Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1892-12-15
He Says the Country Was Never Before
in SO Prosperous Condition as
Now,
And Gives Figures TO Back His Asser.
tions-All the Departments
E~ulogized,
But Those Presided Over by Rusk and
wanamaker Come in for the
ggias Lions Share.

I copgres. have great satisfaction in be.
inR able to say that the general ooudi-
lions affectiu q the commercial and indus
trial interests OF the United States are 10
the highest degree favorable. A compar-
isun of the existing conditions with those
of the most favored period In the history
of the country will. ] believe, show that
so high a degree Of prosperity and so gen
eral a diffusion of the comforts OF life
were never before enjoyed by our people.
wealth of the Country.
The total wealth of the country 10 1860
was SIC, l59, al6, COS. In 1890 II amounted
TO $50, olO. 600, 900, an increase of 2s' per
cent.
The total mileage of railways in the
United States In 1890 was 30,62o; In 1890 lt
was 1877, TAI, an increase of AS per cent;
and IL is estimated that there will be
about 1000 miles Of track added by the
close Of the year 1899.
The official returns OF the Eleventh CEN
aus and those of the Tenth census for IS
leading cities furnished the basis for the
following comparisons:
In 1880 the capital invested in manufac-
suring was 81, 1892, S39,67O.
In 1890 the capital invested in msnutss-
turing was 50, 900. 3 1854.
In 1880 the number of employees was
1901, 1888.
In 1890 the number o: employees was
2,251, l34.
In 1880 the wages earned were s5Ol. $685.
7fs.
In 1890 the wages earned were 81 2sl,l1o,
454.
Ia 1880 the vslus Of The product was a.
7ll,57e,s 500.
In 1890 the value OF the product was a..
$50, PSI, s37.
am informed by the superintendent
of the census that the omission Of GER.
tain industries in 1880 which were In.
Guided in 1890 accounts In part of the re.
markable increase thus shown, but after
making tull allowances for differences Of
method and deducting the returns for all
industries not included In the census Of
1880, there remain in the reports from
these seventy five cities an increase In tho
capital employed Of 81 ,522, 745,604; In the
value Of the product Of s2.o24, 236, 100. in
wages earned OF f677, e43. 929, aud 10 the
number of wage earners etnpioyed Of
s56, 02p. The wage earnings not only
show an increased aggregate. but an In
crease per capita from s0s6 In 1850 10 tai7
IN 1890; or 4l.7l per cent.
Growth of IndustrisI Plants
The Few industrial plants established
siuce Oct. 6, 1890, and up to Oct. 22. 1892.
as partially reported in the American
Economist, number 345, aud the extension
OF existing plants los; the new capital in
vested amount to $40. 449, $50. and the
NUN Der of additional employees to 81.
2s5.
The Textile World for July, 1891, states
that during the first six months OF the
present calendar year 1875 new factories
were built, of which i6 are cotton mills.
ss knitting mills, "a wooden mills, Is silk
mills. 4 plush mills and 2 linen mills. OF
the 40 cotton mills 81 have been built in
the Southern states. Mr.. A. B. Shep
herson. of the New York Cotton Ex-
change, estimates the number OF working
spindles in the United States on Sept. /,
1892, at 49, 200, 600, an increase of e60, 900
over the year 1891. The consumption of
cotton by American mills In 1891 was
2,ag6, 600 bales, and In 1872. {, 5S4, 900 bales,
an increase of $4,000 bales. From the
year 1869 to 1892 inclusive. there has been
an increase in the consumption OF cotton
in Europe of 90 per cent, while during the
same period the Increased consumption
in the United States has been about $50
per
The Tin Industry.
The report Of Ira Aver, special agent of
the treasury department, shows that ut
the date OF Sept. 80, 1892, there were
thirty-two companies manufacturing tin
and terne plate in the United States and
fourteen companies building new works
for such manufacture. The estimated
investment in buildings and plants at the
close of the fiscal year, June 30, 1898, II
existing conditions were to be continued,
was IS, OOO, 900, and the estimated rate of
production 200, DOC, 900 pounds per snnum
The actual production Of the quarter end
ing Sept. 80, 1892. was 1882, rs pounds.
Commissioner Peck's Report.
The report of Labor Commissioner
Peck, OF New York, shows that during
the year 1891, in about six thousand
manufacturing establishments in that
state embraced within the special inquiry
made by him. aud representing 81 differ
ent industries, there was a net increase
ever the year 1890 of s31, BIS, 1868 in the
value of the product, and of 1851, 925. %
In abe amount of wages paid.
The report OF the commissioners of la bor
for the State of Massachusetts, shows that
3,745 industries in that state paid s12a.-
Ale, 24S in wages during the year 1891,
against Sl26, 03J, 1903 in 1890, an increase of
{ 1885, gi5, and that there was IN increase
of 50, 932, 49C In the amount Of capital, and
of 7,346 in the number of persons en-
ployed In the same period.
Our Foreign Trade.
The total value of our foreign trade
exports and manufacturer during the
last fiscal year was sl,s57, $50, 61O, an in
crease of Sl2S, 2S3, 604 over the previous
fiscal year. The average annual value of
ourimports and exports of merchandise
for the ten fiscal years prior to 1891 was
& ,457, 322, 019. 1t will be observed that
our foreign trade for 1892 exceeded this
annual average value by S4Oo, 1855, sol, an
increase Of 27.47 per cent. The signiic-
ance and value of this increase are sA"wn
by the fact that the excess in the trade OF
1892 over 1891, was wholly In the value oil
exports, for there was a decrease in the
value OF imports o, 81, 1913, 754.
The value of our exports during the
fiscal year 1892 reached the highest figure
In the history of the government amount.
Ing TO 1900, 27s, 14s exceeding by sl45, 1884,
S3s the exports of 1891 and exceeding the
value of the imports by s202, SIS, os6.
Value Of Exports.
A comparison Of the value Of our ex.
ports for 1892 with the annual average for
the ten years prior to 1891 shows an excess
OF s265, 1851, or of 34.6 5 per cent.
The value OF our imports OF m%erchan-
disc Tor 1892, which was $500, 400, 462, also
exceeded the annual average value of the
sen years prior TO 1891 by sl35, els, 940.
during tie fiscal yer 1892, the value OF
imports free of duty amounted to S457,-
SS9,o5S, the largest aggregate In the his
tory OF our commerce. The value of the
imports OF merchandise entered free of
duty In 1892 was S. per cent. of the
total value OF imports. as compared with
1885 per cent. in 1891, and 1915 per cent.
IN 1890.
The C~oastvise Trade.
Ia our coastwise trade q most encour-
aging development Is in prosress, there
having been in the last four years an in
crease OF Is per cent. In internal com
nerce the statistics show that no such
period of prosperity has ever before ex.
listed. The freight carried In the coast.
wise trade of the Great Lakes In 1890 ao.
gregated IS. 2e5, $50 tons.
Another Indication of Prosperity.
Another Indication of the general pros
perity OF the country is found In the fact
That the number of depositors In savings
banks Increased from 693. $40 in 1850 to
4.25s, ss5 In 1890, an increase of 5l3 per
cent. and the amount OF deposits from
slss.z7'.5O4 IN 1869 to 81 524 .s44, sos in 1890.
Plenty of Work at Good Wages.
There never has been a time In our his.
tory when work was SO abundant or when
l. waRfa WarQ ne hfoh xL-