Arizona republican., 1903-12-28
BOOT AND SHOE The U. $. Sold ,OOO.-
 900 of Them Last Year A GROWING BUSINESS
This Country now Ranks Second in Manufactures and Exports of Foot wear and IS Rapidly Gaining on the Chief Competitor, Great Britain.

Washington, Dec. 27-Exports of | boots and shoes from the United States | show Q steady growth, and will for the |
 calendar year apout to end aggregate | more than S7OOO,OOO in value In 1893 they were less than three quarters of a | million dollars in vllue
 Few of the important articles enter ing into our export trade show more
 rapid growth in exports or a wider dis
 tribution than boots and shoes. More than sixty countries and colonies are
 named by the department of commerce
 and labor through it's bureau of statis-
 tics as the destination of the boots and shoes exported from the United States
 in the year about to end. England,
 Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark. and Netherlands. in the order named,
 are the chief European customers, and
 to Europe are sent more than one-third
 of our total exports Of boo,s and shoes.
 Tn North America, Canada, Mexico. Cuba ard the British West Indies are
 the largest consumers of our boots and
 shoes. while the South and Central
 American countries also take greater
 or less quantities. though not in pro- portion to the amounts taken by the West Indian islands, Mexico and Can ada To Asia the exports of boots and shoes from the United States are small, the British East Indies and China be- ing the chief points Of destination for the exports to that continent. Austral- ia is a large importer of boots and shoes from the United States nearly ore-sixth of our exports in that line being to British Australia Africa is also considerable importer of boots and shoes from the United States. es- pecialIy British Africa.
 The United States now holds second rank among the worlds exporters of | boots and shoes. and Is making gains
 at such a rapid rate as to justify the belief that it will soon stand at the head of the list. A decade ago. as al- ready indicated, our total exports of boots and shoes were but three-quar- ters of a million dollars in value, while i Tn the calendar year about to end they
 will exceed seven million dollars in val ue A comparison of this growth wi. that of Great Britain, which has until
 recently been the principal boot and shoe exporting country of the world
 seems to justify the conclusion that tha | United States is making a rapid ap- nrcach toward the highest rank as an ] exporter of boots and shoes. From Ger many. exports of boots and shoes aver age a little less than two million dol lars per annum: from France. about
 three millions; from Spain. about three millions: from the United Kingdom, about nine millions, and from the Uni- ted States. as already indicated, at the present time. about seven millions.
 The United States now stands easily
 second in the list of the worlds eX- porters of boots and shoes. while an eX animation of the relative growth of eX- ports of this class of merchandise from the United Kingdom and the United ] states, respectively. justifles the con clusion that We shall soon overtake that friendly rival in the race for this contribution to the worlds wants and
 consumption. The value of boots and shoes exported from the United King dom in 1893 was eight and a quarte~ million dollars and in 1902 was nine ' one quarter millions. while from the United States the growth in exports has been from $590.754 in the f1sca: year 1893 to SC 1S2 09S in the fiscal year 1902 which years figures are used for com parison with the 1902 figures of the Dni- ted Kingdom. Thus, while the exports of boots and shoes from the United Kingdom have increased little less than one million dollars those from the United States have increased more than live and. half millions.
 Another interesting fact developed in T com parison of the figures of exports of boots and shoes from the United Kingdom and the United States is that the value per pair of the boots and shoes from the United States Is aDpar- ently about 60 per cent. greater than TT.,ft ted
 Kingdom. The 1902 figures of exports of boots and shoes from the United King
 dom show 9,466, ,056 pairs, valued at S9.- 229, ,S23 or 91 cents per pair; while from the United States In the same year the total number of pairs exported was B. 966. 766 and the stated value S6.1S2,O9S' an average of $1.56 per pair. Thus the average value per pair of boots and shoes exported from the United States
 is apparently more than 60 per cent. in excess of that of boots and shoes eX- ported from the United Kingdom. Yet.
 despite this higher price for the United States product the growth in exports of boots and shoes from the United
 States is. as already indicated. much
 more rapid than in those. from the Uni ted Kinedom.
 These low average prices are explain
 ed by the fact that the statements of
 pairs and values include infants and
 children's shoes as well as those for adults. and the values given are based upon wholesale prices.
 The above estimate of more than sev-
 en million dollars value as the ex-
 ports of boots and shoes from the Uni
 ted States in 1903 relates to the calen-
 dar year for which complete figures
 are not yet available. The fiscal year
 figures are however, complete. and
 show the total value of boots and shoes
 exported from the United States in the
 year ending lure 30, 1908, as s6.665,317.
 the number of pairs being 4,191,566. or
 these 4,197, ,566 pairs exported during the
 fiscal year, nearly one million Cor to be
 more accurate. 9S6, ,15D pairs went to
 .he United Kingdom; while 400,974 pairs