Evening star., 1923-03-18
INDUSTRY Of i. S.
OUTSTR|PS WORLD
Variety and Volume of Prod.
uCtS, Values and Number
of Wage-Earners Lead.
2 GENERATIONS RECORD
Working Population and Average
Cost of Service to Employer
Show Increase.
BT the Associated prnSs

B% the Associated Press
NEW YORK, March lin the span
OIL little more than two generations
the United States has assumed the
leading position among all nations in
.he volume and variety of its manu-
iHctured production, the number of
wage earners engaged in manufac-
turning. the power applied to processes
ana the value of products, the
national conference board SAYS to-
nay In an analysis of a recent census
of manufacturers.
From 1S49 to 1919 the total value
OF products manufactured in the
UNITED States rose from ST. .O92, 900 900 to
nearly siNty-two and one-half bill
mons, and the numbeR Of wage earn
eFs employed in manufacturing from
S07,o59 to 9,096372. In the first twen-
~ years of this century the person
mel OF manufacturing industries more
than doubled. while the total value
Oh manufactured products in 1919 was
approximately five and one-half times
'he total in 1892 the report says.
Increasing Proportion.
An increasing proportion of the
working population has been drawn
INTO manufacturing. OF each thou
SAND persons engaged in gainful oc-
cupation in 1899 about 1S2 were en-
nioyed in manufacturing industries
The corresponding figure twenty
increase of about AZ per cent. In
some states the percentage gain in
The number of persons employed in
manufacturing relative to the total
population sainfully occupied was
much larger-in Michigan nearly 80
per cent, in Ohio nearly 30 per cent
Indiana 50 per cent. Washington and
Missouri 65 per cent.
This development has taken place;
however, without increasing the pro-
portion OF women and children in
industry. The entrance of women
into industry has no more than kept
pace with the industrial growth.
while the proportion of workers under
sixteen years of age declined almost
90 per cent in the period from 1899
to 1919.
The growth in the personnel of
manufacturing industry and the ef-
feet of increased production on the
standard of living are reflected in the
increasing expenditures for wages
and service, accompanied by a rapidly
mounting average cost of service to
the employer. The average cost of
labor in manufacturing industries
to $3.50 in 1919. an increase of S6S
per cent. The total wage cost in
manufacturing industries increased
IS per cent from 1914 to 1919 alone.
Tax Burden Increased.
Although wages represent the
largest item of expense in industry,
probably the most remarkable indi-
cation of the increasing Importance
of industry in the social economy is
seen in the growing tax burden borne
by manufacturing industries in the
census periods. Tax expenditures
penditure in relative gain, with an
increase of 371 per cent from 1914
to 1919, while the ratio of taxes to
total expenditures more than doubled.
The total horsepower of the
various types of power in manufac-
turing Establishments increased from
about 2,350.000 in 1869 to nearly S0,-
100000 in 1919. The ratio of me-
also increased to a marked degree.
From 1899 to 1919 the total power
used nearly trebled, while the num-
ber OF wage earners increased less
tlan two-thirds. In the last decade
the total horsepower of electrical
motors in manufacturing plants rose
nearly 239 per cent. A marked in
crease in the use of oil has taken
place in the last decade, the quantity
Of this fuel consumed in manufacture
ing rising from 34.000.000 barrels in
1909 to 100000 barrels in 1919, or
approximately 168 per cent
Increase of Automobiles
"As result Of the rising price
level due to worldwide economic in
tiuences, there has taken place an
increase in the production and value
of industrial products in many in
dustries far out of proportion to the
increases in the manpower and me-
chanical power used. This is espe-
cially marked in the automobile,
photograph and rubber and pc
troleum industries, while in the wool
en-. beet sugar and boot and shoes,
brick and clay products. fertilizer
and glass industries, production did
hot keep pace with increases In
wage earners and power employed"