Miscellaneous Series

APPENDIX.

DOMESTIC MANUFACTURE OF CHEMICALS.

The chemical industry in the United States has been attended by steady growth. It is by no means an experimental industry. But, as is conclusively revealed by this publication, not enough attention has been given to make the industry occupy its proper relative position with respect to our national life. The manufacture of finished products and of intermediate products necessary for the completion of the finished articles has in great measure been left to foreign hands. Nevertheless, the American chemical industry has progressively developed to a size of no mean proportions. In this development will be observed a continuous augment of capital with an accompanying increase in the number of employees.

CAPITAL INVESTED.

In 1914 there were over 12,000 wage earners engaged in the industries manufacturing chemicals and allied products, whereas in 1899 there were only 9,000. In the year last mentioned the amount of capital invested in these industries was $1,163,816,000. This was increased steadily during the next 15 years, until in 1914 the chemical manufacturing industries had an investment of $3,034,209,000.

The total capital invested in manufacturing in this country in 1914 was over $22,000,000,000, divided among 14 general classes of industries. In this general classification the iron and steel industry ranked first with an investment of $4,280,000,000, and the chemical industry took second place with its $3,000,000,000.

The manufacture of illuminating gas from coal by itself claimed an investment in 1914 of over a billion and a quarter dollars, or nearly one-half of the total capital assigned to the chemical industry. The by-products of this coal distillation, which go into the market as chemicals and medicinal preparations, amounted to less than threequarters of a million dollars. The bulk of the by-products consists of crude coal tar, ammoniacal liquor, and coke.

A further study of the statistics of the domestic chemical industry reveals that petroleum refining has the next largest investment of capital. In the petroleum industry the principal products manufactured are illuminating, fuel, and gasoline oils, gasoline, and paraffin wax. In 1914 there was invested in this industry $325,000,000, and the value of the products was $396,000,000, which included $71.000,000 added by manufacture. This industry, in addition to satisfying domestic demands, exported to foreign countries in 1913-14 nearly $125,000,000 worth of products.

PRODUCTION OF THE FINER CHEMICALS.

The so-called chemical industry proper has not been so aggressive. Before the extent of domestic manufacture of chemicals and their allied products is noted, it is well to observe just what industries are included in the chemical industry proper.

In the Census of Manufactures for 1914, from which the statistics have been taken, chemical products are classified under the following groups:

1. Acids.

2. Sodas and soda compounds.

3. Potash and potassium salts.
4. Alums.

5. Coal-tar products.

6. Cyanides.

7. Bleaching materials.

8. Plastics.

9. Gases.

10. Fine chemicals.

In the table of domestic manufactures in which these various chemicals are listed, with the value of their respective production, a rather insignificant amount out of a total of $173,269,000 is allotted to the finer chemicals. The production of alkaloids, the salts of the finer metals, chemicals used for photographic purposes, refined camphor, synthetic oils, and perfumery bases, generally known as the finer chemicals, did not add even 7 per cent to the value of production in the chemical industry proper. Small wonder, then, that the sudden cessation of imports brought about by the European war found industries dependent on the finer chemicals paralyzed.

For the census of chemical imports to attain its maximum value it is necessary that we read, in connection with it, the statistics of our domestic manufactures and of our exports for the same period. With this idea in mind, the census of domestic chemical manufactures for 1914 and the export statistics of the same classes of products for 1913-14 are included in this publication.

POSITION OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY IN DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING.

"To facilitate the comparison of one broad type of manufacturing with another, the 344 industries distinguished at the census of 1914 have been grouped into 14 general classes. In making up the 14 classes the Census Bureau has followed two principles: (1) That of similarity with respect to character of materials, and (2) that of similarity with respect to the use of the finished product." Thus does the Abstract of the Census of Manufactures for 1914, published by the Bureau of the Census in 1917, explain the presentation of the statistics for these 14 general classes in the table which follows:

INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS OF CHEMICAL MANUFACTURE.

The following table, also taken bodily from the Abstract of the Census of Manufactures for 1914, gives details relating to the chemical and allied industries. There is considerable duplication in the combined value of the products for the group, due to the use of the products of certain industries as materials for others. The effect of this duplication has been offset to some extent (1) by tabulating the value added by manufacture and (2) by listing separately details of the domestic manufacture of chemicals and allied products.

Total..

Baking powders and yeast..
Baking powders..

Expressed in thousands.

12,371 299,569 $3,034,209 $167,491 $1,289,348 $2,001,634 $712, 256

664

2, 468

Blacking, stains, and dressings.

197

1,766

5,129

Bluing.

Bone, carbon, and lamp black

695

1,464

778

Pone black and lamp black..

PRODUCTION BY QUANTITIES AND VALUES.

The basis for the following table is the Abstract of the Census of Manufactures for 1914. Advantage has been taken of the copious notes on pages 168 to 200 of that report in order to reduce to some degree the duplication in the figures. It is recommended that in the study of these statistics reference be made directly to the Abstract to determine the nature of the corrections employed.

CHEMICALS AND ALLIED PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1914.