The progress of the miner has also been great. Of coal our production was small ;
now many millions of t^ns are mined annually. So with iron, which formed scarcely an
appreciable part of our products half a century ago, we now produce more than the world
consumed at the beginning of our national existence. Lead, zinc, and copper, from being
articles of import, we may expect to be large exporters of in the near future. The devel-
opment of gold and silver mines in the United States and Territories has not only been
remarkable, but has had a large influence upon the business of all commercial nations.
Our merchants in the last hundred years have had a success and have established a reputa-
tion for enterprise, sagacity, progress, and integrity unsurpassed by peoples of older nation-
alities. This " good name" is not confined to their homes, but goes out upon every sea
and into every port where commerce enters. With equal pride we can point to our progress
in all of the learned professions.
