10 



TABLE 4. COMPARATIVE SUMMARY: 1900, 1890, 1880, 1870 Continued. 



'In 1890 and 1900, for purposes of comparison, " Cost of materials used " includes wage* reported under the heads of "Logging" and " Cost of keep of animals." 

 See Dakota. 



OWNERSHIP. 



The revival of business near the close of the decade 

 is illustrated by the fact that 7,913 establishments, or 

 nearly one-fourth of the total number of 33,035, com- 

 menced operations during the census year. The 

 proportion of establishments which thus commenced 

 operations during the census year differed widely among 

 the different states. In the Northeastern states the 

 proportion of new establishments was less than the 

 average of the country. Of the Lake states, Minne- 

 sota was the only one which had a larger proportion 

 of new establishments than the entire country, while 

 in every state in the Southern pine belt the proportion 

 was greater than that of the United States. On the 

 other hand, it is a curious fact that of the three great 

 lumber states of the Pacific coast, Washington was the 

 only one which showed a greater proportion of new 

 establishments than the country. In view of the great 

 increase in the production in these states this situation 



can only be accounted for by the fact that the new 

 mills were of large capacity. 



A classification of the kind of ownership shows that 

 of the 33,035 establishments, 62 per cent were owned 

 by individuals, 31 per cent by firms, and 7 per cent by 

 chartered companies. The last are presumably the 

 largest establishments, and the proportion which they 

 bear in the different states to the total number may be 

 an indication of their magnitude. The largest propor- 

 tion of chartered companies is found in Washington, 

 with 25 per cent and in California, with 24 per cent, 

 while Oregon has only 15 per cent. Of the Lake states, 

 Minnesota and Wisconsin each have about 18 per cent, 

 while Michigan has but 11 per cent. Of the states in the 

 Southern pine belt, Louisiana has the highest propor- 

 tion of chartered concerns, 20 per cent; Arkansas, 13 

 per cent; Florida, 11 per cent; Texas, 9 per cent; Mis- 

 sissippi, S per cent; Alabama, 7 per cent. All the 

 other states in this belt have less than the average of 



