Of the six great articles here enumerated as the chief requisites of manufacturing, the United States is the world’s largest producer of all except wool. Of cotton, the United States produces three-fourths of the world’s entire supply; of copper, fully one-half; of pig iron and steel, the United States produces 40 per cent of the world’s entire supply; and in 1907 produced more than Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium combined, these three countries being, in the order named, the world’s next largest producers of pig iron. Of timber and wood suitable for use in manufacturing, the United States is the world’s largest producer at the present time. Of wool, the United States is only exceeded in its production by Australasia, Argentina and Russia, its total product being in 1901, 302 million pounds against 360 million in Russia, including Poland, Argentina, 370 million, and Australasia, 510 million.
In transportation, for assembling these great natural products for use in manufacturing, the facilities in the United States by far surpass those of any other country. The railroads have grown from 30 thousand miles in 1860 to 53 thousand miles in 1870, 93 thousand miles in 1880, 166 thousand miles in 1890, and 240 thousand miles in 1908, giving to the United States two-fifths of the entire railway mileage of the world; while in transportation upon the Great Lakes the registered tonnage of vessels passing through the Sault Ste. Marie Canal alone in 1907 was 44 million tons, or practically three times as much as the tonnage passing through the Suez Canal in the same year.
Proportionately the growth in exports of manufactures has been even greater than that in production of manufactures. The census figures show that the gross value of manufactures produced in 1850 was, in round terms, 1 billion dollars, and in 1905, nearly 17 billion, so that the product of 1905 may be said to be about seventeen times as great as that of 1850; while the exportation of manufactures, which in 1850 was $17,580,456, was in 1908, $750,000,000, or forty-two times as great as in 1850, indicating that the percentage of growth in exportation has been more than twice as great as that in the production of manufactures.
Of the articles which form the great and growing export trade of the United States, those grouped under the term “manufactures” number over two hundred distinct articles, though many of these are included within the special groupings, such as agricultural implements, iron and steel manufactures, mineral oils, leather and its manufactures, etc. The group agricultural implements, for example, is subdivided into mowers and reapers, plows and cultivators, and “all other,” the latter term including numerous articles which are not of sufficient value to justify at present a separate statement. The group cotton manufactures includes cloths colored and uncolored, wearing apparel,
waste cotton, and all other. The group iron and steel includes pig iron, bar iron, wire rods, billets, ingots and blooms, hoop, band and scroll iron, rails for railways, tin plates, structural iron and steel, wire, locks, hinges, saws and tools, car wheels, castings, table cutlery, firearms, cash registers, electrical machinery, laundry machinery, metal-working machinery, printing presses, pumps and pumping machinery, shoe machinery, locomotives (stationary and railway), typewriters, nails (cut and wire), pipes, safes, scales, stoves and ranges, each of which is separately stated, and following these a class “all other,” which includes the less important articles not separately enumerated. Under the group leather and its manufactures are included sole leather, glazed, kid, patent, split, and other upper leather, boots and shoes, harness and saddles. Under the general title of refined or manufactured mineral oils are included naphthas, illuminating oil, and lubricating and heavy paraffin oil. Under the general title of musical instruments are included organs, pianos, and all other. Paper and its manufactures include paper hangings, printing paper, writing paper, envelopes, and all other. Manufactures of tobacco include cigars and cigarettes, plug tobacco, and all other. Wood manufactures include doors, sash and blinds; furniture; hogsheads and barrels; trimmings, moldings and other house finishings; woodenware, wood pulp, and all other. Wool manufactures include carpets, dress goods, flannels and blankets, wearing apparel, separately stated, and all other.
Taking up the various groups or classes, and with them the articles which are not subdivided, it may be said that thirty general articles show a total exceeding $1,000,000 in the exports of recent years. Exports of iron and steel manufactures as a whole amounted in 1908 to 184 million dollars; manufactured or refined mineral oils, 99 million; copper manufactures, 100 million; cotton manufactures, 25 million; leather and its manufactures, 27 million;
agricultural implements, 24 million; chemicals, drugs and dyes, 21 million; cars and carriages, 22 million; paraffin, 8 million; paper and its manufactures, 8 million; tobacco manufactures, 5 million; scientific instruments, 11 million; fiber manufactures, 5 million; india-rubber manufactures, 7½ million; books, maps and engravings, 6 million.
Tracing the more important of these articles through the period from 1790 to 1908 it may be said that iron and steel manufactures, which began their record in 1790 with a total exportation of $117,060, did not reach $1,000,000 until 1840, when the total export was $1,127,877. Even in 1850 it was only $1,953,702, but by 1860 was $5,870,114; in 1870, $13,483,163; in 1880, $14,716,524; in 1890, $25,542,208, and in the decade from 1890 to 1900 it increased nearly fourfold, the total for 1908 being $183,982,182 against $25,542,208 in 1890. The growth in the exportation of manufactures of iron and steel has been more strongly marked than that in any other important article of export except copper. It has been coincidental with the development of the great iron mines of the United States and the production of pig iron and steel.
The next article in the order of its magnitude in our exportations is refined mineral oil, which only became an article of export after the great oil discoveries in the decade 1860-1870. Its first appearance in the list of exports was in 1864, in which year the total amounted to $6,918,502, the small quantities exported in preceding years not having separately enumerated in the list of articles exported. The value of the exportations of mineral oil increased very rapidly, the total for 1864 being slightly less than 7 millions; for 1865, nearly 10 millions; 1866, over 18 millions; 1867, 22 millions; 1870, 30 millions; 1880, 34 millions; 1890, 44 millions; 1900, 68 millions, and 1908, 99 millions.
Copper, which forms the third article in rank in the exports of manufactures, is of recent date as an article of importance in the export trade. The existence of large copper deposits in the United States had been known for many years, but it was only upon the greatly increased demand for copper owing to the developments in the use of electricity as a motive power that the world began to demand copper in greatly increased quantities; and to this demand the mines of the United States promptly responded. The copper production of the United States had never reached as much as 20,000 tons prior to 1877. By 1887 it was 81,000 tons; by 1897, 220,000 tons; and in 1907, 410,000 tons. The most strongly marked increase occurred during the period of 1890-1907, the production of 1890 being 115,000 tons, and in 1907, 410,000 tons. The growth in exportation was coincidental with the growth in production. The value of copper manufactures exported in 1890 was but $2,349,392; in 1891, it was $4,614,597; in 1892, $7,226,392; in 1895, $14,468,703; in 1896, $19,720,104; in 1897, $31,621,125; and in 1908, $104,064,580 or nearly fifty times as much in 1908 as in 1890.