s.

Up to the time of the war, and perhaps till its close, the history of
New Bedford and the whaling industry was identical. But the discovery of
petroleum, the scarcity of whales, and at the same time the low price of
oil, necessitated an entirely new field for the capital and energy so
long devoted to whaling. For a period of ten years or so the city was
in a transition state, the conservative element contending for a
continuation of the old order of things, while the younger blood
demanded the necessary changes to keep abreast of the times. At one
time it did look as though the conservatives would succeed; but gradually
one industry after another got a foothold. Then the panic of 1872
demonstrated that a man who has money must invest it where he can watch
it, instead of trusting to luck in some wild-cat railroad scheme out
West. By the concentration and investment at home of some of the money
saved from the wreck, the Wamsutta mills have become a corporation with
a capital of three million dollars. The Potomska mills have accumulated
a capital of fifteen hundred thousand, the Grinnell mill has eight
hundred thousand, the Acushnet mill six hundred thousand, the Yarn
mills three hundred thousand. In addition to these cotton mills other
industries have sprung up, so that the total capital represented by the
various corporations is over nine millions of dollars. Banking also
proved profitable. Of the five national banks three have a capital of a
million dollars each, another has six hundred thousand, and the fifth
half a million; making a total capital of four millions, one hundred
thousand. Add to this the surplus funds, premiums on the stock, etc.,
and the amount of money represented by these five national banks falls
little short of ten millions of dollars. The Institution for Savings has
deposits of over ten millions, and, with over three millions of deposits
in the other savings-bank, the seven New Bedford banks represent some
twenty-three millions of dollars.

But New Bedford is not, or never has been, devoted entirely to the
scramble for wealth. Her public schools have been given a place among
the best, their cost last year being one hundred thousand dollars. She
has given to the world many scholarly as well as smart men. During the
war she did her duty bravely, sending eleven hundred more men than her
quota. With all of her business she has not neglected her duties to her
country or to her own citizens. One of