The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-11

In view of the vast and unsurpassed II (
GustriaI resources of the United states at /
this time. the beginning Of the twentieth I
century, of great interest IS review Of /
The Industrial conditions of The original .
thirteen colonies preceding and up 20 the /
tine of the American Revolution The /
early industrial conditions of the country /
-r7r the subject of studious monograph /
prepared ny Edward Y Shepard, Chief /
Clerk Of the Patent Office. who collected .
the information II C0uur-uryI with his
official duties.
Nj ShepaTd-s material was put in the
present shape for the Use OF the head Of
tho Patent Office, but the information
VIII form the nucleus Of even q. more eN-
haustive treatise on the subject which
VIII be incorporated n the proposed his
tory of the Patent Office
y most vivid picture OF primitive condi-
lions. the slow growth of manufacture.
and the determined opposition Of England
70 industrial progress in the colonies IS
shown in the following extract from the
monograph:
The clothing of the Colonists for many
years was obtained from Dutch traders
and from England, payment being made
in barter Of the products Of the colonies.
In 1850. England prohibited further trad
ing with the Dutch This restriction natu-
rally raised the purchase price Of cloth
ing. and induced the coIonistS to attempt
to manufacture their own clothing IN
. 1913, Law was passed in Virginia for
the cncoura cement of textile manufac-
lures but it vas promptly aunulled by
| England In I72l, the mother country
enacted a law prohibiting the carriage Of
wooden goods and hats from one colony
/ 10 another. These restrictions placed on
the trade in woolens were the cause OF
! the early coIonists wearing dressed skins
/ instead of wooden clothing although Sc
/ cretIy wool was spun and woven by the
/ women Ct the households. nearly every
( family weaving its own clothing. bIan-
( kets, and linens, and selling the surplus
/ to neighb0ring merchants. A wooden hat
{ factory in Massachusetts was declared in
/ I750 to be nuisa nee and was suppressed
/ 4 society was formed in I1G5 in New York
4 city to encourage the home manufacture
( of wooIens. the members pIedging them
/ selves not TO eat the meat Of lamb and
/ sheep, nor 70 buy imported woolens- The
need of the country was a supply Of wool,
! and the killing of mutton was COnse-
( queEtly discouraE ed-
'-Homespun vas generally worn. even
I the troops being dressed In It, while
! Washington at the time Of his inaugU-
. I
I fabric Its manufacture was extremely
/ simple but the coIors used were not fast.
/ so that the Uearer of the goods If caught
in q rain. was quite likely 10 return home
( uurcccEnizabIe-
| IN IE9E q successful wooden factory WIS
| started IN Nassa chusetts- Grey mixed
! broadcIoth was being made in Is5: at
! PiJJsfeld. Mass. The census Of 1910
| showed that most % the wooden goods
] were still being made in families This
continued to be the case until the intro
ducJicu into the factories Of the spinning
jenny The power loom. the nap cutter
! and other lab0r-saviag devices. the fac
tories simply weaving the yarn that had
been spun IN the houses in the country.
employing the women Of the households
who were aIreadE skilled in the use Of
the wheel and the hand loom.
The Secretary OF The Treasury IN 1.9I
/ reported that TIE manufacture Of vol
and felt hats VS. well established. al
though the industry was but a few years
old. as IN 1872 England had forbidden
their expectation, 50 that there was no
market for the product Up to us there
were no CO rpets made in the colonies 9th
/ Ct than rag carpets. England forbade the
I expectation Of knitting frames to the col
onies. in order to sell her own manufact-
ured goods here IN 15S- Virginia offered
ten pounds Of tobacco for every dozen
pairs Of wooden or worsted stockings
( Nothing appears TO have been done in the
( industry. however. until I7z3. when d
/ stocking loom was snuEEied into the
/ country At the opening of che Revolution
a large supply Of stockings was required
for the troops. 50 that stocking factories
were established IN New YORK Virginia,
and Maryland It was not until 1871 that
power was applied TO the looms in the
making Of hosiery
Progress in the manufacture Of cotton
and silk fabrics, in coal mining, snip
building, and various other Industries was
equally slow, for substantially the rea-
/ sons heretofore given
/ .-Th- first settlers IN America were
from the nature Of their surroundings an
agricultural people The few tools they
possessed were either brought from Eng
land or roughly turned out Of such mate
rial as their limited facilities permitted
The only metal the Puritaus knew vas
bog iron ore, very brittle, so that It was
/ almost impossible TO make suitable tools
from il. Their agricultural implements
( were the plow, occasionally q harrow
! spade, a H. and fork, while thciI
/ I household utensils were few and print
i tive The policy OF the mother country
/ ( was to make her colonies as profitable IS
4
! ton were placed on manufacturing. The
| / cyIouists were not allowed 70 sell their
] [ products except in England nor were
; I they permitted to buy except from her
! nor to transport their prL1UCJS except II
: her boats. After the Revolution the col
( ouies. being eStrauged from the mother
country, were thrown on their own re
sources. and an incentive vas then gIyeT
. I 10 manufactures and the various artisans
- The staple crops were tobacco potatoes
wheat. and corn In Maryland and Wy
GINA the principal industry was raising
} tobacco Up - 1910 or 1slZ wheat aDC
-four were largely exported
one of the earliest inventors Olive
Evans, gained his wealth and distinction
> almost entirely through his inventions J.
: -four mills. Before the Revolutionary va
!. the New England colonies carried on al
:, / extensive barter with the West Indies j.
= / mOlasscs, rum. and sugar Connection
: and Massachusetts had sugar refIuiut
mills The invention Of the cotton gin b.
b Eli Whitney, in 1872. led to the develop
: mcut Of the cotton industry IL the South
ern States 1t was largely on account o
the importance OF this crop that for near
" thTce-q quarters Of a century the South
ern States We're SO prominent in uatIOua
: affairs It would be presumed tina
the attention paid by Americans I
a the food resources Of their country WOul
3 naturally lead to improved agriculture
, implements, but for some tine EnVeutiO
in this line vas very limited It wa
not until 1919 that a plow was produce
IN this country, replacing the cGmbr0u
affairs which were imported principal
from Scotland The reaper appeared i
1873. and q successful tETaShcr not unit
- 1880 but from that time on the total val
ue Of the manufacturing interests IN thi
country exceeded that Of agriculture
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