THE INDUSTRIAL ASCENDENCY OF

THE UNITED STATES ..

BY HON. NELSON W. ALDRICH,

UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM RHODE ISLAND

THE INDUSTRIAL ASCENDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES.

Hon. NELSON W. ALDRICH, United States Senator from Rhode Island.

The industrial ascendency of the United States is established by a comparison of the magnitude and character of her industries with that of her great rivals, Great Britain and Germany. It is evidenced alike by the larger aggregate and per capita value of her industrial products and by the much greater collective and individual earnings of her people. It is emphasized by a rapidity of growth unparalleled in the world's history.

In the limited time at my disposal I shall not attempt to enter upon an inspection of the whole range of our important industries, but shall confine myself to an examination, which will necessarily be general in its character, of the growth and prospects of American manufactures. The great importance of an investigation of this nature must be apparent when we consider that our continued industrial supremacy depends upon the assured progress and prosperity of our manufactures.

The published reports of the eleventh census contain the story of results accomplished up to 1890. For the years which have elapsed since 1890 we fortunately have sufficient data to enable us to approximate closely the percentage of growth which has taken place during that period. I will have printed, in connection with this paper, a statement showing the relative increase in production for the years 1890 to 1899, inclusive, in the United States, Great Britain and Germany. The tables in regard to Great Britain and Germany are less complete than those for the United States, but they are sufficient for the purpose of this inquiry. I will not stop to read this statement, but will content myself with stating the percentages of increase in each case.

The increase in the production of coal in the United States in the decennial period was 52.1 per cent, in Great Britain 11.2 per cent, and in Germany 46.6 per cent. As coal furnishes the basis for most industries these figures, perhaps, constitute the best test of the relative growth of the productive forces of the three countries.

It is a gratifying fact that in 1899, for the first time, the production of coal in the United States exceeded that of Great Britain. This statement becomes more interesting from the fact that a generation ago Great Britain's output was four times that of the United States and more than onehalf of the world's total. Germany's output at that time was 15 per cent more than that of the United States, while in 1898 the output of the United States was 57 per cent more than that of Germany. In 1868 the coal production of the United States exceeded that of France by seventeen millions of tons, while in 1899 the excess of the American over the French product was more than two hundred millions of tons.

The increase in the production of pig iron in the United States in this period was 48 per cent. When we consider that it is a generally accepted fact that the rate of increase in the production of iron and steel in a country is a fair test of its advance in civilization in the arts, this large increase is most satisfactory. The increase in the production of pig iron in Great Britain was 11.2 per cent, while the increase in Germany was 72.3 per cent. It will be seen that the percentage of increase shown in Germany was greater than that in the United States, owing to the relatively small production in Germany in 1890. The actual increase in tonnage, however, was greater in the United States, the figures being an increase of 3,400,000 metric tons in Germany and 4,400,000 gross tons in the United States.

The increase in the number of cotton spindles was 25.6 per cent in the United States and 4.9 in Great Britain. The percentage of increase in this case is smaller than any of the

others under consideration, doubtless owing to the unusual depression in cotton manufacturing which continued during a considerable portion of the last ten years. The consumption of cotton, however, increased 56.2 per cent in the United States, while the increase in Great Britain was 9 per cent. These figures show very plainly the marked increase which has recently taken place in the productive capacity of American cotton machinery. The relative figures for Germany are not available, but it is safe to say that the increase of cotton manufactures in that country was much less relatively than in the United States.

Our imports of raw silk increased 52.9 per cent during the period named, while those of Great Britain increased 15.8 per cent and those of Germany 35.3 per cent.

The increase in the general business of the United States is shown by the increase in the transactions of the New York clearing house of 52.3 per cent, of deposits in national banks of 53.6, and of deposits in savings banks of 46.2 per cent.

We can assume that the number of persons employed in our manufacturing establishments increased proportionately with the increase of production, as the average number of employes in the decennial period ending in 1890 increased 65.77 per cent, while the increase in the value of the product was 69.31 per cent. The increase in the number of persons employed in specified industries in Germany, as shown by the German industrial census of 1895, was for thirteen years, from 1882 to 1895, 39.9 per cent, while the number of persons engaged in all textile industries in Great Britain decreased 2.2 per cent from 1890 to 1897.

Another indication of relative industrial growth is furnished by the fact that the domestic exports of the United States increased 42.4 per cent during the last ten years, while those of England increased 11.8 per cent and those of Germany 12.9 per cent. During the fourteen years ending 1899 the value of the domestic exports of Great Britain