The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-10
Statistics That Reveal Wonderful
Story of Our Nations DEVELOPMENT

Seven hundred pages of solid figures,
with scarcely line of "reading mat
ter accompanying, make a very dry
and, TO many people, unattractive look
: ing volume, Yet the statistical alb
stract Of the United States, containing
! this number of pages of solid figures,
to be issued from the bureau of statis-
tics of the department of commerce and
! labor within n few days. offers to the
observing reader and student much iu-
| terestlng as well as instructive informa-
ton.
The statistical abstract, which orig
mated in the bureau of statistics thirty
years ago under the direction of Hon
John Sherman, then secretary of the
treasury. and which in its first issue
was thin pamphlet Of but little over
100 pages. has been issued annually by
that bureau since that date. increasing
from year TO year the scope Of It's OPP
eratlons, until it now includes within It's
more than 700 pages information re-
gardlng great variety Of subjects con
cerning conditions in the United States;
area, population; occupations, labor and
wages; educational facilities. agricul-
ture, forestry and fisheries. mining and
manufacturing industries; internal com
municatioD, transportation and freight
prices Of various commodities in vari-
Gus markets of the country, consump-
tion of the principal articles produced
and imported, money, banking and in
surance; receipts and expenditures of
the government. wealth and public
hnance; army. navy and pensions; the
commerce of the United States and of
ITS noncontiguous territories. its imports
and exports by principal articles and its
Ia a,H,,l Tt,o -. r
the world. also brief statement Of
commercial and financial statistics of
the principal countries Of the world,
closing with a series of tables present
lug statistical record of the progress
of the United States in area, popula-
tion, wealth, industries, production and
commerce from the year $500 to 1908.
This mass of information regarding
conditions in the United States, drawn
IN part from official publications and
official records of the various depart,
ments and bureaus of the government,
IN part compiled by the bureau of sta
tistlcs, and other parts obtained from
authoritative sourceS-state, and in n
few eases acknowledgements a picture
Of conditions in the United States, past
and present, extremely interesting not
merely to the economist and student,
but w luOoS lGICitSttu III INC SOHulIibnS
in and growth of the country and its
Industries.
1t is interesting to observe, for cx-
ample, from the figures of the areas Of
the various states and territories with
which the volume opens, that the total
continental area, including Alaska. is
about equal 10 that of all Europe; that
while the area conceded to the thirteen
original states by the peace treaty of
1888 was S2S,000 square miles their
present area IS but $4,000 square miles
the other 1000 square miles forming
in whole or in part thirteen other states,
while the remaining twenty-four states
and territories were created from terri
tory added by purchase or annexation.
OF the SS,0O0.000 Of population occupy.
ing this area practically one-third,
speaking In round terms. are found in
the thirteen original states, another
third IN the states created from the ter
ritory ceded TO the common union bv
those states, and the remaining third in
the area added by purchase or annexa-
tion.
The figures Of the population of tho
United States at the decenual censuses
az supplied by the census bureau show
the total number of negroes in the year
1900 as 100000. speaking in round
terms, and in 1900, S,S4l 900. The ne.
groes formed in $500 1888 per cent of |
the population; in 1910. 1903 per cent: