This section is from the book "The Wonder Book Of Knowledge", by Henry Chase. Also available from Amazon: Wonder Book of Knowledge.
Aside from these special instances of electricity in construction, one must think of electricity as responsible for nearly all the manufacturing, large and small, that goes on in the ever-increasing number of loft-buildings throughout all large cities, For example, New York City serves as the center of the garment-making industry for the entire country, there being fully a quarter of a million garment-trade workers in the Greater City. Along Fifth and Fourth Avenues are found the large establishments, electrically equipped throughout for cutting, stitching and pressing, while even in the smallest shops on the East Side foot-power machines have become almost a thing of the past.
 
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