Evening star., 1901-03-02
WE LEAD THE WORLD
America the Greatest Producer
Among Nations.
how this HAS COME ABOUT
Forging to the Front in the Mat
ter of Exports.
OUR NATURAL RESOURCES

Chief Of the Bureau Of Statistics.
"How may the United States retain her
lead in the worlds markets?" This ques-
tion has been suggested to me, but it seems
that 1t might more properly take his form:
How could the United States. except by
gloss neglect fail to retain the lead in the
worlds markets?''
The individual who deals In the articles
absolutely required for daily life is sure
of having customers If he deals fairly; II
| he has not too many rivals and II the class
of goods which he has to sell is as good as
that which is offered by other people.
| Our condition as a nation justifes this
| comparison. We are the greatest producer
| in the world Of practically all the articles
| which man must have for daily sustenance
| and comfort. We produce more of provis-
ions and breadstuffs for food than any
other nation; we produce more of cotton
for clothing; more of iron. ore and copper
| for use in manufacturing; more of coal for
| heating and use in the domestic arts and
| industries; more of petroleum Tor Hsht'
| have better manufacturing facillties' more
| ingenious machinery and skilled workmen
| than any other nation, and more effective
railway system for transporting these com
| modities natural and manufactured, to the
| waters edge and great ocean on each
side to float them to every part OF the
world. We have all the articles that the
world requires for daily USE; our rivals,
| though numerous, have not the taciltles
| of production which we possess, but II we
| deal fairly by our customers why may we
| not then continue to lead, and why should
| there be any possible failure in our con-
| tinuing to lead the world in international
| commerce?
Enormous Production.
National statistics of the production of
| n1a lat
and travel slowly; but it is now practicable
| to compare our own statistics with those OF
| other countries for 1898 and 1899 Our
| wheat crop of 1898 exceeded that of any
| other country being 615, 900 bushels,
| while Russia, which came next in rank, had
| 405 000, 900 bushels, our own being 70 per
| cent of the worlds wheat supply. our pro-
| duct of corn which is rapidly gaining in
| popularity throughout the world, was In
| 1898 more than ten times that OF the leXt
| largest producer ustria-Hungary-belng
in that year 1924, ,000, 600 bushels, against
161, ,OOO, 900 bushels in Austria-Hungary
which took second rank as the producer OF
this important article of food for man and
animals, and our total production of corn
formed 10 per cent of the worlds total OF
that important food product.
Our expectations of provisions (by which
| term is meant meats and dairy products)
amounted in 1899 to STE. .oOO,o 600, against
S52 600, 600 for the Netherlands which oc-
cupied second rank as an exporter of pro-
visions Our cotton crop of 1898 was 1888.
100000 pounds, against O0,OOOO0O pounds
| produced by British India. which occupied
| second rank a producer of that article
and we supplied over rs per cent Of the cot
ton Of the world.
Out Of the Ground.
Our coal product in 1899 was 217 0OC
tons Of 2,240 pounds, against 202000oO0 tons
by the united kingdom, which occupied Sec
ond rank as worlds producer and our to-
tai formed 81 per cent of the worlds pro-
duction Of that important article, which has
become an absolute requirement in every
part of the world.
$4,000 tons, against 100000 tons by the
united kingdom, and we produced in that
| year "a per cent of the worlds production
of this article, which is becoming more and
more requirement in the industries anC
it's relation to the conveniences and neces
sites of daily life.
Our copper production Of 1898 was four
] times as great as that of any other coun-
try. and formed "a per cent Of the worlds
; | supply. Our petroleum production in that
year was greater than that of any other
} nation, being 2,544,OO0,OOO gallons. against
: 9, ,495 000, 900 gallons by Russia, and our
total amounted to 40 per cent of the
! worlds product of crude petroleum, while
the percentage Of refined petroleum which
: it supplies is very much greater than thai
, Of our chief rival in the production OF
crude petroleum-Russia.
l Our railways aggregate in mileage si1
times those Of the second greatest nation
in railway mileage, Germany and form, ir
fact, 40 per cent of the entire railway sys
| tenn Of the world, while our telegraphs are
| two and half times those of the second
= greatest nation in telegraph mileage. Rus
| sia. and form 25 per cent of the world
, | telegraph system.
Supplying the Markets.
These are the facilities which We have
for great commerce. We produce more
= | Of all the articles which the world require:
, | than any other nation-vastly more-anG
: have far better system of putting these
| articles into the condition in which the
3 | world requires them for immediate con
sumption, that is, manufacturing; while fol
| transporting them we have by far the
| greatest land system and lack only thu
vessels to carry them from our ports acros!
| the great oceans which lave our shores OF
either side and stand ready to float them tt
l | the waiting nations Of the world.
+ When we shall have added to all of thes
: wonderful advantages which nature an(
| the inventive enterprise and boundess en-
: ergy of our people have given u.s. the sin
{ Ole remaining requisite Of Transportation
! facilities from our ocean ports to those o.
! other countries, we should have no diff
Guilty whatever in retaining the supremacy
Of the worlds markets which we have at
tanned in the closing years OF the nineteenth
century. and it would appear that we could
only fail In retaining that supremacy
| InrOuSQ serious ueSleCl VI lIo SIedl az
yantagese which nature has given us.
Comparative Growth.
Another means of estimating our pro-
! spective growth in commerce compared
! with other nations Is to examine our
growth of recent years in comparison with
| that of the other great countries and If we
find that the United States has in those
years gained perceptibly upon other coun-
tries and through that gain has assumed
| an important standing among the great ex'
: porting nations of the world. we may as
sumo that 1t is likely in view Of the natural
advantages above outlined to retain that
rank and even to continue, in part at least
: the relative speed in Its race with Other
nations for the worlds prize of interna-
/ | tional commerce.
In ascertaining this we must look to tht
} | figures which measure the commerce of the
great nations of the world. In this study
we may properly include the record of the
| last quarter century just closed. If we FIND
by comparing our exports during that time
with those Of other nations rnat we have
, | made greater.progress than Others and In
| doing SO have taken high rank as an ex'
porter we may assume that the growth Is
/ IN, via of fho facf ho1