The Hawaiian gazette., 1903-09-08
HAwAlrS MAINLAND COMMERCE

Commerce between the United State,
and It's contiguous territor,
amounted to over one hundred million
dollars in the fiscal year just ended
I his figure OF one hundred millions IN.
cludes about Ave million dollars worth
of gold bullion produced in Alaska and
brought into the United States. Even
excluding this, however, and including
only merchandise in the calculation
the total amounts of 500, SIS, 900
This Is the first opportunity which
has been offered for an accurate meas
urement and analysis of the commerce
between the United States and its nom
contiguous territory since the annex
alton of the Hawaiian Islands AMI
Porto Rico. The Hawaiian Islands
were made a customs district OF the
United States when they were annexed,
and as the law did not REQUIRE the
collection of statistics of commerce be-
tween the customs districts, part of
the people engaged in that commerce
refused to supply such Information to
the Bureau of Statistics. When Porto
Rico became a customs district of the
United States, similar condition de-
veloped, except that the information
was voluntarily supplied for publica-
ton by the steamship companies en-
gagged in that trade. AS a result, n
special law was enacted which applied
to the commerce between the various
non-contiguous territory, the regula-
tons which were applied to foreign
commerce, as far as relates to statistics |
of such commerce. This law went into |
effect at the beginning of the last fiscal
year, and therefore the result of the
fiscal years operation is just avail
able. The law, when enacted, was
made broad enough to include all non
territory belonging to the
United States. AS a result it gave the
statistics of the commerce between
States. as well as that of Hawaii. Porto
Rico. Philippines, Guam, the Samoan
etc. This record has been COM
pleted, for the fiscal year, under the
new law, and the result is indicated by
he Department of Commerce and La
Dor through its Bureau of Statistics,
rs follows:
from the United
States to it's non-contgu-
Gus territory, 1903. ..........S 36,722,9i1
Receipts of merchandise from
non-contiguous territory,
1903 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 5S.SoIU7
iold bullion received from
Alaska domestic produc-
tlOn) OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 4,l9,OD
800, 337, 237 :
While these annual figures are the
irst of any official nature which the
has had of the commerce with ,
Porto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands I
nce their annexation, it is practicable 5
o compare these with the figures Of
he commerce with these islands in any
ear prior to annexation because of
he fact that commerce with them was
always measured and reported when
hey We're foreign territory. This is
rue also with the Philippines In re-
'ard to Alaska, no accurate statistics
# the commerce were gathered prior
o the last year. but estimates were :,
made for former years, which give Il
air basis for comparison. 1t is prac- "A
icable, then, to compare the commerce "
f 1903 with that of 1893, for all of this U
erritory which has now become n part
( the United States. This comparison !,
hows that the imports from these va +
ious territories aggregated, in round "
twenty-nine million dollars in
S93, and ffty-nine millions In 1903.
nd that exports to that territory :,
to less than eight millions in d.
1893. and over thirty-six millions IN CT
,O3 re
The following table shows the value r
( merchandise passing between the
orts of the United States and it's non III
territory in the fiscal year u
'O3, compared with that of 1893: -
Imports from
g.