The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-07-09

10 11duO w onOW, III Guo llISO
place, that the new tariff must
deal with some subjects Of man
%ufacture which We're not com
mercially important, or even
considered eleven years ago,
and to show further that the
people Of the United States are
now paying more than a billion
dollars a year for articles which
have grown to public use with
in the last decade.
First and foremost, ofcourse,
is the automobile. This indus
try begins practically as late as
the year 1900, audit has grown
to such proportions that $50.
millions Of dollars are now in
vested in automobile factories
in the United States, and that
the value of their product for
the last year was a quarter Of a
billion. There are 25, 900 chat
feurs in New York city alone,
this being a new business which
has arisen in the past ten years.
There are 200, 900 persons en-
ployed in the various branches
Of the business and they receive
1900 millions a year in wages.
The expenditure Of the Ameri-
con people last year on automo-
biles, their operation and re-
pairs, amounted to a half bill
lion of dollars. In thousands
of cases mon mortgaged their
homes in order to secure these
machines, one loan firm report
ing l5Ocases Of this kind in q
western community. The cor
respondent points out that this
industry is so young that there
are still boys in school who re-
member it's beginning.
Following this is the moving
picture industry, a development
of the past five years. Motion
pictures were exhibited as a
novelty as early as 1895, but
the entertainment has only at
tanned commercial Importance
since 1908. The motion pic
ture patents company is called
a great trust by it's independ-
emit competitors. 1t is an indie
pendent organization which
takes in all the important man
ufacturers of films in this coun-
try and in Europe. The extent
of the business is shown when
it is SAID that a million dollars
a day are paid by the Ameri-
can public in admission fees
and the total volume Of the
moving picture business is put
easily at one third of a billion.
$50 generally accepted is the
popularity Of the moving pic
ture that special regulation has
been enacted in many states
establishing censor boards to
restrain the presentation to the
public of films which are I'M
proper. It is easy to see how
demoralizing the exhibition of
Improper pictures could be
made, and it has kept the
boards busy to put a stop to
this part OF the business. The
trust has done it's share to COM
ply with decency, and in this
respect has almost compensated
the public for its organization,
The manufacture Of automat-
lc musical instruments, such as
the photograph and the me-
chanical player, is a new thing
but it employs tens Of thous-
ands Of men and it is estimated
that fifty millions ofdollars will
be spent by the American pub
lie this year on these luxuries.
The use Of cement in build
ing operations, and the manu-
facture Of machinery to make
the blocks, is an industry which
now puts out a product worth
6O millions a year, and which
apparently is only in its infan-
ley. Certainly, if the price of
Humber continues to be high,
1.-THE cement block business will
increase by rapid strides. If
Edison's plan for pouring
houses of concrete into moulds,
SO that complete houses can be
erected in a single day shall be.
adopted, which is likely, the
growth of this industry is GER
tain to be phenomenal.
Among other items of recent
growth may be mentioned the
manufacture of ice by artificial
means, the beet sugar indus
try, and the making Of flying
machines. It is noteworthy
that with one or two excep-5
|tions these vast expenditures
are along the lines Of luxury,
and they reflect the Wonerdfll.