MISSOURI 



3860 



MISSOURI 



to the recent development of the fields in Kan- 

 sas and Oklahoma the output is not of great 

 importance in the country's production. How- 

 ever, coal mining ranks third among the min- 

 eral industries of the state; over 10,000 miners 

 are employed and the average output exceeds 

 3,500,000 long tons. It is estimated that the 

 available supply is 83,820,000,000 tons. Clay 

 products, especially fire brick, are fourth in 

 importance. Portland cement is also among 

 the chief mineral products, the average annual 

 output exceeding $4,500,000 in value. Other 

 minerals found in considerable quantities are 

 copper, nickel, cobalt, silver, iron, granite, lime- 

 stone, sandstone and fine sand used in the 

 manufacture of glass. Iron Mountain is said 

 to be the largest known mass of pure iron in 

 the world. The average annual income from 

 the mineral products of the state exceeds $54,- 

 000,000. 



Laws have been passed requiring safe and 

 sanitary conditions in the mines, insurance 

 against industrial dangers such as lead poison- 

 ing, and restricting the labor in silica and glass- 

 works to eight hours a day. 



Manufactures. Besides these large agricul- 

 tural and mineral interests, Missouri has many 

 and important manufacturing industries. The 

 industrial prominence of the state is largely due 

 to its central location, excellent facilities for 

 transportation and abundance of raw materials 

 and fuel. Saint Louis, the chief industrial cen- 

 ter of the state, ranks fourth among the manu- 

 facturing cities of the Union, and Kansas City 

 and Saint Joseph are also centers of varied and 

 important branches of trade. The leading in- 

 dustry of the state, when measured by the value 

 of products, is slaughtering and meat packing, 

 though others exceed it in number. The largest 

 stockyards are at South Saint Joseph. Missouri 

 is surpassed only by Massachusetts in the 

 manufacture of boots and shoes, which also 

 ranks as the second industry in the state. This 

 has been of comparatively recent development, 

 increasing over 325 per cent between 1900 and 

 1910. The chief shoe manufactories are lo- 

 cated at Saint Louis, but the shoe-making in- 

 dustry is by no means confined to. that city, for 

 it has spread to many of the small cities and 

 towns. 



Third in importance are flour mill and grist- 

 mill products. Besides the large mills in the 

 cities, many small mills are located in the rural 

 districts. Other large industries in the order of 

 their importance are: printing and publishing; 

 the brewing iof liquors; the manufacture of 



lumber and timber products; foundry and ma- 

 chine shop work; the manufacture of clothing; 

 the roasting and grinding of coffee and spice; 

 the manufacture of bakery products, railroad 

 cars, pipes and tobacco. The smelting and 

 blast furnaces, the manufacture of glass, paints 

 and pottery and marble and stone work are im- 

 portant, and the manufacture of smoking pipes 

 is a distinctive industry of the state. Missouri 

 now ranks among the first ten manufacturing 

 states of the Union, the annual value of its 

 products being about $575,000,000. 



Laws were passed by the state in 1913, limit- 

 ing female labor in factories to fifty-four hours 

 per week, protecting trade unions and abolish- 

 ing trusts. In 1915 further industrial legislation 

 provided for safety precautions in large estab- 

 lishments. 



Transportation and Commerce. Transporta- 

 tion facilities are especially excellent in Mis- 

 souri, for besides having more navigable rivers 

 than any other state, it has exceptional rail- 

 road accommodations. Although there is still 

 much river traffic on the Mississippi between 

 Saint Louis and the Gulf, the railroads have 

 furnished cheaper and faster transportation for 

 much of the trade formerly carried by river 

 boats. Since the use of railroad transportation, 

 the trade in cotton especially has increased, and 

 Saint Louis has become one of the leading cot- 

 ton markets in the Union; having railroad con- 

 nection with all parts of the country, it is a 

 distributing point for many other products. A 

 network of railroads extends over the northern 

 section of the state and many trunk lines cross 

 the state to the south and west. The chief 

 roads are: the Missouri Pacific; Atchison, To- 

 peka & Santa Fe ; Saint Louis & San Francisco ; 

 Kansas City Southern; Chicago, Burlington & 

 Quincy; Chicago & Alton; Wabash; Missouri, 

 Kansas & Texas. The total mileage of steam 

 roads exceeds 8,100 miles, and the electric roads, 

 of which there are over 800 miles, are continu- 

 ally being extended. The railroads of the state 

 are regulated by a board of railroad commis- 

 sioners. In 1915 Missouri passed safety laws 

 abolishing railroad grade crossings in cities and 

 regulating the lighting and protecting of all 

 crossings. 



Missouri is taking an active part in the coun- 

 try-wide campaign for good highways, and 

 many of the notoriously muddy roads of the 

 state are being improved. There are over 8,000 

 miles of surfaced roads, and the state is crossed 

 by the Jefferson Highway, extending from New 

 Orleans to Canada. 



