MANUFACTURES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



499 



A comparison of the above totals for the 

 United States with those returned by the cen- 

 sus of 1870 shows the following: 



Gas, which is excluded from the returns of 

 1880, is included in those for 1870. The num- 

 ber of gas-works returned in 1870 was 390 ; 

 capital invested, $71,773,694; value of prod- 

 nets, $32,048,851. In all comparisons between 

 values reported in 1870 and in 1880, it should 

 be borne in mind that the values of 1870 were 

 expressed in a currency which was at a great 

 discount in gold. The average premium on 

 gold during the twelvemonths June 1,.1869, 



to May 31, 1870 which constituted the cen- 

 sus year, was almost exactly one fourth (25 '3) 

 per cent. A premium on gold of one fourth 

 is equal to a discount on currency of one fifth. 

 For purposes of comparison, therefore, the val- 

 ues of 1870 should be reduced in that ratio. 

 It is a noteworthy fact that in the face of a 

 large increase in the number of hands em- 

 ployed in manufactures, of the amount of ma- 

 terial consumed, and of the value of products, 

 the number of establishments shows hardly an 

 appreciable gain from 1870 to 1880, notwith- 

 standing an increase of 30 per cent in popula- 

 tion. This is attributed by the census authori- 

 ties to the well-known tendency to the con- 

 centration of labor and capital in large shopa 

 and factories. " The establishments of 1870," 

 says the report, " showed eight as the average 

 number of hands, and $8,400 as the average 

 amount of capital ; those of 1880 showed 10*7 

 as the average number of hands, and $10,992 

 as the average amount of capital. A good ex- 

 ample of the effect of this cause is found in the 

 coopers' trade, where, with a reduction in the 



