New-York tribune., 1901-03-03
BY o. p. AUSTEN.
,,s, % N. Bureau Of Statistics. washington.

States except by gross neglect, IAN TO retain
the lead in the worlds markets?
The Individual who deals in the articles abso-
,ute,v required for daily life is sure Of having
customers % II he deals fairly; 90 If he has not
too many rivals and 90 if the class Of goods
which he has 10 sell is as good as that which is
offered by other people.
Our condition as a nation justihes this com
parison 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 provisions and hreadstufts Tor
food than any other nation; We produce more
Of cotton for clothing. more Of iron ore and cop
per for use in manufacturing, more Of coal FOR
heating and use in the domestic arts and indus
tries more OF petroleum for light. have better
manufacturing facilities. more ingenious ma
chinery and skilled workmen than any other
nation, and a more effective railway system for
TRANSPORTING these commodities. natural and
manufactured. 10 the waters edge and great
ocean on each side 10 float them 10 every part
OF the world. We have all the articles that the
world requires for daily use: our rivals though
numerous have not the facilities of production
which we possess; If We deal fairly by our Gus
TONERS, why may We not then continue TO lead
and why should there be any possible failure in
our continuing TO lead the world in international
commerce?
classes of articles accumulate slowly 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 1895 eX-
ceeded that of any other country, being 6IaoOo-
600 bushels, while Russia, which came next in
rank, had 405000000 bushels. own being 23
per cent Of the worlds wheat supply. Our prod
uct OF corn which is rapidly gaining in popularity
throughout the world, was in 1898 more than
ten times that Of the next largest producer
Austria-Hungary-bei in that year 1924 000.
600 bushels against 1Gi,000000 bushels in Aus
tria-Hungary which took second rank as the
producer of this important article Of food for
man and animals, and total production Of
corn formed as per cent of the worlds total
of that important food product. our eXporta-
ftons Of provisions (by which term is meant
meats and dairy products) amounted in 1899 TO
sl15OOOOO0. against S52,0O0000 for the Neither
lands. which occupied second rank as an eX-
porter of provisions. our cotton crop Of 1898
was 3 5539 100000 pounds. against l1o0O0OO0O
pounds produced by British India, which occu-
pied second rank as a producer of that article
and we supplied over 76 per cent Of the cotton
of the world. our coal product in 1899 was 217.-
\ 100000 tons Cof 2,240 pounds). against 2020oo-
u 600 tons by the United Kingdom, which occu-
pied second rank as a worlds producer and our
total formed 81 per cent Of the worlds produc
tion OF that important article, which has become
absolute requirement in every part Of the
world. Our production of pig iron in 1899 was
134S6000 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 re
quirement in the industries and its relation 10
the conveniences and necessities Of daily life
Our copper production Of 1898 was four times as
great as that Of any other country, and formed
81 per cent of the worlds supply Our petroleum
production in that year was greater than that Of
any other nation being 2.544, 100000 gallons,
against 2495O0O00O gallons by Russia, and
total amounted TO 40 per cent Of the worlds
product of crude petroleum, while the percentage
of refined petroleum which il supplies is very
much greater than that of our chief rival in
the production of crude petroleum-Russia.
Our railways aggregate in mileage six times
those of the second greatest nation in railway
mileage-Germany-a form in fact 40 per cent
of the entire railway system of the world, while
our telegraphs are and half times those of
the second greatest nation in telegraph mileage
Russa-and form % per cent Of the worlds
telegraph system.
These are the facilities which we have for a
great commerce. We produce more of all the
articles which the world requires than any other
nation-vastly more-and have far better sys-
in which the world requires them for immediate
consumption; that is, manufacturing; while for
transporting them we have by far the greatest
land system and lack only the vessels TO carry
them from ports across the great oceans
which lave shores either side, and stand
ready 10 float them TO the waiting nations of the
world. When we shall have added TO all Of these
wonderful advantages which nature and the
inventive enterprise and boundess energy Of
our people have given us the single remaining
requisite of transportation facilities from our
ocean ports TO those of other countries, we
should have difficulty whatever in retaining
the supremacy Of the worlds markets which
attained in the closing year of the nine
teenth century; and it would appear that we
could only fail in retaining that supremacy
through serious neglect Of the great advantages
which nature has given us.
Another means of estimating our prospective
growth in commerce as compared with other ma
tions is to examine our growth of recent years
in comparison with that OF the other great coun-
tries. II 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 export
ing nations of the world. We may assume that il
is likely in view of the natural advantages above
outlined TO retain that rank, and even to con-
tinue, in part at least the relative speed in its
race with other nations for the worlds prize
OF international commerce. In ascertaining this
We must look TO the 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 II we
find by comparing exports during that time
with those of other nations that we have made
greater progress than Others and in doing so
have taken high rank as an exporter We NAV