The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-02-08

with 1907 the Philippine Islands took lS.e nar cent of their imports from us; in 1908, 1T5 per cent. In the decade ehoihs with 1907 India took IS of her imports from the United States; in the year lsoS 24 per cent. It thus appears that, uespite the fluctuations in our trade with the Orient due to peculiar conditions III re cent years the percentage which the principal Oriental countries took, respec- lively, of their imports from the United States was in 1908 greater than the an nual average during the decade ending with 1907; also that the fall of SoOOo,O00 in exports to China and of $1o,OOo,OO0 in exports to Japan in 1909 isD1ue to peculiar conditions, the high prices of cotton breadstuffs and meats, and the reouctloh in the general imports of those countries, reductions in which the United States is no greater loser than her principal Euro- pean rivals for that trade.
 While our share in the commerce or the Orient has been maintained and slightly increased down to the end of 1SoS It IS still. in Mr. Austin's opinion, far below that which it should be. The Oriental neouIe-the people of Oriental birth or de- scent. and therefore of Oriental customs of life-number 900,Oo0.0Oo. or more tnan half the worlds population, and tneir iIll- ports amount, speaking in round terms, to s20Oo, 900 per annum. India alone shows imports of over s45o. 900 per an num: China, s25o.00 0o0o to $soo oo,Wo' Japan and its dependencies. s2oo'oU,Uo 70 s25O. .0Oo. 600; Hongkong and the Stralts set. dement's, each about $2o0,0oo. .ooO; the 0 East s Indian islands, approximately sIv"v~'NS~' ooo "e Turkey. in Asia and Europe. $lbo'Uo,VV' and that section of north Afr1ca occu- pied by Oriental peoples and stretcnins s from Egypt to Morocco, sSOo.ooo'oo. Auo- ing to these the less important couhsr'es oncunied by Oriental peoples, you get total of E. .OO0, ,000, 900 worth of merchahoise 3 unmarried by that section of the worio occun,ed bv people of Oriental stock ana Oriental customs. .a ooo
 Ahout one-third of this total of $A,VV ooo mo worth of Oriental imports IS inter- Oriental, merchandise drawn by one orl- ental country from another; but tne re. s maining two-thirds, or about sl,1ov,vvvvo |. fnported from Occidental countries oh,edv Europe and America. or this, s1 l0o. .0OO. eco worth of Occidental nerchan- dise imported by Oriental peoples. the limited States supplies but about per cent. while Europe supplies practically all of inc remainder. The principal articles forming this q, 900 worth of mer- chan1ise imported by Oriental people gre: Cotton goods. approximately $4oO'uNVo worth; manufactures of iron ana steel' meat and dairy products. medicines drugs and dyes, tobacco, leather vehicles for transportation. agricultural impie- ments and articles of household ana gen eral domestic requirSnsnts. Of the most important of all these articles, cotton roods, the United States, the world chief cotton producer, supplies but per cent. while Europe, which buys it's cotton from ,the United States, supplies nearly all of the remaining N per cent.
 American Csttsn Goods.
 The ssxplanation of this remarkable fact, that the greatest cotton-producing country of the world supplies such an |extremsly small shore of cottons import |ed by nc Oriental peoplep. iies in the |fhct fhet fhs AmsT'eee msnu1se'uFsr