The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1913-06-13
TRADE AND FINANCE LETTER,

I6ADh AMI r1NANS4H ALHA ACAs
It is hard to obtain absolutely &C
curate figures for the manufacturing
industries of the intermountain coun
try, though fairly reliable estimates
can be made from the data at hand
In the intermountain Empire, which
includes Nevada, Utah most of Ida
no, and parts of Montana, Wyoming
and Colorado, the total investment
in manufacturing is now not less
than two hundred millions, a sum
just about twice as great as the
same territory showed at the last
census, taken for January LIST, 1910.
Even at that, the figures we have u.s.
ed show considerably less rate of
increase than the census figures indi-
Gated for the period previous and we
have reasons to think that our fig
ures are within rather than beyond
the truth. The total output of the
factories is less than one hundred
seventy-fve millions, nor the total
of wages paid less than thirty five
millions.
These Industries are no less re-
markable for their diversity than for
their aggregate size. In Utah alone
the factories turn out about 1926 diff
ferent articles. Among our indust-
ries are the manufacture of shoes
and textiles, of cement and concrete,
of sugar, candies, spices, condensed
milk, creamery products, pickles and
a score of kinds of canned fruits and
vegetables, of paints and roofing, of
machinery, implements and tools, of
furniture and fixtures, and of brick,
tile and concrete pipe and blocks, the
packing of meats, brewing, printing
and publishing, milling, metal and
oil refining, and so on to WEAKNESS.
There is no lack of variety.
Because it is not generally enough
realized on how firm a basis of manu-
factories are operating, we wish to
call attention to two items of evil
dence bearing on the point. To be-
gin with, let us point out that sharp
increase in the number of small man
ufacturing industries often spells |
over-expansion, because it means the !
entrance into the manufacturing field
of many new factors, all more or less
inexperienced, all with Their business
t, establish, and many with a capital
that is not sufficient to allow the
proper development of their business.
That is particularly true of compar-
atively undeveloped country like ours.
It may usually be inferred that there
is a little soundness in such null
duplication of new industries and that
violent contraction and readjust-
ment will sooner or later take place.
On the other hand, though one
may easily miscalculate his chances
when starting a new factory, after
he has been operating it for time
and begins to consider engagements
of his plant, his ideas are likely to
be pretty sane and clear. That sort
of manufacturing growth seldom
proves to be mistaken.
1t is therefore with a great deal
of pride that we point to the fact
that, while remarkable growth has
been experienced both in the number
of plants established and in the
amount of the average investment in
them, the increase in total capitaliza-
ton has far outstripped the increase
in numbers. OF course that means
that the growth has mostly been in
those industries which have been es-
tablished for a number of years and
in no consequence 1t is likely to be
for the most part very sound.
Then again, moments thought |
will show that in any enterprise the {