1893 - State Library Information Center

UNITED STATES CENSUS, 1890.the factory of the total product for the year, not including anyallowance for commissions or expenses of selling. The diflercncebetween the apparent coat and the value of manufacturedproduct aa presented cannot be taken as a correct indication ofmanufacturers' net profits, because many items of expense enterinto the mercantile portiou of the business, which branch is notwithin the scope of the census inquiry.The products of one industry frequently become the materialsfor another, the repetition being continued through several processesof manufacture, thus constantly adding to the total valueof products by the duplication and inclusiou of the cost of theoriginal materials. This duplication is unavoidable, and isstatistically correct; but the reported aggregate value of productscannot be considered as a correct indication of the contributionto the wealth of the country by manufacturing processes. Thetotal value of products reported tor the United States in 1890was $9,370,107,624; but the contribution to the wealth of thecountry is more nearly shown by deducting from this amount$5,158,868,353, the cost of materials used, leaving $4,211,239,271as the increased value of the raw materials.*The introduction to Extra Census Bulletin, No. 67, from whichthe foregoing remarks are largely taken, further observes that itwas found impracticable to make a complete canvass of the entireUnited States for the collection of statistics pertaining to thegeneration of electricity for lighting and power purposes; thedata concerning this industry were, therefore, confined to theState of New York, the city of St. Louie, Mo,, and the Districtof Columbia. A large number of reports was received fromdentists, which purported to represent only the mechanical work;but it was evident that in many cases operative dentistry hadbeen included. This fact, combined with the strenuous objectionon the part of the profession to give any information whatever ofthe character required by the census schedule, caused the furtherdiscontinuance of the effort to obtain reports for the mechanicalbranch of the profession.The individual returns were classified by the Census office accordingto the product of chief value; but some differences, which* From Extra Census Bulletin, No. 67.