ter is becoming relatively less important owing
to the development of railroads, and the former
is becoming rapidly more important with the
industrial development of the North. The
possibility of lake transportation has been largely
responsible for the development of the State's mining
industry, and Duluth has become one of the
leading lake ports. It has immense shipments
of ore, grain, and lumber. But few regions of
the country are better supplied with railroads
than are the southern and western parts of the
State. Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the objective
point of most of the great lines northwest of
Chicago, and the transcontinental Great Northern
and Northern Pacific cross the State from
east to west. Among the lines which have a
large mileage in the State are the Chicago,
Milwaukee and Saint Paul; the Chicago and
Northwestern; the Chicago, Saint Paul and Omaha;
the Eastern Railway of Minnesota; and the
Minnesota and Saint Louis. The total mileage
increased from 1092 miles in 1870 to 5545 in 1890
and 6996 in 1900. The State has a railroad
and warehouse commission which hears and
passes judgment upon complaints, with due
notice to carriers to arrange a tariff of freight in
pursuance thereof. Upon refusal of the carriers
to adopt such rates the commission publishes
the same.
INDUSTRIES
Year
Number of establishments
Average number wage-earners
Value of products, including custom work and repairing
Total for selected industries for State
1900
2,500
35,862
$177,172,025
1890
1,405
30,334
111,052,701
Increase 1890 to 1900
......
1,095
5,528
$66,119,324
Per cent. of increase
......
77.9
18.2
59.5
Per cent. of total of all industries in State
1900
22.5
46.4
67.5
1890
18.7
43.5
57.8
Flouring and grist mill products
1900
512
4,086
$83,877,709
1890
307
3,509
60,158,088
Cheese, butter, and condensed milk,
factory products
1900
596
740
8,479,896
1890
106
783
2,958,476
Slaughtering and meat packing: Total
1900
20
668
7,810,555
1890
18
222
2,510,431
Liquors, malt
1900
78
856
4,456,928
1890
66
548
2,206,366
Oil, linseed
1900
5
155
3,272,598
1890
3
90
1,547,719
Foundry and machine shop products
1900
175
3,139
5,975,077
1890
92
1,289
2,815,024
Boots and shoes, factory product
1900
16
2,025
3,615,801
1890
8
1,099
2,032,814
Cars and general shop construction and repairs
by steam railroad companies
1900
39
4,700
6,319,876
1890
18
1,951
2,628,174
Printing and publishing,
newspapers and periodicals
1900
560
2,714
5,790,148
1890
341
2,143
4,157,026
Lumber and timber products
1900
438
15,140
43,585,161
1890
392
16,170
25,075,132
Lumber, planing mill products,
including sash, doors, and blinds
1900
61
1,639
3,988,276
1890
54
2,530
4,943,451
Banks. The first banking law of Minnesota
was passed in 1858, at the first session of the
Legislature; the law was amended in 1878, placing
the banks under the control of the public
examiner, who is ex-officio superintendent of banks.
The law was amended and made more stringent
in 1881, 1889, and 1895. Banking business in the
State was very unprofitable at first, and all the
State banks organized in 1858-68 were
discontinued. In 1878 there were 17 banks, and in
1898 161 banks in operation. Savings banks
are regulated by the law of 1879, which placed
them under the jurisdiction of the Bank
Commissioner. Trust companies were authorized in
1883, but are prohibited from doing a general
banking business. In 1902 there were 128
national banks, with an aggregate capital of
$13,323,000; surplus, $2,952,000; cash, etc.,
$6,984,000; loans, $65,646,000; and deposits,
$65,797,000; 238 State banks with capital of
$7,360,700; surplus, $1,236,055; cash, $3,220,534;
loans, $38,100,783; and deposits, $41,283,240.
Finance. The Constitution of 1857 prohibited
debts for public improvement, and prohibited any
State debt above $250,000. But an amendment
in 1858 enabled the State to issue $5,000,000 of
7 per cent. bonds to lend to the railroads of the
State under guaranty of first mortgage bonds.
Less than half of these bonds were sold, the
railroads defaulted the interest on their mortgage
bonds, and the State acquired their property by
foreclosure. Nevertheless the State was unable
to meet the interest payment, and in 1860 the
debt on these bonds was repudiated. The obligations
were resumed in 1881, when the old bonds
were exchanged for new ones at the rate of 50
per cent. This gave the State a debt of $4,253,000,
which was quickly reduced in the eighties,
amounting to $2,154,000 in 1890 and $2,009,000
in 1901. The original constitutional prohibition
of State debts is in force and no further extension
of the debt is possible. The budget rose
rapidly from less than a million in 1870 to more
than five millions in 1890, and in 1901 the
receipts amounted to $8,901,184, and disbursements
to $6,900,841, leaving a balance of $2,000,343.
The receipts included the permanent school fund,
$1,258,127; the general school fund, $1,906,670;
the general university fund, $429,479; and the
revenue fund, $4,457,708.
Population. The population of Minnesota by
decades is as follows: 1850, 6077; 1860, 172,023;
1870, 439,706; 1880, 780,773; 1890, 1,301,826;
1900, 1,751,394. The rank of the State has risen
every decade, standing nineteenth in 1900. The
largest absolute gain was in the decade 1880-90.
From 1890 to 1900 the increase amounted to 34.5
