Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-04-16
0ESEREf EVENING NEWS
! GREAT INDUSTRY.
SIX HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS N
VESTED IN ELECTRICAL
ENTERPRISES.

IL seems somewhat kar-fetcheJ to
style electricity, branch Of science
that Involves 80 many interests, an
industry, and yet we find il so con-
stantly alluded 10 in such terms.
that it seems only natural for US to
apply the cogEomen generally 10 all
the various departments Of the most
wonderful result OF modern develop
ment ami discovery. In the United
States, electricity has gone ahead Of
almost everything else as grand
addition TO the conveniences with
which inventive and mechanical
Ingenuity has supplied us, and some
figures, complied from reports re-
Gently presented and from various
publications, will doubtless prove as
interesting 10 cur readers as such
statistics usually are.
About $500, 900, 900 represents the
amount Of caSital invested in cleo
trical branches o! industry in the
United States, and upwards SO per
cent OF this enormous sum has been
contributed within the past five
years, in spite of the fact that the
Western Union Telegraph Com
pany has announced It's system the
representative Of not less than $50
100000 during all this period. At
present this mammoth corporation
IS TO be credited with a capital Of
$4,000, 600.
For the various telegraph COM
panies not included in the Western
Union system. the telegraph estab-
lishments OF the various railway
companies, the cable companies, the
electric alarm and messenger call
systems and private lines an addi-
ton to this sum Of so, 900, 600 would
be within the mark. The American
Bell Telephone Company has a
subscribed capital Of 81, OOO, 900, on
which IL pays good dividends, and
under its system il licenses other
companies whose total capital
reaches an aggregate OF $50, 900, 700.
The American Telegraph and Tele-
phone Company ,ow ming the patents
ON this successful long distance de
vices adds 5000, 900 to this sum,
making altogether 100000, 600 in
vested in telegraph and telephone
companies alone.
Next in order we have the elec-
tric lighting interest, which prom
ises indeed TO exceed those above
described in importance. Together
with them we class the electric
power companies, whose business 4
still in its infancy, and the electric
railroad companies, OF which there
are about sixty in operation in all
parts OF the country. The electric
lighting companies are of course
the most numerous In this division,
there being one at least-often sew
eral-in every city, town or village
of importance, besides the great
faotories established by the ThOm-
SON Houston, the Westinghouse,
Edison, Brush, Jenney, Mather,
Excelsior, Consolidated, Schuyler |
and many other concerns, in some
of which millions OF dollars are in
vested. Ii would be a conservative
estimate 10 place their combined |
capital, actually employed, at $780,
900. 200.
Here, then, is a grand total OF
$500, O00, 900, but We have said moth
ing Of the manufacturers OF electrical
and supplies, and they,
too, belong in the business. One !
cgncern, making instruments for |
and telephone companies,
for bell work, etc, has factories Of |
large size in New York, Chicago,
London and Antwerp, and there are |
Others OF almost equal magnitude in |
every principal manufacturing CEN |
ter. Including with these two COM |
panies manufacturing CARTONS and |
storage batteries. and the extent TO |
which great machine SHOPS, wire /
works, glass and rubber factories /
are engaged in the Manufacture Of |
railroad implements ami supplies, IL /
will readily be seen that SlO0, OD0,-
900 would be a moderate sum for all |
these Industries to employ in con-
nection with elet trical work.
This brings our total investment |
upto 81, 600, 900, an imposing amount 1
10 be employed IN 4 branch Of in
iustry that Is based on a science |
that is practically less than half n |
century old.
Is there another that can make /
such a showing?-SIyety V1,re.