TREND IN MASSACHUSETTS INDUSTRIES 3 



time. Out of a total of 355 Massachusetts cities and towns, there were only 

 142 with statistics available from 1837, or from the time they became quali- 

 fied, up to recent years. 



About 200 towns are not included in the graphic presentation, either because 

 they had no industries to qualify for census enumeration or because the figures 

 were given for a very limited period of time or because they had some irregu- 

 larities which made them inadequate for presentation. 



Because of the lack of adequate State figures, the statistics from 1905 to 

 1927 were compiled on the basis of the United States Census of Manufactures. 

 The Federal Census differed from the State Census by omission of the follow- 

 ing: (1) Establishments idle throughout the year or reporting products valued 

 at less than $500; (2) those industries engaged principally in work for indi- 

 vidual customers; (3) building industries other than those manufacturing 

 building materials for general trade; (4) neighborhood industries, hand trades 

 in which little or no power machinery was used; (5) cotton ginneries; (6) 

 small grain mills; (7) wholesale and retail stores which incidentally manu- 

 factured on a small scale: (8; educational and penal institutions. The Bien- 

 nial Census of Manufactures and the Annual Report of the Department of 

 Labor and Industries of Massachusetts adopted the principle of enumerating 

 only those establishments which reported products to the value of $5,000 or 

 more. 



In general, the tendency from one period of enumeration to another has 

 been to eliminate from consideration some very small establishments — small 

 shops either representing a purely family affair or having not more than one 

 or two employees. For most of the towns the general trend in the number of 

 industrial establishments was upward until 1895. From 1905 to the end of 

 the period very few towns added to the number of establishments, most of 

 them either remaining stable or showing a decline. A sharp decline in the 

 number of establishments between 1895 and 1905, as registered on the charts, 

 is due primarily to the change in the statistical basis of the census enumera- 

 tion, which should be taken into consideration in interpreting that period. 



The actual trend of industrial development in individual towns is shown 

 more adequately by the curve representing the number of employees. This 

 gives a more accurate idea of what happened in individual towns, inasmuch 

 as elimination of small industries with one or two employees does not affect 

 considerably the general trend in the total number of employees. 



In presenting the historical trend of the several items connected with the 

 industries the index method seemed to be the best, inasmuch as the absolute 

 figures differed widely from one city or town to another, and would require 

 the introduction of different scales on the charts. The year 1895, indicated 

 as 100, was taken as the base period whenever figures were available. This 

 was about the middle point of the period, and was in many cases the turning 

 point as far as the number of employees and establishments was concerned. 



