Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-06-21
STILL MORE COMPARISONS.

IhaC 0laOOrdCO review OF Cn0 prog
ress of the United States, by the
celebrated British statistician, Null
hall, which has attracted so much at
tention, is continued in the North
american ReUieU for June by a con-
sideration of the Middle States-New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland and the District
of Columbia.
Imam earlier chapter Mulhall had
discussed New England, and the
graphic comparisons which he there
drew between the New England and
the old proved very awkward and
would have US abandon our tradi-
tional economic policy for that under
which Great Britain has lost her in
| dustrial supremacy to protectionist
America. In the present chapter
these comparisons are resumed.
They are quite as suggestive and
quite as Illuminating as they were in
the earlier instance.
Mulhall finds in the first place that
the Middle States are much more
closely populated than the European
continent, the average being lao per-
sons to the square mile, or only lit
tie less than that of France. The
American white population of the
Middle States has grown five times
faster than that of New England, and
has almost kept pace with the gen.
eral growth Of population in spite of
the large influx of foreigners. In
agriculture, although the area under
cultivation exceeds by 100000 acres
the total farm area of Great Britain,
the Middle States have not held their
own with the West, and all of them
together do not raise food enough for
the single State OF Pennsylvania. But
for this circumstance, as in New Eng
land, there is the natural explanation
that manufacturing and commerce
have proven more profitable and
have absorbed in an even greater de-
gree the energies of the people.
Indeed, in manufacturing the Mid
die States have outstripped even the
phenomenal progress of New Eng
land, their output having multiplied
eightfold and the sum paid for wages
ninefold since 1850. "The manufac-
turers of the Middle States" says this
foremost of British authorities, Eek
coed in value those of France or Ger
many, and fall only five per cent. be-
low those of Great Britain. Dividing
the value among population, they
give an average of 1888 per inhabi-
tant, as compared with $11O in Great
Britain and $75 in France. There is,
in fact, no country in the world
where the output of manufactures
shows so high a ratio to population as
in the Middle States, except New
England"
And our British statistician finds
that American wage earners have
won their full share of of this remark
able prosperity. While product has
increased in forty years 80 per cent,
wages have increased lis per cent.
"Wages in 1890 averaged 1894 per
week or 10 per cent. more than in
New England, the difference perhaps
being accounted for by the higher
cost of living in the Middle States"
For the value of house property in
these states, Mulhall, exact scientist
though he is, has only the enthusi-
astic word "prodigious." 'The six
Middle States," he says, "taken col
lectively, give an average Of $500 of
house property per inhabitant, which
is double the ratio found in Great
Britain, and hence it may be affirmed,
that the people of these States are, on
the whole, the best housed community
in the world" The average accumu-
lation of wealth by these fortunate
people has been ''exactly double the
average accumulation yearly in
Great Britain in the interval of 1850
1885,"
And all these years these States
have been "staggering" under the
''load" of a protective system!-
Journal.
I, -