The Forrest City times., 1902-05-02
IN ARKANSAS FACTORIES
The Varied Manufacturing Indus
 tries of the State.
Census Figures Just TnbuInted in Washington show n Steady and Gratifying Growth During the
 Past Half Century.
Special Statistical Letter)

Special Statistical Letter) Washington, D. C.-To the student | of the commercial and industrial prog ress of the United States the most interesting place to visit here is the census bureau, where the mass of sta | tistical information regarding the states and territories gathered at the last census taking is being classified and tabulated. One of the depart ments of the bureau has been busy of late in arranging the statistics of man ufactures by states.
 If must be especially gratifying te Uncle Sam and fair Columbia to see how most of the states have grown m manufactures during the last ten years. Apparently this growth has not been confined to any special section of the country. Pick your state any where, north, south. east or west. and the obliging chief of the department. MT. :. \. D. North. will from the sta tistics which his large force of clerks has arranged. be able to satisfy you that a most satisfactory growth has been made.
 Taking Arkansas. for instance. Mir. North said: "Although Arkansas is an agricultural state, there has been q steady growth in the manufacturing and mechanical industries during the half century The population during these years increased from 2O9. .s97 to | 1911 ,564, or 524.9 per cent. but the av- craze number of wage earners em- l pioyed in manufacturing establish ments increased from S24 to 26. 50l or l 3,047.4 per cent. embracing in 1900 two l per cent. of the entire population. 1 compared with four-tenths of one per cent. in 1850. Probably the best indi- cation of the importance of the wage earning class is afforded by the great 1 est number employed at any one time l during the year. In 1900 this was 42.- o52, or 3.2 per cent. of the total popu- | lation of the state.'
 There were in the state in 1900. 4.794 manufacturing establishments. of which LOCI were places where hand trades were employed. In addition 10 these there were 3.5so establishments with a product of less than $500. The capital invested in the 4.794 es- l tahlishments totaled S35gGO640 the Wage earners employed, 26.501; the wages earned $S.6S6.291. and the value | of products turned out. S44.SS2.1S3. The 3,5s9 small establishments had an invested capital of $1 POT 2s4; had 4 .oo6 proprietoIs and firm members: em- pleyed 2,672 wage earners; paid out in wages, 7,9SO and turned out prod ucts valued at $6S9.465.
 The hand trades employed 1902 wage earners, paying them in wages $j45.- | 675 and producing manufactures valued at $2 675 443. These hand trades | included bicycle repairing. blacksmith | ing and wheelwrighting. custom boots and shoes and repairing. carpentering. custom tailoring. dressmaking. dye | ing and cleaning. cabinet making and furniture repairing, lock and gun smithing, masonry. millinery. paint 1 ing, paperhanging, clustering, plumb ing, gas and steam fitting sewing ma chlne repairing and iewelry and watch repairing.
 During the decade from 1890 to 1900 the per cent. of increase of manufac- | turing establishments ill the state was 1913; the increase ill capital invested, | 14C.2; the wage earners, S1.4; the wages, SOS, and the Value of products. | 9s1. While the increase in population Was 16.3 per cent. the increase in wage earners engaged in manufactures was S7.4. which certainly speaks well for the industrial progress of the state.
 The seven leading industries of the state, naming them in the order of their importance, according to the value of production, are as follows: Lumber and timber products, Touring and grist mills, cotton seed oil and cake, blaming mills, cars and general shop construction, cotton ginning, and printing and publishing These seven l industries embrace 3061 establish ments. or GA per cent. of the total num- | Der of the state; $29s17O55. or S2.9 per cent. of the capital; 21,717. or s1.9 per cent of the total average number of wage earners; $6,900,732. or S0.5 per cent. of the total wages. and $37 .00G.- 400, or SPA per cent. of the total prod ucts.
 The forests of Arkansas were in 1898
 estimated to cover 25,G0O, GOO acres, or more than threefourths of the total area of the state. Mir, (. W. Greene, in his book on Arkansas, says that hard woods prevail north of the Arkansas river, cypress swamps cover great part of the eastern alluyial districts, and in the south there are extensive
 districts covered with pine" and in the
 tenth census report it was declared that "the hardwood forests of the
 state are hardly surpassed in variety and richness, and contain inestimable bodies of the finest oak. walnut, nick cry and ash timber" For this reason it is not strange that the timber and lumber products of the state rank first in importance. In 1900 1.199 es- +olliSh meutS were TeDOrfpd wifi h 1