Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1895-08-03
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE.

FoRElGN TRADE-The completed
figures Of the foreign trade OF the
1 United States for the fiscal year,
which ended on June 30 last, show
smaller volume Of exports and
( smaller excess of exports over imports
than in 1894, but II larger excess Of
exports than in 1893 The domestic
exports and the imports for the three
years were rs follows: Domestic ex-
ports in 1893, $S3l, O30, 7Sj; in 1894,
/ 1868, ,OJ8, 1873; in 1895, $793, Jj3, 0lS.
Imports in 1893, 1856, 400, 922; in
1894, $Gl7, 10, OH; in 1895, $751;,
/ 96O,3 ,3l9 Excess of exports i'll 1893,
$50, $40, 1877; in 1894, S22l, 283, 14l;
in 1895, $6l, 592, 500. The excess in
| 1893 is the excess Of imports, rather
| than of exports, due to the unhealthy
speculative movement which culminat-
eI in the panic. The figures for 1894
/ shCw the reverse of this tendency,
and the big excess OF exports due to
| the sacrifice Of American products at
/ reduced prices in order to obtain cash
and the stoppage Of unnecessary I'M
| ports. The figures for 1895, while
not showing such large totals as were
| hoped for in some quarters, are re.
| garded us indicating more healthy
condition Of trade and larger pur-
chasing power in the United States
than existed in 1894. The figures for
! June show an excess of imports OF
s., 300, sos, the imports having been
Sol, 4O3, G24 and the exports SO, lO2,-
926 The imports for June, 1894,
were Sjl PISS and the exports
were S57 5O2, 9S7, showing an excess
/ Of exports of 81, pa, III. The balance
OF imports of gold during June was
/ 81, 963, 80, against an excess of ex-
ports i'll June, 1894, Of S22, 376, ,S72.
The months ending with June has now
risen to SIG, G34, 6GG, while the cor
responding five months OF 1894 showed
Il balance of exports Of sos, 900, GIG.
The balance i'll favor of the United
States therefore, under the operations
OF the bond syndicate, has been more
| taan so, 900, 900.
Our PREMIER Our premier" as
the nnglomanacs delight to call our
Secretary Of State, has been ''turned
/ down" by couple of his associates
The superintendent Of the new State,
War and Navy building in Washing
ton is chosen by the secretaries OF
those three departments. Two Massa-
chusetts men were candidates. Mr..
/ Oney favored one and Mr. Herbert
the other, and Mr.. Lamont actually
gave the casting vote against the
premier Now does or does not this
make Mr.. Lamont the premier, at
least pro hac vice?
INTERNATIONAL TRAFFGc-A decision
Of importance for its effect upon the
transit trade of the United States and
Canada is embodied in letter dis.
patched by Assistant Secretary Ham
lin to Auditor Baldwin OF the treasury
department. The decision reatfirms
the previous rulings of the department
in favor nf tho right nf railway oars
and locomotives from either country
to traverse the United States free of
duty, but is of importance because it
commits the present administration to
position which was sharply contested
under Secretary Window in 1890, and
was Il matter of some doubt under Se
cretary Fairchild in 1888. Mr.. Ham
Inns letter to the auditor is as fol-
lows: Referring to your letter of the
18th inst, lnclOslng copies OF CORE
spondenco between your office and the
collector of customs at Fort Benton,
Mont, relative to duties collected on
the repairs made in Canada to a loco
motive tender belonging to the Great
Falls ~ Canada railway, You are iu-
formed that, under repeated decisions
of the department, the passage Of Ca.
madam railway trains into this country
has been decided not to be an impor-
tation under the tariff act and no
duties are therefore assessable upon
such trains. See department decisions
$. 9j49 and S, 1859. 1t follows that
no duties are assessable upon inciden-
I tai repairs made to n United States
engine on its route through Canada.
The duties collected by the collector
at Fort Benton should be duly audited
but that officer should be instructed
hereafter to conform his practice i'll
the matter to the decisions of the de-
partment.
GETTING INFoRMATIoN-It is now
admitted at the war department that
Lieut. Brown of the army, one of the
ablest and most accomplished of the
Younger officers, is now obtaining
military information on the Canadian
/ border, although the officials will not
of course, give any information as to
where he is, lest it should get to the
! Canadian authorities and they should
make trouble for him. Several times
before, within recent years, the war
| department has sent officers to the
| Canadian frontier on similar errand,
| but they have always been discovered
| by the Canadians and have been
obliged to return, without getting
much information of value. Lieut..
Brown has been sent, OF course, with
out letters of introduction and with
ont notice of any kind, to the Cana
dian government to do what un-
doubtedly English officers have al
ready done on our side of the line in
the way of getting, unotficinlly, facts
concerning the border which would
be of value in case Of war. He is to
examine the roads, streams and coun.
try, with an eye to its occupation.
LIGHTHOUSE AFFAIRs-W Wolcott H.
Marr has been appointed keeper of the
light station at Hendricks Head, Me-,
vice Jaruel H. Marr resigned. The
lighthouse board has awarded the fol-
lowing contracts: To the L. w. Van
Dusen Company of Cincinnati for
1000 pound bell for the fog signal at
Eastern Point, Mass, $575; to David
| V. Howell, New York, for construct
ing II jetty at Faulkner island, CT,
s527; to Donald Gum, Groton, Ct.,
for repairing buoy and coal wharf at
New London, CT, $3.50
A rinnipnot Il ponar hos fouul ont that