Manufactures. Manufacturing is of much
importance, 74,800 wage-earners, or 10.8 per cent.
of the population, being engaged in this line in
1900. The percentage of the population thus
occupied has increased continuously in the last
half century. It was only 4.8 in 1850. The total
value of the product in 1900 was $127,361,000.
The development of the manufacturing
industry is due to the extensive water power
afforded by the numerous rivers of the State
and also to the excellent commercial advantages
offered by the harbors, and, in later
years, by the railways. The factories are
located, almost without exception, along the rivers
or on the coast, and most of them are run
by water power. The manufacture of textiles—cotton
and woolen goods—leads in
importance. Both cotton and woolen mills were in
operation during the early years of the
nineteenth century. The cotton mills of to-day are
all west of the Kennebec River. Lewiston is the
chief centre. The woolen mills are more widely
distributed, but also derive their power from
the streams. The manufactures of cotton show
a slight decrease in value during the decade
1890-1900. This is probably due in part to the
increasing competition of the Southern States.
Shipbuilding formerly depended upon the
forests for its supplies, but with the increased use of
steel in vessel construction, the shipbuilding
industry of Maine has declined. The industry is
one of the oldest in the State, a vessel having
been built as early as 1608. For a long time
Maine held first rank in the industry, and indeed
constructed more than half of all the sea-going
vessels of the nation. At Bath, the principal
shipbuilding centre, the construction of steel
vessels has attained considerable importance.
The leather industry also dates from an early
period. It was one of the State's leading
industries between the years 1861 and 1870. The
bark of the hemlock was used in tanning, and the
industry is declining as the supply of this bark
becomes scarcer. Other noteworthy industries
are represented by the foundries and machine
shops and printing and publishing houses. The
following table gives a comparison of the chief
industries for the years indicated:
INDUSTRIES
Year
Number of establishments
Wage-earners— average number
Value of products, including custom work and repairing
Total for selected industries for State
1900
1,689
43,730
$73,368,312
1890
1,580
39,651
54,631,124
Increase 1890 to 1900
......
109
4,079
$18,737,188
Per cent. of increase
......
6.9
10.3
34.3
Per cent. of total of all industries in State
1900
25.2
58.5
57.6
1890
31.5
56.3
57.1
Cotton goods
1900
15
13,723
$14,631,086
1890
23
13,912
15,316,909
Fish, canning and preserving
1900
117
5,567
4,779,733
1890
35
2,342
1,660,881
Flouring and grist-mill products
1900
227
192
3,399,832
1890
210
262
3,254,690
Foundry and machine-shop products
1900
112
2,143
3,298,706
1890
82
1,768
2,628,572
Leather, tanned, curried, and finished
1900
31
587
2,451,713
1890
51
852
3,363,672
Lumber and timber products
1900
838
6,834
13,489,401
1890
894
11,540
11,849,654
Paper and wood pulp
1900
35
4,851
13,223,275
1890
17
1,509
3,281,051
Printing and publishing, newspapers and periodicals
1900
120
1,309
2,190,017
1890
105
949
1,719,477
Ship and boat building, wooden
1900
115
1,369
2,491,765
1890
85
1,450
2,818,565
Wool manufactures
1900
79
7,155
13,412,784
1890
78
5,067
8,737,653
Transportation and Commerce. Maine is the
only one of tlie New England States in which
there was a large railroad construction in the
last decade of the nineteenth century. This mileage
increased from 1377 miles in 1800 to 1928
in 1900. Prior to this decade railway construction
had been confined mainly to the central and
southwestern parts of the State. During that
decade the Bangor and Aroostook line was built
into the northeast counties, and its influenoe
was largely responsilile for the rapid development
of the forest and farming industries which
has taken place in that section. The Canadian
Pacific crosses the State from east to west. The
construction of electric railways, including interurban
lines, is increasing rapidly. The electric
railway mileage in 1901 aggregated 280 miles.
Among the many fine harbors, that of Portland
(Casco Bay), especially, is easy of access, deep,
large, and well protected, and is often
unobstructed by ice when harbors farther west and
south are frozen over. Lines of steamers ply
regularly between the largest cities of the State
and Boston; also between Portland and New
York, Saint John, N. B., and Halifax.
For the year ending June 30, 1901, the exports
from the Portland and Falmouth customs district
amounted to $12,403,958 and the imports to
$633,114. The chief imports are coal, fish, sugar,
iron, molasses, and wool; the chief exports are
