The state chronicle., 1892-11-29
The State Chronicle
TUESDAY, Nov. % 1909
Some Great Industries

man three great material wants
are food, clothing and shelter. In fa.
voring climate he can live in a savage
state fthe first only of these three
wants Is satisfied; but as he becomes
civilized he needs all three, and every
advance toward enlightenment is ac
companied by the use of more. and of
better quality of each. 1t has some.
times b7en said that the rank of peo-
pie IN civilization may be judged ac-
curately by its consumption of wheat.
AS wealth lncrt ases and attention is
pad to the comforts of life, wheaton
bread replaces that made from rye and
other coarse cereals. However this
may be, it is certain that the quantity
ana quality Of the clothing worn is a
good test Of the condition of people.
In this respect America has no reason
20 fear comparison with any other
country. Some striking facts have
been brought out lately in
bulletins issued by the census
Office which indicate not only the
! enormous amount Of consumption
OF cotton, wool and silk goods, but
the great Importance of the busines, of
manufacturing them. Ine value of
wool,n and worsted goods manufac-
tured in 1890 is returned as three
hundred and thirty-ei yht millions; OF
cotton, two hundred and sixty-eight
millions; of silk, eighty-seven millions.
Ia the same year the importation of
goods of these materials reached a
value of one hundred and twenty
millions. Thus the whole consumption,
allowing for exports, exceeded eight
hundred million dollars. We must re-
member that this was not the value of
the clothing used, but for the most part
that of the cloth of which it was COM
posed. The woo.en goods include
car pets, which are themselves mark
of high civilization. The actual value
of the clothing as sold to the people,
nevertheless, could no. have been less
than fifteen hundred million dol
lars. Turning back now to the
manufacture Of wool, cotton and silk
fabrics out of he raw fibre, we
find that in the aggregate four hundred
and ninety-one thousand people, almost
half million, were employed in the
factories where these goods are pro
duced. 1t requires ten figures to state
the number OF pounds of cotton con
sumed in the factories of the countr,
in single year-more than one thou
sand million pounds, which is NOR
than seventeen pounds for every man
woman and child in the United States
The amount Of wool used is six pound
for each inhabitant. Such figures a
these are not easy TO remember, an
indeed there is no need to remembe
them all. They give one who read
them an idea OF the inmeIse extent {
what is known as the textile industry
the details are interesting to those onl
: who are engaged in the business
Almost the whole product of thes
classes Of goods is Consumed at home
The export trade III textiles is e1
tremely small Great Britain exceed
| the United States in the extent Of eac
! of these branches cf manufacture; bl
! It's goods 90 all over tt
] Wnrld Another fact is brougl
/ out by tn census is that thel
| has been large increase in each
| these industries. The largest of all
in the silk manufacture, which is no
= more than seven times as large as
| was in 1879, and more than twice ;
| large as in 1880. All these industri
/ are concentrated largely in the mort
! eastern corner q the country-Ne
| England. New York, New Jersey al
| Pennsylvania. This is least true
| the cotton manufacture, which hi
! made enormous progress in The SOU
! during the past ten years. But fou
if hs of the value Of the cotton man
features in these nine northeastel
i states. More than nint -tenths of Il
wool manufacture Is in the same state
]; and an even greater fraction of Il
8 silk P4nnsJlvani.. is the chief Sc
4 Of the wo, INDUSTRY, Massachusetts
Z cotton. New Jersey Of silk. All the
= industries are now II a fl0urishing co
duion. aud the manufacture is exten
- ing. The census Of the year 1900 v
| tel q much more marvellous tale hi
/; that Of 1890.