PART I-GENERAL SURVEY OF THE IRON ORE MINING INDUSTRY.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

Development of the industry-Households studied-Members of households for whom detailed information was secured Preparation of the data-Employees for whom information was secured-[Text Tables 1 to 8 and General Tables 1 to 3].

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY.

The growth of the iron-ore mining industry during the period from 1880 to 1902 is shown both for the country as a whole and for the principal iron-ore-producing States by the following table:

TABLE 1.-Growth of the iron-ore mining industry in the United States and in selected States, 1880-1902.

[Compiled from United States census reports on mining industries, 1880, mineral industries, 1890, and special reports on mines and quarries, 1902.]

It will be seen that the production of ore in the United States increased from 7,064,829 tons in 1880 to 14,518,041 tons in 1889 and to 35,567,410 tons in 1902. In the States of Michigan and Alabama the proportion of increase was even greater, while the State of Minnesota, which produced no iron ore in 1880, and only 864,508 tons in 1889, produced 15,137,650 tons in 1902.

The increase in the capital invested in the industry parallels, roughly, the increase in output. On the other hand, the number of establishments in the country as a whole was smaller in 1902 than in 1889, and smaller in 1889 than in 1880. In Michigan there were fewer establishments in 1902 than in 1889, while in Alabama the

increase in the number of establishments was slight as compared with the increase in capital and production. Only in the State of Minnesota was the ratio of establishments to total production of ore about the same in 1902 as at the preceding census. These figures showing the total number of establishments serve, however, only to indicate the tendency to consolidate and to conduct mining operations by larger plants than formerly.

Of more importance in its relation to a study of immigration is the increase in the number of workers, which is indicated by the following table:

TABLE 2.-Increase in the average number of wage-earners in the iron-ore mining industry, 1880-1902.

[Compiled from United States census reports on mining industries, 1880; mineral industries, 1890; and special reports, mines and quarries, 1902.]

The above table shows the number of men employed in iron-ore mining in the years 1880, 1889, and 1902 for the country as a whole and for the principal ore-producing States. In 1880 the total number of employees in the United States was 31,668, in 1889 the number was 37,707, and in 1902 it was 38,851. It will be noticed that the increase in the working force was much greater between 1880 and 1889 than between 1889 and 1902. This was true for Michigan and Alabama, as well as for the country as a whole. The introduction of improved methods of mining and the use of mining machinery were doubtless responsible in a very large measure for the relatively small increase in the number of workers between 1889 and 1902. In 1902 a given quantity of ore could be mined in a given period of time by a much smaller working force than in 1889.

The development of the Minnesota ore deposits upon a considerable scale did not begin until nearly 1890. In this region the most improved modern mining methods have been followed from the first. The ore is generally taken out with steam shovels. For this reason the production of ore per man employed is very large. The table shows that there was in the period from 1880 to 1902 an increase of 7,183 in the number of men employed in iron-ore mining in the United States, and that the increase was 8,894 in Michigan, 4,126 in Alabama, and 8,256 in Minnesota in the same period. Clearly there must have been a decided decrease in the number of men employed in States not included in the table.