The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-05-15
THE CENSUS OF MANUFACTURES.
Gen. Walkers Defense of the Cen sus of 1880

in Lecture &C Boston.
q The subject of last evenings Lowell
:. institute lecture by President Walker,
of the Institute of Technology, was
the census as related to manufactures.
He began by noting the fact that prior
to the date of independence there were
almost no manufactures in this coun-
try, in the sense in which that word is
now used. Every discouragementha had
been put upon them by the British
government dnring the colonial period
Legal restrictions and prohibitions
tent of forbidding the transportation
OF certain manufactured goods from
one colony to another. Under such a
policy long continued, the United
States, he said, were not prepared,
upon attaining the sole control of
their own affairs, TO enter upon manu-
featuring in any extensive way, even
if the capital for such an enterprise
had been at command The growth
OF manufacturing system is process
which takes generations of time, for
inherited skill and facility of admins
tration have much to do with the per-
fecting of such system. But in an
other sense the preparation of the peo-
pie, especially those of the New
England states, had been a continuous
one from the original settlement. In
the first place, the New England set
tiers were of that Teutonic race which
has excelled all others in Inventions.
10 the great inventions of the world |
the Celtic and Sclavonic races have
contributed almost nothing. A com
petent critic of snch matters has said |
that OF the important inventions he
could name only one that had been so
contributed, the cardinal machine.
which was the invention of a French
man. This native aptitude for invcn-
ton IN the New England settlers had
1ull scope given to it in tho conditions
OF life into which they entered, and in
which they so long continued under
colonial rule. The scheming, calcula-
ting, planning faculties were called
into constant requisition in the pur-
suits of life in this new country To
make shifts to save time, to tighten
labor, to cut off corners, and reach re-
suits in the most direct way, to make ]
one tool serve three or four
different uses was an everyday prob
munity, in whatever line of employ E
ment. In every town in New England =,
daily work was no affair of rou-
tine, but every man was alert, open
eyed and thoughtful as to means and (
ends, that Wherever it was possible
something might be saved. This hab-
1t and tendency became strengthened
with each succeeding generation, ard c
at the date of independence the Amer
lean people, though they had yet
achieved nothing on the large scale, &
were potentially the greatest manu- a
acturlng people of the world. The II
Yankees OF 1888, equipped only with D
he AK and the spade, were a more ef- u
lcent race of men than the Flemings, P
he French or the English, who were L
he great manufacturing people of that 81
ime. That no greater progress ia ~
was made in the United ~
states dur ng five or six decades fol- c;
owing Independence than the records 81
how to hi We been made the lecturer IL
Explained on the ground that the OBJ 81
'ortuntes of profitable work in agri- n
ulture so much exceeded those offer N
d IN any other country that manutae- IN
uring enterprises could not stand tie dt
peal competition. For farming en- re
erprises could afford to pay and did -,
ay vastly higher rates of Interesr.for 4
apltal and still make profit than as
ouid manufacturers. Amends were
lade to some extent by imposing an sa
rtlhclal price upon manufactured IN
Gods, by means of a tariff, and the a
industries slowly WI
aimed. but not with rapidly until the IN
gricultural lands of the interior an
hich could be made accessible had di
cen pretty fully occupied, so fully at pa
asst as to augment in high ratio the pa
llue of lands to newcomer and pa
lrchaser. He gave reasons why the thu
Irly decennial censuses in respect to an
were very imperfect. me
ld said that it is not until the year WI
so that our statistics of manufac- OF
res can properly be said to be- tn
n. he gave figures showing the
eat strides made in the three fol- rel
wing decades, and in this connec- dii
m made some very pointed rejoin- ON
rs to those critics who have the
etended that the work of the census he
1880, in respect to manufactures, ed
IS very imperfectly done. The lee ha'
rer's statement on this point. pu'
lounted to a demonstration of the get
sity OF those pretenses. He said he yo'
nd point out certain doubtful pun
Asses in the returns of that census, 1t
it happened that none of these sat
Itch might possibly be open to some
ticisna had been hit upon by these
tics, whose motive was in ieal-
sy Of the fame of one state or city pal
compared with another. He de- RI
red the census of 1880 to be more d
feet and reliable than any previ- on
census of manufactures taken in old
5 country or in any er-Boston .
certiSer. hide
call
lands Held by the Husha ndman =.