Arizona republican., 1903-06-01
TRADE WITH CHINA
Growth of Thirty-three Per
 Cent. in a Year
Increase Made Up Mostly of Greater Use of American Cotton Goods.
 Figures by Treasury Bureau.

Washington, May 31.-Chinese official
 returns show that the imports from the
 United States in 1902 amounted to 3O.
 13S,713 Haikwan taels, agains; 23,529,-
 60G taels in 1901. 22, ,2SS, 745 taels in 1899,
 F. 40. 302 taels in 1897. and 5.093. lS2 taels
 in 1895 The total for 1902 is the largest
 in the history of commerce between
 China and the United States, and is
 six times as much as in 1885. 2l@ times
 as much as in 1897, about 3a per cent
 more than in 1899. and nearly 90 per
 cent larger than in 1901. Cotton goods
 kerosene oil and -four continue to form
 the chief imports from the United
 States. The importations of American
 jeans in 1902 amounted to 529, 492 Haik
 wan taels against PA, 1928 taels in 1901;
 American drills, 6,024 443 taels, against
 4,S34,S79 taels in 1901; American sheet
 ings, 15, ,13O,S sos taels, against 7,636,7i4
 taels in 1901: while American kerosene
 oil shows reduction amounting to
 45, S07 gallons in 1902, against 57,759,
 GIT gallons in 1901. The decrease in
 Chinese imports of oil, however. is gen
 eral, the total having fallen from 130
 million gallons in 1901 to 90 millions in 1902. That from Russia fell from g. million gallons in 1901 to 10 millions gal Ions in 1902, and that from Sumatra
 from 4012 millions in 1901 to 33$. mill
 ion gallons in 1902. Flour also showed a slight decrease, the total value inn ported in 1902 being 3,S44, ,319 Haikwan
 taels. against 4,726,962 in 1901. Ginseng. which comes chiefly from the United States, shows an increase, being in 1902. 1.614,SS9 Haikwan taels, against 1.1S1, 536 taels in 1901. The average value of the Haikwan taeI in 1902 is given by the report at 63 cents. Ameri- can gold.
 Statistical Secretary Taylor, who pre- sents the report. says in the prelimin- ary statement: The value of cotton goods of all kinds imported was esti-
 mated at 127,545, 309 Haikwan taels as compared with 99.651, ,999 taels during 1901. The cloths of all kinds advanced. i especially Indian, which rose from l5, ,320
 to 126,4S5 pieces. There was a good de- mand for drills. and English jeans made the astonishing advance from 1 fl ,CS3 to 360, S5S pieces while Dutch and American about doubled. Sheetings al so found an increased inquiry, the | American trade going ahead as usual. It is interesting to note, and is not without significance, that Japanese
 drills rose from 23 pieces to II. .62O pieces, and Japanese sheeting from 13,- 006 to 115,366 pieces. English cotton yarn continued it's downward course
 and has now fallen to 32, 1851 piculs. while Indian has reached 1,SS7, ,OS6 piculs, and Japanese 522. .4OS piculs. Kerosene oil, with the exception of that from Borneo, shows decreases, Russian F,I a- eg | from S2,4s6.070 gallons. thus losing the ground gained during the last ten years
 Commenting upon the general condi- ton of trade, Statistical Secretary Taylor says: Three noteworthy events took place during the year: the nego- tiation of a new British commercial treaty, the revision of the import tariff,
 and heavy fall in exchange. Of these
 the last may prove important. The re- vised import tariff, owing to the fall in exchange and the rise in silver prices since the years 1897. 1898 and 1S99 has left the incidence of taxation very much
 as before But the collapse in exchange which will call for higher currency prices for new cargo, with the uncer- | tainty of it's future movements, natur- | ally disturbs the import trade: while by augmenting the amount which the government has to find to pay it's gold obligations, it has led to heavier in- ternal taxation. The pessimistic views expressed in some quarters regarding the commercial solvency of the country, ] based upon the demand of the govern ment to pay the indemnity in gold, are without any solid foundation. The for eign trade of China is trifling when the size and potential resources of the country are considered, and only a very small adjustment between imports and exports is necessary tu cover the late ] increase of indebtedness. At the same time, it is disappointing to note that 1 trade always seems to be the first vie 1 tim when heavier taxation is decided upon. What the foreign trade of Chi
 na might be is shown by a comparison with Japan, which with a population of less than one-seventh, spends al- most exactly as much as China on for | eign goods But before such expansion ! can be looked for domestic trade must be relieved from the taxation of goods in transit. lacal industries must be as sisted instead of being hampered by excise and by taxes on raw materials, and the enormous resources of the country must be developed. Meanwhile trade is slowly growing, and will con- tinue to grow in spite of artificial ob- 1 structiOns. The commercial solvency of the country. however. is one thing and the financial solvency of the gov | ernment another; and there is no doubt | that great difficulty is experienced Cn- der the present defective fiscal system | in collecting the additional revenue re- quired in consequence of closer con- 1 tact with western nations. Reform in this direction is urgently needed. AS obstructing the growth of commerce, any proposals to raise more revenue ' by methods tending to check the do- mestic trade, such as the imposition of
 a consumption tax on native goods. or i to hinder the progress of local indU S. | tries and the introduction of foreign capital by a heavy excise on machine
 made products, are to be deprecated as having a tendency tO lower tha Dl.r.