UC-NRLF 
 
 755 
 
 fifl fl?5 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 WHARTON SCHOOL STUDIES 
 
 IN- 
 
 POLITICS AND ECONOMICS. 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 JUNE, 1891. 
 
 No. i. 
 
 THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT 
 
 -OF- 
 
 AMERICAN INDUSTRIES 
 
 BY THE 
 
 CLASS OF 'or, 
 
 Wharton School of Finance and Economy, 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 JAMES M ANDERSON CASTLE, 
 JEfLovi) CARPENTER GRIH<. 
 
 IlSAYA IWASAKI, 
 
 WILLIAM GRAY KNOWL. 
 
 CHARLES RIDGELY !.= 
 
 DAVID MANUEL, JR., 
 
 WILLIAM STEPHEN OT:TKRBRIDGE, JR., 
 
 HARVEY KLMORR PLATT, 
 
 WILM::R HERSHICY Ku,. 
 
 WiL/.i i.-r, 
 
 HENK 
 
 GEORGI- ^MITH, 
 
 cs DE Pui VAIL. 
 CHARLES WILLIAM A. Vi 
 
 University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. 
 
 PRICE FIFTY CI-. 
 
GIFT OF 
 
THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY; 
 ^fiareiit^ 
 
SIMON N. PATTEN, PH. D. (HALLE). 
 Professor of Political Economy at the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 WHARTON SCHOOL STUDIES 
 
 IN 
 
 POLITICS AND ECONOMICS. 
 
 Vol. I. JUNE, 1891. No. i 
 
 THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT 
 
 AMERICAN INDUSTRIES, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 CLASS OF '91, 
 
 Wharton School of Finance and Economy, 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 JAMES MANDERSON CASTLE, HARVEY ELMORE PLATT, 
 
 LLOYD CARPENTER GRISCOM, WILMER HERSHEY RIGHTER, 
 
 HlSAYA IWASAKI, WILLIAM BENI ROSSKAM, 
 
 WILLIAM GRAY KNOWLES, HENRY HALL SINNAMON, 
 
 CHARLES RIDGELY LEE, GEORGE HUGHES SMITH, 
 
 DAVID MANDEL, JR., LOUIS DE Pui VAIL. 
 WILLIAM STEPHEN OUTERBRIDGE, JR., CHARLES WILLIAM A. VEDITZ. 
 
 University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. 
 
ur 103 
 V 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Works on Political Economy, as a general rule, draw their 
 illustrations from an industrial state which has to a large 
 degree passed away at the time of their writing. The stu- 
 dent of them fails therefore to get a true idea of the then 
 existing industrial conditions. 
 
 It was with the idea of finding out what the industrial 
 state of the United States at present is, that we first con- 
 ceived the plan of writing this book. Dr. Patten suggested 
 to us that each should take some one industry; find out 
 what its development had been in recent years and how it 
 stood to-day, and should write the result of his investiga- 
 tions as a graduation thesis. This book is the result of our 
 labors. 
 
 We wish to take this opportunity of expressing our regret 
 that the thesis of Mr. C. W. A. Veditz, on " Pottery in the 
 U. S.," was not included with the others in this book, as he 
 was taken sick with typhoid fever before he had completed 
 his essay. 
 
 In conclusion, we wish to thank all those who have aided 
 us in any way in our search for facts about our respective 
 subjects. 
 
 THE CLASS OF '91. 
 
'^/ 
 
 PUBLICATION COMMITTEE. 
 
 WlLMER H. RlGHTER, 
 
 HARVEY E. PLATT, 
 LLOYD C. GRISCOM, 
 WILLIAM G. KNOWLES, 
 GEORGE H. SMITH. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 THE STEEL INDUSTRY WILMER H. RIGHTER 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE LLOYD C. GRISCOM . 14 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 THE CARPET INDUSTRY HARVEY E. PLATT 25 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 THE WORSTED INDUSTRY Louis DE P. VAIL . . . 33 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 COTTON MANUFACTURES WILLIAM B. ROSSKAM 39 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 ELECTRICITY WILLIAM S. OUTERBRIDGE, JR - . . 46 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY GEORGE H. SMITH 56 
 
 . CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE FELT INDUSTRY DAVID MANDEL, JR 63 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE CANNING INDUSTRY WILLIAM G. KNOWLES 69 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 MEAT PRODUCTS JAMES M. CASTLE 77 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVES HENRY H. SINNAMON .... 84 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 GOLD AND SILVER MINING HISAYA IWASAKI 93 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 NEW INDUSTRIAL CENTERS CHARLES R. LEE 104 
 
THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 AMERICAN INDUSTRIES 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 THE STEEL INDUSTRY. 
 
 Probably no other industy of the United States has de- 
 veloped as rapidly during the last few years as the steel in- 
 dustry. In 1860 the total steel product of the United States 
 amounted to only 11,838 tons. In 1890 the total product 
 amounted to 4,466,926 tons, or 377 times the product of thirty 
 years ago. In 1860 steel was produced in but three States of 
 the Union, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. In 
 1890 nineteen States were engaged in its production. There 
 were but thirteen establishments engaged in steel production 
 in 1860, and only thirty in 1870. In 1890 one hundred and 
 fifty-eight completed steel works were in operation. 
 
 The cause of this great increase in the production and con- 
 sumption of steel was the cheapening of the cost of making 
 steel, brought about by the discovery of the Bessemer and 
 open-hearth processes. So effectual have they been that 
 to-day steel can be made at a less cost than iron. Before 
 1864 the crucible and cementation processes were chiefly 
 used in making steel, but in 1890 86 per cent, of the steel 
 made was by the Bessemer process. The open-hearth 
 process was first successfully tried at Trenton, N. J., in 1868. 
 In 1890 over n per cent, of the total steel product was made 
 in this way. 
 
 Steel was first made into rails about 1867, but it was not 
 until 1 872 that iron rails began to give way before steel rails. 
 Since then the latter, on account of their greater durability, 
 
8 The Recent Development of 
 
 have rapidly driven the former out of use. In 1888, 72.3 per 
 cent, of the railroad mileage of the United States was laid 
 with steel rails. In 1890 the Pennsylvania railroad alone 
 used in construction and repairs in all its lines 83,130 tons of 
 new steel rails. The rail trade consumes a very large por- 
 tion of the steel produced, especially of the Bessemer steel. 
 In the census year of 1890, of the 3,877,039 tons of Bessemer 
 steel ingots produced 2,036,654 tons were made into steel rails, 
 and during the calendar year 1889, of the 3,281,829 tons of 
 Bessemer steel ingots produced, 1,691,264 were made into 
 steel rails. At present the steel rail production is controlled 
 by six companies, one in Chicago, 111., which makes about 
 one-third of all the steel rails, and five in Pennsylvania, 
 located as follows : one in Pittsburg, one in Johnstown, 
 one in Steelton, one in Scranton, and one in Bethlehem. 
 Their total annual capacity is 2,600,000 tons. 
 
 Iron gave way to steel in the construction of vessels in 
 1878. Since then steel has become the favorite material for 
 large ships, so that, to-day, next to rails, this is one of the 
 most important uses of steel. The advantages of steel vessels 
 are many. Much larger vessels can be built of steel than it 
 would be safe to build of wood. They are also much lighter, 
 and therefore will carry more cargo with the same draught 
 of water. Steel ships are not subject to decay, but with 
 proper attention will last fifty years or more, and finally the 
 expense for insurance is less in a steel than in a wooden 
 ship. The advantage of ships of steel over iron lies in the 
 fact that an equal strength with less weight can be had. 
 The importance of steel as a factor in ship-building can be 
 seen from the following table of the vessels built in the world 
 in 1888 : 
 
 MATERIAL. NUMBER. TONNAGE. 
 
 Steel, - 451 780,496 tons. 
 
 Iron, 106 75>3 82 " 
 
 Wood, - - 203 68,300 " 
 
 Composition, - 5 2,345 " 
 
 765 926,523 " 
 
American Industries. 9 
 
 In the fiscal year 1889, twenty-six steel vessels were 
 launched in the United States with a tonnage of 31,783.87 
 tons. Fourteen were for ocean trade and twelve for the lake 
 trade. Steel was first used in the construction of vessels 
 for trade on the great lakes in 1884, and since then this 
 industry has developed so rapidly that at the opening of 
 navigation this spring there will be about eighty steel ves- 
 sels in commission on the lakes, nearly all of them steamers 
 of large capacity. There are now eight ship yards, located 
 at Cleveland, Chicago, Buffalo, etc., engaged in making 
 these ships. 
 
 The United States Government has of late years been 
 using a great deal of steel for its navy. The new vessels 
 have been built of steel, have been protected with steel 
 armor, have been armed with steel guns and have been given 
 steel projectiles to fire from the guns. Since 1885 the follow- 
 ing steel vessels have been started or contracted for : 
 
 Armored cruisers and battle ships, 14* 
 
 Unarmored cruisers, - 14 
 
 Gun boats, - 9 
 
 Torpedo boats, 2 
 
 Dynamite gun vessel, - i 
 
 Of these eleven are now in commission and seven more are 
 nearly completed. Until recently all the steel armor made in 
 the United States was produced at the Bethlehem Iron Works 
 at South Bethlehem, Pa., but now the Government has also 
 a contract with Carnegie, Phipps & Co., of Pittsburg, Pa., 
 to supply it with either armor of the kind now used or with 
 armor made of steel alloyed with a small per cent, of nickel, 
 which recent experiments seem to show will make much 
 better and stronger armor than has yet been used. 
 
 Besides the steel used in its ships the Government uses a 
 large amount of steel for ordnance. Four Pennsylvania steel 
 works are now fitted to make gun forgings. Two of them 
 can make forgings for guns as large as thirteen inches in 
 caliber. These forgings are sent to the United States gun 
 
 *Five are old iron-clad monitors, which have been rebuilt. 
 
io The Recent Development of 
 
 factories at Watervliet, R. I., and Washington, D. C. (chiefly 
 to the latter), and are there turned into cannon. The fol- 
 lowing table may be of interest in this connection : 
 
 Caliber, Guns completed. Guns under construction F'orgings ordered, 
 
 inches. at Washington. 
 
 4 4 12 35 
 
 5 2 4 
 
 6 .77 25 128 
 8 15 2 35 
 
 . I0 4 3 25 
 
 12. 2 6 
 
 13 12 
 
 Open hearth steel is used for these, as it is best adapted 
 for making large ingots with least cost. Steel guns are 
 better than iron, as they weigh less and impart more energy 
 to the projectile. Projectiles too are now made either entirely 
 or partly of steel, as nothing but the hardest steel can do 
 any damage to the armor now used. 
 
 Another very recent use of steel is the employment of 
 pressed steel in car construction. "About 12,000 tons of 
 pressed steel have gone into car construction during the last 
 two and a half years, consisting of spring-plates, side-bear- 
 ings, drawbar attachments, corner bands, journal box lids, 
 center-plates, stake-pockets, etc."* The advantages of mak- 
 ing these of steel in place of cast iron are, that steel articles 
 will withstand greater shocks without inj ury and will weigh 
 less than cast-iron articles. Before long entire railroad cars 
 will be made of pressed steel. The cost will be about the 
 same as that of wooden cars. They can carry twice as much 
 and will weigh much less. The Harvey Steel Company of 
 Chicago is now engaged in making twenty-five steel cars 
 and the Schoen Manufacturing Co. is preparing to make 
 steel gondolas of 60,000 Ibs. capacity. 
 
 The manufacture of wire is to-day one of the most im- 
 portant branches of the steel industry. Steel wire is now 
 used in great quantities for telegraph and telephone service. 
 It is also used for barbed wire fences, for door mats, for mat- 
 
 *has. P. .Schoen in an address to the New York Railroad Club. 
 
American Industries. n 
 
 ting, for belts and for stage scenery. Among the other im- 
 portant uses of steel are the following: in buildings, for 
 machinery of every description,- for locomotives and engines, 
 for nails and tools, for pens and needles, for cutlery, for 
 bridges, etc., etc. 
 
 There is no other recent method of making steel that 
 can equal the basic process in point of importance. The 
 old or acid process requires pig iron to be used which con- 
 tains a very small per cent, of phosphorus hardly a few 
 hundredths of one per cent. This pig iron must therefore be 
 made from ores which have an equally small per cent, of 
 phosphorus. Such ores are becoming exhausted, and it is 
 therefore now becoming necessary to. use ores which contain 
 a per cent, of phorphorous too large to be available for the 
 acid process. The objection to phosphorus in steel lies in the 
 fact that it makes the metal non-homogeneous, and by being 
 unequally distributed, makes it brittle when worked cold. 
 It also weakens the steel when reheated. All this is obviated 
 by using the basic process. The difference between it and 
 the acid process is in the lining of the converter or hearth. 
 Instead of ganister (a kind of lime rock) being used for this 
 lining, lime, magnesite or some other basic material is used. 
 This basic lining cleanses the pig iron of its phosphorus and 
 other impurities, in place of leaving them all in the steel, as 
 the acid lining does. As a result, steel made by this process 
 is much softer than metal made by the other plan. Basic 
 steel was first made in this country, as a commercial product, 
 on March 28th, 1888, at the Homestead Steel Works, in 
 Pennsylvania, and since then it has rapidly grown in favor, . 
 62,173 tons of it being made in the census year 1890. 
 
 The Hadfield method is another recent process. It pro- 
 duces a very hard steel which has a high tensile strength 
 and is very tough. The open hearth or the crucible process 
 is used, and about loper cent, of manganese added in process 
 of manufacture. One sample of this steel showed an elonga- 
 tion no greater after a pull of 115,000 Ibs. on it than ordinary 
 steel showed after a pull of 75,000 Ibs. Another interest- 
 ing mode of making steel is what is called the Adams 
 
12 The Recent Development of 
 
 direct process. It is now used by four Pennsylvania steel 
 works. The advantage of this process lies in the lessening 
 of the cost. The reason of this is because, as it is claimed, 
 an open hearth furnace using the Adams process can turn 
 out three heats in the same time that another furnace can 
 turn out two. The essential difference between this process 
 and the one usually used is that ore is used as the prin- 
 cipal and pig iron as the subordinate ingredient, hence 
 it is sometimes called the " ore and pig" process. Among 
 other recent and important advances in steel manufacture 
 are, the Bolton process for compressing steel ingots, the 
 latest process for rolling cold steel, the Mannesman process 
 for rolling steel tubes from solid bars, and the Symonds pro- 
 cess for rolling articles of almost any shape, round or cylin- 
 drical. 
 
 The steel industry, which twenty years ago was located 
 only in New England and the Middle Atlantic States, has 
 now spread into the West and South. Pennsylvania, how- 
 ever, still maintains her position as leading steel producer. 
 Exactly one-half of the steel works of the United States are 
 located in her borders; 61.97 P er cent, of all the steel made 
 in 1890 was produced by her works. Illinois is now second 
 on the list with fourteen steel works and 19.44 P er cent, of 
 total production to her credit, and Ohio third with eighteen 
 works and 10 per cent, of total production. The other six- 
 teen steel producing States have forty-seven works and in 1890 
 produced altogether 8.59 per cent, of all the steel that was 
 made in the United States. 
 
 In the South the steel industry is as yet in its infancy. 
 The two leading steel plants in that section are the Southern 
 Iron Co.'s, at Chattanooga, Tenn., and the Henderson Steel 
 and Manufacturing Co.'s, at Birmingham, Ala. This latter 
 company produced on February 2yth, 1888, the first steel 
 ever made in the South. In 1890 there were all told but ten 
 steel works in the South. Their total product for that year 
 was 184,625 tons, 183,225 tons of which were made by the 
 two West Virginia works. Two others of the ten were not 
 in operation in that year. The basic process is the one best 
 
American Industries. 13 
 
 suited for use in the South, and their works are being fitted 
 to use that process. 
 
 In the far West the steel industry is even less developed 
 than in the South, there being on June 3oth, 1890, but one 
 steel works in California and one in Colorado. Their total 
 product for that year (census year) was 24,856 tons. 
 
 The prospects for the future of the American steel industry 
 are most encouraging. The United States is now foremost 
 in the world in the manufacture of Bessemer steel, and with 
 the development of our ship building interests the day is 
 not far off when we shall also surpass Great Britain in the 
 manufacture of open hearth steel. 
 
 WILMER HERSHEY RIGHTER. 
 
14 The Recent Development of 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE. 
 
 No one industry is of more importance in determining the 
 condition of a country than is its national commerce. As a 
 possible source of national wealth and power to a country 
 this branch of trade is of vital importance. Its prosperity 
 directly affects the national prosperity and its decay may 
 be said to reflect national decay. 
 
 We will give a somewhat detailed account of the events 
 and changes since the adoption of the Constitution of the 
 United States which either favorably or adversely influenced 
 the growth of the United States merchant marine, and the 
 manner in which it was fostered and then allowed to decline. 
 
 One of the first acts of the first Congress of the United 
 States was to pass a discriminating tonnage duty and a navi- 
 gation act, favoring the merchants of the United States. In 
 addition to these acts the war between France and Great 
 Britain worked great good to our marine. In 1 789 our total ton- 
 nage in the foreign trade was 123,893 tons, and the following 
 year, owing to the above-mentioned favorable circumstances, 
 it increased three-fold, the largest growth it has had since the 
 adoption of the Constitution. But during the succeeding three 
 or four years, owing to the Algerine piracies and war, our com- 
 merce remained nearly stationary until an act providing for a 
 discriminating duty of 10 per cent, on goods in foreign ship 
 gave it a decided impetus, raising our total to 575,000 tons. 
 
 The navigation laws, passed soon after the adoption of 
 the Constitution, were for the most part in retaliation against 
 Great Britain and her navigation laws. * By them we con- 
 fined the benefits of registry for the foreign trade and enroll- 
 ment for the coast trade of the United States to vessels of 
 American origin. These laws provided, among other things, 
 that no " vessel of the United States " could be held by an 
 American citizen residing abroad, with the exception of a 
 Consul or partner in a business house in the United States. 
 
American Industries. 15 
 
 The right of American citizens to own foreign built vessels 
 is recognized by the law, but the position of these ships is 
 an anomalous one. They are entitled to carry the American 
 flag and are recognized as American property for the pur- 
 pose of neutrality, but they are excluded from importing 
 goods into thejUnited States, although they have the right 
 to export, and are under such serious disabilities in the coast- 
 ing trade as to practically exclude them. 
 
 But our commerce was not to be allowed to peaceably 
 thrive, for in 1796 the French began the spoliation of our 
 marine and a war followed, which continued until nearly 1800, 
 During this time the prospect was too discouraging and the 
 hazards too great for any merchant to invest in ships. Peace 
 with France brought on a slight reaction, but the war with 
 the Barbary States, in 1802, reduced our fleet to where it had 
 been in 1795. In 1804 the tariff was raised to 2^ per cent., 
 but this slight advantage was offset by the impressment of 
 our seamen by the British, which now began. However, 
 despite these difficulties our commerce increased until in 1808 
 our tonnage was 810,090 tons, but the embargo and non- 
 intercourse acts in the following years reduced it 100,000 
 tons. The years 1809 an( i l8l brought a large and steady in- 
 crease, and our fleet in the foreign trade reached a point 
 which it was not again to attain until 1847. 
 
 The war with England in 1812 brought evil and disastrous 
 results. Our commerce became restricted, our harbors block- 
 aded and our banks forced to suspend specie payments. The 
 result was plainly shown by a reduction in our commerce 
 from 980,000 to 670,000 tons in the period of two years. 
 England, even though not successful from a military point 
 of view, yet in the injury done our commerce, and the im- 
 petus given her own, reaped untold advantages. The 
 first years following this war saw a steady increase for the 
 United States, but an act for "free-shipping," suspending 
 differential duties, in 1817, reduced our fleet to what it had 
 been in 1795. From that time till 1840 the amount of our 
 tonnage kept nearly stationary, never exceeding 700,000 or 
 getting below 500,000. Three acts for, free-shipping were 
 
1 6 The Recent Development of 
 
 passed during this period, and each was followed by a falling 
 off of our tonnage to the extent of two or three hundred 
 thousand tons. 
 
 In 1847 our tonnage reached a little over a million, de- 
 spite a slight set-back given by our war with Mexico. It 
 was during this year that our first American trans-Atlantic 
 steamers were built and afterwards subsidized. From 1847 
 to 1855 our tonnage increased on an average of 200,000 tons 
 a year, which makes them the most prosperous years our 
 commerce has experienced. The change from wood to iron, 
 which began in the latter part of this period, completely 
 revolutionized the shipping of the world, and resulted in 
 spoiling the usefulness of fine clippers and sailing vessels. 
 
 Such a favorable impetus was given to our shipping by the 
 emigration to California after the gold discovery that in 1855 
 it had reached 2,348,358 tons, at which figure it remained 
 about stationary until the civil war. In 1858 the steamship 
 subsidies were withdrawn, which resulted very disastrously 
 to our lines of trans-Atlantic steamers. The period just be- 
 fore the civil war marks the zenith of our shipping industry. 
 2,494,000 tons is the highest point which our shipping in the 
 foreign trade has ever reached, and from that period (1861) 
 until the present day the history is of a disgraceful decline. 
 
 With the Southern ports closed, specie payment suspended 
 and the Confederate cruisers destroying our merchantmen, 
 little inducement could be offered to venture in any shipping 
 enterprise. The famous Confederate privateer, "The Ala- 
 bama," and others, were scouring the seas and committing 
 depredations on our merchant marine, which were afterwards 
 estimated at $15,000,000 by the Geneva conference, so that 
 the five years from 1861 to 1866 saw our commerce reduced 
 by a million tons. It is from this blow that the merchant 
 marine of the United States has never recovered, and it will 
 require some bold and active measures on the part of our 
 National Government to make it do so. What measures the 
 United States should adopt for this purpose will be consid- 
 ered elsewhere. Our tonnage in the year 1890 was 928,062 
 in the foreign trade, or one-quarter of what it was in the year 
 
American Industries. 17 
 
 preceding the civil war. This shameful position has been 
 reached by a steady decline in the last few years. 
 
 The enormous increase in the passenger traffic in this 
 century has led to the establishment of many steamship lines 
 under foreign flags. This great branch of industry began 
 to assume large proportions when the era of iron steamships 
 began. It was back in the neighborhood of r854 that the 
 character of ocean shipping underwent a most radical and 
 all-important change. Iron steamships appeared on the 
 Atlantic at that time, and the wooden ship owners met a 
 competition which has since nearly driven them from off the 
 seas. Iron now took the place of wood, and steam that of 
 sail, so that the mariner was no longer dependent on the 
 variable elements for the safety and speed of his trip; and 
 the "stormy winds," which had for so many centuries ter- 
 rorized the venturesome sailor, were now triumphed over by 
 human agency. 
 
 The first steamship entered New York Harbor from Europe 
 on April 23, 1838, but it was not till some years later that 
 the feasibility of abandoning the fine sailing packets and 
 clippers for steamers was demonstrated. There were several 
 successful sailing lines in operation between America and 
 Europe at that time, among the most important of which 
 were William & Guion' s Old Black Star Line (afterwards 
 merged into the Guion Line of Steamships); Guion & Co.'s 
 Black Star Line; C. H. Marshall & Co.'s Black Ball Line; 
 Cope's Philadelphia Line; and Tapscott's Line. For ten 
 years after the first steam line a prejudice against steam ex- 
 isted, especially among the ignorant classes, and the first 
 steamers transported only cabin passengers. The rates were 
 $o for first cabin and 8 for second, while the appoint- 
 ments of the cabins and state-rooms were very meagre com- 
 pared with the great steamships of to-day. 
 
 No regular lines of steamers were successfully established 
 until 1840, when the British and North American Royal 
 Mail Steam Packet Company was organized. Samuel Cunard, 
 of Halifax, was the chief promoter in the concern and his 
 name was soon popularly used to designate the line. 60,000 
 
1 8 The Recent Development of 
 
 annually was given the company by the British Government. 
 for carrying the mails. In this act England again showed 
 her policy of government assistance, without which no line 
 can now exist and successfully compete with the ship-owners 
 of other nations. 
 
 The Cunarders had a monopoly until 1847 when the 
 Ocean Steam Navigation Company was established; which 
 undertook to carry the mails between New York and Bremen 
 with a Government bounty of $200,000 a year. Then 
 came the New York and Havre Steam Navigation Company 
 to which the Government agreed to pay $150,000 annually. 
 The Collins Line was established in 1849, receiving $858,000- 
 yearly for carrying the mails. This was an American enter- 
 prise but at the end of six years it was bankrupt upon the 
 Government withdrawing its subsidy. 
 
 It was at this time that a new candidate for ocean traffic 
 appeared, bringing with it two innovations of the greatest 
 importance to all travelers. This was the Liverpool, New 
 York and Philadelphia Steamship Company, better known, 
 even in its own offices, as the Inman Line. It w r as the 
 original plan of this company to establish a line between 
 Liverpool and Philadelphia and for several years, beginning 
 in 1850, no calls were made at New York. The Inman 
 Company was successful in securing a contract from the 
 British and Canadian Governments for carrying the mails 
 via Halifax and was the successor to the Cunard Line on 
 that route. The company then settled down to carrying 
 passengers, freight and mail between Liverpool and New- 
 York, and the vessels calling at Queenstown on every trip. 
 The two innovations introduced by the Inman Line soon be- 
 came prominent features of ocean business; one was the use 
 of the screw-propeller, and the other was the carrying of 
 steerage, or third-class passengers. Previous to 1850 all 
 steamships built for trans- Atlantic voyages had been side- 
 wheelers; the City of Glasgow, built on the Clyde for the 
 Inman Line, was the first trans-Atlantic screw steamship. 
 The .effect of this invention was the extermination of the 
 clipper ship as a passenger carrier. 
 
American Industries. 19 
 
 The steady increase of the passenger traffic between the two- 
 Continents led to the organization of many other companies 
 that tried to find a share in the carrying business and from 
 1850 to 1860 many lines were established which are in exist- 
 ence to-day. This increase has been largely due to great 
 mechanical inventions, and the better facilities which have 
 been introduced. Although the innovations of the Inman 
 Line were generally adopted it was not until after 1870 that 
 the side- wheeler disappeared from the ocean. The life of an> 
 iron steamship is said to be unlimited, but time enough has 
 not elapsed since the first iron ships were floated to determine 
 how long they will naturally last under good usage. In 1870- 
 the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, or the White Star 
 Line, as it is universally known, entered upon its career. The 
 inauguration of this company marked the beginning of what 
 may be called the second epoch in Trans- Atlantic travel. 
 
 With the first voyage of the Inman Liner, the City of New 
 York, a third epoch began. This last period, into which we 
 have hardly entered, is distinguished by the twin screw steam- 
 ship. In addition to having two complete sets of engines,, 
 these vessels are so sub-divided as to be unsinkable, and are 
 fitted up throughout in a most luxurious manner. There are 
 now seven great vessels of the twin screw class in the passen- 
 ger service between European ports and New York. The great 
 increase in the passenger trade in recent years is clearly shown 
 by the increase in the number of cabin passengers arriving 
 in New York from 51,229 in 1881 to 99,189 in 1890. 
 
 These various steamship lines belong to companies of 
 several nationalities, but they all exist under the aid of their 
 home government, either in the form of an admiralty sub- 
 vention, or a postal subsidy. In recent years, we have begun 
 to realize that trie number of steamships under the American 
 flag is shamefully small and many measures have been pro- 
 posed in Congress with the object of reviving our marine. 
 The remedies suggested are, first, to pay the lines on mail 
 routes a liberal compensation for carrying the mails and,, 
 second, a bounty per ton for every mile sailed by vessels car- 
 rying cargoes to and from the United States. 
 
20 The Recent Development of 
 
 These measures have been steadily proposed in Congress 
 for several years, but it remained for the last Congress to pass 
 the first of them. This act empowers the Postmaster General 
 to contract with steamship lines for carrying the mails, and 
 although it is expected that it will have a beneficial effect 
 in establishing several steamship mail routes, yet it is too 
 soon to predict whether this desirable end will be attained. 
 
 This great increase in the passenger traffic, which we have 
 endeavored to describe, is a large source of revenue to nearly 
 all the countries on the Atlantic, except the United States, 
 and it is of the utmost importance that some effort should 
 be made to have it carried by American owned and built 
 ships carrying the American flag. To secure this, the policy 
 of the United States Government must be broadened and 
 liberal subsidies bestowed. 
 
 The most important question in this direction is, "What 
 do other nations do to assist or encourage their shipping?" 
 Sixty-five per cent, of the carrying trade of the whole world 
 may be said to be in the hands of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and the United States of America. Great 
 Britain ranks in shipping as we do in railroads, having a 
 carrying power nearly equal to all the rest of the world. 
 
 At the beginning of the present century the carrying 
 power of the merchant marine of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain was 2,211,000 tons, and to-day it exceeds 
 18,000,000 tons, having grown eight-fold since 1810. Nearly 
 200,000 seamen are employed in this great fleet, and the Brit 
 ish flag may be found in the ports of every country throughout 
 the world. Her carrying power is 42 per cent, of the aggre- 
 gate carrying power of the world. What an unpleasant con- 
 trast this is to the condition of affairs in the United States 
 which possesses such an immense number of the safest and 
 most beautiful harbors in the world. With all the natural 
 advantages which she possesses the United States has but a 
 little more than one-fifth of the world's carrying power, in- 
 cluding coastwise tonnage, which is less than one-half as 
 great as that of Great Britain, while of foreign shipping 
 the United States has less than 10 per cent, of the total. 
 
American Industries. 
 
 21 
 
 The position of the United States as a maritime power is 
 clearly indicated by the following table which shows the 
 shipping of all flags, the nominal tonnage and the carrying 
 power of all the nations of the world: 
 
 Flag. 
 
 Nominal tonnage. 
 
 Carrying power. 
 
 Sailing. 
 
 Steam. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Tons. Ratio. 
 
 United Kingdom . 
 France 
 
 3,688,000- 
 642,000 
 966,000 
 481,000 
 248,000 
 922,000 
 
 3,066,000 
 2,856,000 
 1,233,000 
 
 201,000 
 
 427,000 
 151,000 
 240,000 
 
 3,004,000 
 278,000 
 216,000 
 73,000 
 62,000 
 77,000 
 
 523,000 
 
 1,211,000 
 
 78,000 
 77,000 
 28,000 
 41,000 
 58,000 
 
 6,692,000 
 920,000 
 1,182,000 
 554,000 
 310,000 
 999,000 
 
 3,590,000 
 4,067,000 
 1,311,000 
 278,000 
 455,000 
 192,000 
 298,000 
 
 18,110,000 
 2,032.000 
 2,046,000 
 846,000 
 1558,000 
 1,307,000 
 
 5,680,000 
 8,910,000 
 1,623,000 
 586,000 
 567,000 
 356,000 
 530,000 
 
 42.1 
 4-7 
 4-7 
 
 2.O 
 
 !-3 
 
 3-o 
 
 13-2 
 206 
 3-8 
 i-3 
 i-3 
 0.8 
 
 1.2 
 
 Germany 
 Russia 
 Austria 
 
 Italy 
 Other European 
 Countries .... 
 United States . . . 
 Canada 
 
 Australia 
 
 India, Cape, &c. . 
 Japan 
 Brazil, Chili, &c. . 
 
 Total 
 
 15,121,000 
 
 5,726,000 
 
 20,847,000 43,151,000 100.0 
 
 In addition to this another contrast must be noted. At 
 the present day, Great Britain in the amount of ship build- 
 ing which she does, is even more in advance of us than 
 in her carrying power and earnings of shipping; yet in 1850 
 the tonnage built in the United States was more than twice 
 that of England, and even as late as 1860 the average annual 
 output of the United States was greater than in* England, 
 but in 1882, the British exceeded ours four fold. 
 
 It is in the contrast with another country that our position 
 is best seen, and when we find ourselves being left far in the 
 rear by a particular country, it may be granted that the 
 policy of that country is a successful one and one to be 
 imitated. The situation to-day shows British shipping 
 triumphant on every sea, and ours successful nowhere ex- 
 cept along the coast where, owing to a wise protection, it is 
 impossible to compete with us. What is it then, that has 
 put England in this enviable position? To this question 
 there can be but one answer, her success is directly trace- 
 
22 The Recent Development of 
 
 able to the liberal policy of her government. To her foster- 
 ing care of this industry England now owes, to a large 
 degree, her present position as an all-powerful nation. It 
 is worthy of mention, that since the year 1837 England 
 has paid $222,500,000 in mail compensation and bounties. 
 
 If we turn to France for investigation we find that for 
 years has she aided her ship-owners in many ways and only 
 recently finding it impossible to obtain a great merchant 
 marine by purchasing it from England she passed a law, 
 offering a bounty for every steamship built in France, an 
 encouragement said to be equal to $7,000,000 a year, paid 
 out of her national treasury. A three-thousand ton steamer 
 running between New York and Havre is estimated to get 
 $54,000 the first year of running and $52,000 the second. 
 Even Italy spends $3,000,000 a year to subsidies and postal 
 fees, while a perfect howl was raised in the United States 
 over the Shipping Bill recently defeated in Congress, which 
 was to spend only on an average of $4,718,000 a year for 
 ten years in establishing our merchant marine. 
 
 The position of the United States in this matter is clearly 
 seen in the following table of the amounts paid as subsidies 
 by the various nations: 
 
 France $ 6,477,000 
 
 Great Britain 3,750,000 
 
 Italy 3,228,000 
 
 Brazil 1,704,000 
 
 The Australasian Colonies 1,500,000 
 
 Austria " 1,030,000 
 
 Russia . . : 1,650,000 
 
 Sweden and Norway , 175,000 
 
 Mexico 806,000 
 
 Canada 200,000 
 
 Central America 100,000 
 
 Japan 500,000 
 
 Germany 69,000 
 
 Spain 1,000,000 
 
 Belgium . .' 250,000 
 
 Holland 363,000 
 
 Hungary 75> 
 
 Total $22,877,000 
 
 The United States to American ships (postage*) 43> 
 
 Total with United States postage . . $22,920,000 
 
 *The United States to foreign ships $230,000. 
 
American Industries* 23 
 
 Plain as is the fallacy of the policy of the United States, 
 yet the most powerful argument showing the error of her 
 present short-sighted method is to be found in the condition 
 of affairs at home and not abroad. In 1882, our coastwise 
 trade was over twice as great as our foreign trade, while the 
 former was increasing and the latter declining. At various 
 places the trade lines of commerce must come together, as 
 for instance, the Sault Saint Marie Canal, and here some 
 estimates of the amount have been obtained. The tonnage 
 which went through that canal in 1890 was 1,500,000 tons 
 greater than that which passed through the Suez Canal in 
 the same year. The whole of our internal commerce is said 
 upon the best of authority to amount to $25,000,000,000 a 
 year. 
 
 Of the city of Chicago, it is said that last year, the ton- 
 nage which entered and cleared there was considerably 
 greater than the tonnage at either New York, London or 
 Liverpool. Our tonnage on Western rivers is 294,446 tons, 
 while the shipping on the Pacific coast is about twice as great. 
 
 In our coastwise shipping our increase has been steady 
 and strong, showing plainly what could be done with our 
 foreign shipping. But this trade is prosperous owing to 
 the fact that all foreign competition is excluded. Only 
 vessels of American build can trade between two ports of 
 the United States, and if it were not for this protection the 
 American ship-owners would be unable to successfully com- 
 pete with foreigners when the latter can build and man their 
 vessels so much more cheaply. The average difference in the 
 wages of sailors, firemen, etc., between Liverpool and Phila- 
 delphia, is nearly 33 per cent. This difference was clearly 
 shown by Senator William P. Frye, in his speech on the 
 Shipping Bill before the Senate on July 3d, 1890, where he 
 compared a Spanish and an American ship with regard to 
 the wages paid their employees or crew and found that the 
 total difference per month was $10,698.95 in favor of the 
 Spanish ship. With our foreign commerce under this disad- 
 vantage how could it be expected that they could compete 
 other nations of the world ? 
 
24 The Recent Development of 
 
 What more powerful and self-evident argument for govern- 
 ment assistance to our foreign trade could possibly be had than 
 the fact that our domestic shipping thrives solely through the 
 protection of the government ? Our coastwise trade we see 
 thrifty and prosperous under national care, while our foreign 
 trade we see ruined and sinking under national neglect. 
 Shall the United States take the position in the commercial 
 world, as it has done in the mining, the manufacturing and 
 the railroad worlds ; or shall this great country, to avoid a 
 comparatively small temporary expense, sink back to a posi- 
 tion inferior to that which she held when our forefathers ab- 
 solved their connection with the mother country, and declared 
 the United States to be a free and independent nation ? 
 
 LLOYD CARPENTER GRISCOM. 
 
American Industries. 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 THE CARPET INDUSTRY. 
 
 Carpet, as is well known, originated in the East, but not 
 "by any means carpets as we use the term. The Oriental 
 carpet is now, and always has been, merely a rug, to be 
 spread upon the floor or taken up as necessity requires. 
 From the East the manufacture was at an early date intro- 
 duced into Europe and from thence came to America about 
 the time of the Revolution; but it was not till the middle of 
 the present century that any great advance was made in the 
 industry. Before the invention and perfection of the im- 
 proved looms, about 1850-60, carpet patterns were very 
 -simple, or if manufactured with any complication of figure, 
 were very expensive. At the ancient royal establishment 
 of the Gobelins in Paris, most beautiful fabrics were pro- 
 duced, some of which required from five to ten years to 
 make and were valued at from 100,000 to 2,000,000 francs. 
 
 In the United States " home-made " rag carpets were used 
 to some extent at a very early period and in 1760, the New 
 York papers were advertising Scotch carpets for sale, but 
 before the present century the sanded floor was in most gen- 
 eral use. The first carpet establishment of which we have 
 any record was owned by William Peter Sprague and was 
 making Axminster carpets in Philadelphia in 1791. In this 
 year also we first hear of a protective tariff for carpets, in 
 the report of Alexander Hamilton who proposed an increase 
 in the duty from 5 to 7}^ per cent. " for the further protec- 
 tion of this branch of home industry." 
 
 Several years later John Dorsey started another factory at 
 Philadelphia, but the growth of the industry was slow in the 
 extreme. The census of 1810 returned as the total output of 
 the country 9,984 yards, nearly all of which was made at 
 Philadelphia. This early planting of the industry in the 
 'Quaker City was in a large degree due to the character of 
 
26 The Recent Development of 
 
 the immigration. They brought with them the idea of 
 weaving, and their primitive hand-looms could easily be 
 adapted to the production of various kinds of fabrics, and 
 finding a considerable demand for carpets, they altered their 
 clumsy machines to carpet looms. Several mills which have 
 since become among the largest in the country were started 
 from 1825 to 1835. The Tariffville mills at Tariifville, Con- 
 necticut, now the Hartford Carpet Co., the Lowell Manu- 
 facturing Co., of Lowell, Mass., now one of the largest 
 producers of Wilton and Body Brussels; McCallum's factory 
 at Philadelphia, now McCallum & Sloan, producing Wilton, 
 Body Brussels, Ingrains, and Alexander Smith, at Yonkers, 
 N. Y., now Alexander Smith & Sons Carpet Co., the largest 
 manufacturers of Moquette and Tapestries. 
 
 By 1835 the manufacture of carpets had become one of our 
 important industries, and our productions compared favor- 
 ably with the foreign article. Nearly every description of 
 carpeting made in Europe was at this time produced in the 
 United States, but compared with modern figures the output 
 was small, being only about 1,147,500 yards, over 85 per 
 cent, of which was ingrain. The industry had not as yet 
 received that impetus which was destined to be given to it 
 by the great inventions of the next and succeeding decades. 
 The old-fashioned hand- looms were used, producing from 
 seven to eight yards per day of inferior carpet, and such a 
 thing as a modern factory was unknown. The weavers 
 worked in their shops back of the houses, received good 
 wages, and were a very respectable class of men. In 1834 
 there were reported about twenty factories, with a little over 
 500 looms, 425 of them being ingrains. The average impor- 
 tation of all kinds from the year 1828 to 1832 was 536,296 
 yards, about one-half the domestic product. The larger 
 consumption of ingrains was doubtless due to their greater 
 cheapness. They are so woven that the color of the design 
 appears on the wrong side of the carpet as the ground, 
 making it reversible, which renders it a very serviceable, as 
 well as a cheap carpet. Its great rival at present is tapestry 
 brussels, manufactured in England as early as 1842 ; E. 
 
American Industries. 27 
 
 S. Higgins & Co., of New York, making the first successful 
 attempt in this country. 
 
 The invention and introduction of the power loom makes 
 from 1845 to 1855 one of the most eventful decades in the 
 history of the carpet industry. The problem of making a 
 power loom which should automatically perform so difficult 
 a task as the weaving of a two-ply web so as to produce any 
 required pattern had in England been abandoned as insolv- 
 able. Such an intricate machine as a Brussels and Wilton 
 power loom was not thought of even in their wildest dreams, 
 and the solution of these problems was mainly if not entirely 
 the product of American genius. The first power loom, one 
 for the manufacture of ingrain, made in 1834, was unsuc- 
 cessful and sold as useless to Mr. Bigelow, to whom the 
 carpet industry in America is greatly indebted. From this 
 apparently useless machine he brought out in 1839 an in- 
 grain loom which was so improved by 1845 that it produced 
 from 25 to 27 yards per day. These looms were used mainly in 
 New England as automatic power was not introduced to any 
 great extent in Philadelphia till 1865-1870. In 1864 John 
 Braun, a German, invented a very successful loom in this city, 
 but the phenomenal growth of the industry here was not till 
 after the introduction of the costly Murkland loom, about 
 1870, producing about thirty yards of the better quality in- 
 grains. Many of these looms, costing at first about $i ,000, are 
 still in use in Philadelphia, but the newer esthblishments have 
 taken up the more speedy and less expensive Crompton and 
 Knowles looms, both of which were brought out in 1886. 
 These cost only about $450 and produce on the average 
 about fifty yards per day. The invention of the Murkland 
 loom, which introduced shading into the patterns, enabled 
 the weaving of designs having a more pleasing effect than 
 those formerly made, though it is not till within the past ten 
 years that we have obtained any remarkable results in our 
 weaves and designs. During this time a new branch of the 
 ingrain manufacture, borrowed from England, has grown up 
 in Philadelphia, namely, the weaving of ''art squares;" 
 they are simply "ingrain druggets," frequently three yards 
 
28 The Recent Development of 
 
 in width, and embodying striking conceits in weaving, color 
 and design. The looms will produce 100 yards per week. 
 
 The invention of the Brussels power loom we also owe to 
 Mr. Bigelow. Two years previous to his ingrain loom in 
 1837 he had invented a coach-lace loom, which he so modi- 
 fied as to adopt it for weaving wider goods, and in 1840 
 brought out his perfected Brussels power loom. The main 
 difficulties to be overcome in the invention of this loom were 
 the bringing to the surface of the proper colors for the pattern 
 by means of the Jaquard cards, and the automatic withdrawal 
 and replacing of the wires over which the warp must be 
 woven in order to produce the ribbed appearance of the carpet. 
 The old hand loom, aside from being a very slow machine, 
 (producing ^mly about ten yards per day) could not, even 
 with the most skillful workman, give that even and smooth 
 surface and symmetry of figure so necessary to a good body 
 Brussels carpet. The power loom with its recent improve- 
 ments produces a more perfect article and does it much more 
 rapidly, weaving from 50 to 60 yards per day. Body-Brussels 
 was first made in the United States as early as 1815, but the 
 manufacture was of little importance till after the introduction 
 of the power loom, about 1847, when it grew very rapidly , and 
 now the total output is over 17,000,000 yards, of which Massa- 
 chusetts produces 7^ millions and Philadelphia over 6^. 
 
 In Philadelphia this branch of the manufacture is of recent 
 growth, as will be seen when it is remembered that in 1870 
 there was not a body Brussels loom in successful operation 
 within the State of Pennsylvania. New England long re- 
 tained the monopoly, but at present the 1122 body Brussels 
 and Wilton power looms now operating in the United States 
 are distributed mainly as follows : Massachusetts, 454, 
 Philadelphia, 352, and Connecticut 107. The Bigelow loom 
 is most popular in New England, but an English loom, the 
 Crossley, with a capacity of fifty-three yards per day, is used 
 in nearly all the large mills in Philadelphia. Brussels 
 weavers are among our most industrious and thrifty carpet 
 laborers, many of them possessing a superior intelligence 
 and a definite knowledge of what is requisite in the technique 
 
American Industries. 29 
 
 and color treatment of a fine floor fabric. Their wages 
 average from sixteen to eighteen dollars per week. 
 
 Wilton carpet is similar to Brussels, except that it is much 
 heavier, and the loops are cut, giving it a plush surface. It 
 is the most desirable of American carpets, and is very popular 
 among the richer classes, being the chief competitor of 
 Axminster. In 1882 its production was about 600,000 yards, 
 but this output has of late years been considerably increased. 
 A cheaper pile carpet of American origin is the Moquette, 
 first manufactured by the Alexander Smith & Sons Carpet 
 Co., of Yonkers, N. Y. It is not so durable as the Wilton, but 
 is capable of wonderful color treatment, and having a longer 
 nap, is much softer. The long nap, however, permits matting 
 down more than the short nap of the Wilton, but it is never- 
 theless a very popular carpet, and is rapidly taking the place 
 of the old imported Axminster which has long been beyond 
 the reach of the average housekeeper. There is no mention 
 made of it in the census of 1880, but at present there are 
 from 425 to 450 looms operating on its production. 
 
 Tapestry Brussels, mentioned above as the rival of ingrains, 
 is a very durable fabric considering its cost, and being 
 woven over wires has the same ribbed appearance as body- 
 Brussels but is much lighter, carrying only about 200 warp 
 threads while the latter has 1200. The body-Brussels re- 
 quires a separate set of warp threads for each color and is 
 thus limited to five or six, while in the tapestry the design 
 is printed on the threads before they are put into the loom. 
 Great skill is required both in the printing and in the weav- 
 ing, but the manufacturer is enabled to use an unlimited 
 number of colors and produce a beautiful carpet. An ingrain 
 carpet of medium grade retails at about fifty cents, and a 
 three-ply ingrain and a tapestry Brussels will bring about 
 seventy-five and sixty cents respectively ; but a tapestry 
 gives a much better finish to a room and is almost universally 
 preferred to a fine ingrain. As a consequence, a very small 
 quantity of the latter is now made while the former is largely 
 consumed. New York takes the lead in its manufarture, 
 having (Feb. i, 1890) 962 looms of the 1527 in operation in 
 
30 The Recent Development of 
 
 the United States. Philadelphia comes next with 320, while 
 New England has less than 200. In 1880 the total output 
 of the United States was about 9,500,000 yards, but in 
 1890 it was over 20,500,000, valued at nearly $12,000,000. 
 The already large consumption of tapestries is destined to be 
 enormously increased if the recent invention of Dunlap & 
 Co. proves a success. The carpet is first woven without 
 color and then printed by means of a revolving roller at the 
 rate of forty yards per minute. This machine will cheapen 
 tapestries one-half as, owing to its marvelous rapidity, one 
 printer can keep 200 looms running and at the same time 
 many of the difficulties of making the figures match by the 
 present method of weaving are removed. The great difficulty 
 is to print firm enough to give a lasting color and not press 
 the nap down too much. This is overcome by means of 
 steaming, which brings the nap up perfectly, and in the 
 experiments which have been tried, all attempts to make the 
 colors fade have only rendered them brighter. 
 
 In 1876 a new branch of the carpet industry was started 
 in the manufacture of the ' ' Smyrna " rugs, a heavy, revers- 
 ible, tufted fabric, with the two sides identical in figure and 
 color. It is now made in all sizes, from two and a half feet 
 long up to twelve by fifteen. The United States makes 
 more of these than all other countries combined, the great 
 centre being Philadelphia, where is situated the largest rug 
 plant in the world, that of John Bromley & Sons. There are 
 now seventeen large mills, ten of which are ;n this city. 
 
 The remarkable growth of the carpet industry in the 
 United States has taken place mainly since 1860, more espe- 
 cially in Philadelphia. Thirty years ago the hand loom was 
 in its prime throughout Kensington, where the power loom 
 was looked upon more as an experimental curiosity than a 
 practical aid to labor. Usually the employer worked side by 
 side with his weaver, who earned good wages and was as 
 much respected among his neighbors as a high-class mer- 
 chant is now. 'Skilled Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Irish- 
 men all found ready employment and a ready return for their 
 labor. The total number of factories in the United States 
 
American Industries. 31 
 
 was 213, but the product amounted to only about 13,000,000 
 yards, valued at nearly $8,000,000, an increase of 2,500,- 
 ooo over the output in 1850. In 1870 the number of fac- 
 tories was only increased by three, but the amount of the 
 product swelled to 32,000,000 yards, valued at about 
 $22,000,000, with an invested capital of $12,500,000. Wages 
 on hand looms began to decrease owing to the competition 
 on the power looms. In 1882 we find an invested capital of 
 upwards of $25,000,000; 340 establishments (including many 
 small concerns, not factories, strictly speaking), in which 
 were over 5,000 hand looms, 4,200 power looms and 22,000 
 operatives. The total output was 62,000,000 yards, valued 
 at $50,500,000; of this over 27,000,00 yards were in- 
 grain (one-half of which was of the cheap cotton grade) 14,- 
 000,000 tapestry and 8,500,000 body-Brussels and Wilton. 
 The estimated increase in the number of factories from 1850 
 to 1880 was over 80 per cent.; in capital 20 percent.; and in 
 the number of employees 8 per cent. ; the latter mainly an 
 increase in the number of females employed, rendered possi- 
 ble by the introduction of the power loom. Wages had in- 
 creased 20 per cent. In 1890 we find a considerable change. 
 Hand looms have practically disappeared, and the factories, 
 though numbering only about 150, have been greatly en- 
 larged and run (February i, 1891,) in the aggregate some- 
 thing over 8,000 power looms. The total output was (in 
 1890) about 85,000,000 yards (excluding Moquettes), valued 
 at over $54,000,000, which, with the $3,000,000 worth of 
 Moquette, made only in New York and Massachusetts, makes 
 a grand total of $57,000,000. Of the 85,000,000 yards 47 
 were ingrain, 20^ tapestry (Brussels and velvet), and 17 
 body-Brussels and Wilton. Philadelphia produces over half 
 of this, 46,000,000 yards, valued at $29,000,000; New York, 
 19,000,000 yards, valued at $13,500,000; and Massachusetts, 
 13,500,000 yards, valued at $10,000,000. 
 
 The improvements in machinery enabling our large pro- 
 duction have greatly cheapened carpets and thus tended 
 strongly to increase our present large per capita consumption, 
 it being ten-fold greater than in 1860. Fine tapestries and 
 
32 The Recent Development of 
 
 Brussels can now be obtained at the former cost of the rudest 
 ingrain. 
 
 The enormous product 85,000,000 yards is consumed en- 
 tirely at home, making a per capita consumption of nearly 
 a yard and a half, far more than in any foreign country. 
 The primary cause of the remarkably large use of carpets 
 in the United States is the fact that civilization is main- 
 tained in this country at a lower winter isothermal than 
 elsewhere. Also, our houses are built so poorly, compared 
 with other countries, that a carpet of some kind is almost an 
 absolute necessity. No American carpets are exported, as 
 our one chance for trade on this line lies in the cheaper 
 grades, and the only demand for these is at home, as it is in 
 the United States alone that the floors of the homes of the 
 so-called laboring classes are carpeted. 
 
 The decade from 1870-80 witnessed the decline and prac- 
 tical extinction of the foreign carpet trade in the United 
 States side by side with the growth and monopoly of the 
 home market by our own factories. The English and French 
 could undersell us without the tariff (30 to 4oc. per yard 
 plus 40 to 50 per cent, ad valorem, according to the quality) 
 on account of the greater cheapness of labor. In 1880 our 
 imports of all grades were 1,443,535 yards (value in England 
 $1,237,431, and in 1890 this had decreased to 578,764 yards, 
 value $873,800). 
 
 In conclusion, a word must be said in regard to the design- 
 ing. Formerly designs were very scarce, all of them being 
 imported, and nothing was thought of stealing another's 
 patterns. About 1875 the Eastern mills began to patent 
 their choicer designs, and now the standard of ethics in re- 
 gard to appropriating those of another is much higher. 
 Designers' wages range from $10 to $20 per week, and a 
 good design will sell all the way from twenty to fifty dollars, 
 depending entirely upon its merits, though as yet this branch 
 of artistic work is not so well paid as some others. 
 
 HARVEY E. PLATT. 
 
American Industries. 33. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 THE WORSTED INDUSTRY. 
 
 Up to the nineteenth century wools were divided into two- 
 great classes, short or clothing wools, and long or combing 
 wools; woolens were made from the former and worsteds from 
 the latter. Worsteds were then made from hand-combed 
 wool, and wool having a fibre of from 9 to 12 inches was the 
 grade commonly used. When Dr. Cortwright patented his 
 wool-combing machine the era of hand-combing ended and 
 the reign of machinery began. The machine-combed wool 
 was all equally mixed, and the slivers were uniform and of 
 any required length, so it was better for machine spinning. 
 Since Cortwright' s invention was made there have been be- 
 tween four and five hundred more inventions brought out, 
 the most important of which are the Square Motion, the 
 Noble and the Heilman. These are all wool-combing ma- 
 chines and their value will be explained later on. 
 
 Worsted yarns can be divided into three distinct kinds. 
 First, that obtained- from short and medium stapled wools, 
 which are made into yarn by carding, gilling and combing; 
 this class is very useful to the clothing manufacturer. Second, 
 a valuable thread is produced from long wools, which have 
 a fibre embracing in length four or five inches. These wools 
 are not carded, but simply gilled and combed after the fibres 
 have been regularly straightened by hand. Carding long 
 wools would be injurious, because it would break the fibres 
 and so produce a large quantity of noil, a point which can 
 not be too closely guarded against in making worsted yarns. 
 Third, in making a soft, open thread, where plenty of full- 
 ness and fibre is required, the wool is neither combed nor 
 gilled, but is first carded and then afterwards is drawn and 
 spun. Such threads are used in carpets and in some classes 
 of knitting or fingering yarns. 
 
 No matter what system of thread production is used the 
 
34 The Recent Development of 
 
 principle of manufacture is the same, for in all worsted yarns 
 the fibres are more or less straightened and arranged in one 
 order. The more combing and gilling that the wool gets the 
 higher will be the degree of parallelism attained. This 
 parallelism is the distinguishing mark between worsteds and 
 woolens. In woolens the distinctive feature is the thorough 
 mixing together of the fibre so as to produce a level sliver, 
 but there is no regular system of amalgamation adopted, and 
 in the condensed material fibre may (lay) either across or 
 lengthwise of the thread, but in worsted yarns, on the con- 
 trary, the object is to form a continuous ribbon of fibres uni- 
 form in thickness throughout its length and breadth, and in 
 particular the filaments must be parallel with each other. 
 
 In being transformed from wool into a worsted yarn the 
 raw material passes through the following processes: (i) it 
 is opened and separated, but crossed and intermingled on the 
 wire of the carder; (2) it is straightened, extended and 
 levelled in gilling; (3) the short and curly fibres are extracted 
 and the straight and long ones are laid parallel one to the 
 other in combing; (4) an even ribbon is formed on the draw- 
 ing frame; (5) the thick, rope-like thread produced in roving 
 is twisted into a weavable yarn on the spinning machine. 
 The preliminary processes of scouring, oiling, blending and 
 carding are almost identical in both ( woolen and worsted 
 yarn production. The processes which belong, strictly speak- 
 ing, to worsted yarn manufacture are back washing, gilling, 
 combing, drawing, roving and spinning on the throstle 
 frame. 
 
 When the material leaves the carder it is somewhat dis- 
 colored by the oil which was added to facilitate its passage 
 through the carding machine, and it also contains a certain 
 per cent, of dirty substances. It is best to remove such im- 
 purities and to thoroughly cleanse the "cardings" of all 
 greasy and foreign matter. This work is done by the back- 
 washing machine. The object of gilling is to straighten the 
 fibres, to draw out and level the carding, and to prepare the 
 material for the combing machine. There is a twofold object 
 to be attained in combing first, to thoroughly adjust the 
 
American Industries. 35 
 
 fibre in parallel form; and, second, to remove the short curly 
 fibre present in the wool. Although gilling produces a 
 fairly level ribbon, yet, if it is closely examined it will be 
 found to be a combination of short and long, crimpy and 
 straight fibres. All wavy filaments are unfit for use in 
 worsted yarn until they are straightened. On account of 
 this, in the combing operation, the wool is divided into two 
 distinct classes, the long fibres of the gilled ribbon are 
 combed and form the top, but the short and wavy fibres are 
 cast out as noil. 
 
 A level ribbon can be obtained by frequent gilling, but 
 something more is needed if it is wished to form a lustrous 
 thread having a smooth, uniform surface. To do this the 
 fibres which retain their crimpy nature and resist the action 
 of the gill-pins must be extracted and even totally removed 
 from the ribbon, if that is possible. The main function of 
 the combing machine is performing this work. The Noble 
 or circular comb is the one commonly used to prepare yarns 
 from medium and short stapled wools, the ' ' nip ' ' is used on 
 the long lustre wools, while the square motion machine is 
 largely used in combing fine wools. After combing, the next 
 process is drawing. Here the purpose is to combine several 
 ribbons and extenuate them to such an extent as to produce 
 a thick, soft thread which, when twisted, will form a yarn 
 capable of bearing the tension and friction of weaving. 
 Roving is the last operation before spinning. It is a com- 
 bination of drawing and twisting, with an excess of drawing, 
 while spinning is a combination of the same processes with 
 an excess of twisting. 
 
 The finishing processes in making worsted cloth do not 
 make very great distinctive changes, for here the character 
 of the weave or the effect of crossing the threads is not only 
 carefully preserved, but is also smoothly and boldly devel- 
 oped. A worsted cloth in the loom, if w r ell woven, is the 
 same, to a very considerable degree, in appearance and 
 handle as when in the finished or salable condition. The 
 only marked alteration that finishing gives is a desirable 
 improvement in the qualities of softness and lustre. An 
 
36 The Recent Development of 
 
 ordinary buyer would possibly notice that the effect of the 
 weave or make is more pronounced in the finished goods 
 than in the material in the loom, but this effect is caused by 
 cropping or cutting the loose and straggling fibres that appear 
 on the surface of a woven labric. The worsted fabric neither 
 increases to any material degree in thickness or strength 
 during the finishing operation, but a woolen fabric, espe- 
 cially when milled for a long time, increases both in density 
 and fulness of handle, as a result of the finishing operations. 
 The woolen fabric while in the loom, does not show to any 
 marked extent what the finished product will be. In the 
 finished product, the bare surface and thready handle the 
 fabric possesses in the loom are no longer distinguishable ; 
 for the former is substituted a soft, velvety pile, and for the 
 latter a clothy and elastic touch. A greater variety of effects 
 by finishing can be produced in woolen than in worsted 
 goods, for, in a worsted cloth, whether single or backed, 
 there is always one feature, namely a well pronounced weave 
 effect, and a clear, bright face, which shows that one style 
 of finish is largely used. In the case of woolen goods it is 
 very different and several varieties of effects can be produced. 
 The production of both woolens and worsteds has largely 
 increased since 1860 when the number of factories engaged 
 in the production of all kinds of woolen and worsteds was 
 1476, and the value of the material they produced was $72,- 
 194,000. In 1870 there were 1938 factories, employing 17,870 
 laborers, and producing $151,298,176 worth of goods; in 
 1880, there were 2,689 factories, employing 161,551 laborers, 
 and producing $267,252,913 worth of goods. (The figures 
 for 1860 are estimates, but those for 1870 and 1880 are taken 
 from United States census reports for the respective years.") 
 Of the individual states Massachusetts employed more 
 laborers and produced more goods, but Pennsylvania had 
 more factories, in 1870. In 1880 Pennsylvania employed 
 more laborers, but did not produce as much as Massachusetts. 
 The figures in the last census are not out yet, but an extract 
 from a pamphlet issued by a prominent firm of wool com- 
 mission merchants of Philadelphia probably defines the 
 
American Industries. 37 
 
 -situation correctly. This firm says : " Worsted spinners are 
 busy and prosperous, but the woolen manufacturers do not 
 find much encouragement in the situation " (March 2, 1891.) 
 Since 1860, when there were only 3, the number of worsted 
 factories had largely increased ; in 1880 there were 76, and 
 the popularity of worsted fabrics has kept pace with the 
 number of factories. 
 
 The question arises, what causes this popularity ? Some 
 persons say the tariff causes the increased demand for this 
 class of goods. But this is a false view. The tariff may, and 
 undoubtedly by its protective features does cause the number 
 of factories in the United States to increase largely, but it 
 does not cause a demand for worsteds. Only by lowering 
 the duties on worsteds imported, which is something our 
 manufacturers do not wish, or by raising the duties on other 
 woolen fabrics, which discrimination would not be tolerated 
 by the other manufacturers, could the tariff create such a 
 demand. 
 
 Another man says that " Dame Fashion " is the responsi- 
 ble party. But fashion is a capricious creature, and while, 
 no doubt, her moods and inclinations do cause styles to vary 
 faster than the weather, the popularity of worsteds shows a 
 slow, steady increase, and fashion is too fickle to ever have 
 caused such a popularity. By examining to find out what suits 
 are made from woolens and what from worsteds we ascertain 
 that dress suits and cheviots are made from woolens and 
 ' ' cut-a-ways" and summer suits are niade from worsteds. 
 From this we see that worsteds are the common material in 
 summer, and in winter ''cut-a-ways" are extensively worn, 
 so that as a natural sequence worsteds are in a large excess. 
 Seeking for the reason why ' ' cut-a-ways ' ' are made from 
 worsteds, we ascertain that it is due to the superior lustre 
 and uniformity of surface, which textiles made from the 
 fabric possess. The system of preparation used in making 
 worsteds gives more scope for pattern production of a weave 
 description than can be obtained in woolens. The level and 
 regular structure of the former imparts a distinctness to 
 every section of a pattern resulting from a combination of 
 
38 The Recent Development of 
 
 different weaves, and hence the variety of effects which are 
 found in worsted trousers and coats, both in highly colored 
 patterns and piece-dyed goods or fabrics of one shade 
 throughout. In brief, the advantages of a piece of worsted 
 goods are: (i) a texture, i. ., a clear surface; (2) a more 
 definitely pronounced weave effect. In making woolens the 
 mechanical system of adjusting the fibres produces a thread 
 with a somewhat indefinite and fibrous surface, which neu- 
 tralizes the character of the weave, or destroys, in some 
 degree, the effect in the woven goods due to crossing warp 
 and weft threads at right angles to each other. The color- 
 ings of the pattern are well blended and the fabric is well 
 milled. 
 
 The superior lustre of worsted is due to two causes: (i) a 
 parallel arrangement of fibres admits of a more powerful re- 
 flection of light than if crossed at any and every angle im- 
 aginable, as is the case in woolens; (2) in making woolens 
 a large variety of fibres are scribbled together, and this 
 necessitates a high degree of twist in order to reduce the size 
 of the sliver and impart the required strength and elasticity 
 to the spun yarn. This twist forces the fibres into the centre 
 of the thread and naturally gives it solidity and compact- 
 ness, but at the same time it detracts from the reflecting 
 power of the individual fibres which help to form the yarn. 
 By lustre is not meant that shiny appearance which cloth 
 obtains from long wear and which was a common thing for 
 worsteds formerly to possess, but in the worsteds now used 
 it is largely, though not entirely, obviated. 
 
 Worsteds are capable of sustaining more tension in pro- 
 portion to their size and thickness than woolens. As a con- 
 sequence worsteds of the same strength as woolens can be 
 made thinner and lighter ; and, therefore, of course, they 
 are more comfortable for summer wear. 
 
 DE Pui VAIL. 
 
American Industries. 39 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 COTTON MANUFACTURES. 
 
 Cotton manufactures are of very ancient origin, modern 
 improvements dating back only one hundred and fifty years. 
 England's prominence in the industry is due to the import- 
 ance of the inventions made in that country; among the most 
 important of which are the spinning jenny, the mule, and 
 the power loom. Through these inventions England gained 
 the supremacy, in the manufacture of cotton fabrics; and 
 to keep the' monopoly of the trade she knew something must 
 be done to prevent other nations from manufacturing. In 
 pursuance of this policy she passed, in 1770, an act which 
 forbade the exportation of machinery, models of machinery, 
 etc., and any one caught was guilty of a criminal offense. 
 
 In the colonies this law retarded the growth of the cotton 
 industry, and until the arrival of Samuel Slater, in 1/89, 
 the industry was of small importance. But with Slater a 
 new era commences. The Arkwright machinery is introduced 
 and successfully worked. Other improvements were made, 
 and the industry firmly established. 
 
 No sooner did it become known that the manufacture of 
 cotton could be carried on successfully in consequence of 
 the invention of the cotton gin than factories were established 
 all over New England and in the Middle States. In June, 
 1799, Slater established the mills at Rehoboth, Mass., 
 and they were exempted from taxation for the period of 
 seven years. In 1806, Slaterville, with its immense mill was 
 started by this wonderful man. The celebrated New York 
 mills were established in 1808, by the Wolcotts. The mills in 
 those days were generally built where water-power was 
 available, and therefore in narrow valleys and places in 
 which mills of only very narrow structure could be built. 
 
 Cotton manufacture was finally established here on a 
 lasting basis. According to Mr. Jachariah Allen, the num- 
 
4-O The Recent Development of 
 
 her of spindles in the United States in 1807 was 4,000. By 
 1809, according to Benedict's " History of Rhode Island," 
 within the neighborhood of Providence there were 17 
 factories, working 14,296 spindles, and by 1812, in Rhode 
 Island and Massachusetts, there were 53 factories working 
 48,030 spindles. Tench Coxe, in his census report of 1810, 
 gives the number of cotton mills in the United States at 248, 
 which were situated in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode 
 Island, New York, Kentucky, Connecticut, New Hampshire, 
 Maryland, Delaware, Ohio and Tennessee. The majority 
 were built after the plan of Slater's, the spinning being done 
 by the water-frame (each section having eight spindles). 
 In 1808 the throstle spinning frame was introduced. 
 
 The embargo and the war with England, together with 
 the high prices from natural causes, gave great impetus to the 
 production of all such goods that could be manufactured 
 here, especially cottons. English cottons, which formerly 
 brought seventeen to twenty cents per yard, were sold at 
 seventy-five cents. Providence, before the war, had 17 mills, 
 and after the war Providence and the immediate vicinity had 
 96 mills, working 65,264 spindles. 
 
 According to a report of the Committee on Manufactures 
 in 1815, the capital invested in cotton manufacture in the 
 United States amounted to $40,000,000, employing 100,000 
 hands, using 27,000,000 pounds of raw material, manufac- 
 turing 8 1, ooo, ooo yards of fabrics valued at $24,300,000. 
 
 One can see to what extent this industry had grown. But 
 no sooner was the war over and peace declared, than England 
 flooded our markets with goods; as she knew that to regain 
 her foot-hold here, she must kill our manufactories. Our 
 industries had been established hastily, and carried on 
 without much skill or economy, the people being under the 
 necessity of buying American goods, as they could get no 
 other. As soon as the English goods were again purchasable, 
 the establishments created at such a great expense, became 
 worthless. To protect these industries the tariff of 1816 
 was passed by Congress. 
 
 The majority of the mills before this time had been 
 
American Industries. 41 
 
 employed in the production of yarn, which was woven upon 
 the hand-loom. The year 1814 marks a great change in the 
 cotton industry in the United States. Power-looms were 
 put in operation at Waltham. 
 
 The power-loom was used to some extent in England before 
 the war of 1812, but the principle was an old one, Cartright 
 being the first to invent one which met with any success. 
 On his principle many improvements were made. In America 
 T. C. Lowell was the first to complete a loom which worked 
 successfully. This loom was called the cam-loom, and by 
 1814 Mr. Lowell and others had an establishment running, 
 which used his loom. 
 
 The crank-loom was introduced by William Gilmore, an 
 Englishman, who worked in the English mills and had oper- 
 ated on the loom and dresser. He went to the Slaters, in 
 Rhode Island, and proposed to build them a set of looms, 
 but business was dull at the time and his offer pushed aside; 
 but in the spring of 1816 he was given an order for twelve 
 looms, which were working by May, 1817. 
 
 The manufacturers of Massachusetts, and afterwards of 
 New Hampshire, adopted the plan used at Waltham, and 
 which was known as the Waltham system. It consisted of 
 the cam-loom, the dead spindle, the double speeder, worker, 
 Waltham dressing-frame and filling-frame. The Rhode 
 Island mills had a different system, which consisted of the 
 crank-loom, the tube-speeder, the Scotch dresser, the mule 
 and live spindle. The latter system was superior, and was 
 at last used in preference to the, other, its loom being used 
 at Waltham about 1827, and its mule in 1830. 
 
 This preference was due to the fact that one system was 
 the work of a practical business man, who knew the needs of 
 the industry, while the other was the work of ingenious 
 mechanics, who had no great practical knowledge of the re- 
 quirements of the industry. 
 
 With the aid of protection and improved machinery the 
 cotton manufactures made great strides. According to the 
 report of the fourth census, the amount of cotton consumed 
 was 9,945,609 Ibs., an increase of one hundred and seventy- 
 
42 The Recent Development of 
 
 six per cent, over 1810, but a decrease from 1815 of one 
 hundred and seventy per cent. This census is not very ac- 
 curate. The number of spindles are given at 250,572, an 
 increase from 1810 of two hundred and thirteen per cent. 
 
 Calico printing was done in this country as far back as the 
 latter part of the eighteenth century, the cloth being im- 
 ported for the purpose. It was not before 1803 that a mill 
 which manufactured the fabric printed it also. In that year 
 the Globe Mill, at Philadelphia, added this process to its in- 
 dustry. In 1822 the Lowell cotton mills followed its example. 
 
 By 1831 there were in the United States 801 mills; the 
 number of spindles was 1,246,703 ; the number of looms was 
 33>433I the number of employees was 62,208; the amount 
 of capital invested was $40,612,984; the amount of raw 
 material yearly used was 77,457,316 Ibs. 
 
 A period of inventions and improvements followed, and 
 cotton manufacturing had its share. The most important 
 invention in the cotton industry was the eclipse speeder, for 
 making roving, patented in 1829, by Gilbert Brewester, of 
 Poughkeepsie. The importance of this was due to its 
 cheapness and the great amount of work it was capable of 
 producing. The stop-motion on the drawing-frames, was 
 first used by Samuel Batchelder, at Saco, Maine (1832). In 
 the drawing- frame, the great objection was that the strands 
 broke so easily, and the machine had to be stopped often, 
 preventing a high rate of speed and resulting in many imper- 
 fections. The stop-motion stopped the machine as soon as 
 the strand was broken. In Waltham, this improvement was? 
 applied to the warper, thus preventing the warp from wrap- 
 ping around the beam when broken . In 1 83 1 , the ring-spinner 
 was invented by John Sharp, of Providence, which produced 
 yarn at a much lower cost. Improvements were made in 
 the mule by William Mason, of Taunton, in 1846. 
 
 The principle of looms with self-acting temples was intro- 
 duced about 1830. This enabled one hand to operate four 
 looms or more. In 1850 the census was again taken, accord- 
 ing to which there were 1,094 establishments in the United 
 States. The number of spindles and looms was not taken; 
 
American Industries. 43 
 
 the mills gave employment to 92,286 persons; the capital 
 invested was $74,500,931; the amount of raw material con- 
 sumed was 288,588,000 Ibs., and the value of the products 
 was $65,501,687. 
 
 As the machinery improved, the mill building also im- 
 proved and to an equal degree. The high, ill-built, badly 
 lighted and ventilated building gave way to the modern 
 mill, which cannot be better explained than in the words of 
 Mr. Edward Atkinson, "In 1860 the 'normal' cotton mill 
 (so to speak) had become a factory four or five stories high, 
 about 60 feet wide, varying in length according to the amount 
 of machinery, high-studded, well-lighted, thoroughly well 
 ventilated, and heated by radiation from steam pipes." 
 Much is due to these improvements for the advancement of 
 our cotton industry. In the way of improvements in ma- 
 chinery many small improvements were made, especially in 
 the manufacture of the looms, which could now weave in- 
 tricate patterns as rapidly as a most simple one. 
 
 The growth of this decade is illustrated by the census of 
 1860. The number of mills in the United States was 1,091; 
 the number of spindles, 5,235,727; of looms, 126,313; the 
 number of hands employed, 122,028; the amount of cotton 
 yearly consumed, 422,704,975 Ibs.; the value of the products, 
 $115,581,774; and the amount of capital invested $98,585,- 
 269. An important change came about in 1866, the intro- 
 duction of the "slasher," which was used for sizing yarn, 
 doing away with the dresser. By means of the " slasher" 
 the work which formerly took seven or eight men to per- 
 form, requiring the work room to be over 100 Fahrenheit and 
 with starch floating continually in the air, can now be done 
 in a well ventilated room, with an ordinary amount of heat, 
 by a man and a boy. About this time one of the best of 
 modern inventions for the mill was introduced. Apparatus 
 for the absorption of dust, fibre and other floating particles, 
 which formerly infested the air of a cotton mill, was in- 
 vented, and in which many improvements have since been 
 made. Another great change in the mill, which is going on 
 now, started about 1870, that is, the substitution of steam 
 
44 The Recent Development of 
 
 for water power; or rather, as in many cases, a combination 
 of the two. The objectionable feature of water power being 
 that it is only available for a certain time each year, there- 
 fore the benefit of the introduction of steam is apparent, 
 as it saves the forced idleness of the mill when the water 
 power is inadequate. Another advantage gained by steam, 
 says Atkinson, is " that the factory may be placed nearer to 
 the principal markets, where it can be more conveniently 
 supervised and more easily reached. The use of steam also 
 renders a choice of location perfectly feasible * * * and 
 in every respect the work can be conducted under better con- 
 ditions." 
 
 The change in the nationality of the hands, especially in 
 New England and northern New York, is marked at present. 
 The Irish, who took the place of the farmer's sons and 
 daughters, are now drifting to other employment, and the 
 French Canadians are taking their places. 
 
 The census of 1880 brings out some interesting points, 
 that show the growth of this important industry, notwith- 
 standing the trials and misfortunes which it had to overcome 
 as a result of the war. According to the census the number of 
 mills in the United States was 756 ; the number of spindles 
 10,653,435; of looms, 225,759; of employees, 172,544; the 
 amount of capital invested was $208,280,346; the amount of 
 cotton consumed yearly was 750,343,981 Ibs.; the value of 
 the products was $192,090,110. The number of mills con- 
 siderably decreased, but this is counter-balanced by the in- 
 crease in the number of spindles and looms. The falling off 
 in the number of establishments is due to the consolidation 
 of the mills. 
 
 The cotton is subjected to four different processes, cleaning, 
 carding, spinning and weaving. The first machine is the 
 carder, which simply changes the rubbing motion of the old- 
 fashioned hand cards into a rotary one, and the cotton comes 
 out in a large white rope-like strand. The ' 'doffer' ' rolls them 
 up, while the "sliver" makes the cotton in the form of a 
 thread.. Then comes the drawing frame, an evolution of the 
 spinning-wheel, which draws out the thread. The "rover " 
 
American Industries. 45 
 
 with its three stages, known as the ''slubber" the "inter- 
 mediate," and the "jack," continue the process of twisting. 
 Then comes the spindle and the flyer, which adds another 
 twist to the thread; which operation is followed by the mule, 
 which turns out the thread. " The amount of twist given 
 the thread depends upon the use to which it is to be put, 
 the warp requiring more than the weft. ' ' The thread is then 
 sent to the weaving-room, and the many hundred fabrics are 
 the result. The loom now used is a double-faced, vertical 
 loom, and is a new one which is capable of very quick work, 
 but the looms of to-day are said to be heavy running, built 
 without any regard for science, and should be replaced by 
 an easy running, noiseless circular loom. 
 
 Statistics on the industry are very imperfect, many States 
 having none at all. The United States have not collected any 
 since the last census. According to the census of Massachu- 
 setts, in 1887 there were in mills, which had a capital of 
 $96,769,183; stock was valued at $32,513,979; value of the 
 goods was $68,992,188, and number of employees was 56,499. 
 This growth is the same all over New England. The South 
 has loomed up in this industry to a great extent, and its 
 goods are on the market, as well as the goods of the North; 
 and the South has every reason to become a cotton manu- 
 facturing section, having cheap fuel, cheap labor, cheap 
 power and cheap raw material. There are in the South 336 
 mills, working 40,819 looms and 1,819,291 spindles. Truly 
 it is a formidable competitor of the North. 
 
 The great growth of the South, with its increased facilities; 
 our many improvements in the speed of machinery; honest 
 goods, with no sizing and filling; will soon enable us to 
 displace England and other competitors in the markets of 
 the world in which cotton goods are demanded. 
 
 WIUJAM BENI ROSSKAM. 
 
46 The Recent Development of 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ELECTRICITY. 
 
 It is of itself interesting to consider with what rapid 
 strides electricity is taking its rank as a prominent factor in 
 our modern life. Such consideration develops various 
 amazing truths, and the impression that this mysterious 
 force is somehow inseparably united with the progress of 
 civilization early becomes a decided conviction. Why this 
 union exists is readily understood if it be recognized that 
 the service of the one is inextricably interwoven with the 
 very foundation wants of the other. 
 
 Light and power are ever the requirements of civilized life. 
 The electric current is the medium through which those re- 
 quirements may be most satisfactorily met. The ever-in- 
 creasing importance, then, of such a medium is to be expected. 
 Probably in no better way can the importance of light and 
 power be emphasized than by the negative way of supposing 
 their absence. History tells of cities whose streets were as 
 dangerous to traverse after nightfall as the most dense In- 
 dian jungle. It also records the long years of toil spent in 
 perfecting machines whose purpose was to better transmit 
 power. When success was attained industry was almost 
 revolutionized. It is but necessary to apply the after-dark 
 conditions of the Middle Age city to our own cities, and the 
 ancient water-wheel to our modern manufacturing establish- 
 ments, to recognize how closely light and power are knit 
 together with progress. 
 
 LIGHT. 
 
 The electric lighting business is separable into two forms, 
 the first being that in which the central station is the im- 
 portant feature. From this station electricity is distributed 
 for the service of light and power, and sold commercially for 
 the lighting of streets, stores, public places, offices and 
 
American Industries. 47 
 
 residences. The second form of the business deals with 
 isolated plants, installed mostly in manufacturing establish- 
 ments, public institutions and steamships, for lighting the 
 premises on which they are placed. 
 
 The industry is, popularly speaking, a ' ' booming ' ' one, 
 as the fact that there are over 300,000 arc and 4,000,000 in- 
 candescent lamps in use, over 300,000 men employed, and 
 above $300,000,000 of capital invested therein, eloquently 
 attests. This relates to the United States alone and the light- 
 ing business only, Mr. Bdison estimating that if the whole 
 number of electrical industries in our country be taken the 
 capital invested in them would be found above $600,000,000. 
 The arc lamp, in the order of development, was the first to 
 herald, by its advent, a new era in the art of illumination. 
 It produces an immense quantity of light at one point, but 
 before it could be practically applied the necessity of obtain- 
 ing subdivision, of securing steadiness in burning and of re- 
 ducing the power consumed in production stood an obstacle 
 in the way. Progress in these particulars, however, has 
 been made to such a degree as to safely warrant the state- 
 ment, that for all places where its use is desirable, the best 
 of arc lamp apparatus will produce the cheapest and most 
 satisfactory light in the world. For ordinary purposes are 
 lamps are usually furnished in 800, 1,200 and 2,000 candle 
 power, while for special uses lamps much more powerful are 
 provided. The ease with which it has always been possible 
 to distribute these lamps over large areas, on account of the 
 high tension necessarily used in producing the light, renders it 
 not impossible to supply them, on an economical basis, ten 
 or twelve miles from the generating dynamo. 
 
 The incandescent lamp followed the arc and is recognized 
 to be of far greater importance. As in the case of its prede- 
 cessor there were hindrances to be removed before its practi- 
 cal application could become possible. Much labor was 
 expended to cheapen the lamp, to prolong its life, to increase 
 its size, to measure the current it consumes and to lengthen 
 the distance from the generating dynamo at which it can 
 be produced economically. To trace out the way in which 
 
48 The Recent Development of 
 
 these results have been accomplished is not within the 
 sphere of this discussion. It suffices to say that incandescent 
 lamps are now furnished of varying sizes; from 16 candle 
 power to 150 candle power, their average life being from 800 
 to 1,500 hours actual burning. The size and consequent 
 cost of the copper conductors requisite for its low tension 
 current also checked for a long time the general adoption of 
 these lamps. 
 
 The difficulties of distribution have now been overcome. 
 A number of stations in the United States furnish incan- 
 descent lamps on an economical basis five miles distant from 
 the generating dynamo. Service at a greater distance could 
 be supplied if needed. 
 
 Still another drawback was the lack of a simple, reliable 
 meter, which would accurately measure the current. Cus- 
 tomers require that the light be always obtainable, and also 
 that no charge be levied for such time as it is not in use. To 
 meet this requirement a meter has been invented, the advan- 
 tages of which are simplicity, easy reading and the possibility 
 of readily testing as to accuracy. By the adoption of this 
 improvement the last barrier which arrested the progress of 
 lighting by means of incandescent electric lamps was broken 
 down and the pathway cleared for future growth. For 
 shaded and curved streets, stores, offices and other places of 
 business, for theatres, halls, churches and residences these 
 lamps are now preferred. This preference is the result of 
 the superior quality of light, the greater healthfulness, 
 comfort and safety and the susceptibility of use in ways and 
 places otherwise impracticable. 
 
 With a system combining arc and incandescent lamps 
 having the advantages outlined above, better illumination 
 can be afforded an entire city at no increase of cost over any 
 method of lighting heretofore in use. Economically consid- 
 ered, the central lighting station, with its service, is com- 
 petitive with gas. 
 
 Two main questions spring out of the above, requiring 
 attention, namely, economy in electric lighting and the risk 
 of fires, with the accompanying risk of personal injury. 
 
American Industries. 49 
 
 Comparatively a short time ago the possibility of cheap 
 lighting by electricity was seriously doubted. The idea that 
 the new light would ever compete favorably with gas was 
 entirely rejected. At present, however, such an opinion is 
 not warranted by facts. Dr. Louis Bell says that where incan- 
 descent lamps can be obtained at one cent per lamp per hour 
 or an equivalent contract price, they will compete on favor- 
 able terms not only with gas but with oil, supposing equal 
 illumination in each case. Aside from this the greater cleanli- 
 ness and convenience of the incandescent lamp should com- 
 mend it even where it is slightly at a disadvantage. Mr. A. R. 
 Foote affirms, that all advantages considered, the arc lamp 
 is incomparably the cheapest light in the world for street use. 
 The popular idea that a large number of fires originate 
 through the presence of the electric light wires is effectually 
 disproven by figures. The same method may be equally well 
 employed to demonstrate that the "'death-dealing" wire has 
 not caused so many fatal accidents as other of our modern 
 conveniences to which we have become accustomed. 
 
 Undoubtedly fires have originated from the use of the 
 electric current in buildings, but nearly all the trouble has 
 been occasioned by defective wiring, a curable fault, which 
 may, perhaps, be ascribed to the unusual rapid development 
 of the industry. However this may be, it is positively as- 
 certained that oil and gas are blameable for more fires, and 
 that there are more accidents from horses on the streets, more 
 accidents with steam engines, more accidents even from the 
 building operations going on every year, than are caused by 
 this agency. 
 
 Inquiries made for the purpose of determining the num- 
 ber of injuries sustained by employees of central station 
 companies during the year 1890 revealed the fact, that of 213 
 companies 45 could record no accidents, and of the remain- 
 ing 168 companies, employing 1,233 men, reported but seven 
 accidents, none of which were fatal. The report recently 
 made by William McDevitt, Chief Inspector of the city of 
 Philadelphia, contains important testimony in support of the 
 statement above. 
 
50 The Recent Development of 
 
 "There are over 5,000 buildings in Philadelphia wherein 
 electric currents are used for light and power purposes. Of 
 this number 287 buildings (7 of which are dwellings) have 
 their own apparatus, the latter varying in size from a 20 
 light to one of 4,000 lights. The number of lights furnished 
 by these private plants aggregate 80,258 incandescent and 
 3,325 arc lights." 
 
 "There are 15 public stations distributing electric cur- 
 rents to all sections of the city, furnishing thousands of 
 lights and power to dwellings, churches and other classes of 
 buildings. The number of lights supplied by these respec- 
 tive stations vary from the small station furnishing 2,000 to 
 the Edison, which furnishes over 40,000 incandescent lights 
 and current for a large number of motors." 
 
 ' ' All of the different systems of electric lighting invented 
 are, or have been, given every opportunity to operate their 
 respective apparatus in our city." Now, in view of this, 
 significantly comes the following: "No insurance loss oc- 
 curred in any building in our city during the past year, from 
 fire, where the cause could be in any way attributed to elec- 
 tric wires." These facts are sufficient to prove our point. 
 
 POWER. 
 
 The question of power is vastly more important than the 
 question of light. L,ight was first in the field, and conse- 
 quently has attracted public attention to a greater extent 
 than power, electric central stations being built with almost 
 entire reference to it, while the magnificent possibilities of 
 electric motor power were overlooked. The telegraph, tele- 
 phone and fire alarm systems are now established facts. 
 Their value has been learned and parting with them would 
 not be considered. 
 
 Rapid transit has commanded much thought, and it has 
 been said that here electricity will win its greatest victories. 
 The other question, dealing with the electric motor, as a sta- 
 tionary machine, has been entirely overshadowed by specula- 
 tions in this direction. The reason for this is easily discovered; 
 there are to-day, in actual operation, in the United States, 310 
 electric railways, requiring over 2,400 miles of track, with 
 
American Industries. 51 
 
 4, ooo cars equipped with about 7,000 motors which represent 
 no less than 175,000 horse power in dynamos and motors. As 
 the history of horse and cable roads dates back much further 
 than the electric road, it is also interesting to compare the in- 
 vestments of capital in each respective system. 
 
 Horse railroads represent an investment of about $58,- 
 000,000; electric railways represent over $50,000,000, and 
 cable roads about $49,000,000. Already then the electric 
 railway has passed the experimental stage. The size of 
 motors for purpose of transit is being continually enlarged 
 as the success of their use becomes more and more appar- 
 ent." Obstacles that but a few 3^ears ago appeared insur- 
 mountable are now removed, it being found that motors can 
 be built to handle railroad trains at railroad speed, and that 
 they can be relied upon with as much certainty as can loco- 
 motives. The comparison between the electrical railway 
 system and the steam elevated railway system may be best 
 treated by referring to some representative example. For 
 this, the Manhattan railroad of New York, can be advan- 
 tageously selected. On reasonable estimate it is calculated 
 that the locomotive consumes 435 pounds of coal per hour ; 
 to furnish electrically the same power 250 pounds of coal per 
 hour would suffice. 
 
 Based upon the same estimate, the difference between the 
 figures $700,000 per year, requisite now for fuel, and the 
 figures $300,000 per year, the cost of generating the power 
 at the central station and distributing it electrically, repre- 
 sents the saving possible through the adoption of electricity. 
 This is a monetary saving only. If investigation be made 
 regarding the saving arising from the freedom from damage 
 by the noise, smoke and dirt necessary to a locomotive, of 
 adjoining property, and regarding the saving effected through 
 the possibility of running lighter trains at shorter intervals, 
 thus more evenly distributing the load, it will be seen that 
 other factors have been unearthed which do not lack impor- 
 tance. Summing up all considerations on each side, it is 
 extremely probable that an electric railroad could be built 
 and equipped at less cost than if the proposed motive power 
 
52 The Recent Development of 
 
 were steam. Though within the domains of electricity yet 
 there is a social side to this problem of rapid transit at once 
 interesting and important. The necessary amount of real 
 estate for an electric plant doing this kind of work is about 
 one-fortieth of that necessary for the erection of horse stables 
 and car sheds, high buildings, impossible in the latter case 
 being possible in the former. 
 
 Cleanliness and healthfulness are companions. The re- 
 placing of disease breeding horse stables and car sheds by 
 the more cleanly, healthful buildings for electric service is 
 quite a gain for the community. Motor cars are safe; they 
 do not explode; they scatter no dust or ashes; they are pleasant 
 to ride in and do not damage the paving; they enable a person 
 to live farther out in the surrounding country and yet have 
 his business in the city; and, finally, through their rapid 
 transit they open up districts formerly inaccessible. 
 
 The electric road stimulates the saving of capital through 
 better opportunities of investment. The greater economy of 
 electric over horse railways allows the construction of addi- 
 tional roads, which would not be given a thought while 
 horses remained the motive power. Roads not paying can 
 be put upon a dividend basis and a reliable class of new in- 
 vestments can be established. 
 
 Capital constantly competes for the best classes of the 
 various sorts of stocks, bonds, etc. Interest tends to a 
 minimum through the accumulation of capital, so that the 
 earnings on these stocks and bonds have been reduced to an 
 exceedingly low figure. The result of this has been to create 
 trusts, monopolies, etc., which represent the effort of capital 
 artificially to obtain its usual remuneration in newer fields. 
 Investment in electric roads is safe. These roads open up, 
 naturally, a new sphere for such investment, and because of 
 the superior economy of electrical power they give a greater 
 earning capacity. On the employees themselves the effect 
 of the electric railroad is a beneficial one, for the reason that 
 the service requires skill and intelligence rather than mere 
 brute strength. It employs mind as well as body, and is not 
 an unequal strain on either. 
 
American Industries. 53 
 
 Stationary motors, for manufacturing purposes, demand 
 attention. Not going too far back into the past, water is dis- 
 covered to be the force by which power is transmitted and 
 work performed. To obtain this power, mills are erected 
 alongside a suitable water way, houses gather about them, 
 and soon a town appears which in time becomes an indus- 
 trial center. This localization of industry, and the securing 
 thus of industrial supremacy over other towns, is a conse- 
 quence coincident to the nature of water power, which, while 
 being the cheapest to produce, is incapable of distribution 
 except for very small areas. 
 
 All benefits derived are concentrated at the point of pro- 
 duction. Limiting then the advantages arising from the use 
 of water power is the fact that it cannot be distributed to any 
 great extent. The capability of cheapness in distribution 
 far outweighs in importance the capability of cheapness in 
 production. 
 
 Testing steam power as to these two points, it is found 
 that though steam costs more for production, yet it renders 
 superior benefits, through the fact that it can be produced at 
 numberless places, and so answers to a certain degree the 
 demands of distribution. Still, however, it must be said 
 that, similar to water power, no distribution of steam power 
 has been obtained except for small areas around the place of 
 production. 
 
 A manufacturing establishment is thus isolated. It has 
 no connection with other establishments of like character, 
 -and does the largest part of its work within its own four 
 walls. From this it is apparent that the workmen employed 
 are compelled to go where the power is. The indiscriminate 
 massing together of human beings gives rise to a large part 
 .of the evils of our factory system. As is. natural, objections 
 can be urged to such methods of manufacturing. The ne- 
 cessity of a large investment of capital needs a w r ord. Sup- 
 pose a young man, not blessed with riches, has been able to 
 attend a school of technology, there learning a trade, after 
 this he has hired out for two or three years more, and has 
 acquired the practical side of his chosen work, this pro- 
 
54 The Recent Development of 
 
 bation being finished he is ready to start for himself, but 
 capital is lacking. Obviously if he has not the means of 
 putting in a plant of his own, he cannot by handwork com- 
 pete with the machine work of others. Competent though 
 he is, he must give up hope of himself becoming an em- 
 ployer and turn back to the ranks of employees. Such a 
 hindrance cannot but be hurtful. 
 
 The waste of power should be touched upon. The whole 
 plant of a factory is never run up to its full capacity. There 
 are times when it is absolutely necessary that some of the 
 machines should remain idle. What are the conditions of 
 this stoppage ? The belt, transmitting power, is slipped off 
 on to the loose pulley, and from then until the machine is 
 again started all the energy expended in turning the shafting, 
 belt and pulley necessary to that machine is entirely wasted. 
 Small though this waste may be in any one case, yet when 
 other machines are added it becomes an important factor in 
 the cost of steam power. Minor to these objections there are 
 others which might be spoken of, such as the space requsite 
 for a steam plant, the cost for fuel, the risk of explosion, the 
 lacking element of self-interest and others; but these are 
 readily seen and need no special pointing out. 
 
 It is not known what limits there are to the practical dis- 
 tribution of electric power. Wherever water, wind or steam 
 power is obtainable it can be produced. The fact that by a 
 simple wire, strung from one end of the city to the other, 
 cars can be driven at a high rate of speed is proof enough 
 that power may also be sent along that or any other wire for 
 many other purposes. 
 
 This fact renders possible the establishment of a central 
 power station, one for a small city, and in a larger city one 
 for about every fifty or sixty thousand inhabitants. From 
 this station can be sent both light and power. With such 
 conditions the workman is no longer compelled to go day 
 after day to the factory, but is enabled to have a work- 
 shop of his own where power is gotten directly from the 
 wires running in front his door. 
 
 A large manufacturing company uses the system of piece 
 
American Industries. 55 
 
 work. Small buildings are all that are required. The power 
 is divided as wanted, in such quantities as wanted, instead 
 of being entirely concentrated. As it is now, a company can 
 furnish power to run a sewing machine, for fifty cents per 
 month, and profit by it, and power to the extent of one-horse 
 power can be obtained in the same way for $10 per month. 
 If this system were universally adopted the sewing machine 
 could be run with a profit for twenty-five cents per month, and 
 a person could be supplied with power to the extent of one- 
 horse power for $8 or even $6 per month. Estimating one- 
 horse power to be equal to the power of eight men, and the 
 services of one man to be worth $50 per month, the obtain- 
 ing of this service for $8 per month constitutes avast saving. 
 A person under this system would be able to work as well in 
 the suburbs as in the heart of the city. 
 
 As a contrast to steam, it is found that a large investment 
 of capital is unnecessary, and that there is no waste of energy 
 because when the current is shut off from any wire the 
 cutting-off is complete, and no energy is lost in useless opera- 
 tions. Allowance is made for the fact that the electric 
 machine is seldom or never worked up to its full capacity. 
 For example, take a building with 500 lights ; it is not 
 probable that all these lights will ever be in use at the same 
 time, calculating upon this a 3Oo-light dynamo is thought to 
 be sufficient for the lighting of all lamps ever in operation. 
 
 Regarding those minor obj ections touched upon in relation 
 to steam, very little thought shows that none of them can 
 be urged in this connection. If common sense rules, this 
 valuable application of electricity in the economic life of the 
 people is feasible. 
 
 W. S. OUTERBRIDGE, JR. 
 
56 The Recent Development of 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
 
 Sugar has been a product of continually increasing import- 
 ance, as its consumption has been a continually increasing 
 phenomenon. The taste for sugar is universal, and its 
 increasing supply has enabled even the poorest persons to 
 have plenty. 
 
 In the past, sugar has been so costly that it has been 
 ranked as a luxury, and is still so regarded by many persons. 
 The reduction in its cost deserves especial attention now, 
 because the change in its value has been so recent. Its 
 price is now so reduced that the cost of a pound of sugar is 
 but little more than that of a pound of flour. While it has 
 steadily been declining until now, sugar men agree that it 
 has reached rock bottom, and will not go any lower. It is 
 indeed impossible that its price will decline in the future 
 anything like it has in the past. The sugar industry is 
 carried on for small margin of profits. The retailer expects 
 no profit from sugar ; he keeps it as an accommodation to 
 his customers. But a few days ago a conference of the 
 Boston, New York and Philadelphia jobbers was held to see 
 if they could adopt a plan by which the retailer would have 
 some profit from his sales. It is only because refining is 
 carried on in such a large scale that it pays. 
 
 The consumption of sugar in the United States is fifty-four 
 pounds per capita a year. In England it is somewhat larger, 
 reaching nearly sixty pounds. The total consumption in the 
 United States in round figures is 2,500,000,000 pounds ; of 
 this our domestic product amounts to about only ten per 
 cent. Our domestic product is almost all derived from the 
 cane, and is practically all grown in Louisiana. The product 
 of other districts all told is not greater than 15,000,000 
 pounds a year. 
 
 Probably no industry in this country has suffered such 
 
American Industries. 57 
 
 vicissitudes as that of making sugar from cane. The causes 
 of these vicissitudes are : first, the absolute dependence 
 of the industry upon a protective tariff; and second, the fact 
 that the total product of cane sugar in the United States 
 is but a small part of the aggregate sugar produced in the 
 world. Thus, while subject to all fluctuations of foreign 
 markets, this product exercised no appreciable effect in de- 
 termining prices. Our planter can look for no compensation 
 for a short crop in higher prices. 
 
 In 1884 arose a new menace to the troubled industry. 
 The German Government stimulated the production of beet- 
 sugar by a law, which in effect gave a large bounty on all 
 sugar exported. An enormous out-put of the German pro- 
 duct resulted. A very large part of this increased production 
 was thrown upon the American market. The price of sugar 
 fell so low that the Louisiana planter, even with the 2^ cents 
 duty in his favor, could not save himself from actual loss on 
 his crop. Many, even of the Cuban planters, were ruined. 
 
 Notwithstanding the progress that has been made in Europe 
 in the culture of the sugar-beet and the manufacture of beet- 
 root sugar and the immensity and value of the industry it 
 has supplied to European nations, the knowledge and ex- 
 perience resulting have not been applied in such a way in the 
 United States as to make the production of sugar from this 
 source a matter of any commercial or industrial importance, 
 although attempts at the introduction of the industry have 
 not been wanting. The beet-sugar industry in America may 
 be said to have closed its first era several years ago, and the 
 results, from a financial standpoint, may be summed up in one 
 phrase, complete failure. The second era of the industry can 
 be said to have begun with the reorganization of the Alvarado 
 factory upon a sound basis in 1888, and the building of 
 Spreckel's factory at Watsoriville, California. The Western 
 Beet-Sugar factory at Watsonville has been in operation three 
 years and apparently with favorable results. Data for the 
 season 1888-89 show a production of 3,280,000 pounds of 
 .sugar at a cost of 4.04 cents a pound, delivered free on board 
 in San Francisco. 
 
58 The Recent Development of 
 
 Experiments in the growing of sugar-beets in the United 
 States have not been wanting. Their culture in California 
 has been successful and the soil and climate seem peculiarly 
 adapted for their growth. The Rural Calif ornian for October, 
 1889, says that the beet does well in that State, its sugar- 
 bearing qualities being above those of the European growth, 
 but on account of lack of sugar factories the grower is unable 
 to dispose of his product. In Kansas and Nebraska the 
 experiments have also met with great success. In other 
 States it has been demonstrated that beets containing a large 
 percentage of saccharine matter can be produced. 
 
 The shape of the sugar-beet has much to do with its value 
 as a sugar-producing plant. A smooth and symmetrical ex- 
 terior permits it to be easily harvested and washed. An ir- 
 regularly shaped beet may easily carry into the cutters sand 
 and earth, and even stones of considerable size, quickly dull- 
 ing and even breaking the knives of the slicing machine. In 
 selecting mothers, therefore, only beets of smooth and sym- 
 metrical exteriors are chosen. There is thus a tendency to 
 establish a typical form, which varies with the variety of 
 beet. 
 
 The process of the manufacture of sugar from the sugar- 
 beet is no longer an experiment but a positive method, from 
 which with beets of a given richness, a definite output of 
 sugar can be calculated. The general process of manufacture 
 consists, first, in extracting the juices from the beet or cane. 
 This is now mostly accomplished by means of diffusion, the 
 old pressure process being done away with. The juice is 
 then filtered and evaporated. From this product the molasses 
 is separated from the sugar by means of centrifugals. In re- 
 fining all the impurities are entirely removed. 
 
 The results obtained in attempting to make sugar from 
 sorghum are not of an encouraging character. It is of the 
 greatest importance in the cultivation of sorghum that the 
 best conditions of soil and climate are obtained. In the light 
 of present experience it must be conceded that a soil and 
 climate similar to those of Southern Central Kansas are best 
 suited to the culture of sorghum for sugar making purposes. 
 
American Industries. 59 
 
 Further investigation may show that Texas and Louisiana 
 present equally as favorable conditions. Conditions approxi- 
 mately similar to those mentioned can doubtless be found in 
 Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and other localities. 
 The expectations that were entertained and positively advo- 
 cated a few years ago of the establishment of a successful sor- 
 ghum industry in the great maize fields of the country must 
 now be definitely abandoned. The raw sugar obtained from 
 sorghum is not up to the standard of that obtained from cane 
 and beet. 
 
 The process of refining sugar from what ever source ob- 
 tained is the same. Nearly all of the sugar consumed is 
 refined, but some little is used in the raw state. The con- 
 sumption of the finer grades is increasing. The time was 
 when the sugar brought to market was an ugly brown, damp 
 mass which would harden into large lumps and had to be 
 dug out of the barrel. Now it is a pure white crystallized 
 and easily handled commodity. The largest amount of 
 sugar is consumed in the granulated form. Granulated sugar 
 is all of one grade but may differ in the size of the crystals. 
 There are two sizes the fine, or fruit sugar, which is ob- 
 tained by screening the whole; that which remains is the 
 regular granulated. A great deal of pulverized sugar, is 
 used. A very fine grade of it, called confectioners' sugar is 
 used largely in making confectionery. They also use some 
 cheaper grades of brown sugar which often contains glucose. 
 Glucose is used in adulterating sugars. It is not hurtful but 
 is weak in saccharine matter and may be detected by a close 
 examination. Sugar made from beets contains less saccharine 
 matter than that made from cane, and has also a disagree- 
 able odor. It is often mixed with cane sugar in considerable 
 quantity. 
 
 Raw sugar should never be used for dietectic or domestic 
 purposes; because it contains organic impurities; and more 
 especially as immense numbers of disgusting looking in- 
 sects, termed the "Sugar Insect" are invariably found 
 in raw and unrefined sugar. No one, indeed, who has seen 
 the filth and gross impurities extracted from the raw sugar 
 
60 The Recent Development of 
 
 in a refinery could ever after use anything by the refined 
 article. Pure sugar is, indeed, almost as desirable an article 
 of food as pure water. The finest qualities of raw sugar do 
 invariably contain very gross impurities; but the cheapest 
 kind of refined sugar is perfectly pure and wholesome in 
 every respect. 
 
 The refineries of the United States are located in New 
 York, Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans and 
 San Francisco. A new refinery has just been erected in 
 Baltimore and one in St. Louis is not running. The refin- 
 eries are mostly along the Atlantic sea board, and lor several 
 reasons, the most important of which is the proximity to the 
 consumer. Fuel and machinery can also be obtained here 
 at the lowest price. Another reason is the fact of having 
 water communication with the sugar producing countries. 
 Most of the raw sugar comes from the West Indies and 
 Brazil, packed in large hogsheads. Some raw beet-sugar 
 from Germany is also refined. We import no sugar already 
 refined, but export some of our refined product, mostly to 
 England. The German and American refiners have almost 
 entirely driven England from the market in refining. 
 
 Whether the United States will ever be able to supply 
 itself with sugar is a question of the future. It seems not at 
 all unlikely. There is no reason why we cannot build up 
 the beet-sugar industry to the proportions which Germany 
 has. The policy of Bismark in this direction was very 
 wise. When the German wheat-grower was driven from 
 his own market by the competition of Russian and American 
 wheat, he cast about for another resource. The taxing of 
 beets which entered the factory, and giving a rebate on all 
 sugar exported, gained at the same time several objects. It 
 induced the manufacturer to use only those beets yielding 
 a large sugar return, and led to the development of the better 
 varieties. The greater the product of sugar from the beets 
 the larger the rebate in proportion, which practically amount- 
 ed to a bounty on the exported article. 
 
 The increase in the production of sugar is entirely from 
 the beet. The product of the world is divided between cane 
 
American Industries. 61 
 
 and beet, and while the product from the former has remained 
 stationary or even decreased in the last ten years the growth 
 of the latter has been continuous. In 1884 the product from 
 cane was 2,323,000 tons, that from beet 2,361,000 tons. In 
 1890 the product from cane was 2,278,000 tons, that from 
 beet, 3,500,000; showing a small decrease in cane and a 
 large increase in beet. 
 
 Very comprehensive statistics of the sugar refining busi- 
 ness are ifiven by Willett & Gray, sugar statisticians, of New 
 York. Of the total refining in the United States two-thirds 
 is done by "The American Sugar Refining Company," 
 known as the Sugar Trust. The American Sugar Refining 
 Company was regularly organized on January 12, 1891, 
 under the laws of the State of New Jersey, with a capital of 
 $25,000,000 preferred stock, bearing seven per cent, cumu- 
 lative interest, but having no further claim to division of 
 profits, and $25,000,000 of common stock, entitled to such 
 dividends as may be declared from time to time. This com- 
 pany took the place of "The Sugar Refineries Company," 
 (Sugar Trust) which was declared illegal by the State of 
 New York. The trust controls twenty refineries, having a 
 total capacity of 34,000 barrels daily, including all of the New 
 York and four Boston refineries and one each in Portland, 
 St. Louis, New Orleans and San Francisco. The other 
 refineries, not in the trust, are the four in Philadelphia, and 
 one each in Boston, San Francisco and Baltimore, having a 
 daily capacity of 15,400 barrels. 
 
 In 1888 and 1889 the profit for refining was five-eights of 
 a cent per pound or fourteen dollars per ton, and the total 
 profit to trust and nontrust $19,000,000; but in 1890 the 
 profit fell to .144 cents per pound or $3 23 per ton, and the 
 total profits were $4,650,000. During the three years from 
 1888 to 1890 inclusive, the trust paid dividends of ten per 
 cent. It earned in 1888 about twenty-eight percent., but 
 in 1890 only seven per cent., leaving a deficiency to be paid 
 out of capital. 
 
 Willet & Gray estimate that the total amount of raw 
 sugar refined this year will exceed that of last year by 12^ 
 
62 The Recent Development of 
 
 per cent, making 1,620,000 tons. They say that the policy 
 of close competition, which was adopted from choice in 1890,' 
 must be the policy of the American Sugar Refining Company 
 in 1891 from necessity, for the tariff which comes into force 
 on April ist, 1891, will afford but three-eights cents per 
 pound protection to American refiners, and may prove to 
 give even less if the country takes kindly to the use of foreign 
 refined sugar. ^ 
 
 This year, 1 89 1 , is also to be noted by a special continued ad- 
 vance in raw sugar all over the world, growing out of the facts 
 that the beet crop is proving to be no larger than last year's and 
 that the cane crops of the world are partial failures, with the 
 single exception of Cuba, thereby giving an inadequate supply 
 of sugar for the increased demand for consumption, not only in 
 the United States, but in Europe as well. Our free tariff is 
 to be made by producers of sugar everywhere the cause and 
 excuse for making us pay serious advances for raw sugar in 
 1891, whatever may follow later on from a probable increase 
 of production for another year. The total profits of refiners 
 this year will require to be estimated from their purchases of 
 raw sugar, rather than from the current market prices of raw 
 and refined at time of refining the sugar. The latter may, 
 and probably will, at times show less than a refining profit. 
 
 GEORGE HUGHES SMITH. 
 
American Industries. 63 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE FELT INDUSTRY. 
 
 Felt is defined as a stuff composed of wool, fur or hair, of 
 which the fibres are so entangled and interlaced that they 
 cannot readily be separated, this being done without spin- 
 ning or weaving. There is a tradition that felt was discovered 
 by Saint Clement while on a pilgrimage. Having put a bat 
 of carded wool into each shoe to save his feet from blistering, 
 he found at his journey's end that moisture and friction had 
 converted the wool into felt. It was a common material for 
 caps, hosiery, floor-cloths, tents and cloaks, having long since 
 been used for this purpose in the East, where the nomads 
 of the desert largely occupy tents of felt. 
 
 At~present it is largely made from waste wool, which is 
 first deprived ot its oil, then carded and placed in a machine, 
 where it is kept wet with hot water and subjected to a pro- 
 cess of beating, by which the fibres are made to move upon 
 each other until the interlocking of their serrations and the 
 curling of the fibre itself, unite the whole into a compact 
 sheet of felt. The "fulling " of cloth is but a partial felting 
 of wool already woven . This felted wool is used for carpets 
 (often beautifully printed), carpet-covers, coarse hats, car- 
 riage linings, pads in saddlery, shoulder pads for men's cloth- 
 ing, slippers and shoes, and even for cloaks and other gar- 
 ments. The cheapest woolen rags and similar articles are 
 worked into felt for covering steam boilers, being used before 
 the introduction of asbestos for that purpose more than at 
 present. They are both excellent non-conductors and 
 greatly diminish the waste of heat. Roofing felt is a coarse 
 kind usually coated and filled with coal tar, and sometimes 
 with tar and powdered slate. Felt stiffened with dextrine is 
 used for making surgeons' splints. 
 
 By far the most important use to which felt is put is that 
 
64 The Recent Development of 
 
 of making hats. In colonial times hat making was encour- 
 aged by bounties and premiums, with such effect that the 
 company of feltmakers in L,ondon petitioned Parliament, 
 to prohibit the exportation of hats from the American 
 Colonies, representing that ( ' foreign markets were almost 
 altogether supplied from thence, and not a few sent to Great 
 Britain." It was true, for New England and New York 
 manufactured ten thousand yearly. In Boston there were 
 sixteen hatters one of whom was stated to have commonly 
 finished forty hats a week. It is well-known how England 
 wished to suppress colonial manufactures and especially that 
 of hats. However, this industry survived, even under English 
 pressure, by evading the laws. Felts were made in larger 
 quantities, much of the business being carried on in interior 
 towns, where wool was cheap and the manufacture less ex- 
 posed to bfficial scrutiny than at the seaports. 
 
 The manufacture of hats was an early and a very consider- 
 able department of the woolen manufacture. Nearly every 
 State in the Union was engaged in the business, and in some 
 of them there was scarcely a town in which they were not 
 made. There were manufactured, as ascertained by a report 
 to the Manufacturing Society of Philadelphia, over one 
 hundred and sixty thousand wool and upward of fifty-four 
 thousand fur hats annually in Pennsylvania. In fact, by 
 the census reports we find hats to be manufactured in those 
 towns where wool is used in making cloths and carpets, 
 because the waste can be utilized. It is, however, a some- 
 what surprising incident to find no felt manufactories in 
 Philadelphia. New York has an entire town, Dolgesville, 
 devoted to the manufacture of felt goods, such as floor cloths. 
 
 Having taken an historical review and found the geo- 
 graphical distribution and causes for it, let us now examine 
 into the manner of felt hat making at the present day. 
 Technically these hats are of three different kinds, known as 
 plain soft, plain hard, and " napped " or " ruffed " felts. The 
 quality of felt hats ranges over a great extent, fur composing 
 the entire body in the finer and more expensive qualities. 
 For commoner qualities a mixture of fur and Saxony wool 
 
American Industries. 65 
 
 is used, and for the lowest kinds wool alone is employed. 
 The processes and apparatus necessary for making hats of 
 fur differ from those required in the case of woolen bodies. In 
 large manufactories machinery is generally employed for 
 operations which at no distant date were entirely manual. 
 In the smaller factories, and for special purposes the old hand 
 processes are still employed. 
 
 The fur used by hatters consists principally of the hair of 
 rabbits (technically called coneys) and hares, with some 
 proportion of nutria, musquash and beaver hair ; and gen- 
 erally any parings and cuttings from furriers. Furs intended 
 for felting are deprived of their long, coarse hairs, after 
 which they are treated with a solution of nitrate of mercury, 
 an operation called carroting or "secretage," which greatly in- 
 creases the felting properties of the fur. The fur is then cut by 
 hand or machine from the skin, and in this state it is de- 
 livered to the hat maker. Rabbit fur for hat-making now 
 comes in large quantities from Australia, and it is also largely 
 collected in the United Kingdom and in Northern Europe. 
 Great Britain exports a considerable amount of rabbit fur 
 to the United States. 
 
 By the old process, the body or foundation was made of 
 rabbit fur, and the nap of beaver fur. The heap of fur 
 is struck with a bowstring until it falls into an even 
 layer, and is felted by working it with the hands in a 
 soapy liquid, although machinery is sometimes used for this 
 purpose. From this the bat is made by working it with hot 
 water which causes it to shrink. This process is continued 
 until the body be shrunk sufficiently and thoroughly equal- 
 ized. When quite dry, stiffening is performed with a brush 
 dipped into a thin varnish of shellac, and rubbed into the 
 body. The surface intended for the inside has much more 
 laid on it than the outer, while the brim is made to absorb 
 many times the quantity applied to any other part. 
 
 On being dried again, the body is ready to be covered 
 with a nap of beaver hair. The hair of the otter, nutria, or 
 other fur is sometimes substituted, in inferior qualities, for 
 beaver hair. The requisite quantity of one of these kinds of 
 
66 The Recent Development of 
 
 hair is taken and mixed with a proportion of cotton, and 
 the whole is bowed up into a thin uniform lap. The cotton 
 merely serves to give sufficient body to the material to 
 enable the workman to handle the lap. The body of the hat 
 being dampened, the workman spreads over it a covering of 
 this lap, and by moistening and gentle patting with a brush 
 the cut ends of the hair penetrate and fix themselves in the 
 felt body. The hat is now put into a coarse hair cloth and 
 dipped and rolled in the hot liquor until the fur is quite 
 worked in, the cotton being left on the surface loose and 
 ready for removal. In case of beaver hats the blocking, 
 dyeing, and finishing processes are similar to those employed 
 for ordinary felts, except that greater care and dexterity 
 are required on the part of the workmen, and that the 
 coarse hair or kemps, which may be in the fur, are cut 
 off by shaving the surface with a razor. The nap must be 
 laid in one direction, smoothed and rendered glossy by re- 
 peated wettings, ironings and brushings. A hat so finished 
 is very durable, and it is much more light, cool, and easy 
 fitting to the head than the silk hat which has now been so 
 largely introduced. All attempts to apply machinery to the 
 principal processes in felt hat making resulted in failure, 
 until a comparatively recent date. 
 
 As is the case with many other labor-saving appliances of 
 recent introduction, the first efficient machinery for felt hat 
 making was devised in America, and from the United States 
 the machine processes were introduced into England about 
 the year 1858, and now in all large establishments machinery 
 is employed. 
 
 For the forming of hat bodies two kinds of machines are 
 used, according as the material employed is fur or wool. In 
 the case of fur, the essential portion of the apparatus used 
 consists of a cone of copper of the size and form of the body 
 or bat to be made, perforated all over with small holes. The 
 cone is made to revolve on its axis slowly over an orifice 
 under which there is a powerful fan, which maintains a 
 strong inward draught of air through the holes in the cone. 
 At the side of the cone, and with an opening towards it, is 
 
American Industries. 67 
 
 a trunk or box from which the fur to be made into a hat is 
 thrown out by rapid revolution of a brush-like cylinder, and 
 as the cloud of separate hair is expelled from the trunk, the 
 current of air being sucked through the cone carries the 
 fibres to it and causes them to cling closely to its surface. 
 Thus a coating of loose fibres is accumulated on the copper 
 cone, and these are kept in position only by the exhaust at 
 work under it. When sufficient for a hat body has been de- 
 posited, a wet cloth is wrapped around it, over which an 
 outer cone is slipped and the whole is removed for felting, 
 while another copper cone is placed in position for con- 
 tinuing the work. The felting of fur bodies is principally 
 clone by hand labor, although machinery has recently been 
 introduced by which it is partly done. 
 
 The bat or body of wool hats is prepared by first carding in 
 a modified form of the carding machine. The wool is divided 
 into two separate slivers as delivered from the cards, and 
 these are wound simultaneously on a double conical block of 
 wood mounted and geared to revolve slowly with a reciprocat- 
 ing horizontal motion, so that there is a continual crossing and 
 rercossing of the wool as the sliver is wound around the cone. 
 This diagonal arrangement of the sliver is an essential feature 
 in the apparatus, as thereby the strength of the finished felt 
 is made equal in every direction, and when strained in the 
 blocking the texture yields in a uniform manner without 
 rupture. The wool wound on the double block forms the 
 material of two hats, which are separated by cutting around 
 the median or base line, and slipping each half off at its own 
 end. Into each cone of wool or bat an "inlayer" is now 
 placed to prevent the inside from matting, after which they 
 are folded in cloths, and placed over a perforated iron plate 
 through which steam is blown. When well moistened and 
 heated, they are placed between boards, and subjected to a 
 rubbing action sufficient to harden them for bearing the sub- 
 sequent strong planking or felting operation. The planking 
 of wool hats is generally done by a machine, in some cases a 
 form of the fulling mill being used; but in all forms the 
 agency is heat, moisture, pressure, rubbing and turning. 
 
68 The Recent Development of 
 
 When by thorough felting the hat bodies of any kind have 
 been reduced to dense leathery cones about one-half the size 
 of the original bat, they are dried, and if hard felts are to be 
 made, the bodies are at this stage hardened or stiffened with 
 a varnish of shellac. Next follows the operation of blocking, 
 in which the felt for the first time assumes approximately 
 the form it is ultimately to possess. For this purpose the 
 conical body is softened in boiling water, and forcibly drawn 
 over a hat-shaped wooden block. A string is passed round 
 where the band is to be placed, and the brim is then flat- 
 tened out from the string. Next follows the dyeing of the 
 hat in a bath of suitable dyeing materials, according to the 
 color desired. In dealing with fine hats, each hat is sepa- 
 rately dyed while on the block, but with commoner qualities 
 it is the practice to dye before blocking. The finishing pro- 
 cesses include shaping on a block, over which the crown and 
 brim receive accurately their ultimate form, and pouncing 
 or pumicing, which consists of smoothing the whole surface 
 with emery or glass paper while the hat is still stretched on 
 the block. The trimmer finally binds the outer brim and 
 inserts the lining, after which the brim may get more or less 
 of a curl or turn over according to prevailing fashion. 
 Machines for blocking and pouncing have, to some extent, 
 been introduced. 
 
 DAVID MANDEL, JR. 
 
American Industries. 69 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE CANNING INDUSTRY. 
 
 The process of canning forms one of the most important 
 industrial discoveries of our century. It preserves the flavor 
 and nutritious qualities of the edible fibre from decomposi- 
 tion, and enables man to keep for years what in the course 
 of nature would go to decay in the space of a few days. Thus 
 the perishable becomes practically imperishable, and the 
 fruits of the temperate zone can be enjoyed in their delicious 
 juices amidst the ice of the Arctic regions or on the sands of 
 Sahara. 
 
 The art of hermetically sealing goods was discovered by 
 Francois Appert, about 1809, and from that time to this 
 there has been no improvement in the processes. The same 
 method used in the early history of the industry is that in 
 use to-day, but the application of the principle to all classes 
 of food has been largely extended. Almost every variety of 
 fruit, vegetable, fish and meat is now put up. Course din- 
 ners may be served from canned goods alone. 
 
 The principle of canning or hermetically sealing of fruits, 
 vegetables, meats and other products is simply to exhaust 
 the air from the articles canned and hold them in this nearly 
 vacuum condition until used. Were it possible to obtain a 
 complete vacuum in the vessel, in which the fruit is con- 
 tained, it would be possible to hold the article canned in a 
 much more original condition than can now be done. Many 
 experiments have been made and machinery produced to ex- 
 haust the air from the vessel. Complete success has not yet 
 been obtained because the air contained in the fruit cells is 
 sufficient of itself to create the gases, which, when generated, 
 produce in a short time fermentation, and thus cause the de- 
 struction of the product. It is possible that an antiseptic or 
 acid might be used in connection with the vacuum obtained 
 by the air pump to overcome for a time this fermentation; 
 
70 The Recent Development of 
 
 but, under the best known influences now at work the result 
 would be doubtful and the perfect life of the product must 
 be limited. 
 
 The chief condition to be complied with in the preservation 
 of articles is to remove them completely from the action of 
 the air without the can and the air within. This is done by 
 means of air-tight vessels. The air without is the primary 
 agent of destruction, and on the success of treatment of 
 this element depends the condition of the product canned, 
 and the success of the enterprise. 
 
 Let us examine very briefly the history of canning within 
 our own country. In 1838, Thomas B. Smith packed some 
 tomatoes in Philadelphia, while before this in 1824 and 
 1825 Thomas Kensett put up canned goods in this coun- 
 try. In 1846 Isaac Winslow packed, in Briscom street, 
 Philadelphia, tomatoes in glass and corn in tin. In 1847 H. 
 W. Crosby put up canned tomatoes. In the next year 1848 
 he sent six cans to Queen Victoria, and six to the then 
 President of the United States. In 1845 some experiments 
 in preserving tomatoes were carried on at Gettysburg College, 
 by Professor Jacobs, but nothing in the way of introducing 
 them largely was done until 1849, when the California ex- 
 citement broke out. This created a demand for goods put up 
 in a way to last during the long voyage around Cape Horn, and 
 the trip across the plains, and to afford the miners a variety of 
 food. The canned product has been a great, and indeed, in 
 earlier times almost the entire food resource of the remote 
 West. The early march of progress could be traced by 
 means of the tin cans on the plains, while the early settler 
 thatched his roof with their tin. 
 
 After the civil war broke out there was a great increase 
 in the number of canneries and the industry was ex- 
 tended from the provinces and Canada along the North- 
 east coast, throughout the Middle States and Maryland 
 and Virginia. In 1867 the first salmon cannery was started 
 on the Columbia river, and that branch of the industry has 
 since extended to all other rivers on the Pacific Coast, British 
 Columbia and Alaska, with an average annual output of 
 
American Industries. 71 
 
 about 1,600,000 cases of four dozen tins each. The industry 
 is now located throughout the Southern and nearly all over 
 the Western States, and is carried on in California and 
 in Oregon. The canning of fish is an enormous industry of 
 the Western rivers where salmon abounds. These fishing 
 outfits are on a monster scale, and have extended, as has 
 been said, even into Alaska in search of a cheaper supply of 
 salmon, the drain on the old sources of Oregon and Califor- 
 nia having almost exhausted what were supposed to be the 
 inexhaustible streams of that country. 
 
 The reason for the tremendous growth of the canning 
 industry is the fact that it furnishes people in sections of the 
 country where fresh fish and vegetables are not produced, 
 with a supply of food throughout the year at a very low cost. 
 Since the advent of canned goods the diet of the masses has 
 been greatly improved. The healthfulness of the change of 
 diet during the winter, induced by the introduction of canned 
 goods, need not be dwelt upon. There is furnished a much 
 needed supply of anti-scorbutic food, by increasing the other- 
 wise limited range of the food supply during the winter 
 months. It is fair to assume that to this improvement in the 
 variety and quality of the diet is due, in some degree at 
 least, the average increase in longevity, which is shown by 
 the vital statistics to be about two years more than it was 
 twenty years since. 
 
 General Greeley, who commanded the Arctic expedi- 
 tion, says that the unequalled health of his command 
 was due to the use of canned goods, of which they had 
 a large supply. They were frozen solid and thawed out 
 several times, without detriment to the flavor and quality. 
 Mr. Barrett, editor of the American Grocer, received a 
 letter from Sir Garnet Wolesley, stating that canned 
 goods were used during the expedition in the Soudan, 
 and speaking in the highest terms of their usefulness. 
 Thus it will be seen that every form of food which can be 
 put up can be kept for years, and will stand the extremes of 
 temperature without injury. Condensed milk twenty years 
 old has been opened and found as sweet as when put in the 
 
72 The Recent Development of 
 
 can. The popular idea is that " the fresher things are the 
 better." As a general proposition this is doubtless a fact, 
 but applied to canned or preserved food, it is not true to 
 nearly the same extent, and in many cases is entirely mis- 
 leading. Some goods, especially such as are imported, like 
 pine apples, are better the second or third year than they are 
 the first, because it takes time for the syrup to thoroughly 
 permeate the fruit; and the same is true of many acid fruits, 
 which, when first packed are a little hard, but which become 
 mellowed with time and the absorption of syrup. 
 
 To illustrate the method of canning, as now most largely 
 carried on by the canners, we will first take the peach; as it 
 is the simplest of goods canned. The object of the canner 
 is to retain in the peaches as much of the natural flavor and 
 freshness as possible; and great care must be taken in every 
 detail of handling. It is the air within the fruit that must 
 in some way be disposed of. This is done in the following 
 manner: the cans being filled with a certain uniform weight 
 of fruit either water or a syrup composed of sugar and water 
 sufficient to cover the fruit is added. The cans are then 
 sealed tight and placed in crates or baskets, holding some 
 fifty cans each. The sealing is the process of fastening the 
 caps over the openings and making the cans solid and air- 
 tight. 
 
 The processer, as the one conducting the process is called, 
 then immerses the cans in boiling tubes of water with a 
 temperature of 112 Fahrenheit and cooks the fruit from 
 five to twelve minutes; varying according to the condi- 
 tion of the fruit, its ripeness or softness. The cooking 
 is simply for the purpose of destroying the life, or active 
 principles of the air contained in the fruit cells, or remain- 
 ing in the can after filling. In watching this process we 
 notice that as the can becomes heated in the boiling water 
 every part, in a perfect can, becomes strained and swollen 
 until the ends starting from a concave state become expanded 
 to a convexity, only limited by the limit of tin. This is the 
 result of the expansion of the air and liquid under heating. 
 Any can having the minutest imperfection under this strain 
 
American Industries. 73 
 
 becomes a breaking one, and no expansion will take place, 
 the air evaporating, and if the air hole is large the juices 
 also will vent themselves. The test of good and bad cans is 
 generally made from an examination at this point. Every 
 can coming out of the boiling water in a concave or flat con- 
 dition is regarded with suspicion, and is handed over to the 
 mender for examination. Another test sometimes used by 
 canners is sounding them after cooling a few days. An ex- 
 pert is capable of discovering good cans from bad by the 
 sound when tapped. 
 
 The housekeeper who does her own canning is usually suc- 
 cessful with peaches. She cooks the fruit in porcelain-lined 
 kettles and then by a quick transfer, while steaming hot, 
 changes them to her self-sealing jars. The fruit is then 
 covered with boiling syrup, and when still very hot the lids 
 are closed. The ease with which the peach is preserved, 
 the air in the fruit cells having been well disposed of by 
 the liberal cooking which they have received, generally 
 renders their canning successful. The flavor of fruits in 
 canning is much improved by the addition of sugar or syrup 
 to the liquid with which they are covered, sugar acting the 
 part of salt in many insipid articles. 
 
 The life of the peach in cans prepared as above depends 
 much upon the conditions of the process, or rather the time 
 .given in the process. Peaches prepared according to the 
 short-time process are fresher than longer cooked fruit, but 
 they are more likely to ferment after a period of a year, or 
 in the second summer. The can gives under pressure, and 
 the gases, which have been held for a time inactive, com- 
 mence once more to assume life, and it becomes necessary to 
 give the fruits a reprocess ; which is done by simply prick- 
 ing the tins, allowing the gas to escape and submitting the 
 cans to a further cooking. This, of course, degenerates the 
 quality of the contents to the extent of the extra cooking 
 and the flavor received from the gas generated. 
 
 While berries are easily canned the results obtained are 
 -often not satisfactory to the consumer. Unless a large 
 amount of sugar is added to the fruit it becomes watery and 
 
74 The Recent Development of 
 
 shriveled. This is because the fruit itself is so largely 
 composed of juices that under the influence of heat the cells 
 become broken, the juices mix with the water, and all 
 that remains of the fruit is a whitish, seedy substance, un- 
 sightly and unpalatable. 
 
 Fruits which, like the peach, have their seed located in 
 one definite place are, as a rule, much more successfully can- 
 ned than those which, like the berry, have their seed 
 scattered through them. Seeded fruits canned with their 
 seeds are liable to show some fermentation during the second 
 year of their preservation. This is, perhaps, caused by 
 the seeds containing some air life which is not reached dur- 
 ing the first cooking. 
 
 In vegetables the tomato is the most easily canned. The 
 housewife treats it in almost the same manner as she does 
 the peach, the only difference in the operation is the appli- 
 cation of more heat to destroy the air life. To can 
 tomatoes requires about 35 minutes under a boiling tempera- 
 ture of 212 degrees or ten minutes under the steam of 240 
 degrees. 
 
 The canner need give himself but little anxiety in canning 
 tomatoes. The only difficulty is, to obtain the sufficient labor 
 to meet the demand of the rapidly maturing fruit, which at 
 certain periods strains every nerve to handle and to dispose of. 
 The fruit must be gotten into cans when fresh, and then 
 cooked the required amount of time. There need be no 
 question as to the permanence of the product obtained ; a 
 little extra time in process makes " assurance doubly sure," 
 without any degeneration of the fruit canned, noticeable to 
 the general consumer. The tomato is a most juicy vegetable. 
 It has been spoken of as a sponge to hold juice, but as it is 
 canned in its own juice without other liquids it retains its 
 flavor without adulteration. 
 
 Corn, peas and beans are among the vegetables that 
 require the utmost care in canning, and every condition 
 must be thoroughly understood to can them successfully, 
 and to hold them when canned. On account of the immense 
 amount of losses and of bad cans produced during the season, 
 
American Industries. 75 
 
 many operators in packing corn, at the end of the season 
 find the business a financial failure. They think they have 
 met the conditions of past seasons, but these conditions are 
 now different. The corn may be more milky, and hence a 
 different process is required, or even a difference in the weight 
 of the corn may endanger the canned product. The change in 
 the method of cutting corn, by the introduction of machinery 
 instead of by hand, caused one season in Hartford, Con- 
 necticut, large losses to the packers. The machines cut the 
 grain more satisfactorily than the knives; but the grain was 
 perhaps more broken, and, as it was packed more closely in 
 the cans, they were given additional weight and there was 
 more gas or air life to be destroyed. For these reasons the 
 vegetable required more cooking. 
 
 The packing or canning of meats is conducted under pre- 
 cisely the same conditions as of fruits and vegetables. The 
 important feature of destroying the air life in the food 
 remains the same. In meats the line of corn-packing is more 
 closely followed on account of the excessive cooking neces- 
 sary to accomplish this result. One of the first principles 
 to be remembered in the canning of meats is that the animal 
 heat must be overcome. Meats of all kinds must be cooled 
 for at least twelve hours to allow the animal heat to disap- 
 pear thoroughly, and unless this was done no amount of 
 cooking would prevent fermentation and the subsequent de- 
 struction of the product. The vacuum principle of cooking 
 meats is one that, could it be carried out in the general 
 household, would produce most happy results. The oldest 
 fowl, coming out of the steam chest after a two hours' cook- 
 ing, becomes a delicacy, and is as tender as the finest capon. 
 The toughest steers or oxen come out of the tin can tender 
 enough to please our English cousins, in the form of roast beef. 
 Our foreign canned goods trade is large and increasing. 
 Meat and fish form the bulk of the shipment, but as our 
 fruits and delicacies, as well as standard preparations, be- 
 come better known abroad there must be a demand for 
 them to supplement the food supply of other countries. But 
 those interested in the extension of our foreign trade must 
 
j6 The Recent Development of 
 
 see to it that only products up to the standard demand for 
 home consumption are shipped abroad, and that the foreign 
 market is not made a dumping ground for goods unsalable 
 at home. 
 
 The present should be seized as a favorable time for our 
 advancement in this respect. A permanent and valuable en- 
 largement should be made to our foreign trade. An immense 
 field is opening in which as yet our products are hardly known. 
 The treaty negotiated with Brazil concedes to our shippers of 
 canned goods the right to enter the markets of that country 
 upon pa) r ment of three-fourths of the duty charged upon 
 similar goods from other countries. The value of this ar- 
 rangement may be shown from the fact that during the past 
 three years the imports of canned goods of all descriptions 
 into that country have averaged $606,197.89 in value, while 
 of this total the share of the United States was only $13,894. 
 
 To show the present extent of our foreign trade we may 
 quote the following statement from the official records of the 
 Treasury Department in 1 890 : 
 
 ARTICLES. VALUE. 
 
 Beef, $6,787,193.00 
 
 Salmon, 3,259,344.00 
 
 Other fish, 69,042.00 
 
 Vegetables, - 231,265.00 
 
 Fruits, 698,321.00 
 
 Thus we see the total value of our exports for the past 
 
 year amounted to $11,045,165. The trade is world-wide in 
 
 its extent and should be capable of indefinite expansion, 
 
 covering, as it does, articles available for use in all climes 
 
 and under all conditions of human life. 
 
 It is not necessary to discuss the immense benefit that the 
 canning industry has been to the farming interests, and the 
 premium it has put on the development of the land for the 
 cultivation of fruits and vegetables. This progress in turn 
 gives rise to the establishment of factories making cans, 
 labels, etc., so that the canning industry with its allied in- 
 dustries makes up a large part of the industrial establish- 
 ments of our country. 
 
 WILLIAM GRAY KNOWLES. 
 
American Industries. 77 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 MEAT PRODUCTS. 
 
 The growth of the industries connected with the produc- 
 tion of meat, in the United States, has been very great during 
 the past thirty years. New processes have kept pace with 
 continually increasing demands for this kind of food, and 
 greatly cheapened and improved the methods of transporting 
 it. 
 
 The number of cattle, sheep, and swine in the country on 
 January i, 1891, has been estimated by the Department of 
 Agriculture at over 145,000,000. Of this total 52,000,000 
 were meat cattle, 43,000,000 sheep, and about 50,000,000 
 hogs. The distribution of this stock is approximately as fol- 
 lows : In New England there are 2.5 per cent, of the sheep, 
 .07 percent, of the hogs, and 2.7 per cent, of the cattle. The 
 Middle States contain 6.2 per cent, of the sheep, 4.7 per 
 cent, of the hogs, and 8.8 per cent, of the cattle. In the 
 South, including Texas, are to be found 16.3 per cent, of the 
 sheep, 21 per cent, of the hogs, and 19 per cent, of the 
 cattle. The great central portion of the country holds 30 
 per cent, of the sheep, 70 per cent, of the hogs, and 45 per 
 cent, of the cattle. 
 
 Nor are the above figures stationary. During the past ten 
 years the number of cattle in the country has risen a full 
 third, and swine have kept pace with the increase in popu- 
 lation. In the West and South, where a large acreage of 
 corn furnishes abundant fodder, for the latter animals, their 
 increase has been especially rapid. The total number of 
 sheep, on the other hand, has fallen off considerably, due to 
 the effect of the tariff of 1883. 
 
 A factor of great importance, in determining the number 
 of stock fed on fodder, of any considerable market value, is 
 the relation between the cost of the feed and the selling value 
 of the animal. When fodder is worth more, as such, than in 
 
78 The Recent Development of 
 
 the form of meat, many animals are slaughtered at a sacrifice 
 to save the expense of feeding them on their accustomed diet. 
 
 The railroad and general development of the country have 
 completely revolutionized the methods of transporting meat. 
 Formerly beeves and other animals were driven to the great 
 cities on foot, where they were bought by the butchers, who 
 killed and sold them on the spot. Then as the cattle busi- 
 ness was pushed westward, the journey Bast was too great 
 to be profitably accomplished on the hoof. Immediate points 
 to which the stock was driven to be slaughtered and pre- 
 served in various forms for shipment then rose up. Albany, 
 Cincinnati and Chicago have successively become the great 
 meat centres of the continent. At present it seems as if 
 Kansas City and Omaha, on account of their nearness to the 
 supply and the invention of refrigerating apparatus, by which 
 fresh meat can be sent long distances by rail without danger 
 of spoiling, will soon surpass Chicago in the extent of their 
 meat business. 
 
 Compared with other countries, the consumption of meat 
 products in the United States is very high, being about 120 
 pounds annually per capita of the population. In England, 
 the next highest country, it is only about 105, and on the 
 Continent from 76 to a smaller number of pounds per capita. 
 
 To this use of meat must, in some degree, be attributed 
 the greater productive power of American workmen over 
 those of other countries, but it is something more than doubt- 
 ful whether the present excessive use of meat in the com- 
 munity is advantageous. While a diet composed largely of 
 meats may be better than one composed almost solely of vege- 
 tables, it is decidely worse than a judicious combination of 
 both vegetable and animal food. 
 
 It has been conclusively demonstrated that a diet of any 
 one class of articles is injurious to the human system, and 
 the sooner the American people get rid of the idea that great 
 quantities of meat (especially when it is salt meat), are 
 necessary to the preservation of health, the sooner will a 
 proper condition for the fullest development of the best in- 
 dustrial qualities be brought about. 
 
American Industries. 79 
 
 A great advance has already been made by the invention 
 and use of the refrigerating processes, by means of which 
 fresh meat can be supplied at so low a rate as to take the 
 place of the salted and pickled articles in the laborer's bill 
 of fare. The process of salting, although not so healthful 
 as the preservation of meat in a fresh state, has many advan- 
 tages, and is of great extent. At one time it was the only 
 effective way of preserving meat, and is yet where it has to 
 be kept for a long time. This fact has led the trade in 
 canned, pickled and salted meats to assume, enormous pro- 
 portions. In the canning process only the finest qualities of 
 beef are used, and the export trade in this article is becoming 
 an important item in our foreign trade, more than 82,000,- 
 ooo pounds, valued at over $6,780,000, being sent out of the 
 country in 1890. 
 
 It might naturally be inferred that the production of such 
 vast quantities of meat as are annually consumed in the 
 United States would have a distinct economic effect on the 
 agricultural part of the community by which most of it is 
 raised. Such an influence would not, however, be born out 
 by the facts of the case. Carried on, as it usually is, in con- 
 nection with farming, stock raising tends to fall to a second- 
 ary place. In the improvement of pasture, and in the planting 
 of large quantities of fodder, with some attention to the breed- 
 ing and care of the animals, may be summed up the effect 
 of meat production on the life of the average American 
 farmer. 
 
 It is in the West that a distinct type is produced by the 
 ranching system, copied from the Mexicans and of Spanish 
 origin. But even here the march of civilization, by restrict- 
 ing the ranges to smaller limits and making it profitable to 
 house and feed the stock, is exercising its modifying in- 
 fluence. 
 
 Cattle were first brought to America at Jamestown, in 
 1609, and since then have continually increased in numbers 
 and spread Westward. In 1817 some English Durham, or 
 short-horn cattle, the finest beef producers in the world, were 
 sent to this country to improve the native stock. This at- 
 
8o The Recent Development of 
 
 tempt was so successful that besides greatly adding to the 
 value of our former cattle, our own Durhams have been im- 
 ported by Englishmen for breeding purposes. Hereford and 
 Devon cattle, noted English beef cattle, have also been intro- 
 duced into this country, with some success, their superior 
 hardiness and rapid growth making them favorites for the 
 ranch. The Scotch polled or hornless cattle, another cele- 
 brated stock, has lately met with some favor on account of 
 their large size and hornless condition. 
 
 In the early part of the present century cattle grazed 
 along the fertile river valleys on the Atlantic slope. At this 
 time Albany was the great meat centre and shipping point of 
 the Union. Land in this section soon became too valuable 
 for pasture, and the cattle business was pushed westward 
 into the Mississippi valley, always keeping well in the rear 
 of emigration. When Texas was admitted into the Union 
 the ranching system was extended over a great part of the 
 Western plains. Cattle roamed at will, distinguished by 
 their respective brands, and with no other care than that of 
 the cowboys, who annually drove them to market. Cincin- 
 nati was now the great meat centre. 
 
 In the course of time cattle have spread all over that sec- 
 tion of country formerly laid down on the maps as the 
 <( Great American Desert." This region is their natural 
 home. Even the grasses, with which the soil is covered, in- 
 stead of rotting in winter cure on the stalk, and afford excel- 
 lent pasture at all times, unless the snow is very deep, when 
 many animals die of hunger and cold; a state of affairs that 
 is now being improved by the more conscientious stockmen, 
 who lay by a share of fodder for such seasons, thus relieving 
 the cattle business of much of its cruelty. 
 
 Large companies, by buying up all the available grazing 
 lands, have recently crowded many small stock men to the 
 wall. It has been found that cattle can be more easily and 
 better cared for on a large scale. Before many years most 
 of the ranch business may be in the hands of great companies. 
 
 The importance of the ranch business lies in the fact that 
 it supplies our export trade in beef. This branch of our 
 
American Industries. 8r 
 
 meat production ought to receive the close attention of think- 
 ing men, that it may meet the increasing demand of Kuropean 
 laborers for animal food. 
 
 Sheep-raising in the United States, viewed from the point 
 of a meat consumer, is in a peculiar state. The reason for 
 this is to be found in the fact that sheep in this part of the 
 world are raised for their wool and not for their flesh. The 
 wool-producing qualities, and not those which tend to the 
 best mutton, being in consequence those most developed. 
 Costly merinos, imported from Spain, have done much for the 
 former and almost nothing for the latter qualities. Until 
 within recent years, nothing had been done towards improv- 
 ing the table qualities of our native sheep, and the attempt 
 to produce choice American mutton must be considered an 
 outgrowth of the tariff of 1883. 
 
 This tariff lowered the duty in wool imported into the 
 United States, and thousands of sheep were at once sent to 
 Chicago and other points to be slaughtered, by the frightened 
 stockmen, who thought that the reduced duty had taken all 
 the profit out of American sheep raising. A glut in the 
 mutton market was the natural consequence, and prices fell 
 so low that the poorer classes could afford to buy the choic- 
 est portions of the carcasses of the sheep. A wholesome 
 liking for it soon became established, its cheapness, the ease 
 with which it was digested and great nutritive qualities,, 
 strongly recommending it to the American appetite. 
 
 When prices rose, the attention of stockmen was called to 
 this new demand, and as a result English Cotswolds, South- 
 downs and other mutton sheep were imported. It is to be 
 hoped that these efforts will be crowned with the success 
 they deserve, and the splendid sheep country at the foot of 
 the Rocky Mountains makes these prospects very bright. The 
 abundant diet of aromatic grasses to be found in such locali- 
 ties, conducing to the preservation of the animals in a state 
 of health, and to their rapid growth, is the great advantage 
 of this part of the country for sheep raising. Its drier 
 climate also makes impossible many sheep diseases of the 
 Eastern States. 
 
82 The Recent Development of 
 
 The growth of the sheep industry throughout the country 
 during the past year has been very marked. That this is 
 partly due to the effect of the McKinley bill, raising the 
 duty on wool, is undoubtedly true; nevertheless the new in- 
 terest in mutton raising has had much to do with it. 
 
 We may confidently say then that American mutton is 
 being rapidly improved, both in quality and quantity, and 
 we can look forward to the time when its more general con- 
 sumption will raise our national standard of health, since 
 mutton is probably more easily digested and freer from dis- 
 ease than any other kind of meat on the market. 
 
 Swine are supposed to have been first brought within the 
 present limits of the United States by De Soto, who, in 1538, 
 took a number of them to Florida. The number of hogs in 
 the country rapidly increased as time went on, although no 
 particular attention was paid to their breeding, food or 
 shelter, for a long time. About 1830, the experiment of 
 crossing our native hogs with the best foreign breeds was 
 tried. The result of this attempt is to be found in the 
 celebrated stock of our Central States, where famous breeds, 
 such as the Ohio Poland-Chinas, have originated. 
 
 For a long time it was next to impossible to raise hogs 
 west of the Mississippi River, a state of affairs that has now 
 become ancient history, through the attention of practical 
 men to their production. Iowa is the greatest hog raising 
 State, and here, as elsewhere, the business is chiefly carried 
 on by farmers. Pork making is a profitable investment for 
 their corn crops. This fact was clearly seen last year when 
 the rise in the price of corn compelled every farmer to get 
 rid of his pigs as soon as possible. 
 
 The increase of the number of hogs in the country has 
 been very great during the past thirty years, the total of 
 of 1 890 doubling that of 1860. To-day almost half the hogs 
 in the world are to be found in the United States, and hog 
 packing is our principal meat industry, although the total 
 value of our cattle is far above that of hogs. In regard to 
 our home consumption of hog product, it has been estimated 
 at being annually about 65 pounds or more than one-half 
 
American Industries. 83 
 
 of the whole quantity of meat used per capita of the pop- 
 ulation. As pork is universally acknowledged to be the 
 least digestible, and most open to disease of all ordinary 
 kinds of meat, the situation here portrayed is a most serious 
 one. 
 
 In regard to the general meat supply of the United States 
 it may be said in closing that it is amply sufficient for our 
 present needs, and fully capable of more than keeping pace 
 with any increase of population that may reasonably be ex- 
 pected. 
 
 JAMES M. CASTLE. 
 
84 The Recent Development of 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 IMPROVMENTS IN LOCOMOTIVES. 
 
 We wonder at times how we could exist without that 
 promoter of commerce the locomotive. When we think of 
 the slow process of travel in early days, when the transporta- 
 tion of articles of any considerable weight or bulk was im- 
 possible, we cease to wonder at the invention of the iron mon- 
 ster, which now precedes civilization and opens up districts 
 that were formerly almost impenetrable to civilized man. 
 The invention of the locomotive by Watt, together with the 
 many improvements by him, Murdock, Irevittrick and others 
 down to the Americans, amongst whom are Miller and Bald- 
 win, have made the locomotive what it is to-day a fit handi- 
 work showing the master mind of man. 
 
 The period just following the opening of the civil war is 
 noted for the introduction of steel in locomotive construction. 
 The steel was imported from England. A little later a class 
 of engines, well-known and used on the various roads in the 
 United States, had its origin. The first engine of this class 
 was built at Baldwin's shops in 1866. As this engine was 
 intended to become the property of the Mahanoy railroad, at 
 the time of its consolidation with the L,ehigh Valley railroad, 
 it was thought apropos to name it the Consolidation. 
 
 This engine, since that time, has been made forty thou- 
 sand pounds heavier. It has a straight boiler with the fire- 
 box above the frames giving greater dimensions, instead ot 
 wagon-top boiler with the fire-box between the frames. A 
 greater distance between the grate bars and the top of grate 
 bars tends to equalize the draft on the fire and give more space 
 for the mixture of the gases. The steam pipe and passages 
 in the saddle have also been enlarged so as to diminish the 
 loss of pressure in the cylinder. These latter improvements 
 were introduced in 1884. The consolidation engine, built 
 
American Industries. 85 
 
 during the same year, has a square- topped fire-box casing 
 known as the Belpaire fire-box. 
 
 One of the earliest of the improvements which contributed 
 to the advancement of American locomotive engineering 
 was the spark-arrester. The spark-arrester is peculiarly an 
 American institution and possesses little practical value be- 
 yond that derived from American practice. It was of neces- 
 sity used on the wood-burning locomotives of 1830. B. May, 
 of Boston, patented a cylinder of wire netting, extending 
 from the exhaust pipes to the stack, July 28th, 1857; and 
 A. Sweet, of Detroit, patented double cylindrical deflectors 
 on a similar principle, June 23d, 1863. Nothing more ap- 
 pears to have been done until 1870, when Wilder' s perfor- 
 ated cone was patented. In 1873, Charles T. Pike, of 
 Providence, patented a spark-arrester, by which the sparks 
 were returned to the fire-box through the lower tubes of the 
 boiler. The latest device acts by equalizing the draft 
 through the upper and lower tubes and also deflects the es- 
 caping sparks and cinders to the bottom of the smoke-box. 
 From this they are carried (by the action of the exhaust) out 
 of the chimney. 
 
 Improvements in smoke-stacks have been made with the 
 desire of promoting economy in fuel, and producing stronger 
 drafts, as well as lessening the danger from the escape of 
 sparks. George Holten patented a smoke-stack which con- 
 sists of an outside case, with an inside pipe extending from 
 the bottom of the stack to the point of a deflector. This de- 
 flector has a flange extending upward to support the netting. 
 This netting is arranged in the form of a frustrum of a cone, 
 extending from the deflector to the top of the stack, to which 
 it is closely fitted to prevent the escape of sparks. This ar- 
 rangement protects the netting from severe wear and presents 
 a large surface for the escape of gases and exhaust steam. 
 The sparks, striking against the netting, fall into the outside 
 case, from which they are removed by means of an opening 
 near the base of the stack. Fontaine's smoke-stack, designed 
 about 1870, consists of an inverted cone or deflector with re- 
 curring flanges, placed directly on the pipe and beneath the 
 
86 The Recent Development of 
 
 netting. A cylinder with a flange is secured by the fasten- 
 ing about the pipe so as to leave an annular opening between 
 the pipe and cylinder. The sparks from the fire-box are car- 
 ried up through the pipe and cylinder, and, striking the cone, 
 are thrown down the outside of the cylinder upon the con- 
 verging bottom of the head, so as to come beneath the open- 
 ing between the cylinder and inside pipe, where they are 
 again carried up through the cylinder, until again striking 
 the deflector they are again thrown down. This process is 
 repeated until the sparks are extinguished by steam and 
 beaten to dust, whence they are carried off through the 
 bonnet. 
 
 The chief feature of a smoke-stack, designed by J. N. 
 Boon (1883) is the lower part of the stack, between the base 
 casing and the receptacle for sparks. This is made tapering, 
 while in other stacks it is cylindrical. The latest design of 
 this part of the locomotive is that of J. P. Brown (1890). 
 The stack is of the diamond type, with netting in the shape 
 of a balloon, four inches smaller than the outside of the 
 stack. , A greater opening is thus given for draft, while the 
 sparks are prevented from passing through. 
 
 A new form of smoke-box was patented by George Hen- 
 derson, October 2oth, 1885. This smoke-box has for its 
 object the protection of the sheet of the smoke-box extension 
 from hot coals and cinders which collect in it. This is done 
 by means of a cast iron plate, separated from the sheet by a 
 layer of clay. In 1886, J. N. Lander designed an improved 
 blast pipe. He uses a single nozzle, its centre corresponding 
 with the centre of the smoke-stack. A wasteful rise in back 
 pressure is thus prevented by the exhaust from one cylinder 
 blowing back down the passage leading from the other. 
 
 About 1879 a process was designed by which the exhaust 
 steam is utilized. This was brought about by a forced water 
 jet being united with a dry or super-heated steam. Both 
 steam and water were taken from the boiler, to which they 
 were returned together with the exhaust. In 1888 the area 
 of the exhaust passage was increased and divided into two 
 branches. One allows the exhaust steam to pass away as 
 
American Industries. 87 
 
 usual, while the other permits the escape by a more circuitous 
 route, partially embracing the cylinder. The exhaust steam 
 is thus prevented from choking the outlet. 
 
 One of the most important as well as useful inventions was 
 that of the atmospheric brake designed by George Westing- 
 house. A pump, operated by steam from the locomotive, 
 provides a supply of condensed air at a certain definite pres- 
 sure, at all times. This compressed air is conducted to a 
 cylinder under each car and by its pressure upon a piston 
 working in these cylinders applies the brake. An ingenious 
 invention enables the engineer to apply the brake with more 
 or less instantaneous force on each truck. 
 
 In 1873, J. E. Worten got his new fire-box to work prop- 
 erly. This fire-box is used to a very great extent on the 
 Philadelphia and Reading railroad. The boiler of this loco- 
 motive has an enormous amount of grate surface, and a some- 
 what shallow fire-box which joins a combustion chamber. 
 This combustion chamber extends into the barrel which 
 is tapered being smaller at the front ring. Two domes 
 are placed, one on the smaller and the other on the larger 
 end of the barrel. The fire-box was designed to burn waste 
 anthracite coal, and its enlarged grate admits a very econom- 
 ical consumption of fuel. He devised his patent damper in 
 front of the door as a means for cooling the boiler down. 
 
 An improvement intended to facilitate the movement of 
 locomotives is Brevoort's throttle valve lever. It was im- 
 possible, before 1871, to start an engine without some jar- 
 ring. This valve was intended to do away with this. It can 
 be opened slowly by means of a screw, or rapidly by means 
 of a lever. The lever has an ordinary spring latch which 
 gears into the thread of the screw. By turning the hand 
 wheel the lever is of course moved b)' the thread of the 
 screw. In 1873 a small additional valve was placed under 
 the main valve for the same reason. An improved graduator 
 or reverse lever was designed (1871) to regulate more ac- 
 curately the admission of steam to the cylinders. 
 
 An improved cut off valve was designed in 1872. The 
 improvement consisted in holding the steam until the piston 
 
88 The Recent Development of 
 
 was near the end of the stroke and then releasing the same, as 
 live steam was admitted at the opposite end. Mr. H. Elliott 
 (1873) patented a valve which consists simply of an exten- 
 sion of the lap of the valve through which steam is admit- 
 ted into the parts by holes drilled in the extension. This is 
 intended to obviate the leakage caused by the wear of the 
 valve in the valve seat. Jackson's patent valve consists of a 
 false face placed over the ports. The valve is placed in a 
 vertical position and works on two faces slightly inclined 
 from the vertical. As the valve might tend to jam, it is 
 supported by two horizontal rubbing faces on top of the 
 false face. As these wear the valve comes and takes up any 
 wear on the inclined faces. As fast as the inclined surfaces 
 wear and so tend to leak, the wear on the horizontal sur- 
 faces will let the valve descend and so keep it tight. 
 
 In 1871, the attention of Mr. Buchanan was directed to the 
 difficulty of keeping the ordinary cylinder plug cock from 
 leaking. To remedy this defect he designed a cylinder cock 
 which consisted of a conical seat valve, so arranged as to be 
 taken out and ground into its seat. When the valve is lifted 
 from its seat the water or steam escapes through an opening, 
 ;and in case the piston should create a vacuum in the cylinder, 
 the valve will lift and admit air into it. A patented cylinder 
 cock by Hayes & Schlacks (1878) allows the seat and valve 
 to be readily removed and reground without disturbing the 
 joint which is made with the cylinder. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Hudson used an improved safety valve which 
 was planned to cover the difficulty of relieving the boiler 
 pressure rapidly and, also, to keep the valve open without 
 difficulty. The first improvement in a blow- back noiseless 
 safety valve was patented by Peter C. Wortman in 1 869. This 
 was intended to use the waste steam which escapes from the 
 safety valve for heating the water in the tank. The patent 
 was re-issued to the Ashburton Co. in 1877. On July 12, 1878, 
 a patent was granted by which the waste steam was carried 
 either into the smoke-box or water tank. A few years later, 
 1 88 1, Henry Ashburton patented the latest improvement in 
 this form of valves. By it the steam which escapes 
 
American Industries. 89- 
 
 from the safety valve or valves is conducted to the tank 
 which contains the feed water. The steam is thus utilized 
 and the noise caused by its escape is prevented. 
 
 William Wilson applied a new form of valve -gear to an 
 engine, on the Chicago and Alton, in 1886. Two valves are 
 used for each cylinder, worked by one eccentric. One valve 
 controls the steam and the other the exhaust. The latest 
 improvement in valve gear is an inner crown so arranged as 
 to prevent the admission of dust and ashes into the mechan- 
 ism of the valve. Another late device is Grime's valve gear,, 
 which is much easier to handle than the link motion. It has- 
 fewer pieces, and thus lessens the cost of construction. This 
 form of valve gear was tried at Cedar Rapids in 1881. 
 
 The novel features of a locomotive completed by the Old. 
 Colony railroad, in 1885, are the injector checks and the steam 
 gauge stand. These are fitted with automatic valves, which 
 can be closed while the engine is under pressure, thereby 
 enabling repairs to be made without blowing off the steam. 
 If any part should be broken the valve would close from the 
 inside of the boiler, preventing the escape of steam. All pipe 
 connections in the boilers are fitted to the steam gauge stand, 
 necessitating only one hole in the boiler. 
 
 In recent years a few improvements have been made in fire- 
 boxes for the purpose of creating a better combustion of 
 fuel, or creating a greater heat and thus causing the rapid 
 generation of steam. In 1877 a new engine was built with 
 a fire-box designed by William Buchanan. This fire-box has 
 his patent deflector, or "water-table," which extends from 
 the front of tube sheet (beginning below the tube), upward, to 
 the back end of the fire-box. This divides the fire-box into two 
 parts, which communicate with each other by an opening in 
 the water-table about the size and form of an ordinary fur- 
 nace door. In a fire-box, used on the Pennsylvania Railroad, 
 the fire-bricks are supported in a peculiar manner. They 
 rest on tubes, which are fastened into tube plates below the 
 fire tubes, extending backward and upward, and at the other 
 end are fastened into the crown sheet. 
 
 A new furnace named the Bonta Furnace was placed in an 
 
90 The Recent Development of 
 
 engine constructed by the Hinkley Works, of Boston, in 1877. 
 Many advantages were claimed for this engine which do not 
 exist in others. An ordinary locomotive is used with a 
 blower or air compressor (saddled on the outside of the 
 boiler) in front of the steam dome. The air from this blower 
 operated by a small engine on the fireman's seat is con- 
 veyed to the ash-pan, under the grate. leading into the 
 combustion chamber, situated above the grate, is a curved 
 funnel (called a magazine) extending to within two inches 
 of the surface of the grate. This magazine is double, the 
 inside, being connected with the boiler, is full of water. 
 The other end of this magazine is riveted to the fire-box at 
 the place the furnace door is usually placed in most locomo- 
 tives. The coal is shoveled into this magazine and by the 
 motion of the engine is evenly distributed over the grate. 
 The supply of fuel is thus kept up as combustion progresses 
 and the ashes are sifted by the same motion into the 
 ash-pit. 
 
 A novel apparatus for super-heating steam consists of a 
 steam pipe arranged to pass through the roof of the fire-box, 
 and extending horizontally therein, to repass through the 
 :said roof and connect with the cylinder. A patent heat- 
 retainer, applied on the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Balti- 
 more Railroad, consists of a series of dampers, placed in front 
 of the tubes which thus prevent the escape of heat. 
 
 A few improvements have been made in boilers with a 
 view of utilizing to a greater extent the heat from the com- 
 bustion of fuel. Hick's improvement (1875) consists of a 
 series of vertical water tubes placed in front of the flue open- 
 ings. A lime catcher and water filter^has been applied to an 
 engine on the Illinois Central Railroad, and the results have 
 shown a greatly diminished deposit of scale in the boiler. 
 The Coventry boiler, constructed by the Brooks locomotive 
 works, in 1888, is a return to the flue boiler, the smoke-stack 
 being placed on the crown sheet. The Chicago and North- 
 western Railroad are trying an engine on this principle. The 
 heat is carried through the lower flues to the smoke-box in 
 .the front, where it strikes a deflector and is returned the 
 
American Industries. 91 
 
 length of the boiler through the upper flues to a smoke-box, 
 next to the cab, and ejected from the smoke-stack in that 
 part of the boiler. 
 
 Two new engines have recently been completed which are 
 departures from the ordinary type of locomotives. One is the 
 Strong express locomotive (1886), the other is the compound 
 locomotive (1889). After a study in Europe, George S. 
 Strong completed his locomotive. The crown bars and side 
 stays are done away with, and the fire-box is designed to in- 
 sure complete combustion of fuel, by burning the gases and 
 .sparks. The driving coupling is so arranged that the slide 
 valve is unnecessary, and there is also a better distribution 
 of wearing surface on the crank pins. The valve motion is 
 also improved, and the feed water is heated by a portion of 
 the exhaust. 
 
 The compound locomotive has been in use in Europe for 
 fourteen years. A locomotive was constructed, on a plan 
 .similar to the compound principle, by the Rogers Locomotive 
 Works, in 1873. Nothing more was done until .within two 
 years past, when the first American compound locomotive 
 was constructed at Baldwin's. The special feature of the 
 compound engine is that it passes the steam through two or 
 more cylinders, for the purpose of utilizing to the fullest 
 extent the expansive force of the steam. 
 
 The locomotive has increased greatly in size and dimen- 
 sions since 1854. An engine of thirty-seven and one-half 
 tons weight was constructed in 1864. Eleven years previous 
 it was thought unadvisable to build an engine of even 
 thirty tons and a locomotive of three times that weight 
 would have been astounding. Yet to such an extent has the 
 weight of engines increased that now they are three and four 
 times ?>s heavy as they were thirty years ago. The consoli- 
 dation engines alone increased twenty-two thousand, nine 
 liundred and eighty-five pounds during the decade 1876- 
 1886. 
 
 This increase in weight and size arises from the fact that 
 practice demonstrates that heavy engines are more econom- 
 ical to use. In the substitution of heavy for light locomo- 
 
92 The Recent Development of 
 
 tives fewer engines are required which causes a decrease in 
 repairs, wages, fuel and oil. Less wear is caused to the 
 line and less room is needed for the round-house. The 
 efficiency of locomotive engineers and crews employed is 
 also greatly increased. There is also a notable gain in the 
 train load moved without a material expense for labor 
 being incurred. 
 
 HENRY HALI< SINNAMON. 
 
American Industries. 93 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 GOLD AND SILVER MINING. 
 
 Gold is found in two widely different conditions. First, 
 it is found in lodes and veins, filled chiefly with quartz, 
 traversing the older slaty and metamorphic rocks, principally 
 those of the Cumbrian and I^aurentian Age, as well as finely 
 disseminated rocks of a granular structure. Secondly, it is 
 found distributed in gravel, sand, clay and in other detrital 
 matters scattered over the valleys and plains along the base 
 of great mountain chains. This is due to the action of natural 
 forces, such as rain, atmosphere, ice, etc., which gradually 
 disintegrate the solid rocks and spread their ruins over these 
 places. Consequently the method of mining these two kinds 
 of deposits differs; that of the first kind is called "Vein or 
 quartz" mining, and that of the second kind "Placer" 
 mining. 
 
 The process of placer mining is much simpler than that of 
 vein mining. The gold being found in native form, requires 
 only digging and washing. The simplest method of this 
 kind of mining is the so-called "pan" mining, generally 
 practiced during the earlier period in California. The 
 pan is made of a sheet iron or tin vessel with a flat bottom 
 about a foot in diameter. This being filled with the dirts 
 containing gold must be shaken vigorously under water. 
 The earthy portion is gradually dissolved and carried off by 
 the stream of water, leaving only heavy metallic particles in 
 the bottom. In spite of so crude and laborious an implement, 
 the placer mines of those days were so rich that fortunate 
 miners often made from one to five thousand dollars a day 
 apiece. The rocker or cradle, which succeeded the pan, is 
 a wooden box, some six or seven feet long and about two 
 feet wide, mounted on rockers, so that the bottom has a 
 gentle slope from one end to the other. Across the bottom are 
 nailed wooden bars, known as "riffles," so as to make a 
 
94 The Recent Development of 
 
 series of small shallow weirs in the cradle. At the top end 
 of the rocker is fixed a hopper or box, with the bottom 
 pierced with holes, half an inch in diameter, for the purpose 
 of keeping back layer stones. Into this hopper dirts are 
 shovelled and a constant stream of water is kept running on 
 to the mass. The dissolved portion of the dirt passes through 
 the holes, and the gold particles are caught by the riffle bars. 
 Since much of the gold is lost, except when it is very coarse, 
 this rocker is a very rough instrument, but cheap and port- 
 able and one not requiring much water for its operation; 
 and was considered a great improvement over the pan. The 
 rocker was soon replaced, however, by another implement 
 closely allied to it, called the "Tom," and shortly after a 
 great advance was made by the introduction of the sluice 
 method. The sluice is also a trough or box which may be 
 of any size and length, according to the quantity of material 
 to be washed and the amount of water available. The bottom 
 is provided with riffled bars, similar to those of the rocker. 
 To its upper end a constant and swift stream of water is sup- 
 plied through an artificial channel from a reservoir or from 
 some stream. The strong current of water breaks up the 
 lumps of earth, and the gold particles caught by the riffles 
 are afterward gathered by means of quicksilver forming an 
 amalgam with gold. As the area available for such simple 
 methods of mining was comparatively limited, it was soon 
 worked out by the daily multiplying number of miners. It 
 became necessary to extend the working ground to localities 
 higher and more distant from the streams. As the diffi- 
 culties of shovelling and washing became greater they were 
 met successfully by the discovery of a process, the effective- 
 ness of which revolutionized the entire business of placer 
 mining. This was the hydraulic method, introduced in 1852. 
 It consists in throwing powerful jets of water issuing from 
 the pipes under high pressure against the face of the bank 
 of gravel, by which operation the gravel is first washed down 
 and then received in the sluice. When the gravel is too 
 hard to be destroyed by water power alone it is first shaken 
 up by the use of explosive powder, Many tons of powder 
 
American Industries. 95 
 
 are often used for a single blast. The success of this method 
 has never been surpassed. It is said that a man with a cradle 
 can wash one cubic yard of earth in a day; with a " Tom " 
 he might average double that number; with a sluice four 
 yards; and with the hydraulic method and sluice combined 
 fifty or even over a hundred yards. 
 
 With the introduction of sluice and hydraulic mining the 
 entire aspect of the industry was changed. It was no longer 
 possible for individual diggers or disorganized bands of miners 
 to meet the enormous outlay of capital required for the work. 
 The distinction between capital and labor became marked. 
 Many large mining companies came into existence, while the 
 wandering adventurers were converted into ordinary labor- 
 ers, working for daily wages. The need of a' water supply- 
 was met by an extensive system of artificial reservoirs and 
 the construction of artificial water courses to convey the 
 water to the mines. Some of these are wonderful specimens 
 of engineering enterprises. For miles, on the precipitous 
 sides of many great canons, flumes are hung to the cliff.. 
 Sometimes deep gorges are crossed by means of inverted 
 syphons. It is estimated that over six thousand miles of 
 these ditches exist in California to-day, some of them built 
 at an expense of $25,000 per mile. At least $100,000,000 is 
 said to represent the capital stock of hydraulic mining in 
 that State. But with all its advantages and effectiveness, 
 the method of hydraulic mining has been a cause of great 
 damage to the farming lands along the rivers and streams 
 into which the mining debris must necessarily find its outlet. 
 
 By the decision of the United States Circuit Court, given in 
 1884, the long pending suit of the farmers against the mining 
 companies was settled in favor of the farmers, and hydraulic 
 mining was declared illegal; so that with the exception of a 
 few mining companies in the northwestern part of the State,, 
 where, owing to the peculiar condition of rivers, the debris 
 question has not yet been raised, hydraulic mining has 
 ceased. 
 
 There are two other methods belonging to the " placer"" 
 group. One of these is river mining, which was worked very 
 
96 The Recent Development of 
 
 -extensively at one time in California and consists in turn- 
 ing aside the course of a stream by means of dam and canal, 
 <or flume. The bed thus exposed is sometimes a very fruit- 
 ful source of gold. Another very important method is that 
 "known as drift mining. In California, since the stoppage of 
 hydraulic mining, this method is becoming very generally 
 used. The principal field of operation in this kind of mining 
 is on the system of ancient river beds buried deep under 
 volcanic lava. The strata of gravel lying on the bed are 
 mined by running a tunnel or sinking a shaft a method in 
 many respects similar to that pursued in coal mines. The 
 gravel taken out is washed in a sluice, or, where it is too 
 hard and cemented, crushed in stamp batteries and then 
 amalgamated with quicksilver. 
 
 The method of mining vein gold, or the original deposits, 
 of gold is essentially the same with that of other metal min- 
 ings. The shafts and levels must be located in the same man- 
 ner, and the same kinds of machines for drilling, hoisting, 
 pumping, tramming, etc., must be applied. The vein stone 
 is generally the opaque or translucent variety of quartz, 
 varying in its hardness. The distribution of gold in the 
 vein is not regular. Many quartz veins exist even in gold 
 regions without gold having been found in them; and in 
 those known to be gold bearing, there are extensive portions 
 without gold. All this requires of the miners the utmost 
 skill and technical knowledge for their working. 
 
 The process of the extraction of gold from the ores is not 
 as simple as those of placer gold, and varies according to the 
 constituents of the ores. If the ore is comparatively free 
 from base metals, it may be extracted easily by the amalga- 
 mation process. This consists in first crushing and pulver- 
 izing the ores, which was formerly done by a simple 
 machine known as the Arrastra, or Mexican crusher, which 
 is now almost entirely replaced by new ingenious machines 
 such as. Blake's rock crusher and the California stamp. The 
 stamp is an iron cylindrical pestle, faced with a chilled cast 
 iron shoe, and attached to a round iron rod or lifter, the 
 whole weighing 600 to 800 pounds, resting on a bed or 
 
American Industries. 97 
 
 mortar made of cast iron. The height of the lift may be be- 
 tween eight or ten inches, and the number of blows from 
 thirty to eighty per minute. The preliminary crushing to a 
 suitable size being done by a rock crusher, the ores are fur- 
 ther pulverized by the stamp battery. Quicksilver is put in 
 the mortar and forms an amalgam with the liberated particles 
 of gold. Certain portions of the particles, escaping and flow- 
 ing out of the mortar upon an inclined table or apron, are 
 caught by the amalgamated plates with which the apron is 
 covered. The remaining sands flow on to concentrators which 
 by their peculiar action retain the heavy and metallic par- 
 ticles and discharge the lighter and worthless portion. The 
 material caught in the concentrating machines is accumu- 
 lated in proper receptacles, and treated with whatever 
 various processes the character of the chemical combinations 
 may require. Generally these particles are composed of sul- 
 phurets containing a valuable quantity of gold, and the 
 usual method of treating them is by chlorination, which con- 
 sists in dissolving the gold by the action of chlorine, after a 
 preliminary roasting to remove all of the sulphur, arsenic, etc. 
 Gold is obtained from the amalgam formed with the 
 mercury ' by heating the amalgam in an iron retort, and 
 the vaporized mercury is recovered by a condenser, to be 
 used in future operations. In California the discovery of 
 vein gold soon followed that of placer gold, but the lack of 
 proper knowledge and skill required in this kind of mining 
 retarded its development. Many mines were opened, and 
 many costly mills erected, yet most of these enterprises 
 resulted in disastrous failure. Naturally, vein mining has 
 been regarded as a very risky undertaking ; but, of late 
 years, the great improvement in the methods of treating 
 ores, and, above all, the introduction of new labor-saving 
 machinery, and the adoption of steam instead of water- 
 power, changed the entire aspect of the mining. The ores, 
 which only ten years since were regarded as worthless, are 
 now profitably worked in man}' mines. 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 Silver is also as widely distributed as gold, occurring in 
 
98 The Recent Development of 
 
 nearly all the volcanic rocks and some primary ones. In its- 
 native form, it is usually alloyed with some other metals 
 such as gold, copper, bismuth, etc. But it occurs more com- 
 monly in a mineralized form, as ores, in which it is associ- 
 ated with heomine, iodine, solenium, sulphur and arsenic, 
 and also in combination with various acids. Unlike gold, 
 the silver is subject to the action of many elements, and is 
 rarely found in placers or alluvial deposits, but is obtained 
 almost entirely from subterranean mining. 
 
 The extraction of silver from ore is more difficult than that 
 of gold, and the methods are more complicated and varied* 
 Ordinarily these methods are divided into three classes, to 
 wit : amalgamation, the wet process, and smelting. Each 
 of these divisions includes various processes usually named 
 after the inventors or the localities where first introduced, 
 such as Mexican, Augustine, etc. We may mention only a 
 few of the important ones. In amalgamation the process is 
 very similar to that of gold, the silver being collected by 
 means of mercury ; but it is more complex for the reason 
 that silver ores contain non-metallic elements. The ores 
 containing sulphur, chlorine, iodine or heomine, but free 
 from arsenic and antimony, may be most easily worked by a 
 process known as Washoe or pan-amalgamation, originated 
 in Nevada. As in the case of gold, the ores must be first 
 crushed and pulverized with water by means of a crusher 
 and stamp mill. They are then introduced into a cast-iron 
 pan which grinds them into mud, the amalgamation of silver 
 and mercury taking place in the pan with the aid of hot 
 water. Usually the ores associated with arsenic, antimony 
 or iron, are crushed dry, stamped and roasted with salt in a 
 reverberatory furnace before their amalgamation. 
 
 In the wet process, the extraction of silver is effected by 
 means of chemical action. Chlorine is most commonly used, 
 and considered as the cheapest and most suitable agent for 
 this purpose. The silver is converted into a chloride by 
 roasting the crushed ore in a furnace with common salt. 
 The silver chloride is leached out from the mass by use of a 
 solution of calcium hyposulphite, and from this hyposulphite 
 
American Industries. 99 
 
 solution the silver is precipitated as a sulphide of silver by 
 a solution of calcium polysulphide. The precipitated sulphide, 
 after undergoing several processes of drying, roasting and 
 re-roasting, is finally melted at a high temperature with an 
 addition of scrap iron, which takes up the remaining sulphur, 
 and reduces the silver to a metallic state. 
 
 When silver is found in galena or lead ores, smelting 
 must be used. Silver and lead combine very readily by their 
 strong affinity to each other in a state of fusion. The same 
 principle is applied in case of smelting other argentiferous 
 ores, such as copper or iron pyrites. They are smelted 
 together with lead ores, and the silver is extracted in a form 
 of lead alloy. The separation of silver from the alloy thus 
 obtained is effected by processes the exact character of 
 which depends upon circumstances. If the alloy is sufficiently 
 rich in silver, and tolerably free from copper, it may be ac- 
 complished by a process known as " Cupellation," which 
 consists in fusing the alloy in a cupellation hearth made of 
 porous material, such as compressed bone ash, clay or marl, 
 moistened with wood ash liquor, whilst a stream of air plays- 
 over its surface. The lead and foreign base metals oxidize, 
 the oxides fuse and are either run off as melted oxides or 
 absorbed by the cupel. 
 
 These are some of the principles usually applied in the 
 treatment of ores. There are, Besides, hundreds "of patented 
 processes, each intended to suit certain kinds of ores as well 
 as the conditions of different localities. 
 
 The gold mining early in this century began in the South- 
 ern States. About 1830, the industry grew to a considerable 
 importance, and the annual production of gold rose to nearly a 
 million of dollars. According to Prof. Whitney's estimate,, 
 during the period between 1804 and 1850, $15, 172,300 of gold 
 was raised from these sources, distributed among the follow- 
 ing States: Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, 
 Alabama and Virginia. In 1848 the well-known discovery 
 in California took place. The intense excitement which 
 followed this event brought thousands of emigrants from all 
 parts of the world. By the end of the year, miners were already 
 
TOO The Recent Development of 
 
 at work along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada from 
 the Toulumme to Feather River a distance of fully a hundred 
 and fifty miles. It is estimated that no less than one 
 hundred thousand men were engaged in mining during the 
 years 1852 and 1853. The yield of gold reached its greatest 
 productiveness during the same years, the annual production 
 being over $60,000,000. But the most productive parts of 
 placers were soon worked out and the annual yield fell 
 steadily after 1860. The average yield for the fifteen years, 
 1865-79, was about seventeen millions. Since 1880 the aver- 
 age is not more than fifteen millions. 
 
 The gradual exhaustion of the placers set free a large num- 
 ber of miners, and the territories adjoining California were 
 overrun by thousands of miners in search of gold. Within 
 a few years an extraordinary number of discoveries were 
 made, some of which proved to be of great importance. By 
 far the most important the cause of another great excite- 
 ment was the discovery and successful opening of the Corn- 
 stock lode, situated in the western part of Nevada. In many 
 respects this lode is said to be one of the most remarkable 
 mines in the world. Usually it is believed to be a fissure 
 vein. It runs roughly north and south along the eastern 
 slope of a range of hills, and has been traced for the extent 
 of more than four miles. About thirty-five mines have been 
 opened along its course, the most noted of them being those 
 known as the great "Bonanza" mines. These mines are 
 worked to a greater depth than any mines in the world. 
 Many of the shafts are sunk beyond 3,000 feet. The extra- 
 ordinary temperature in such depth, in spite of all improved 
 means of ventilation, is one of the greatest obstacles to this 
 mining. 
 
 The Comstock since its opening, in 1859, has produced 
 $316,000,000 of bullion, of which $190,000,000 was gold and 
 $126, 000,000 silver. The yield of the lode attained its culmi- 
 nation in 1877, the total amount of production for that year 
 being estimated at $36,301,536. But since 1880 it has fallen 
 so low that the annual yield has never exceeded $5,000,- 
 ooo. The rich deposits of the vein known as "Bonanzas " 
 
American Industries. 101 
 
 seem to be exhausted. There are yet millions of tons of low- 
 grade ore, and although they cannot be worked at present, 
 because of high wages, high cost of transportation, and the 
 imperfect methods of reduction, they may perhaps in the no 
 distant future prove to be a fruitful source of wealth. 
 
 The excitement caused by the opening of the Comstock 
 was kept up for some years by a series of remarkable dis- 
 coveries all over the State. Among them, those in the dis- 
 tricts around Eureka were of great importance. With all 
 their extraordinary deposits, the mines in these localities, 
 however, lacked the quality of permanence. Many of them 
 after their remarkable but short prosperity have apparently 
 become exhausted and others are rapidly approaching this 
 state. The State of Nevada, which at one time occupied the 
 foremost place in the production of precious metals, has now 
 fallen to the fifth rank. 
 
 The Territory of Utah, where the once celebrated Kmma 
 mine is situated, has had many prosperous mines. The 
 silver here is generally associated with lead and various 
 other base metals, requiring an improved process of smelt- 
 ing. The Ontario mine, situated in the northeastern corner 
 of the Territory, is still one of the most productive mines 
 in the country. Since its discovery in 1872 the production 
 has been continuous, and it is said that over $9,000,000 has 
 been paid in dividends by the mining company since 1877. 
 
 The State of Colorado is now the most important silver 
 producing State in the country. It is unexcelled in the mag- 
 nitude and the variety of its metalliferous deposits. But the 
 largest portion of the product in the State is derived from 
 pyrites and galena, and their decomposition. Besides the 
 State has produced a large quantity of gold, and particularly 
 in the earlier period, the placer mines along the mountain 
 streams were very prosperous. It is estimated that upwards 
 of $20,000,000 of gold was furnished from these sources from 
 1859 to 1872. The last of the great mining excitements in 
 the country took place in 1877 in the district of L,eadville, 
 situated in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The rapidity 
 with which the mines in these localities were developed was 
 
102 
 
 The Recent Development of 
 
 extraordinary. Within two years from its discovery the 
 population of the town of I^eadville, which then was not 
 more than two hundred, increased to nearly fifteen thousand. 
 In 1880, there were already fourteen smelting works and 
 thirty productive mines around this district. The total value 
 of product from these mines during the eight years after its 
 discovery is estimated at $95,864,738. Nearly half of the 
 annual product of silver in Colorado comes from these mines. 
 Generally speaking, the ores smelted in the State are dimin- 
 ishing in their average value, yet the total amount of the 
 annual product is on the increase, owing to the improve- 
 ment in the machinery and methods of mining, and the great 
 progress of the smelting process, which makes it profitable 
 to work a much lower grade of ores. 
 
 Montana is one of the most hopeful States in the country. 
 "The increased facility of railway transportation of late years 
 is rapidly developing its immense resources of gold and 
 silver. Already, the annual produce of the State has grown 
 upwards of $20,000,000. Much, however, remains to be 
 done in exploring these regions. The same may be said of 
 Idaho, whose annual product is steadily increasing. 
 
 The following table is the estimate taken from the report 
 of the mint for 1889, and will show the relative importance 
 of the metal-producing States, as it stands at present: 
 
 STATE OR TERRITORY. 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 TOTAL VALUE. 
 
 Alaska. 
 
 $ 900 ooo 
 
 * 10 143 
 
 $ QIO 341 
 
 
 QOO OOO 
 
 I O1O 1Q1 
 
 2,8lQ 1Q1 
 
 'California .... 
 
 13 ooo ooo 
 
 1,014,141 
 
 I4,O14 141 
 
 Colorado . 
 
 i, 500,000 
 
 20,686,868 
 
 24,186,868 
 
 Dakota 
 
 2,900,000 
 
 64, 646 
 
 2,964,646 
 
 Idaho 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 4,105,050 
 
 6,105,050 
 
 
 1, 500,000 
 
 IQ, 107,010 
 
 22,801,010 
 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 y>oyo>yoy 
 6,206,060 
 
 9,2O6,O6O 
 
 New Mexico . 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 r,46i,oio 
 
 2,46l,OIO 
 
 
 1,200,000 
 
 38,787 
 
 1,238,787 
 
 Texas 
 
 
 300,000 
 
 3OO,OOO 
 
 Utah 
 
 500,000 
 
 0,050,505 
 
 Q,55O,5O5 
 
 "Wasliiiisrton . . 
 
 175,000 
 
 101,414 
 
 278,434 
 
 Other States 
 
 1Q2,OOO 
 
 83,443 
 
 475,443 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 $32,967,000 
 
 $64,768,730 
 
 $97,735,730 
 
American Industries. 103 
 
 The production of gold has diminished considerably as 
 compared with that of former years, chiefly owing to the re- 
 duced yields of California and Nevada. But the fluctuation 
 of late years is comparatively slight, and many authorities 
 maintain that the present rate will continue for some time to 
 come. On the other hand, we see an enormous increase in 
 the annual prouction of silver, and apparently its culminat- 
 ing point is not reached yet. It may not be uninteresting to 
 note here that the world's annual production of gold and 
 silver is about $260,000,000, that of 1889 being estimated at 
 $281,747,000, nearly one-third of which comes from this 
 country. 
 
 The effect of this rapid development of mining resources, 
 to say nothing of the actual amount of precious metals it has 
 given the nation, is exceedingly important. Had it not been 
 for this branch of industry the entire condition of the West 
 would have been very different from what it is to-day. It 
 would be hard to find any among those great States and cities 
 existing in the w r est of the Rocky Mountains which does not 
 owe its origin directly or indirectly to the stimulus of these 
 two metals. In this instance at least we must agree to the 
 saying, that the miner is the pioneer of civilization. 
 
 One of the most peculiar features of this industry is its 
 enormous risk and uncertainty, which makes it so attractive 
 to adventuresome people. Almost every discovery is thus 
 attended with great excitement and blind speculation, fol- 
 lowed by consequent depression. But, on the whole, we 
 must admit that the nature of the industry has changed con- 
 siderably. The tendency has been to reduce its speculative 
 character. This is no longer an industry in which a fortune 
 can be made out of nothing. Every step in the progress of 
 science and mechanical arts adds a corresponding security 
 to the business. The need of large capital and sound prin- 
 ciples of business becomes more and more a predominating 
 element of these enterprises. 
 
 HlSAYA IWASAKI. 
 
The Recent Development of 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 NEW INDUSTRIAL CENTERS. 
 
 Industrial changes in the United States have been many 
 and marked in recent years. In nothing is this more clearly 
 seen than in the growth of new centers of industry and com- 
 merce. They have sprung up in all parts of the country. 
 Especially is this the case in the South and West. Here the 
 causes tending to industrial growth are most active, and 
 their results are most clearly seen. With the increase of 
 the means of transportation, and the tendency of population 
 to concentrate in cities, have grown those new industrial 
 centers of which we hear so much to-day. In all cases they 
 have been located according to natural law r s ; either because 
 of advantageous positions for commerce, or because the de- 
 velopment of certain districts has made manufacturing profit- 
 able. And, in the development of any industrial center, it is to 
 be observed that the resources and advantages that industry, 
 intelligence and capital have supplied, have co-operated with 
 the resources and advantages of nature. 
 
 What these new industrial centers are, their location and 
 chief characteristics will be most clearly seen by grouping 
 them. In nearly all of them will be found some charac- 
 teristic industries, determined largely by the nature of the 
 region in which they are situated. 
 
 The group of most importance in the South is that of those 
 towns having Chattanooga for a center. In fact, Chatta- 
 nooga may be called " The Hub of the Central South," and 
 around her cluster Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta and Birm- 
 ingham, and many smaller places. These towns have come 
 into industrial prominence chiefly through the development 
 of the great deposits of iron ore and coal found extensively 
 in eastern Tennessee, northern Alabama and Georgia. As 
 a consequence, these cities have become centers for the 
 manufacture of iron and steel, and kindred industries have 
 
American Industries. 105 
 
 arisen. In Chattanooga the most important industry is that 
 of iron manufacture. Birmingham, Florence, and Ft. Payne, 
 Alabama, have also been created largely by the growth of 
 iron manufacture. Other important industries of this group 
 are those of coal mining and lumber. 
 
 Another important industrial group in the South is found 
 in those new towns in the Shenandoah Valley, and those 
 that have grown up along the line of the Norfolk and West- 
 ern Railroad in Virginia, and the district around Middles- 
 borough, Kentucky. Here also the character of the country 
 determines the kind of industries. The region abounds in 
 iron, manganese, slates, fireclay, etc., and is heavily wooded. 
 Hence, in Roanoke, in Shenandoah, in Savernake and in 
 Staunton, Virginia, in Middlesborough, Kentucky, and in 
 other towns, factories and mills have been erected to develop 
 these natural resources. 
 
 Many more centers might be named, but three may be 
 taken as types of the combined forces now at work in the 
 South, tending to build up new centers of industry. 
 
 Florence, Alabama, has been mainly developed by South- 
 ern men, though Northern capitalists have recently invested 
 over a million dollars there. Ft. Payne, in the same State, 
 is wholly the work of New England men and money. 
 Lastly, Middlesborough, Kentucky, is the offspring of Eng- 
 lish capital and brains. This town has also received a full 
 measure of American energy and wealth. 
 
 It is within the past six years that the most notable in- 
 dustrial changes have been seen in the South. Since the 
 Atlanta Exposition of 1885, which attracted general atten- 
 tion to the mineral wealth in this part of the country, that 
 city has become a prominent industrial center. From Jan- 
 uary i, 1886, to December 31, 1889, nearly 14,0x30 new 
 manufacturing and mining enterprises were organized in the 
 South, and thousands of old plants greatly enlarged. 
 
 In the West the growth of new industrial centers is even 
 more surprising. One of the most important manufacturing 
 regions of tliis country is that in which Chicago is situated. 
 There manufacturing towns are found in close proximity to 
 
io6 The Recent Development q/ 
 
 one another all through northern Illinois and Indiana, south- 
 ern Wisconsin and Michigan. Chief of these are Milwaukee, 
 La Crosse and Racine, Wisconsin; Elgin, Rock Island and 
 Peoria, Illinois; Logansport and South Bend, Indiana; and 
 Saginaw, Lansing and Detroit, Michigan. 
 
 In the West, more particularly than in the South, it will 
 be found that each group, or each town in a group sometimes, 
 has its specialty or own peculiar industry or industries. The 
 northern peninsula of Michigan is a mining region. Large 
 quantities of copper and iron ore are mined there, and much 
 of it finds its way to the manufacturing towns of the south- 
 ern part of the State, where it is used in the manufacture of 
 many articles of domestic use. The lumber industry, which 
 is a large one in Michigan, is kept active in supplying 
 the industrial towns in the southern peninsula. Detroit 
 and her neighboring towns, have large manufactures of iron, 
 steel and castings, machinery and railway cars. Logansport 
 and South Bend, Indiana, seem to make a specialty of farm 
 wagons; Peoria, in Illinois, is the greatest distilling town in 
 the United States; while the works of the Elgin Watch Com- 
 pany, in Elgin, are known to all the world. Milwaukee, in 
 Wisconsin, makes a specialty of beer and bricks, and her 
 triple expansion and Corliss engines furnish the motive 
 power to many an Eastern steamboat and Western lake 
 vessel, and turn many a factory wheel throughout the coun- 
 try. In La Crosse the lumber industry engages the largest 
 part of the attention of the inhabitants, and employs most 
 of their capital. But most important of this group of in- 
 dustrial centers is Chicago. 
 
 Hitherto this city has been noted chiefly for its vast com- 
 merce, and as a distributing center. But Chicago, situated 
 in one of the most important industrial regions of the coun- 
 try, has become one of the greatest manufacturing centers in 
 the world. During the year 1890 the increase of industries of 
 various kinds in Chicago has been greater than in any 
 previous year. The movement of manufactures towards this 
 city was one of the marked features of the twelve months 
 just past. It has been estimated that there are more manu- 
 
American Industries. 107 
 
 facturing interests now negotiating for locations here than 
 there are in actual operation in the entire city. 
 
 Chicago is especially noted as a center for the manufac- 
 ture of iron and steel, and the number of rolling mills in the 
 immediate vicinity of the city is very large. The value of 
 their product for 1890 was $22,275,000, and the business 
 gave employment to nearly 15,000 hands.. Other important 
 industries are those of meat packing and book publishing, 
 and the wholesale business of Chicago ranks second only to 
 that of New York. 
 
 The next group of importance in the West is that com- 
 prising the "Twin Cities," Minneapolis and St. Paul, and 
 Duluth at the head of great lake navigation on Lake Superior. 
 Of these cities, Minneapolis is the most important from an 
 industrial point of view. Here the geographical situation 
 has especially determined the character which the industries 
 of Minneapolis were to take. This city is the entrepot for 
 the vast grain fields of the Dakotas, and the natural lumber 
 market for the upper Mississippi Valley. Increased trans- 
 portation facilities, and the utilization of the immense water 
 power at the Falls of St. Anthony, have made Minneapolis 
 famous as a flour milling and lumber center. In the lumber 
 industry great changes have occurred in this region in the 
 past few years. In the manufacture of certain grades of 
 lumber, the center is being shifted from Michigan, to points 
 further West, and Minneapolis is gaining by this change, as 
 is shown in the increased output of her mills. The increase 
 in the number of feet of lumber cut at this city in 1890 over 
 1889 was 67,718,112. As a flour milling center, Minneapolis 
 is perhaps the greatest in the world. Although during last 
 year no new mills were built, the daily capacity of several of . 
 them was greatly enlarged. 
 
 St. Paul, whose corporate limits touch those of Minneapo- 
 lis, shares in the latter' s distinction of being an industrial 
 center. However, St. Paul is content to do most of the job- 
 bing trade, and the shipping of the products of Minneapolis' s 
 mills forms a large part of the commerce of St. Paul, which 
 is at the head of river navigation on the Mississippi. 
 
io8 The Recent Development of 
 
 In the formation of manufacturing centers, the first ques- 
 tion is that of abundance of raw materials and cheap transit. 
 These two fundamental conditions are possessed by Duluth. 
 The natural resources are very varied, and it is possible to 
 unite in Duluth a great iron, steel and wood manufacturing 
 center. During the past year many new plants have been 
 started here, and several large firms have transferred their 
 base from old points to this city. Among the great manu- 
 facturing plants, the Minnesota Car Company's was the 
 pioneer. The works commenced operations a little over a 
 year ago. Other firms that have just located here and are 
 helping to make Duluth an industrial center are the Duluth 
 Iron and Steel Company, with an authorized capital of 
 $1,000,000, $200,000 of which has been paid in; the Iron 
 Bay Works, employing 300 men; the West Duluth Manu- 
 facturing Company, which employs 50 men ind turns out 
 hardwood finishings, and other manufactures in wood. Lum- 
 ber and flour mills are also being established, and the outlook 
 for their success is very bright. 
 
 Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri boast of new industrial 
 centers, and Omaha and Kansas City form the chief centers 
 of the third group in the West. A special industry in 
 Kansas City is the sale of agricultural implements. This 
 sale was put down at $15,000,000 for 1887, and has since 
 largely increased. This was a fourth of the entire reported 
 product manufactured in the United States. The growth of 
 both Kansas City and Omaha is largely accounted for by the 
 existence of the vast rich agricultural regions to the west 
 and southwest, by the development of Missouri and Nebraska, 
 and by the facilities for distribution. Kansas City and Omaha 
 are great railroad centers, no less than fifteen lines and sys- 
 tems centering in the former place. Other important indus- 
 tries in these cities are meat packing, and the manufacture 
 of flour. 
 
 Important, more as a commercial than an industrial center, 
 is Galveston, off to the southwest. This city is the natural 
 doorway for the egress of the products of the State of Texas, 
 of the new centers arising in the Rocky Mountains, especially 
 
American Industries. 109 
 
 Denver, and to a large extent, of the Mississippi Valley. 
 Already these regions are sending their products to Galves- 
 ton for export, and last year the shipments of cotton from this 
 port amounted to 179,465,544 pounds. Wool and flour form 
 a large part of the bulky freight shipped hence. Galveston 
 is a comparatively isolated center, and the same is true of 
 Denver, in the Rocky Mountains, some 1,200 miles to the 
 northwest. But the two are intimately connected through 
 their commerce. 
 
 Considering the fact that Denver is the center of a very 
 important mining region, one would naturally suppose that 
 its most important products as a manufacturing center would 
 relate to the mining industry. The business of smelting and 
 refining is the most valuable one in the city. In 1889 the 
 value of the product amounted to $17,305,189. But Denver 
 is not a mining town alone. The building trades, the flour 
 mills, the breweries, and the foundry and machine shops 
 occupy prominent places in the detailed statistics of manu- 
 factures. The products amount to $88,000,000 per annum, 
 and are being rapidly augmented. 
 
 In the northwestern-most part of the United States lies 
 another group of new centers of industry and commerce. It 
 is composed of the towns of Tacoma and Seattle on Puget 
 Sound and Portland, Oregon, on the Columbia River. Until 
 very recently these places have been chiefly commercial 
 centers, but are now developing certain classes of manufac- 
 ture, corresponding to the products of the Pacific Northwest. 
 Washington and Oregon are closely allied in industry and 
 commerce, and the features of Seattle, Tacoma and Portland 
 are very similar. 
 
 Seattle is the largest of the Sound cities, but as yet its 
 chief characteristic is commerce. It is the headquarters for 
 most of the Sound business, and all of the steamboat lines, 
 with one or two exceptions, make it their chief point. The 
 country in the immediate vicinity of Seattle abounds in coal, 
 and the mining of coal and its shipment from this port is 
 now the most important industry. 
 
 Tacoma' s manufactories are but just starting into life. 
 
no The Recent Development of 
 
 The first to begin was the lumber industry, and this con- 
 tinues to be the most important. Other prominent indus- 
 tries are those of smelting and metal working. 
 
 The growth of Portland as a manufacturing center has 
 been very recent. Indeed, until the last few years, the coun- 
 try was too sparcely settled to make a direct demand for 
 manufacturing on any considerable scale, and it was not until 
 1886 that the era of progress began. The returns of manu- 
 factures are not complete, but some knowledge of their ex- 
 tent and increase may be gained from the figures for 1889. 
 In that year the number of hands employed in manufactures 
 was 7,862 as against 2,764 for 1886; and the value of the 
 output for 1889 was $20,183,000, as against $5,447,000 for 
 1886. Portland has not only good transportation systems, 
 but an abundance of cheap fuel and raw material, and a 
 splendid water power in the Falls of the Willamette River. 
 This city is now the center of the wool trade of the Pacific 
 Northwest. 
 
 The last group of new industrial centers lies in California. 
 It comprises San Francisco and the other coast towns, Stock- 
 ton and those in the great fruit-growing regions in the in- 
 terior of the State. 
 
 According to the recent census reports the industrial pro- 
 ducts of San Francisco are worth at least $120,000,000, an 
 increase in the decade of about 62 per cent. In 1890 the 
 $120,000,000 worth of products were contributed by 89 
 branches of manufacture, and represents the output of 1,638 
 factories. The products of the manufactures of the entire 
 State are valued at $165,000,000 for 1890. 
 
 California has $80,000,000 invested in vineyards, and in 
 most of the southern counties orchards and vineyards are 
 supplanting wheat farms, and in the northern counties, min- 
 ing is giving way to horticulture. The canning and shipping 
 of fruit is, therefore, an important industry in most of the 
 new centers rapidly growing up in all parts of the State. 
 The shipment of fresh fruit in refrigerator cars is an import- 
 ant industry ; while the drying and packing of fruit engages 
 the attention and capital of the new industrial centers of 
 
American Industries. in 
 
 southern California. There is very little manufacturing in 
 such places as San Diego, Los Angeles and Monterey. 
 Commerce is most active in these towns, and fruit shipping 
 is one of the most important industries. Stockton, near the 
 center of the State, is coming to the front as an industrial 
 center, and paper making is an important industry there. 
 
 The causes that have tended to develop new industrial 
 centers are many, but the principal ones may be summed up 
 under four heads. First, the inducements that are offered by 
 State legislatures in the lightening of taxation or removing 
 it altogether from particular industries, and the bonuses 
 offered by railway and other corporations. Second, the 
 growth of railway transportation facilities. Third, the 
 migratory character of the American people, and fourth, the 
 speculative spirit and the growth of capital. 
 
 Of the many industrial changes now going on in the 
 United States, the growth of new industrial centers is one of 
 the most important and far reaching in its results. These 
 centers indicate the growth of the country in material well 
 being, and also the advance of the whole nation, economically, 
 socially and politically. 
 
 CHARLES. R. LEE. 
 
TWO 
 
 BY SIMON N. PATTEN, Pn.D. (Halle). 
 
 Profess 
 
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