TEXTILES. The group of industries called tex tile in 1900 ranked first in the number of wage earners employed, second in the amount of capi ta] invested, and third in the value of products. if allowance be made for duplications, the value of products given in the table of the 15 groups of industries would be reduced to $1,095,127,934— the net value of products ready for direct con sumption. The following table shows the growth of the combined textile industry since 1850 and its importance in 1900: has placed the United States first with respect to the number of bales of cotton consumed. Ac cording to one estimate the average number of bales consumed for the five years ending with 1870 was 875,000 for the United States. 1,842,000 for the Continent of Europe, and 2,039,000 for Great Britain. The consumption for the year 1900 was respectively 4,509,000, 5,720,000, and 4,079,000 bales. however, when it is considered that the greater part of the spinning in the United States is of coarse or medium yarns, whereas the average spinning on the other side of the Atlantic is much finer, and the estimate is based upon the number of spindles or persons employed, it will be found that Great Britain is far in the lead. In 1900 the' United States had
19,008,000 spindles, the Continent of Europe 33, 000,000, and Great Britain 40,000,000. The data for the comparison of woolen manufacture in the different countries is less satisfactory. An esti mate of wool consumption for 1894 accredited North America with 458.000,000 pounds, the Continent of Europe 1,247,000,000 pounds. and Great Britain 507,000,000 pounds. The United States exceeds but slightly, if at all, any of the three leading Continental woolen manufacturing countries—France, Germany, and Austria. The recent rapid development of silk manufacturing has placed the United States second in rank, and of the total product of the United States and Europe the former produced in 1900 23.3 per cent. The manufacture of flax, hemp, and jute in the United States is comparatively small.