THE GROWTH OF THE UNITED STATES 383 



in American bottoms also was stimulated, and its increase for a 

 time almost kept pace with the growth of railroading ; but the 

 natural conditions which rendered the railway a necessity did 

 not force genius and capital toward ship-building and maritime 

 commerce, and, when internal conditions checked these activi- 

 ties in the early '60s, they were not resumed but permitted to 

 fall into foreign hands. Accordingly there is a single element 

 of American growth which is of negative character, a single di- 

 rection in which the less brilliant genius of non-American pro- 

 moters has been allowed to sap American strength, as shown by 

 the curves representing the American carrying trade in Amer- 

 ican and foreign bottoms from 1820 to 1897. 



The growth of the nation is indicated in an external or super- 

 ficial way by the increase in area, population, and commercial 

 agencies, and that growth has been unprecedented in uniformity 

 and rapidity, as indicated by the lines in the diagram ; yet the 

 essential elements of American growth cannot be expressed in 

 square miles of area, in linear miles of railway and waterway, 

 in transportation tonnage, or in other definite units ; the real 

 growth lies in the development of enterprise, intellectual and 

 moral and physical vigor, or, in brief, intelligent individuality. 

 The strength of America is indeed faintly suggested by broad 

 territorial expanse, teeming millions of people, and half the rail- 

 ways of the world ; the real strength lies in the immeasurable 

 capabilities of individuals, who have already made noble con- 

 quest of nature's forces; and there are no units for measur- 

 ing the spontaneous powers of freemen united by common im- 

 pulse in the common task of elevating mankind and bettering 

 the world. While there 1§ no direct way of measuring the indi- 

 viduality — much less the unity — -of the American people, there 

 are certain values indicating this quality even more clearly than 

 area or population ; one of these is wealth, individual and col- 

 lective* Unfortunately, early figures for the expression of wealth 



* Mulhall's latest estimates of national wealth in the several countries are as follows : 



United States $81,750,000,000 



Great Britain 59,030,000,000 



France 47,950,000,000 



Germany 40,260,000,000 



Russia 32,125,000,000 



Austria 22,560,000,000 



Italy 15,800,000,000 



Spain 11,300,000,000 



These computations are based upon values as shown by real-estate records, buildings, 

 merchandise, and railways, as well as the circulating medium in each nation. — Finan- 

 cial Review, vol. vii, No. 9, 1S9S, p. 5. 



