The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-26
Dec. 18th, 1901.
Alabama Manufactures Per Census of
 1900.

Mobile Register.
 Census Bulletin No. IF reports "Manu- lectures" of the State of Alabama, with tables showing the investment and prod uct by counties, and also the urban or city investment and product of eighteen cities; and special tables showing manu- factures of Birmingham, Mobile and Montgomery.
 The reports show a capital of $lO,3TOOSl invested in manufactures and mechanical industries in the 5.602 establishments re- porting for the State of Alabama. This sum represents the value of land, build ings. machinery. tools and implements, and the live capital utilized, but does not include the capital stock of any of the manufacturing corporations Of the State of Alabama. The value of the products is returned at $2, ,16s.61 for sala- ries of officials clerks, etc; $l5,l3O, 4l9 for wages: S3.S2S 402 for miscellaneous ex- penses, including rent, taxes. etc. ana s46 151 ,O26 for materials used mill supplies, freight and fuel.
 The percentage of increase in capital is 52 s: in number of establishments, SS.2; in | number of wage earners, 69.S; of popula- tion, 20.
 The manufacture of iron and steel is the most important industry in the State. | The twenty-five establishments reported for this industry in 1900 gave employment | to 7.23S wage-earners or 13.7 per cent. of | the wage-earners in the State, and the products were valued at $17,392, 4S3, or l per cent of the total value of the prod l ucts of the State In 1890 there were thir- | ty-five establishments reported, with 5,6S5 | wage-earners, and products valued at Sl|,- 544, ,227. The increase in the value of prod ucts during the decade was $4S4S,256, or 3S,6 per cent.
 The manufacture of lumber and timber products ranks second. There were LII | establishments reported for 1900 with 9.273 wage-earners, and products valued at $12. .S67, 551. In 1890 there were 472 es- tablishments engaged in this industry, | with 6,335 wage-earners, and products valued at $S.507 971. The increase in the value of products during the decade was $4, ,359, ,5SO or 51.2 per cent, and consider able portion of Alabama's forests is yet untouched by the axe.
 In urban manufactures the three lead ing cities are recorded in the following order:
 Birmingham, 2S3 establishments, $7,4S4, 654 capital, 6,675 wage-earners, $2,5S7, ,2I to- tai wages.
 Mobile. 222 establishments. 29423S cap ital, 2S27 wage-earners, d,139,6O5 total wages.
 Montgomery, 163 establishments, $2,93O,- TSP capital, 2,359 wage -earners, SSO2, ,1SS to- tai wages.
 Although these establishments in Mo | bile are less in number by 8 than in lS90 the capital invested has increased 47.3 per cent. and the total wages 19,9 per cent.
 We take no account of the value of the | product because. under any circum- stances such value is subject to great
 error. In this particular instance the chief statlstician expressly gives warning that the value stated is gross and not the net or true value. The gross value Is found by adding the value of the products | of the separate establishments. But the finished product of one establishment is | often the raw material for another. ln such cases, the value of the former ap- pears in the latter, and thus the original cost of certain materials may be included several times in the gross value.
 The true basis of comparison, there fore, and the only trustworthy one af- forded by the bulletin, is the capital | invested. the number of wage-earners and the wages paid. It is notable that Mobile, without the proximity of either l coal or iron and with no blast furnace in 1 her city limits. manages to range up to l within nearly 50 per cent. of the capital | and wages shown by Birmingham It is | enough to enable us to class Mobile as a l manufacturing city, whereas by common acceptance she has been regarded as all l most purely mercantile.
 1 There is no question, however, that l Jefferson County Is far in the lead of the other counties in industry. That county