The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-12-14
One Century of American Develop
ment.


One hundred years ago the United States wa
composed of sixteen states, Kentucky, Vernon
and Tennessee having been admitted % the Unio
during the closing decade Of the eighteenth cen
tury. Since then Virginia has been divided ant
| n seventeenth state created without increasing
the area included in the sixteen, and there hav
also been admitted twentyeight other states
To better appreciate the growth of the natol
| a few comparisons may not seem i'll advised
| Had there been no change in area. and withou
taking into account territories then or nov
| owned by the nation, and supposng the saln
| development and increase within the scvera
states as has been witnessed. the United State
| would then he larger than Great Britain plu
| France and Denmark Greece, Portugal and Bel
| gnni. and would have population more MI
| mcrots than Italy plus Norway and Denmark
it would out number Austria plus Sweden, Swift
| zcrland and Greece. The population OF these
seventeen states is very nearly equal to that o
| Great Britain.
The twcnty.ninc states admitted during the cen
! tury have brought an increase of territory ex
ceeding the German empire plus Great Britain
| France. Span Portugal, Belgium, Hungary
| Italy. Greece. Denmark and Sweden. The United
| States today, exclusive of the organized terri
| tories and other possessions, Is larger than Euro
pean Russia and larger than all Europe except
| Russia while our population is nearly equal tc
| Great Britain and France combined, and once
| and a half as large as the German empire. The
area of the United States, exclusive of organized
territories and possessions, has increased siNfod
| and our population fifeen-fold is one hundred
years.
| While the population of the United States has
increased ttecn.foll in one hundred wears. Churc,
membership has increased four times fiftecn.fold
in the same period. We have sixteen million
pupils receiving elementary instruction, six hun
drcd and fifty thousand receiving secondary in
structon in high schools and academies, one
hundred thousand receiving normal school train
ing and fifty thousand under professional tuition.
Comparisons tor the last thirty years show an
cver-increhsing per cent. in the enrolment of
children of school age, as well as the number of
days attendance OF pupils enrolled and in the
average length OF the school year. The annual
expenditure for educational purposes. exclusive
of donations to endowments and for college and
university buildings, exceeds $500 900 900 per an
mum.
When the seat OF government was moved to
the District of Columbia over five million people
were dependent almost entirely upon agriculture
and fisheries. Their clothing was spun and woven
III the home of the wcarer their grain, home.
grown, ground to Order and .eir meat
mostly ''rangefcd,' was generally slaughtered at
the door of the consumer The table of the
average Aylerican was not then deb or thrice
neceSsarics. Very little consumed by that fr,-
gal people. salt and rum excepted, had been
transported twenty miles from the place of its
production.
Time forbidS even hasty review OF the more
recent as we'll as more marvellous improvements
in agricultural methods and appliances, which,
in forty-tive years, nave reduced the time in l,
man labor required to produce b,,shcl of corn
elghty-ivc per cent. and the cost of this labor.
Notwithstanding cverincreasing wages, seventy
per cent, ana which have reduced the time in
human labor required to raise buslel of wheat
from an average OF more than three hours in 1880
to ten minutes at the present time, and the
cost OF human labor from seventeen cents to
three and half cents. Rates of Transportation
have also materially decreased. The average rate
per ton per mile charged by one of the oldest
and best known roads in the United States has
been reduced more than ninety per cent. since
1870, and the average rate charged by all roads
in TINS country has decreased siXty-one per cent
during the same period Average passenger
rates have declined forty.three per cent in
twenty years. Freight rates in England are
nearly three times rs high as in the United
States and on the continent of Europe the rates
are higher than in England.
Our farms produce per annum in round num-
hers 3,7o0, 900 bushels of cereals, worth ST.
3OO'0OOWN. We grow 23O, 900. 900 bushels of pota.
worth SlOo,0O0,o00; 100000 bales of cotton.
worth S30o0OO,Oo0: LOO, 100000 pounds of but.
ter and cheese and market 1000 900 900 gallons of
milk, worth in the aggregate Si5O, 600 600; clip
2'o,o0O,oW pounds OF wool, worth $50, ,OOO, ,OO0 and
sell eggs worth over 100000. 900 and hold upon
onr farms 170,0O0OoO farm animals worth So.
25o,0oOO00. And still have not referred to to.
bacco, nor cane beet and other sugars honey
seeds, nuts. fruits, cut flowers, nor many other
nt n,r,I Inn, Al and H.,
all OF which have been developed surprisingly
during the century. ] shall not be surprised il
tn" twelfth census shall show an annual Weld
rom the land of the forty-fvc states WORTH as il
leaves the producer, $500, 900 OOO
No less remarkable has been the developn,ent
in mineral products We produce fourteen mil
hon tons OF pig iron per annum, forty-ive per
cent. more than Great Britain and nearly seventy
per cent. more than Germany and over one.thirI
the product of the world. Al the same time we
manufacture ten million tons of steel, as much
as Great Britain and Germany, and thirty nor
cent. ot the product of the world. While tho
worlds production OF coal mas douDied in twenty
years, that of the United States has treblcd IN
the same period. We produced in ls9D more coal
than Great Britain, practically twice as much
as Germany and nearly double that Of all coun.
tries except Great Britain and Germany, In Tho
closing year OF this century We shall doubtless
mine 600 TONS of coal, nearly one.tbird of
the worlds output, worth $3.50, 900 600 Not only
do we produce more coal but we also consume
more and then have more left than any other
country on the map We consume more even
than Great Britain and all her possessions and
more than twice as much as GERMANY the third
great consumer In 1915 we mined one hundred
tons OF copper We now produce nearly three
hundred thousand tons. worth more than SlOO..
OOo,mo In ten years the worlds product of con.
per has increased sixty-sN per cent. while Ours
has increased twice siXtysix per cent, in The
same period.
We produce, in round numbers, ffty.fyc mil.
lion ounces OF silver per annun. one.third the
output oil the world, worth SO OOO, 900 and three
million four hundred thousand ounces of gold
one quarter OF the worlds output, also worth
S7O.OOOOO0. We produce, in round Numbers
eighteen million barrels Of salt per annum, prac.
tically one-fourth OF the worlds output This IL
twice the amount produced ten years ago and
three times the product OF twenty years ago
Ten years ago Great Britain and Russia each
produced more salt than we, and Germany quite
as much. Now We produce more than Great
Britain and nity per cent. more than Germany
or Russia.
The petroleum industry is forty.iye years old
In 1883 we produced two thousand barrels Since
then our wells have yielded nine hundred million |
barrels. The yield in 1899 was ffty.seven million |
barrels, worth s6i0OO,OOO. Equally favorable |
showing can be made with respect to nearly all |
mineral products, Our mines and quarries and |
wells and banks and pits yielded last year 1915,
oOO0OO worth OF metallic and non.metalic min. |
erals, an increase Of seventyfye per cent. in ten