The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1900-02-16


Extraordinary Changes That Have Come
10 Pass Under Wise Economical Legs
lanon
Theie was time, and II is not 30 long
distant, when the exports OF the United
States consisted almost exclusively OF agrI-
cultural produce, of wheat and corn and
cotton aud meat. II Is not SO nov. To DO
sure, what are known as foodptuffs SUD
form the major part of the American
merchald disc which find foreign market.
In the nature OF things this is inevitable
and Is likely to continue for many years to
come. A large part of the population of
the Old World Is dependent upon this
| country for IFS food, and as population In
creases this dependency will become moie
and more absolute and extended Our ex-
ports of manufactures cannot equal our ex-
ports OF mineral and agricultural products
for many years to come. The important
thing is that the discrepancy between the
two is steadily decreasing.
In 1860 only twelve per cent of our ex-
ports were other than agricultural; last year
the proportion had risen to thirty per cent,
while Al the same time the proportion OF
imports which consisted of raw materials
intended to be used In the processes of
manufacture is steadily increasing. IL
would be impossible to overrate the
| momentOus nature OF this Circumstance
| The tables show that In 1869, when the
total imports were valued at S43S, 1855, 1874,
the DOL -dutiable merchandise, by which
must be understood the articles imported
tor the purposes OF manufacture, was esti-
mated TO amount to $21, 775, 643, whereas
last year, cut of the total Imports ut s799,-
| 4,620, the estimated value OF the non
| dutabIe merchandise is reported to have
been 1851, S14,99
This constitutes an extraordinary, an un-
| paralleled demonstration of the forward
stride in the direction indicated which the
nation is taking. Although we are i'm
porting twice as much in value as we were
| thirty years ago, the amount of manu-
featured goods which we buy abroad has
| actually decreased. There is something
marvellous in the industrial development
| thus demonstrated
Take some other figures by way of
further illustration. They will show that
while our imports have doubled since 1869
| our exports have quadrupled In the
former year there was an excess Of imports
over exports amounting to SOL, 079, 906,
whereas in 1899 the excess of exports over
imports aggregated s475, esq., 51. This ex-
cess is not so large as that noted in 1898,
but tho decline is wholly in agricultural
staples. There was general failure of
crops In Europe in 1898, and that failure
had to be made good from the United
States. 1t was natural that last year,
when an average European crop was
harvested, the demand upon the United
States should have fallen off, On the Other
hand, the foreign demand for articles of
American manufacture actually increased,
and this in spite of the fact that there had
been great and general increase In prices,
the effect of which it had been apprehended
would be to curtail materially the selling of
| American manufactures In the foreign
market. Yet instead of being curtailed
that selling actually increased.
| 1t will be seen that these dry statistics
| reflect nothing less than commercial,
! financial and industrial revolution, rev.
| olution made possible by the policies OF the
republican party and the efficiency OF re-
publican administration. -Philadelphia H.
Quirer.