The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1901-01-30
our FOREIGN TRADE.
Doisesiic Export Forty Times Larger
Than Century Aso.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2S.-Frank II.
Hitchcock, chief of the section Of for
eign markets Of the agricultural depart
ment, has just issued his annual review
Of the trade Of the United States in agri-
cultural products. His report says in
part:
"'The fiscal year 1900 brought to close
century Of marvellous development in
the history of the United States COM
merce. In 1900, a century ago, the total
value of the merchandise imported and
exported in our trade with foreign cOun-
tries was considerably less than a quar-
ter Of billion dollars. The value of the
goods exchanged during the past fiscal
year reached nearly two and q'arter
billions, far exceeding all previous rec
ords. Since the opening Of the century
our commerce with the rest of the world
has increased more than twelvefold.
1T was chiefly in the export trade that
the enormous growth Of the century &C.
Cured. Our domestic exports during
1900. with recorded value Of S1.310,-
1851, were over 40 times as large as
in 1900. The total imports for 1900, on
the other hand amounting in value to
SS49.041,1 ,1S4. were less than 10 times as
large as in 1900.
Products of United States agriculture
were marketed abroad in the fiscal year
1900 to the value of SS4i, ,616,530. form
ing about 62 per cent OF the total domes-
tic exports. With the single exception
Of 1898, the past year witnessed the
largest annual export trade in farm pro-
duce on record The value attained came
within S15.000,000 of the phenomenal
figures for 1S9S and surpassed those for
1899 by more than S50,00O,000. A con-
siderable portion of the increase over
1899 was accounted for by the higher
price of cotton. Aside from cotton the
largest gains in value were those afforded
by the exports Of meat products and live
stock. Tobacco, fruits and nuts, vegeta-
BILE oils, oil cake and oil cake meal, dairy
products and seeds also furnished eX-
amplcs Of increase.
"a comparison of the value of our agri
cultural exports for 1900 with that Of our
agricultural imports shows that the
former exceeded the latter by S424, $780,
149. The export value was slightly more
than double the amount of the import
value.
"Among the agricultural imports of
the United States for the fiscal year 1900
the leading items, named in the order Of
values, were sugar, hides and skins, cof-
fee, silk, vegetable fibres, wool, fruits and
nuts tobacco. tea, wines, vegetable oils
and cocoa. These ~ items comprised
in value nearly 90 per cent of the entire
import trade in the products of foreign
agriculture during the year.
"Our principal agricultural exports in
1900, as in previous years. were bread
stuffS. cotton and meat products, those
with live animals, tobacco oil cake, veg
etable oils, fruits and nuts, dairy pro-
ducts and seeds comprising over 30 per
cent of our total exports of farm produce
during 1900.
"The exports for 1898, amounting to
1898. .S07, ,110. were by far the largest on
record In 1899 the export trade amount
ed TO $273999, 600, this value being in ex-
cess of any previously reported except
that just mentioned for 1898 and a rec
ord of S299363,1 III attained in 1892. The
shipments during 1900 We're valued at
S262, T44.07S, or S11 ,255,621 less than
the figures returned for 1899"