Omaha daily bee., 1891-01-01

NEBRASKA INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS.
The second biennial report of the Ne
braska bureau Of labor has just been is
sued, and makes an elaborate document
of nearly thousand pages. 1t gives ev-
idence of intelligent and faithful work on
the part of the deputy commissioner of
labor, Mr.. John Jenkins. The report
contains interesting and valuable in
formation regarding the cost OF living
among unskilled wage workers, loan
and building associations, farm mort
cages, manufacturing industries, the
sugar beet industry, and other matters
properly coming within the scope of in
quiry required of the bureau of labor.
Most OF what the report contains on
the subject of farm mortgages has al
ready appeared in THE BEE. A care
full investigation of the mortgage in
debtedness of Sarpy county was made,
that being one of the oldest counties in
the state and IN the opinion of the dep
uty commissioner furnishing fair
basis from which to estimate the mort
gage Indebtedness of the state. The in
vestigation covereda period of ten years
down to January l, 1890, and during that
period S65 mortgages were executed,
representing l,3Oj, 523. AT the end
of the period covered by the investiga-
ton there were unpaid 81 mortgages
representing s46S,6ls. Fifty-eight per
cent of tho mortgage indebtedness was
for purchase money, and the rate of in
terest on the larger part of it was six
and eight per cent. Taking the figures
of Sarpy county as fair basis from
which to estimate the mortgage indebt-
edness of the state, and it is plain that
the farmers of Nebraska do not owe to
exceed one-third OF the amount which
certain reckless alarmists have claimed
they owe.
The bureau was not able to obtain
thorough hinformation regarding the man
ufacturing industries of the state, though
it appears to have made strenuous efforts
to do so. Only about half of those to
whom inquiries were addressed re-
sponded, and still smaller number
furnished statistics of any value. The
principal objection to giving the in.
formation called for was that the bureau
had no right to make Investigations into
private affairs. The bureau asked for
no Information that has not since been
demanded and secured by the federal
census authorities, and the deputy com
missioner pertinently suggests that iii
1t is right in the federal government tc
demand this information, it follows
that the Same right exists in the
state" At any rate the question of com,
pelling manufacturers under penalty tc
furnish such statistics as may properly
and without injury to them be made pub
lie merits the attention of the legisla
ture. If it is desirable to collect and
publish industrial statistics, and it is
| presumed no one will question that it is
it is obviously necessary to provide q
way to get them. And surely what con
gress may order in this matter it il
within the power of the state to re-
| quire. Available information was OBJ
tained from $40 establishments out
Of SAT addressed, the amount
| OF cdplldl invested IN LneS(
June 1, 1889, being 81, ,5O3, 153, and theil
production for the year ending at tha
date was Of the value of $32, $50, ,544 Th,
average number of persons employed IL
the $40 establishments was 6,065, and tn,
wages paid during the year was 50, S64,
$50. 1t is undoubtedly safe estimate tC
place the value of the annual produc tion
of the industries in Nebraska classed BY
the bureau OF labor as manufactures q
nearly or quite S50,000,0O0.
There are in Nebraska twenty-nin,
building and loan associations, o
which the bureau of labor received
reports from twenty-four. These state,
their total net assets amount to $685.,
1000, and the total number of share
holders at the time of the reports wa
2,462. This is a very good showing fo
"A young state, The deputy commissions
recommends the enactment OF law re