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Show New Postwar Census of U. S. Manufactures Show Big Output Average Wage Payments Slightly Higher Than in 1919; Value of Produttion Nearly Double That of 1914 I By O. P. Austin StntUMeUa the Tatleaal City Baak ant h'ew Verk. Announcement from Washington that the value of manufacturers produced in th factories of the Cnlted State sin 121 waa $4S.SS3.-000.000. $4S.SS3.-000.000. aralnst 141.041, 745.000 In 11. and l2S.ai7.S40.000 In 19H, Is especially Interesting In supplying a bas's for comparing- our postwar j manufacturing activities with those i o receding the wsr. While the cenaua, statins; th output for 1919, showed enormous totals both In value of output, number of persons employed, and wage paid, tne fact that th year It. a Immediately followed fol-lowed th closs of th war, reduced th value of their use as a basis for comparison with the figures of th norms 1 ysrs preceding the war. Fortunately, however, congress In 1-020 "enacted a law directing th census bureau to la future take censuses cen-suses of manufactures at every second sec-ond year Instead ot every fifth year ss formerly, aid under thla new law that bureau took In 1JJ a census cen-sus aOf ths factory operation In the calendar year 1J1, and the figures of that census as to valu of out turn, number of persons employed, I and aums paid for wages and salaries, sal-aries, ensbf os to compare th condition con-dition of th manufacturing Industrie Indus-trie ot th United Btate In th poatwar peace year, 1921, with that of 1910 and the prewar year 1914. While th figure of 1921 ar not abaolutely comparable with thos of earlier year by reason of th fact that th sensus figure of thst year ( 1921 exclude returns from factories whos output was leas than 15000. th cenaus bulletin presenting pre-senting ths flgurea atatea that th outturn of the excluded class was only three-tenth of 1 per cent of th total valu of factory producu of th census figures of I9SI lies In the fact that they Indicate thst tb rata of wage paid has not only) continued at th rate of Hi, but in I fact ehow a slight increase when comparing the average annual wage of 1921 with that of 1919. While there waa a material reduction in the number of employes, both wsge rsrnrs and those at a fixed alary. the average wag or salary paid per Individual employ waa not only aa high In 1921 ss In 191V, but apparently ap-parently slightly higher, suggesting suggest-ing that there occurred an actusl advance In the avers ge factory wage In ths two-year period. 1919-21. 1919-21. While this Increase Is small, the fact that there wss sn Increase rather thnn a reduction la especially Interesting. A careful comparison of the census cen-sus figure of wag, earners and aum paid for wages In ths two yeers named, 1921 and 1919. shows thst while the number of wag earner declined 22 1 per cent, the sum paid as wsges declined but 21.4 pr cent, suggesting that he average wage of 1921 must have been slightly hiKher than that of 1S19. Thla suggestion la sustained by a comparison f the official figures of "average r umber of wage earners" with tho of "wages paid," which comparison com-parison Indlcstes that th average annual compensation to wage earners earn-ers in 1921 was 11180. against 11142 In 1919. While this slight Increase In th wag per Individ us 1 Is not large. It le st lesst sufficient to Indicate that the predictions of ar reduction In th rate nf wage paid have not been res Used and this la equally tru In the payment mad to salaried employes, to whom th sverssre pavment In 1951 was slightly slight-ly higher than In 1919. Taking th entire group of factory employe, wage earners and salaried employes, , th averag payment pr Individual i In 1921 was apparently 11311,, again at $1279 In 1919. I or tne country ana tnai tne numnvr i of wag arnrs In th delude! class was only six-tenths of 1 per cent of ths totaL To aid In a comparison com-parison of th 1931 figures with j those of ths tw preceding census, ; 1919 and 1914, the census office sup-1 sup-1 piles new figures for those years showing- the value of ths outturn and number of employes In those 1 two censuses, exclusive of the fse tortB having: sn outturn below $6000, but does not extend thla romps rom-ps r I son to years earlier than 1914. j Thla comparison of th efigurea of manufactures In ths first post wsr This rompartaon of the fiaures of 1919 and th prewar peace yesr 1414 stands In a few of the mors 1m-rortant 1m-rortant Items ss follows (004) omitted): Value of products 1921, $42,451. 2X2; 1919. $42,041,796; 1914, $:i,917,-$40. $:i,917,-$40. ..umber of wage ssrnero I92L $.941: 1919. 9.401: 1914, 4.944. Wares paid 1921, $1,200,124; 191$. $14,441,717; 1914.- $4.047.T19. Number salaried employes 191. l ilt; 1919. 1.43; 1914. 8 Saisrles paid 121. $2,142,11$; 1919. $:,10: 1914. $1,274,411. Tota Inumber employes 1921, t.Ott; 1919, 1A.419: 1914. 7. KM. ' Wsses end salaries 1921. $10,-TCJMi:, $10,-TCJMi:, 11, fU.141.C66; 1914. $6.-$42 $6.-$42 167. That ths wiaorjfscturlng aetlvlttss of the yesr represented by this latest lat-est census. 1921. may b considered as slightlv below the average of . the postwar period 1 evidenced by the fact that the value of ornSe manufacturing material Imported In 1931 was Hut $51. 000.090 - against tl 71? 004.000 In 1S20. 41 142. 000 rm In' 1922. and approximately $1,104.-fosooo $1,104.-fosooo In th fical year 1921, e srestlng thst he msnufacturlngr activities ac-tivities nf 1992 and 1921 are aa rrat and per heps greater than thos of 1?1, though this Increase In Ihe values-of th marufacturlno material mate-rial Imported ta 1922 and 192t may have been du In aom dexr? to higher price. Perhaps tbs most striking feature |