Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1899-04-27
BANNER YEAR FOR EXPORTS.
Last Year Showed IA Marked Increase
An Value and Quantity-An
Excellent Showing.

year of 1898 was the banner year of
our exports being the largest ever re.
corded for a like period, and our inl-
ports exceptionally small. According
to comprehensive report just pre-
pared by Frank H. Hitchcock, chief of
the section of foreign markets of the
agricultural department, the total val
ue of our domestic exports reached the
| enormous sum of 81 ,210, 291 ,913, exceed
ing the record-breaking figures of the
preceding year by SITS, 2S4,3 $40.
On the other hand, the imports dur
| ing 1898 were the smallest since 1885.
, their value being $616, ,654, decline
of S14S, 6sO,75S from the figures of 1892.
| Two Dollars for One.
Broadly stated, for every dollars
worth of foreign merchandise brought
into the United States, two dollars
! worth of our products found a market
abroad. Our domestic exports as COM
pared with our imports showed an ex-
! cess of 1894, 242, 259, or more than twice
| the excess for 1897, which was the
An Interesting Fact Developed.
| An interesting fact developed by the
report of Mr.. Hitchcock is the increase
i in the exports of agricultural prod
ucts, being 1898 per cent. of the total
! or 1855, 507. 942, a gain of nearly 2j
per cent. over 1897. Exports of this
class also show a greater gain pro-
! portiOnately than non-agricuitural ex-
! ports.
Our purchases of foreign agricul
tural products in 1898 amounted to
only $314,291, 100, as compared with
S4OO.S7 ,46S in 1897, Il decrease of $780,
1862, or about % per cent. The val
ne of the American farm produce sent
abroad during 1898 was much more
than double that of our agricultural
imports, the excess of the former over
Ihe latter amounting to $544,216, las.
In 1897 the excess on the side of the
agricultural exports was only $2SS, $751;
725, and in the years Immediately pre-
ceding still smaller.
Value of Breadstuffs Exported.
The total value of the breadstuffs
sent abroad advanced from $197, $751; 19
in 1897, to $3.50, S97, 119 in 1898. In
wheat and flour alone there was gain
of nearly $1OO,OOO,OOO. While these
enormous gains resulted in part from
the higher prices that prevailed, there
was at the same time an important
increase in the quantity shipped.
Wheat Shipments.
The total wheat shipments were
las, POI bushels, nearly double the
quantity exported in 1897. Averaging
The export price at 93.3 cents per
bushel, the value was S145, 1854 $50,
gain of $50. 764 ,4S1 over 1897. when the
average price was 1913 cents per bushel
and the total value 59,920,17S.
Although our exports of wheat fiolr
cid not increase very much in quantity
during 1898. the gain in value as a re-
sult of the higher prices amounted IL
ST., 349.371. During 1898 the export
price averaged as high as $4.51 per bar
rel, making the total value of the ship
nlents $69,263.71S, as compared with
$50, 914,347 for 1897, when the average
price per barrel was only 1854. In
the quantity shipped there was an in
crease from 14,569,545 barrels to 49,
34G ,943 barrels during the two years
mGntIOned-
wheat and Wheat Flour.
The combined shipments of wheat
and wheat -four would amount to
145.124,972 bushels for the former year
and to 217,3O6,0O5 bushels for the lat
ter. The total value of the exported
wheat and wheat flour reached as high
as S214.94S,377 in 1898, while in 1897 il
was ONLY S115
The Next Largest Gain.
Next to wheat, Indian corn showed
the largest gain, the total exports be
ing POS, IA, 939 bushels, valued at S74,-
19G,65O, as against 176, ,365 bushels
valued at $54,OS7,152, in 1897. The av-
erage price in 1898 was 35.5 cents per
bushel as compared with 300 cents pei
bushel the preceding year, the differ
encc in prices again counting in the in.
creased total value of $40, 1O9,69S.