Tory

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

MUCH USED FOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE SKY Photo, International Film Service STUDYING THE STARS THROUGH THE 26-INCH TELESCOPE Photo, Ewing Galloway PORTLAND CEMENT WORKS NEAR HOUSTON, TEXAS by the war. In 1919 about 75 new cotton mills or large additions were built in the United States, the yarn industry in the division making the greatest gain, 22 new mills being listed under hosiery and five under coarse yarns. In 1919 there were 289 new textile mills erected in the United States. In cotton manufacturing the mills of Lancashire have long held the yield, though the development of the textile industries in the United States is likely before long to carry supremacy to this side of the Atlantic. The United States for a number of years has spun more pounds of raw material, but the spindles have run mostly on the coarse or medium-sized yarns. Wool is grown and manufactured in various countries, and Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria Hungary, with one or two adjacent countries produce all except about one-sixth of the wool produced in Europe. England, Ireland and Scotland between them have perhaps the most important woolen industries. France produces a finer quality of woolen cloth than the United ed States, which is gradually assuming, on the other hand, a leading position in the carpet industry, which consumes large quantities of wool. In no line in this group of industries, perhaps, is the United States progressing more rapidly than in the manufacture of silk, in which it now surpasses all other countries. Already in the early years of d France the present century it surpassed in the value of the product, in spite of the fact that the industry in this country dates back little further than the year 1870. The only serious competitors of the United States in this field that remain are China and Japan, whose exact status cannot be determined as reliable statistics are not available in regard to either. Japan in 1919 was reported as acquiring high-power looms and modern equipment for her silk factories, and was estimated to be manufacturing over 100 per cent more silk than she manufactured in previous years. Raw silk comes to the United States mainly from China, Japan and Italy, and from these and other countries were imported in 1918 an estimated total of 32,86 32,865,453 pounds. In the 10 months ending October, 1919, Japan alone provided the United States with $194,000,000 worth of raw silk out of the $251,000,000 worth imported in the 10 months ending with October. China sent $45,000,000 worth; Italy $11,000,000; while the imports from other countries were less than $1,000,000 worth. In 1919 manufacturers of silk in the United States had to pay higher prices for raw silk from other countries than in the previous years. In spite of the fact the value of imports of raw silk was the largest on record, exceeding $300,000,000 as against $180,000,000 in 1918, $156,- 000,000 in 1917, and $120,000,000 in 1916. The amount, despite the higher cost, was greater than in all the preceding years. The price of raw silk imported was the highest recorded averaging $8.42 per pound in October, as against an average of $3 per pound in 1915. In the United States in 1920 the demand for silk goods continued as strong as ever, and the volume of business recorded was greater than in any previous year.