The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-11-10
PERCENTAGE OF
EXPORTS HOLDS
GENERAL FALLING OFF DURING
YEAR 1908.
Due TO No Lack of Popularity OF
American Goods i'm Foreign
Markets.
THE BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Washington, Nov. 10. Especial y
The falling of in exports from the
UNITED States in 1908 when COM
Ipared with the Immediately preced-
ing year seems to have been a mere
Incident of general trade conditions
in the commercial world rather than
of American goods in foreign mar
kets. Figures just compiled by the
bureau of statistics of the depart
ment of commerce and labor show
that the United States contributed in
1908, in fact, a larger percentage of
the imports of. the principal foreign
countries of the world than in the
earlier years when our export trate
was at its maximum. The exports
from the United States in the calen-
dar year 1908, as Is well known. fell
17O million dollars below those of
1907 and &C millionc below those of
1906. Much interest has been felt
as to the real cause OF this large
falling of in exports.
The bureau of statistics has, in the
attempt to determine the cause of
this dehline in exports in 1908, made
a careful analysis of the imports of
the principal countries to which our
exports are sent. with the purpose of
determining whether the reduction
in purchases of products of the
United States was due to larger pur-
chases from other sources by those
countries. respectively. or whether
the reduced value of their respective
imports from us was merely a part
of a general reduction to heir i'm
ports. This analysis is based in such
case upon official figures of the re-
lspective countries i'm question.
The result of this study shows that
merchandise from the United States
formed in 1908 a larger percentage
of the total imports OF the principal
countries Of the world than in 1907
or, in most cases, in 1906, and that
the decline in our exports in those
years was thus, apparently, due to a
general reduction in imports by other
countries rather han any unpopular
\ ity of. or discrimination against our.
own products. For example. the
share which merchandise from the
United States formed of the Imports
into France in 1908 was III per
cent, against 1O.S per cent I'm 1907.
1914 per cent in 1906, and r07 per
cent in 1905 and 1904. respectively.
In the case of Germany, merchan-
the United States formed in 1908
formed 1871 per cent of the total i'm
ports, against ISL per cent in 1907,
1914 per cent in 1906 and IA per
cent in 1905. In the case of the
United Kingdom, merchandise from
the United tSates formed in 1908
2O.9 per cent of the total imports.
against 20.7 per cent in 1907. In
the case OF Russia, merchandise from
the United States formed 10 per
cent Of the total imports in 1898.
against &c per cent in 1907 and ). g.
per cent in 1906. In the case of
Italy, merchandise from the United
States formed 1879 per cent of the
total imports in 1908, against 1876
per cent in 1907, 1871 per cent in
1896, and formed 1913 per cent of
the total imports in 1903, against S.7j
per cent in 1907 and 1906, respec-
lively, and 7.9 per cent in 1905. In
the case of Canada, merchandise from
the United States formed in 1908
Goa per cent of the total imports,
against $50 per cent in 1907. I'M
the case of Mexico, merchandise from
the United States formed $40 per
cent of the total imports in 1903,
against 52.9 per cent in 1907. J.
the case Of Cuba, merchandise from
the United States formed sos per
cent of the total imports in 1908,
against 47.9 per cent in 1907. In|
the case of Japan, merchandise from
the United States formed 17.S per
cent of the total imports in 1908,
against 1863 per cent In 1907. In|
the case of China, merchandise from
the United States formed in 1908
1O.1 per cent of the total imports,
against Sc per cent I'm 1907. 1O.4I
per cent in 1906 1917 per cent in
1905, SO per cent In 1904, II per
cent in 1903, go per cent in 1902.
IS.5 per cent in 1901 and rs per
cent In 1900, the percentage OF the
imports of China drawn from the
United States 'hus being in 1908
greater than in any earlier years ex-
lcept in 1905 and 1906 when import
atoms of cotton goods from the
United States were abnormally large
owing TO an over-est.mate OF the con-
Stunning power Of the cotton markets
of North China, the section in which
American cottons are especially pop