Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-08
WASHINGTON TO MCKINLEY
COUNTRY's COMMERCE. FROM r.sa To
1901.
Prior to 1875 Import. Generally Ex.
ceeded Exports, since Then the
Reverse Hns Been the Ruie

picture OF the commerce Of the coun-
try from Washington to Mckinley is pre-
sented in some figures just prepared by the
treasury bureau of statistics which show
the imports and exports in each inaugural
year from 1872 to 1901 While IL is not as
summed that the Inauguration Of a President
bears any relation to the commerce OF the
year in which il occurs, the quadrennial
events furnish convenient mile posts ny
which to measure the development Of our
commerce since the completion Of "a more
perfect Union"
Prior to the complete union Of the states
under the Constitution the records ~ i'm
pcrts and exports were imperfectly kept,
and in certain years, Inaccessible. 50 that
the first accurate reports of the imports
and exports Of the United States as a na-
tlon are FOR the year Immediately follow
Ing Washington's Inauguration, the fiscal
year 1919. In the subsequent wears the
hgures are given for the fiscal year in THE
midst of which the President was inaugu-
rated, while the impracticability of pre-
dieting with any considerable accuracy the
imports and exports of the present fiscal
year renders it necessary to adopt for the
closing date OF the table the figures FOR the
calendar year 1899
In addition to the statement of imports
and exports, column is present ed showing
the excess Of imports or exports in each
OF the years named, and a study of this
CoiuHln proves especially interesting as a
measure of the development OF our COM
nierce and industries. Prior to 1877 all OF
the years named, with four exceptions,
show an excess of imports over EXPORTS
while since that time all of the years eN-
cept two show an excess of exports over
imports. In general terms, IL may be said
that prior to 1876 imports almost constant
ly exceeded exports, while during the past
few years the excess Of exports over i'm
ports has been phenomenally large. being
in the calendar year 1900 the largest in our
history and reaching the enormous total Of
SEAS, 1890 SO. A still further evidence OF the
gain which our exports have made over i'm
ports in the past few years is found I'm the
fact that in the 1917 years from the organ
iZation Of the government to the Inaugural
ton of President Mckinley, exports had
only exceeded imports by the sum Of SSSl,-
o2s,49t, while in the four years since lis
inauguration exports have exceeded i'm
ports by S2,1Jo,Oo0,Oo. This remarkab BILE
contrast in the figures Of the four years
under President Mckinley, as compared
with the period Of 107 years Immediately
preceding is accounted for by the fact that
in the first three-quarters of that period the
imports were much greater than the ex-
ports, while the excess OF exports came
only during the final quarter of that term
thus making the net excess OF the entire
period less than the average annual excess
during the past four years.
The following table shows the imports
AMI exports, and excess of imports or
ports of the United States in each inaugu-
raj year from Washington's first to Nc
kinleys second Inauguration. The figures
for the first date named are necessarily
those for the year Immediately subsequent
and those of the last-named date are those
of the calendar year Immediately preceding,
while in all other cases they are for the
fiscal year in which the Inauguration &C.
CURED: