The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-06-12
Business Flture
Of South Africa

Special Correspondence of The Tribune.
Washington, June II.
T'IlE declaration of peace in South
Africa which is to be followed by
the reopening of the greatest gold
producing mines of the world ana
presumably by II general revival OF bus
mess in that greatest consuming section
OF Africa, lends especial interest to IL
monograph entitled "Commcrcial Africa
in 1901" Just issued by the treasury bu-
reau of statistics.
The commerce of Africa. according to
this publication of the bureau of Stati:;-
tics amounts to over 81, 900, 900, of which 429
millions represented the value of the inn
ports. Necessarily in so large an area
with so many tribes and peoples who keep
no records of their transactions. Il consid-
crable amount of commerce must pass
without being recorded in any way. Inc
total imports at tho ports where records
are kept amounted in the latest available
year to Si29. td .o)0, and the exports to
$2G} aO7. 900. or the exports. large share.
especially those from the south. is gold
and diamonds; in the tropical region.
ivory. rubber, palm nuts. and gums: and
in the north Il fair share of the exports
are products Of agriculture. cotton, coffee.
cacao. SPICES. dates, etc. The export fig
ureS of recent years are less than thoSe
of former years. owing to the hosti!itci
in South Africa. which have both re-
duced production and increased local con-
sumption.
About hrec-fourths of tho imports of
Africa are through the ports of the ca
treme north and south of the continent,
those ut the north ncinG for the conSump-
ton of the more denScly populated re-
gions bordering on the Mediterranean
and considerable quantities going to the
interior by caravanH-a larSe part across
the Sahara to the dcrS"ly populated re-
gions of tho Sudan. At the south. il large
share of the imports is, under normal con-
ditions. for use at the gold and dinmond
mines. which lie IL few hundred miles
north of the Cape, and are reached by
railway lines from Cape Colony and Natal
at the south and from ports of Portuguese
East Africa on the southeast. The class
of imports in the south differs materially
| from that at the north. the demand of the
| mining region being for machinery. min
| ing tools. dynamite, powder. flour. meats
and clothing: while at the north cotton
goods, tobacco. spirits clocks and trinkcts
| form IA larger share of the imports, as
| is also tho case on the coast of the trop-
| iCal regions.
A very large proportion of the trade of
Africa is with England. There are nit
merous reasons for this. the most impor-
| tant. however. being that her colonies -
| Cape Colony and Natal-on the south are
| the avenues through which pass most of
the goods for that section. and that II
| very large share of the growing trade is
also carried by British vessels. while the
| bulk of the mining. as well aa the stock
raising and general development of that
section. is in the hands of British colon
| lists or capitalists. In the north, q large
share of the trade of Egypt is given to
Great Britain. whose influence in the man
agement of Egyptian AFFAIRS is well recog~
niZed. while i'm Algeria. which has large
trade, very large proportion is with
| France. the governing country.
| The total recorded imports into Africa.
| aggrcGating in the latest available year
si29 46l 900. were distributed follows:
Into British territory, $l5I,5,j,o1O; French
territory $S., 900: Turkish territory,
81, 1871 900; Portuguese territory. SO 1a5, 600;
| German territory, $S33G,0Oo. and into the
Congo Free State, A7".,0oN. OF this i'm
portation of $429 All .01D about j per cent.
was furnished by the United States, the
total for 1901 being s.5.5i2, ,GlS Our total
| export to Africa have grown from $j,3,G,
Si2 in 1899 to slS59i,i1l in 1899, and S255ie,dls
| in 1901. This rapid increase is largely due
to the fact that orders sent to the United
| States for mining machinery and other
| supplies so much in demand in South
Africa are promptly filled with goods OF
| character.
Africa occupies fourth place In the list
of the grand divisions of the world In Its
consuming power i'm relation to interna-
tonal commerce, the imports of the grand
divisions according to the latest available
figures being as follows: Europe, $500
COZ, ,O0O: North America, $1,000, 900 0O0; Asia
$500, 600 OOO Africa $i30,O0O,OO0; South Amer
lea, S3,5 900, 600; and Oceanica s3o5 000, 900
OF this total of Sll G30,I0O000, the United
States supplies per cent. in the case ol
Africa, | per cent, of the imports oi
South America, 10 per cent. of those oi
| Asia and Oceanica, II per cent of the inn
ports of Europe, and 40 per cent. of the
imports of North America, exclusive ol
the United States,
Railroad development in Africa has beer
rapid in the past few years and seems
but the beginning of a great system which
must contribute tn the rapid develop
ment, civilization, and enlightenment oi
the Dark Continent. Already railroads
run northwardly from Cape Colony about
l,5OO miles and southwardly from Cairo
about LOO miles. thus completing 2T0
miles of the proposed Cape to Cairo
railroad, while The intermediate distance
Is about 5000 miles. At the north numer
ous lines skirt the Mediterranean coast
especially in the French territory OF Al
geria and In Tuns. aSgregating abou
$500 miles: while the Egyptian railroad,
are, including those under construction
about 1aO0 miles I'm length, and those o
Portuguese East Africa and the Transvaa
are another thousand miles i'm length. In
Guiding all of the railroads now construct
cd or under actual construction, the tota
length Of the African railways is nearly
1880 miles. or half the distance arounS
the earth A large proportion of the rail
ways thus far constructed are owned b.
the several colonies or states which the!
traverse. about 1000 miles of the Cap'
Colony system and nearly all that o
Egypt belonging 10 the state.
That the gold and diamond mines o
South Africa have been and still are won