Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/720

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

NORTH CAROLINA.

616

NORTH CAROLINA.

creased 196.7 per cent., amounting in 1900 to 29.9 per cent. of the total value of the products of the State. The cotton manufactures employed 42.9 per cent. of the wage-earners, the rank of North Carolina during that period rising from tenth to third in the value of this product, Massachusetts and South Carolina alone exceeding it. North Carolina was exceeded by Massachusetts alone in the number of wage-earners in this branch of industry. The spindles now running annually consume an amount of cotton almost equal to the crop grown in the State. The industry is carried on for the most part by small mills scattered over the Commonwealth. The value of cottonseed oil and cake increased over 400 per cent. in the decade 1890-1900.

A number of other important industries are included in the group dependent upon agricultural products, the manufactures of tobacco being of greatest importance. This is one of the earliest established industries in the State. North Carolina has a wide reputation for certain brands of smoking tobacco and cigarettes. The value of the product increased 184.7 per cent. from 1890 to 1900. The manufacture of flour and grist-mill products is another large and flourishing industry. The tanning and currying of leather developed from comparative insignificance into an industry of some prominence during 1890-1900. The following table of the leading industries explains itself:

INDUSTRIES

Year

Number of
establishments

Average
number
wage-earners

Value of products
including custom
work and repairing

Total for selected industries for State

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

4,071

55,642

$77,351,282

1890

2,068

24,045

28,707,151

Increase, 1890 to 1900

......

2,003

31,597

$48,644,131

Per cent. of increase

......

96.9

131.4

169.4

Per cent. of total of all industries in State

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

56.3

78.8

81.5

1890

56.4

71.5

71.1

Cotton goods

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

177

30,273

$28,372,798

1890

91

8,515

9,563,443

Cottonseed oil and cake

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

21

564

2,676,871

1890

11

318

529,746

Tobacco—chewing, smoking, and snuff

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

80

6,403

13,620,816

1890

90

6,002

4,783,481

Flouring and grist-mill products

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

1,773

1,019

8,867,462

1890

1,039

1,124

5,279,068

Leather—tanned, curried, and finished

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

75

366

1,502,378

1890

55

107

190,887

Fertilizers

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

18

427

1,497,625

1890

12

343

994,135

Cars and general shop construction and repairs	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$
by steam railroad companies

1900

12

1,141

1,511,376

1890

9

434

393,576

Lumber and timber products

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

1,770

11,751

14,862,593

1890

713

6,466

5,898,742

Lumber, planing-mill products,	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$
including sash, doors, and blinds

1900

101

1,939

2,892,058

1890

42

584

915,070

Furniture, factory product

\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}

1900

44

1,759

1,547,305

1890

6

152

159,000

Forests and Forest Products. The total wooded area in 1900 was 35,300 square miles, or 73 per cent. of the State's area. Over a portion of this the best timber, particularly the oak and poplar, has been removed. Extensive areas of yellow pine have been cut, and the bulk of the lumber product consists of this variety. The cypress forests have contributed but little to the lumber supply. In 1901 an examination in the mountain regions was made, and the report estimated the stand of timber at 10,650,000,000 feet, of which 41.41 per cent. was oak, 17.20 chestnut, and 5.30 hemlock. The value of the lumber product increased from less than $1,000,000 in 1850 to $5,898,742 in 1890, and $14,862,593 in 1900. The dependent industries—the manufactures of planing-mill products, etc.—made large gains in the decade 1890-1900, as is shown in the above table. The turpentine and resin product was valued at over $1,000,000 in 1900.

Transportation and Commerce. The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad Company was the first to begin construction, in 1836. This and the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad were completed in 1840. The most active decade in railroad construction was 1880-90, when the mileage increased from 1846 to 3128 miles. In 1900 there were 3732 miles in operation. The major part of the mileage belongs to the three principal systems, namely: The Seaboard Air Line (614 miles), the Atlantic Coast Line (949 miles), and the Southern (1226 miles). A number of the rivers are navigable through the coast plain region, and together with the coast waters are of considerable importance in the local commerce. There are two customs districts—Wilmington and Pamlico. The former ranks eighth among the Atlantic districts in the value of its foreign trade, the greater part of which consists of exports.


	National banks	State banks	Private banks	Savings banks

Number	38	81	21	14

Capital	$3,280,000	$2,858,000	$205,000	..............
Surplus	1,073,000	551,000	95,000	$28,000
Cash, etc.	951,000	1,029,000	77,000	85,000
Deposits	8,978,000	9,403,000	925,000	2,451,000
Loans	11,437,000	10,020,000	902,000	2,399,000

Banks. There were no banks in North Carolina until 1804, when two were chartered. The State subscribed for shares in both. The State Bank of North Carolina was organized in 1810 in Raleigh, with branches in six towns. In this bank also the State was heavily interested, as its notes were the main currency in the Commonwealth. There were 31 banks in 1861, but the