The Portland daily press., 1892-12-07


! dented yearly production of 3,68S,87l gross
tons in 1890. The production of Bessemer
steel rails for the first six months of 1892
was 772, 436. gross tons, as against 100000
gross tons during the last six months OF the
| year 1891.
An Increased Foreign Trade.
The total value of our foreign trade lex
ports and imports of merchandise) during
the last fiscal year, was $l,S57S80,6lO. an
increase of 1928, ,604 over the previous
fiscal year. The average annual value OF
our imports and exports of merchandise for
the ten fiscal years prior to 1891 was
| $l,457,322,019. 1t will be observed that
our foreign trade for 1892 exceeded this an
nual average value by $500, 35S,59l an in
crease of 27O.47 per cent The significance
| and value of this increase are shown by the
| fact that the excess in the trade of 1892 over
! 1891 was wholly in the value of exports,
for there was decrease in the value of i'm
ports of $l7,513,754.
The value of our exports during the fiscal
wear 1892 reached the highest figure in the
| history of the government amounting to
| 81, 030, 27S,14S, exceeding by $145,797, 1888
| the exports of 1891 and exceeding the value
of the imports by $202,875,6S6. A COM
parison of the value of our exports for 1884,
with the annual average for the ten years
prior to 1891 shows an excess of 1926, 49,
651, or of 1896 per cent. The value of our
exports of merchandise for 1892 which was
$829,402, 1852, exceeded the annual average
value OF the ten years prior to 1891 by
| $l35.2l5,940. During the fiscal year 1892
the value Of imports free of duty amounted
to $457,999,658 the largest in the history of
| our commerce. The value of the imports of
merchandise entered free of duty in 1892
was 5535 per cent. Of the total value of
imports as compared with 1885 per cent in
1891, and 1886 per cent in 1890.
| In our Coastwise trade a most encouraging
| development has been made in the last four
| years, an increase of 16 per cent. In in
ternal commerce the statistics show that no
such period of prosperity has ever before ex-
| listed. The freight carried in the coastwise
trade of the great lakes in 1890 aggregated
| 2S1 1896 959 tons. On the Mississippi,
Missouri and Ohio rivers and tributaries, IN
the same year, the traffic aggregated 29,4O5,-
| DAG tons, and the total vessel tonnage pass
ing through the Detroit river during that
| year was 2l.6S4,800 tons. The vessel
tonnage entered and cleared in the
foreign trade of London during 1890
amounted to 1S4SO,767 tons and Of Liver
pool 10,941 800 tons total for these two
great shipping ports of 24,422,568 tons only
slightly in excess of the vessel tonnage pas
sing through the Detroit river. And it
should be said that the season for the De-
troit river was but 22S days, while of course
in London and Liverpool the season was for
the entire year. The vessel tonnage passing
through the St. Mary's canal for the fiscal
year 1892 amounted to 9828.S74 tons, and
the freight tonnage of the Detroit river is
estimated for that year at 25,000,000 tons
against 23,209.6l9 tons in 1891.
The aggregate traffic on our railroads for
| the wear 1891 amounted to 704,39S,609 tons
of freight compared with 691.344,437 tons
in 1890, an increase of 13,054.l72 tons.
Another indication of the general pros
perity of the country is found in the fact
that the number of deposltors in savings
banks increased from 693,870 in 1860, to
4,25S, S93 IN 1890, an increase of 5l3 per
cent, and the amonnt of deposits from
Sl49,277, 5O4 in 1860, to $l,524,844, sos in
the amount of deposits in savings banks
80 per cent Of these deposits represent the
savings of wage earners.
The bank clearances for nine months,
ending September 80, 1891, amounted to
$4l. 049, 390,90S. For the same months in
1892 they amounted to $40, 1885, 0l,947, an
excess for the nine months of $4, 40.211,1 39.
| There never has been time in our his
tory VIII work was so abundant or when
wages were as high, whether measured by
the currency in which they are paid or by
| their power to supply the necessities and
| comforts of life.
| 1t is true that the market prices of cotton
and wheat have been low. 1t is one of the
unfavorable incidents of agriculture that the
| farmer cannot produce upon orders. He
must SOW and reap in ignorance of the ag-
gregate production of the year, and is pecu-
liarly subject to the depreciation which fol-
lows overproduction. But while the fact
have stated is true as to the crops men
toned, the general average of prices has
been such as to give to agriculture fair
participation in the general prosperity. The
value Of our tota, farm products has in
creased from $l,363.646,866 in 1860 to
| $4,500,O0O,O00 in 1891, as estimated by sta
tisticians, an increase of 230 per cent. The
number of hogs January l, 1891, was 50,-
25,106, and their value $2l0, 1926; on
January L, 1917, the numoer was ol,o9o,-
019 and the value $24l, 031, AIS. On Janu-
ary l, 1891, the number of cattle was &c.
S75,648 and the value $544,l27.9OS. On
January l. 1892, the number was 37,651,-
239 and the value $570,749,l55.
If any are discontinued with their
state here; if any believe that
wages or prices, he returns for honest toll,
are inadequate, they should not fail to re-
member that there is no other country in the
world where the conditions that seem to
them hard would not be accepted as highly
prosperous. The English agriculturist
would be glad to exchange the returns of
his labor for those of the American farmer
and the Manchester workmen their wages
| for those of their fellows at Fall River.
Protection did it.
believe that the protective system, which
has now for something more than 80 years
continuously prevailed in our legislation, has
been mighty instrument for the develop
ment of our national wealth and a most
| powerful agency in protecting the homes OF
our workingmen from the invasion of want.
| I have felt most solicitous interest to
preserve to our working people the rates OF
wages that would not only give daily bread
but supply comfortable margin for those
| ho,.,a ot+raot;onc apd family comforts and