Evening star., 1935-03-10
Manufacturing at the National Capital
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN,

capital goods industry Of the National
Capital. There are six establishments
with 106 workers and their product
was valued, in 1888, at $20l5,ll4 This
substantial business Is largely an
outgrowth of the Government build
ing program. Modern construction
requires large tonnage Of concrete.
Since 1880 the Federal Government
has been carrying on at Washington
huge public works program, In
what is called the Triangle, an area
between the Treasury and the Capitol
and between PennSylvs mia avenue and
the Mall, there has sprung up a group
Of monumental ediflceS TO house Gov
ernment departments at q cost of ap-
proxlmately 500, 900, 900. There has
been other Federal work in the Dis
trict as we'll as private building. AL
though selling to the Government,
through contractors, the concrete
plants are private enterprises.
This has resulted in a huge, con-
centrated demand for concrete.
Barges bring sand and gravel from
short distance down the Potomac
River to the mixing plants, located
chiefly in Georgetown. There, at
some seasons, the great mixers have
operated on 24-hour shifts. All day
long the huge concrete trucks rum
ble through the streets carrying tons
upon tons Of concrete. Presumably,
this industry will fall of at the COM
pletion Of the Government project
unless there is a revival of private
construction.
Many Small Manufacturers.
Ice manufacturing is carried on by
five establishments employing Il
wage-earners and turning out an an
nual product valued at $1.l82,352.
This is in spite of the fact that Wash
ington is reported to be more fully
equipped with electric refrigeration
than any other city of its size in
the country. About three-quarters of
the homes of the city have electric
refrigeration. 1t has not been many
years since Washington got a good
deal of its ice from Maine. Every
Spring and early Summer. huge
schooners from the Maine coast used
to come to Washington and unload
thousands Of tons of natural ice which
was stored in warehouses. Then came
the manufactured ice era and now
that appears to be passing in the
face Of the invasion Of electric re-
frigeration.
Non-alcoholic beverages are the
product of the remaining industry
of more than Sl,O00,000. In 1888
there were IL plants with 1l2 wage
workers and their output was ST.
o27,el4.
There is quite list of small manu-
factures. There are bookbinders and
confectionery makers, electrical ma
chinery builders and engraving plants,
machine shops and lithographers,
awning and tent makers and mattress
makers, steel-working plants and a
-four mill, but not one has an output
worth 100000 a year.
Altogether there were 1887 wage
workers engaged in private manu-
featuring at the National Capital in
1888. This can be compared with
the 1908 employed in Vermont.
That the pay is better in Washing
ton is indicated in that the 1867 in
Washington received SIl,l85, 900,
while the 1908 in Vermont received
only Sl2,456, 900.
Strict zoning laws and other regu-
lations keep the manufacturing at
Washington pretty much segregated,
so the visitor has little realizat ton that
so much manufacturing is carried on,
except, of course. the manufacture
Of laws and of political propaganda.