The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1907-08-15
THE PRINTING INDUSTRY.

The census bureau mas just issued
al interesting bulletin on the printing
industry, which contains some strik-
ing comparisons and interesting facts.
The total number of establishments
in the industry in 1905 was 26,422, a
number larger than was reported for
any other industry. The increase re-
ported from 1900 to 1905 forms strik-
ing exception to the prevailing te1de1-
cy toward consolidation, for it was
proportionateiy greater than from
1890 TO 1900 Hence" says the bull
etin, the product Of the industry con
tinues TO be contributed by great
number of small establishments, ac-
complishing noteworthy results with
a small capital, operated by men of
independent thought and action, and
contributing materially to the intel
lectual and financial growth of the
country.
The capital required IN 1905 TO con
duct the printing and publishing busi-
ness was 1886, 00S.6O4 1t was approx
imately double that required in 1890,
and it was doubtless due to co1si l.
cradle degree to mechanical changes
which have taken place in this indus
try during the past ten or fifteen
years.
The total value of products reported
in 1905 was $496,O6l,S5 During the
brief period from 1900 to 1905 the IN
crease in value of products was nearly
double that from 1890 to 1900, or, in
absolute figures, $149,O06,927 com
pared with $71,601,915. Had the
capita value of products b,en the
same in 1905 as in 1850, the entire
value of products of the industry
would have been but $52,007,5 SS; on
the other hand, had the per capita
pro iuction ia 1850 been the same as
it was in 1909, the total value of pro-
ducts of the induSt~y at the earlier
census would have amounted to SAL
470,444, or almost ten times as much
as the actual amount recorded
Among the ten industries having
value of products in 1905 exceeding
$320,000,000, printing and publishing
ranked seventh, having advanced toI
that position from tenth in 1880. The
ten leading industries were as follows:
Slaughtering and meat packing, iron
and steel fou1dries and machinel
shops, -four and grist mills, clothing,
lumber and timber, printing and pub
fishing, cotton manufactures, WOODEN
and boots and shoes.
These great Industries are character
lied for the most part, by compare
lively small nuTbef of establishments
AMI concentration in particular To-
calities. Printing and publishing re-
ports one establishment to every 3,076l
inhabi' ants, while at the opposite ex-
IRENE is iron and steel, which cor
but one establishment toI
every $4,000 inhabitants.
No increase in the industry has been
more striking than that reported for
the number of pounds of paper used
OF the total amount of pape" manu-,
featured in 1905 more than 900,000l
tons were used solely for newspapers
and periodicals., representing almost
one-third of the entire output of thel
paper mills of the United States. Tol
make this paper required the service
of nearly $4,000 men, and represent
ed approximately 100000 in wages.
These mills used as raw material l.
100000 cords of pruce, poplar, and
hemlock logs, representing the timber
product of approximately 100000 acres
exclusive of the logs imported from
Canada. Thus every working day I'M
the year the forests of New England
and the Middle States, with scattered
areas elsewhere in tn, North and
Northwest, yielded approximately
1,765,000 feet of timber to be trans
formed into the newspapers and mag
azines required to supply the people of
the United States.