Evening star., 1940-03-22
STAR WASHINGTON D. c., FRIDAY MARCH 22
Industrial Decline
In D. {. Since 1929
Shown in Reports
PIonts 14% Fewer;
National Manufactures
Concentration Set Forth

Secretary Of Commerce Hopkins
today made public the findings of
two final reports analyzing economic
trends in Washington and the )other
parts of the country, as shown by
the number of manufacturing estab-
liShments maintained in the District
and in each county and the number
Of wage earners employed by manu-
featuring plants during the eight
year period from 1929 to 1887.
In 1929, the District ranked 48th
nationally in the number of plants
in operation, with 546 establish
ments. In 1888, the number of
plants declined by 1913 per cent
to 1856, giving the District 49th rank
ing. In 1887, the District still stood
49th, with 469 plants operating, 21.5
per cent more than in 1898, al per
cent below 1929.
In the number of industrial wage
earners, the District ranked behind
152 counties in 1888, with 1888. In
1888, the number was 1896, in 1897
1t was 8,714, which put the District
ranking 175th.
Previous Studies Supplemented.
These reports supplement previ-
Gus studies by the Bureau of Foreign
and Domestic Commerce compiled
by the Census Bureau in the BIZ
ennial census Of manufactures, deal
ing with wages paid by the counties
manufacturing plants, the values of
manufactures produced in each
county and the value of raw mate
rials, fuel and power used in the
manufactures.
The entire series of studies, Sec
retary Hopkins said, was under
taken with view to enabling
distributor and producers to mar
ket their products more effectively
by providing a picture of economic
trends in each county from 1929,
the peak prosperity year, through
1888, the turning point in the de-
preston, to 1887, the latest year for
which figures are available. The
1910 census of manufactures Is now
under way.
For the country as a whole, the
report shows:
Seventy-five per cent Of all the
manufacturing plants in operation
In 1887. amounting to 125,064 es-
adjustments, was concentrated in
33l of the Nations 1910 counties.
OF these 33l counties, 7 had Al ,469
plants, or Is per cent of the total
These counties were In order of
their rank. New York, N. Y: Cook,
Ill; Los Angeles, Calf: Philadel-
phia, Pa; Kings, N. Y; Wayne,
Mich, and Suffolk, Mass.
Wage Farmers Concentrated.
Seventy-flve per cent of the wage
earners in manufacturing establish
ments in 1887 was concentrated in
200 counties in the country, and IL
counties accounted for the employ
ment of 2.l9l,193 persons, or about
Is per cent of the national total
These counties are Cook, Ill: Wayne,
Mich. New York, N Y; Philadel-
phia, Pa: Allegheny, Pa: Cuyahoga,
Ohio; Kings, N. Y: Los Angeles,
Calf; Milwaukee, Wis; ST. Louis
City. Mo-, and Providence, r. I.
Every one of the 33l counties &C
counting for rs per cent of the
manufacturing establishments in
operation showed a decline from
1929 to 1888 in the number of plants,
while 3l4 of the 33l showed marked
increases from 1888 to 1897.
From 1929 to 1888. losses in the
number of wage earners ranged from
27.5 per cent to 43.8 per cent in the
II leading counties which accounted
for rs per cent of the manufacturing
employed. All IL counties showed
considerable progress In regaining
their losses from 1888 to 1887.