The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-13
COTTON AND STEEL GOODS MAR
KETS

hEIS.
If the Yankee statesman should go mad
for few years on the subject Of mar
kets for steel and iron goods and cotton
manufactures, outside of Europe, he
would leave a record behind him Of
which great men might be envious. With
IN enormous iron ore production, the
largest In the world, we are In immi-
hent danger of entering upon career
Of shipments of pig iron te foreign fur
hGces. With the greatest cotton fields in
the world, and ample coal and water
powers to run spindles for It's total manu-
facture, we are yet shipping to foreign
mills over two-thirds of our entire
growth. And producing food sufficient to
feed all the possible hands engaged in the
Manufacture of all our cotton and iron,
x they were all manufactured on our
bwn SOIL we are yet hunting for mar
kets in South America and Asia for flour,
bacon and canned goods.
For the ten years closing with the fiscal
year 1893 the five Central American
Btates had a balance of trade against
the United States of $29.OOO,OOO, Cuba
balance Of $39S, 0O0, 900, Brazil balance of
R6S6, 900, and the other South American
states balance of $127, 100000. OF all the
countries to the south of US, for those
ten years, only Mexico, Hayti and Peru
stood our debtors at the close And on
the whole shooting match" we We're com
PEELED to fork over the sum Of 81, 1S5, 152, 227
IN gold-balance against US for merchan-
disc. Such brats of republics as Guate-
mala, Venezuela and Salvador came UP
smiling and demanded their gold eagles
in the sums of $11, 100000, $35, 900 and
kSe0O,OO0 respectively, and others in like
manner. Only Mexico, Hayti and Peru
thanked us for small favors and paid
us in silver at the market price the to-
tal sum of $72.OOo,OOO for the ten years.
In that ten years we sold to Mexico
steel and iron goods to the value Of
barely $41,0O0.0O0. to Cuba $2S,OOO,OOO and
to Brazil SIS. 0OO, 900. But we took from Mex
leo coffee to the value of sac, 0oO, 900, from
Brazil to the value of S574,0OO, OOO and
from Cuba sugar and tobacco to the
value of s492 100000.
To Cuba in that ten years we sold but
b973OOO worth of cottons, to Mexico we
bold to the value of $22,eOo,Ooo, but to
Brazil only to the value Of SO, 900,
while to the whole South and Central
american hierarchy of Spanish republics
we sold but 100000 worth.
So that the net result of ten wears
bf trading operations with our much less
advanced neighpors on the south was
dead loss to us of more than Sic, 900. 900
per year in gold eagles, without taking
into consideration the vessel freights on
three sides Of the triangle.
Thirty millions short with five Central
American revolutionary republicsl Yet
to Costa RIGA we sold cotton goods In
that time to the value Of sic, O00, 900, show
Ing what might have been done with
the others had we sought the trade
And we were short $685., 100000 in gold
in our trading with Brazil, the other
really great republic in the Western
hemisphere, but supposed to be far be-
hind us in all lines Of manufactures and
even OF agriculture. Practically all that
we sold Brazil In that ten Years came
under the four headings of provisions
aron and steel, mineral oils and wood and
cotton manufactures. But cotton goods
only to the sum of s1O.OOO,ooo, and iron
and steel only $1S.OOO,OOo Where were
our cotton manufacturers Ask the
Epindles Of England and Germany. What
became of our total gold and silver pro-
duction for those ten years? Ask the
spindles of England and Germany and
their steel mills. For all the excess ~
trade that Brazil and Cuba had against
us went to pay for European cottons and
Iron goods, and more good money with It.
And our coffee balance with Brazil al
most exactly equaled our silver produce
ZION, while our balance with Cuba for
iugar and tobacco almost exactly eoualed
bur gold production.
80 that 1t stands thus: We had south
US twenty-five inferior repuhlics or