The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-11-24
What the People of This
Country Are Worth, HOW
They Earn 1t, and How
They Compare with Other
Nations in Wealth.
By FREDERIC j. HAsK1N.

to the cause OF conditions that obtain in
the financial world to-day, there can be
no difference of opinion as TO one thing
namely, that there never has been a
time in the. history of the United States
when there was less reason for hard
times than there is to-day. Never before
has the per capita circulation Of the
country been so great. Never before
has the producing power Of the people
been so strong as it is to-day Never
before has there been such a crop OF
wealth reaped in a single year as Will
be gathered In 1907. Twenty-six billion
dollars! That is such pile Of money
that the mind cannot fully grasp how
much 1t is. or what potentialities IT pos
sesses- And yet that represents the
values which Will be produced by the
American people during the present year.
In other words. it is their gross earnings
for twelve months.
Every time the clock ticks these gross
earnings amount to nearly eight thou
sand dollars. If one were-tb acquire pos
session Of ali the gold and all the silver
that the whole world has produced since
Columbus discovered America. he still
would not have enough to buy the pro-
ducts Of the energies Of the American
people in a single year. This astonish
Ing statement can be better understood
when II is stated that it would require
nineteen freight trains Of thirty cars
each carrying thirty tons 20 the car. TO
carry the GOLD. and 333 trains Of similar
length and capacity 10 carry the silver
which has been produced since 1892 Put
II another way-the gross earnings of
lhe American people amount 10 SOS per
month Tor every man. woman, and child
IN the country. To carry the Illustration
OF our annual producing capacity still
TURNER the New Union Station at Wash
Ihgton, with its terminal facilities the
Hhest IN the world. cost Sl2.OO0.G00. The
Gross value OF each years products of
.He american people is now sufficient
u Duiid Zl56 such stations
NO ,other nation on earth produces as
nluch IN year as the United States.
" men one comes TO compare the produc-
uoh OF this country with that Of the rest
Oh the world he begins To see that II is
lnoeed the kingdom Of plenty. Though
ms country has but per cent of tho
people Of the earth. it produces % nor
cent Of the worlds wheat. Sc per cent ~
us coal, "a per cent Of its gold a nor
cent or It's manufactures, IS per cont of
20 PIG nun y per cent OF its steel "a
Ssh' OF us petroleum. 50 per cent Of
e. o'loH' ana 10 per cent Of It's corn.
90 much superior is the average Arnort-
can 20 the average man Of an ott-1- =.
tons. that his earning mover a. -, -
lhan double that OF the average in5i,,i5
udl or the rest of the world.
Ne N"lue OF the products Of the farm
alone FOR the present year IS avnacted
10 reach the enormous total of s. Ooo 600 600
ms IS greater than the entire wealth or mo
CHIleu states only hfty-seven wears ago
ne wealth which the farmers of the
Oni'ed states have produced in ten wears
amounts 10 one-half Of the entire -,
Hohal wealth produced by the toll and
composed Of the savings and e,,rrl,,e...
Vi three centuries before 1897. The VOL,
OF the American hen TODAY ranraeo,,+,
more than the worlds production NJ eold
ara silver for the same length Of H.,
Ddiry products. almost desDised ~, a..
.alI I a haIt century ago are now worth
SovV'"VW0 year. The products 30 81
factories Of the country will This -
amount to about $4,000. 600 ooO rbis T.
tnree times what IL was as recently, as
INoV. IL Is as much as the aee-rc,-,+,
"edlth OF the North and South at tn
1eI , ooh oI the civil war. The mineral he
ra III the United States this year
coy.Il a. more than enough 10 build fifty
canals like the one in Panarn, A. - -
present rate OF production IL nov- 80
the people Of the United States 81. -
year and two months 20 produce -
value as great as the aggregate ,,,9aI.i-
ago y seven years
Yet what the United States is doi,o
to-day is Ike sowing by hand and -
ing with the old-fashioned sickle a.. go,
pared with what the future has T., 80.
Conservative estimates put the ,-,l,,a. -
the products Of the farm trra,,t,. e.
years hence at $500. G0QOO0 and 49, -
the factory and the mine at s25 o0o m, 900
the Hsht or what has already t,l,o,
pace this prediction seems ress,.,,,.,-
enough immigration alone is no,,- "a,
ing more than n million q vaar 20 -
populalon besides the natural tr(r,,-.--
YET ulere Is no immediate danger 90 -, -
IIo"u4ls- II Is generally conceded a..
LehnsyiVanla is not too thicl1lv non,,I,+a,,
-,'1l'iS tlCIan mas figured that n the
Whole United States were as 49, -
populated as Pennsylvania # y,o,,15 ~
ioIu d nome for 420M0O0O paonIe o..
such n population be thought TOO do-ea'
, On 'iIe present density Of population IN
ono De taken as basis. there rrn,,i y,
sum oe room for 30o,G00000 people
Some idea Of the effect Of the dori,,-
tiOn Of the producti,,a - =,
world by the United States NAV he
CLEANED from the remarks Of Andrew
Carnegie in this connection. He recartl,,
stated that no nation on earth couId
wage a successful war against the r-rito5
States He said that if the sunni, ~
foodstufis we annually export ware -
be curtailed just 10 per cent. nricas ~
foodstuns in Europe would doubIe and
that II our exports were curtaiIed on,
half. starvation would threaten n,i1Iior,
OF homes, and that a hungry world wouI6
force the hostile nation 10 promntIv enc
for peace This would be true because
america IS the greatest producer. the
greatest manufactures. and the greatest
TRACER OF Ihe entire world. Not only has
her productive capacity become greater.
but her total wealth has come ~ mako
other nations look Ike second-cIass nov
ers. She Is now worth the enormous 70
tai OF S122 900 100000
Texas financial men have issued to the
merchants Of that and adjacent States
a statement calling attention 10 the
princely values Of the unsoId crops Of
Texas which will soon go into the mar
kets of this and foreign countries. bring
fng ha