TEXTILE MANUFACTURING. 17(1 TEXTILE MANUFACTURING. annual value of the manufactured product. This latter condition is explained by the de- creased cost of production, due to the improved machinery and to a decreased cost of the several raw materials. An exact knowledc;e of the general growth of the industry is difficult to arrive at, in consequence of the above and other varjing conditions, and prob- ably the best idea of its growth is the increase of wage-earners as shown by decades in Table II. In spite of the fact that the improved machinery makes the productive power ^of one man's labor many times greater than it was a halt century ago, the increase in wage-earners each decade has exceeded the general growtli of the population except between 1850 and 1860. Table II. — Per Cent, of Increase in Average Number OF Waoe-Eakxers and in Value of Products: 1850 to 191)0« the use of cotton shows a wonderful increase from 1880 to 1900, due largely to the develop- ment of the cotton-manufacturing industry in the Southern States, which bids fair to monopolize the production of the medium and coarser grades of cotton fabrics. Table V.— Consumption of Textile Fibres: 1840 to 1900 YEARS Cotton, pouuds* Wool, pounds t Silk, pounds l'.>Oi) 1,910,609,193 1,193,374,641 798.344.838 430,781.937 443,845,;t78 288,658,000 126,000,000 412,323,430 372,797,413 296,192,229 219,970,174 98,379.785 70,862,829 9,760.770 1890 6,376 881 1880 2,690,482 1870 684,488 I860 462,966 1850 1840 Per cent, of increase in— PERIODS Averajye number of wage- earners Value of products 1850 to 1900 336.1 586.4 1H90 to 1900 27.7 30.6 39.8 41.7 32.1 22.4 35.5 1870 to 1880 2.4 142.3 1850 to 1860 66.8
- Not including flax, hemp, and jute.
The importance of the industry is also shown by Table III., giving the value of textile products bv decades from isio to 1900:
- Includes cotton consumed in establishments classed as
cotton goods, cotton small wares: woolen goods, worsted goods, carpet and rugs, other than rag : felt goods ; wool hats : and hosier.v and knit goods, t Includes wool con- sumed in establishments classed as woolen goods ; worsted goods, carpets and rugs, other than rag ; felt goods ; wool hats ; and hosiery and knit goods. It is difficult to obtain exact information about the relative importance of the United States in the manufacture of textiles, as the statistics are collected in no other coun- try with the thoroughness which characterizes the American census. The accompan,ving tables give in the most comprehensive way the opinions of the most capable statisticians. One might in- fer from Table VI. that in 1900 the United States led the world in the manufacture of cotton goods: yet it is universally known that Great Britain is far in the lead in cotton manufactur- ing; but because of the fact that the greater part Table III.— Comparative Summary, Value of Products: 1810 to 1900 DATE OF CENSUS Total Cotton manufact- ure* Wool manu- facture t Silk manufacture Hosier.T and knit goods Flax, hemp, and jute J D.veing and fitiishing textiles $931,494,556 759,262.283 532,673,488 620,386,764 214.740.614 128,769,971 67.047,452 37,062,981 9,247.225 51,685,786 $339,200,320 267,981,724 192.090,110 177.489,739 115,681,774 61,869,184 46,350,4.'")3 22,534,815 4,834.157 126.076,997 $296,990,484 270.527,511 238.085.686 199,257,262 73.454.000 48.608.779 20.696,999 14,528.166 4.413,068 1125,608,788 $107,256,258 87.298.454 41,093,045 12,210,662 6.607,771 1.809,476 $95,482,566 67,241,013 29.167.227 18,411.564 7.280,606 1,028,102 $47,601,607 37,313,021 $44,963,331 1890 28.900.560 1880 32,297.420 1870 1860 §113,017.637 11.716.463 15,454.430 1830 1810 •Includes cotton goods and cotton small wares, t Includes worsted goods; woolen goods: carpets and rngs. other than rag: felt goods, and wool hats, t Includes cordage and twine; jute and jute goods; linen goods; and two establishments in 1890 classified as ' linen thread.' § .t the census of 1870 the value ot the fabric itself was reported, whereas in all subsequent censuses merel.v the value added to such fabric by the process of dyeing and finishing is given. H Includes manufactures of cotton and flax in families and otherwise. U Includes manufactures of wool in families ^nd otherwise. and in Table IV., which shows not onlj' the 'com- bined textiles,' but each individual industry classed to show conditions each decade from 1850 to 1900. The increase In the amount of the various raw materials used by decades from 1840 to 1900 is shown by Table V., which also furnishes a measure of the relative growth of the several in- dustries. It is well to notice in this connection, however, that because of the unsettled conditions in the Southern States from 1860 to 1870 there was a decrease in the amount of cotton used, while for each decade there is a large and steady increase in the amount of wool used. During the twenty-year period 1860 to 1880 the amount of cotton used did not double itself, while the use of wool increased over 300 per cent. ; but Table VI. — Consumption of Cotton at Decennial Periods, 1830-1900 Great Britain, number of thousand bales Continent Europe, number of thousand bales United States, number of thousand liales Average for 5 years ending — 1830 711 1,166 1,458 2,265 2.639 2,924 4,140 4,079 411 629 776 1,490 1.842 2,455 4.277 5.720 130 1840 , ... 266 1860 663 I860 813 1870 876 IHHO 1,543 •2,983 Year liliMl 4,599
- Census figures, reduced to bales of 400 pounds,
used in wool manufactures included.
