The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-06-10
GROWTH in MANUFACTURING.

The growth in manufacturing IN
dustries has been one of the notable
features OF American commerce in re-
cent years, and the middle west is
coming into it's share, which becomes
larger every year. In recent article
Frederick j. Haskins reviews the sit
uation and gives some striking statis-
tics.
He says: Gould the statesmen OF
a bygone generation arise from
their graves they would surely think
miracle had been wrought. Before
the Civil war it was declared that
America was first of all an agricul-
tural nation, and would always re-
main SO. But their SONS slave liyel
to see the products OF the farms
yield second place to the products OF
the factory, and today the nation
which was to their minds destined
| to be the agricultural nation of the
world has manufactures aggregating
| in value $4,000, 100000 a year,
and agricultural products whose
total is $S,O0O,000,000. More than
one-half of the entire product Of the
| combined energy Of our S0,000,000
! people is represented in the products
of the factories of the country. II
1 is said that the total productive ca
pacity of the people of the United
States is valued at $4,000, 100000
a year, or 5000 per capita. There
z oor We on on O. az
! in manufacturing. They conver'
4 $9,00O,0OO,0O0 worth of raw ant
partly raw material into $4,000,
100000 worth of finished produc
1t will be seen from this that theil
gross earning capacity is upwards o
81 900 year.
Zone is hardly prepared for tn,
statement that In point of value 0
the output the Strengthening an
packing industry is the biggest Il
the United States, nor for the infol
! nation that there are more men er
gagged in lumber and wood workin
, than in any other manufacturing II
! dustry in the country, 100000 c
). them being so engaged. The mani
. facture of things to eat and thing
, to wear is about one-third of all tn
: manufacturing being carried on
a the United States. Add the iron an
I steel industry, and the result is jus
about one-half of the total manufa
t turing output.
America now stands safely {
8 the head of the manufacturing n
9 lions of the world. 1t is over 81
e 000, 100000 ahead of England, bot
9 in capital and product. And En-
e land is as much ahead of German
= as it behind America. There hi
never been an official census Of 4
dustries in any European countr
such as the United States had ever
ten years up to 1900 and every fl,
4 years since then. Yet the statistic
/ have been closely gathered and the
J. show that tae National Associate
l. of Manufacturers represents as gre
a an output of commodities as is pr
If duced by any two other countri'
o except England.
AT HO OIuCl tlDAO III iioSOA ~
" the manufacturer ever been SO pr
e gressive as the American manufa
" turer of today. 1t took five centuri
le to 90 from the Spanish galleon
g the Lusitania. 1t required six
! years to develop the railroad engil
q up to it's present high standard. B
q single decade has sufficed to evol
v the automobile from it's experiment
st stage UP to product of the hig
: est usefulness and greatest efficienc
+ And SO it is in almost every bran
~ of manufacture. No one century b
ii ever given as much progress to I
world as the past tr.enty years ha
It. given.
m New industries are being born
d. rapidly that the laymen can scarce
" keep track of them. Who ey