Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-01-18
our rrnaa WIN Frnnoe.

France produces a large proportion of the
breadstufs and provisions required hy
her own people and draws also large sup
plies from her colonies. especially Algeria,
with which she has a free interchange of
products unrestricted by tariff Her inn
ports Of wheat amounted last year to only
about SSO0OO 900. of which about 20 per
cent was drawn from Algeria and Tunis.
Her imports of flour amounted to a little
over 81 600 .O0Oof which a large part was
drawn from Algeria. Her imports of corn
amounted to about 100000 Of which a
less proportion was drawn from her own
colonies. more than half of the imports of
corn coming from Argentina OF provi-
sions her imports are small amounting last
year to only about $4,000 in value.
IL is not surprising, then, that in bread
stufis and provisions the exports from the
United States TO France are and have been
for many years small, except in years of
abnormal conditions, such, for instance,
as 1898, when the value of wheat exported
from the United States 20 France was
S32 100000, against only SlS5.OOO in the
Immediately preceding year, and 81 075,-
330i the year Immediately following.
The total commerce between the United
States and France. as shown by figures
compiled by the Department of Com
merce and Labor through It's Bureau Of
Statistics, amounts in round terms to
Sl66 100000 this being the figure OF the
fiscal year 1905, of which SIG 900 600 was
the value of exports to France and 500
100000 imports from that country. This
is another popularity Of our trade with
France that in many years our imports
from that country exceed our exports
thereto. This fact is explained in part by
the fact noted above, that France is not a
large importer of breadstuifs or provisions
which have for many years formed an inn
portant factor in our export trade, and in
part by the fact that France is a large
producer of certain high-grade manuiac-
tures of which we still continue TO be large
importers, such as velvets pushes, lacos
and embroideries of silk and cotton. dress
goods of silk, wool and cotton; jewclry
and cut diamonds; feathers, natural or
artificial, and materials for hats and bon
nets; china ware, wines, kid gloves and
materials for use in their manufacture. &c.
Only two or three of the other important
countries of Europe show less of imports
from the United States than of exports TO
US, and this in the case Of Switzerland and
Turkey is due in part to the fact that
many Of the shipments from the United
States destined for those countries are
billed only to the ports at which they are
transferred from steamship TO railway
and that our official records Of exports to
those countries, therefore. fail in many
cases to show the entire quantity of mer-
chandise destined to finally reach their
consumers; while in the case of Portugal
our imports from that country exceed our
exports thereto by reason of the fact that
she supplies to us large quantities Of india
rubber drawn from her African colonies.
In the case Of France, however. our rela-
lively small exports thereto as compared
with our imports thereirom are largely
due, as above indicated to the fact that
she draws most of her supplies of bread
stufis from her own territory or that of
her colonies, and that her manufactures
of an artistic character, whether dress
goods, iewelry, china and glassware. or
paintings and statuary, find a ready and
large market in this country.
OF our total expectation Of SIG 600 600
worth Of merchandise to France in the
fiscal year 1905 by far the largest items
were copper and raw cotton. France IS
not producer Of copper or of cotton.
while the United States produces half the
worlds copper and three-fourths of its
cotton. As a consequence, our exports
of copper to France in the fiscal year 1905
amounted 10 sll 100000. against So
100000 a decade ago, in the fiscal year
1895. Our exports of cotton to France
in the fiscal year 1905 amounted TO S36. -
100000, against S22,OOOOO0 in 1895. and
the figures for 1905 would have been much
larger but for the low price per pound Of
exported cotton in that year as COM
pared with Immediately preceding years.
In 1904, for instance, the 367 600 600
pounds Of cotton exported from the United
States to France was valued at S43 OOO.-
600, while the 400 100000 sent to that
country in 1905 was valued at but $780,
100000 the quantity in 1905 being CON
siderably more than that of 1904 and the
value 81 100000 less.