United States United States Live-stock. The abundant corn and hay crops of the United States and the very extensive grazing grounds of the region of prairies and plains give a great opportunity for the raising of live-stock. The leading cattle-breeding State is Texas; sheep-raising is most extensive on the elevated plains east of the Rocky Mountains and on the Pacific slope; Albany, which for the greater part of horses and mules are bred in great numbers in Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee, while hogs are raised in all the corngrowing States of the Central and Southern section. Slaughtering and beef and pork-packing are carried on very extensively in Chicago, and various other cities of the Middle West. The dairying industry of the country is very large and immense quantities of butter and several varieties of cheese are made. Manufactures.- The United States has become the foremost manufacturing country in the world, its supplies of coal and iron exceeding those of any other quarter of the globe, while the industry, inventive genius and enterprise of the people and the rapid development of facilities for transportation helped to advance the material interests of the country throughout the nineteenth century, and have given unquestioned industrial supremacy in the twentieth. Among the greatly varied manufacturing industries that of textiles stands high, the cotton and woolen manufacture being very flourishing, while in silk manufacture this country is becoming a rival of France. Knit goods are largely produced, while the pro'duction of ready-made clothing is a very active industry. Iron and steel production has reached a very high level, surpassing that of any other country, while the manufacture of iron and steel wares is most varied and abundant. Chief among these industries are the production of building steel, iron bridges, railroad iron and steel, locomotives, armor for steel-clad battleships, fire-arms, steel cars and machine-shop products in general. Other great fields of manufacture are those of electrical appliances, automobiles, agricultural implements, tin-plate, leather, boots and shoes, paper (the pulp for which consumes whole forests), pottery, furniture, flour, beet-sugar, beer, lumberproducts and many others. As for the smaller industries, they are innumerable. The value of manufactured goods has grown from $5,300,000,000 in 1880 to $20.600,000,000 in 1910. commerce the navigable inland waters of the country have been of immense value, in view of the fact that steam transportation was established upon them early in the history of the republic. Canals were early provided to add to the facilities in this direction, chief among these being the Erie Canal, from Buffalo to a century has been a valuable carrier of freight. But railroad development has largely replaced that by water in the inland commerce of the country. This began in 1830 with 23 miles of track. In 1900, seventy years later, it had grown to 194,334 miles. In 1912 it had reached nearly 250,000 miles, far surpassing in length that of any other country, and equaling that of all Europe. The foreign trade of the country has grown to great proportions, though it is much surpassed by the internal commerce. In the last century the great bulk of it consisted of agricultural products and meats, cotton being a leading article of export. Of recent years, however, this country has ceased to feed and clothe Europe to the extent of the past, the home demand having grown so greatly, especially for food stuffs, as to consume the great bulk of them, while several other countries are competing largely in wheat, and to a small extent in cotton. On the other hand the export of manufactured goods has grown until now these form a very considerable part of the goods sent abroad. At the beginning of the twentieth century the commerce of the United States was valued at about $2,500,000,000. In 1911 it reached total of about $3,500,000,000. Of this much the greater part were exports, the balance of trade in its favor being in 1900 about $500,000,000. It has decreased somewhat since then, but is still a notable amount. About two-thirds of the exports go to Europe, half this amount going to the British Isles. The bulk of the British purchases consists of cotton and food-stuffs. The exports of manufactured goods embrace iron and steel wares, leather, tobacco, oils, agricultural implements, copper manufactures, cotton goods, leather, wood prod ucts, etc. The imports include chemicals, cotton goods, fibers, fruits, furs, hides and skins, wool, tin-plate, india rubber, jewelry, silk goods, coffee, sugar, tea, tropical fruits and various other wares. a Government.- The government of the Commerce and Transportation. The United States is a federal republic based commerce of the United States has vied on the constitution of 1787, drawn up with its manufactures in development. by delegates from the thirteen original Transportation has been provided with States, and subsequently amended. The extraordinary rapidity. For internal constitution and modes of administration United States United States of the individual States bear a close re- interstate subjects of controversy and semblance to each other and to the na- has the power of invalidating the enact tional government. Each State main- ments of Congress, if it decides that they tains its independence, and by means of are not in conformity with the Constitu a State legislature and executive (vested tion. (See succeeding article on United in a governor) has complete manage- States, Political Development of the.) ment of its own affairs. The combined The governments of the States are based States have one supreme legislature, on a similar principle, each having its which takes the name of Congress, and Supreme Court, the decisions of which consists of a Senate and a House of are final on a constitutional question. Representatives. The Senate consists The Constitution can be amended only by of two members from each State elected a vote in favor of the proposed amendby its citizens for six years, one-third ment of two-thirds of each House, and of the whole body being renewable subsequently by the acceptance of threebiennially. The House of Representa- fourths of the States; or by the calling tives consists of members chosen for two of a constitutional convention on the deyears by the people of the several States, mand of two-thirds of the States, with in numbers proportioned to their popula- ratifying conventions in three-fourths of tion as ascertained by the decennial the States. While each State is guarcensus. The head of the executive power anteed a republican form of government, of the government is a President, elected and in general their governments are by the people and holding his office for based on the same principle as that of a term of four years, with a Vice-Presi- the national government, the territories, dent elected at the same time and for organized and unorganized, are under the the same term. Only persons born in the direct control of Congress, the organized United States and who have reached the ones being represented in Congress by age of 35 years are eligible to the presi- a delegate, who has no vote, and having dency. The President is commander-in- legislatures elected by their people. chief of the army and navy and of the militia in the service of the Union. He has the power of a veto on all laws passed by Congress; but, notwithstanding his veto, any bill may become a law on its being afterwards passed by each House of Congress by a two-thirds vote. The VicePresident is er officio President of the Senate. The presidential succession is fixed by Chapter 4 of the acts of the 49th Congress, 1st session. In case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and Vice President, then the Secretary of State shall act as President till the disability of the President or Vice-President is removed or a President is elected. If there be no Secretary of State, then the Secretary of the Treasury will act; and the remainder of the order of succession is; Secretary of War, Attorney-General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Interior (the offices of Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Labor, were created after the passage of the act). By the 15th amendment to the Constitution neither race nor color affects the rights of citizens, though untaxed Indians and Chinese are excluded from the franchise. The same is the case with women except in ten states in which they have full franchise and a number of others in which they have a partial franchise. There is a third section of the government, the judicial, consisting of a Supreme Court, which deals with Finances. The public debt of the United States reached its ultimate height in 1866, as a result of the expenditure for the Civil war, its amount on July 1 of that year being $2,773,236,173. Thirty years before the country had been out of debt and with an excess of funds which it divided among the several States. After the war the reduction of this debt proceeded with marked rapidity, until by 1912 the interest-bearing debt had decreased to $963,349,390, and the debt bearing no interest to $383,499,246, making a total of $1,346,848,636, including $1,851,810 on which interest had ceased. Against this there was in the treasury a reserve fund and cash balance amounting to $300,400,000. During this period the expenses of the government had steadily increased until what was called a billion dollar Congress was reached in McKinley's first term, while in 1912 the appropriation for a single session of Congress was over $660,000,000. Army. The United States army is based on the principle of that of Great Britain, being recruited by voluntary enlistment only, not by conscription and forced military service of all able-bodied men, as is generally the case in the nations of Europe. The island condition of Great Britain and the strength of her navy has removed the necessity of general military duty, while the oceans which divide the United States from all other powerful nations have rendered a powerful army in this country in times of peace United States unnecessary, a strong navy being depended upon for protection. As a result the army has been generally restricted to the numbers requisite for military police duty, the keeping a great multitude of men under arms in times of peace in readiness for possible war being not considered requisite. This policy has always prevailed, no more men being kept in the ranks than are deemed necessary to maintain internal order, the government relying upon the enlistment of volunteers in times of emergency. In 1790 the national army consisted of only 1260 men, under the command of the President. In 1861 its numbers had grown to 14,000. During the Civil war 2,039,748 men were called into the ranks chiefly by voluntary enlistment, in some measure by conscription, or by bounties of from $300 to $1000 to each volunteer. After the war the army was disbanded with the exception of the number required for peace service, and by an act of Congress of July 15, 1870, this number was limited to 30,000 men. This number was subsequently increased during the century to about 60,000. The brief war with Spain, in 1898, demanded a sudden enhancement of the army, which was readily accomplished by a call for volunteers. But the lack of careful supervision of this large body of raw soldiers was seriously felt, bad management resulting in the death of large numbers of them by disease. After the aisbandment of this volunteer force the limit of strength of the regular army was fixed by Secretary of War Root and General Miles at 77,284 men, in accordance with General Miles's proposition of one soldier for every thousand inhabitants. The length of service was fixed at five years. The need of a more scientific management of the military establishment was seriously felt, and by a bill of February 14, 1903, the office of Lieutenant-General commanding was dropped and a staff corps of eminent officers, appointed by the President, was adopted, in accordance with the policy pursued in European army organizations. Under laws passed in 1901, 1907 and 1908 the army now comprises 30 regiments of infantry, 15 of cavalry, 6 of field artillery, and a coast artillery corps, with a Porto Rico regiment of infantry, and a considerable force in the Philippines, 52 companies of which are native scouts. The total strength of the army is about 87,000, and it is provided by law that it shall not exceed 100,000 men. In addition to these are the organized State militia, a drilled and equipped force of over 120,000 men. These, known as the United States National Guard, are subject to duty under demand of the government if any national emergency should arise. The militia law of 1903, amended in 1908, provided that 'The militia shall consist of every able-bodied male citizen of the respective States who is more than 18 and less than 45 years of age.' These are to be divided into the organized militia and a reserve militia, subject to duty should necessity demand. The total number of this unorganized reserved militia was stated in 1915 at 20,538,347. Navy. The United States has the credit of first demonstrating the advantage of an ironclad navy, this being done in the Civil war by both sides engaged. Britain and France had already built ironclads, but the first battle between ships thus protected was the memorable conflict in Hampton Roads, in 1862, between the Monitor and Merrimac. The wooden ships of the older navy, previously attacked by the Merrimac, proved hopelessly feeble before this powerful antagonist and were put out of service with startling suddenness, and only her encounter with the Monitor checked the Merrimac in her career of destruction. The lesson thus taught was quickly taken advantage of in Europe, where a rivalry in building iron- and steelclad war-vessels begun which has continued without interruption to the present day. But the United States was very slow in putting into practice the lesson it had taught. Resting secure in its thousands of miles of ocean boundary, it let twenty years pass before it awakened to the advisability of preparing for possible naval war. In 1882 there were 140 vessels on the navy list, but of these 25 were mere tugs, while a large number of the others were antiquated and useless. Shortly after this the government aroused to the need of possessing a modern naval establishment, and began the construction of the powerful navy it has since possessed. Its long negligence left to the European nations the task of experimenting in the new system of war-vessel construction, and gave it the important advantage of participating without cost in lessons learned by a long-continued practical study of the new system in Europe. At the period of the Spanish-American war a navy of fair strength for that date existed, one that with remarkable quickness put the weaker Spanish navy out of commission. Since then many war-vessels fitted to compete on equal terms with the strongest of those possessed by other nations have been built, and in 1912 the United States had, built and building, 28 battleships of recent type with 9 of older type, 12 first |