Arizona republican., 1906-10-01
HIGH RECORD
 S3.OOO,OOO.OOO
Our Foreign Commerce for
 the Year
The Trade for the Light Month of August More Than S2OO,OOO,OOO.

Washington, Sept 3O.-The foreign
 commerce of the United States has
 crossed the three billion dollar line.
 In the twelve months ending with
 August the imports were S1.254. .399. .735
 and the exports S1.759,417.S9S. a total
 for the twelve months of S3.O1S.S17.633.
 The total for the fiscal year 1906 ex-
 ceeded three billion dollars if the trade
 with the non-contiguOus territory
 were included but in this case the
 three billion dollar line is passed with
 out including the trade with non
 contiguous territory, which is ao longer considered by the bureau of
 statistics as foreign trade.
 The contrast of this total of more
 than three billion dollars in a single twelve months with the trade of earl fer years is interesting. It was hol until 1900 that the foreign commerce of the United States passed the two billion dollar line, having thus in creased 50 per cent since 1899 It was not until 1880 that it first crossed the one and a half billion dollar line. hay ing thus doubled since 1S79 It was not until 1872 that the foreign trade reached one billion dollars. having thus trabled since 1871. It was not until 1856 that the total crossed the 300 million dollar line. and only in 1885 that it first reached 25O million dol lars
 The August figures of both imports and exports exceeded those of any preceding August in the history of our commerce. as shown by the record of the bureau of statistics of the depart ment of commerce and labor. August imports for the first time crossed the 100 million dollar line The imports have exceeded 100 million dollars iu practically every month of the last year but August is usually a light month for imports. and thus the rec ord of more than loo millions for the month of August is made for the first time in the figures of the month just ended, which show imports of S105.- 5SS,604, against 96 millions in August of 1905, SS millions in 1904. S2 mil
 lions in 1905 and 7g millions in 1902. Imports never crossed the 100 million dollar line in any month prior to Feb ruary, 1905. except in the month of April 1897, when abnormalIy large importatiOns were being made in ex- pectation of tariff changes.
 The export figures for August are also larger than those for any preced- ing August. August is usually a light month in exports as well as imports. For August. 1906, the total of exports was $129,454.76O against HIS millions in August. 1905 los millions in Aug ust. 1901. 1O4 millions in August. 1905 lOS millions in August, 1901 1O4 mil
 lions in August 1900. and 105 millions in August, 1899, prior to which year the August exports had never touched the 100 million dollar line. It was only in the month of october. 1891. that the 100 million dollar line was crossed as the export record for any single month. but there have been but nine occasions since the beginning of the year 1900 in which the exports have not exceeded 100 millions, and in De cember. 1905. they almost touched the 200 million dollar line, being in that record month s199, ,73S.52O.
 The growth in the foreign trade, which has given to the month Just ended the highest import and export record ever made for August is dis tributed through a large class of ar ticles. Meat and dairy products ex- ported in August 1906. amounted to SIG, ,76S,O67 against S14,212.27S in Aug ust of last year, and S11.219,51S in August, 1904. and S12,6SS.5 503 in Aug ust, 1903. These are the preliminary figures of the bureau of statistics, and do not include those of some of the smaller ports, which when added will slightly swell the total for 1906 They are sufficient, however, to indicate that the exports of meats in the month just ended are larger in value than in mnhiots of earlier years.
 This growth in the exportation of meats is shown in nearly all articles except canned beef which shows a marked decline in August compared l