With these favorable advantages for manufacturing, Illinois stands third in output of her factories, being exceeded by New York and Pennsylvania, each of which has a larger population than Illinois.
Important industries.—The United States census report of manufactures for 1914 shows 121 different lines of industry in Illinois, each having an output valued at more than $1,000,000. Twenty-five of these, each producing a value of more than $20,000,000, are shown in the accom panying graph. These 25 industries employ 66 per cent of the wage earners of the state en gaged in manufacturing, and produce 71 per cent of the value of the manu factured products of the state.
Meat-packing is the leading industry because Illinois, near the center of the corn belt, is also near the center of live stock production. The high value of the product of this industry is due not so much to the work involved, as to the high value of the live stock which forms the basis, or raw material, of the industry. Meat-packing gave employment in 1914 to 31,627 wage-earners, 6.2 per cent of the total for the state, while the value of the products amounted to 21.8 per cent of the total value of manufactured products of the state. Chicago produced 84 per cent of the total value. Peoria and East St. Louis are other important centers of the industry.
The numbers of wage-earners engaged in the manufacture of foundry and machine-shop products was larger than the number engaged in any other industry, constituting a total of 55,261, or 10.9 per cent of the 506,943 wage-earners of the state. This industry produced 6.3 per cent of the total value of the manu factured products of the state, and added to the value of its raw materials a larger amount than any other industry.
The printing and publishing establish ments numbered 2,722, a larger number than any other industry. They employed 32,S3S wage-earners, a larger number than were en gaged in meat-packing. The volume of the out put of the printing and publishing industry amounts to about $20 per capita for the entire population of the state.
The manufacture of men's clothing was car ried on in 604 establish ments by 35,119 wage earners, 6.9 per cent of the total for the state, a larger num
ber than engaged in any other industry except in the manu facture of foundry and machine-shop products.
Illinois is the leading state in the manufacture of agricul tural implements. It produced more than one-third of the total value reported for the United States. In the early settlement of Illinois the improvement of agricultural machin ery was stimulated by the fertility of the prairies, the difficulty of plowing the tough prairie sod, and the flat land inviting the cultivation of large areas by means of labor-saving machinery. Frequent and important improvements led to rapid expansion of the industry in Illinois where raw materials were readily obtained and where an unlimited market awaited a better plow, harrow, cultivator, mower, and harvesting machine. The chief centers of manufacture for agricultural implements are Chicago, Moline, Rock Island, Peoria, and Canton.
There were 18,3SS manufacturing establishments in Illinois in 1914. Four lines of manufacture were each conducted in more than 1,000 establishments as follows: printing and pub lishing, 2,722 establishments; bread and other bakery products, 2,278; tobacco manufacture, 1,622; foundry and machine shop products, 1,371. In marked contrast with these indus tries in number of factories is the leading industry of the state, meat-packing, which from 98 establishments turns out one-fifth of the value of the manufactured product of the state. Other localization of manufactures within the state are shown by the following facts: 7 establishments manufactured in one year distilled liquors valued at $51,000,000; 5 plants operating blast furnaces produced pig iron valued at $25,000,000; 9 zinc smelters had an output valued at $18,000,000; 9 petroleum refineries manufactured $16,000,000 worth of products; 9 estab lishments manufacturing wire produced material valued at $15,000,000; 3 coking plants had an output of $7,800,000; 6 cement factories supplied a product valued at $6,400,000.