Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-19
OUR FOREIGN TRADE
Immense Growth in the Past
Thirty Years.
EXPORT OF MANUFACTURES
This Country Holds Third Place
Among the Nations.
GERMANY'S RAPID ADVANCE
Effect Of Government Aid in Extend
ing the Commerce Of a Rival
Growing Dangerous.
BY WILLIAM T. CCRTIS


Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
You can get some comprehension Of the
magnitude of our manufacturing Industries
when you know that during the last calen-
OAR year We exported to foreign countries
$7l9,O00.0O0 worth Of manufactured mer-
chandise. In addition to vast amount of
wheat, corn cotton, cattle. beef, pork prod
ucts, dairy products and other products
Of the FARMS an immense amount Of lum-
Der and enough kerosene OIL to illuminate
the world. The consumption of manufac-
tured merchandise at home, the demand
for all sorts of manufactured articles in the
development of our own natural resources.
In the building trades, in railroad construc-
tion in new factories and mines and in all
the improvements that have been going on
throughout the country is beyond calcula-
| ton, but we have produced enough to sat
isfy that demand and to furnish more than
500, 000, 900 worth of similar articles to the
people in other countries
There never a period or n place in
the worlds history where so many manu-
featured articles have been made and sold
| within the limits Of the United States
during the year 1906. There is no way: Of
telling their value, and from present indi
cations the output during the current year
will surpass that of the last. Only last
an article showing that the iron and steel
companies. the car and locomotive fac
tories the electric companies and other
manufacturers of railway equipment already
have on their books orders amounting to
81, 230, 900, 900, including more than $40, 900
freight cars, 5000 passenger cars, 5000 To-
| comotives and So, 100000 worth of steel
rails. Since that article was published the
Hartman syndicate has given an order to
the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company for
$50, 900 tons of steel rails
The census bureau IS collecting 1nfor-
nation about the manufacturing industries
all the time. 1t takes up one industry after
another, and publishes series Of bulletins
containing the Information it secures, but
the industrial development is so rapid that
the statistics of one year can seldom be
used a basis for calculating the trans
actions of the next. 1t Is impossible to eS
innate accurately either the production or
the consumption OF manufactured goods at
home but the laws require a record to be
kept Of every article that is exported to
foreign country. Therefore. the bureau of
statistics at Washington, from which the
figures in this article are obtained, can tell
how many. of our shoes. how many of our
pocket knives how many of our hams, how
much butter and how many apples are sold
each year in Europe and other parts of the
world. -
During the calendar year of 1906 we ex-
ported merchandise to the value of 81, 4O3.-
duced in the United States and S719.OOO.O00
was manufactured goods. Thealatter was
an increase from $571.410 497 for the year
1905. The proportion of manufactured goods
exported in 1895 amounted to Al per cent
Of the total exports, as compared with 3d. 10
per cent in 1905.
Our Best Customers
The most encouraging and gratifying fea-
ture of the trade Is the amount of manu-
featured goods we are selling in the coun-
tries of Europe which have always been
the manufacturing centers of the world.
The United Kingdom exports more manu-
featured produce than the United States.
but 1t does not produce 50 much. We ran
by England several years ago, and while
she still supplies a great part of the world
with things to wear and use, her population
Is SO much smaller and so much less able
to buy than ours that her home market
is comparatively small. For that reason
England is forced to seek customers In for
ing our goodsfnto her home markets. her
situation is becoming serious and her manu-
facturers are crying out to their parlia-
ment what shall we do to be sayed?
England is our best customer. We sold
her $57S, 023, sos worth of our domestic
products during the last fiscal year. OF
this oe Fer cent emu was of mer
Germany is our second-best customer
During the fiscal year 1906 we sold her
1922 403.77s of products, of which 1898
per cent was manufactured goods.
Canada comes next in order and we sold
her 46,175015 of our products. including
6l.90 per cent manufactured goods.
France comes next and we sold her
people sos, 453. 1855. of which 81. II per cent
was manufactured goods.
We sold the Netherlands almost as much
as France, and out of a total of S9J, 49,, 1892
the manufactured goods were 1852 per
cent.
Belgium, as everybody knows, is a work
shop-one great factory in which almost
every form of merchandise is produced, and
yet our manufacturers succeeded In selling
SIS. 132. 40 worth of their goods there last
year out of total of $40. 20S,063
To Denmark, Spain, Russia, Austria, Hun
gary. Sweden and Norway we sold large
quantities of manufactured goods, and it is
an altogether new feature of our export
trade.
1t is not strange that we have a large
market In Japan, where we sold $37 ,956, 800
worth of our products last year. Of which
56.17 per cent was manufactured goods,
because japan is going ahead so fast in
her internal development that her factories
cannot supply her own market. Nor is it
strange that We should sell such large
quantities Of manufactured goods to China.
which Is our best customer after Europe,
to Cuba, the Argentine Republic, and other
South American countries to South Africa,
and the East indies, because they are not
manufacturing nations. The strange thing
and significant feature of the trade is that
nearly one-half Of all our manufactured ex-
ports went into the very workshops of
Europe.
or this $13. 600 600 represented manufac-
lures Of copper, $a4,0O0, 600 iron and STEEL
$52OO0,0OG furniture and other wooden
articles SCI. O00, coo leather. 5000 600 naval
stores, $13, 900, 600 agricultural Implements,
and the remainder miscellaneous articles.
Last year was the first time that ex-
ports of manufactured goods have crossed
the 500 600 600 mark, and the increase has
been astounding.
Record for Thirty Years.
The following table will show, in round
numbers. our exports of manufactured
goods during the last thirty years and their
proportion to the total exports:
Exports OF Percentage OF
manufactures. total exports.
1879 ,.,,,.. $l06, 900 900 20
1894 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. l46 COX, 000 %
go