e in the late War of the Rebellion and
was honorably discharged therefrom, or the widow of any such person,
without regard to the length of time he or she has been separated from
the service.

BENJ. HARRISON.

FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 6, 1892_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

In submitting my annual message to Congress I have great satisfaction in
being able to say that the general conditions affecting the commercial
and industrial interests of the United States are in the highest degree
favorable. A comparison of the existing conditions with those of the
most favored period in the history of the country will, I believe, show
that so high a degree of prosperity and so general a diffusion of the
comforts of life were never before enjoyed by our people.

The total wealth of the country in 1860 was $16,159,616,068. In 1890 it
amounted to $62,610,000,000, an increase of 287 per cent.

The total mileage of railways in the United States in 1860 was 30,626.
In 1890 it was 167,741, an increase of 448 per cent; and it is estimated
that there will be about 4,000 miles of track added by the close of the
year 1892.

The official returns of the Eleventh Census and those of the Tenth
Census for seventy-five leading cities furnish the basis for the
following comparisons:

In 1880 the capital invested in manufacturing was $1,232,839,670.

In 1890 the capital invested in manufacturing was $2,900,735,884.

In 1880 the number of employees was 1,301,388.

In 1890 the number of employees was 2,251,134.

In 1880 the wages earned were $501,965,778.

In 1890 the wages earned were $1,221,170,454.

In 1880 the value of the product was $2,711,579,899.

In 1890 the value of the product was $4,860,286,837.

I am informed by the Superintendent of the Census that the omission of
certain industries in 1880 which were included in 1890 accounts in part
for the remarkable increase thus shown, but after making full allowance
for differences of method and deducting the returns for all industries
not included in the census of 1880 there remain in the reports from
these seventy-five cities an increase in the capital employed of
$1,522,745,604, in the value of the product of $2,024,236,166, in wages
earned of $677,943,929, and in the number of wage earners employed of
856,029. The wage earnings not only show an increased aggregate, but an
increase per capita from $386 in 1880 to