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most of them because of the severe strain to which they had been subjected during the money stringency depression of 1907-1908. A large manufactory of woolen goods located at Passaic, was closed because the firm "could make no profit on its particular line of goods in competition with larger concerns." The failures in a majority of instances were due to insufficient capital and the strain to which the credit of the firms involved was subjected during the long continued depression. The reports state that all debts and claims growing out of these unsuccessful business enterprises were paid in full.

The statistics of manufactures are divided into eighty-eight general industry classifications, each of them including from four to one hundred and eighty-two establishments, and one large group under the heading "unclassified," numbering ninety-two plants. Under the "unclassified" group are many varieties of industry outside of these in the regular industry classifications, but for the reason that not more than two of them in any case are engaged in producing the same line of goods, distinct headings indicative of the character of their products cannot be given to any of them. The rule that has been invariably followed in the compilation of these statistics, is to group not less than three establishments under any one heading. Failure to observe this precaution might lead to an exposure of a manufacturer's business to unauthorized persons, and would be a violation of the pledge of absolute secrecy under which individual reports are obtained. To guard against the possibility of such exposure, every possible precaution is taken. The tables as published are in the form of abstracts containing only the totals relating to each industry, and the figures reported by any one establishment cannot by any possible means be separated from those of the industry group with which it is merged.

The presentation is arranged in the form with which all who follow these annual statistics of manufactures are familiar, that is to say, there are ten general tables which show for each industry:

First, the character of management, whether the same be by corporation, partnership or individual owner, and the number of establishments controlled by each form of ownership, with the number of stockholders, private partners, and individual owners.

Second, the total amount of capital invested, and the various forms and purposes for which it is employed—that is to say, how much in machinery, tools and implements used in manufacturing; how much in land and buildings, and how much in cash on hand, in bank, or in outstanding accounts.

Third, the cost value of all stock or material used in manufacture that is to say, the merchandise consumed in the operation of the works, such as fuel for power and heating purposes, gas, electricity, or other means of illumination, oil, cotton waste, packing cases, etc., and the material which forms the bases of and is worked into the finished goods, such as leather in a shoe factory and raw silk in a silk mill. This table contains also the selling value of goods made or work done.

Fourth, the greatest, least, and average number of persons employed, classified as men, 16 years old and over; women, 16 years old and over; and young persons of either sex under the age of 16 years.

Fifth, the average number of persons employed by months, divided as to sex and age, the same as in table number four.

Sixth, the total amount paid in wages, and the average yearly earnings per employee.

Seventh, the classified weekly earnings of all classes of wage earners-men, women and young persons of either sex.

Eighth, the number of days in operation, the average number of hours worked per day and per week, and the amount of overtime worked, if any.

Ninth, the proportion of business done, or the extent to which the year's operations of the plants grouped under each industry heading approached their full productive capacity.

Tenth, the power used; number and character of engines and motors in use, together with the aggregate driving capacity in horse power of each and all varieties.

Incidental to the analysis of the ten general tables which follows, are several briefer compilations in which the data for twenty-five selected industries are compared with those of 1908; and the increases or decreases shown to have taken place are noted in absolute numbers and also by percentages.

These selected industries are chosen for the purposes of the annual statistical comparisons because of their being the most important in the entire industry classification in respect to number of establishments, number of wage earners employed, amount paid in wages, and selling value of products.

The importance and value to the State of these annual statistics as the only existing means of showing the growth and progress of our great industrial interests from year to year, cannot be overestimated. Without them we should have no official record of our standing as a manufacturing commonwealth, except the latest published reports of the United States Census, from which no suggestion whatever can be obtained of the expansion that

has taken place during all the years between the date to which they apply, and the next census period.

The National Government itself, recognizing the inadequacy of the ten year census, has provided by law for a special count of manufactures every five years, the first of which was made in 1905. This change is a distinct recognition of the value of the yearly census, and indicates a desire on the part of the Federal Government to place its own investigations as nearly as possible on the same basis.

The comparisons are really very complete, for although the totals of only twenty-five industries are specifically presented side by side, much more than half the number of establishments and a much larger proportion of all the other totals included in the compilation, are among them. Then too, both years aggregate totals of the industries not included in these twenty-five, are brought together and compared under the title "other industries," and finally a comparison is made in which all establishments embraced in the compilation, are included. In this way the trend of industrial activity from year to year is clearly shown, and the space occupied by the tables is not more than one-half that which would be required for a direct comparison of separate totals of each of the eighty-nine general industries, with those of the previous year.

ANALYSIS OF THE GENERAL TABLES.

Table No. I shows the form of ownership controlling the establishments included in each of the eighty-nine industry classifications; the number owned by corporations, with the stockholders -male, female and trustees of estates of minors; the number of establishments owned by partnerships, private firms and individuals, with the number of partners-male, female and special who are interested in them.

As stated in previous publications of these statistics, the experience of the Bureau has been that in the case of many of the largest corporations, particularly those operating branch works elsewhere, it is practically impossible to secure a statement of the number of stockholders that will be, even for the date on which it is rendered, approximately correct. The very obvious reason for this is that the securities of these corporations are constantly changing hands through the medium of purchase and sale on the stock markets; for this reason the officials who usually fill out the annual statistical reports are not in a position to state accurately the number of persons among whom the stock of their respective corporations may be distributed at any particular time.

Such securities change hands very frequently and the aggregate holdings of one hundred investors to-day may have been a few days ago, the property of only one person. However, the best that could be done in the matter was to accept as correct the showing of the stock books of these corporations when their latest elections were held.

Of the 2,291 establishments considered, 751, or 32.8 per cent. are controlled either by private firms, partnerships, or individual owners, and 1,540, or 67.2 per cent., are under the corporate form of management. This represents a gain for corporate management of I.1 per cent., as compared with 1908, and as a matter of course, there has been a corresponding percentage of reduction in private management. In 1907 the percentage of establishments under private management was 35.7, and plants under the corporate form of administration, 64.3 per cent., which shows that during the past two years corporate management has grown and private management diminished to the extent of 2.9 per cent., or an average of only a small fraction less than one and one-half per cent. per year. One year after another since the commencement of these annual statistics of manufactures, shows the same slow but steadily maintained movement in the corporate form of organization, which, under our laws, favors investors very materially, by limiting liability to the par value of stock held. That it promotes efficiency and economy of administration by bringing ample capital and the highest degree of technical skill to the prosecution of industrial enterprise, there can be no question. Another important merit of the system is, that under its operation, both the risks and the advantages of business, its losses and its profits, are distributed among so many that the participators are not, generally speaking, impoverished by occasional reverses, or unduly enriched by success. The reasonableness of this observation will be apparent when we consider the actual number of persons concerned in the ownership of establishments under both forms of organization.

The number of partners and individual owners in the 751 noncorporate concerns is 1,313, an average of only 1.7 per establishment. Of these, 1,243, or 94.6 per cent. are men; 50, or 3.8 per cent. are women; 6, or .5 per cent. are children, and 14, or I.I per cent. are estates of dead partners.

The stockholders in the 1,540 corporately managed establishments reaches the striking total of 103,824, which is an average of 67.4 individual stockholders for each establishment. This exhibit of comparative popularity should interest all who do not look with favor on centralization of power, whether the same be

in commerce, finance, or industry; less than two owners per establishment under private, and more than sixty-seven per establishment under corporate management.

As stated above, the stockholders in corporations number 103,824; of these, 62,059, or 59.7 per cent. are men; 35,957, or 34.7 per cent. are women; and 5,808, or 5.6 per cent. are banks or other fiduciary concerns acting as trustees for estates and trust funds, mostly the property of minor orphans.

The aggregate number of partners and stockholders concerned in the ownership of the entire 2,291 establishments considered is 105,137. In 1908, the number was 94,841, an increase in one year of 10,296, or nearly 10 per cent., all but fifty-one being stockholders in corporations.

The table which follows shows the changes in the character of management during the year 1909.

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Table No. 2 shows the aggregate amount of capital invested in each industry, and the total for all industries considered. The table shows three distinct classifications and subdivisions of invested capital, viz.: That which is in "land and buildings," in "machinery and tools," and that which is represented by "bills receivable, stock in process of manufacture, and cash in bank" at the time of filling out the establishment reports.

The aggregate total of capital invested in all industries is shown by the table to be $715,926,268, and three establishments of the total number considered, failed to report this item. The amount invested in lands and buildings is $186,105,363, or 26 per cent. of the total; the value of machinery, tools and implements, is $167,762,764, or 23.4 per cent. of the total; and the value of bills receivable, stock in process of manufacture, cash in bank and all other forms of invested capital is $362,058,181, or 50.6 per cent. of the total.

The capital invested in land and buildings is reported only by such manufacturers as own the property occupied by their plants, and omitted entirely by the large number who hold the same on lease or rental. The value of the aggregate property thus passed

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