with plenty of food and pro-
cure 1t in greatvariety, but they clothe
! themselves well, they furnish their
| houses with completeness, they use ma
chinery in their varied occupations, they
| bridge streams, they provide for them
| selves the most comfortable and speedy
means of transportation, and in every
| way they add ease, comfort, conyen-
fence, and even pleasure to heperform-
ance of the ordinary duties in life. 1t
| is therefore, quite common among po-
! litical economists to measure the adj
yancement of Nation toward the plane
OF high civilization by its consumption
/ of such products as indicate the deyel-
| opment of mechanical skill or the wide
I spread existence of diverSiG I'd industry.
Wood, sulphur, iron and other useful
/ products are each referred to as fur
!
| advancement in the arts and sciences
of different peoples.
To those who are interested in such
Investigations and comparisons table
| of some value will be found in Mr.. J S.
! Jeans recent report to the British Iron
/ Trade Association, of which he is Sec
rotary. Mr.. Jeans has made careful
calculation of the annual consumption
/ of iron per capita of almost every coun-
/ try in the world according to the latest
advices. We presume. however, that
in this case the rule laid down by polit-
| zeal economists will have to be varied
from a little, if it can be made
sufficiently flexible, for surely the
Falkland Islands cannot be the
! center of the civilization of the globe
yet their per capita consumption
/ surpassed all competitors. being 367
pounds New South Wales, too, can
/ hardly be regarded as in the foremost
rank of enlightenment, but it comes
next, with 362 pounds. These antipodal
/ regions seem to be immense consumers
of iron according to their population,
for South Australia comes next, with
| 81 pounds. Great Britain is relegated
to the fourth place in this list Of iron
absorbers, consuming but 2S74 pounds.
! Nevertheless, she triumphs over her
lusty child, the United States, which
appears as using only 27l pounds, Eut
along come two moro of Great Britain's
children-Queensland. with 269 pounds,
! and West Australia, with 262 pounds.
1t is, indeed, remarkable that all the
countries so far named are English, or
4 - iCh RnlD
psars upon tho scene, with 239 pounds.
But back the banner goes to two more
English colonies Victoria, with 2024
pounds, and New Zealand, with 1S7
pounds. And now comes France,
though so wonderfully clever, far down
in the list with - pounds Thrifty
Holland ranks next, with 1879 pounds.
Then follows the Anglo-Chinese settle
ment of Hong Kong, with l33 pounds,
and Uruguay, with $50 pounds, pre-.
ceding (can it be possibleD Germany,
with only 1888 pounds. Surely this
cannot be n good test of civilization, CT
else there Is something wrong with the
figures. But what comes next after
Germany? The FIJI Islands, with 1911
hounds. Then our ncighbor Canada,
follows these islands of tho South Sea,
with l202 pounds. No other country
reaches a consumption of 100 pounds.
Sweden comes not far from 1t; then
comes Tasmania. Newfoundland, the
Cape of Good Hope, the East Indian
snaits settlements, Natal, the Argen-
tine Republic, Malta, panmark, Aus,
tria, and Norway, No other country.
not even Spain, Portugal, Russia, OF
Italy, reaches consumption of thirty
J ,,n,1.,l. L,.n1l LIN