The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-11-29
WORLDS WEAITHiEST NATION.
United States Has q Long Lead Over
All Other Countries.

According to figures just given out
by the director Of the census at Wash
ington, the aggregate value OF the real
and personal property of the United
States in 1901 was $106,SS1 ,413,OO9 AS
the wealth of the country In l9OO Is
here placed at fraction over SSS'oOo'-
100000, the provisional statement of
S93,OOO,OO0O00. which mad done duty
since that year. is now withdrawn. Ac-
cepting the SSS.0O0.000.0O0 as a mark
which will stand, the growth In the
four years ending with 1904 was U.s.
100000, 900, or 20.7 per cent. This would
make the wealth in 1906 about S116.-
OOO,OO0000. AS set forth by the cell
sus bureau, all the great sources or
wealth expanded by large figures III the
four years covered by the report. In
that time real estate taxed increased
over $4,000. 100000, and tie products
of agriculture grew S445,OtO,OOo. Real
property taxed still heads the list OF
the country's items of wea tn, the ns-
ures for 1904 being over SoJ,ooo'oV"'
COO. Second on the list stood railways
and their equipments, with value Oh
81 OOOOO0,0O0. This is conservative
figure. Railway authorities in the past
few years placed the value rs far Dack
as 1901 at a higher mark than the
census valuation here given.
The first year that the census bu-
reau attempted To make any computa-
ton of the true value Of the country
property was in 1850, when the amount
was placed at $1,000. 100000. The pop
uIation of 23,OO0.0O0 then has expand
ed to s5.OOO,OO now. while the wealth
grew from $I,OOO.OO0,OO0 in that year
TO $4,000 100000 in 1906. Population
increased in the fifty-six years little
over three and a half times, While
wealth has expanded little more than
sixteen and a half times. greater
addition has been made to the wealth
of the country in the four years end
ing with 1901 than the country's entire
wealth amounted to in 1860, in the
year of LIncoln's first election, at
time. too, when the 100000 OF negro
slaves were counted In the property OF
their states. The per capita wealth
| of the country was 1903 In 1850 1t Is
In the neighborhood OF 1,4OO In 1906
The census bulletin, just issued, so far
| as Is indicated by the summary which
Is sent out to the press, does not go
back beyond 1890. If it had taken a
little longer and little broader sur
sey, 1t could have shown that between
ulation had been increasing three and
| a half times, farm animals expanded
| In value six times, wool five times, the
product OF manufactures twelve times,
pig iron production twenty-five times.
railway mileage twenty one times, and
railway capital and activities grew at
a much higher ratio.
Manifestly. the United States has a
long lead over all the other countries
in wealth. We have no figures for the
other great nations which make any
such pretensions to accuracy as ours,
but the best that we can CLEAN show
that they stand something like this
The United Kingdom, $4,000, 100000 ;
France. $4,000, 100000; Germany, $45.-
OCO. 100000; Russia, $4,000, 0OO, 900
Austria Hungary, $4,000, OOO.0OU; TIA
", S1S,OOO,O 100000. and Spain $4,000
100000. The United States wealth IS
more than double that OF any other
country. 1t is increasing double as rap
idly as that Of any other country. AS
we have much greater natural re-
sources than any Of them, our lead
must continue to lengthen for cen
fury or two AS a billion dollars Il
too great for the comprehension tc
grasp, 1t would be vain to attempt tc
show what, ut the present rate OF
growth, the wealth OF the United
States will be In 1856 or 2006. The
ratio of expansion in property values
and in extent of trade is several times
as great as that in population. Our re
sources In coal, iron, lead, copper, zinc
gold, silver and other minerals are vast
ly beyond anything which has been re
vealed In the work OF the miners thus
exhausted Is 50 far in the future tina
we need exhibit no concern about them
As the bald summary Of figures giveI
to the public by the census was defer
red until after the election. there Is m
chance to say that they were intende,
as a campaign document for the benefi
Of the party in power in the govern
ment. There is no partisanship In tn
census bureau. The officials who ar
inquiring into the sources and the ex
tent Of the country's wealth seek tn
truth, and they give it to the publ
as they find it.-St. Louis Globe-D
crat