The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-20
KING cOTTON's REIGN
Exports During 1903 Beat All
Value Records.
AVERAGE WAS A MILLION
For Three Months Daily Ship
ments Were 100000

made his greatest record in the export
figures of the calendar year 1soS From
1889 tn 1903 cotton exports averaged
little more than three-fourths OF million
dollars a day. In 1908 they averaged
more than ore million dollars in value
per dsy. In the last three months Of
1909 they averaged more than two million
dollars per day. and in the closing month
of the year. nearly two and half mil
lion dollars per day. Exports of cotton
i'm December, 1893, show a greater value
than in any preceding month in the his
tory of cotton expectation. the total being
over y million dollars and thus aver
aging two and one-half million dollars for
every day of the month.
The value of cotton exports from the
United States. as shown by the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor through its
Bureau of Statistics. was 37s million dol
lars. These are the preliminary figures.
but will not be materially changed by
the revised statement to be issued later
in the present month. The total value
of the exports exceeds by "a million dol
lars that of the preceding record year,
1900, when the value of the cotton ex-
ported was 3l4 million dollars. The value
of cotton exports never reached the 800
million dollar line except in the years
1900, 1901 and 1903. In 1890 the total was
3l4 millions. in 1901. 3o1 millions, and in
1858, 37S millions of dollars.
While the total value of the years ex-
ports of cotton was the highest on rec
ord, the quantity exported did not reach
so high a figure as in 1898, when the
value was much below that of 1909 The
total quantity exported in 1903 was g.
SO 900 pounds, which exceeded that of
any preceding year except 1893, when
the total was 4,17S,000.oe0 pounds. The
value of the cotton exports Of 1893, how
ever, was only SEQ, 76S 2of, or less than
two-thirds as much as that of 1908. al
though the quantity in 1898 was Is per
cent greater.
Cotton forms constantly very large
share of the exports, and especially of
the agricultural exports of the United
States. During the entire period from
1888 to 1903 the value of cotton exported
has aggregated over five billions of dol
lars and averaged % per cent of the
total exports of domestic products and
Sc per cent of the agricultural products
2S per cent of the total exports and
about 50 per cent of the total exports
of agricultural products.
The United kingdom was in 1865 the larg-
est customer for our cotton. The total
value of cotton exported from the United
States to the United Kingdom in the CAL
endar year 1868 was, in round terms. lat
million dollars. and this total of 147 mill
ions forms SO per cent of our total cot
ton exports in that year Germany stood
second in the list of our cotton customers
the total value of our cotton exported to
Germany during the year being Ill million
dollars. France was third in the list of
purchasers. our total exports of cotton to
that country in 1908 being AZ millions. To
Italy, which stood next in the list the
total was y millions; TO Russia, nearly 9
millions; to Belgium about millions; to
British North America millions; to Japan
about AZ millions and to Mexico a little
over 3 millions. While the United King
dom is the largest purchaser of American
cotton, her increase over preceding years
is much less than that of ermany. The
total value OF our cotton exports to the
United Kingdom in the year 1903 aggre-
gated but about million dollars In ex
cess of the total for 1900, while that to Ger
many exceeded by % millions the total
for 1900, the former record year.
The increase in the value of raw cot
ton exported from the United States has
been especially marked in recent years.
Prior to 1900 the value OF our cotton ex-
ports had never reached 800 million dol
lars; since 1900 it has never but once
fallen below the 500 million dollar line.
and in 1898, already stated. was S7s
millions. Yet, Notwithstanding this fact,
the cotton mills of the United States
have during that time consumed a larger
quantity of our cotton than ever before.
Prior to 1925 the cotton mills Of the
United States had never in a single year
consumed so much as million bales of
the domestic crop; since the beginning of
that year the annual consumption has
ranged from 3l2 million bales upward,
and in 1902 and 1868. respectively. ex-
ceeded million bales Yet in those very
years the exports of raw cotton averaged
higher in quantity and value than ever
before.