The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-12-13
WHO HOLDS MANILA
Holds an Advantage Against
All the World
FOR THE ORIENTAL TRADE
Being Next Door to All Gus
tomers--Some Figures.

! washington, Lee. lZ.--nOTe uldn OH
ion dollars worth of goods are every yea
} imported into the countries commercial.
adjacent to the Philippine islands, ant
more than half that amount is composed
of the class of articles produced or man
ufactured in the United States and Offered
for sale by her people. Two tables JUS
prepared by the treasury bureau Of stats
ties present some startling facts as to the
consuming power of the countries in easy
reach of Manila as an entrepot and dis
tribution point. From Manila 10 Hong
kong and Canton, the gateway TO south
ern China, is but half the distance from
New York to Havana, and from Manila
! 10 Yokahama Port Arthur, Shanghai
| Bangkok or the Strait Settlements is in
each case a distance but little, if any
! greater than that from New York to Ha-
vana. The great ports and cities of the
| British India and Australasia, while
! somewhat more distant, are much nearer
to Manila than to any other general dis
tributing point for the great classes of
merchandise which the countries in ques-
ton produce.
tries, Japan, China, British Australasia
and British India and the Strait Settle
ments, as above indicated, amount to
nearly billion dollars a year. Those
of Japan, which a decade ago were less
than $50, 900 900 are now more than 100
million dollars, and steadily increasing.
Those of China have e1creased 20 per
cent in the last decade and now amount
TO nearly 200 million dollars year. Those
of British Australasia are about 800 mill
ion dollars a year, and those of British
India and the Strait Settlements which
show an increase of about 10 per cent
in the decade, are $50 million dollars annu-
ally.
More than half this enormous sum of
the imports of these four great countries
are, as above indicated, classes of arti-
cles produced in the United States and
offered for sale by her people OF cotton
and cotton goods alone, the imports into
these four countries amount in round
numbers to 100 million dollars per annum
and of this amount but little over 10 mill
ion dollars worth is from the United
States, the great cotton producing coun-
try of the world Imports of iron and
steel into the four countries in question
amount to over 30 million dollars and of
this. seven million dollars worth comes
from the United States The Imports of
leather and manufactures amount to
seven million dollars. and less than one
million dollars of that sum from the
United States; wood and manufactures
thereof to about eight millions annually,
and less than rwo millions of it from the
United States; machinery, not included
under the head of iron and steel manu-
features, to 20 million dollars, of which
less than two millions were from the
United States; chemicals, drugs. etc. !
amounted TO more than two million dol |
lars, with less than one million of it
coming from this country. OF the Il
million dollars worth of mineral oils i'm /
ported into the four countries in uues-
ton. we furnished over one half last year.
OF the thirteen million dollars worth Of /
breadstuffs furnished TO those countries.
our share was less than five million dol
lars worth, and of the six million dol
lars worth of coal, We furnished less than
one per cent. OF the three million dol
lars worth of provisions, we furnished
but little more than a quarter of a mill
ion dollars worth.
OF the eleven great classes of articles,
of cotton, iron and steel.
leather. wood. machinery, chemicals, min
eral oils. breadstuffs. provisions, coal and
raw cotton China imported in 1897 30 mill
ion dollars worth and Of that sum, II
million dollars worth came from the
United States.
Japan imported in 1897 IS million do
lars worth and of that sum. y million
dollars worth came from the United
States; British Australasia imported ca
million dollars worth, of which y mill
on dollars worth came from the United
States, and British India 10 million dol
arS' worth. OF which three and half
million dollars worth was furnished by
he United States.
Following are the distances from Ma
lila TO the great distributing points:
Manila to Hongkong. Cos miles: to Canton.
is miles; to Shanghai 12S5 miles: 20 !
Singapore. 1856 miles; 10 Batavia, 1870 (
niles; to Yokohama. l. 753 miles; to Port 1
Arthur. 1885 miles; 10 Bangkok, 2.116 ]
niles; to Madras, 1866 miles; to Port Oar
win, 2.692 miles; 70 Calcutta, S0I6 miles:
o Sydney, 1862 miles