Arizona republican., 1908-03-02
OUR EXPORTS
 GET HIGHER
Imports However Decrease
 In Price
Some Remarkable Facts Shown In a Study of Our Foreign Trade.

| the price of exports and decrease in the price of imports have an important relation to the somewhat remarkable ' figures of the foreign trade of the Un- ited states during the past two months. In December, 1907, exports were valued at $207, ,000,000 against S190,000,0O0 in the corresponding month of the pre- ceding year and in January, 1908, s2O6.- ! OOO,OOO, against $1S9,OOO,OOO in January of last year-an increase of $17,000.000 in each of the past two months when compared with the corresponding months of the preceding year Imports, however, were in December last $92,- 100000, against $134 900 in Decerf- 1 Der of the previous year, and in Janu
 ary, 1908, $S6.000.0OO, against $127,00O,- ! 900 in the same month of the preced- ing year--a decrease of $42,000.000 in December, and $41 100000 in January, when compared in each case with the corresponding month of the preceding year. While a considerable part of this increase in exports and decrease in imports is due to advance or decline in the quantity of merchandise passing out of or brought into the country. a part of this remarkable change is due to higher prices in exports /and lower { prices in imports. Some figures just ! compiled by the bureau of statistics of the department of commerce and la bor quite justify this conclusion, that the recent changes in the foreign trade figures are not entirely due to in creases or decreases in quantity, and should therefore be studied in the light of prices of the articles forming the bulk of the imports and exports.
 1 Of the $420OO.OOO million dollars de- cline in imports in the month of De- cember, 1907. for which detailed fig ures are available, about s17, 1000 Oc- cured in crude materials for use in manufacturing, $13,000.0OO in manu- ! factures for further use in manufac
 turing, $6,000000 in foodstuffs in d crude condition. $4.000,000 in food stuffs partly or wholly manufactured, and $2.000,0O0 in manufactures ready 1 for consumption, these figures being. of course, in round terms. When prices per unit of quantity in few of the more important articles forming these great groups are compared in Decem- Der. 1907, with those of December, 1906, 1 it will be seen that d part of this mark
 
 per unit Of quantity. In crude India rubber for example, the price per pound of the impOrtations of Decem- Der, 1907, was but 59.2 cents, against S5.3 cents in December. 1907 was but 59.2 cents, against S5.3 cents in Decem- Der, 1906, a decrease of nearly one third in price per pound, which offers a partial explanation of the fact that the value of rubber imports in Decem- Der. 1907, was but $2,333, ,O0O. against S6,500.0O0 in the corresponding month of 1906, though the quantity imported also greatly decreased. Of Manila hemp imported the price per ton in December. 1907. was S170.2I, against S204.40 in December 1906 Of sisal, having qualities somewhat similar to those of hemp and therefore similarly affected in market values, the price per ton in the imports of December, 1907, was $135.46, and in December. 1906, $155.0S. Of hides of cattle the import price per pound in December. 1907, was 12.4 cents, against 15 cents in De- cembeF. 1906: of goatskins. 30S cents, against 32.3 cents in the corresponding month of 1906: of pig tins. S1.3 cents against 40.6 cents in December. 1906; of cotton cloths. unbleached. 7.7 cents per square yard. against II 1-2 cents 1 in December, 1906; while many other articles show smaller declines in inn i port prices, among these being Port land cement, copper hemp other than Manila fish, bar iron, sugar. wines, potatoes. wrapper tobacco, and wool. On the export side advanced prices arc inc characteristic fpaturp of ba months record. as against charac- teristic of reduced prices on the Im- port side. Corn export prices averaged in December, 1907, 63.1 cents per bushel. against 50.2 cents per bushel in December, 1906-an advance of over 25 per cent Of wheat. the av- craze export price in December. 1907. was $1.01 per bushel. against 75.S cents per bushel in December of the preced- ing year-an increase of s per cent. Of flour. the export price in Decem- Der. 1907. averaged S4.7S per barrel. against s3.92 per barrel in December. 1906. Of raw cotton, the average eX- port price in December. 1907. was 11.G cents per pound. against 10.6 cents in the corresponding month of 1906. Of unbleached cotton cloths the average export price per square yard was S.1 cents in December. 1907. against cents in December. 1906: and of bleached cottOns. S.7 cents in Decem- Der. 1907. against 6.9 cents in Decem- her. 1906. Of hay the December. 1907. exports showed an average export price of s1S.67 per ton. against $15.0S in the corresponding month of 1906; of pig iron $20.2S per ton, against S17.97 in December of last year; of steel rails. $3O.S6 per ton, against s2S.72 per ton in December. 1906: of Illuminating oil. SC cents per gallon. against 61 cents per gallon in Decem- Der. 1906; and of flaXseed. S1.40 per bushel. against SIPS per bushel in De- cember of the preceding year. while among the articles showing smaller advances in prices are bituminous coal, nails. wire. sole leather. canned beef. fresh beef. hams. lard, oleomar- garine, cheese. cotton-seed al. printing paper, paraffin wax. leaf tobacco, and many other articles.
 In a few cases these general con ditioTs which seem to prevail regard