The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-16
AMERICANS HAVE
 ASSISTED KOREA Have Invested Much Capital
 in Seoul COTTON Is CHIEF IMPORT Increase in American Importations Has Been Enormous During the Past Three Years-Eieht
 Ports Are Open.
COTTON IS CHIEF IMPORT

Washington, January 1b.--Korean com merce amounts, according to a statement just issued by the department of com merce and labor through it's bureau of statistics, to about s15,0OOO 600. and the ex- ports to about s5 900. While in the case of China the foreign commerce of the country Is carried on chiefly, almost ex- clusively. through the treaty ports" This is not the case with reference to Korea, only about one-third of the foreign com merce above alluded to passing through the treaty ports.
 American products, both manufactured and otherwise, are popular in Korea. but the very large proportion reach that coun- try through China and Japan, and the Korea Is extremely small. It Is only with in comparatively short time that the di- rect trade of the United States with Korea was of sufficient importance to justify A separate record In 1897 the exports from the United States to Korea were s509 In value in 1898, s125 GOO; in 1902 1000. and for the eleven months ending with Novem-
 
 entire calendar year 1903 the total exports to Korea from the United States will amount to about $4oo,000.
 Does Not Show Entire Value. | While there is a rapid growth 1t does not show by any means the entire value of merchandise from the United States entering Korea. AS above indicated many | Ice consumed in Korea are sent first to Japan or China and from those countries ship | ped into Korea. The value of American | petroleum consumed in Korea in 1901 is stated at over $30O,0O0; machinery and sup l plies, $250,00O. and electrical goods and lumber, s236000. These importations of merchandise from the United States were due in part, largely, perhaps, to the pres ence of Americans engaged in mining op- erations in Korea and the purchase by them in the United States of machinery and supplies for that work.
 The imports are chiefly cotton and wool en goods, metals, kerosene silk, and ma chinery for the use of the railways and those engaged in their construction. The chief exports are rice, beans, hide. gin seng, and copper. The curreNcy chiefly consists of copper cash and nNkel coins, gold and silver coins being out of circu- lation. The total currency Is stated as az gregating about s22,000,000 of which s6,00O,- GOO Is copper cash, $14,0Cs, 10000 nickel $1,- 5OO00 Japanese coins, and s530,000 Korean silver dollars.
 Eight Korean Ports Open.
 Eight ports of Korea are open to for | at. 1a nr1H nrn al treaty ports" Treaties were made between Korea and the United States in 852, and in the same year with China, In 1883 with Germany and Great Britain In 1884 with Russia and Italy; in 556 with France in 6e2 with Austria; and In 9ee fur ther treaty with China Under these trea- ties chemulpo, Fusan, Wunsan, Seoul the capitaD Chinampo. Mokpo, Songehin. Masanpo and Kunsan have been opened to trade The actual trade through non treaty ports, however, is, as already indi- | cated much greater than that through the treaty ports-probably fully double.
 The trade of Korea with Japan Is grow ing more rapidly than with any other country. the importation of cotton goods from Japan amounting to from two to i three million yen annually. Cotton goods are the largest single article in the value of importations into Korea, amounting to between six and seven million yen an- nually. silk goods amount to about one and & half million yen per annum. The l chief articles of export are rice, -four ana a quarter million yen in value beans two million yen: hides six hundred and fifty thousand yen and ginseng five hum l dred and twenty-seven thousand yen.
 Minerals Arc Important.
 The minerals of Korea are of consider able value. Copper, iron and coal are re- ported as abundant, and gold and silver mines are being successfully operated, an American company having charge of and | operating a gold mine at the treaty port Of Wunsan under a concession granted in I8o5 Concessions have also been granted to Russian, German, Japanese and French subjects.
 Railways telegraphs telephones and a postal system have been recently intro duced into Korea. A railway from the seaport to Chemulpo to Seoul, the capital, g. distance of twenty-six miles, was built by American contractors, and has reduced the time between the seaport and capital from eight hours to one and three-quar- ter hours. The Seoul Electric company, organized chiefly by Americans and with | American capital has built and operated an electrical railway near Seoul, which is much used by the natives. This cleo trical plant Is said to be the largest single | electrical plant Tn AS1a. The machinery Is imported from the United States, and the consulting engineer. a Japanese, Is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Transportation in interior.
 Transportation in the interior Is chiefly carried on by porters. pack horses and oxen though small river steamers owned by Japanese run on such of the streams as are of sufficient size to justify the use of steamers.
 The area of Korea is estimated at S2,0oO square miles, or about equal to that of the state of Kansas. The population is variously estimated at from eight to six teen millions. The foreign population con sists of about 30,oo0 Japanese 5000 Chi nese, 300 Americans. 100 British 100 French. 100 Russians, 50 Germans and about 50 of various other nationalities. The postal system is under French di- rection and has, in addition to the central bureau at Seoul 37 postal stations in full operation and 326 sub-stations for regis tered correspondence
 l Dh1,s~o@scn