USA > Pennsylvania > Progressive Pennsylvania; a record of the remarkable industrial development of the Keystone state, with some account of its early and its later transportation systems, its early settlers, and its prominent men > Part 16
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PROGRESSIVE PENNSYLVANIA.
of Pennsylvania, for three and a half miles into Philadel- phia, for its passengers and general merchandise, while at the same time building a branch from the Falls of Schuyl- kill for five and a half miles to Port Richmond on the Delaware river, for coal intended for shipment coastwise.
" The original charter of the company gave the right to build a railroad only from Philadelphia to Reading, 58 miles, while the total distance to Pottsville and the coal region is 93 miles. The Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad, and Coal Company was chartered in 1826 to build a canal or railroad from Tamaqua to the Schuylkill Canal at Port Clinton, a distance of 20 miles, and by a supplement to its charter, passed in 1829, it was authorized to extend its railroad to Reading, 20 miles farther. This privilege it agreed to relinquish to the Reading. This ar- rangement was subsequently authorized and approved by an act of the Legislature in 1837, thus extending the right of the Reading to build to Port Clinton, 78 miles from Philadelphia. In March, 1838, the company was author- ized to extend its road to Mount Carbon, 14 miles farther, making 92 miles from Philadelphia. The remaining mile needed to reach Pottsville was obtained by the merger and consolidation of the Mount Carbon Railroad Com- pany, April 10, 1872.
"On January 13, 1842, the road was finished and a single track opened to Mount Carbon, one mile below Pottsville. On May 17, 1842, the branch from the Falls of Schuylkill to the coal wharves at Port Richmond was opened and the coal traffic was begun in earnest." In 1844 the second track of the road was laid.
Mr. Smith continues : "In June, 1851, that portion of the road, some three and a half miles, lying between Bel- mont and Broad and Vine streets, Philadelphia, belong- ing to the State of Pennsylvania, and hitherto used by the Reading for its passenger and merchandise traffic, was purchased from the State, giving the company access to the city on its own rails. In 1858 the Lebanon Valley Railroad, from Reading to Harrisburg, fifty-four miles, was completed and merged with the Reading. In July, 1869, Franklin B. Gowen was chosen president of the
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EARLY RAILROADS IN PENNSYLVANIA.
Reading on the resignation of Charles E. Smith. The company then began to purchase coal lands and soon after to mine coal."
The circumstances attending the purchase by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company in 1851 of that part of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad ex- tending from Philadelphia to the inclined plane at Bel- mont are given in detail in an official report of the com- pany, as follows : " From the depot at Broad and Vine streets the road ran out Pennsylvania avenue and across the Columbia bridge, from the western end of which an inclined plane, with stationary engine, was used to over- come the ascent from the bank of the Schuylkill to the ridge of hills beyond. On October 15, 1850, the inclined plane was abandoned, and that portion of the road ex- tending from the foot of the plane to Broad street was purchased from the State by the Philadelphia and Read- ing Railroad Company. Thus it was that the latter obtained its first entrance to Philadelphia proper, and the fact is adverted to here, showing how an impor- tant section of the old State Road became the property of the Reading Railroad, while the remainder of that his- toric line passed to the Pennsylvania Railroad by pur- chase seven years later." The price paid by the Philadel- phia and Reading Railroad Company for the property it purchased from the State was $243,200. The State aban- doned the use of the Belmont plane and its approach- es in 1850 because it had built a short line from West Philadelphia to a point on the Philadelphia and Colum- bia Railroad near the present town of Ardmore, which avoided the inclined plane.
The official report of the engineers of the Philadel- phia and Reading Railroad Company, dated September 19, 1838, states that the first part of the Reading Rail- road to be completed extended from Reading to Norris- town, and that it was opened for the conveyance of pas- sengers on July 16, 1838. The engineers' report, dated December 10, 1839, states that the railroad between Phila- delphia and Reading was opened for business on Decem- ber 5, 1839, and that on that date the company's engine,
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the Gowan & Marx, drew the first train between the points named, leaving Reading with 80 cars, conveying 1,635 barrels of flour, 73} tons of blooms, 6 tons of coal, "2 hhds. of whisky and other articles," and 60 persons. The total weight of the train, exclusive of engine and ten- der, was 368 tons.
The foregoing details sufficiently cover the history of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in its early days. To-day the Reading system is one of the most compre- hensive railroad systems in the country. Starting at Phil- adelphia it first reaches out for the anthracite coal trade and other trade of Northeastern Pennsylvania and then extends its lines into New Jersey, with New York City connections, and with connections to Buffalo and other points in the State of New York and west of Buffalo. In 1907 it owned or controlled 2,136.88 miles of main track. Among the important lines which it controls is the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which gives it New York City connections, and which embraces 648.44 miles of main track. It also owns other railroad lines in New Jersey.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was chartered on April 13, 1846, to build a railroad from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, with branches to Erie, Blairsville, Uniontown, and other places, and with a capital of $7,500,000. It is a coincidence that this company was chartered to build a railroad from Harrisburg westward and not from Phila- delphia, and that it was originally planned to build the Pennsylvania Canal westward from the vicinity of Har- risburg and not from Philadelphia, although both enter- prises were intended to connect Philadelphia with Pitts- burgh. As originally planned, however, these connections were to be made by means of transportation facilities already established-the Pennsylvania Canal to connect with the Union Canal and the improved navigation of the Schuylkill river and the Pennsylvania Railroad to connect with the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy, and Lan- caster Railroad and the Philadelphia and Columbia Rail- road. The construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad was commenced in July, 1847, so that the road is to-day only about sixty years old. The workmen employed in build-
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ing the road were chiefly Irish, and their daily wages sel- dom exceeded seventy-five cents.
On September 16, 1850, the Pennsylvania Railroad was completed from Harrisburg to Duncansville, a distance of 137 miles, at which latter place it connected with the Allegheny Portage Railroad, whose tracks were used in crossing the Allegheny mountains to a point a few miles east of Johnstown, from which point westward its own tracks were again used. The road was opened to Pitts- burgh on December 10, 1852, about five and a half years after its construction was undertaken. The mountain di- vision of the road, from Altoona to the Portage viaduct, including the celebrated horseshoe bend and the long tun- nel at Gallitzin, was completed on February 15, 1854, this division avoiding the use of inclined planes, although the grades were heavy. Like the Portage Railroad itself the building of this division of the Pennsylvania Railroad was a remarkable feat of engineering skill.
On April 21, 1849, the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany leased the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy, and Lancaster Railroad, 34.49 miles long, for twenty years, and on December 29, 1860, this lease was continued for 999 years. This road was one of the earliest railroads in Penn- sylvania. It was chartered on June 9, 1832, and was opened for business in 1838. With the lease of this road and the purchase in 1857 of the State railroads above mentioned and described in a previous chapter the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company obtained control of an un- broken line of railroad from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, now styled the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The Sunbury and Erie Railroad, 289.67 miles long, from Sunbury to Erie, with many important connections to-day, was leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for 999 years from January 1, 1862. A controlling inter- est in the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Rail- road was acquired in 1881. The Northern Central Rail- way, extending 460.39 miles, including branches and con- nections, from Baltimore through Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario, New York ; the Cumberland Valley Railroad, ex- tending from Harrisburg to Powell's Bend, on the Poto-
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mac river, in Maryland ; the Allegheny Valley Railway, from Pittsburgh to Oil City, with branches and connec- tions to Buffalo and other points; the West Penn division, extending from Bolivar to Allegheny ; and the Schuylkill division, extending from Philadelphia to Pottsville-all these are important branches of the Pennsylvania system which mainly lie in Pennsylvania and which are either owned or controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany. Other branches might also be mentioned.
The Pennsylvania system extends into many States, its most important subsidiary interest west of Pittsburgh being the Pennsylvania Company, which operates the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway. It owns a controlling interest in other important railroad lines in States west of Pennsylvania, including the "Panhandle" and Vandalia lines ; it is the lessee of the United Rail- roads of New Jersey, giving it access to New York City ; it controls railroads to Atlantic City, Cape May, and other seaside resorts ; and it has important Southern connections.
In 1907 the Pennsylvania system owned and operated or controlled the operation of 11,175.74 miles of main track, (including a few miles of ferries and canals,) of which total 6,078.17 miles are east of Pittsburgh and Erie and 5,097.57 miles are west of these cities.
In 1907 the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company owned 304.60 miles of main track in Pennsylvania and operated in all 1,440.22 miles, extending from Jersey City to Phil- lipsburg, New Jersey, thence to Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, and thence to Buffalo, New York, with branches. This road was originally a consolidation of several short an- thracite coal roads. The Lehigh Valley Railroad not only penetrates a rich part of Northern Pennsylvania but it is a most important agent in carrying to market the product of the anthracite coal mines of the State. It is the third of the great railroad systems of Pennsylvania.
A historical fact that should not be overlooked is the opposition to the building of railroads which was some- times encountered in Pennsylvania. Many of the farmers along the line of the Columbia Railroad were opposed to its construction because they believed that it would in-
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EARLY RAILROADS IN PENNSYLVANIA.
terfere with the sale of horses, oats, and other farm prod- ucts which were needed in the operation of the Lancas- ter Turnpike, and which also gave employment to many of them as wagoners. For similar reasons farmers were opposed to the building of the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy, and Lancaster Railroad. When the project of building a railroad from Harrisburg to Reading through the Lebanon valley was proposed many of the farmers of the valley opposed it for the reason that it would seri- ously check the demand for their horses and the grain to feed them and also interfere with their business as wag- oners. They also objected to the building of the road because the counties through which it passed would be called upon to furnish financial aid, and for this reason they feared that their taxes would be increased. So it happened that the Lebanon Valley Railroad, the building of which was authorized by an act of the Legislature on April 1, 1836, was actually not undertaken until 1853, a lapse of seventeen years. It was finished in 1858, on Jan- uary 18 of which year the whole road was opened.
Pennsylvania may well be proud of its great railroad systems. They have contributed greatly to the develop- ment of its natural resources and to the upbuilding of all its productive industries. They and all other Pennsylva- nia railroads well deserve the continued good will of all Pennsylvanians. Recent legislation directly affecting the railroads of this State has been conspicuously unapprecia- tive and most ungracious in view of the great benefits which these railroads have conferred upon all our people.
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PROGRESSIVE PENNSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE GREAT INDUSTRIES OF PENNSYLVANIA.
WE now come to the consideration of the great indus- tries of Pennsylvania which have made its name famous in every civilized country. A general survey of these industries will be given in this chapter in the light of recent authentic statistics. Historical details of leading Pennsylvania industries will be given in other chapters.
Pennsylvania has long been noted as the leader of all the States in the mining of coal, the manufacture of coke, and the production of iron and steel. Its leadership in these great industries in 1905 is shown in the following table, which gives its percentage of the total production of coal and coke and of leading forms of iron and steel in the whole country in that year of industrial activity.
Production of Coal, Coke, Iron Ore, and Iron and Steel in 1905.
Production in United States.
Production in Penn- sylvania.
Pennsyl- vania's per- centage.
Coal, all kinds.
gross tons.
350,645,210
175,065,613
49.9
Coke
net tons. .
32,231,129
20,573,736
63.8
Iron ore
. gross tons.
42,526,133
808,717
1.9
Pig iron
gross tons.
22,992,380
10,579,127
46.0
Steel ingots, castings, etc. . gross tons.
20,023,947
11,040,423
55.1
All kinds of rails .
gross tons.
3,375,929
1,115,841
33.0
Other rolled iron and steel. gross tons.
13,464,086
7,802,449
57.9
Contrary to common belief Pennsylvania has not been a large producer of iron ore since the ores of the Lake Superior region came into general use about 1880 in the manufacture of Bessemer pig iron. Its small production in 1905 is included in the table. And yet Pennsylvania was first of all the States in the mining of iron ore down to the census year 1880, when it produced 1,951,496 gross tons. In the census year 1870 it produced 978,113 tons, or over 32 per cent. of the total production of the country in that year. In 1889 it fell to the third place, in 1904 to the ninth place, and in 1905 it occupied
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THE GREAT INDUSTRIES OF PENNSYLVANIA.
the sixth place among the iron-ore producing States. In 1906 it occupied the fifth place. Its production of iron ore in 1905 was 808,717 tons and in 1906 it was 949,429 tons. In 1904 its percentage of the total production was 1.4, in 1905 it was 1.9, and in 1906 it was 1.99.
It is not necessary to comment on the prominence of Pennsylvania as a producer of iron and steel except to call attention to its extraordinary percentages of the to- tal production in 1905 as they are shown in the table- pig iron, 46.0 per cent .; all kinds of steel, 55.1 per cent .; all kinds of rails, 33.0 per cent .; all other forms of rolled iron and steel, 57.9 per cent. Of the production of coal in Pennsylvania in 1905 69,339,152 gross tons were an- thracite and 105,726,461 tons were bituminous ; the total was 175,065,613 tons, or 49.9 per cent. of the country's production. Of the total production of coke in the same year 63.8 per cent. was made in Pennsylvania. In 1906 the whole country produced 369,783,284 gross tons of coal, of which Pennsylvania produced 179,085,372 tons, or 48.4 per cent. In 1906 the country's total production of coke was 36,401,217 net tons, of which Pennsylvania produced 23,060,511 tons, or 63.3 per cent. Nearly all the bituminous coal and coke produced in Pennsylvania is to be credited to Western Pennsylvania. Practically all the anthracite coal produced in the United States is mined in Eastern Pennsylvania.
The statistics of another leading industry of Pennsyl- vania, the silk industry, for the census year 1900 and the census year 1904 will surprise the average reader. In both years Pennsylvania occupied the second place among the States in the manufacture of silk products, New Jersey being first in rank. Pennsylvania made great progress in the development of this industry in the decade between 1890 and 1900 and also from 1900 to 1904. In the census year 1904, which was virtually the calendar year, all the States had $109,556,621 invested in the manufacture of silk and employed 79,601 persons as wage earners, exclu- sive of clerks, etc., paying the wage earners $26,767,943 in wages. In the same year the silk industry of Pennsyl- vania had $31,312,386 of capital invested and employed
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PROGRESSIVE PENNSYLVANIA.
26,915 wage earners, who were paid $6,972,852. In the census year 1900 Pennsylvania had 121 establishments en- gaged exclusively in the manufacture of silk, and in the census year 1904 it had 168 establishments. Since 1904 Pennsylvania has made still further progress in the silk industry, which has been extended into many counties. It is one of its new industries and it illustrates the won- derfully varied character of its manufacturing enterprises. This industry and some others have been overshadowed in the industrial statistics of Pennsylvania by the greater prominence of its coal and coke and iron and steel indus- tries, but, as will be seen from the figures given, it deserves wider recognition than it has received. To-day Pennsyl- vania is probably the first among the silk-manufacturing States. While the value of the silk products of New Jer- sey increased from $39,966,662 in the census year 1900 to $42,862,907 in the census year 1904, the value of the silk products of Pennsylvania increased in the same period from $31,072,926 to $39,333,520. The silk industry had scarcely a beginning in Pennsylvania until after 1880, al- though it existed in a small way at Economy, in Beaver county, the home of the Harmony Society, as early as 1828.
In the census year 1890 Pennsylvania ranked first in the aggregate production of woolen and worsted goods, carpets and rugs other than rag, and other woolen prod- ucts, all grouped in census statistics as "wool manufac- ture, all branches." These products were valued in Penn- sylvania in 1890 at $72,393,182, against $67,599,321, the value of the same products in Massachusetts in the same year. In the census year 1900 the position of these two leading States was reversed, the products of Massachusetts being valued at $81,041,537 and those of Pennsylvania at $71,878,503. In the manufacture of carpets and rugs other than rag Pennsylvania has long been first of all the States, Philadelphia and its suburbs being noted as the principal seat of this industry in the United States and as the leading carpet centre of all countries. In the cen- sus year 1900 Pennsylvania employed over three-eighths of the capital invested in the whole country in the manu- facture of these special products and produced nearly
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THE GREAT INDUSTRIES OF PENNSYLVANIA.
one-half of their total value. The total value of the car- pets and rugs that were made in Pennsylvania in that year was $23,113,058.
In the manufacture of cotton goods Pennsylvania is less prominent than in the manufacture of the other tex- tile products previously enumerated. About sixty years ago the city of Allegheny, adjoining Pittsburgh, had six factories for the manufacture of some of the coarser forms of cotton goods, but these factories have long been silent or converted to other uses. The cotton was brought up the Ohio river from the lower Mississippi. In the cen- sus year 1900 Massachusetts was first in the value of cot- ton products, South Carolina second, North Carolina third, Rhode Island fourth, and Pennsylvania fifth, New Hamp- shire coming next to Pennsylvania, each State producing as follows : Massachusetts, $111,125,175; South Carolina, $29,723,919; North Carolina, $28,372,798; Rhode Island, $26,435,675 ; Pennsylvania, $25,447,697; and New Hamp- shire, $22,998,249. The production of Georgia in the same year was valued at $18,544,910. In the total value of all textiles produced in the census year 1900 Massachusetts was first and Pennsylvania second.
Pennsylvania has always been prominent among the States as a producer of lumber. When first settled and for many years afterwards it possessed extensive forests in every direction, and large and small streams furnished then and have since furnished abundant water power for its saw mills. It owes its very name to the vastness of its forests, and it is one of the best watered States in the Union. An excellent summary of its achievements as a lumber producer was prepared in 1906 by James E. Defe- baugh, editor of the American Lumberman, of Chicago, and the author of a History of the Lumber Industry of America. From this summary we select the following details :
"From a lumber standpoint Pennsylvania is perhaps the most wonderful State in the Union. In points of maintained production and of variety of output it stands close to the head of all the States. Back as far as 1850 Pennsylvania was credited with 2,894 lumbering estab- lishments, being exceeded in that particular only by New
12
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PROGRESSIVE PENNSYLVANIA.
York. In 1860 it had passed New York and stood at the head in number of establishments, which position it easily maintained thereafter. In the amount of capital invested Pennsylvania was the leader in 1860, although in 1900 Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin exceeded it. In the value of the lumber produced Pennsylvania occupied sec- ond place in 1850, first place in 1860, second place in 1870 and 1880, third place in 1890, and fourth place in 1900. Pennsylvania's first prominence as a lumber producer rested upon white pine. The headwaters of the Allegheny and the Susquehanna floated out white pine logs and lum- ber by the hundreds of millions of feet, so that Pennsyl- vania white pine was known not only on the Atlantic sea- board but all along the course of the Ohio and the lower Mississippi as far as New Orleans. In addition the cherry was the finest that ever grew, while oak of several varie- ties, maple, poplar, and other woods abounded. It was not until the white pine was nearly exhausted that hem- lock received much attention. The decade from 1880 to 1890 saw the rise of this wood to prominence. Since 1900 the product has probably been declining. In the census year 1900 Pennsylvania was fourth among the States in volume of production, producing 2,321,284,000 feet of lum- ber, of which 1,558,188,000 feet were hemlock, 221,047,000 feet white pine, 44,614,000 feet chestnut, 342,268,000 feet oak, and 49,650,000 feet maple, the other woods specifi- cally reported being yellow pine, spruce, ash, birch, cot- tonwood, elm, gum, hickory, basswood, poplar, and black walnut."
Another of the great industries of Pennsylvania, and one of its oldest industries, is the manufacture of leather. Pennsylvania early gave this industry special attention, partly because it soon became the leading agricultural and cattle-raising colony and partly because there was no scar- city of oak and other trees which would yield tannic acid. In the nineteenth century the invasion of the hemlock forests in the northern and western parts of the State furnished in hemlock bark a suitable and very abundant material for tanning hides, the cattle-raising industry of the State meanwhile supplying an increasingly large num-
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THE GREAT INDUSTRIES OF PENNSYLVANIA.
ber of hides. In the early part of that century the manu- facture of leather, especially the heavier and coarser forms, became a great Pennsylvania industry, supplying not only its own wants for leather but furnishing large quantities of leather and leather products to other States and con- siderable quantities for exportation to foreign countries. Pennsylvania has never, however, approached the promi- nence of New England in the manufacture of boots and shoes. Because of its abundant supply of hemlock bark the tanners of Pennsylvania began in the last century to supplement the home supply of hides with hides obtained in other States and with large importations of foreign hides. It has also long been a manufacturer of morocco leather, made from imported goatskins tanned with sumac leaves. The importation of hides and skins in large quan- tities continues to-day. Nearly $32,000,000 worth of goat- skins were imported into the United States in the fiscal year 1906, of which British India alone sent us nearly $11,000,000 worth. In the same year our importations of hides exceeded $50,000,000. Even in the mountain sec- tions of Pennsylvania South American and other imported hides are tanned into leather. It has paid to bring these hides to the hemlock bark. Many hides thus tanned are again shipped to markets outside of Pennsylvania.
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