The Indianapolis Journal

INDIANA'S MANUFACTURES.

A private letter from St. Louis states that so large a part of the display of agricultural machinery and carriages was exhibited by Indiana manufacturers that one might have taken it for an Indiana State exhibit. The display was probably one of the fullest ever made in the country, filling, as it did, a large number of buildings and covering several acres of the fair ground. In every department the enterprise and skill of the Indiana manufacturer were not only represented, but were conspicuous in the excellence of the products. In the department of carriages, Indiana eclipsed all other competitors in variety and quality.
Such testimony from one who has no special interest in the industries of Indiana, and who simply viewed the exhibit in a general way, must be very gratifying to our readers who have a special interest in whatever reflects credit on the enterprise and skill of our own citizens. This testimony, however, only goes to sustain the fact which for years the Journal has labored to impress upon the people of Indiana, namely, that while its agricultural interests are of first importance, we have become one of the first manufacturing States in the Union. The last census showed that tendency, but the next will reveal a growth in varied industries which has been going on silently during the past decade which will astonish as well as gratify us.
What is most gratifying is the fact that this development is natural and real. No special effort has been made to attract capital and enterprise to Indiana. Manufacturers have simply come to Indiana and been satisfied that it is the locality in which to plant manufacturing enterprises, and have quietly located here. They have found that Indiana is nearer the center of population than any other State, and so near to the raw material and the growing States of the West as to afford the best location for the factories which produce the goods which these States need and must have. By the excellence of their products, Indiana's manufacturers stand first in the markets of all the new States, and even in the older States, where their goods come into competition with others.
These facts are repeated with this testimony because our people are liable to forget that, all things considered; Indiana is unexcelled in all the elements which conspire to make a prosperous people and a wealthy community.