The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-07-23
BUSINESS AND sTocK-TRA-
DING.

1t is believed by many people that the
stump in the recent stock market means
that hard times are coming again. wall
Street discounts everything. adversely as
4 we'll as prosperity, and 1t is thought by
many that Wall stree. is now discount
ing a new situation and lowering prices
4 tc meet it.
| On the other hand, many others say
| that there are no signs of such a condi-
ton ahead as Wall Street seems to anti
cpate. Certainly, If we may Judge by
| foreign trade, by railroad earnings. by
hank clearings and mercantile reports.
| the country Is still very prosperous, and
there is promise this year OF an abundant
| harvest. Railroad earnings continue to
show a large increase over the enormous
earnings ofrlast year. the average being
for the past MONTH 1t is said, something
like 10 per cent Bank clearings also
| show an increase, and our foreign trade,
| for the past fiscal year was larger than
| III any preceding year In Its history.
The total of imports and exports. as
shown by the Department of Commerce,
through its Bureau Of Statistics, is. for
the year 1908, s2,4456l0,417, against
$231O .a3S. 1856 in the year 1900, which
was considered the banner year prior to
1908 Imports are larger than In any
preceding year and exports are larger
than in any preceding year save In the
exceptional year of 1901. The imports for
the first time crossed the $1,000, 100000
,at, { 1oT
the exports for the second time crossed
the $1,4O0, 100000 line, being Slab
o9l, 200. The single year in which the
value Of exports exceeded those of 1898 Is
the fiscal year Of 1901. when the total was
sl,4s7, 764,991. The imports exceeded
those of 1893 BY about s159. 100000. and
the exports exceeded those of 1908 by
about s572,oooOoo The imports, there
fore, have increased 1874 per cent. dur
ing the decade and exports have in
creased CTS per cent during the same
period.
Going back to the year 1858, we find
that imports have increased from $685.
100000 in that year to sl025.ooo,o 900 In 1909
whereas, exports have increased In the
same time from s2o3, 10000 TO s1.42o00o, 900.
It will be seen, therefore, that while the
imports for last year are less than four
times those of 1853. the exports last year
were about seven times as great as those
Of 1858. In fifty years exports and i'm
ports combined have increased about six
fold, and in ten years they have in
creased about rs per cent.
Last year the increase In exports was
due largely to articles used In manu-
featuring, amounting In elevenR months
to So, 1000, or about 90 per cent, as COM
pared with the same period the year be-
fore. But in spite Of that the amount Of
exports in excess OF imports was about
S4e0,0oO,Ooo.
II may be argued that the enormous
imports mentioned make an unfayorable
item, but, on the contrary, they show
a thoroughly healthy condition. Trade
must be reciprocal. We cannot continue
to sell to foreigners and never purchase
anything from them. That would be
affair, and we should, by such
a process, soon kill the goose that laid
for us the golden egg Trade means ex-
change, and IL we expect to con inue to
sell to foreigners we must also buy from
them. What the United States needs
is the freest interchange OF commodities
with foreign nations, and that IS one
reason why the Democrats are opposed
to the high protective policy. whose
design is to shut out foreign competition.
we are able to compete with the foreign
ers, and we should adopt England's policy
and make international trade as free as
possible.