The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-19
NO CAUSE FOR ALARM
REDUCTION OF EXPORTS DIS
 GUESSED BY STATIsTICIAN.
The Big Decrease Due to Great Extent to the Failure of the Corn Crop-Increase of
 Importation.

Washington, April 1s.-fSpecial.)--A re-
 duction of 59.ooo.ovJ in exports and an in-
 crease of 100000 in imports do not seem | 70 discourage the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics with reference to tho condition l oi the foreign commerce of the cnited | states.
 | T do not see that there Is the slight | est cause for anxiety" said Mir. Austin. | In the nine months ending with March is | Sos.oOo,Oo0 less than in the corresponding l months of last year. Yet the causes of | the reduction in the export figures arc so clearly due to abnormal and temporary I conditions that the falling off does not | indicate a decrease in the popularity of American products abroad or d reduction | m the demand for them. On the con- trary. think We may consider ourselves very fortunate that our export figures held up as well as they did.
 The chief reduction in our exports" continued MT. Austin, can be traced to the destruction of our corn crop by the drought of last year. Corn has become so important factor in our export trade both In its natural state and In the con- densed form of beef and pork, that loss of one-fourth or one-third of the enormous crop means a great reduction in the surplus. In the last four years the exportation of corn has averaged about 200. 00.000 bushels per annum. In the present fiscal year 1t will not amount to one-fifth of that quantity. In the
 
 exportation of corn amounted to only. 2.00O.000 bushels. against 1i5.O00. 900 bush els In the corresponding months of last year. These are the preliminary figures, put they do not differ much from the completed figures which we shall have a fortnight hence. The value of the corn and corn meal exported in the past nine months was hut sl5,00o 0OO against ssS, 900 ooo in the corresponding months of the preceding year.
 But that is no, all of the effect of the loss of the corn crop. The shortage of corn at home has compelled many farm CTS to use larger share of oats in the feed of their live stock. and as a result the value of the exportation of oats and oat meal in the nine months just ended was but A50O.o00 against $9,5OO, 900 in the items of corn and oats. in which the re- auction Is wholly due to the drought of last year. the expectations have fallen So1,eoo0oo. while the total reduction in the value of all exports Is but $59 O00,000.
 Another item which shows a material reduction In value of exports Is cotton, yet this is wholly due to fall in price abroad and not to reduction in the quantity exported On the contrary. ex- ports have increased ma terially in quan- tity. although the value has fallen. The total exportation of cotton in the nine months ending with March was 3014. 56S.- 421 pounds, against 2,74o. f07 pounds in the same months of last year. This is an increase of 334. GOO. 900 pounds; yet ow- ing to the reduction in price. the value Is act..,lly S13.000 900 less than in the same months of last year, the figures for the nine months just ended being s25l- 100000, against s264.0oO.o00 in the same months of last year.
 Thus in corn and oats, in which the reduction Is wholly due to tine drought of last year and in cotton, in which the reduction Is due to a fall in prices abroad and not to reduction in quantity ex- ported the reduction in value of exports amounts to s7o.0000o0. while the grand total of exports shows d reduction of but SJ9 GOO. GOO.
 Regarding the large increase of im- porta tions.' continued MT. Austin, .I see no cause for anxiety. but rather the re- verse. We have not-received the details of the March import figures; but. judg- ing from those of the preceding months, the increase Is chiefly in manufacturers raw materials. In the eight months end ing with February the increase in man ufacturers materials imported was s57,- 90o.000, while the total increase of inn ports was but 71.0o0, 900; and it Is p'oba ble that the details of the March figures when received will not materially change this condition in our import trade
 At the risk of being considered sta tistical Mark Tapley." concluded Mir. Austin "I venture the assertion that conditions on either side of our foreign commerce account. So long as the in- crease in importations is chiefly in arti- cles which ye cannot produce at home ufacturing the increase will he welcomed by all: and so long as the reduction in is due wholly to abnormal conditions, which may be looked upon as only temporary, we need feel no serious | anxiety on that score. especially as we | are still to have. even in this apparently | adverse year a favorable balance of trade | of between $i0O 000, GOO and 500, 1000, 0O0