Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/106

 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

1880 is not to be questioned beyond allowance for a premium on gold of 25 per cent, in 1870. That is, during the decade of war, in which for nearly half the period more than a million of the most vigorous of our population North and South were with- drawn from productive pursuits to turn their energies to destruc- tion, while the remainder of the population was chiefly employed in production of war material that went up in smoke, there was a larger increase in the national wealth than in the decade of peace and productive toil which preceded. In support of this absurd assertion, utterly regardless of the facts, Mr. Gannett declares that the growth of agricultural, manufacturing, and other interests does not indicate so great an increase of wealth. 1

Accurate information regarding the growth of capital and wealth seems absolutely necessary to the formation of an intel- ligent opinion regarding the merits of systems of taxation and finance. That our census has failed to furnish this is admitted in the remarks of the recently issued Census Volume of Wealth and Taxation which may be epitomized as follows :

1 As appears by the Census of 1860 and other official sources these interests for the census years 1850 and 1860 were as follows :

,

1850

1860

ft -j 271 ^7^ 426

$6 64^ 04^ 007

Value of farming implements and machinery. . . Manufacturing capital

151,587,638

ceo 24^; ^m

247,127,496 I OOQ 8$$ 71 ^

Tonnage of merchant marine

-\ C2i; 41:4

c q2C AC*

Tonnage of American vessels engaged in foreign trade

I 43Q 6Q4

2 37Q 3Q6

Exports of gold and silver and domestic merchan- dise. . ....

1^6 Q46 QI2

770 180 274

Imports of gold and silver and domestic mer- chandise

178 1^8.^18

762 1 66 2"?4

8 t;88

20 co8

Value of railroads (cost)

296 260 128

I I 34 4 ^2 QOO

Number of banks

872

I 562

lianking capital

227 460 074

421 880 095

412 607 6^3

OQI Q4C c8o

According to the figures of the Census of 1890 the value of farms and improve- ments amounted to $10,096,776 in 1880 and $13,279,252,649 in 1890. The increase in value of farms from 1850 to 1860 was thus considerably greater than from 1880 to 1890, and almost as great as in the twenty years, 1860 to 1880.