Arizona republican., 1905-07-31
The U. $. Breaks it's For
 eign Commerce Record
BY OVER S2OO.OOO.OOO
Exports for the Fiscal Year Exceed Imports by a Half Billion Dollars Figures Inc<eased Mostly by nan- ufaCtures and Material.

Washington, July 3O.-The foreign commerce of the United States in the
 fiscal year ended exceeds that of any preceding year, having been $2,635. = 91O,333, in comparison with $2,451914 -
 G42 in 1904, the previous record year. An analysis of the statistics of for eign commerce during the year end
 ing June 30, 1905, just prepared by the
 department of commerce and labor
 through it's bureau of statistics. shows
 that both imports and exports made
 new high records, imports having ex-
 ceeded by 92 million dollars the total
 recorded in 1903, and exports having for
 the first time surpassed the figures of
 19OL In 1903 imports first passed the
 billion-dOlla limit, with a total of
 O25,719,237; in 1904 they again fell
 below one billion dollars in value. be-
 ing $991,OS7,371. and for the fiscal year
 just ended are $1,117.5O7, 800. Exports
 first rose above one billion dollars in
 value during the fiscal year 1892, but
 fell below that limit in the following
 year. and so remained until 1897. when
 the total was $1.O5O.993,556. In 1898
 the total exports Were $1,231. .4S2. .33O;
 in 1900, $1,394,4S3,OS2; in 1901, S1,4S7,-
 764.99l. a total which was not again
 equaled until 1905. when the figures
 stood $1.51S.462, ,833. not only surpassing
 the record made in 1901. but for the
 first time in the history of our com
 merce passing the one-and- -half-bil
 lion dollar limit.
 An unusual feature of the statistics
 of the fiscal year 1905 is the very small
 inci ease in customs revenue. despite
 the very great increase in dutiable inn
 ports. The years imports were valued
 
 371 in the preceding year an increase of $126, l29. The imports of dutia-
 ble merchandise during 1905 were val
 ued at $6OO.OT1.238. as against S536.- 957,131 in 1904. an increase of S63,114.-
 107. Despite this fact, however. the customs revenue derived from the largely increased dutiabIe imports of 1905 is less than $1.0O0.OO in excess of that derived from the imports of 1904, being $262. .060,51S for 1905, as against $261.274,565 for 1904. This de- crease in customs revenue is in part due to the admission of Cuban pro ducts, especially sugar and tobacco. at a reduction of 20 per cent from the regular tariff rates, under the reciproc- ity treaty of December 27, 1903 and in part to the unusually large amount of dutiable merchandise remaining in warehouse at the end of the year up on which duty has not been paid. as well as to several other causes which ! can not be fully stated until complete ! details of the years imports are avail | able. |
 Details of commerce for the twelve , months are not in all cases available ] but a careful examination of the com | plete figures for the eleven months af- | lords an opportunity to determine the | articles in which the principal in | creases or decrea ses occur.
 On the import side the largest in i creases occur in the classes "manufac- turers materials. wholly or partially in which the figures | will be about 70 million dollars in ad- | vance of those for the preceding year, and in 'luxuries and other articles of voluntary use" which seem likely to be more than 15 million dollars in eX- cess of the figures of 1904. Articles of food and animals" have increased by over 45 millions, and "manufactur- ad articles ready for consumption" have fallen off about 1 million dollars, IS compared with 1904. These figures indicate the increasing ability of the United States to supply it's manufac- lures and it's growing reliance upon other countries for certain of its food products and materials for use in the industries. This view s strengthened by an examination of he statistics of articles imported. The principal articles which showed de- creased impOrtatiOns during the eleV- sn months ending with May 1905, as compared with the corresponding pc 'iod of the preceding year were man. fractured articles. including chemicals l ures glass and glassware, iron and !. steel manufactures, metal manufac- ures, and wool manufactures. Tea, cocoa, and vegetables were the only food products to show a de- crease, while the impOrtatiOnS of )readstuffs,- coffee, fish, fruits and luts, provisions Gncluding meat and lairy prOducts) spices and sugar were materially larger than those of ! he preceding year. Raw and partial y manufactured articles imported for lse as manufacturers materials show z increased importations, especially cop ,er. cotton, undressed furs, india rub i ter, lead, paper stock, raw silk tin, I tobacco, unmanufac- f ured wood and unmanufactured wool. , 'oal importatiOns are about 1 1-2 mill on dollars below the figures of last ear. ,
 On the export side there is de- ' rease of over 53 million dollars in az icultUral products, but this is more han offset by a large increase in ex-
 Orts of manufactures. The less i'm | ortant classes, products of the forests nd the fisheries, show a slight net de- rease as compared with 1904.
 The articles showing the largest in reases in corporations during the elv- n months of 1905 for which details l re available are: Corn, an increase f S16,000,000, as compared with the I period of 1904; copper I an increase of $25,0OO,- %. about one third being in exports s 9 China, where large amounts of cop c