The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1910-10-25


foodstuffs produced only in tropical
climates, the dependence of the Uni
ted States upon the tropics steadily
/ and rapidly increases. Tropical and
subtropical products brought into con-
| tinental United States in the fiscal
year 1910 aggregated 636 million dol
lars in value, against 1886 million in
1900, 29S million in 1890, and 242 mil
lion in 1880. The share which tropical
and subtroplcal products formed Of
the merchandise entering the United
States last year was 40 per cent.
Nearly 100 million dollars worth OF
the tropical and subtropical merchan-
disc entering continental United Stat
es last year came from our own is
lands. The total volue of merchandise
brought from those islands in the fis-
cal year 1910 was SO million dollars,
practically all of which was, of course,
of tropical production, leaving about
| $40 million dollars worth of tropical
material drawn from foreign countries
In 1900 the value of merchandise
drawn from tropical islands under the
United States flag was but 80 million
dollars, the contributions of our own
tropical area to the tropical require
ments of the United States having
thus trebled in the last decade. Mean
time the exports from the United
States to these tropical islands under
the American flag have grown from
20 million dollars in 1900, to GA mil
lion in 1910, having thus also more
than trebled in the period in question.
The principal articles forming this
large importation of tropical products
are sugar, coffee, india rubber, tobac-
co, silk, fruits and nuts, fibers, cotton,
vegetable oils, gums, and tea. In each
of these articles the total exceeds 10
million dollars per annum, ranging
from ~ million dollars in the case
of coca and manufactures thereof to
172 million dollars in the case of sug-
ar. Other articles of tropical produc-
ton whose annual importations range
from quarter million to nearly 10
million dollars include cinchona bark,
cabinet woods, cork, dyewoods, feath-
ers, indigo, ivory, licorice root, olive
oil, OPIUM. rice, sage and tapioca,
spices, sponges, vanilla beans, and
vegetable oils. OF tropical sugar the
imports have doubled in value in 10
years, having increased from Sc mil
lion dollars in 1900 to 172 million in
1910. India rubber imports increased
from 81 ga million dollars in 1900 to
1O1 IA million in the fiscal year just
ended. Imports of coffee have grown
from So IL million dollars in 1900 to
50 IL million in 1910; while other i'm
portant increases during the same per-
iod include fruits and nuts, from 10 IA
million to nearly Al million dollars; I'M
manufactured silk, from As 1-3 to over
81 million dollars; tobacco and manu-
features thereof, from IS 2-3 million
to 80 IA million dollars; and fibers,
from "a 1-2 to 32 IL million dollars.
Tea imports have not materially in
creased during the decade, having
been, in 1900, 16 IL million and in
1910, 10 2-3 million dollars, sum con-
siderably less than the figures of 1880,
1905 and 1908. Imports of cocoa and
chocolate have meantime doubled,
from million dollars in 1900 to II
million in 1910; also those of cotton,
been, in 1900, 10 IL million and i'll
from less than s million in 1900 to
II IL million in 1910; and gums, from
million to Is IL million dollars.
In the sugar supply Of the United
States, now almost exclusively of do
nestle and tropical origin, Hawaii
plays an important part, the arrivals
from that territory in the fiscal year
1910 having amounted to 1913 million
pOuuuS, loI sugar HOl dDONe NO. lu
Dutch standard, Porto Rico $50 million
and the Philippines 176 million pounds
t OF the foreign sugar imported by fal
| the greater part came from Cuba, 8,
: $40 million pounds, 315 million pounds
] from the Dutch East Indies, and small
: Ter quantities from South America anc
r the West Indies aside from Clba ant
Porto Rico already mentioned. Near
ly one-third of the 32 million dollars
worth of imported fibers consists Of
manila grown in the Philippine Isl
ands. From foreign countries the i'm
ports of coffee in 1910 aggregated S74
million pounds. while 2 1-3 million