The United States Steel Corporation, organized in 1901 with a capitalization of about $1,400,000, was an amalgamation of ten independent companies, of which the Carnegie Steel Co. and the Federal Steel Co. (of which Elbert H. Gary was president) were perhaps the most important. The consolidation was effected under the auspices of the late J. Pierpont Morgan, who negotiated the purchase of Andrew Carnegie's properties for $303,450,000 in 5 per cent steel corporation bonds and $188,556,160 in common and preferred stock. "The Value of the Carnegie Steel Co.," says A. Cotter in The Authentic History of the U.S. Steel Corporation, "was $75,000,000, though as a going concern it was worth $250,000,000. Its earnings in a single year had been as much as $40,000,000." Mr. Carnegie thereupon retired from business.

On Jan. 1, 1920, the corporation had a surplus of $493,048,000, and the book value of the tangible assets was $1,917,730,000. There were then outstanding $568,728,000 in bonds and $868,583,000 in common and preferred stock. In 1919 strikes and other causes reduced the production of finished steel to about 75 per cent of capacity, and at the beginning of 1920 the corporation had unfilled orders amounting to more than 8,000,000 tons. The gross business of the corporation amounted to $1,448,557,835 in 1919 as against $1,744,312,163 the year before. The corporation's income for 1919, less operating expenses and taxes, was in the neighborhood of $150,000,000.

Statistics of production for 1918 and 1919 are given below:

Production in Tons 1919 1918 Iron ore mined 25,423,000 28,332,000 Coal 28,893,000 31,748,000 Pig iron 13,481,738 15,700,561 Steel ingots 17,200,000 19,583,000 Finished steel 11,997,000 13,849,483 Cement 9,112,000 7,287,000

No. of employees 252,106 268,710 Total wages $479,548,040 $452,663,524

The average wage per day (excluding general administration and selling force) was $6.12 in 1919 and $5.33 the year before. In 1919 the corporation spent $1,131,446 for safety work and the like, and (1?)5 hospitals, with a staff of 162 physicians and surgeons, were maintained.

The various works controlled by the Steel Corporation include the Carnegie Steel Co, the Illinois Steel Co., the Universal Portland Cement Co., the Indiana Steel Co., the Minnesota Steel Co., the Lorain Steel Co., the National Tube Co., the American Steel and Wire Co., the American Sheet and Tin Plate Co., the Sharon Tin Plate Co., the American Bridge Co., the Union Steel Co., the Clairton Steel Co., the Clairton By-Product Co., the Canadian Steel Corporation, the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., the Fairfield Steel Co. and the Chickasaw Shipbuilding & Car Co.

1001 M. CHICAGO, Pop. 2,701,705. (Train 3 arrives 7:40a; No. 41, 1:00p; No. 25, 9:45a; No. 19, 4:00p. Eastbound: No. 6 leaves 10:25a; No. 26, 12:40p; No. 16, 1:30p; No. 22, 5:30p.)



The old Chicago portage was used by the Indians in travelling by canoe from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi and then to the Gulf of Mexico, long before any white man had visited the site of the present city on the shore of Lake Michigan. The portage connected the Chicago River, then flowing into Lake Michigan, with the Des Plaines River, flowing into the Illinois River, which in turn discharges into the Mississippi opposite a point not far from St. Louis. It is probable that the first white men to visit the city of Chicago were Father Marquette (1637-1675) and Louis Joliet, though La Salle may have used the portage at an earlier date in the course of one of his journeys of exploration. It is certain, however, that La Salle established a fort at Starved Rock, some miles south of the present city of Chicago, in 1682; and it is in the journal of one of La Salle's followers, Joutel, that we find the first explanation of the name "Chicago." Joutel says that Chicago took its name from the profusion of garlic growing in the surrounding woods.

Joutel and his party were in Chicago in March, 1688, when lack of provision forced them to rely on whatever they could find in the woods. It appears that Providence furnished them with a "kind of manna" to eat with their meal. This seems to have been maple sap. They also procured in the woods garlic and other plants. The name Chicago may have come from the Indian word ske-kog-ong, wild onion place.

After the departure of Father Marquette several other mission settlements were attempted at Chicago, but these were all abandoned in 1700 and for almost a century Chicago ceased to be a place of residence for white men.

The strategic value of Chicago as a centre of control for the regions of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River had long been recognized, but it was not until after the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794), that the government took active steps to establish a fort here. The treaty made by Gen. Wayne with the Indians after that battle provided for the cession to the American government of a tract of land at the southern end of Lake Michigan including the site of the present city. In 1803 Ft. Dearborn, a block-house and stockade, was constructed by the government on the southern bank of the Chicago River near the present site of the Michigan bridge.

In 1812, during the Indian War of Tecumseh, the Ft. Dearborn massacre occurred. The garrison, 93 persons in all, including several women and children, were attempting to escape to Ft. Wayne, when they were set upon by some 500 Indians about a mile and a half south of the fort (southern part of the present Grant Park). The Americans killed included 39 soldiers, 2 women and 12 children. The survivors were captured by the Indians and though some were tortured and put to death, the majority finally escaped to civilization A tablet now marks the site of the old fort and a monument has been erected near Grant Park commemorating the massacre. In 1816 the fort was rebuilt and a settlement rapidly grew up around it. By 1837 the Federal government had begun the improvement of the harbor and had started the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The lake trade grew to enormous proportions, and the building of the railways, especially the New York Central Lines connecting Chicago with the East, as well as other lines connecting it with the Northwest, and the South, gave the city an extraordinary impetus.

At the Republican convention held at Chicago in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was nominated for the presidency and during the Civil War, Camp Douglas, a large prison camp for Confederate prisoners, was maintained here.

The Republican national convention, which made "extension of slavery" the essential plank of the party platform, met at Chicago on the 26th of May, 1860. At this time William H. Seward was the most conspicuous Republican in national politics; Salmon P. Chase also had long been in the forefront of the political contest against slavery. Both had won greater fame than Lincoln, and each hoped to be nominated for president. Chase, however, had little chance, and the contest was virtually between Seward and Lincoln, who by many was considered more "available" because he could, and Seward could not, carry the votes of certain doubtful states. Lincoln's name was presented by Illinois and seconded by Indiana. At first Seward had the stronger support, but on the fourth ballot Lincoln was given 334 (233 being necessary) and the nomination was then made unanimous. The convention was singularly tumultuous and noisy: large claques were hired by both Lincoln's and Seward's managers.



The great fire in 1871 was the most serious check to the city's constantly increasing prosperity, but recovery from this disaster was rapid. The solidity of this prosperity was demonstrated during the financial panic of 1873, when Chicago banks alone among those of the large cities of the country continued steadily to pay out current funds.

The precise cause of the great fire is not known, but it is popularly attributed to Mrs. O'Leary's cow, which according to tradition "kicked over the lamp" and started the flames. The fire spread over an area of 3-1/3 Sq. M., and destroyed 1,700 buildings and property valued at $196,000,000. Almost 100,000 people were made homeless, and 250 lost their lives. The relief contributions from the United States and abroad amounted to nearly $5,000,000, of which about $500,000 was contributed in England. The fire at least gave an opportunity to rebuild the old wooden city with brick and stone.

The later history has been marked on the one hand by serious labor troubles and on the other by the remarkable achievement of the World's Columbian Exposition (1893). The labor outbreaks included several strikes in the packing industry, the Haymarket Riot in 1886, and the Pullman Strike in 1894.

The Haymarket Riot grew out of a strike in the McCormick harvester works. Hostility against the employers had been fomented by a group of so-called International Anarchists and the struggle culminated at the Anarchist meeting at the Haymarket Square. When the authorities said that the speeches were too revolutionary to be allowed to continue and the police undertook to disperse the meeting, a bomb was thrown and seven policemen were killed. Seven anarchists were ultimately convicted as being conspirators and accomplices and were condemned to death. Four were hanged, one committed suicide, two had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment, and eight anarchists were sentenced to imprisonment for 15 years. In 1893 Gov. Altgeld pardoned those still in prison.

The leader of the Pullman strike, which began in the Pullman car works, was Eugene Debs (1855), who was the Socialist candidate for President in the election of 1920, although he was then in the penitentiary at Atlanta for violating the Espionage Act during the World War. The strike spread to the railways, and caused great disorder until President Cleveland dispatched federal troops to Chicago.

The exposition was an artistic and educational triumph, and its influence on the progress of the city cannot be overestimated The exposition gave Chicago an artistic conscience one of the direct results of which was the organization of the City Plan Commission, a body which is at work reshaping the city in the interests of greater beauty and utility.

The exposition commemorated the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus. It was held in Jackson Park, on the south side of the city, and covered an area of 686 acres. The buildings (planned by a commission of architects of which D.H. Burnham was the chief) formed a collection of remarkable beauty, to which the grounds (planned by F.L. Olmsted), intersected by lagoons and bordered by a lake, lent an appropriate setting. The fair was opened to the public May 1, 1893, and the total number of admissions was 27,500,000. The total cost was more than $33,000,000.

Owing largely to its central position and to its excellent railroad facilities, Chicago has been a favorite city for national political conventions ever since the nomination of Lincoln Others nominated here have been Grant (1866 and 1872), Garfield (1880), Cleveland (1884 and 1892). Harrison (1888), Roosevelt (1904), Taft (1908) and Harding (1920); and in addition a number of candidates who were unsuccessful including Blaine (1884), Harrison (1892), Bryan (1896), Taft (1912), Roosevelt (1912), and Hughes (1916).

To most foreign visitors and even to many Americans the growth of Chicago is its most impressive feature. Within a little more than 100 years Chicago has grown from a settlement of 14 houses, a frontier military post among the Indians to a great metropolis, the second city in America and fourth in size among the cities of the world. In 1829 what is now the business centre was fenced in as a pasture; in 1831 the Chicago mail was deposited in a dry goods box; the tax levy of 1834 was $48.90, and a well that constituted the city's water-system was sunk at a cost of $95.50. In 1843 hogs were by ordinance barred from the streets.

There are residents of Chicago still living who can remember the early days when the first village school stood on the ground now occupied by the Boston Store at Dearborn and Madison Sts. Some even insist they remember when wolves were trapped on the site of the present Tribune building. In the early period the streets of the little town were thick with mire in the rainy season, and it is said that signs were placed at appropriate points with inscriptions such as "No Bottom Here," "Stage Dropped Here," etc. The first improvement of note in Chicago was an inclined plank road in Lake St., arranged with a gutter in the center for drainage. It was the only safe route over which stage coaches from the west could enter the town.

In 1830 with a population of less than 100, in 1840 with 4,479, the increase by percentages in succeeding decades was as follows: 507, 265, 174, 68, 119, 54, 29, and (1910 to 1920) 23. Approximately 75 per cent of Chicago's population is of foreign birth or parentage. This foreign population is made up principally of Germans, about 50 per cent, Irish 12, Austrian 13, Russian 10, Swedish 6, Italian 4, Canadian, including French Canadians, 4, and English 4.

It has been said that Chicago is "the second largest Bohemian city in the world, the third Swedish, the fourth Norwegian, the fifth Polish and the fifth German (New York being the fourth)." This ought not to be construed, however, as a reflection on the fundamental Americanism of Chicago's citizens.

The growth in area has kept pace with the growth in population. As originally plotted in 1830, the town had an area of a little less than half a square mile; today it covers an area of practically 200 Sq.M. Its greatest length (north and south) is 26 M., and the greatest width (east and west) is 9 M.

The Chicago River with its three, branches divides the city into three sections—the North, South and West sides. Technically the downtown or "loop" district (so-called because of the elevated railway which encircles the central business section) belongs to the south side, though usually it is classified separately.

The Chicago River formerly flowed into Lake Michigan. It was then an exceedingly dirty stream and a menace to health. In order to improve the character of the river and also to give the Chicago adequate sanitary drainage, dredging operations to reverse the direction of flow of the river were undertaken, and canals were constructed connecting it with the Illinois River. This great engineering feat was begun in 1892 and completed in 1900. The total expenditure on the drainage canals since 1892 has been more than $100,000,000.

In no other great city is the business district so concentrated as is the case in Chicago. Within an area of a little more than 1 Sq. M. are located the principal office buildings, department stores, shops, hotels and theatres. Not far from the centre of this district is the new City Hall and County Building, an 11-story structure costing $5,000,000.

Chicago is generally credited with being the original home of the steel frame sky-scraper, though there are now many higher buildings in New York and elsewhere. The height of buildings in Chicago is limited by city ordinance to about 22 stories.

At La Salle St., where it is crossed by the southern arm of the elevated "loop" is the New York Central Station, an impressive building which stands closer to heart of Chicago's financial and business section than any other railway station in the city.

Michigan Ave., just to the east of the business centre, possesses a truly noble aspect, and the visitor could not select a better place to begin his tour of the city. Due to the monotonous regularity of the streets and the all-pervading soft coal smoke, Chicago presents on the whole a somewhat drab appearance, but the view from Grant Park or from the lake front (with Michigan Ave. in the foreground) is nearly, if not quite, as fine as anything N.Y. has to offer. In Michigan Ave. are the Public Library (with a beautiful interior), the Art Institute (with fine collections of pictures and one of the largest art schools in the country), Orchestra Hall (the home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), the "Blackstone" Hotel and a number of fine shops.

Michigan Ave., by way of Lake Shore Drive on the north, and by way of Midway Plaisance on the south, connects with Chicago's fine park system. The principal parks are joined by beautiful boulevards encircling the entire city, and a delightful two hours' motor trip (45 M.) will enable the tourist to visit Lincoln Park on the north, Humboldt, Garfield and Douglas parks on the west, and Washington and Jackson parks on the south.



For reference a general summary of Chicago's "points of interest" exclusive of those already mentioned is here given.

North Side

Lincoln Park: Academy of Sciences Museum; botanical conservatories and a zoological garden with a splendid Lion House. Also the fine Saint Gaudens Statue of Lincoln at the entrance and other monuments in the park.

Chicago Historical Society Library and Collection, Dearborn Ave. and Ontario St.; an interesting collection of historic relics and documents.

The Municipal pier, at the foot of Grand Ave., built by the city at a cost of $4,000,000; devoted to recreational activities as well as to commercial purposes. Excursion steamers may be taken here to various points on the lake.

The Newberry Library, a free reference library, Clark St. and Walton Place.

Northwestern University, in Evanston (at the extreme North of the city—actually outside the city limits). Northwestern University is a Methodist-Episcopal institution of about 5,000 students.

Ft. Sheridan. A U.S. military post north of Evanston.

Lake Forest, a fashionable suburb north of Ft. Sheridan.

South Side

Life Saving Station at the mouth of the Chicago River.

Tablet marking site of Ft. Dearborn, River St., opposite the old Rush St. Bridge.

Crerar Library, East Randolph St., a reference library devoted chiefly to scientific subjects; open to the public.

Board of Trade, La Salle and Jackson Sts.; visitors may obtain admission to gallery overlooking the famous wheat pit.

Auditorium hotel and theatre building, Michigan Ave. at Congress St.; view of city from tower.

The Coliseum building, 16th St. and Wabash Ave.; all the national Republican conventions of recent years have been held here.

Field Museum of Natural History (founded by Marshall Field), in Grant Park; a fine anthropological and historical collection. The Museum, originally housed in a temporary building in Jackson Park, was made possible by the gift of $1,000,000 by Marshall Field, who on his death (1906) bequeathed a further $8,000,000 of which $4,000,000 has been used for the new building.

Ft. Dearborn Massacre Monument, 18th St., near the lake.

Armour Institute of Technology, founded by the Armour family, 3300 Federal St.

Douglas Monument, 35th St. near Lake Michigan; Stephen A. Douglas is buried here.

Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) was born in Vermont, but in 1833 he went west and settled in Jacksonville, Ill., where he was admitted to the bar in 1834. He identified himself with the Jackson Democrats and his political rise was rapid even for the west. Among other offices, he held those of Judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois, representative in Congress and senator from Illinois. Although he did more perhaps than other men, except Henry Clay, to secure the adoption of the Compromise Measures of 1850, he seems never to have had any moral antipathy against slavery. His wife and children were by inheritance owners of slaves. In 1858 he engaged in a close and exciting contest for the senatorship with Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Candidate, whom he met in a series of debates over slavery that soon became famous and brought Lincoln prominently into public favor, though he was defeated in this particular contest.

The Stockyards, Halsted and Root St. In area the yards exceed 400 acres; they have facilities for taking care of 50,000 cattle, 20,000 hogs, 30,000 sheep and 5,000 horses. The great packing plants are clustered around the stockyards.

The University of Chicago, Ellis Ave., south of 51st St. This university was established under Baptist auspices and opened in 1892. The words "founded by John D. Rockefeller" (whose donations to the institution form the largest part of its endowment) follow the title of the university on all its letter heads and official documents. Mr. Rockefeller's benefactions to the university have been very large. The grounds, however, were given in part by Marshall Field. The buildings are mostly of grey limestone, in Gothic style and grouped in quadrangles. With the exception of the divinity school, the institution is non-sectarian and has about 8,700 students of both sexes.

West Side

The "Ghetto" District on South Canal, Jefferson, and Maxwell Sts.; Fish Market on Jefferson St. from 12th St. to Maxwell.

Hull House, 800 South Halsted St. This famous settlement house was established in 1899 by Miss Jane Addams; who became head resident, and Miss Ellen Gates Starr. It includes a gymnasium, a crêche and a diet kitchen, and supports classes, lectures and concerts.

Haymarket Square, Randolph and Des Plaines Sts.; scene of the anarchist riots.

Sears, Roebuck & Co., a great mail order house which does a business of over $250,000,000 a year retail. Guides are provided to show visitors around the establishment, which is easily reached on the elevated railway.

Western Electric Co., 22nd St. and Forty-eighth Ave. This company supplies the chief part of the equipment of the Bell telephone companies of the U.S. and has about 17,000 employees.

McCormick Harvester Works of the International Harvester Co. This is one of the 23 plants of the greatest manufacturers of agricultural machinery in the world.

Chicago's position at the head of the most southwestern of the Great Lakes was the primary factor in determining its remarkable growth and prosperity. But with the decline of water transportation the city has not suffered, for it stands at one of the natural cross roads of trade and travel. Today it is the chief railroad centre not only in the U.S. but in the world. Not counting subsidiary divisions there are 27 railroads entering Chicago, which is the western terminus of the great New York Central System.

Chicago is thus the focus of the activities of half a continent. It is the financial centre of the west and the metropolis of the richest agricultural section in the country. These circumstances have contributed to make it the greatest grain and live stock market in the world. But its accessibility to the raw materials of industrial development has also made it a great manufacturing city. Chicago has more than 10,000 factories and the output of its manufacturing zone is probably more than $3,000,000,000 annually. The principal industries and manufactures are meat packing, foundry and machine shop products, clothing, cars and railway construction, agricultural implements, furniture, and (formerly) malt liquors.



FACTS ABOUT THE NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY

The New York Central Lines comprise 14,242 miles of track. As part of the track equipment, there are 40,000,000 wooden ties, worth about $1 each. On these ties are 1,727,000 tons of steel rail, worth $96,000,000. There are 32 tunnels, costing $10,000,000, and 19,000 bridges and culverts, costing $60,000,000. In the principal cities the New York Central's terminals cover about 4,800 acres, assessed at more than $100,000,000. The deeds for right-of-way for the section east of Buffalo alone number more than 30,000.

Passengers carried annually 66,063,480 Freight carried annually (tons) 113,534,840 No. of employees (1919) 95,340 No. of locomotives 3,840 No. of passenger cars 3,500 No. of dining cars 70 No. of freight cars 144,840 Operating Revenues, 1910 $ 153,383,590 Amount paid employees (1919) 148,244,390 Taxes paid 17,376,120 Funded debt (bonds) 748,354,470 Stock issued 249,849,360 Actual investment 1,134,500,940 Excess of investment over outstanding securities 136,297,110 Operating Revenues, 1880 51,925,370 Operating Revenues, 1890 59,484,870 Operating Revenues, 1900 81,029,460 Operating Revenues, 1910 153,383,590 Operating Revenues, 1920 338,624,450

This booklet is based on The Encyclopaedia Britannica. If you have found it interesting and entertaining, you will find the Britannica a source of inexhaustible interest and enjoyment. This booklet contains sixty-five thousand words; the Britannica over forty-four million. This booklet is a guide to a single trip; the Britannica will be your guide to any trip you want to take to any part of the world. And the best part of it is that you don't have to leave your own fireside to go to the four corners of the globe.

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