Aside from manufacturing products covered in other tables for petroleum, fisheries, fruit and vegetable canning, lumber, etc., some im portant manufactured products may be assem bled as follows: Establish- Value of CENSUS 1914—Isnownty meats output Slaughter-house and meatpacking 108 150,011,820 Printing and publishing 1,543 34,744,879 Foundry and machine-shop products 1,097 31,732,384 Flour and mill products 132 24,078,735 Bakery products 1,117 21,855,181 Butter. cheese and condensed milk 201 20,466,428 See also, elsewhere, statistics of oil refining, packing fish, fruit and vegetables, etc., under their headings.
Detailed statistics of minor manufactures may be found in the census of manufactures of the Department of Commerce, United States of America.
Even in the four years since.the issue of the last (1914) bulletin, enormous changes have taken place in nearly every item.
The canning of fruits and vegetables has reached its highest development in California; and in output this State easily leads the Union. More than one-half of all the canned• peaches; more than two-thirds of all the canned pears; nearly one-half of all the canned cherries; nearly four-fifths of all the canned plums; more than one-half of all the canned beans; more than one-half of all the dried fruits, produced by the whole United States, are from California. The increase in all items of manufacturing had been by far largest in Los Angeles, where, for instance, the percentage of increase in a decade (to 1905) had been in number of establishments, 88.7; number of wage-earners, 107.7; value of products, 115.3. Another new, but highly im portant industrial advance, is the long-distance transmission of electric power from mountain streams. In this California has for years led the world. When a 33,000-volt, 82-mile line from San Bernardino Mountains to Los Angeles was installed (1900), it far exceeded any other line in the world in length and volt age. Then 40,000 volts were brought 140 miles from Yuba River to Oaldand — with cable crossing Carquinez Straits by suspension span of 4,400 feet, 300 feet in air. The longest power transmission in the world was that from Colgate to San Francisco, 211g miles. Plants have been built to transmit 28,000 horse power from Kern River, 116 miles, to Los Angeles; and 120,000 horse power from San Joaquin River, 180 miles, to San Francisco; and 218 miles to Los Angeles. One electric company expended $250,000 per month for a year, in electric development in and around Los Angeles. Two companies in the northern part of the State are developing 169,000 horse power for long-distance transmission. Not only are nearly all streets and houses lighted, and street-cars propelled by this new, far-fetched "fuel,' but thousands of the smaller manufacturing estab lishments are run by hydro-electric motors.
The first hydro-electric plant in the world was operated at Frankfort-on-Main, in 1894; the second (first commercial) at Folsom, Cal.,
in 1895 to light Sacramento (State capital). California was not only a pioneer, but still leads in hydro-electric development. In 1917 there were about 85 plants in California with aggre gate maximum capacity of 9,000,000 horse power ; which will be greatly increased by plants now building. There are lines carrying as high as 150,000 volts, operating at °heads* of over 2,000 feet, or a pressure of approximately 875 pounds per square inch.
For the last 20 years ship-building has made a great advance, and California became the third State in the Union in this industry. The Oregon, Olympia, Ohio and other United States war vessels were built in San Francisco. Long Beach, Los Angeles County, has also become important in the building of war ships. The first successful concrete vessel was launched in 1918, and large vessels of different types are on the way.
Commerce and Navigation, The po sition of California (commanding, from the best seaports in 5,000 miles of the Pacific Coast, the shortest routes to the Orient), is reinforced by its enormous coastline. The littoral of the United States is divided practically into thirds —Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific. California has two-thirds of the total United States frontage upon the Pacific Ocean, and nearly one-fifth of the total coastline of the United States. All this, added to its relation as outlet for an enor mous inland territory, including not only Cali fornia but New Mexico and Arizona, gives great Importance to its commerce. San Francisco (1905) though the 11th city of the Union in population was third in commerce. Its exports for 1916 were $127,598,531 and imports 117 128,253 (including exports to China $4,857,956 and to Japan $24,818,324). Operations in the Philippines and development of the Oriental trade are bringing about for California the realization of Seward's prophecy (about 1865) that "the Pacific is to be the chief theatre of the world's activities.* The Bay of San Francisco, with a shore-line of 300 miles, open to the ocean only by the mile-wide Golden Gate, and receiving through the two great central rivers the drainage of the vast interior valley, is reckoned among the world's best harbors. San Diego at the extreme south has a well-sheltered natural harbor, entrance to which has been improved by the government. Los Angeles har bor (formerly San Pedro) is the most import ant artificial harbor and ranks close second to San Francisco. Other roadstead wharves serve rapidly growing commerce. California had, in 1917, 19 lines of ocean steamers —plying to China, the Philippines, Sandwich Islands, Alaska, Mexico, Panama, Chile, and 13 coastwise. Of six lines of river steamers, five concern San Francisco and its river system. The Sacramento River is navigable to the city of that name.