Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1908-11-25
AMERICA COMPARED WITH OTHER
COUNTRIES.

In assigning this paper, am not
sure whether the committee had de-
signs upon you, as listeners, by giving
subject that might bear treatise
containing its twenty ninthly, or
upon the writer thinking to $50 over
wnelm her beyond all power of con-
centration that a lengthy article
would be impossible.
For your sakes, / accept the latter
solution, and will stop with the TWEEN
ty-ffthly.
In treating the subject | have used
the name America as ''our country"
or strictly speaking the United States.
The textbook tells us that mo other
highly civilized nation occupies SO
large continuous territory, or is so
we'll fitted for the successful pursuit
of 50 many branches of human industry.
Nowhere else in the world is there so
great number of highly civilized and
energetic people living under single
government; speaking the same
language, and having the same gene
raj customs and standards of life. Be-
cause of the advantages. industries
of all kinds have increased even more
rapidly than the population so that
to-day the United States, though
one of the youngest, is one Of the
greatest nations in the world. Not
only is the total product of all the
chief industries greater than that of
other countries, but the product Of
each industry is greater than of any
other nation
Some of our most important products
are cotton, of which we raise one
fifth of the worlds crop; wheat, one
fourth of entire production and corn,
leading all, with yield OF four-ffths
of the worlds crop.
1.-THE mines of the United States are
among it's most valuable resources.
eral product of the world" The
most of valuable of these are coal and
iron. 1.-The petroleum and copper
amount to more than oae-half of the
worlds supply, and these two miner
ais, together with coal, are important
products OF export
Our foreign commerce is exceeded
by only one country, England being
compelled to import nearly all it's raw
material for its varied manufactures,
and much of its food supplies, and
with the exporting of manufactured
goods and coal, gives it "a foreign
commerce twice as great as that of
any other country But our domes-
tic commerce is nine times that of
our foreign. Both domestic and foreign
together is greater than that of any
two other nations in the world. Near.
ly one-half Of the worlds length of
railroads is in the United States.''
We lead other nations in the value OF
farms, houses, railways etc. "Not
only in accumulated wealth but the
daily earnings are far greater than ir
any other country. The wealth Of
the United States, if equally divided
would yield to every man, woman ane
child in the country $1246 while tn,
wealth Of Europe would yield to every
person only about $685. eff the tota
earnings were divided equally anon,
the money-earners, each would receiv
$3.50 daily, the same division of earn
lngs in Europe would yield 81 cents
day." SO the average wages, i
Europe, is less than one-half that O
this country. Our total savings ban
deposit is greater than of any countr
in Europe, Germany coming second O
the list. In Denmark, New Zealan
and Norway the average deposit
greater than ours, but the number r
inhabitants is comparatively small
each OF these countries. Our averag
deposit account is greater than in an
other country.
Doubtless some of you saw, las
February, an article in the Outlook h
Andrew Carnegie crticising our banl
ing system. will note briefly from i,
Americans he says, ''have man
advantages upon which we may plum
ourselves as being in advance of othe
nations but we have at least one h,
initiation to lessen our self-grs tifc
ton. Our banking system is til
worst in the civilized world. No ban
note in Canada or in any other countri,
possessed of proper banking has ev,
failed to be paid upon demand" A
ter further explanation he write:
''To reach proper banking we need I
revolution. We only need to tu1
our faces and keep them in the rigI
direction by beginning to inject mo,
gold directly into our present system
little by little, until we can establis
a system complete in itself such /;
other nations and even Canada no,